Too many Latina children dropout before finishing their high school education. It is not for lack of ability. While the causes of the high dropout rate vary from community to community, for many Latina youth the obstacles are quite similar no matter where they live.
Thus, the recently released report, Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation, is notable because it identifies barriers and offers recommendation for overcoming those obstacles. Only by understanding the reasons that Latinas dropout can strategies be developed to ensure that Latinas graduate from high schools.
The report, issued by the National Women’s Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), makes the following recommendations to reduce the dropout rate of Latinas:
▶ Invest in the Future of Latino Children. Congress should fully fund and promote quality early childhood education initiatives including child care; conduct outreach to Latino families so they are aware of these opportunities; and provide access to education and training for child care providers. Congress should also expand access to family supports including housing, health care, nutrition assistance, and tax benefits.
▶ Connect Latinas with Role Models and Engage Them in Goal-Setting. Mentoring, dropout prevention, and college access programs that provide Latina students with access to positive role models and support to meet their goals must be better funded, more widely adopted, and further expanded. Schools must do more to connect Latina students with caring adults who can help them to develop and achieve their educational and career aspirations.
▶ Ensure That All Students Can Pursue and Are Prepared for Post-Secondary Educational Opportunities. Schools and community programs should undertake initiatives to get all students “college ready.” Congress should fund such initiatives, enact bills to enable immigrant students to attend college, and increase financial support for students in need to secure higher education. The Department of Education should ensure that Latinas learn about funding opportunities and how to apply for them.
▶ Ensure That School Environments are Culturally Inclusive and Free of Race/Ethnicity and Gender Discrimination. School officials must rigorously enforce anti-discrimination policies. Schools and policymakers should support dual language programs for English Language Learners, work to create inclusive, multicultural environments, and offer quality after-school and summer enrichment programs. The Department of Education should enforce civil rights laws that prevent sex and race discrimination in educational programs and activities. And Congress should adequately fund civil rights enforcement and the development of multicultural curricula, and pass legislation that holds schools fully accountable for sexual harassment.
▶ Help Latino Parents Get More Involved in the Education of Their Children. Schools should develop and implement—and federal, state, and local governments should fund—parent involvement initiatives for the parents of Latino students, and ensure that Latino parents are made to feel welcome at school. Schools should conduct outreach to Latino parents and encourage them to attend college information sessions and meetings with college representatives. States and local communities should work to expand educational opportunities for Latino parents, including adult ESL and GED programs.
▶ Improve Efforts to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Including the Provision of Comprehensive Sex Education to Students. Schools should provide students with comprehensive, medically accurate, and age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, abstinence, and how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases, in a culturally appropriate manner. Congress should end funding for abstinence-only programs, create a federal program dedicated to providing teens with comprehensive sex education, expand efforts to reduce unintended pregnancy rates among minority youth, and expand access to affordable contraception.
▶ Support Pregnant and Parenting Students. Schools can and must do more to support those students who do get pregnant and have children. Federal, state, and local governments should make funding and technical assistance available for such efforts. The most successful approach likely will be one that is comprehensive—addressing the physical, social, emotional, financial, and academic needs of pregnant and parenting students. Federal, state, and local governments should enforce Title IX and ensure that school personnel do not discriminate against pregnant and parenting students or impede their ability to stay in school.
▶ Require Better Data Collection and Promote School Accountability. To enhance accountability, schools should develop longitudinal tracking systems to enable the gathering and comparison of data on the performance of individual students. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education should require that schools maintain and report graduation rate data disaggregated by—in addition to other categories—gender and pregnant and parenting status, and such data should be maintained in a format that can be cross-tabulated for further analysis.
Many of these recommendation are politically controversial and implementation depends upon the support of individuals like yourselves. When you read the report, however, you will better understand why these recommendations are worth supporting.
We can not afford to continue to lose so many Latinas (and Latinos) through the cracks in the educational system.
As always, I hope you find the referenced news articles informative.
Best Wishes.
