NewsTaco

By Anne Constable, The New Mexican

Barbara Salinas-Norman was a Chicana activist, a bilingual teacher, an author, a publisher and an artist. She was “intelligent,” “inspiring,” a “trailblazer.” But her life had begun to unravel, and this once well-connected woman apparently died alone in her Santa Fe home, where her body lay undiscovered for several months behind an unlocked door. Her decomposed remains were found Monday at the Zia Vista Condominiums on Zia Road.

Police originally speculated that Salinas had been dead since October, but family and friends said Friday they thought the 70-year-old might have died long before that — a year or more ago.

Click HERE or on the picture to read the full story.

[Photo courtesy The Sante Fe New Mexican]

By Dan Boyd, Albuqueurque Journal

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden appear to have struck up an unlikely friendship.

After receiving an invitation from Biden, the first-term Republican governor will travel to Washington, D.C., today to attend a Cinco de Mayo celebration at the vice president’s residence, the Governor’s Office said Wednesday.

The trip comes less than two months after Martinez traveled to Rome for Pope Francis’ inaugural Mass as part of an official U.S. delegation led by Biden.

Click on the picture to read the full story.

[Photo by Albuquerque Public Schools]

By Jacquellena Carrero, NBCLatino

Students at public universities in Texas may no longer be able to take courses focusing on racial, ethnic or gender history to fulfill their core requirements for an undergraduate degree under new proposed legislation. Measures filed in the Texas Senate and House would change a 1955 state law to stipulate that only courses that give a “comprehensive survey” of American history or Texas history would count toward the six history credit requirement. The original Texas law simply states that students at public institutions must take two courses in American history.

The bill was proposed by State Representative Giovanni Capriglione and State Senator Dan Patrick in response to a study on the state of higher education in Texas. The study Recasting History, which was conducted by the National Association of Scholars, concludes that “all too often the course readings gave strong emphasis to race, class or gender” and therefore diminished the attention given to other important subjects in American history like military, diplomatic and intellectual history. The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) and Texas A&M University at College Station were the schools studied in the report.

UT Austin issued a statement back in January when the report that the legislation was based upon was initially released, saying that it “paints a narrowly defined and largely inaccurate picture of the quality, depth and  breadth of history teaching and research.”

Several history professors from UT Austin and Texas A&M largely condemned the proposed legislation, saying that it would isolate race, class and gender as something separate from American history rather than incorporate them.

Anne Martinez, an Assistant Professor at UT Austin, teaches courses on Mexican American history, history of Mexican women, and Borderlands history among other subjects. She calls the proposed legislation “misguided.”

“One of the ideas is the presumption that students aren’t going to learn US history when in fact they are. It is an opportunity for students who have taken general US history throughout Kindergarten to 12th grade to explore something more specialized,” Martinez says. “That’s what college is about.”

One of Martinez’s biggest fears is that the legislation would send a message that U.S. history does not encompass all people.

“It says that Mexican American history somehow isn’t as valuable another history,” she says.

One issue of broad concern to history professors was the foundation upon which the legislation was based. Several history professors called the study methodology flawed because researchers solely looked at syllabi and course reading materials and did not visit classrooms on site.

“None of them visited my classroom. When I lecture in class, I give students a broad context to the specific things they read. We talk about the Monroe Doctrine, also known as part of diplomatic history, because it’s important for setting the stage for US Mexican relations,” Martinez says.

Carlos Blanton, a history professor at Texas A&M who teaches a course on Latino history, agreed with Martinez’s concerns and called the legislation a shallow way to think about history.

“If you’re not in my class you’re not going to know how it was presented. Judging a course by the syllabi is like judging a book by the cover and saying oh I see that there’s a woman on the cover, this must be about gender,” Blanton says.

Representative Capriglione and Senator Patrick did not immediately return requests for comment. However, Director of the National Association of Scholars Peter Wood, defended the legislation.

“I do support the bills that have been introduced in the House and the Senate. They are small clarifications of the original legislation and it’s quite clear that what was intended was comprehensive, but the universities were substituting other kinds of courses,” Wood says.

Wood also stood by the methodology of the study. He called the decision not to attend classes an explicit methodological decision since visiting the 85 classes that the universities offer would have been an unfeasible task. Wood also argued that looking at course syllabi provided for a more meaningful study because different topics could have been discussed on days that researchers were present.

