You may have seen some the news article links in past news summaries. As you may recall, several articles have reported that Criminal Alien Program (CAP) is being refocused on non-citizens charged with serious offenses. For Latinos, this is good news. It will hopefully reduce the disproportionate number of Latinos detained for alleged low level offenses.
The effect of the CAP program on Latinos in Irving, Texas, was the subject of a recently completed study by the Warren Institute, University of California – Berkley. The study is based on an analysis of arrests for low level offenses in Irving, Texas, between January 2006 and November 2007. You my be surprised to learn that Irving has a population of almost 200,000, about the size of Lubbock, Texas. The study found:
. . . strong evidence to support claims that Irving police engaged in racial profiling of Hispanics in order to filter them through the CAP screening system.
. . . .
Moreover, the Warren Institute’s analysis demonstrates that once CAP was implemented in Irving, felony charges only accounted for 2% of ICE detainers, while 98% of ICE detainers were issued for individuals charged with misdemeanor offenses.
The data analysis also reveals that with the 24-hour access to ICE, local police arrested Hispanics for Class-C misdemeanor offenses in significantly higher numbers than Whites and African-Americans. The Class-C misdemeanor offense — the least serious class of misdemeanor — affords officers a substantial amount of discretion in the decision to stop, investigate and/or arrest local residents.
. . . .
If, as our research suggests, CAP creates incentives for local police to target Hispanics for discretionary arrests for minor offenses, then lawfully residing Hispanics are inevitably impacted by these enforcement measures. In addition to facing arrests for minor violations, such as knocking over a cone or driving without lights, Hispanics who are lawfully in the U.S. bear the burden of proving their status, first to local police and then to ICE.
From The C.A.P. Effect: Racial Profiling in the ICE Criminal Alien Program.
The Institute further found evidence that number of arrests declined only after Hispanics began publicly protesting profiling of Hispanics by the Irving Police.
The current administration has promised to end the practice of detaining individuals for low level offenses. So far, however, the number of Latinos being detained for low level offenses remains high. If you practice criminal or immigration law, you are probably continuing to see high numbers of Latinos with ICE detainers for low-level offenses. You are left wondering whether the rhetoric matches actual practice.
The Report, which is only 8 pages long, offers the following recommendations to reduce profiling of Latinos:
1. Congress should order an investigation of the implementation of the Criminal Alien Program in other jurisdictions before allocating additional sums for the expansion of the program. Particularly, the investigation should concentrate on whether local law enforcement is increasing its focus on high level criminal alien offenders as a result of the CAP program.
2. ICE should institute a bright-line rule prohibiting CAP screenings for individuals arrested for non-felony offenses, in order to eliminate racial profiling in the implementation of the Criminal Alien Program. This recommendation is in line with Congress’s mandate to focus on serious criminal offenders.
3. Congress should mandate that local jurisdictions who partner with ICE record stop and arrest data by race, ethnicity and level of offense. In addition, ICE should disclose on its website where it has implemented the Criminal Alien Program to provide full disclosure to local communities who may be impacted by police practices.
To read the report The C.A.P. Effect: Racial Profiling in the ICE Criminal Alien Program, go to:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19826815/Ucb-Cap-Study-Irving-TX
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: Hispanic Heritage Month began with a week long commemoration in 1968, in the last year of the Johnson Administration. Over the last 40 years it has evolved from a week long observation to a month long celebration. During a time when Latinos are being portrayed so negatively by commentators such as Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck, Hispanic Heritage Month offers an opportunity to restore some balance. If you are asked to speak at a community event or simply want learn more about Hispanic Heritage in the United States, or wish to find classroom resources, please try the following websites:
http://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/educators/resource_library/hispanic_resources.html
http://www.teachersfirst.com/spectopics/nationalhispanicheritagemonth.cfm
http://www.pbs.org/aboutpbs/news/20090908_pbshispanicheritagemonth.html
http://www.history.com/classroom/hhm/
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3750085
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
California law school's study finds evidence of racial profiling in Irving
An academic study of the Criminal Alien Program in Irving released Wednesday by a California law school said there is "strong evidence" that Irving police racially profiled Hispanics and probably referred lawful residents to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Irving Mayor Herbert Gears called the study's findings flawed and said that the city would challenge the report's conclusions. Hispanic leaders said the report backs up long-running claims that police began targeting Hispanic residents once ICE officials started round-the-clock immigration checks on people arrested in the city.
The study by the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Race, Ethnicity and Diversity analyzed Irving police arrest records obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/091709dnmetirvingcap.3d5e574.html
To read the report “Racial Profiling in the ICE Criminal Alien Program”, go to:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19826815/Ucb-Cap-Study-Irving-TX
60 Percent of Undocumented Hispanics Lack Medical Insurance, Survey Finds
WASHINGTON – Six out of every 10 undocumented Hispanic adults in the United States have no medical insurance, according to a report released Friday by the Pew Hispanic Center .
The proportion of people who have no access to regular health care is much higher among the undocumented than among adult Latinos who are legal residents or citizens, 28 percent, or among the adult U.S. population as a whole, 17 percent.
“The nationwide survey offers a detailed look at the health insurance and health-care access of an immigrant subgroup that has become a focus of attention in the current debate over health-care reform,” the study’s author, Pew senior researcher Gretchen Livingston, said.
Undocumented immigrants are approximately 17 percent of the 46 million people that lack health insurance in the United States , according to the Census Bureau.
According to Pew Center estimates, there are 11.9 million undocumented immigrants in the United States and of those, 76 percent are Latinos.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=344473&CategoryId=12395
To read the report “Hispanics, Health Insurance and Health Care Access”, go to:
http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=113
Hispanic National Bar Association Releases Landmark Report From the Commission on the Status of Latinas in the Legal Profession
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In coordination with the Hispanic National Bar Association's 34th Annual Convention, the HNBA's Commission on the Status of Latinas in the Legal Profession released a ground breaking study that provides both qualitative and quantitative data on the status and experiences of Latinas in the legal profession, on a national level and across all major legal sectors. The report, Few and Far Between: The Reality of Latina Lawyers, was released during the Commission's First Annual Awards Luncheon featuring Attorney General Eric Holder and honoring Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Authored by Jill L. Cruz and Melinda S. Molina, the study addresses the problem of the under-representation of Latinas in the legal profession relative to their overall representation in the United States population. Latinas currently make up 7% of the total U.S. population and are part of the largest and fastest-growing ethnic minority group in the United States — yet represent only 1.3% of the nation's lawyers, the lowest representation of any racial or ethnic group as compared to their overall presence in the nation.