Prepared by
John Vasquez
Chair-Elect
Hispanic Issues Section, State Bar of Texas
johnvasq@gmail.com
PS: On Friday, September 18, 2009, MALDEF will host it’s 25th Annual San Antonio Gala. The Gala will be held in the Westin Riverwalk Hotel with a reception at 6:00pm and dinner at 7:00pm. The MALDEF invitation notes:
As the “law firm of the Latino community,” MALDEF performs a unique role on behalf of our nation’s fastest growing minority. In courtrooms and legislative chambers, MALDEF works to achieve equal opportunity for all and when necessary to overturn discriminatory laws. Our San Antonio Awards Gala showcases the past year’s successful litigation and advocacy on behalf of the Latinos throughout the Southwest.
For many of us (including yours truly) MALDEF provided a wonderful opportunity to learn about critical civil rights issues as law students and lawyers. MALDEF’s work is vitally important to preserving and pursuing equal justice under the law. I hope you can attend the Gala.
For more information about the Gala, contact Grace Duran at gduran@maldef.org or go to www.maldef.org.
NOTE: This News Summary is a service of the Hispanic Issues Section of the State Bar of Texas, Brian Hamner, Chair. If you would like to support HIS, visit
http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Sections and click “MyBarPage” (near the bottom of the page) to join online. For further information, contact the Sections Department at 1-800-204-2222 or (512) 427-1463 ext. 1420.
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Top News
Court upholds UT's admissions process
An Austin federal court judge this week upheld the University of Texas at Austin's use of race as a criteria in its undergraduate admissions process.
It also dismissed a 2008 lawsuit filed by two Anglo high school seniors denied admission.
U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks found the university followed law set in the landmark Supreme Court case Grutter vs. Bollinger, and that “UT's consideration of race in admissions is narrowly tailored.”
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/53614567.html
Report Probes Educational Challenges Facing Latinas
A potent mix of barriers—including family care-taking responsibilities, poor academic preparation, and gender stereotyping—leads Latina students to drop out of high school at “alarming” rates, a report released today concludes.
The study says the dismal graduation rates threaten the future stability of the fastest-growing group of female students in the nation. For the report, which paints a picture of the difficulties Latina students face as they try to complete high school, the National Women’s Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund conducted surveys, focus groups, and interviews nationwide with young Latinas and adults who work with them.
http://www.edweek.org/login.html?source=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/08/27/02latinas.h29.html&destination=http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/08/27/02latinas.h29.html&levelId=2100
To download the report Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation, go to:
http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/ListeningtoLatinas.pdf
DISD schools won't be named for Sotomayor, Obama
Dallas school trustees in strong dissenting opinions struck down a proposal to name a school for new Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday.
The action leaves the school named for Ray Hunt Sr., who has said he doesn't want the campus named for him after trustees approved doing so in June at the recommendation of trustee Ron Price.
Price on Thursday wanted the board to rescind Hunt's name and approve naming the school after Sotomayor. The school will replace O.M. Roberts Elementary in the Fair Park area.
The proposal failed in a 4-4 vote, with trustee Carla Ranger abstaining. Price and trustees Leigh Ann Ellis, Lew Blackburn and board President Adam Medrano voted in favor of the proposal.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/082809dnmetdisd.3d94a23.html
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Texas
Ted Cruz: A GOP bid in Texas to win the Hispanic vote
If a golden résumé meant automatic election, Ted Cruz could start measuring the drapes in the Texas attorney general’s office.
The son of a Cuban immigrant, Mr. Cruz, 38, has degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He was a champion college debater, clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist, and has argued eight cases before the US Supreme Court. Among his victories in the high court, he defended the constitutionality of Texas’ Ten Commandments monument and congressional redistricting. Last year, he completed 5-1/2 years as Texas solicitor general, the first Hispanic to hold that job and the youngest in the nation.
Now he’s taking the plunge into electoral politics, and a GOP eager for fresh talent is applauding. For a party that dropped to only 31 percent of the Latino vote in the 2008 presidential race, so much the better that he’s Hispanic.
http://features.csmonitor.com/politics/2009/08/18/ted-cruz-a-gop-bid-in-texas-to-win-the-hispanic-vote/
Hispanic attorney picked to run new Tarrant district court
FORT WORTH — A Fort Worth criminal defense attorney with strong ties to the local Republican Party was appointed Friday by Gov. Rick Perry to the new 432nd District Court in Tarrant County.
