Hispanic Issues Section News Summary, Issue 42

Dear Hispanic Issues Section Members:
Assistant Secretary John Morton, Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has issued a memorandum establishing new procedures for handling immigrants held by ICE who have not been charged or convicted of serious offenses.

According to the New York Times:

Immigration enforcement officials have started to cancel the deportations of thousands of immigrants they have detained, a policy they said would pare huge case backlogs in the immigration courts.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the new approach was part of a broad shift in priorities at the agency, to focus its efforts on catching and deporting immigrants who have been convicted of crimes or pose a national security threat. The policy — announced in an Aug. 20 memorandum from John Morton, the head of the agency — drew praise from immigrant advocates, who called it a common-sense strategy, and was denounced by several Republicans as evidence that the Obama administration was weakening enforcement and making it easier for illegal immigrants to remain in the country.

Mr. Morton’s memorandum refers to a particular group of illegal immigrants: those who have been detained in ICE operations because they did not have legal status, but who have active applications in the system to become legal residents. The memo encourages ICE officers and lawyers to use their authority to dismiss those cases, canceling the deportation proceedings, if they determine that the immigrants have no criminal records and stand a strong chance of having their residence applications approved.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/us/27immig.html?ref=us

The Secure Communities Program was established to detain serious offenders. Recent reports found that a substantial portion of detained individuals had no history of serious criminal activity. In Travis County, a reported 82% of detained individuals had no history of serious criminal activity.

It remains to be seen how the memorandum will be implemented, but it does appear to move the Secure Communities Program back toward it’s original purpose.

To read the Memorandum, go to:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/us/27immig_memo.pdf

As always, I hope you find the referenced news articles informative.

Best Wishes.

Prepared by
John Vasquez
Chair
Hispanic Issues Section, State Bar of Texas
johnvasq@gmail.com


PS: Several Texas legislators have announced their intent to file bills seeking to impose anti-immigrant legislation similar to Arizona’s SB 1070. In Arizona, SB 1070 supporters used often erroneous statistics to justify the need for a law opposed by most Hispanics.

How do you overcome deliberate misinformation? By knowing the facts.

The Center for American Progress, Immigration Policy Center, National Immigration Forum, Political Correction, Progressive States Network and Southern Poverty Law Center have issued a briefing paper providing information and resources for challenging SB 1070 style legislation. To read the paper, go to:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/08/fernandez_arizona_copycat.html

PSS: Do you have a school teacher in your family? If so, you may want to refer them to the Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) resource website sponsored by the Smithsonian Institute. The website includes links to lesson plans and related materials. To see the website, go to:
http://smithsonianeducation.org/heritage_month/hhm/index.html

PSS2: On September 27, 2010, PBS will broadcast “When Worlds Collide” as part of it’s commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month. The program explores the first century following the arrival of Europeans in the New World. To read an article describing the program, go to:
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/news/article_1572553.php/When-Worlds-Collide-on-PBS-in-September-preview

PSS3: The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) will convene their 35th annual national convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from September 8 to 11. If you would like to learn more about the convention, go to:
http://www.hnba.com/hnba-35th-annual-convention/

NOTE: This News Summary is a service of the Hispanic Issues Section of the State Bar of Texas. 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

Fighting Back Against Copycat Immigration Laws Like Arizona’s: Helpful Materials for Opposing Similar Legislation
Since the passage of Arizona’s SB1070 law similar laws have been proposed in other states around the country. These laws have generally been found to be unconstitutional because they are preempted by federal law, as the federal court noted in Arizona last month. They are also problematic because they encourage racial profiling by requiring law enforcement officials to seek identification papers from anyone who looks like an immigrant. And they can cost states lots of money in legal fees and economic losses.

The following materials can be helpful in pushing back against such proposed laws.

The Immigration Reform Law Institute, or IRLI, the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, drafted the Arizona law and most of the copycat bills. The Southern Poverty Law Center designated FAIR a hate group because of its founder’s writings, its repeated participation with white nationalist groups, and its receipt of major funding from a racist organization.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/08/fernandez_arizona_copycat.html

EDITORIAL: Immigration Bait and Switch
Secure Communities, an immigration enforcement program created under President George W. Bush and now being greatly expanded by President Obama, is billed as an effort to catch and deport “the worst of the worst,” the violent criminals, drug and gun smugglers, gang members and other dangerous aliens. That would be excellent, if true. It doesn’t seem to be.

The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, the Center for Constitutional Rights, a public-interest legal organization, and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network analyzed arrest and deportation statistics and other data on Secure Communities they obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. The records, covering the program from its inception in October 2008 through June 2010, lend disturbing credence to fears voiced by immigrant advocates and some law-enforcement officials.

The national average of Secure Communities deportees with no criminal records was about 26 percent, but that figure also varied wildly around the country. It was 54 percent in Maricopa County, Ariz., whose sheriff is notorious for staging indiscriminate immigration raids. In Travis County, Tex., it was 82 percent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/opinion/18wed3.html?th&emc=th
See also “Travis County leads nation in deporting 'noncriminal' immigrants, groups find”
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/travis-county-leads-nation-in-deporting-noncriminal-immigrants-852776.html

Feds moving to dismiss some deportation cases: Critics assail the plan as a bid to create a kind of backdoor 'amnesty'
The Department of Homeland Security is systematically reviewing thousands of pending immigration cases and moving to dismiss those filed against suspected illegal immigrants who have no serious criminal records, according to several sources familiar with the efforts.

Culling the immigration court system dockets of noncriminals started in earnest in Houston about a month ago and has stunned local immigration attorneys, who have reported coming to court anticipating clients' deportations only to learn that the government was dismissing their cases.

Richard Rocha, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, said Tuesday that the review is part of the agency's broader, nationwide strategy to prioritize the deportations of illegal immigrants who pose a threat to national security and public safety. Rocha declined to provide further details.

Raed Gonzalez, an immigration attorney who was briefed on the effort by Homeland Security's deputy chief counsel in Houston, said DHS confirmed that it's reviewing cases nationwide, though not yet to the pace of the local office. He said the others are expected to follow suit soon.

Gonzalez, the liaison between the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which administers the immigration court system, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said DHS now has five attorneys assigned full time to reviewing all active cases in Houston's immigration court. Gonzalez said DHS attorneys are conducting the reviews on a case-by-case basis. However, he said they are following general guidelines that allow for the dismissal of cases for defendants who have been in the country for two or more years and have no felony convictions.

In some instances, defendants can have one misdemeanor conviction, but it cannot involve a DWI, family violence or sexual crime, Gonzalez said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/facebook/7169978.html

Immigration Agency Ends Some Deportations
Immigration enforcement officials have started to cancel the deportations of thousands of immigrants they have detained, a policy they said would pare huge case backlogs in the immigration courts.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the new approach was part of a broad shift in priorities at the agency, to focus its efforts on catching and deporting immigrants who have been convicted of crimes or pose a national security threat. The policy — announced in an Aug. 20 memorandum from John Morton, the head of the agency — drew praise from immigrant advocates, who called it a common-sense strategy, and was denounced by several Republicans as evidence that the Obama administration was weakening enforcement and making it easier for illegal immigrants to remain in the country.

The change in emphasis at the immigration agency, which represents a significant break with longstanding practices, has awakened resistance among agents and detention officers on the ground, according to officials of the agency, which is known as ICE, and of the union representing those employees.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/27/us/27immig.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=immigration&st=cse
To read the memorandum from John Morton, Assistant Secretary – ICE dated August 20, 2010, go to:
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/us/27immig_memo.pdf

Births to Illegal Immigrants Are Studied
Because they were born in this country, the babies of illegal immigrants are United States citizens. In all in 2008, four million children who were American citizens had at least one parent who was in the country illegally, the Pew study found.

Children of illegal immigrants make up 7 percent of all people in the country younger than 18 years old, according to the study, which is based on March 2009 census figures, the most recent data on immigrant families. Nearly four out of five of those children — 79 percent — are American citizens because they were born here.

About 85 percent of the parents who are illegal immigrants are Hispanic, the Pew Center said.

A nationwide survey in June by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, a group affiliated with the Hispanic Center, found that 56 percent of those polled opposed changing the 14th Amendment, while 41 percent supported it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/12/us/12babies.html?src=mv
To read a summary of the report by the Pew Hispanic Center, go to:
http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=125


Four New York Teens Sentenced in 2008 Hate Crime
RIVERHEAD, New York (CBS/AP) Three of the seven Long Island teenagers who admitted to being part of a gang that targeted Hispanics for violence were sentenced to seven-year prison terms Wednesday for their roles in the 2008 killing of an Ecuadorean immigrant. A fourth teen who met the group on the night of the slaying was sentenced to a six-year prison sentence.

Anthony Hartfold, Jordan Dasch and Jose Pacheco, all 19, each pleaded guilty to gang assault, conspiracy and attempted assault as a hate crime after confessing that they participated in an ongoing series of attacks against Hispanics, resulting in the Nov. 8, 2008 stabbing death of Marcelo Lucero.

Prosecutors noted that many Hispanics attacked prior to Lucero's murder were afraid to report the crime to police because they feared questions regarding their immigration status - a concern that the teenagers were aware of.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20014805-504083.html

Mario G. Obledo, 78, Latino civil rights pioneer, dies
Mario G. Obledo, a son of poor Mexican immigrants who became a prominent civil rights activist and the first Latino to head a California state agency, died Aug. 18 at his home in Sacramento after a heart attack. He was 78.