“Our findings would have been treated as anecdotal. While we do not believe that syllabi show everything, it is one piece of data that we took seriously. We went out and purchased all readings assigned and read all 635 readings,” Wood says.

History professors are not the only ones upset about the proposed legislation. Librotraficantes, a group of writers, professors, school board members, and students in Mexican American Studies programs have planned to travel to Austin Texas to protest the proposed change to Texas history requirement law.

Tony Diaz, leader of Librotraficantes, said that the impact of the law would be wide ranging.

“What people don’t understand is that this bill would make Mexican American and African American history courses not count toward the degree,” Diaz says. “It would impact community colleges that would have courses that don’t transfer over or count for advanced credit, and it might discourage students.”

Diaz says he has gotten broad support for his protest of the law, with conservatives coming out to support the cause as well because they don’t want to hurt their standing with the Latino community.

“It blows my mind that in the age of a global economy, Dan Patrick would want to build a border wall around history,” Diaz says.

The proposed legislation comes as a conservative state legislator in New Mexico made headlines for saying that Hispanic culture books should be banned from schools. State representative Nora Espinoza slammed a resolution calling for schools to embrace  diversity in the state’s curriculum.

The proposed legislation changing to Texas public university history requirements is scheduled to be discussed in the Texas House on May 23.

This article was first published in NBCLatino.

Jacquellena Carrero is a multimedia journalist with a passion for writing and working behind the camera. Jacquellena is proud of her Puerto Rican roots and hopes to get more stories on Latinos into the mainstream news media. She is graduating from Columbia University with a degree in Political Science in Spring 2013. Jacquellena has interned with NBC News for over a year. Most recently she interned with MSNBC Dayside, where she researched, gathered elements and occasionally wrote and produced short segments. Prior to MSNBC she interned with NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, and assisted producers in all areas of production for the daily broadcast.

[Photo by alamosbasement]

By Roque Planas, Huffington Post Latino Voices

A New Mexico state representative wants to keep Hispanic history books out of public schools, following in the footsteps of some of her conservative colleagues in Arizona.

New Mexico state Rep. Antonio Maestas (D-Albuquerque) proposed a memorial on Monday praising diversity in the state’s curricula and slammed Tucson’s decision to ban seven ethnic studies books from classroom use.

That didn’t go over well with Republican state Rep. Nora Espinoza (Roswell).

The memorial — New Mexico’s version of a resolution – calls for the state’s school curricula to reflect “a spirit of acceptance and a celebration of different cultures and beliefs,” and encourages the support for the seven books and any others “that encourage New Mexicans to understand their cultural history while empowering a generation of youth who are proud of their heritage.”

Espinoza, a conservative legislator who is herself Hispanic, went off on a rant against the Latino intellectuals whose books were banished, saying they don’t belong in New Mexico schools.

Espinoza read out loud before the state House Education Committee one of Corky Gonzalez’s poems that contained the sentence “my culture was raped,” and implied the metaphor was not appropriate for young minds.

“These are are extremely racist and hate books,” Espinoza said, according to the report from KRQE. She did not return phone calls or an email asking for comment.

Maestas, who proposed the memorial, told The Huffington Post he was shocked at her reaction. He had intended the memorial as a statement in favor of tolerance.

“What happened in Arizona recently was so un-American, and it’s particularly un-New Mexican,” Maestas said. “New Mexico is a…

READ FULL STORY HERE.

This article was first published in Huffington Post Latino Voices.

[Photo by New Mexico Legislature]

By Tom Sharpe, Santa Fe New Mexican

The state Senate paused briefly this week to recognize a little-known New Mexico native whose bushwhacking skills helped pull a Union victory from the jaws of defeat 151 years ago at the Battle of Glorieta Pass.

The certificate of recognition says Manuel Antonio Cháves was “affectionately known to the people of New Mexico as El Leoncito de Sudoeste, or The Little Lion of the Southwest, befitting an authentic Spanish-American hero.”

Click on picture to read full story.