Ruben Gonzalez Jr., 46, will be the second Hispanic currently holding a countywide judicial post in the 19 misdemeanor and felony criminal courts.
http://www.star-telegram.com/texas/story/1552040.html
Garland City Council member says Hispanics should get involved, learn English
Had residents of her City Council district in west Garland heeded her advice, Barbara Chick may never have gotten into office.
Luis Vasquez, a police officer, spoke against a proposed cut in supplemental pay for bilingual skills at a city budget hearing Wednesday night and upset Chick when he noted that none of the members of the council are Hispanic.
"If the Hispanic community wants to have a say, they need to get involved," she responded, later going on to "implore people in District 6 or the whole city to learn English."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-garenglish_28met.ART.State.Edition1.4bcd4e1.html
Richardson ISD's superintendent is gone, but questions remain
The rah-rah atmosphere of the Richardson school district convocation last week was all about a district that's done very well.
And yet, it's a district that enters a new school year Monday having recently lost its superintendent because of what the school board said was a difference in vision.
David Simmons quit abruptly Aug. 3, leaving behind a balanced budget, a fourth straight year of "recognized" status from the state, and a cloud of rumors and questions surrounding his departure.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/DN-richsuper_23met.ART0.East.Edition1.4c1a99b.html
LULAC suit against Texas Democrats to proceed
A federal three-judge panel on Tuesday delivered a major blow to the Texas Democratic Party's so-called “Texas Two Step” process for selecting convention delegates, paving the way for its review by the Justice Department.
Describing its claims as lacking merit, the 24-page unanimous ruling denied the state Democratic Party's motion for a summary judgment, or dismissal, of a lawsuit filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens of Texas, the Mexican American Bar Association of Houston and others.
LULAC's suit charges that the “Texas Two Step” dilutes the Latino vote by awarding more delegates to “white majority districts” at the expense of Latino Democrats.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6587377.html
LBJ museum to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
The Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Museum of San Marcos, 131 Guadalupe Street, is celebrating National Hispanic Heritage month with a reception at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 16.
The public is invited. The reception will herald the opening of the traveling exhibit “A Tejano Son of Texas,” an in-depth look at the life of Jose Policarpio “Polly” Rodriguez.
The traveling exhibit is from San Antonio-based TexasTejano.com, which attempts to create an awareness of the diverse contributions of early Texas Tejano pioneers. The organization aims to educate with the true stories of these hero’s lives and legacies. TexasTejano.com President Rudi Rodriguez will be part of the reception.
http://www.newstreamz.com/2009/08/24/lbj-museum-to-celebrate-hispanic-heritage-month/
Hispanics' roles add to social studies debate
AUSTIN — Scratch Henry Cisneros, but add Dolores Huerta, Dr. Hector P. Garcia, Sandra Cisneros, Henry B. Gonzalez and Irma Rangel to the list of important Hispanic figures that Texas school children might be discussing in the future.
State education leaders are still in the early stages of writing new curriculum standards for social studies that will shape future history and geography books.
And by the time those new textbooks arrive in fall 2013, a majority of the children attending Texas public schools will be Hispanic.
A debate on which — and how many— Hispanic historical figures should be included is coming to the 15-member State Board of Education, which expects to take a final vote next spring.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/moms/6575074.html
DA drops fire charges against justice's wife
The Harris County District Attorney's office has dismissed all charges against the wife of Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina in connection with a 2007 fire that burned down the couple's Spring home and damaged two others.
Francisca Medina was charged with felony arson for the destruction of the couple's home, felony criminal mischief of more than $200,000 for damage to a neighbor's home, and criminal mischief, a state jail felony, for damage done to the house behind the Medina's home.
“We laid all our cards on the table and let the prosecutor interview our two witnesses who say there is no way this is arson,” said Medina's attorney, Dick DeGuerin. “Our guys collected much more evidence than the fire marshal's office did. They collected evidence that is indicative, but not conclusory, of an electrical fire.”
On the dismissal form, filed Thursday, prosecutor Steve Baldassano wrote that after the indictment, experts for both sides concluded they could not rule out the possibility that the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction.
DeGuerin and Yates took Green to task. “(The experts) were very critical of the fire marshal's office for their failure to look at other possibilities and to follow other leads,” DeGuerin said.
“Had (Green) done a proper investigation, she wouldn't have been indicted in the first place,” Yates said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6591498.html
Commentary: Immigration debate different for S.A.