Mr. Obledo, one of 13 children raised by a single mother in San Antonio, has been called the godfather of the Latino civil rights movement for his efforts to raise Latinos' profile as a political force.

A lawyer by trade, he co-founded the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in the late 1960s and served as its first general counsel, using the courts to fight discrimination against Latinos in the workplace, in public schools and elsewhere.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/22/AR2010082202747.html
See also “Hispanic rights leader Obledo dies at 78”
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/hispanic_rights_leader_obledo_dies_at_78_101356169.html
And “Marcos Breton: Newer generation shouldn't forget Mario Obledo”
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/22/2974313/marcos-breton-newer-generation.html

Arizona immigration law blamed for death of Hispanic man
Tension surrounding the passage of Arizona's tough new law cracking down on illegal immigration contributed to the slaying of an Hispanic man, allegedly shot by a white neighbor, a representative of the dead man's family said Friday.

Police and the family said the arrested man, 50-year-old Gary Thomas Kelley, allegedly directed racial slurs at 44-year-old Juan Daniel Varela before the May 6 shooting near their homes.

A probable cause statement filed May 6 said Kelley confronted Varela outside Varela's home and repeated racial slurs at Varela. Varela then apparently attempted to kick Kelley who then allegedly pulled out a revolver and shot Varela, police said.

A police statement said the two men had gotten into altercations several times in recent years. The family wants Kelley charged with premeditated first-degree murder, not second-degree murder, with a hate crime allegation, Galindo said.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2010/05/14/20100514phoenix-immigration-shooting-family-blames-law.html

Visa rules are loose for illegal immigrants who are victims of crimes
Illegal immigrants who are victims of crimes are being denied special visas that aim to encourage their cooperation with police, Valley immigration attorneys say.

Called U-Visas, the documents allow immigrants who have endured substantial mental or physical abuse from a crime to stay legally in the U.S. for up to four years if they cooperate with law enforcement. The aim is to encourage the victims, who otherwise may fear deportation, to assist in an investigation.

But immigration attorneys say the haphazard application of the federal program - local law enforcement has total discretion in deciding who should be eligible - essentially denies visas to some immigrants based on little more than location.

"Whether or not a crime victim gets protection depends, really, arbitrarily on where the crime happened to have taken place," said Valerie Hink, an attorney with Southern Arizona Legal Aid. "Certain jurisdictions, no problem. Other jurisdictions, you'll never get it."
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/08/19/20100819arizona-illegal-immigrants-visas.html

SPLC Files Suit Against Georgia Police Officers Who Beat Latino Man
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Immigration Project and civil rights attorney Brian Spears filed a federal civil rights lawsuit today against two Cobb County police officers over the stop, arrest and beating of an unarmed Latino man. They also joined the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) to call on the federal government to terminate the county's 287(g) agreement due to the civil rights abuses perpetuated by the program.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Angel Francisco Castro Torres, who was riding his bicycle in Smyrna when he was stopped by Cobb County police officers Jeremiah M. Lignitz and Brian J. Walraven. According to their own account, the officers, who are the named defendants in the complaint, stopped him after observing his race. The officers immediately demanded Castro's identification and questioned his immigration status. He was also beaten, resulting in a broken nose and eye socket, and arrested.
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-files-suit-against-police-officers-who-stopped-and-beat-latino-man
See also “Lawsuit against Cobb police alleges racial profiling”
http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/lawsuit-against-cobb-police-597854.html

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Texas

Hundreds attend Farmers Branch rally against amnesty for illegal immigrants
FARMERS BRANCH – Issues surrounding illegal immigration drew hundreds to a rally here Sunday afternoon despite triple-digit heat, but there was no agreement on solutions to one of the nation's most intractable problems.

Those attending the rally were generally angry about illegal immigration, but many disagreed about the desirability of mass deportations, or about what new laws should say about conditions under which illegal immigrants might be allowed to stay in the U.S. and eventually gain citizenship.

"Many think we are in ground zero of the illegal immigration battle," Farmers Branch City Council member David Koch told the crowd at the three-hour event, which drew an estimated 200 to 400 people to the Farmers Branch Historical Park.

More than half the speakers were Hispanic. And a black politician, Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, drew applause when he said, "Stand up to the critics who say you are a bunch of callous racists."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/081610dnmetnoamnesty.2ee04ef.html

Supporters seeking release of past Hispanic leader
DALLAS — Ramsey Muniz received 214,149 votes as a third-party candidate in Texas's 1972 gubernatorial race. Almost 22 years later, he received a life sentence for drug charges.

Now the candidate turned convict, 67, spends his days in a federal prison hoping a last-ditch effort to free him will succeed before it's too late.

Muniz has been a political activist, a Hispanic leader, a gubernatorial candidate, a high school and college football star, a drug felon, a bail jumper, a fugitive and now, at the end of his life, aging inmate number 40288-115. A series of federal drug convictions culminated in a 1994 life sentence without parole for charges of possession and intent to distribute cocaine.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7164051.html

Ex-AG Gonzales at Texas Tech another year
LUBBOCK, Texas — Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will serve as a visiting professor at Texas Tech for a second year. The announcement was made Tuesday by the school in Lubbock.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7168909.html

Austin Lawyer Lulu Flores Selected for Hispanic National Bar Award
HendlerLaw is proud to congratulate firm partner Lulu Flores on her selection as the National Latina Lawyer of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association.

The Hispanic National Bar Association will recognize and honor Lulu at its National Conference in Minnesota during the Latina Lawyer Commission Luncheon on September 9, 2010. Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will be the keynote speaker. The award will be presented at the Conference closing gala the evening of Saturday, September 11, 2010.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/08/prweb4432744.htm

St. Mary´s Alumna Named Latina Judge of the Year
The Hispanic National Bar Association has announced St. Mary’s University School of Law alumna and 144th Criminal District Court Judge Catherine Torres-Stahl (J.D. ’93) as Latina Judge of the Year.

She will be recognized at the 2010 Hispanic National Bar Association Annual Convention September 8-11 in Minneapolis, Minn.
http://www.stmarytx.edu/news/?section=law&id=2474

Homenaje a Adelfa Callejo
La abogada Adelfa B. Callejo de Dallas, conocida desde hace muchos años como incansable defensora de los derechos civiles latinos, pronto sumará un reconocimiento más a su larga lista de homenajes.

La Asociación de la Barra de Abogados Hispanos de Dallas (DHBA) le entregará el Premio al Logro La Luz 2010 durante su quinto banquete y ceremonia de premiación anual y entrega de becas "Iluminar el Camino a la Educación Jurídica" en Belo Mansion el 30 de septiembre.

Conocida por su manera franca de hablar, Callejo ha participado enluchas públicas y privadas, y siempre ha salido airosa.
http://www.aldiatx.com/sharedcontent/dws/aldia/locales/stories/DN-colOlivera_18dia.ART.State.Edition1.35741e5.html

Texas officials estimate at least $250 million spent on illegal immigrants annually
AUSTIN – Texas taxpayers spent at least $250 million last year in state prison and health care costs for illegal immigrants, but figuring out the precise cost will be difficult, state officials testified on Wednesday.

The House State Affairs Committee solicited information about services and benefits provided to noncitizens – a preliminary review in preparation for a legislative session certain to see a push for tougher immigration laws similar to those enacted in Arizona.

"We want to focus on what the real costs are for state services," said committee Chairman Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton. "There's really not a lot of wholly accurate data."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-immigcosts_19tex.ART.State.Edition1.358aa36.html

Opinion: SMU Cox School of Business program aims to break glass ceiling for Hispanics
Our country is becoming more diverse.

The leadership at U.S. corporations is not.

At least not as quickly as the demographic change that is occurring. Hispanics, now the largest ethnic group in the country, are projected to number more than 60 million when the 2010 census is tallied. That's more than 18 percent of the U.S. population.

But Hispanics represent a paltry 5 percent or less of managers and executives in Fortune 1000 companies, and only about 1 percent hold seats in the boardrooms of Fortune 500 firms, according to industry studies released in the last four years.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/localnews/columnists/molivera/stories/DN-olivera_21met.ART.State.Edition1.361fc27.html

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USA

Justice Department threatens to sue controversial Arizona sheriff
WASHINGTON — A federal investigation of a controversial Arizona sheriff known for tough immigration enforcement has intensified in recent days, escalating the conflict between the Obama administration and officials in the border state.

Justice Department officials have issued a rare threat to sue Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio if he doesn't cooperate with their investigation into whether he discriminates against Hispanics. The civil rights investigation is one of two targeting the man who calls himself "America's Toughest Sheriff" — a federal grand jury in Phoenix is examining whether Arpaio has used his power to investigate and intimidate political opponents and whether his office misappropriated funds, sources said.

The Civil Rights Division investigation began in March 2009 and is focusing on whether Arpaio's department engaged in "discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures," along with allegations that his jail discriminated against Hispanic inmates, according to a letter the division sent Arpaio. A complaint to the Justice Department said even bilingual jail guards are required to speak to inmates only in English, which could endanger their medical care.
http://www.statesman.com/news/nation/justice-department-threatens-to-sue-controversial-arizona-sheriff-865081.html
See also “Sheriff's office pledges some cooperation in probe”
http://azstarnet.com/news/state-and-regional/article_f20322df-d5f7-57f5-8cac-87a9b96e291c.html

AZ has 2% of population, 19% of fed prosecutions
PHOENIX - Nearly one in every five cases being brought by federal prosecutors nationwide are filed in Arizona, according to a new report.
The Transactional Research Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University found there were 20,818 prosecutions here in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, out of 109,532 for the entire country.