"There are only 13,000 Latina lawyers in the United States," said Dolores Atencio, co-chair of the Commission. "The title of our report, 'Few and Far Between,' unfortunately accurately records that these low numbers are part of the reason why Latina attorneys face a 'triple threat' to their legal careers." Ms. Atencio presented the HNBA's report today at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's public policy conference in Washington, DC.
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS179584+15-Sep-2009+PRN20090915
Hispanic Groups to CNN: Drop Lou Dobbs
Several Hispanic groups are calling on CNN to drop talk-show host and frequent illegal immigrant critic Lou Dobbs, who is broadcasting his radio show from a conference put on by what some activists refer to as a "hate group."
Dobbs is among 45 radio talk show hosts who attended the rally hosted by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
FAIR has been branded a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which asserts, among other things, that FAIR has ties to white supremacists. FAIR, meanwhile, vigorously rejects the center's label.
The coalition pushing for Dobbs's ouster calls itself DropDobbs.org. It includes The Hispanic Institute, Dolores Huerta Foundation, League of United Latin American Citizens, National Hispanic Media Coalition, National Puerto Rican Coalition and the National Council of La Raza.
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/2009/9/15/hispanic_groups_to_cnn_drop_lou.htm
To learn more about the effort to oust Lou Dobbs, go to:
http://www.dropdobbs.com/
Justice Dept. to Address Backlog of Civil Rights Complaints
There is the ongoing review of the death of a man beaten by four white teenagers in a park in Shenandoah, Pa. The kids, all high school football players, shouted, "Go back to Mexico," before one punched him repeatedly with a metal shank balled up in his fist, according to witnesses. Then, another kicked him on the left side of his head so hard that the Mexican man's brain began to swell. He died two days later, his fiancee weeping at his side.
There is the continuing silence three years after hundreds took to the streets of Tallahassee, protesting the acquittal of seven guards in the death of a 14 year-old black boy, one of whom gave a quick knee to the boy's stomach as another forced him to inhale smelling salts. The grainy black-and-white video of the boy collapsing on a grassy field in a state-run boot camp for delinquents is set to music and posted on YouTube -- a hovering reminder of a death still in dispute.
And there are the unanswered letters that fill the file drawer in Madie Robinson's office. The president of the NAACP branch in Florence, S.C., has kept a copy of every complaint she's mailed to the U.S. Department of Justice since 2003 -- a half-dozen in all -- every letter another plea for federal officials to look into voting practices that she and other NAACP members think are suspicious.
Holder has said he recognizes the size of the task. In his 2010 budget, he requested an additional $22 million for civil rights work, creating 54 new legal positions and bringing the staff up to 399 lawyers. He told members of the Hispanic Bar Association earlier this month that he holds to a promise he made during his confirmation hearings that "the civil rights division would fight discrimination as fiercely as the criminal division fights crime -- and that we would once again honor the spirit of the movement that inspired its creation. . . . Although much work lies ahead, we are well on our way."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/25/AR2009092502151.html
Class Says BofA Targets Latinos for 'Joke' Insurance
(CN) - Bank of America conspired with "predatory expert" Intersections Inc. and AIG to make tens of millions of dollars by coercing poor, Hispanic depositors to authorize automated withdrawals for purported insurance policies, whose benefits are so paltry they are "almost a joke," and whose real purpose is to fatten the bank's coffers, according to a RICO class action in Houston Federal Court.
The insurance coverage provided is "a pitiful excuse for insurance protection," and the "amounts that supposedly will be paid are small, and the conditions to their being paid at all are highly unlikely to ever occur," according to the complaint.
The class claims that since 2006 Bank of America has profiled its customer-victims, disclosed their confidential information to Intersections, and in turn received "almost $45 million out of the checking account deposits of its poorest customers."
http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/09/14/Class_Says_BofA_Targets_Latinos_for_Joke_Insurance.htm
LULAC pushes for a health-care reform bill this year
The largest U.S. Latino civil rights organization announced a nationwide effort in San Antonio Wednesday to push for health care-reform legislation this year that includes a government-run health insurance plan.
Called the public option, it’s defined widely as a program much like Medicare that would be available to everyone, especially the uninsured.
Amid signs that read “Health Care Can’t Wait” and “Insure People, Not Profits,” the League of United Latin American Citizens, led by national President Rosa Rosales of San Antonio, gathered a coalition of Latino and African American leaders to present LULAC’s 10-point reform principles.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/LULAC_pushes_for_a_health-care_reform_bill_this_year.html
Editorial: Immigrants, Health Care and Lies
Illegal immigration is an all-purpose policy explosive. Toss it into any debate and, boom, discussion stops because you’ve got people afraid that benefits or services might be going to those who don’t deserve them.
The bomb went off again on Wednesday night when President Obama told Congress that his reforms would not apply to illegal immigrants. Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina then blurted his way into talk-radio immortality with two words: “You lie!”
Mr. Obama didn’t lie. The bills before Congress declare illegal immigrants to be ineligible for subsidized benefits. It is impossible to imagine any final bill doing otherwise. Mr. Wilson was a boor, but some Republicans still insist that he was right because the bill doesn’t ensure that the undocumented have no insurance.
Time for a reality check. Illegal immigrants are here. They are not eligible for Medicaid, but many still get sick and many get care, often in emergency rooms. The current proposals would likely not stop them from using their money to buy coverage through an insurance exchange, without subsidies. Just as they can do now.
Should we take a harder line? Force people to prove citizenship in emergency rooms? That’s illegal, for good reason. Make verification requirements so onerous that not a single illegal immigrant slips through? Very expensive, and not smart. It would be highly likely to snag deserving citizens — like old people who don’t have their original birth certificates. And besides, we’ve tried that: A House oversight committee reviewed six state Medicaid programs in 2007 and found that verification rules had cost the federal government an additional $8.3 million. They caught exactly eight illegal immigrants.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/opinion/11fri2.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=immigrants&st=cse
Mexican American astronaut isn't changing course on immigration stand
Reporting from Mexico City - He may have soared a gazillion miles in outer space, but back here on Earth, U.S. astronaut Jose Hernandez has stepped knee-deep in controversy.
Hernandez, the California-born son of Mexican immigrants, is a full-fledged media star in Mexico. Fans here followed his every floating, gravity-free move during his two-week journey in space as he Twittered from the shuttle Discovery and gave live interviews to local TV programs.