Just because the politicians have taken immigration reform off the table in Washington, D.C., doesn't mean the topic is ever off the table in San Antonio.
In San Antonio, immigration is not merely political. It's the essence of who we are. For almost 300 years, a mixed multitude of people — American Indians, Spanish, Germans, Irish, English, Japanese, Jews, Mexicans and others — have migrated to and from San Antonio.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/columnists/jan_jarboe_russell/Immigration_debate_different_for_SA.html
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USA
Immigration chief ends arrest quotas for U.S agents
Anna Gorman reports that the head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, John Morton, announced Monday that he has ended quotas on a controversial program designed to arrest illegal immigrants who have ignored deportation orders. He also said he planned to make more changes to the program soon.
Morton, who took over as head of the federal agency in May, said during a meeting with reporters in Los Angeles that the program needs to do what it was created to do: target absconders who have already had their day in court.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2009/08/immigration-official-in-us-says-agents-will-no-longer-have-quotas-.html
Father, son sue Sheriff Joe Arpaio over arrest
Two Hispanic men -- a father and son -- are suing Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, saying they were unlawfully arrested and detained by the MCSO in relation to a February immigration raid against a Phoenix landscaping business.
They claim MCSO officers pulled them over on a Phoenix street in February, arrested them and then transported them to the site of a raid on a business suspected of hiring illegal immigrants, Handyman Maintenance Inc.
Julian Mora was an employee of HMI at the time of the raid.
The suit claims the Moras were unfairly arrested because they looked Hispanic and were subject to unlawful seizures and detentions.
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/08/17/daily55.html
Patchogue man charged in beating of Hispanic man
A Patchogue man was taken to Suffolk County jail Saturday after being arraigned on a hate crime charge for allegedly assaulting a Hispanic man because he believed his victim was Mexican, according to court records and officials.
Ramon Rodriguez, 20, was arraigned in Central Islip and taken the county jail in Riverhead after he failed to post $50,000 cash bail, according to court records.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/patchogue-man-charged-in-beating-of-hispanic-man-1.1388011
Two teens plead not guilty in Patchogue hate crime case
Two Suffolk teenagers accused of beating an Ecuadorean man in Patchogue, just steps from where his countryman Marcelo Lucero was stabbed to death late last year, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a felony hate crime.
Curt J. Hatton, 19, of Islip, and Matthew J. Mont, 16, of Patchogue, were arrested Tuesday and appeared at separate arraignments in First District Court in Central Islip, where they were charged with assault as a bias crime. Each was held on $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond. Another man accused of participating in the Aug. 15 attack, Ramon Rodriguez, 20, of Patchogue, was arrested last week and held on the same bail.
The alleged beating comes nine months after and around the corner from where Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero was beaten and fatally stabbed in November near Patchogue's Long Island Rail Road station. That case drew national attention to ethnic bias against Suffolk's growing Latino immigrant community and sparked an ongoing federal investigation into local hate crimes.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/two-teens-plead-not-guilty-in-patchogue-hate-crime-case-1.1396020
Murfreesboro sued over racial discrimination
A fired Hispanic employee of the City of Murfreesboro has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, accusing the municipality of discriminating against him and other minority employees on the basis of his race.
In the filing, submitted to the courts on Monday, Juan Orozco alleges his seven-year tenure with the city ended in July of 2008 because of racial bias stemming from an investigation into the Fleet Services department he headed.
In his tenure at the city, Orozco says he had a spotless record, never having “received a formal complaint” or “complaints in his personal file.” He was also the only department head of Hispanic descent, according to the filing.
http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2009/8/19/murfreesboro_sued_over_racial_discrimination_
Immigrant Advocates, Supremacists Clash
Violence flared in East Haven, as New Haven activists marching to protest alleged police racism tangled with out-of-state “white nationalists.”
The clash happened during an event organized Saturday by New Haven immigrant advocacy organization Unidad Latina En Acción. More than 100 people marched through the streets of East Haven on Saturday, protesting alleged racial profiling on the part of East Haven police. They met groups of counter-protesters along the way, including a visiting band of white supremacists.
