Articles
Prince William County Va., Goes Forward with Immigration Reform
Prince William, Va. -- Early next year the undocumented community in Prince William County, Va., will walk and drive on eggshells. A resolution passed by the County Board of Supervisors Oct. 17 will give police officers the power to check immigration status during traffic stops if they have “probable cause” to do so.
DREAM Act Passage ‘Unlikely’ After Senate Override Try Falls Short
Washington, D.C.-- Supporters of the DREAM Act are determined to continue to push for its passage as a stand-alone bill or as part of comprehensive immigration reform despite the U.S. Senate having halted the legislation in its tracks Oct. 23.
Prince William County Caravan Protest
Hispanic Leaders Claim Their Campaign Helped Register 800,000 as U.S. Citizens
Washington, D.C.-- Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and national Hispanic organizations announced Sept. 27 they are closing in on their goal of helping one million legal permanent residents become citizens under the campaign ya es hora ¡Ciudadanía!
Future of Even Start, 46% of Whose Beneficiaries Are Latino, Remains in Doubt
Washington, D.C.-- Latino legislators and advocacy groups are urging leaders in the U.S. Senate to keep the Even Start family literacy program from being completely eliminated by supporting the $99 million that the House appropriated for it. Senate Appropriations Committee members have proposed to slash funding for it completely.
Study documents children's distress following ICE raids
Washington, D.C.-- What Latino advocates have been charging for years now has documentation to validate their concern. Workplace raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are devastating whole communities and children in particular.
Latino advocates continue efforts to counter impact of Ken Burns's "The War" release
Washington, D.C.-- In spite of the release of Ken Burns’ World War II documentary Sept. 23 and an accompanying book Sept. 11, Latino advocates claim the battle against Burns and the Public Broadcasting Service is not over.
The Defend the Honor Campaign, which has been at the forefront of the battle, has maintained that the addition of 20-minutes of material on the Latino experience in Burns’ 15-hour series is not enough.
Southern Poverty Law Center Adds FAIR to ‘Hate Group’ List
Washington, D.C.-- The Southern Poverty Law Center, a national civil rights organization founded in 1971, has branded the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a national organization that supports immigration reduction, as a hate group for alleged connections with white supremacist and hate groups.
The Center claimed in a teleconference and in its quarterly “Intelligence Report” on Dec. 11 that FAIR has accepted $1.2 million between 1985 and 1994 from the Pioneer Fund, a foundation which has supported and funded studies that attempt to prove a connection between race and IQ.
Latino Activists Renew Immigration Reform Efforts in Nation’s Capital
Washington, D.C.-- Latino activists are renewing their push to Congress to stop the deportation of undocumented parents of U.S.-born children while urging it to retake a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
The activists, coming from Chicago and Los Angeles, proceeded with their plans to lobby in the nation’s capital despite the fact that one of the leaders of their cause, Elvira Arellano, was deported last month after she addressed a crowd in Los Angeles.
Ariz. Groups Await Court Verdict on Use of Federal Plan to Check Worker Status
Washington, D.C.-- Civil rights groups are awaiting a court decision to determine whether a planned employee verification program in Arizona to determine workers’ legal status is constitutional. A decision on the constitutionality of the Legal Arizona Workers Act is expected within the first two weeks of December. The law would go into effect Jan. 1, 2008.
“The judge might wait until the act goes into effect to come to a decision,” said Dan Pochoda, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
Pioneer Chicano journalist Rubén Salazar to be memorized with stamp
Washington, D.C.-- For those who followed his career firsthand and others who came to know him only as a martyr, there will soon be a new way to remember pioneer Chicano journalist Rubén Salazar. Early next year, he will be memorialized on a first-class postage stamp.
Salazar’s international exploits with the Los Angeles Times included war correspondent in Vietnam and Latin America bureau chief based in Mexico City. Returning to Los Angeles, he investigated and exposed rampant police brutality as a Times columnist and news director with the city’s Spanish-language television station KMEX.
Study: Juveniles of Color Are Sentenced Disproportionately to Life Without Parole
Washington, D.C.-- Antonio Núñez, a 14-year-old youth from California, paid a high price for his actions during a night out with older friends. He participated in kidnapping, and was behind the wheel of a subsequent high-speed chase by police. Núñez received the state’s most severe sentence after the death penalty, life without parole (LWOP).
Children of color, in particular, are disproportionately sentenced to LWOPin the United States, according to a study by the University of San Francisco School of Law.
California has the highest racial disparity in the nation, with Latino youth being five times more likely to receive life without parole than white children. Núñez is one of 94 Latino youth out of a total of 227 sentenced to LWOP in that state, according to the study, Sentencing Our Children to Die in Prison.
Demócratas prometen reintroducir el Dream Act
Washington, D.C.-- Con entusiasmo, Lizbeth le contó a su padre de sus sueños de ir a la universidad y ser abogada. Mientras otros padres se ponen contentos al oír la intención de perseguir una educación superior, el padre de Lizbeth empezó a llorar.
“La energía que mi padre vio en mí, hizo que se le salieran las lágrimas. Era la primera vez que lo miraba llorar”, contó Lizbeth a la prensa en Washington D.C. “Me dijo: ‘mija, voy hacer lo que tenga que hacer para que vayas a la universidad’”.