[Photo courtesy Eileen Chavez Yarborough/Santa Fe New Mexican]

By Maria Hinojosa, Latino USA

The state of New Mexico has the highest rate of drug-related deaths in the nation. Hispanics and Native Americans have borne the brunt of this devastation. In Albuquerque’s historically Latino South Valley neighborhood, black tar heroin has plagued families for generations. And prescription opiates have become an even bigger problem. But these days, the community is tapping into centuries-old cultural practices to help addicts find a new path to recovery. The core value here is respect.

This article was first published in Latino USA.

The segment was produced by Megan Kamerick.

Megan Kamerick has been a journalist for 20 years, working in Milwaukee, San Antonio, New Orleans and Albuquerque. She is currently the host and producer of Public Square at New Mexico PBS. She is also an independent public radio producer and does a woman’s newscast regularly for Women’s Focus on KUNM in Albuquerque. Megan received awards for investigative pieces, arts coverage, environmental stories, profiles, breaking news, radio interviews and her portrayal of women. She was named outstanding small business journalist in New Mexico by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s New Mexico office. Megan holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in journalism from Marquette University. She is the immediate past president of the Journalism & Women Symposium. Her talk on women and media, delivered at TEDx Albuquerque, is now featured on the organization’s national site, www.ted.com.

[Photo by Megan Kamerick]

By Griselda Nevarez, Voxxi

Actor Steven Michael Quezada, who plays a role in the AMC television series Breaking Bad, has won a seat on an Albuquerque school board.

Quezada plays the role of federal drug law enforcement agent Steven Gomez on the Emmy-winning show, which is based in Albuquerque.

On Tuesday, he won a seat on the Albuquerque School Board in District 5, a newly created school board district located on the city’s west side. He ran unopposed.

Steven Michael Quezada: Excellent education for all

Three of Steven Michael Quezada’s four children attend a charter school in Albuquerque. He said he decided to join the school board because he wants to have an impact on the lives of his and other children.

“I want my kids and all of our children to be able to go to any public or charter school and receive and excellent education,” Quezada said. “It’s our responsibility to make sure no child falls through the cracks.”

Quezada told VOXXI that growing up in Albuquerque he struggled in school and didn’t get the best education.“It’s not fair for kids to go through the same experience I went through,” he said. “I want them to have more opportunities and a sense of knowing where they want to go and how they’re going to get there.”

As a school board member, he said he plans to advocate for more funding so that schools can offer students a variety of extra curricular activities. He also plans to advocate for smaller classrooms, better salaries for teachers and ways to improve parent engagement.

He added that the “incredible challenges” the schools in his district face require a board member who “is committed to change and innovation.”

Before running for school board, Quezada had been active in programs that promote youth development and encourage students to get involved with extra curricular activities. He has also served on the governing boards of several schools, including the Public Academy for the Performing Arts where three of his four children currently attend.

“From experience, I know young people thrive in environments where academics and artistic creativity are paired,” Quezada stated.

Future plans

When asked during an interview with CNN whether school board was the beginning of a political career, Steven Michael Quezada said he doesn’t plan to run for other positions in public office any time soon.

“I still need to go out and work,” he added. “The good news about New Mexico is that we bring a lot of movies, a lot of television series out here so I’m hoping that I continue to work.”

Quezada and the rest of the actors in Breaking Bad are finishing filming the fifth and final season. The last eight episodes will air summer 2013. It tells the story of a high school chemistry teacher Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, who partners with former student Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, to produce and sell methamphetamine.

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Griselda Nevárez is a reporter with Hispanic Link News Service in Washington D.C.

[Photo by Steven Michael Quezada's Facebook photostream]

By KOB.com

Rep. Phillip M. Archuleta, a Democrat, has introduced House Bill 226, which would create a Department of Hispanic Affairs to “address growing challenges in the Hispanic community.”

Click on picture to read story.

[Photo by Denise ~*~]

By Renee Blake, Public News Service

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Latino voters are getting a lot of credit for the way the 2012 elections turned out. Professor Gabriel Sanchez, Latino Decisions director of research, says Latinos have moved to the left since the election of President George W. Bush. 

In an impreMedia election eve pollcovering New Mexico and 10 other states, pollsters found that immigration plans such as the Obama Deferred Action program and the support of self-deportation from Mitt Romney had significant impact on how New Mexico Latinos marked their ballots.