After the shuttle returned Friday, Hernandez told Mexican television that he thought the U.S. should legalize the millions of undocumented immigrants living there so that they can work openly because they are important to the American economy.
Officials at NASA flipped. They hastened to announce that Hernandez was speaking for himself and only for himself.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-astronaut17-2009sep17%2C0%2C4872830%2Cprint.story
EDITORIAL: Border Fantasies
Members of Congress who voted for the Southwest border fence as the fix for illegal immigration professed shock — shock at the news that the project is running years behind, and billions of dollars ahead, of the Bush administration’s early, rosy projections.
Auditors reported last week that the high-tech, 28-mile “virtual” section of the fence was running a mere seven years behind this month’s planned opening. Initially, designers talked of using off-the-shelf technology for the radar, cameras and other sensors, but problems cropped up. (Imagine, discovering that cameras tremble in rough weather.) “I’m trying to figure out why this is so difficult,” said Representative Michael McCaul of Texas. “These are basically cameras on a pole.”
The current cost estimate for the Buck Rogers barrier? $1.1 billion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/opinion/22tue3.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Border%20Fantasies&st=cse
Pa. finds bias at Montco swim club
A state investigation found that a Montgomery County swim club racially discriminated in June when it revoked an agreement to allow a Northeast Philadelphia day camp to use its pool after 56 African American and Hispanic children made their first visit.
"The racial animus . . . and the racially coded comments" by club members at the Valley Club in Huntingdon Valley were the reasons the club revoked Creative Steps Inc.'s contract, according to a 33-page report by the Human Relations Commission that was released last night by an attorney for four of the campers.
The situation elicited a national media firestorm during the summer over allegations that members of a swim club in a historically white suburb withdrew permission to allow minority children into their pool - even after a $1,950 check had been delivered to pay for the children to have weekly swimming trips.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20090923_Pa__finds_bias_at_Montco_swim_club.html
Witness blasts Suffolk Hate Crimes Task Force
A Patchogue man who says he was pressured not to testify before the Suffolk Legislature's Hate Crimes Task Force lashed out at its members last night and questioned its legitimacy.
"I was called a liar by people on the task force, as a victim," exclaimed Francisco Hernandez, a member of County Executive Steve Levy's Hispanic Advisory Board who testified at a hearing in Patchogue earlier this month. Last week, before the full legislature, Det. Sgt. Robert Reecks, a member of the task force, said Hernandez flat-out lied when he said they had personally met.
"You really believe there are going to be victims coming here, with you calling people liars?" said Hernandez, his voice rising, pointing at the 12-member board, which includes Reecks.
Outside the meeting Hernandez, a U.S. citizen, said he was assaulted in Patchogue in October of 2008 by an unknown assailant and that Suffolk police took away his driver's license, saying they had to check to see if he was legal. Hernandez claims he met Reecks earlier this month at a Hispanic Advisory Board meeting, where he told the board the story of his assault and Reecks told him afterward police did not follow proper procedures, giving him his business card with phone numbers handwritten on the back. Hernandez produced the card yesterday.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/witness-blasts-suffolk-hate-crimes-task-force-1.1467810
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Texas
Irving council district plan has a ways to go before it's absolutely settled
The Irving City Council and attorneys for resident Manuel Benavidez may have struck a controversial agreement aimed at settling a voting rights lawsuit. But that doesn't mean the way single-member council districts come to Irving is settled quite yet.
The agreement must first go before U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis, who ruled in July that the current at-large system violates the Voting Rights Act
"It's really out of our hands what he decides to do," said Irving Mayor Herbert Gears.
Attorneys for the city and Benavidez, who brought the suit, are expected to submit to Solis by next month a joint proposal that would create a mixed single-member and at-large election system.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/DN-irvdistricts_13met.ART.Central.Edition1.4be2a1b.html
Dallas County jury pool system gets an upgrade
Dallas County courts officials hope that a new computer system will help boost jury participation as well as make jury selection more efficient for both lawyers and citizens.
About 20 percent of people summoned for jury duty show up, about the same percentage that appeared before the state increased jurors' pay in 2005 from $6 a day to $40 for each day after the first day of jury service.
Another 20 percent of jury summonses aren't delivered because of bad addresses, said Lori Ann Bodino, jury services manager for the criminal courts. In addition, another 40 percent don't respond, and 20 percent claim disqualifications or exemptions from service, she said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-juryduty_14met.ART0.State.Edition1.4bc7ede.html
Texas education board tackles standards for social studies
AUSTIN – Should Texas high school students study the importance of famous actors John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart – both Republicans – in American history classes?
Should fourth-graders be taught about their country's "democratic" society or "republican" form of government when they receive instruction in citizenship?
And are students in U.S. history classes being exposed to too many "liberal" figures and not enough "conservatives" who made significant contributions?
Those and hundreds of other potentially divisive questions await the State Board of Education as it prepares to rewrite the curriculum standards for social studies classes.
Another adviser appointed by social conservatives was David Barton, president of Aledo-based WallBuilders, a group that challenges the legal separation of church and state.
Besides proposing a greater emphasis on religion in teaching U.S. history, Barton's 87-page document pointed out that liberals far outnumber conservatives among the "historical figures" included in the current proposed standards for American history.
In a document submitted to the board this month, he suggested that actors John Wayne or Jimmy Stewart be substituted for the late Texas congressman Henry B. Gonzalez as an example of someone who made significant political or social contributions in the United States.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/education/stories/091709dntexedboard.3d3c3cb.html
Texas activists: Chavez, Marshall must be taught
AUSTIN, Texas — Minority activists urged Texas education officials on Thursday to not minimize the importance of civil rights leaders Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall in public schools.
The State Board of Education heard testimony in a plan to update the social studies requirements for the state's 4.6 million K-12 students. Two members of a board-appointed advisory panel had suggested removing Chavez and Marshall from some grades' curriculum, triggering a strong backlash from civil rights groups, teachers and parents statewide.
"Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative, white, black or Latino, we all agree on the importance of education," said state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, urging the board not to downplay Chavez, who helped improve conditions for Hispanic farm workers.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gPQ3ktQNqImWyQ23yXKoCFXWrN1QD9APCU5O1
Texas Education Board revises history books
AUSTIN – Neil Armstrong, Daniel Boone, the state capitals – and even Christmas. All are going back into the state curriculum standards for social studies, State Board of Education members decided Thursday.