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2009/08/new_haveners_cr.php
Latino groups back MPS takeover proposal; opponents rally at church
Two leading Latino organizations voiced support for the takeover of Milwaukee Public Schools proposed by Gov. Jim Doyle and Mayor Tom Barrett, while nearly 150 people rallied against the plan Friday at a north side church.
Darryl D. Morin, Wisconsin director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said his organization spent the last two years holding seminars on local educational issues and decided to endorse the proposal after evaluating various options.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/53952912.html
Nashville police face profiling concerns
No Metro Nashville Council district sees as many traffic stops as District 19, a predominantly black but diversifying neighborhood in North Nashville that includes a portion of downtown.
A full 12 percent of stops — higher in percentage and number than any of the other 34 districts — took place there between June 2008 and May 2009.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090827/NEWS03/908270362/Nashville+police+face+profiling+concerns
Wells Fargo accused of racial discrimination in lending practices
Minority homeowners in Des Moines were three times more likely to receive high-cost subprime mortgage loans from Wells Fargo & Co. than white homeowners, according to research assembled by two watchdog organizations.
Des Moines-based Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Chicago-based National People’s Action have compiled data showing 46 percent of African-American and 35 percent of Latino homeowners in the Des Moines area that received a mortgage from Wells Fargo were given a high-cost, subprime loan. Only 20 percent of white borrowers were given these loans.
http://iowaindependent.com/19157/wells-fargo-accused-of-racially-discriminatory-lending-practices
Student's deportation a familiar tale
A former honor student from the Southwest Side, Rigo Padilla, 21, started classes Monday at the University of Illinois at Chicago. But by Christmas Padilla could end up thousands of miles away in a small town in Jalisco, Mexico -- a place he barely knows.
He was ordered deported last week by a judge for being in the U.S. illegally, which police discovered in January after stopping him for a traffic violation that led to a misdemeanor drunken driving conviction.
His story is the latest cited by advocates in Chicago who seek reforms for what they say is a broken U.S. Immigration system. Though acknowledging Padilla may not be the ideal example, they have featured him at rallies pushing for changes to laws that split families. "I hope that this one mistake does not determine the rest of my life," Padilla said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-deportation-25-aug25,0,2474413.story
Obama's 1st year sets record for Hispanic nominations
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has appointed more Hispanics to high office than any president ever has during the first year in office, reflecting the growing political clout of the nation's largest minority group.
The 43 appointments since Inauguration Day also reflect Obama's debt to the Hispanic community, which helped propel him into the White House.
Those appointments represent 14 percent of the 304 Obama nominees the Senate has confirmed.
Hispanics make up 15 percent of the U.S. population and about 8 percent of the overall federal workforce, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Office of Personnel Management.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/08/31/20090831hispanics0831.html
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General Interest
Mexico Denounces Growing Intolerance Toward Mexicans in U.S.
MEXICO CITY – The official responsible for the protection of Mexicans living abroad said there is a growing intolerance toward Mexican immigrants in the United States, especially in areas with a small foreign-born population.
“We’re seeing a growing criminalization of undocumented migrants and a hostile environment toward the immigrant, both the undocumented migrant and those who are in that country legally,” foreign ministry official Daniel Hernandez told a press conference on Friday.
The most hostile areas for Mexicans, according to Hernandez, are Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina, places where immigration is relatively new.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=342564&CategoryId=14091
NCSU study: White men get more executive job tips
White men receive significantly more tips about job opportunities than white women or Hispanics – particularly among people in upper management positions – according to a new study from North Carolina State University.
The study, which examined data from a survey of 3,000 people, examined the amount of information people received about job opportunities through routine conversations without asking for it.
“Our research shows that 95 times out of 100, white men receive more (upper-management) job leads than white women or Hispanic men or women,” says Steve McDonald, an assistant professor of sociology, in a written statement. McDonald was the lead author of the study.
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/stories/2009/08/17/daily12.html
AP Analysis: Martinez departure part of GOP schism
MIAMI — Florida Sen. Mel Martinez's resignation closes the latest chapter in the Republican Party's tumultuous, decade-long effort to woo the nation's Hispanic voters.