“Overwhelmingly, Latino voters indicated that if Mitt Romney were to be elected president, the chances of comprehensive immigration reform would be much worse than under President Obama. That was a big story in terms of enthusiasm toward the President and not so much toward Mitt Romney.”

Sanchez, an associate professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, says the Latino population nationally gave President Obama 75 percent support, and the turnout was on a par with that of 2008.

In New Mexico this election cycle, Sanchez says the President got 77 percent of the Latino vote. That is much higher than it has been historically for presidential elections, he adds.

“This is the reason why New Mexico has moved to an overwhelmingly Democratic state. It has been the surge in Democratic voters in terms of their numbers, as well as a strong movement toward the Democratic Party.”

Sanchez also has advice for campaign managers of future elections.

“The big part of this election cycle is not just states traditionally known to have Latino voters. A lot of these other states are where Latinos are relatively small in number, but if they’re going to vote as a voting block at near 80 percent for the Democratic party, that really changes the map electorally, looking forward.”

The poll results are available at www.LatinoVote2012.com.

This article was first published in Public News Service.

[Photo courtesy Public News Service]

By Tony Castro, Voxxi

Who is newly elected California Congresswoman Gloria Negrete McLeod and why is New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg sticking his nose into a political race on the other side of the country?

Bloomberg’s Super PAC appears to have been the determining factor in Negrete McLeod’s upset of seven-term incumbent Rep. Joe Baca in the 35th Congressional District in a battle of Democrats in the San Bernardino area.

Negrete McLeod’s campaign apparently got more than $3 million pumped into the race by Bloomberg’s USA Super PAC, evidently because Bloomberg was unhappy with Baca’s record on gun control laws.

In its mission statement, Bloomberg’s PAC says its purpose is to focus on candidates who are tough on gun control and education policy.

Bloomberg’s involvement in the race has begun questions from California media

“The cash infusion paid for a network television advertising campaign supporting Negrete McLeod and opposing Baca,” wrote Riverside Press-Enterprise blogger Ben Goad, who wondered why Bloomberg was “directing such a large some to a distant congressional race while his constituents were reeling from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.”

“It’s quite possible that the mayor of New York determined the outcome in this race, and separated Joe Baca from his congressional seat,” the Los Angeles Daily News said in an unsigned opinion story Wednesday.

On Wednesday, too, Bloomberg’s Super PAC took credit for Negrete McLeod’s victory as one of 19 victories and seven losses among the candidates and causes it backed.

In Negrete McLeod’s campaign, the Bloomberg PAC claimed victory against the National Rifle Association lobby with her election. Before the Bloomberg PAC’s involvement, a spokesperson said, McLeod had low name-recognition and was polling at 30 percent.

Baca apparently became a target of the Bloomberg PAC because of his B-plus rating by the NRA and consistent pro-gun rights voting record. Since 1999, when Baca first ran for Congress, the NRA has named him as one of its “Defenders of Freedom.”

In contrast, the NRA has historically given an “F” rating to almost all other California Democrats in Congress.

“There has never really been an effective counterweight to the NRA—at least in terms of dollars, cents and the ability to get a message out,” said Stefan Friedman, a spokesman for Bloomberg’s new super PAC, Independence USA.

“I think the mayor’s been clear this is an issue he cares very passionately about and this could very well be a curtain-raiser to the future.”

One of the ads Bloomberg’s Super PAC bought read, “Congressman Baca voted to allow sex offenders and suspected terrorist to bring concealed weapons into California.”

In the final days, Baca fired back

“Doesn’t Mayor Michael Bloomberg have more important things to worry about than a congressional district in California?” Baca said at a news conference.

“I think all of this money would better be spent on hurricane victims …This is a disgusting last minute attempt to deceive the voter as we near the elections.”

It is significant that before the Bloomberg entry into the campaign Negrete McLeod—a veteran member of the State Senate—was a major underdog in the race and had raised barely more than $200,000 in contributions, roughly a third of Baca’s campaign war chest.

Baca also had the lion’s share of major endorsements, including those of the state and national Democratic parties and even President Barack Obama.

In the June primary, Baca led with 45 percent of the vote compared to 36 percent for Gloria Negrete McLeod, but the two Democrats were thrown into a fall showdown by California’s new top-two primary system allowing candidates from the same party to compete in general elections.