Meeting with several writing teams for social studies in all grade levels, the board asked for several revisions in the first drafts laying out the new standards for history, government and other social studies courses in Texas schools.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-edboard_18tex.ART.State.Edition1.4bcc6be.html
Community leaders react to vote of no confidence
Representatives of two higher education advocacy groups and the president of the Homeowner-Taxpayer Association say either the chancellor or the district’s board of trustees or both need to improve after issues were brought to light at Tuesday’s meeting.
Faculty Senate representatives from four of the district’s five colleges announced at the meeting that more than 90 percent of participating faculty voted no-confidence in Chancellor Bruce Leslie. The Alamo Community College District board of trustees responded with a unanimous vote of confidence in the chancellor and approval of a new three-year contract.
Belinda Saldana, immediate past president of Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education, San Antonio Chapter, said the chapter has met with Leslie to discuss their concern for issues such as having both faculty and administration reflective of the diversity of the student body that it serves and for “grow your own” leadership programs that support this goal.
“While the chancellor has been willing to engage with TACHE on these important discussions, the fact that that Hispanic administrators continue to be ‘mysteriously’ removed from a college campus that is supposed to be both an historically black college or university and a Hispanic-serving institution seems to indicate that the chancellor is not communicating the importance of these issues to his college leadership or to his board, and it is this type of lack of communication that concerns us as an organization,” Saldana wrote in an e-mail.
http://www.theranger.org/news/community-leaders-react-to-vote-of-no-confidence-1.1884307
Why history's important in Goliad
Fiddle around with the letters of Hidalgo a little and you'll get this: Goliad.
The city's name is an anagram - minus an "H" - of the priest who rallied troops fighting for Mexico's independence.
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2009/sep/09/lw_m3_history_091109_65289/?entertainment&local-entertainment
Who gets what often a racial issue in Dallas Police Department
Just as racial discord so often colors the national discussion in our country, the Dallas Police Department represents a microcosm of those same conflicts.
In DPD, the issue of who gets jobs in specialty units or even who gets better shifts and days off can be fraught with racial discord.
Not long ago, a former narcotics officer filed a federal lawsuit alleging that he didn't get a position on a narcotics squad because he is white.
In another case, a senior corporal, who is black, alleged he was subjected to racism and retaliation when he was transferred out of the crime scene unit.
More recently, in early August, six Dallas police sergeants, who are white, filed a grievance against the Police Department alleging racial discrimination in the recent transfer of another sergeant from the gang unit to northwest patrol.
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/09/six-dallas-police-sergeants-ha.html
Texas officials oppose pedestrian fence along U.S.-Mexico border
WASHINGTON – A group of Texas officials urged Congress on Wednesday to block a move to require more pedestrian fences along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Texas Border Coalition wants a House-Senate conference committee to remove language from the spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security that would require the federal government to replace vehicle barriers and a high-technology "virtual fence" with pedestrian fencing.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-borderfence_10tex.ART.State.Edition1.4ba62ce.html
Texas Rangers will be deployed to Texas-Mexico border to deal with violence
HOUSTON – Special teams of Texas Rangers will be deployed to the Texas-Mexico border to deal with increasing violence, Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday.
"It is an expansive effort with the Rangers playing a more high-profile role than they've ever played before," Perry said of the Department of Public Safety's elite investigative unit.
The forces, dubbed "Ranger recon" teams, are the latest effort "to fill the gap that's been left by the federal government's ongoing failure to adequately secure our international border with Mexico," he said.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-govborder_11tex.ART.State.Edition1.4bd5576.html
Widow of slain officer seeks changes in police policy
A Houston police sergeant, widowed when her police officer husband was shot to death by an illegal immigrant, has filed a lawsuit against the city of Houston and the police department asking that she be allowed to contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials regarding the immigration status of suspects she detains.
Joslyn Johnson is suing for a change of policy, not money, as she continues to arrest and detain suspects as a sergeant in the burglary and theft division of HPD, said her attorney, Ben Dominguez.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/immigration/6632012.html
Students push for bill to help undocumented grads
DALLAS — Students throughout Texas joined others nationwide by holding rallies, presentations and petition drives on Wednesday to support legislation that would allow high school graduates to either join the military or go on to higher education as a way to become legal immigrants.
Students, religious leaders, educators and immigrant advocates gathered inside Dallas City Hall at noon for a press conference before heading out to make Congressional visits. More than a dozen college students held signs spelling out: PASS the DREAM ACT NOW!
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6633898.html
Rudy ‘Flaco' Rodriguez joined Chicano movement as a teen
July 23 was a big night for Rudy “Flaco” Rodriguez.
Along with several dozen other Chicano activists, he was honored with the San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists' community service award for his participation in student-led walkouts throughout South Texas in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s.
Regarded as the first major urban protests by Chicanos, the walkouts protested discrimination and disparity in public school financing, spurring lawsuits that reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Among the honorees were members of the Mexican American Youth Organization, to which Rodriguez held great allegiance.
“MAYO was everything to him,” said Gloria Rodriguez, his wife of 36 years. “He believed in everybody's rights.”
Rodriguez died Saturday of a heart attack. He was 57.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/obituaries/Rudy_Flaco_Rodriguez_joined_Chicano_movement_as_a_teen.html
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USA
Official: School answers do exist
In a nation riddled with educational problems — from soaring dropout rates to a yawning achievement gap among races — Juan Sepulveda knows there are answers everywhere.
In states, cities and districts throughout the nation, someone has found an answer to every educational problem, said Sepulveda, director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans.
"We know there are pockets of excellence," he said. "How do we take these kernels of excellence and bring them to scale?"
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13295480
Man Gets 9 Years in Election-Night Bias Attacks
The white instigator of an election-night rampage against black people in retaliation for President Obama’s victory was sentenced in federal court on Thursday to nine years in prison.
Judge Carol B. Amon also gave three other men — two white and one Hispanic — prison terms ranging from about 4 ½ years to nearly six years for the 2008 attacks on Staten Island, which put one victim in a coma.
“The victims were selected for no other reason than what the defendants believed was the color of their skin,” the judge said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/nyregion/11bias.html?_r=1
Deliberations begin in alleged hate-crime murder in Yucaipa
SAN BERNARDINO - Confrontations that lead to a deadly shooting almost two years ago in Yucaipa began when an alleged white supremacist and his friends sought out a Hispanic man to start a fight with, according to prosecutors.
Christopher Fulmer, who also went by "Danny," is on trial and facing charges of murder and attempted murder in San Bernardino Superior Court. But prosecutors also filed a special allegation against Fulmer that the murder was a hate crime.