By contrast, Arizona represents just 2 percent of the national population.

More than four out of every five Arizona prosecutions are related to violations of federal immigration laws - a category of prosecution that is showing an upward trend.
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/article_0c23a518-1316-58ba-956a-a1e6a8b8ba7e.html

Suspect in latest Staten Island attack on Hispanic set to be arraigned
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The 17-year-old facing hate crime charges in the alleged robbery of a Mexican is expected to be arraigned this afternoon.

According to police, the 15-year-old victim was approached in front of 190 Burgher Ave. at 8 p.m. Wednesday by a group of black men, including Plair.
Plair split off from the group, police said, approached the teen, pulled a knife on him, then used an anti-Mexican slur before taking property from him. The teen was not seriously injured.

Since April, the Hate Crimes Task Force has investigated 11 attacks on Staten Island, most of them in the Port Richmond area involving black suspects and Mexican victims.
http://www.silive.com/northshore/index.ssf/2010/08/suspect_in_latest_staten_islan.html
See also “In a working-class area, 10 Mexicans have been attacked by blacks since April in suspected hate crimes. Some community leaders say tensions have grown along with anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-staten-island-attacks-20100822-26%2C0%2C4973621%2Cprint.story

Complaint against Gaylord PD dismissed, but Latino group still concerned
Rochester, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Human Rights has dismissed a complaint filed two years ago by a group of Latino residents who claimed police discrimination in the small town of Gaylord.

The migrant worker organization Centro Campesino filed the complaints on behalf of 17 Latino residents in 2008. The complainants alleged they were victims of discrimination and retaliation by the Gaylord Police Department due to their race and national origin.

A Minnesota Public Radio review of police records in 2008 found that Latinos received roughly 45 percent of the tickets written by the Gaylord Police Department. That's 45 percent of the all the tickets going to about 13 percent of the population.

Centro Campesino Executive Director Victor Contreras said the decision by the state Department of Human Rights is a huge blow for Latinos in Gaylord. He said many Latinos in town still feel they are victims of racial discrimination. "What worries us is that the majority of Latinos who filed the complaint no longer live in Gaylord," Contreras said. "They've left out of fear."
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2010/08/11/gaylord-latino-complaint/

Latino leaders hail primary victories for Colo. legislature
Denver - State Rep. Joel Judd, who thought he had his state Senate race "in the bag," believes ethnicity played a role in his crushing defeat.

Judd lost to Sen. Lucia Guzman, 62 percent to 38 percent, in the Democratic primary. She was appointed to the north Denver seat in May.

"I went into this race knowing it was going to be very difficult to win a seat where more than 60 percent of the district is Hispanic — and in this case we had a Hispanic candidate who was very good — but I worked really hard," Judd said Wednesday.
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_15749554

Bill McCollum braces for Hispanic backlash over law targeting immigrants
Orlando - Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum sought damage control Thursday as prominent Hispanic supporters fumed over him spearheading legislation that's even tougher than Arizona's new crackdown on illegal immigration.

McCollum hastily arranged a conference call with his Hispanic leadership team late Thursday, calling them the "backbone" of his campaign and acknowledging that they had concerns about his stance.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Miami, a co-chair of the team, said Thursday afternoon that she last spoke to the state attorney general on Tuesday — one day before he called a news conference in Orlando to unveil the bill with Republican legislators.

"I'm disappointed and was blindsided by Bill's decision to promote this, and I encourage the candidates to focus on plans that will improve Florida's economy, bring jobs to our state and jump-start our tourism," Ros-Lehtinen said. "I fail to see how promotion of this issue will accomplish that, and I was taken aback."
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/obama-inauguration/fl-mccollum-hispanics-immigration-law20100813%2C0%2C5983928.story

Deputy files suit against Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office
An embattled deputy sheriff has filed a federal human-rights lawsuit against his commanders at the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office.

In the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in U.S. District Court, Deputy John Smith claims that he has faced retaliation and violations of his First Amendment rights ever since he began speaking out against the sheriff’s administration a few years ago.

Smith claims that his troubles first started when he heard Capt. Bill Michaelis make a racist comment several years ago about the three Hispanic officers who later sued and were recently awarded nearly $1 million in damages. Smith reported Michaelis’ comment to commanders, and Smith said he was soon punished by Michaelis.
http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/government-and-politics/article_6ad11f1e-aa5f-11df-9156-001cc4c03286.html

Latino leaders, Denver safety manager to examine beating
Denver - Latino leaders plan to tell Denver's new safety manager in a face-to-face meeting today that they fear he is taking a major step backward in oversight of the city's police force.

Prominent Latinos asked for the meeting following Safety Manager Ron Perea's decision to keep on the force two officers accused of covering up the beating of a 23-year-old Latino.

Concern over Perea's decision became so intense that it disrupted the conclusion of a reception Tuesday at Su Teatro honoring Perea's recent hiring. After the reception, which also honored the recent appointments of Tony Lopez as the new commander of Police District 6 and John Lucero as the city's deputy director of economic development, several people confronted Perea and demanded a meeting.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_15822645
See also “ACLU wants Denver police to reopen probe into traffic stop”
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_15918974?source=pkg

Neb. high court to get immigration-law question
OMAHA, Neb. -- A federal judge says the Nebraska Supreme Court should answer a legal question about whether a Nebraska city's ban on hiring and renting to illegal immigrants is allowed by state law.

U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp ruled late Wednesday on briefs from parties in lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund, also known as MALDEF. Those lawsuits challenging Fremont's ban have since been combined.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082604565.html

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General Interest

Some job-screening tactics challenged as illegal
WASHINGTON — Companies using criminal records or bad credit reports to screen out job applicants might land afoul of anti-discrimination laws as the government steps up scrutiny of hiring policies that can hurt blacks and Hispanics.

A blanket refusal to hire workers based on criminal records or credit problems can be illegal if it has a disparate impact on racial minorities, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The agency enforces the nation's employment discrimination laws.

"Our sense is that the problem is snowballing because of the technology allowing these checks to be done with a fair amount of ease," said Carol Miaskoff, assistant legal counsel at the EEOC.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g9mBNs_6usTSEuZ9yff-j-evFEzgD9HHFB6O4

14th Amendment: why birthright citizenship change 'can't be done'
Washington - “Birthright citizenship” – the policy of granting US citizenship to every child born on US soil – may be one of the hottest political issues of the summer. In recent weeks, some congressional Republicans have become increasingly vocal about their desire to deny such recognition to the children of illegal immigrants, saying it is a lure that draws foreigners to sneak into the country.

However, as a practical matter, changing this policy would be extremely difficult. That’s because it is in the Constitution – or, rather, it is based on the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment begins this way: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

Passage of a new constitutional amendment would require a two-thirds “aye” vote in the House and Senate, plus the approval of the legislatures of three-quarters of the 50 states. In today’s polarized political environment, it is hard to envision that happening.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2010/0810/14th-Amendment-why-birthright-citizenship-change-can-t-be-done
See also “Editorial: Bogus 'birthright' battle”
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/editorials/stories/DN-birthright_0812edi.State.Edition1.6c55dc.html

Editorial: The birthright debate
THE SERIOUS and necessary debate on illegal immigration has been hijacked in recent days by a sometimes hysterical fight over birthright citizenship. It is a nasty and wasteful diversion.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution declares that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." Children of foreign diplomats are generally excluded.

Some on the right argue that the Constitution should be changed to prevent U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants from gaining automatic citizenship, in part to prevent these "anchor babies" from being used to legitimize their parents' presence in the country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/15/AR2010081502468.html

Hispanic group highlights discrimination suit against USDA
Discrimination wasn't the primary topic of conversation at Friday's workshop about livestock industry competition, but several Hispanic farmers from Colorado said they attended the event at CSU to raise their voices about being disenfranchised by the federal government.

Standing at the entrance of Lory Student Center at Colorado State University on Friday afternoon, Anthony Hurtado of Castle Rock said all the Caucasian farmers and ranchers at the workshop, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Depart-ment of Justice, were most likely unaware of the plight of Hispanic farmers.

Hurtado and a group of other Hispanic farmers from Colorado and around the country say the USDA has systematically discriminated against them for decades, and they're looking for a settlement similar to one the USDA reached with African-American farmers for $1.25 billion.
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20100828/NEWS01/8280343/Hispanic-group-highlights-discrimination-suit-against-USDA
See also “Hispanic farmers claim discrimination drove them off land, out of business”
http://www.kens5.com/news/Hispanic-Farmers-protest-discrimination-by-USDA-101331149.html

Five years after Hurricane Katrina, growing community of immigrants leaves some New Orleans residents anxious about jobs and status.
NEW ORLEANS Five years after Hurricane Katrina, the ongoing rebuilding of the Big Easy has created a new community of Latino immigrants in this famously insular city, redrawing racial lines in a town long defined by black and white.

The change began within weeks of a storm that decimated homes and upended lives in one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. The number of black residents dropped as many left for Baton Rouge, La.; Houston and other places, including Charlotte.

While the overall numbers of Hispanics aren't huge, they continue to grow and have had an outsize impact on the culture of this proudly eccentric city and on how people here view their hometown. More than three-quarters of the 1.1million residents in the New Orleans area were born in the state. Many locals still point to long-defunct businesses as landmarks. Recipes at some beloved restaurants haven't changed in 40 years.