But the 35^th Congressional District was a newly drawn political entity that may have benefitted Negrete McLeod, since it included more than 80 percent of her senate district. In contrast, the redrawn congressional district contained only about 58 percent of Baca’s former district.

“New district, new representation, new voice,” Negrete McLeod said. “I feel I am more community oriented, more cognizant of local issues.”

This article was first published in Voxxi.

Los Angeles-based writer Tony Castro is the author of the critically-acclaimed “Chicano Power: The Emergence of Mexican America” and the best-selling “Mickey Mantle: America’s Prodigal Son.”

[Photo courtesy sd32.senate.ca.gov]

By Latino Decisions

Hispanic voters comprise nearly 40% of the electorate in the state of New Mexico, making New Mexico the state where Latino voters have the greatest influence on the election outcomes. Consequently, many have suggested that New Mexico may provide a glimpse into the future of Latino politics nationally. This context makes New Mexico important even in an election year when the state is not included in the list of must watch battleground races.

Today, at a live streamed panel at the University of New Mexico’s main campus, national political analysts, advocates, and community leaders from New Mexico discussed how Latino voters and the immigration issue will shape the presidential and Senate races in this state and beyond.  Gabriel Sanchez, Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico and Director of Research for Latino Decisions, analyzed fresh polling of Latino voters in New Mexico from a poll conducted by Latino Decisions for America’s Voice.

In New Mexico and at the national level, Latino and new citizen voters are changing politics.  With immigration high on the list of issues these voters want addressed, it’s no surprise that Republican candidates who have embraced hardline positions – including Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and Senate nominee Heather Wilson — are faring poorly with New Mexico Latinos. By contrast, the embrace of common sense immigration reform by both President Barack Obama and Senate candidate Martin Heinrich have played a key role in Latino support for Democrats in presidential, Senate and House races.

Said Gabriel Sanchez, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of New Mexico and Director of Research for Latino Decisions: “One of the key findings in this poll was the importance Hispanic voters in New Mexico placed on immigration, with this policy coming in only second to the economy as the most important issue that Latino voters want addressed.  We also found that nearly 60% of Latinos in the state of New Mexico know someone who is undocumented, and nearly half know someone who is eligible for the DREAM Act if passed. This to me implies that immigration has become personal to Latinos, which might explain the salience of the policy area among Latino voters.”

Christine Sierra, Professor of Political Science, University of New Mexico and Director, Southwest Hispanic Research Institute, said: “Today’s polling is crystal clear: immigration matters to Latino voters here in New Mexico.   New Mexico Latinos support a reformed driver’s license bill, favor the President’s deferred action policy and enthusiasm is growing.  Policymakers at both the state and national level should take note– when it comes to immigration policy, Latino voters are watching.”

Among the poll’s findings:

New Mexico Latinos Favor Democrats by Wide Margins

▪    In the presidential race, 69% of New Mexico Latinos said they will vote for President Obama, while 24% said they will vote for Romney and 7% are undecided.

▪    In the U.S. Senate race, 57% of New Mexico Latinos said they will vote for Martin Heinrich, while 33% said they will vote for Heather Wilson and 10% are undecided.

▪    In addition, 60% of New Mexico Latinos said they will vote for the Democratic candidate in their U.S. House race, while 20% will vote Republican and 12% are undecided.

Candidates’ Immigration Positions Matter to New Mexico Latinos

▪    52% of respondents said that immigration was “the most important issue” or “one of the most important issues” in their voting decisions this year.

▪    After hearing about President Obama’s deferred action policy, 46% of respondents said that they were “more enthusiastic” about voting for Obama and 7% said that they were “less enthusiastic.”  Meanwhile, after hearing about Mitt Romney’s recent announcement that he would not revoke deferred action for DREAMers whose applications are approved under Obama but would stop approving new applications once he is elected, 8% of respondents said that they were “more enthusiastic” about Romney and 46% of respondents said that they were “less enthusiastic.”

▪    After hearing about Senate candidate Martin Heinrich’s support for the DREAM Act, 47% of Latinos said they were “more enthusiastic” about Heinrich and 8% said they were “less enthusiastic.” After hearing about Heather Wilson’s criticisms of the President’s deferred action policy, 21% of respondents said they were “more enthusiastic” about Wilson and 25% said they were “less enthusiastic.”