Deputy District Attorney Dan Detienne started his closing arguments in Fulmer's trial Thursday by showing jurors photographs of the defendant giving a Nazi salute and with a confederate flag. Also shown were tattoos of a Iron Cross on Fulmer, a swastika on his chest and initials HFS on his arm.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13311349?nclick_check=1
UPDATE: White supremacist found guilty of lesser crimes
A jury has found an alleged white supremacist guilty of a lesser crime in a deadly shooting in Yucaipa in 2006.
The jury in the trial for 21-year-old Christopher Fulmer found him guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter in the death of 30-year-old Joshua Morales, according to prosecutors. However, the jury also found true a special hate crime enhancment.
In the wounding of a 31-year-old man, the jury found Fulmer guilty of the lesser charge of attempted voluntary manslaughter.
http://www.sbsun.com/search/ci_13360078
Montebello man, 18, wearing KKK, Nazi shirt charged with attacking Hispanic teen
AIRMONT - An 18-year-old Montebello man wearing a shirt with racist insignias has been charged with a hate crime for the second time since April involving an attack on a Hispanic male, authorities said yesterday.
Ramapo police accused Michael Conklin of shooting a 17-year-old three times with a BB gun at 10:45 p.m. Monday on Cragmere Road.
Conklin's shirt provided evidence to raise the charge up a notch to a felony second-degree assault as a hate crime.
He wore a "shirt with a Ku Klux Klan insignia on the back and a swastika on the arm," Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said yesterday.
Conklin is accused of shooting the Hispanic teenager twice in the left forearm and once in the buttocks, Ramapo Detective Sgt. John Lynch said. The teen's wounds were not serious.
Zugibe said he found it disturbing that Conklin was arrested while out on bail for a previous hate crime charge.
http://www.lohud.com/article/20090911/NEWS03/909110343/-1/SPORTS/Montebello%20man+,%2018+,%20wearing%20KKK+,%20Nazi%20shirt%20charged%20with%20attacking%20Hispanic%20teen
Probation officer cited in sexual harassment lawsuit
Indiana - Chief Floyd County probation officer Gary W. Collins habitually made sexually suggestive comments to three women co-workers while on the clock, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Southern District of Indiana U.S. District Court.
Collins whistled at the women, made comments about their physical appearances and sent provocative e-mails to at least one of the complainants, according to the lawsuit.
The three plaintiffs in the current case — Alicia Burden, Melissa Jackson and Jacqueline Brannon — worked as secretaries or administrative assistants in the Floyd adult probation office at some point over the past two years.
Burden accused Collins of making comments about her Hispanic heritage that included sexual connotations, according to the suit.
http://www.news-tribune.net/floydcounty/local_story_254195903.html?keyword=secondarystory
Restoring a tradition for all San Diegans
This Tuesday marked the 15th sequential year that the city of San Diego has failed to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month. Reinstituting its remembrance at City Hall would shed light on the historical challenges and contributions of Latinos to a new generation of San Diegans.
First observed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968 as a week-long event and later expanded by President Ronald Reagan to its present 30-day duration, Hispanic Heritage Month is a rare opportunity to publicly share how Latinos have shaped America. As the nation's largest and fastest growing ethnic group, Latinos have been alongside citizens in times of prosperity and war; the U.S. Census counts more than 79,000 Hispanic CEOS and 1.1 million military veterans today. Our unique languages, lifestyles, and cuisines have influenced popular culture in ways that have broken social barriers and fostered greater inclusion, a remarkable achievement in a nation where segregation is only a generation behind us.
http://www.sddt.com/Commentary/article.cfm?Commentary_ID=191&SourceCode=20090916tzc
Heartland close to settling lawsuit: Ex-employee sued hospital over alleged retaliation
Missouri - Heartland Regional Medical Center and a former employee appear close to a settlement in the St. Joseph woman’s lawsuit against the hospital.
Kimberly Barron, 36, is suing Heartland for unlawful retaliation, claiming she was suspended for lodging complaints of racial discrimination at the hospital.
According to court documents, Ms. Barron started as a staff nurse at Heartland in 1999 before becoming the hospital’s patient advocate in 2006. She alleges witnessing racial discrimination against black and Hispanic patients and employees. She also heard staff members use racial slurs in reference to employees and patients, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also claims Ms. Barron saw Heartland staff refuse care to Hispanic patients, saying they were “illegals” and should be “deported, not admitted to the hospital.”
http://www.stjoenews.net/news/2009/sep/17/heartland-close-setting-lawsuit/?local
4 Chicago ex-cops say they invaded homes, stole
CHICAGO — Four former members of an now-disbanded Chicago police unit admitted Friday to taking part in a brazen scheme in which they barged into homes and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from suspected drug dealers and others — once after withholding insulin from a diabetic man until he told them where to find the cash.
Former police officers Bart Maka, Guadalupe Salinas, Brian Pratscher pleaded guilty to felony theft, and former officer Donovan Markiewicz pleaded guilty to official misconduct, in deals that called for each to be sentenced to six months in jail and various terms of probation in exchange for their cooperation in ongoing state and federal investigations.
The four stood quietly as a prosecutor read a 17-page synopsis of what they admitted to, providing a glimpse into a rogue operation in which officers pulled over motorists without cause, grabbed their keys and stormed into their homes, falsified reports, pocketed huge sums of money and even shook each other down for money.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j3Dd4iz_9UZljRAOrA40sz7oHoyQD9AQ0OV00
Reversal in forgery, ID theft case for Willmar immigrant
WILLMAR — The Minnesota Court of Appeals has reversed a Willmar woman’s conviction for aggravated forgery and identity theft because the district court should have suppressed biographical evidence gathered by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and later used by local investigators in the state case against her.
The court ruled that the information gathered by ICE agents, who conducted a warrantless raid on Maldonado-Arreaga’s home and arrested her in April 2007, should have been suppressed because it was obtained through unconstitutional governmental action.
According to Tribune archives, the four-day ICE operation conducted in Willmar in April 2007 led to the arrest of 49 people. ICE officials said 18 of those arrested had criminal backgrounds. The sting caused panic within Willmar’s Hispanic community. Many people feared the presence of ICE officers would result in a widespread sweep of illegal immigrants, much like the December raid at a Swift & Company meatpacking plant in Worthington. More than 200 workers were arrested during the December 2006 raid.
Many of those arrested in the Willmar ICE raids also filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit, claiming that ICE agents and other authorities broke into homes and randomly stopped Hispanics. That suit was filed by Centro Legal, which has since closed and had represented immigrants on legal issues.
http://www.wctrib.com/event/article/id/57479/
CHP officer pleads guilty in hate-crime misdemeanors
A white California Highway Patrol officer pleaded guilty Friday to misdemeanor hate crime charges for hurling ethnic epithets at Hispanics in two off-duty altercations in 2007.