According to census data analyzed by the New Orleans data center, the percentage of Hispanics in the New Orleans area jumped from 4.4 percent in 2000 to 6.6 percent last year. Advocacy groups put the figure at closer to 10 percent or more as many workers, fearful of interacting with the government, avoid being counted.

The percentage of blacks fell from 37.1 percent to 34.5 percent, with the decline more pronounced in the city, where African Americans have long been the majority.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/08/22/1636460/latino-influx-sparks-uneasy-cultural.html
See also “Latino Community Celebrates Growth In New Orleans”
http://www.wdsu.com/news/24705367/detail.html

The New Face of Housing Discrimination
"Even though African Americans are 9 percent of the nation's homeowners, they make up 26 percent of the clients in the program," says Erin M. Angell Collins, a spokesperson for NeighborWorks America, the Congressionally created nonprofit that runs the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program. Latinos make up 8 percent of the nation's homeowners, a decrease from 11 percent in 2009, but 21 percent of the NFMCP program clients are Hispanic homeowners, Collins says. "They are in all stages of foreclosure or about to enter into foreclosure."

Why is housing discrimination of any kind still happening, and what can be done to prevent it?

Some experts say this kind of discrimination is simply an extension of the days when minorities couldn't get loans or buy in certain neighborhoods.

These days, Latinos and blacks get loans, but the loans typically are priced at a higher rate than white borrowers pay. Although the majority of families (an estimated 56 percent) who lost homes were non-Hispanic whites, Latino and African-American families disproportionately received the most expensive and risky types of loans during the subprime lending boom, according to the study, making them more heavily affected.
http://www.housingwatch.com/2010/08/26/the-new-face-of-housing-discrimination/

Staten Island Grapples With Attacks Against Mexicans
The national debate over immigration is hitting especially close to home for one small neighborhood on Staten Island, New York City's least-populated borough.

Police are investigating a string of at least 10 alleged hate crimes in the borough's Port Richmond area since April — all violent, and all perpetrated against Mexicans.

Police have beefed up their presence in the neighborhood, with a mobile command center, a watchtower and officers on horseback. But down the street from all that, in a parking lot where day laborers wait to get picked up for work, Ismael Fabian says crimes like this are nothing new — only the 24-hour police posts are.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129326420

Immigrants Might Leave Arizona But Not The Country
When Arizona legislators introduced SB 1070 earlier this year, their intention was to crack down on illegal immigrants in the state. The law requires police to check the immigration status of anyone in custody. Since the controversial law took effect, many of the toughest measures have been temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

One of the key goals of the law was to encourage undocumented immigrants to self-deport to their home countries. But while people are leaving Arizona, many may be moving to other states, including neighboring New Mexico.

A 30-year-old woman from Guerrero, Mexico, did just that. Altogether she says 12 family members left Mesa, Ariz., about three weeks ago to move to The South Valley, a primarily Latino neighborhood in Albuquerque.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129400993

Arizona Fight Fuels Virginia Immigration Debate
As Arizona contends with a federal challenge to its new immigration law, Virginia is back in the spotlight over its policies.

Virginia lawmakers have said they will introduce legislation similar to Arizona's law next year, following five other states that have already done so. Meanwhile, Virginia's attorney general has issued a legal opinion that allows law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of anyone they stop for any reason.

Could this be a way for other states to crack down on illegal immigrants without getting mired in the courts like Arizona?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129151164

Poll: English-speaking Latinos turn to Spanish TV
WASHINGTON — An automobile technician by day, Miguel Ramirez often returns home in a mostly white Dallas suburb to a world of romantic telenovelas, futbol or the latest U.S. news on Spanish-language TV.

"When there is a Mexican soap opera that is really juicy, my wife and her mother are so focused on watching you can't talk to them," Ramirez, 52, of Frisco, Texas, said with a chuckle. "It's a chance for my young daughters to watch and learn since they don't get to speak Spanish in school."

An Associated Press-Univision poll finds many U.S. Hispanics who, like the Ramirez family, mainly speak English are turning to Spanish-language TV and radio. The main appeal: sports and entertainment, a cultural connection and a nagging feeling among some Latinos that English-language media portray them negatively.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g8hLvcFCAfuybwM4HE2Zya8N6ZugD9HI5GLG0

Arizona hotels see SB 1070 fallout
First they were canceling in protest of Arizona's new immigration law.

But now the reason organizations are avoiding the state for their conferences and conventions appears to have nothing to do with how meeting planners and their organizations feel about the merits of SB 1070. Instead, it may be strictly business.

The latest figures put direct losses to hotels from canceled business at $15 million.

Jarnigan called that figure very conservative. She noted that the Sheraton in downtown Phoenix recently reported it has lost $9 million in future business because of fallout from the legislation.
http://www.azcentral.com/business/abg/articles/2010/08/12/20100812abg-tourism0812.html

Editorial: Law is chasing Mexican tourists, dollars away
Arizona's reckless new immigration law is sabotaging a vital economic resource at a time of an enduring budget shortfalls.

Consider these numbers:

• $2.7 billion - the amount legal Mexican tourists/shoppers spent in Arizona from July 2007 through June 2008.

• 23,000-plus - the number of wage-and-salary jobs in Arizona directly attributable to those legal Mexican visitors.

• 17 percent - the decline in Mexican shoppers entering Arizona in the months after Senate Bill 1070 was signed in late April, compared with the same period in 2009.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2010/08/12/20100812thur1-12.html

Opinion: GOP candidates unpredictable and wacky
The big political story of the year may turn out to be the consequences of the GOP's foray into extremism and wackiness. It could be that the party acculturates its not-ready-for-prime-time candidates, harnesses the energy of the Tea Party movement and sweeps to a grand old victory. There is also the distinct possibility that the acute philosophical split within the party -- basically, a clash between bedrock conservatism and utter nonsense -- will hand victories to Democrats that they didn't anticipate and frankly might not deserve.

Anyone who doubts this assessment should reflect on the fact that major figures in the Republican Party are wasting valuable time and energy debating whether the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1868, should be repealed.

At issue is birthright citizenship -- the amendment's guarantee that children born here are automatically U.S. citizens, even if their parents are in the country illegally. It's hard to remember that as recently as three years ago, major figures in the Republican Party such as Lindsey Graham and John McCain were speaking out in favor of sensible, comprehensive immigration reform. But in today's GOP, which is energized by Tea Party passion, Graham and McCain want to hold hearings on whether birthright citizenship should be abolished. Many top Republicans have decided that taking a moderate, compassionate stance on illegal immigration -- even on the status of innocent newborns -- is just too big a risk.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/12/AR2010081204991.html

Majority in state frown on immigration reform: 57 percent oppose citizenship for those living here illegally
Las Vegas - A new poll shows a majority of Nevadans now oppose immigration reform that includes a path toward citizenship for illegal immigrants.

The survey, commissioned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and 8NewsNow, also reflects a growing divide on the issue between Hispanics and non-Hispanics.

Overall, 57 percent of Nevadans now say they oppose immigration reform legislation that allows those living here without legal status to be given the opportunity to stay and apply for citizenship. That's up from a mid-April poll in which 48 percent said they would oppose such legislation.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/majority-in-state-frown-on-immigration-reform-100714029.html

Poll: Hispanic immigrants hopeful about life in US
Daily life for Marlen Lopez sounds anything but easy: The undocumented worker cleans offices to pay her bills and hasn't seen her 8-year-old son since she left El Salvador three years ago. Yet Lopez is happy with her job, hopeful about the future and confident her son will one day graduate from college in the United States.

For the 33-year-old Lopez, as for many other Hispanic immigrants, optimism about life in the U.S. appears to be partly a product of what she sees in the rearview mirror.

An Associated Press-Univision poll of more than 1,500 Latinos finds that Hispanic immigrants, many of whom faced huge problems in their homelands, have more idealized views of the United States than Hispanics who were born in America do.
http://azstarnet.com/news/us/article_d9ab0618-c6d3-55ba-9305-92f3d12fce76.html

Increase in suicides among Border Patrol agents causes alarm
FORT HANCOCK, TEX. -- After a bad day on the job as a Border Patrol agent, Eddie DeLaCruz went home and began discussing with his wife how to celebrate her upcoming birthday. Then he casually pressed his government-issued handgun under his chin and pulled the trigger.

"It was the ugliest sound I ever heard in my life," his widow, Toni DeLaCruz, recalled of that day last November. "He just collapsed." A month later, one of DeLaCruz's colleagues at the Fort Hancock border post shot himself, too.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/18/AR2010081806569.html

Trial begins in California for Mexican-born actress accused of fraudulent marriage
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Mexican-born actress and her musician husband lied about their marriage to immigration officials so she could stay in the U.S., a federal prosecutor told prospective jurors Tuesday.

In his opening statement, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Left showed a picture of Fernanda Romero and Kent Ross on their wedding day but said the appearance was deceptive.

"There was a real ceremony but nothing else about it is real," Left said. "It was a sham marriage."
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/wire/sns-ap-us-actress-marriage-fraud%2C0%2C7700346.story

Hispanic Issues Section News Summary, Issue 41

Dear Hispanic Issues Section Members:

In the last edition of this news summary, a recent article explaining why the San Antonio Express News no longer uses the term “illegal immigrant” was highlighted. This week several news articles are reporting a new term that is even more offensive - “anchor babies”. In case you had not heard this term, it refers to the children of unauthorized immigrants. Recently, several groups and television commentators have been advocating changes to the 14th Amendment that would deny citizenship to children of unauthorized immigrants born in the United States.