Immigration is Not Just a Policy Issue: It’s Personal

▪    30% of New Mexico Latinos said that immigration was the most important issue facing the Latino community that Congress and the President should address, while 47% said the same about the economy, jobs, or unemployment.

▪    58% of New Mexico Latinos know someone who is undocumented, and 47% know someone who may be eligible for the DREAM Act.

▪    When asked how enthusiastic they are about voting in the election this year,” 64% of respondents said that they were “very enthusiastic” about voting in the upcoming election.  In a separate question that asked “would you say you are more enthusiastic about voting in 2012, or that you were more enthusiastic about voting back in 2008?” 59% said that they were “more enthusiastic” about voting in 2012 than they were about voting in 2008.

New Mexico Latino Voters Strongly Support Driver’s License Compromise that Includes Stricter Requirements

▪    When told “when it comes to the driver’s license issue, some people have said undocumented immigrants should not be able to apply for a driver’s license and other people have said the law should be reformed so that undocumented immigrant drivers are required to be licensed, but should be subjected to stricter identity and residency requirements as well as tougher penalties for fraud,” 70% of respondents said that they support the approach that allows undocumented immigrants to obtain a license but to be subject to stricter requirements, 21% said that they support an approach where undocumented immigrants are “not able to get a license,” and 7% don’t know.

▪    When told “there is a driver’s license reform proposal being considered here in New Mexico that would subject undocumented immigrant drivers to stricter identity and residency requirements, more frequent renewals, and tougher penalties for fraud,” 63% said that they support this proposal, 27% said that they oppose, and 10% don’t know.

Said Rafael Martinez, DREAM leader and Master’s student in American Studies: “President Reagan got it done in the second term. President Clinton complicated immigration policy further. President Bush regretted not pushing immigration in his second term further. Will Obama take it up the second time around?  Dreamers and organizers have pushed and our voices will be heard this election. The stakes for immigrants have never been higher and we won’t stop pushing until we get the security we deserve.”

Patty Kupfer, Managing Director of America’s Voice, said: “While many believe that Latinos in New Mexico are too far removed from the immigrant experience to care about the issue, the poll reveals that nearly 60 percent have a friend, family member or co-worker who is undocumented. That’s not far removed. In fact, more than half of respondents said immigration is either the most or one of the most important issue to them in deciding their vote on November 6.” Kupfer added, “Mitt Romney held onto an extreme anti-immigrant position throughout the primary, advocating the self-deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants, and now he has found himself 45 points behind with Latino voters and unable to compete in the state of New Mexico. There is certainly a correlation.”

Lucia Fraire, Field Director of Voter Program at Ole New Mexico, also spoke on the panel.

By Oscar Barajas, NewsTaco

I never figured that my father was quite the revolutionary or an agent for social change. He just did what he did, and would later state the morality at stake, as if it should have been obvious. I knew that he was a democrat with the exception of the 1980’s when the Reagan Revolution allowed him to fix the legal paperwork that gave him and my mother amnesty. My father was staunch about his pro-immigrant views. It was not because he was a tolerant man that felt that everyone deserved an opportunity, but rather because he had busted his hump for the railroad company in places like Yuma, Arizona. He felt that everyone needed to earn their keep. He figured that if he was in hell, he should not be the only one around the bonfire.

The railroad company had a wicked sense of humor. During the winters they would send him to work in exotic places like Nebraska, Michigan and Minnesota during the winter and other locations like Arizona, Wyoming and New Mexico during the summer. He would leave on a Sunday and come back as soon as his week was done. The company did not pay for plane rides, so a group of five or six of them would drive out the far reaches of the continental United States.

My father could more or less deal with the winters, but it was the summers that really cut into him. He would come home, and bring the heat with him. His work boots would be covered in tar and his lunchbox would burn upon impact. He would remind the family that he was doing it all for us and challenged any of us to do it for him. He would drink a beer and then unravel his work stories.