The Cuban-American's impending departure could leave no Hispanic Republicans in the Senate and three in the House — compared to 21 Democrats in Congress — and a sense that the national GOP is at a major crossroads with the nation's fastest-growing demographic group.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hMLtbSlw_cmlJDZyJQkLoNoY5PKAD9A8LHL80
EEOC official seeks to help migrant Hispanic female laborers
Commissioner Constance Barker of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought her campaign against sexual assaults on female Hispanic migrant farm workers to Birmingham on Wednesday.
Barker, a Florence native and one of five commissioners who set policy for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, discussed with Birmingham District Director Delner Franklin-Thomas and regional attorney Emanuel Smith a strategy on how to prevent the problem faced by workers.
http://www.al.com/business/birminghamnews/news.ssf?/base/business/125136094321780.xml&coll=2
New president/general counsel at Latino legal defense group
Over four decades the Los Angeles-based Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has won notable civil rights cases on behalf of large groups of Latinos. A new president and general counsel takes over tomorrow. He’s the fourth person in as many years to hold that job. Observers say instability in the group’s top position has held back the nation’s oldest and most successful Latino legal defense group during a key moment in Latino civil rights. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2009/08/18/maldef/
And
http://www.scpr.org/news/2009/08/19/maldef-saenz/
White anger fueling health care debate
Just nine months after the historic election of the first African-American president set off an apparent glow of racial reconciliation, conservative commentator Patrick J. Buchanan invoked an icon of the 1990s culture wars — the "Angry White Man" — to explain the outcry over health care reform.
Nationwide, there have been other signs of the Angry White Man phenomenon. The numbers of racial hate groups and anti-government citizen militias are surging. Guns sales appear to be climbing. Complaints of racial discrimination in much of the Bay Area and across the country are running higher than they have in at least a decade.
http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_13180531?nclick_check=1
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Ramirez proud of heritage
When Christian Ramirez was born, a nurse wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in the hands of his grandfather, Florencio Ramirez.
Beatriz Mack now laughs at the memory, but at the time she wondered why she wasn't the first person to hold her baby. Then she saw her father with Christian and marveled at the instant connection between the two.
Their bond was much more than emotional.
Ramirez's biological father - Mack's high school sweetheart - never has been involved in Ramirez's life, so Mack gave her son her maiden name, Ramirez. Her father was proud to welcome another Ramirez into the family.
Florencio always chokes up when he attends football games at the Rose Bowl. Seeing the name Ramirez above the No. 24 on the jersey of his favorite UCLA tailback gets him every time.
http://www.sgvtribune.com/sports/ci_13231639
Ruben Navarrette Jr.: Americans cannot deny the fear factor in immigration debate
When talking about immigration, Americans need to get their stories straight.
The debate is about to start up again. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York has said that he intends to introduce, after Labor Day, legislation calling for comprehensive immigration reform. Schumer has an ally in Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is working to rustle up support from his side of the aisle.
Recently, I was guest-hosting a radio show and fielding calls on immigration. I remember two calls in particular that showed the disingenuousness of the debate. The first caller claimed: "No one is opposed to immigration … this is a country of immigrants … it's just illegal immigration that people are upset about." The second insisted: "The United States needs a moratorium on future immigration so we can sort out the people who are already here."
http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/story/2120674.html?storylink=pd
Police chief grilled at meeting over driver's license checkpoints
ESCONDIDO — Escondido's police chief was grilled last night over the Police Department's controversial driver's license checkpoints that many Latinos see as traps aimed at deporting illegal immigrants.
Despite Police Chief Jim Maher's efforts last night at dispelling what he called lies about checkpoints at a Latino American Democratic Club meeting, he made little headway.
Many of the 55 club members and guests still said that they viewed the checkpoints as an abuse of police power and that they have deterred Latinos from reporting crime.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/aug/18/police-chief-grilled-meeting-over-drivers-license-/?uniontrib
Mexican president congratulates NASA astronaut
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's president is so excited about a NASA astronaut of Mexican descent that he invited him to dinner when the astronaut returns to Earth.
President Felipe Calderon told Jose Hernandez that he is "very happy that your are putting Mexico's name in space."
Hernandez was born in California and is the son of Mexican migrant workers. He spent his childhood in the U.S. and the western Mexican state of Michoacan, Calderon's home state.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/22/AR2009082202717.html
Commentary: Astronaut Hernandez sets an example to all
Astronaut Jose Hernandez — the son of immigrants who spent summers picking cucumbers with his migrant family — is scheduled to soon leave the planet aboard NASA's space shuttle Discovery, creating yet another opportunity for Mexicanitos here in South Texas to say “Sí se puede.”