Wold said Taylor’s non-jail sentence was appropriate because “these were words only. There was no actual physical violence. He’s now convicted of a hate crime.”
Sandbach said the plea bargain “was the best thing for all concerned. These pleas leave my client the possibility of maintaining his job.”
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/sep/18/chp-officer-pleads-guilty-in-hate-crime/
Panel to Investigate Killing of California Farmworker
SACRAMENTO, California – Retired state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso, the first Latino to serve on California’s high court, announced here that he will head a commission to investigate the death of an Hispanic farmworker at the hands of sheriff’s deputies in a town near Sacramento.
The details of the shooting incident in which Luis Gutierrez, 26, died in the town of Woodland “are contradictory and unsatisfactory,” Reynoso said Wednesday on the steps of the state Capitol.
“We still don’t know exactly what happened. I have 50 years in this work and I’ve never heard of a case in which the family refused to identify the body of their son,” said the former high court magistrate at a press conference.
According to a report by the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department, three members of the force’s anti-gang unit justified firing at Gutierrez by alleging that he hurled himself at them and threatened them with a pocket knife.
Yet, the autopsy revealed that the farmworker had been hit by six bullets, several of them in the back and a fatal shot in the back of the head.
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=343521&CategoryId=12395
Two fronts examine Gutierrez shooting
California - The Yolo County District Attorney's Office completed its investigation into the death of Luis Gutierrez Navarro, and passed the case on to the state Attorney General's Office, DA Jeff Reisig announced Wednesday morning.
Reisig also said the FBI is investigating the incident.
"In order to strengthen public confidence in the handling of this matter, I asked the (FBI) to conduct its own investigation in this case. My invitation was accepted and the FBI began its own independent investigation some time ago," Reisig said in a press release. "Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto concurred with the decision to request an FBI investigation as well."
The same day, on the steps of the Capitol Building in Sacramento, former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso announced his involvement with a commission to independently gather facts about civil rights cases regarding racial profiling -- primarily and specifically the Gutierrez case.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/ci_13306156
Ex-Wells Fargo Loan Officer Details Shady Practices
In a June interview with The Charlotte Observer, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf rejected allegations of predatory lending by the banking giant, especially in how it deals with minorities. “We make those loans in a fair and responsible way. We absolutely do not tolerate discrimination. We do not use race in our underwriting criteria. . . . No matter whether they come through the subprime channel or the prime channel, we give them the best deal so they can get the very best rate.”
The comments echoed the executive’s remarks to lawmakers earlier this year, when he said Wells recognizes that many of its customers “are facing difficult times” and that “now, as always, we want to do what’s right for them.”
Which is why it’s illuminating to peruse this recent interview with one Elizabeth Jacobson, who until 2007 was Wells’s top producer of subprime mortgage loans. She says it was standard practice at the company to deliberately steer borrowers — even those with strong credit who qualified for prime loans — into subprime products.
In July, the Illinois attorney general filed a separate suit charging Wells with illegally discriminating against black and Latino homeowners by selling them high-cost subprime loans, while white borrowers with similar incomes received lower cost mortgages. An analysis of Wells’ lending practices in the Chicago metro area showed that roughly 34 percent of blacks earning $120,000 or more received subprime loans from Wells in 2007. By comparison, less than 22 percent of white borrowers earning less than $40,000 per year got high-cost loans from the lender.
http://industry.bnet.com/financial-services/10003019/ex-wells-fargo-loan-officer-details-shady-practices/
Forest Service apologizes to Hispanic campers
DENVER — The U.S. Forest Service has apologized for suggesting that campers who eat tortillas, drink Tecate beer and play Spanish music may be armed marijuana growers, calling it “regrettable” and “insensitive.”
Forest Service officials apologized to Colorado Hispanic leaders in a meeting two weeks ago and released a written apology this week.
The Forest Service issued a warning about armed drug growers last month amid an investigation into how much marijuana is being cultivated in national forests in Colorado. Officials retracted it two days later amid heavy criticism.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/309079.php
Police work to improve Hispanic relations
Felipe Lugo said he hasn't had problems with police in the Battle Creek area. "There are no problems that I am aware of," the 37-year-old Battle Creek man said Tuesday.
He was one of the first to arrive for "Know Your Rights," a program designed for the Hispanic community, conducted in Spanish and sponsored by the Latino/Hispanic Community Project. And while Lugo, who said he speaks limited English, said he has not heard about a problem between Hispanics and police officers, he would seem to represent a minority.
A recent Battle Creek area survey shows 64 percent of Hispanics do not believe police treat them with respect and 77 percent believe the police will ask them for immigration papers even during routine traffic stops.
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20090923/NEWS01/909230310/Police-work-to-improve-Hispanic-relations
Judge Says Fire Station Is No “Animal House”
Frat house or fire house, you decide. A judge has thrown out a lawsuit by a county fire captain who alleged he was retaliated against for exposing what he called “Animal House” conditions at an Inglewood station.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Conrad A. Aragon heard arguments for and against the county's motion to dismiss Thomas Encinas' case on Friday. He took the case under submission before granting the motion later that day.
Lawyers for the county argued the fire captain's claims had no merit, but Encinas' lawyer, Genie E. Harrison, said the case should have gone before a jury.
In his four-page ruling, Conrad found there was insufficient evidence to support Encinas' retaliation claim or that he was harassed because he is a Latino.
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local-beat/Judge-Says-Fire-Station-is-No-Animal-House-60283867.html
_______________________________________
General Interest
University of New Mexico No. 1 on List of Top Law Schools for Hispanics
The University of New Mexico School of Law awards 30 percent of its degrees to Hispanics and has a law faculty that is 23 percent Hispanic, earning the school first place on a list of top law schools for Hispanics.
Diversity at the law school “has developed organically from surrounding communities,” according to a Hispanic Business magazine article on the list. About four out of 10 New Mexico residents are Hispanic, and the school has a strong base of Hispanic alumni that attracts minority applicants.
1) The University of New Mexico School of Law. 30% of JDs awarded to Hispanics, 23% of faculty is Hispanic.
2) University of Texas at Austin School of Law. 17% of JDs awarded to Hispanics, 5% of faculty is Hispanic.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/university_of_new_mexico_no._1_on_list_of_top_law_schools_for_hispanics/
Commentary: Farewell to Mel: This Hispanic had enough
In another blow to the Republican party, Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) walked away from an unfinished term over a year early. But do Republicans realize (or care) what happened?