Arizona had to be my father’s most hated state. Most of the time they were tales about how younger, stronger, more “American” men were not able to perform his job. However, there were times when his stories became about helping his countrymen evade “La Migra.” INS would make their presence felt since the worksite was so close to the border. My father always made it a point to tell me how fortunate I was for being born here. He would tell me that sometimes they would find bodies in the freight cars. These were men, women and children who either ran out of water or had simply succumbed to the unforgiving heat. Once in a while they would find someone that was still alive. Whenever that would happen, the workers would all pitch in with a helmet here and a pair of work boots there. They would disguise the traveler as a fellow coworker as well as feed him and run a helmet for people to throw in a couple of bucks. Sometimes, the traveler would earn a ride to Los Angeles by helping my father and his coworkers fix pieces of the track that had been warped by the heat. My father said he preferred it because it made the work lighter and it was a first step for the traveler to start earning his keep. After all, the foreman never noticed. He never counted the amount of brown faces working shovels or pickaxes from his air conditioned trailer.

My father’s empathy was limited because he cheered on people who worked to live rather than lived to work. He wanted me to have a job, but he was convinced that I would never have to work. In the end, my father never respected those immigrants who thought the borders should be closed AFTER they arrived. Those people had not earned their spot in Hell yet, so who were they to decide?

[Photo by  chefranden]

Monday August 13, 2012

Paul Ryan Unlikely To Play Well With Latino And Black Voters, But Matters Of Race May Not Disappear (Huffington Post): In opting for Ryan, Romney has done more than eliminate the possibility of the nation’s first Latino vice presidential nominee. Political analysts told The Huffington Post that in the careful parlance of national politics, the Romney campaign also confirmed that it likely views minority voters as an unwinnable portion of the electorate in 2012.

Racial Profiling Rife at Airport, U.S. Officers Say (New York Times): More than 30 federal officers in an airport program intended to spot telltale mannerisms of potential terrorists say the operation has become a magnet for racial profiling, targeting not only Middle Easterners but also blacks, Hispanics and other minorities.

Idea of the Day: Latinos Report the Highest Uninsured Rates (Center for American Progress): Across all racial and ethnic groups, Latinos report the highest uninsured rates in the United States. Among Latino subgroups, those who lack health insurance coverage are mostly those of Central American or Mexican descent—42.4 percent and 33.6 percent, respectively. In 2010, 30.7 percent of the Hispanic population was not covered by health insurance, compared to 11.7 percent of the non-Hispanic white population. As a consequence, community health centers are crucial to communities of color accessing health care. In 2010, 34.4 percent of patients in community health centers were Latino.

Raids Target Anaheim Street Gangs, Dozens Arrested (Fox News Latino):  Dozens of people were arrested during a series of raids in Anaheim, Calif., in an effort to cut down on street gangs. Some of the raids concentrated on a poor, mainly Latino neighborhood known as Anna Drive, where there has been a recent rise in gang activity, authorities said. Police said 33 people were arrested and another 20 to 25 were already in custody in connection to a yearlong investigation of the East Side Anaheim gang, said police Sgt. Bob Dunn. Others are still being sought.

Democrats want Latinos to become a voting force in Texas (Fort Worth Star- Telegram): Calling Latino voters an untapped resource, Democratic Party leaders urged their members Saturday to launch a door-to-door offensive to engage Hispanics on issues such as job creation and immigration. “Hispanics in Texas are a game-changer,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. “This is how Texas becomes blue.”

Voting Suppression Schemes and How They’re Being Challenged (The Nation): This week marks the forty-seventh anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. A lot has changed since then. A new app called Election Protection was released yesterday that allows voters to register, find their polling locations, and report problems. Voters around the nation are already familiar with the Election Protection program, which has long fielded complaints from voters on Election Day. The increased used of smartphones, along with the increased move to suppress votes, makes the app a must-have this election season. Here are updates from some key states in which constituents are already worried about their vote.

Poll: Voter ID laws have support of a majority of Americans (Washington Post):  Almost three-quarters of all Americans support the idea that people should have to show photo identification to vote, even though they are nearly as concerned about voter suppression as they are about fraud in presidential elections, according to a new Washington Post poll.

Voters Kicked Off The Rolls In New Mexico Include Voting Rights Activist, Wife Of State Representative (Think Progress): More than 170,000 people have been purged from New Mexico’s voter rolls — and among them are a prominent voting rights activist, as well as the wife of a Democratic state representative.