In the rush to outdo the last anti-immigration proposal, the 14th Amendment, the core of the civil rights movement, is now under attack.

How do you address the widespread labeling of unauthorized immigrants and their children? One way may be to examine Hispanic Civil Rights in America. The American Bar Association under Stephen N. Zack, a Cuban-American lawyer from Miami, is about to begin such an examination. See:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/fl-aba-hispanics-20100811,0,2424760.story

We should all be concerned with the labeling used by the media and the public because of the attitude it fosters. We should also be very concerned with proposals to tamper with the 14th Amendment. In the 1960’s, America emerged from a dark period when African Americans were denied equal rights and due process. We must work to avoid a retreat into an era when discrimination is once again widely accepted.

As always, I hope you find the referenced news articles informative.

Best Wishes.

Prepared by
John Vasquez
Chair
Hispanic Issues Section, State Bar of Texas
johnvasq@gmail.com


NOTE: This News Summary is a service of the Hispanic Issues Section of the State Bar of Texas. 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.

_______________________________________
Top News

Travis County leads nation in deporting 'noncriminal' immigrants, groups find: Sheriff said he questions findings but will look into whether conclusions drawm from compiled data are accurate.
Undocumented immigrants with no criminal histories are being deported from Travis County at a higher percentage than any other county in the United States, according to government statistics obtained and analyzed by several advocacy groups.

According to the groups, 82 percent of deportations of jail inmates through a federal fingerprint-sharing program in Travis County were of "noncriminals," such as those with no violent histories.

The statistics were compiled by officials for national advocacy groups, including the Center for Constitutional Rights, which obtained raw data through a federal freedom of information request to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/travis-county-leads-nation-in-deporting-noncriminal-immigrants-852776.html

ABA establishes commission on Hispanic legal rights
In an unprecedented move to address the legal issues of Hispanics in the United States, the 4,000-member American Bar Association -- under the new leadership of Stephen N. Zack, a Cuban-American lawyer from Miami – said it is establishing a Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights.

The ABA commission, to be headed by Miami lawyer César L. Alvarez, also a Cuban-American, will hold public hearings in major U.S. cities with Hispanic populations to study whether the legal system is addressing the needs of the country's largest and fastest-growing minority.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/fl-aba-hispanics-20100811,0,2424760.story

Republicans Push To Revise 14th Amendment
The immigration debate sparked by Arizona's controversial new law has revived calls to reconsider the Constitution's 14th Amendment.

The amendment, ratified more than 140 years ago, grants automatic citizenship to nearly any child born in the U.S.

Critics say it's an irresistible lure to illegal immigrants — and needs to be revised. Recently, it's been getting a lot of play on the cable news shows.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129007120
See also:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/04/AR2010080405453.html


CNN poll: Most back Arizona law but cite concerns about effects
Washington (CNN) -- Most Americans support Arizona's new law on illegal immigration, but according to a national poll, a majority think the controversial measure will increase discrimination against Hispanics while not necessarily making a dent in the problem.

A new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey also indicates that Hispanic and whites don't see eye to eye over the law.

Fifty-five percent of people questioned in the poll say they favor the measure, with four in 10 saying they oppose the law. Thirty-four percent of white respondents oppose the measure, but among Hispanics, that number jumps to 71 percent.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/07/27/poll.immigration.discrimination/

CNN Poll: Hispanics more optimistic than blacks over race
Washington (CNN) - Two-thirds of Hispanics indicate they've been victims of racial discrimination, but a majority say that a solution to their problems with whites will eventually be found, according to a new national poll.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday indicates that 66 percent of Hispanics say they've been a victim of discrimination because of their race or ethnic background. Almost as many African-Americans said the same thing, but only 31 percent of white respondents who said they've been the victim of racial discrimination.

Overall, 57 percent of people questioned in the poll say that racial discrimination against blacks is a serious problem, with that figure rising to eight in ten among black respondents. The poll indicates that 62 percent of the public says that racial discrimination against Hispanics is a serious problem, and among Hispanics, that rises to 78 percent.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/29/cnn-poll-hispanics-more-optimistic-than-blacks-over-race/

Poll: Arizona debate stirs racism
PHOENIX, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Many Arizona residents think the debate over the state's new immigration law has increased racial discrimination against Latinos, a poll indicated.

In a telephone poll, almost half those responding -- 46 percent -- said they thought Latinos are more likely to be discriminated against compared with non-Latinos than they were six months ago, The Arizona Republic reported Monday.

And nearly half also believe the debate has revealed racial problems in the state and that Latinos are more likely to have their legal status questioned than they were at the beginning of the year, the poll revealed.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/08/02/Poll-Arizona-debate-stirs-racism/UPI-97191280770532/

Poll: Language barrier a 'risk' for Latinos in schools
WASHINGTON — English only?
With Hispanic enrollment surging in schools, many Spanish-speaking parents are having trouble helping their children with homework or communicating with U.S. teachers as English-immersion classes proliferate in K-12.

An Associated Press-Univision poll highlights the language and cultural obstacles for the nation's Latinos, who lag behind others when it comes to graduating from high school.

The findings also raise questions about whether English-immersion does more to assimilate or isolate — a heated debate that has divided states, academics and even the U.S. Supreme Court. Arizona recently ordered its schools to remove teachers with heavy foreign accents from English-language instruction, while the Obama administration is seeking to push more multilingual teaching in K-12 classrooms.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-08-08-poll-spanish_N.htm

Poll: Most Chicagoans don't want police to hunt illegal immigrants, Tribune/WGN poll finds
With a Mexican father who entered the country illegally and a Cuban husband who received U.S. amnesty, Lili Betancourt would be against an Illinois law that would call on local police to jail illegal immigrants.

But reflecting the conflicting attitudes toward immigration in the Chicago region, Betancourt does believe that a dramatic increase of Latino immigrants in her Portage Park neighborhood is ruining her community.

In response to a Tribune/WGN poll taken last month, she sided with a majority of Chicago-area residents surveyed who think illegal immigrants are taking jobs and draining public resources. But they don't want local police hunting them down.

The telephone poll of 800 heads of households across the six-county Chicago region July 8-14 found that 57 percent of the respondents did not want police to seek illegal immigrants for deportation.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-poll-immigration-20100809,0,3355133.story

Judge delays injunction in Neb. immigration suits
OMAHA, Neb. — A judge says she's not sure whether lawsuits filed to block a Nebraska city's ban on hiring and renting to illegal immigrants should be heard in federal or state court.

U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp on Wednesday gave attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund two weeks to submit briefs explaining why their suits belong in federal court.

The move delays any ruling about whether to block the city of Fremont's voter-approved ban. But it still won't go into effect this week. The City Council has temporarily suspended the ordinance until the lawsuits are resolved.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iboWPAr9ckGjg7DhNxfGBS1FWh6gD9H8ASR03

Appeal Heard in Case Challenging University's Consideration of Race in Admissions
In Tuesday arguments at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for two women denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin asserted that their suit challenging the constitutionality of the school's use of race in admissions should move forward.

Fisher, et al. v. University of Texas at Austin, et al. has attracted national attention and 30 amici. It was even mentioned during the Senate confirmation hearings for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.

In Fisher, Abigail Fisher and Rachel Michalewicz are appealing U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks' Aug. 17, 2009, order granting the defendants' motion for summary judgment.

The 5th Circuit's decision in Fisher could influence significantly how Texas institutions of higher learning consider an applicant's race during the admissions process, particularly for students not automatically admitted under Texas' Top Ten Percent Law, Texas Education Code §51.803. Since 1997, the law has mandated that UT-Austin admit most of its students from a pool of high school graduates in the top 10 percent of their classes.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202464257552&Appeal_Heard_in_Case_Challenging_Universitys_Consideration_of_Race_in_Admissions

Ed Dept, civil rights leaders discuss reform
Associated Press Writers= Civil rights leaders are criticizing Obama administration education reforms aimed at turning around low performing schools and closing the achievement gap for minority students.

Eight civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, contend in a document released Monday the Education Department is promoting ineffective approaches for failing schools. They also claim the $4.35 billion "Race to the Top" grant competition — a program with a goal of spurring innovative reform in states — leaves out many minority students.

Citing federal data, the groups say just 3 percent of the nation's black students and less than 1 percent of Latino students are impacted by the first round of the Race to the Top competition, which awarded about $600 million for Tennessee and Delaware to undertake innovative reforms. Finalists for the second round of grants are to be announced Tuesday.

The document also proposes creating standards for equal access to early childhood education, effective teachers, college preparatory curriculum and quality resources. And it takes a critical viewpoint of the administration's approach to turn around failing schools, including closing them or replacing much of the staff.
But the plan has one glaring omission: no Hispanic groups signed on to support it.

Raul Gonzalez from the National Council of La Raza said his organization decided not to endorse the document because there were concerns with how the groups see charter schools. The civil rights groups want charter schools to focus more on attracting diversity than the needs of the children in their community, Gonzalez said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9191488

Hispanics Drink Less Than Average: Hispanic-American adults also use drugs less but are slightly more likely to binge drink, according to a new survey.
Hispanic-American adults drink less than the average American (46.1 percent versus 55.2 percent), according to a new survey.

The group also uses drugs less (6.6 versus 7.9 percent) but are slightly more likely to binge drink (26.3 versus 24.5 percent).

Substance use is lower in Hispanics even when income is taken into account.