It also created an opportunity for their immigrant parents and grandparents to say, “¿Vez? Sí se puede si te apasigüas y te pones a estudiar. Ese muchacho pudo y ni hablaba inglés hasta que tenía doce años, así es que vale mas que no me vengas de burro con malos grados o me vas a entregar esos juegitos de la computadora que te trajo el Santa Clos. Los que trabajan sí pueden; los flojos que se quedan enrollados en la colcha y llegan tarde a las clases no pueden ni con la tarea.”
A great many first- and second-generation Mexican-American kids will usually roll their eyes at this point in the motivational conversation, then go back to the PSP or iPhone. Some even pretend they have never heard Spanish spoken before.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sacultura/Maria_Anglin_Astronaut_Hernandez_sets_an_example_to_all.html
Can a Mother Lose Her Child Because She Doesn't Speak English?
Cirila Baltazar Cruz comes from the mountainous southern state of Oaxaca, a region of Mexico that makes Appalachia look affluent. To escape the destitution in her village of 1,500 mostly Chatino Indians, Baltazar Cruz, 34, migrated earlier this decade to the U.S., hoping to send money back to two children she'd left in her mother's care. She found work at a Chinese restaurant on Mississippi's Gulf Coast.
But Baltazar Cruz speaks only Chatino, barely any Spanish and no English. Last November, she went to Singing River Hospital in Pascagoula, Miss., where she lives, to give birth to a baby girl, Rubí. According to documents obtained by the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger, the hospital called the state Department of Human Services (DHS), which ruled that Baltazar Cruz was an unfit mother in part because her lack of English "placed her unborn child in danger and will place the baby in danger in the future."
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1918941,00.html
Immigration and citizenship workshop scheduled
Neighborhood Centers Inc. and Lone Star College-Kingwood will host a free immigration and citizenship workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Aug. 29 in the Student Center/Fine Arts building at Lone Star College-Kingwood, 20000 Kingwood Drive.
Local attorneys and immigration specialists will speak on the rights and responsibilities of citizens, the Houston Police Department policies and current issues that affect immigrant families. Participants also will receive free one-on-one legal assistance from immigration attorneys.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/humble/news/6588185.html
Organization names young hispanics to awards
Joe Ramirez takes great pride in the young Hispanic leaders in his community.
The president of the Hispanic Executive Society Incorporated would like to see others – including the young people themselves – doing the same.
He's hoping the Kingwood-based organization's new Outstanding Young Hispanic Leadership Award will build some momentum in that direction.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/humble/news/6588199.html
Griego: Anger's heat may forge Latinos' future
The first statewide gathering of the Colorado Latino Forum was held at Horace Mann Middle School, now called Trevista but still a stunning building, a marriage of brick, practical and grounded, to idealism, aspiring and soaring.
It's perfect for a school and, as it turned out, for the gathering.
The Latino Forum announced itself in a fury in January. Tom Boasberg had been named Denver superintendent. The school board chose him to replace Michael Bennet, whom the governor had selected seemingly out of nowhere to replace U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, who had taken a Cabinet job.
The sweet talk of campaigning politicians curdled in the ears of Latino movers and shakers. Again. Because, you might remember, these moves on the political checkerboard happened after a panel winnowed the applicants for Colorado secretary of state to three names, none of which were "Rosemary Rodriguez." As in the former federal Elections Assistance Commission chair, the former Denver county clerk and City Council member, the woman who knows elections inside and out.
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13212111
Part of border fence stolen to sell as scrap
TIJUANA, Mexico — Police in the border city of Tijuana say they have arrested six men for stealing pieces of the U.S. border fence to sell as scrap metal.
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13212062
‘The Senator' was great influence
I first saw Edward M. Kennedy at the 1960 Democratic Convention on a grainy black-and-white TV in an unair-conditioned house in Robstown, when the heat didn't seem as oppressive as it does today.
Conventions mattered then because they were where presidential tickets were picked, and party platforms — upon which candidates actually ran — were laboriously drafted.