Lawyers: Profiling by Arpaio’s office proven (San Francisco Gate): Attorneys who alleged systematic racial profiling in Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration patrols said they proved their case at a trial that ended last week and emphasized that the agency doesn’t have adequate safeguards against singling people out based on their race.

Arpaio Lawyers: Latinos Failed to Prove Sheriff Discriminated (Fox News Latino):  In written closing arguments, lawyers for controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio say the Latino plaintiffs failed to prove that him or his deputies engaged in unconstitutional racial profiling. The lawsuit was brought by a small group of Latino drivers who accused Arpaio’s department of discrimination saying they were pulled over only so that authorities could perform immigration status checks.

 Who pays the cost of helping young undocumented immigrants? (Los Angeles Times):  The agency that handles all immigration related visas and applications is self-funded, and has been since 1986. In fact, the bulk of U.S. Citizenship and Customs’ budget comes from fees paid by immigrants. For example, in fiscal 2011 nearly $2.4 billion of the agency’s $2.8 billion budget was financed through fee revenue, according to congressional testimony.

Tuesday July 17, 2012

Group creates Web site spur Hispanics to vote (Fox News Latino): A group of professionals has launched a bilingual Web site that is aimed at spurring Hispanics to vote in the November election and increasing their participation in politics.

Romney Has Picked Vice Presidential Candidate, Report Says (Fox News Latino): Friends of Mitt Romney, the expected Republican presidential nominee, say he apparently  has decided on a running mate, and that it seems to be either former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty or U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio. The Times story said that an announcement of the decision could come as soon as this week.

Can Heather Wilson, a moderate Republican, win over New Mexico’s Latino voters? (The Washington Post): The former congresswoman faces long odds in her quest to return to Washington because the politics and demographics of her state are stacked against her. Her essential problem is that New Mexico is 47 percent Hispanic, and those voters tend to vote Democratic, particularly in presidential election years. Barack Obama won New Mexico with 57 percent of the vote in 2008.

Arizona Sheriff Arpaio’s Campaign Raises Nearly $1 Million from Out-of-State Donors (Fox News Latnio):  Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is leading campaign fundraising efforts by a large margin over challengers vying for his office in November, and a recent analysis of contributions shows that the incumbent lawman received about 80 percent of his funds from out-of-state donors.

Keeping Immigrant Families Together is “Critical,” First Lady Says (Fox News Latino): U.S. first lady Michelle Obama argued on Spanish-language television that a second term for President Barack Obama is vital for moving forward with comprehensive immigration reform.

Population growth and immigration threaten U.S. prosperity (The Baltimore Sun): There are over 7 billion on Earth today, and that number is growing. At the same time, it takes fewer and fewer people to grow things and make things. Additionally, any company that can outsource its labor force is eager to do so, creating layoffs and downsizing here in the U.S.

Proposed immigration law could stop the separation of families (Voxxi):  Saying the child welfare system is “biased against undocumented caregivers,” Congresswoman Roybal-Allard introduced the “Help Separated Families Act” last week seeking to prohibit immigration status from disqualifying a parent, legal guardian, or relative from placement consideration.

D.C. Passes Bill To Restrict Secure Communities Immigration Enforcement Program (Huffington Post):  As groups around the country rally this week against the Secure Communities immigration enforcement program, the District of Columbia approved its own measure on Tuesday to fight back.

Latinos get their geek on at Comic-Con (NBC Latino): Comic-Con has always had a Latino presence, as anyone who has ever seen the ever-present great MAD Magazine cartoonist and burly Spaniard, Sergio Aragones sign here, or taken a trip throughout the convention floor, knows it will yield numerous Latino cartoonists and animators showcasing their arte.

George Lopez Curses Mitt Romney, Joe Arpaio (Fox News Latino):  George Lopez went on an all-out rant against Republican GOP candidate Mitt Romney and Arizona’s most famous sheriff, Joe Arpaio, for their stances on immigration and the controversial SB 1070 law, NewsBusters.org reported.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio To George Lopez: ‘Come Say It To My Face’ (Huffington Post):   Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is being sued by the Department of Justice for alleged discrimation against Latinos, responded Monday morning with a signature tough-guy response. “Get some guts. And come down here, and meet me face to face,” Sheriff Joe told a local ABC affiliate.