Hispanic-Americans in poverty drink less (31.1 versus 39.8 percent), do drugs less (5.9 percent versus 11.7), and binge drink less (21.3 versus 25.2) than other Americans in poverty, according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/health/sns-health-hispanics-drink-less%2C0%2C299386.story
To find a link to the SAMHSA report, go to:
http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/1008024428.aspx
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Texas

Texas Still Waiting for Latinos to Show Power at Polls
Latinos are the "sleeping giant" of Texas politics — a phrase repeated so often that it has become a cliché.

Nearly 37 percent of the state's population of about 24.8 million people is Latino, but almost any political expert will tell you that the group does not fully exercise its strength in elections. Pinpointing if and when Latinos will begin wielding their voting power is a challenge.
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/2010-texas-governors-race/texas-still-waiting-for-latinos-to-vote/

Henry Cisneros on Immigration and the Latino Vote
Next year will mark the 30th anniversary of Henry Cisneros' election as mayor of San Antonio. At the time, Cisneros was 33 — the city's youngest-ever mayor and the first Hispanic to lead a major U.S. city, so it was no surprise that many Texans saw a stellar political career in his future. Cisneros was re-elected with overwhelming margins three times but decided to not seek another term in 1989. He was subsequently invited by Bill Clinton in 1992 to join his cabinet as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, though he is better remembered during that period for disclosing that he previously had an extramarital affair with a campaign staffer, Linda Medlar. Cisneros was the target of a federal investigation after it was alleged he lied during his FBI background check about the amount of money he paid Medlar when the affair ended. Eventually he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, paid a fine and avoided prison time and was pardoned by Clinton in 2001. In the last decade, Cisneros has moved into a different line of work: He is currently the executive chairman of CityView, a national investment and urban-development firm.

Cisneros was a keynote speaker this week during the Subiendo Academy’s leadership conference at the University of Texas, which was organized and hosted by the Center for Politics and Governance at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. He spoke with the Tribune about what gubernatorial candidate Bill White needs to do to court the Latino vote, whether Barack Obama can count on Hispanics in 2012, Rick Perry's best response to the Arizona immigration bill and what advice he would give current San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro — the city’s latest rising star — to ensure he stays on course.
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-news-media/tt-interview/henry-cisneros-on-immigration-and-the-latino-vote/

LULAC applauds court ruling on Arizona law, braces for fight in Texas
Dallas-area Hispanic rights activists expressed support Thursday for a decision temporarily halting key aspects of Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigration.

Members of the North Texas district of the League of United Latin American Citizens said in a news conference that they would ask Texas lawmakers to approve a resolution blocking any attempts at what they called "hate legislation."

"Understand that regardless of what happens in Arizona, this legislation will come to Texas," said Joe Cardenas III, state director of LULAC. "It is very important that we be prepared when it comes to Texas."
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/073010dnmetlulac.2b28090.html

Immigration divides conservatives among GOP
AUSTIN — Immigration now is a wedge issue in Texas Republican politics - dividing the traditional conservative coalition, pitting social conservatives against hard-liners.

Evangelical ministers in Texas and across the nation are splitting off from the hard right, declaring immigration reform is needed that includes a path to citizenship without first deporting millions of illegal immigrants.

That aligns evangelicals with conservative Republican businessmen who want reform because they want the labor. But it puts the evangelicals at odds with the fiscal and hard right conservatives who take the position that illegal immigrants broke the law and should be deported before being given a chance to re-enter the country.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/7133027.html

Editorial: Eyes front: With Arizona immigration law on appeal, Texas should focus on other issues.
Facing an $18 billion state funding crisis that has already required deep cuts in agency budgets, the last thing Texas needs is a legislative season in 2011 paralyzed by a fight over an Arizona-style immigration law.

Until federal judge Susan Bolton issued an injunction last week suspending the law's most controversial provisions, such a debilitating conflict in Austin next spring seemed inevitable.

Now that the legality of state immigration statutes could take years to reach a final Supreme Court judgment, it's time to step back and take a deep breath. Calmer voices should prevail at the state capitol when lawmakers gather for the 82nd legislative session.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7144050.html

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USA

Teen victim in Staten Island hate crime: 'I thought I was gonna die'
The teen victim of the most recent bloody bias attack on Staten Island said Monday his ordeal was so frightening, he thought he would die.

Christian Vazquez, 18, was kicked and punched to the ground by assailants allegedly yelling anti-Mexican slurs - the latest in asurge of black-on-Hispanic assaults.

A 15-year-old - himself an immigrant from Liberia - was arrested in the ambush, and Vasquez demanded the rest of his tormentors turn themselves in.

"If you've got a conscience, just come out and say you did it," said Vazquez from his Port Richmond home, still nursing a badly swollen left eye. "What happened to me could happen to a mother, could happen to a father," he said, "and maybe the next victim could end up dead."

The attack was the 11th bias incident in the Port Richmond area since April.

Vazquez - whose mother brought him to the U.S. from Mexico when he was just 5 - has beenactive with a neighborhood youth group called Eye Openers Youth Against Violence for the past five years.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/08/03/2010-08-03_i_thought_i_was_gonna_die.html

Arizona Ruling Acts as a Warning to Other States
A federal judge in Arizona on Wednesday broadly vindicated the Obama administration’s high-stakes move to challenge that state’s tough immigration law and to assert the primary authority of the federal government over state lawmakers in immigration matters.

Although Judge Bolton’s ruling is not final, it seems likely to halt, at least temporarily, an expanding movement by states to combat illegal immigration by making it a state crime to be an immigrant without legal documents and by imposing new requirements on state and local police officers to enforce immigration law.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/29/us/29immig.html?th&emc=th

Supreme Court leery of broad challenges to yet-to-take-effect state laws
The Supreme Court, where the legal controversy over Arizona's immigration law is likely to be resolved, has taken a dim view in recent years of judges striking down state laws based on broad challenges to laws that have not taken effect.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton agreed Wednesday with the Obama administration that much of the Arizona law was unconstitutional "on its face," without waiting for evidence that individuals were hurt or had their rights violated by state officials.

In her ruling, Bolton read the Arizona law broadly to apply to "all arrestees" in the state, not just those for whom there is a "reasonable suspicion" they are in the country illegally, as the state's lawyers interpreted the law. Relying on her understanding of the law's scope, Bolton said it was unconstitutional because legal immigrants and U.S. citizens "will necessarily be swept up" by it.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immig-legal-20100730,0,6396163.story

U.S. Department of Justice sues Renton apartment landlord for discriminating against minorities, families
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday sued the managers of a Renton apartment complex, accusing them of discriminating against minorities and families.

According to the lawsuit, the management company GRAN Inc., as well as the corporate owner and former on-site manager of Summerhill Place Apartments, discouraged people of color and families with children from applying to rent units in the 268-unit complex. The lawsuit also alleges the former manager treated tenants from India less favorably than other tenants, refusing to fix appliances and telling them to "go back to India" if they could not learn how to use them.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012378513_summerhill17m.html

Federal Court Bars Employer’s Questions About Immigration and Sexual History
Portland, OR - infoZine - A federal district court has ordered an employer to stop questioning Hispanic farm workers who filed charges of sexual harassment and retaliation with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) concerning their immigration status, employment history and, in one woman’s case, her sexual history. In June 2009, the federal agency sued Willamette Tree Wholesale, Inc. of Molalla, Ore., alleging that workers were sexually harassed and threatened in retaliation for reporting the harassment. The EEOC also charged that one Latina farm worker was repeatedly raped by her supervisor.

“The EEOC has seen an alarming rise in harassment cases involving egregious sexual assaults being committed against female workers, particularly those from immigrant communities,” Tamayo continued. These include suits against AllStar Fitness in Seattle on behalf of a Latina janitor who allegedly had been raped multiple times; La Pianta L.C.C., which does business as Frenchman Hills Vineyard in Othello, Wash., alleging that a supervisor sexually assaulted a Latina worker; and a suit with the Oregon Law Center against Woodburn, Ore.-based Wilcox Farms resulting in a $260,000 settlement in a sexual harassment case that involved a physical sexual assault. Additionally, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a jury verdict of $1,000,000 in favor of the EEOC against Coalinga, Calif.-based Harris Farms on behalf of a Latina farm worker who charged she was raped by her supervisor and retaliated against.
http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/42445/

Virginia legal opinion supports checks of immigration status
RICHMOND -- Virginia joined the national debate over immigration Monday when Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II issued a legal opinion that authorizes law enforcement to check the immigration status of anyone stopped by police officers for any reason.

Previously, law enforcement officers in Virginia were required to investigate the legal status only of those who were arrested and jailed.

Cuccinelli's opinion is less stringent than the portion of an Arizona law that was stopped by a federal court last week. Under that law, Arizona authorities were required to question people who they have a "reasonable suspicion" are illegal immigrants.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/02/AR2010080205229.html
See also:
Cuccinelli: Va. police can ask about immigration status
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/virginiapolitics/2010/08/law_enforcement_officials_in_v.html

OC Judge Rebuked For Racially Insensitive Remarks
Santa Ana - An Orange County family law judge was rebuked by an appellate court panel for racially insensitive remarks she made during a hearing on a restraining order, according to court documents obtained today.

A three-justice panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana upheld Judge Nancy A. Pollard's ruling on the restraining order but scolded her for her April 30, 2009, remarks during a hearing on a woman's request for a five-year restraining order against an ex-boyfriend.