Martinez had the capacity to rub everyone the wrong way on some issue. He left office with low approval ratings even among Republicans, and with a few scars.
President George W. Bush and the Republicans got him to take the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee, something that was supposed to show the growing numbers of Hispanic voters that the Republicans took the group seriously.
http://www.examiner.com/x-13498-Marion-County-Democrats-Examiner~y2009m9d10-Farewell-to-Mel-This-Hispanic-had-enough
BuenaVentura’s bad luck — Oxnard bank counted on Hispanics
When Banco BuenaVentura was rolled out in Oxnard less than a year ago, it catered almost exclusively to the area’s Hispanic community. But in light of its upcoming Sept. 21 closure, some are left wondering if the niche bank’s business plan is to blame for its collapse.
The bank had a very clear goal when it opened in November 2008: serve the “unbanked” Hispanic population in Ventura County, both legal and undocumented. In addition to traditional banking services, Banco BuenaVentura offered safety deposit boxes, immigration documentation assistance, translation services, long-distance calling and financial education.
http://pacbiztimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1097&Itemid=1
Fired McHenry Co. sheriff's deputy wants former boss' job
Illinois - A fired McHenry County Sheriff's deputy suing the department over claims he lost his job for complaining about racial profiling by his former colleagues now wants the department's top job.
Zane Seipler, of Woodstock, announced Monday he will challenge longtime Sheriff Keith Nygren in next year's Republican party primary, stating "change is long overdue.
Seipler sued the sheriff and four other high-ranking officials in federal court last year, alleging he repeatedly was passed over for promotion, removed from the department's SWAT team, threatened and ultimately dismissed for accusing other deputies of unlawfully targeting blacks and Hispanics for traffic stops.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=321214&src=4
Passaic statue angers residents
PASSAIC — What was billed as Mayor Alex D. Blanco’s first attempt at celebrating the city’s diversity and multicultural fabric has sparked anger within the city’s dwindling black population, many members of which believe the community is being overlooked.
The event Sunday honored Mexico’s independence from Spain and drew more than 10,000 spectators who came to Passaic to see the wildly popular musical group, Los Temerarios. Part of the festivities included the construction and unveiling of a plaster statue of Adolfo Angel and Gustavo Angel — the brothers who lead the Mexico-based group.
City officials allowed the temporary statue to be placed on the median of State Street — just behind the Speer Village public housing development, a development home to many of the city’s black residents. On Monday, angry residents held a protest over the statue’s placement, saying it was a slap in the face to their community.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/passaic_morris/Passaic_statue_angers_residents.html
Three Quarters of Mexican Immigrants Report Some Discrimination
NEW YORK, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- Mexican immigrants see more discrimination against immigrants in America than do other foreign born adults, even though they're no more likely to say they encounter it personally, according to a new survey by Public Agenda, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization.
The report released follows up on a groundbreaking 2002 survey and tracks immigrants' shifting attitudes during a tumultuous period. Conducted in May 2009 and funded by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, A Place to Call Home: What Immigrants Say Now About Their Life in America is based on a survey that utilized landline and cellular telephones along with oversamples to provide the widest perspective possible from more than 1,100 foreign-born adults overall. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish with 140 Mexicans -- 38 of whom are undocumented.
Three-quarters of Mexican immigrants say there's at least "some" discrimination against immigrants in the United States, compared with 57 percent of other immigrants. The gap widens when the question focuses on discrimination against people from the country where they were born (73 percent of Mexicans say there is at least some, compared with only 31 percent of other immigrants).
http://www.lavozcolorado.com/news_pr.php?nid=15165
Commentary: Healthcare Speech – Fact or Fiction
(Washington, D.C.) - President Obama was heckled when he tried to dispel one of the most common criticisms of health reform.
"There are those who claim that our reform efforts would insure illegal immigrants--this, too, is false," President Obama said.
"That's a lie!" Republican Congressman Joe Wilson shouted.
In the end, it turns out the president is right, the claim is fiction.
http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/Healthcare-Speech-Fact-or-Fiction/8RC8yC6kWEuvHygGRbYu3Q.cspx
Are Stimulus Dollars Working for Minority Contractors in IL?
Hundreds of millions of dollars are pouring into Illinois to fix up roads and highways as part of the Recovery Act, the federal plan meant to put people to work.
Federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was recently in the state, touting the Illinois Department of Transportation's success at getting the money out to projects. But who’s doing all that work? Who’s getting all those road contracts? As part of our series, Hard Working, we analyzed contract documents from the Illinois Department of Transportation. Among other things, the analysis shows that minority- and women-owned businesses are getting only a small share of the money.
http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=36732
Commentary: Why Nevada protects workers here illegally
A class-action lawsuit recently filed by the undocumented employees of a local cleaning company underscores that workers who are in the country illegally have many of the same workplace rights that U.S. citizens have.
That’s particularly important in Nevada because illegal immigrants make up an estimated 12.2 percent of the state’s workforce, according to a 2008 Pew Hispanic Center study.
But the idea that undocumented workers have rights is also controversial. Members of the “What part of illegal don’t you understand?” lobby have consistently expressed indignation about workers in such cases receiving anything but a deportation order.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/sep/15/why-nevada-protects-workers-here-illegally/
Hispanic Heritage: Edward James Olmos, Movie Screening Part of Monthlong Festivities
Sep. 15--EL PASO -- New York filmmaker John J. Valadez describes "La Onda Chicana," not as another boring documentary, but as "Mexican-American Music 101, full of surprises."
"We don't pull any punches. It's about people's real life experiences," Valadez said in a phone interview. "The obstacles that these artists have overcome were enormous."
Valadez will screen "La Onda Chicana" Friday at the Transmountain Campus of El Paso Community College as part of the national celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
The film also will be shown Oct. 19 on "Latin Music USA," a four-part documentary series airing on PBS stations across the United States.
http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/yb/135324255
U.S. Forest Service issues apology, meets with Hispanic leaders over wording of recent public safety message
Denver, Colo., September 14, 2009 – On Sept. 2, U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Regional Forester Rick Cables and members of his organization met with 17 Hispanic community leaders, representing a variety of Hispanic organizations in Colorado, to issue an apology for regrettable references used during an Aug. 26 briefing to news media concerning illegal marijuana cultivation activities on national forests in Colorado.