That convention posed a dilemma for our family.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/columnists/carlos_guerra/The_senator_was_great_influence.html
Tenant puts face on migrant debate
A few hours after sheriff's deputies raided the Royal Paper Converting Co., which makes napkins, toilet paper and so on, local landlord Tom Havey got a telephone call from a tenant's 11-year-old daughter, a fifth-grader named Jocelyn.
"The sheriff came to my dad's work and they took him away," the girl told Havey. "We don't know where he is. We haven't heard anything and my mom asks if you can wait for the rent until we find him."
The call troubled him. Havey is in the business of restoring older homes, sometimes for sale, sometimes for rent. The work keeps him too busy to fixate on politics. At least until now. He had driven past Royal Paper's Phoenix plant the morning of the raid and had seen the sheriff's shiny SUVs and the local TV news vans.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/08/24/20090824Montini0825.html
'Which Way Home' tracks child migrants' dangerous journeys
It was the anguish of a 9-year-old child that made Rebecca Cammisa vow to press on.
When the filmmaker first met the Honduran boy named José at a detention center in southern Mexico, he was alone, scared and crying. He was one of an estimated tens of thousands of Latin American children who annually try to cross illegally into the United States, many by riding the tops of railroad freight cars, most in search of work or missing parents.
For many, the journey ends badly, if not tragically. Menaced by predatory smugglers and corrupt police, the children (the majority from Mexico and Central America) must contend with dodgy weather, hunger and the constant danger of falling off the trains and being killed or losing limbs.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-way-home22-2009aug22%2C0%2C2581280.story
Jóvenes latinos en una carrera cuesta arriba
Stephanie Pérez está cansada de oír que, por ser latina, no va a sobresalir en el futuro. Lo escucha en la calle, entre sus amigos e incluso de algunos familiares. Pero cada vez cobra más fuerza para seguir adelante en su deseo de llegar a la universidad y demostrar que puede estudiar leyes para convertirse en abogada.
Como muchos otros jóvenes hispanos de su edad, esta alumna de la Academia Semillas del Pueblo que va a comenzar el décimo grado se enfrenta a las críticas e intimidaciones que dicen recibir en sus propias comunidades, lo que repercute en la autoestima e incluso en la concentración en las clases.
http://www.impre.com/laopinion/noticias/2009/8/24/jovenes-latinos-en-una-carrera-143680-1.html
Health Care Fact Check: 46 million uninsured
The claim: There are 46 million uninsured people in the United States.
The source: The president, politicians and news outlets often use the figure when discussing health care reform.
The background: The number comes from a 2007 U.S. Census Bureau survey. The Kaiser Family Foundation made a similar estimate in a September 2008 report.
The numbers are problematic in the context of health care reform, though, because they reflect U.S. citizens and non- citizens. The Census Bureau reported that 9.7 million of the 45.7 million uninsured were non-citizens.
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13173764
Editorial: Justice for Latino farmers
Latino farmers expected that the Obama administration would remedy the discrimination they have suffered for decades at the hands of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Instead, the White House is an obstacle to closing a shameful chapter in racism.
There is no question that the agency long discriminated against African American and Latino farmers in how it issued loans. Rural aid programs regularly provide support to farmers in times of need during the agricultural cycle. This could mean, for example, situations where the lack of liquidity for purchasing seeds can lead to a farmer’s bankruptcy. Yet, the USDA systematically denied these critical loans to Black and Latino farmers.
http://www.impre.com/laopinion/opinion/editorial/2009/8/31/justice-for-latino-farmers-145113-1.html
Commentary: Three of four inmates in America’s prison-industrial complex are people of color (part four)
America’s prison population, 2.3 million, is the highest prison population in the “civilized” world. That population has increased seven fold in less than 40 years. A total of 7 million American’s are tethered to that prison-industrial complex. Disproportionately, inmates are people of color.
While African-Americans are approximately 12.8 percent of our general population they are almost 50 percent of the prison population. Hispanics at 13 percent of the general population comprise around 25 percent of the prison population.
The question we need to ask is how is it that 26 percent of the general U.S. population makes up 75 percent of the prison population?
http://www.examiner.com/x-18764-San-Antonio-Public-Policy-Examiner~y2009m8d31-Three-of-four-inmates-in-Americas-prisonindustrial-complex-are-people-of-color-part-four
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