When he said he was born in Newport Beach, the judge said: "I'm concerned about the throwing of the rocks and the spitting. I've been doing domestic violence now for 14 years. Usually that is the kind of behavior I see in Middle Eastern clients, but almost -- if I read a declaration where they say, 'He spit on me, he threw rocks at me' -- almost always it's a Middle Eastern client. If the declaration says, 'He drags me around the house by the hair,' it's almost always a Hispanic client."
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/oc-judge-rebuked-for-racial-remarks-20100803

Two Brooklyn men get long jail sentences for fatally beating Ecuadorean immigrant
A Brooklyn judge lashed out at two heartless hate crime thugs Thursday, sentencing them to 37 years in prison for the fatal beating of an Ecuadorean immigrant they thought was gay.

"You, Mr. Phoenix, believed the victim was a lesser person," Supreme Court Justice Patricia DiMango told 30-year-old Keith Phoenix, who was famously caught by a toll booth camera chuckling moments after killing Jose Sucuzhanay, a dad of two.
Phoenix and co-defendant Hakim Scott, 27, were convicted of a savage attack that had overtones of racial and gay bias.

Phoenix, who is black, had shouted anti-Hispanic and gay epithets at the 31-year-old victim before repeatedly whacking him over the head with an aluminum baseball bat after Scott had jumped out of an SUV and smashed him with a beer bottle.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/08/05/2010-08-05_two_brooklyn_men_get_long_jail_sentences_for_fatally_beating_ecuadorean_immigran.html

Woman claims Mayor Lantigua favors Hispanics for city jobs
LAWRENCE, NH — A former city parking clerk, who faced larceny charges, has filed a discrimination complaint against Mayor William Lantigua alleging he will not rehire her because she is not Hispanic.

Ann Anzalone, 52, of Salem, N.H., filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination claiming that Lantigua has "hired only Hispanics for clerical positions throughout City Hall and other departments outside of City Hall."

Previously a senior clerk at the Museum Square parking garage next to Lawrence District Court, Anzalone was accused of destroying and stealing computer files and charged with larceny of property in 2007. Her case was originally handled in Lawrence District Court, but the case was transferred to Haverhill District Court in February 2009 to avoid any potential conflict of interest.

A month later, Judge Michael Uhlarick dismissed the case against her.
http://www.eagletribune.com/latestnews/x315772619/Woman-claims-Mayor-Lantigua-favors-Hispanics-for-city-jobs

Class action suit claims employment discrimination by bus company
OAKLAND — An Oakland woman is the lead plaintiff in a federal class action lawsuit against the Ohio-based First Transit bus company, one of several service providers for East Bay Paratransit, claiming the company's hiring policy barring applicants with felony convictions is discriminatory against blacks and Latinos and violates civil rights and fair employment laws.

The complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S District Court in San Francisco on behalf of 44-year-old Adrienne Hudson, is backed by the nation's largest transit unions. It asserts that, because blacks and Latinos have a higher incarceration rate nationally, employment-selection policies based on criminal background checks — such as First Transit's — have "a disparate impact on African-American and Latino job applicants and employees."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_15560561

Discrimination lawsuit filed against 24 Hour Fitness
A Latin-based civil rights group is suing 24 Hour Fitness claiming that several workers have been the victim of racial and gender discrimination at many of the California gym locations.

According to an AP press release, the lawsuit was filed against the largest privately owned U.S. fitness chain on Tuesday by The Mexican American and Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) in Alemeda County Superior Court.

The suit alleges the fitness chain consistently discriminates against female and minority workers who apply for managerial positions or promotions.
http://www.examiner.com/x-45622-West-Palm-Beach-Adaptive-Fitness-Examiner~y2010m7d15-Discrimination-lawsuit-filed-against-24-Hour-Fitness

EEOC Releases FY 2009 Federal Work Force Report
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released its Annual Report on the Federal Work Force for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. The full text of the report is available on the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov. The report assesses the state of equal employment opportunity throughout the federal workforce -- including trends in the composition of the workforce, and data concerning complaints of employment discrimination in the federal sector -- and includes practical tips for agencies to improve their performance.

EEOC notes that over the past decade it has found subtle changes in the composition of the federal workforce. Overall, the agency says, the participation rates of women, Hispanics or Latinos, and Asians have increased slightly. The number of women in the federal workforce rose from 42.3 percent to 44.06 percent; Hispanics/Latinos from 6.81 percent to 7.90 percent; and Asian-Americans from 5.22 percent to 5.84 percent. The total workforce increased by 15.09 percent.
http://ohsonline.com/articles/2010/08/02/fy-2009-federal-work-force-report.aspx?admgarea=news

Woodlawn Cemetery Supervisor Fired Amid Charges Of Discrimination
The management of Woodlawn Cemetery says it won't bury any complaints of discrimination. This, after black and Latino employees complained that they've been targets for years.

"There was a lot of complaints, the evidence is there that the harassment has been going on," said an unidentified worker.

Last month, employees at the landmark burial ground told NY1 for at least the last four years their work lives have been a living hell. They say they believe they were passed over for promotions and treated unfairly simply because they are black and Latino.
http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/123086/ny1-follow-up--woodlawn-cemetery-supervisor-fired-amid-charges-of-discrimination

_______________________________________
General Interest

The HNBA Highlights That Legal Challenges Against Arizona's Immigration Law Have Largely Been Successful
WASHINGTON, July 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Yesterday, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) joined millions of Americans and other national organizations in celebrating the successful legal challenges to the most repugnant portions of Arizona's SB 1070. In a ruling issued today, The United States District Court for the District of Arizona granted a preliminary injunction as to several key sections of SB 1070, with a trial on the merits still part of the pending litigation to overturn what is likely an unconstitutional piece of anti-immigrant legislation.

As the HNBA has previously pointed out, when it spoke out publicly before SB 1070 was signed into law, some of the provisions included in SB 1070 raise grave constitutional concerns and negatively impact constitutional protections afforded to all Americans, regardless of their immigration status.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-hnba-highlights-that-legal-challenges-against-arizonas-immigration-law-have-largely-been-successful-99546274.html

High cost of interpreters hits local courts
Cities and counties in metro Atlanta are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on interpreter services in local courts for defendants who don't speak English.

Gwinnett County, which has one of the most diverse populations in the region, spent $539,803 in 2009 on interpreters in its court system, according to figures supplied by the county to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Cobb's Superior Court spent $255,563 last year.

Aiken objected that the city is being forced to provide a service to many people who are neither residents nor taxpayers in Alpharetta and may not be in the country legally. The figures supplied by the cities and counties on interpreters for non-English speakers do not include the immigration status of these defendants; many are likely illegal immigrants, but some may be legal residents.
http://www.ajc.com/news/high-cost-of-interpreters-581450.html

Arizona immigration clash headed for controversial appeals court
The epic legal struggle over Arizona's immigration crackdown has landed in a San Francisco-based federal appeals court that is all too familiar with being the center of the nation's attention — and its inevitable label as the nation's most liberal court

From once striking down the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools to overturning death sentences with regularity, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has long been a favored target of conservatives who have jumped at any chance to blast the country's largest appellate court. Some groups supporting Arizona's strict immigration law already have said they believe their best chances lay in the U.S. Supreme Court, not the 9th Circuit.

But as the Arizona case reaches its marbled doorstep, having inflamed the national debate over illegal immigration, the 9th Circuit is not so easy to stereotype. While still considered more liberal than most appeals courts, this is not former President Jimmy Carter's 9th Circuit. The appeal of last week's decision by an Arizona judge blocking the most controversial provisions of Arizona's immigration law is just as likely to be decided in the coming months by the 9th Circuit's moderate to conservative judges as by its liberal wing.
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_15649670

Suspension of immigration law still poses a threat
Though its most controversial parts have been suspended pending a court battle, Arizona's anti-illegal immigration law still could lead to abuses against migrants and people of Hispanic origin, says a Tucson-based human rights organization fighting the legislation.

At a community forum in Yuma this week, Border Action Network Policy Director Jaime Farrant noted that U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton's ruling last month let stand some provisions of Senate Bill 1070, which have since taken effect.

Border Action Network, formed in 1999, combines grassroots community organizing, leadership development, litigation and policy advocacy to ensure the rights of immigrant and border communities in Arizona, according to its website. Known by its acronym BAN, the organization has signed on as a plaintiff in one of seven lawsuits filed against SB 1070.
http://www.yumasun.com/news/law-62960-immigration-police.html

Judging from the name . . .
In 25 years, Broward judges have run unopposed 94 percent of the time. And of the 17 sitting judges who have been challenged in that time, just six were defeated. Three of them -- all Hispanic -- lost in a single year: 2008, including one who lost to Ian Richards, the only black county court judge ever elected in Broward. (Thomas J. Reddick became Broward's first black elected circuit court judge in 1972. Jahra McLawrence and Roshawn Banks, both running for open slots, hope to become the second black man, and the first black woman, respectively, elected to the Broward county court.)

It's not that judges shouldn't be challenged. But the rarity of it, and the sheer volume in Broward is drawing attention to an uncomfortable fact: Every black and Hispanic judge up for reelection, plus every judge with an Irish-sounding surname, has drawn an opponent.

Call it lawyers seeking a pay upgrade in a tough economy, or a conspiracy by the judge attack website JAAblog, but the crass, political truth is that when voters have little information, as in most judicial races, names people can identify with often win.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/05/1761955/judging-from-the-name.html

Opinion: 14th Amendment being abused: Republicans are right to call for a re-examination of “birthright citizenship.”
Fort Wayne, IND - Texas is home to about 1.5 million illegal immigrants who, thanks to the miracle of modern politics, managed to produce at least 60,000 new U.S. citizens last year.