During the meeting, Cables expressed his regret that insensitive wording was used in the briefing. The purpose of the briefing was to relay a safety message to the public concerning illegal marijuana cultivation on federal land and the threats to human safety and environmental damage it poses.
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/09/0437.xml
Event focuses on Chicano novel ‘Bless Me, Ultima’
Hispanic literature and dance took center stage Wednesday during kickoff ceremonies at Market Square for the third annual Big Read - a monthlong community reading program sponsored by the YWCA and the Knox County Public Library that features Rudolfo Anaya's novel "Bless Me, Ultima."
Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima," is the best-selling Chicano novel of all time. It was selected to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month, which continues through Oct. 15.
The novel offers a narrative mixed with fantasy and realism that details a young boy's struggles with the big questions in life in a world wrought with turmoil.
Like "The Grapes of Wrath" and "To Kill a Mockingbird," Anaya's novel deals with cultural themes and topics like racism and discrimination.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/sep/17/event-focuses-on-chicano-novel/
Rally calls for more polling locations: Laurel resident says having only one polling place is discriminatory
As the city prepared for Tuesday's special referendum, about 80 people gathered at the Laurel Boys & Girls Club to push for more polling places in Laurel city elections and encourage their neighbors to participate in Tuesday's special referendum election.
Many of the speakers at a Sept. 1 rally, which was sponsored by a county-based political watchdog group, accused the city of trying to disenfranchise non-white voters by holding citywide elections at only one polling place — the Phelps Senior Center on Montgomery Street. State and national elections are held at five polling sites throughout the city.
Laurel resident Adrian Rousseau, who filed a lawsuit on Aug. 24 against the city in Prince George's County Circuit Court, said not having polling places in both wards of the city puts black and Latino voters at a disadvantage because many are unfamiliar with the area surrounding the Phelps Center, which is in Ward 1.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/09102009/laurnew110646_32521.shtml
Gay Latino Americans are 'coming of age'
Perez Hilton is a celebrity blogger who dishes out the latest Hollywood gossip, but there's something about his personal life you may not know.
Hilton is a Latino pioneer. He is one of the first Latino public figures in the U.S. to be openly gay. While Latinos have broken ground on the U.S. Supreme Court, in Hollywood and in professional sports, gay Latinos in the nation's public arena remain largely invisible.
Hilton says deep-seated homophobia within the Latino community has forced many gay Latinos to go underground, but attitudes are shifting.
"At the beginning, when I came out to my mom, she reacted with a sigh and said, 'You're my son and I have to love you,' " Hilton says. "But now she says, 'You're the best son in the world, and we need to find you a man.' "
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/09/09/Latino.gay/
Hispanics' patience not infinite
As he departed from the recent North American summit with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, President Barrack Obama reaffirmed his support for creating “a path to citizenship” for undocumented immigrants. But, for millions of Hispanic Americans who voted overwhelmingly — 67 percent — to elect him, the president's words rang hollow.
Indeed, for all Americans who care about righting the wrong-headed immigration policies of the George W. Bush administration, the Obama administration's approach has been disappointingly slow to change and vague about the direction and pace of any future transformation.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/10/hispanics-patience-not-infinite/?uniontrib
Sorting out the health care issue of immigrants
In the midst of the suspicion, confusion and finger-pointing surrounding the health care reform bill, a nonpartisan congressional body and health care experts want to clear one thing up: The bill bars illegal immigrants from receiving subsidized health coverage.
There is "no federal payment for undocumented aliens," reads a heading in the House bill (HR 2300).
"It is clear that it does not provide federal subsidies to undocumented immigrants," said Jennifer Tolbert, a principal policy analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan, nonprofit health-policy research organization.
So what has led 55 percent of Americans to believe the bill gives coverage to illegal immigrants, according to a recent NBC poll?
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13312276
Cancer risk of Hispanics assessed
U.S. Hispanics are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to develop cancer, but more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage, according to a new report.
The American Cancer Society report, released today, found that because of the later detection, Hispanics' five-year survival rate for the four most common cancers — breast, prostate, colon and lung — is less than that of non-Hispanic whites.
“The latter stage of diagnosis is disconcerting,” said Dr. Michele Forman, a University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center professor of epidemiology conducting research on Mexican-American risk factors for cancer. “We know Hispanics have less access to screening, but it's not clear if that's wholly related to their higher uninsured rate or if there are also cultural factors at play.”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6618906.html
Commentary: Obama lurches right on immigration
President Barack Obama has already made three big errors where the issues of health care and illegal immigration intersect, and we're still in the early innings.
Error No. 1: Obama and his advisers should have listened to immigration reform activists who suggested the White House should tackle immigration before health care. Otherwise, the activists warned, concerns that illegal immigrants would get benefits could trip up the health care effort.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/16/obama-lurches-right-immigration/
Hispanic Chamber leader's ouster sought
Former leaders of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce are calling for the resignation of chairman David C. Lizárraga.
"He has taken control of the USHCC, he has eliminated elections and has a self-appointed board," said Scott Flores of Denver, a former board member and vice chair of the USHCC board of directors. "They need to bring fresh leadership."
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13353241
SAT Scores Steady for Class of ’09
Average SAT scores in reading and writing declined by one point this year, while math scores held steady, according to a report on the high school class of 2009 released Tuesday by the College Board.
Familiar ethnic and racial gaps also appeared in the average scores.
In critical reading, non-Hispanic white students on average scored 528, compared with 516 for Asian students, 455 for Hispanic ones and 429 for African-Americans. In math, Asian students averaged 587, compared with 536 for non-Hispanic whites, 461 for Hispanics and 426 for blacks. In writing, Asians averaged 520, compared with 517 for non-Hispanic whites, 448 for Hispanics and 421 for blacks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/education/26sat.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=hispanics&st=cse
Hispanics get chance to tell life stories
WASHINGTON — When U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez sits down to share his experiences for Historias, an initiative unveiled Thursday to record the stories of Latinos in America, the San Antonio Democrat is going to compare how he, his father — the legendary late Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez — and his grandparents assimilated in America.
When the younger Gonzalez's grandparents emigrated from Mexico around 1910, they initially planned on returning, he said at the debut of Historias, a project of StoryCorps, a nonprofit oral history group that records stories of everyday Americans.
“I want to talk about how my father sought that more complete assimilation and the obstacles he had to face and his generation's contribution to allowing me to do what I do today,” Gonzalez said.
StoryCorps officially launched Historias, which will be archived at the Library of Congress, at a ceremony that featured talks by, among others, House members of Latino descent.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sacultura/Hispanics_get_chance_to_tell_life_stories.html
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