It's not politically correct to call millions of others just like them “anchor babies,” of course, but that's exactly what they are – which is why Republicans are right to re-examine the 14th Amendment, despite tactics and rhetoric that undermine their stated goals.

The campaign to end “birthright citizenship” has gathered steam in the wake of a federal judge's recent decision to block implementation of Arizona's new law to combat illegal immigration, with some leading congressional Republicans suggesting changes to the amendment might accomplish what several successive presidents have not been able or willing to do.
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100810/NEWS/8100310

Opinion: Projected Latino Prominence Should Play Greater Role in Lifetime Judicial Appointments
Sometime this week, the Senate will confirm Solicitor General Elena Kagan to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Her confirmation will, far too late in our history, mark the first time that one-third of the Court's sitting justices are women. Following President Obama's historic nomination last year of Sonia Sotomayor as the first Latina justice ever, Kagan's nomination is also the first time any president has nominated two women consecutively. Kagan has an exemplary record of public service and intellectual achievement, and despite plainly partisan opposition to her confirmation, she is well-qualified to serve as a jurist.

However, Kagan's confirmation as Supreme Court Justice will come without the endorsement of MALDEF, the nation's leading Latino civil rights law firm. Given its mission to promote the civil rights of Latinos in the United States through the legal system, MALDEF has generally taken a public position in support of or in opposition to Supreme Court nominees. The decision to take a neutral position on the confirmation was not easy, and several prominent members of MALDEF's board strongly advised support for Kagan's confirmation.

Although Latinos are the nation's largest minority group, there are fewer Latino nominees to date than from any other minority group except Native Americans, who are completely unrepresented. Latinos are also the only minority group other than Native Americans whose proportion of judicial nominees is below its proportion of the national population. Latinos comprise about one in 12 of the Administration's nominees to circuit and district courts, while they make up about one in seven of the nation's residents. While the Obama Administration's efforts to address the historical underrepresentation of minority group members on the federal bench are laudable, the failure to date to include Latinos, the nation's largest minority group, in that effort is inexplicable.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-a-saenz/projected-latino-prominen_b_670713.html

For some, Arizona's immigration law poses a new dilemma
Carlos Garcia is a 19-year-old U.S. citizen, born and raised in Phoenix. Some of his closest friends are undocumented immigrants. His undocumented friends don't drive because they are not eligible for driver's licenses, so on weekends it's usually Garcia who chauffeurs them around in his Ford Mustang.

They go to places like Marivue Park in west Phoenix to play basketball or the Harkins Theatres at 99th Avenue and McDowell Road to catch a movie.

Last week, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton issued a temporary injunction that blocked key parts of the law, but she let others stand.

One of the provisions that took effect Thursday makes it a state crime to transport or harbor illegal immigrants. Supporters of the law say the transporting provision is aimed at smugglers who transport loads of illegal immigrants through Arizona into the United States or harbor them in drophouses.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2010/08/02/20100802arizona-immigration-law.html

Immigration law may have cut school attendance
At least one school official suspects the state's immigration law is contributing to reduced enrollment in Phoenix-area classrooms.
The expected number of students at two districts this year is down by more than 600, based on projections made at the end of last school year, according to The Arizona Republic.

Phoenix Balsz Elementary School District took the biggest hit, with 560 fewer students than expected. The southeast Phoenix district had 2,809 students enrolled on the first day of school, but only 2,250 showed up.
http://azstarnet.com/news/state-and-regional/article_b2caebb6-daa9-5cc3-91b7-83c15fecb8b0.html

Opinion: Neither party has done much to reach out to Latinos lately
In the November elections, and the 2012 contests to follow, Latinos are faced with a lose-lose situation.

They could support a party that doesn't care about them, uses them to score cheap political points and refuses to tackle immigration reform because it is opposed by parts of its base. Or they could vote Republican -- and things might get worse.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/02/2930375/neither-party-has-done-much-to.html

Debate in Nevada over Arizona immigration law likely to intensify
Debate in Nevada over Arizona's immigration law will likely intensify as a lawmaker seeks to establish a similar measure in the Silver State.

Assemblyman Don Gustavson, R-Sparks, has already submitted a request for the legislative counsel bureau to use the language of Arizona's SB1070 to craft a nearly identical bill for Nevada.

In Nevada, gubernatoral candidate Brian Sandoval, a Republican, has said he supports the Arizona law but isn't sure it would be appropriate for Nevada as the former shares a border with Mexico and the latter doesn't. Democratic candiate Rory Reid has said he opposes the Arizona immigration law.

Polls show a majority of voters in both states support the law. But among Hispanics in Arizona, opposition outweighs support by a wide margin.
http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/politics/Debate_in_Nevada_over_Arizona_immigration_law_likely_to_intensify.html

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: Raid has repercussions: Bus station, shuttle operators worry arrests scare tourists
The arrests of 31 suspected illegal immigrants at valley bus stations last week have stirred outrage and fear in the Hispanic community.

They also could be bad for business.

Immigrant rights groups called the actions at valley bus or shuttle-bus stations "raids" and said family members at Tufesa Internacional, the North Las Vegas bus station Gaytan manages, were separated when federal agents arrived.

Some family members were taken away as others remained behind crying, said Michael Flores, a local activist with ProgressNow Nevada, who arrived at Tufesa while agents were still there.

"It was heartbreaking," Flores said.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/raid-has-repercussions-99923919.html

Illegal immigrants leaving the U.S. can be detained at the border
NOGALES, Ariz. - Undocumented immigrants who decide to leave the United States because of increasing enforcement and decreasing job prospects now face one more obstacle: the threat of arrest and deportation by border officers inspecting outbound traffic.

When illegal immigrants are detected trying to leave the country, they are not just ushered across the line, said Bonnie Arellano, a spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Instead, their information is entered into a database before they are allowed to return to Mexico.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/08/03/20100803illegal-immigrants-leaving-U.S.html

Anuncian estrategia contra ataques a mexicanos en NY
NUEVA YORK -- Tras una serie de agresiones a mexicanos en el distrito de Staten Island, se pondrá en práctica una nueva estrategia que incluirá programas educativos, entrenamiento sobre discriminación y la creación de espacios más seguros en la zona, anunciaron el martes funcionarios.

El plan para combatir los delitos de intolerancia llega después de que el sábado se registró un nuevo ataque en el barrio de Port Richmond, donde han ocurrido 11 incidentes de este tipo desde abril de este año. Poco antes, las autoridades habían multiplicado las medidas de seguridad en la zona al incrementar el número de patrullas, policías y puestos de control móviles, que el martes vigilaban las estrechas calles.

La mayoría de los ataques registrados parecen seguir un patrón similar: un hombre mexicano es golpeado y robado, en medio de epítetos raciales, por jóvenes afroamericanos, según han dado a conocer las autoridades. En el último incidente, el adolescente mexicano le dijo a medios locales que otro hispano también participó.
http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2010/08/03/777109/anuncian-estrategia-contra-ataques.html#ixzz0veUBzHIT

Opinion: Navarrette: Going back in time in Arizona
PHOENIX - Normally, when I write from the road, I'm careful not to forget my pens, notepads and laptop. But this time, as a Mexican-American heading to Arizona, I made sure I also had my passport.

With polls showing about 70 percent of white Arizonans supportive of the law and roughly the same percentage of Latino Arizonans opposed, the comity is gone.

Relationships are frayed. Families are divided. People who have been friends for years now hardly speak.
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_15677337

Opinion: Is the GOP shedding a birthright?
Honestly, I thought that our politics could not get worse, and suddenly there appears this attack on birthright citizenship and the introduction into popular use of the hideous term "anchor babies": children whom illegal immigrants have for the alleged purpose of "anchoring" themselves to American rights and the welfare state.

Particularly depressing is that the idea of repealing the 14th Amendment's guarantee of citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" was given momentum by one of the nation's most reasonable conservatives.

"People come here to have babies," said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). "They come here to drop a child. It's called, 'drop and leave.' To have a child in America, they cross the border, they go to the emergency room, have a child, and that child's automatically an American citizen. That shouldn't be the case. That attracts people here for all the wrong reasons."

Drop a child? How can a strong believer in the right to life use such a phrase?

I can't do better on this than the Cleveland Plain Dealer's estimable columnist Connie Schultz: "I have lived for more than half a century, and I have yet to meet a mother anywhere in the world who would describe the excruciating miracle of birth as 'dropping' a baby."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/04/AR2010080405453.html

AP-Univision Poll: Young Hispanics less likely Catholic; divided with elders on social issues
WASHINGTON (AP) — A name like Maria or Jose isn't a solid clue anymore that the person who answers to it will worship in a Catholic church on Sundays.

An Associated Press-Univision poll finds that younger Latinos, as well as those who speak more English than Spanish, are much less likely to identify as Catholics than older Hispanics who mostly speak Spanish.

The poll of 1,500 Latino adults also found significant divisions on social issues such as same-sex unions and abortion, along lines of age, language and whether one is Catholic or Protestant.

Overall, 62 percent of Hispanics identify as Catholic, but that includes only 55 percent of young adults 18 to 29, compared with 80 percent of elders 65 and over.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-us-ap-univision-poll-hispanics-religion%2C0%2C4441909.story