Mexican America

Even Critics of Safety Net Depend on It Increasingly - NYTimes.com

2012-02-12T15:51:00.000-08:00

The contradictions of the sectors of American society who are critical of the social safety net created during the 20th century - and yet increasingly depend on it, for themselves and other family members, is brough to light in this NYT article.

The sample paragraph below gets to the heart of the matter.

Even Critics of Safety Net Depend on It Increasingly - NYTimes.com:

"And as more middle-class families like the Gulbransons land in the safety net in Chisago and similar communities, anger at the government has increased alongside. Many people say they are angry because the government is wasting money and giving money to people who do not deserve it. But more than that, they say they want to reduce the role of government in their own lives. They are frustrated that they need help, feel guilty for taking it and resent the government for providing it. They say they want less help for themselves; less help in caring for relatives; less assistance when they reach old age."

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Gobierno incumple con defender derechos de migrantes: AI

2012-01-25T23:22:00.000-08:00

Amnesty International ha evaluado negativamente el trabajo del gobierno mexicano ante el tema de la protección de los derechos de los migrantes.

La siguiente nota resume la afirmación de la organización:

"El gobierno mexicano no ha cumplido su promesa de proteger a los migrantes frente a los “abusos generalizados” contra sus derechos humanos, sostuvo Aministía Inrternacional.

“Pese a la promesa de cambio del gobierno mexicano, las leyes y otras medidas oficiales apenas tienen impacto, y los abusos sistemáticos contra migrantes continúan imparables”, afirmó Rupert Knox, investigador de AI sobre México.

De ahí que esa organización defensora de los derechos humanos ha emprendido una campaña con la que pretende despertar conciencias y evidenciar la “penosa” situación de miles de migrantes de Centroamérica que cada año atraviesan la región, informó en un comunicado de prensa."

Gobierno incumple con defender derechos de migrantes: AI:

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Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness Trailer - Airing on PBS on Sept. 20, 2011

2011-09-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

This exceptional documentary will be airing on PBS on Wednesday, Sept. 21.

The documentary explores the local level impact of an anti-immigrant hate crime which took place in Patchogue, New York in 2008, when Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero was killed. The documentary examines the local community's reaction to the crime.

In addition to the airing of the film, events are being organized throughout the country to hold local level meetings and discussions.

For more information, visit the website: http://www.niot.org/lightinthedarkness

In addition, the following press release has been prepared:

For Immediate Release

NOT IN OUR TOWN: LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS PROFILES A LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY TAKING ACTION FOLLOWING A HATE CRIME KILLING

Documentary Narrated by Academy Award®-Nominee Alfre Woodard Debuts

Wednesday, September 21 on PBS

Not In Our Town Week of Action Kicks Off September 18

New York, NY (July 21, 2011) – Not In Our Town: Light in the Darkness – a new film which documents the story of a town standing together to take action after a hate crime killing devastates their community – will debut Wednesday, September 21 at 10:00 p.m. ET on PBS (check local listings). Narrated by Academy Award®-Nominee Alfre Woodard, the documentary addresses the growing problem of anti-immigrant violence in communities nationwide.

In 2008, a series of attacks by a group of seven local teenagers against Latino residents of the Long Island, New York town of Patchogue ended with the killing of 37-year-old Marcelo Lucero. An Ecuadorian immigrant, Lucero had been a Patchogue resident for 13 years. Filmed over a two-year period, the documentary follows Mayor Paul Pontieri, the victim’s brother Joselo Lucero, diverse community leaders, residents and students as they openly address the underlying causes of the violence, work to heal divisions and initiate ongoing action to ensure everyone in their village will be safe and respected.

“As the country becomes increasingly divided about immigration, we hope this film sparks constructive discussions that separate policy differences from human issues and community safety, so that what happened in Patchogue will never happen again,” said Patrice O’Neill, Executive Producer and Director, Light in the Darkness and Founder of The Working Group.

The film serves as the centerpiece of Not In Our Town’s National Week of Action. From September 18-24, public media outlets and communities across the country will host screenings, events and discussions on hate crime prevention, working to develop new ways to make their towns safer. Public media stations in 20 markets, along with partner organizations including the Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services Office, National Council of Churches, National League of Cities, Interfaith Immigration Coalition, National Hispanic Media Coalition, United Methodist Women, and Welcoming America will use the film to initiate dialogue about issues of intolerance in their communities.

Light in the Darkness is the third PBS special from Not In Our Town, a project from The Working Group, whose mission is to highlight stories of communities taking positive action to fight intolerance. Not In Our Town was launched in 1995 with the national PBS special Not In Our Town, which followed the citizens of Billings, Montana as they joined forces to resist bigotry in their town. Not In Our Town II, a follow-up broadcast, aired in 1996 and showed how communities adapted the experience from Billings to counteract local hate violence. Over the past 15 years, Not In Our Town has grown from a PBS documentary into a national effort to connect people working together to take action against hate and create safe, inclusive communities.

Not In Our Town Light in the Darkness was directed by Patrice O’Neill and produced by The Working Group. Adrienne Calo and Charene Zalis serve as producers, with consulting producer Ray Telles. The film was edited by Linda Peckham, Andrew Gersh and Jill Strong, with principal photography by Brian Dentz.

Major support for this program is provided by PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust. Additional support has been provided by the Reva and David Logan Foundation and Public Welfare Foundation.

For additional information, please visit: http://www.niot.org/LightInTheDarkness.

Media Contacts:

Not In Our Town and The Working Group:
Jayna Zelman, Rubenstein Communications
212-843-8044 jzelman@rubenstein.com

Jodi Sevin Patkin, Rubenstein Communications
212-843-8393 jsevin@rubenstein.com

###

Robert Reich: This Labor Day We Need Protest Marches Rather Than Parades

2011-08-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

Noted economist and former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, has emphasized over the years the importance of using the well-being of working families as an indicator of the nation's overall economic health and prosperity. More recently, he has also been critical of the measures which have or have not been taken to address the deep recession and high unemployment that we suffer. Thus, it is not at all surprising that he now suggests that working families have little to celebrate on Labor Day. Instead of parading, he suggests, they should be protesting.

A brief excerpt from this article:

"The ratio of corporate profits to wages is now higher than at any time since just before the Great Depression.

Meanwhile, the American economy has all but stopped growing -- in large part because consumers (whose spending is 70 percent of GDP) are also workers whose jobs and wages are under assault.

Perhaps there would still be something to celebrate on Labor Day if government was coming to the rescue. But Washington is paralyzed, the president seems unwilling or unable to take on labor-bashing Republicans, and several Republican governors are mounting direct assaults on organized labor (see Indiana, Ohio, Maine, and Wisconsin, for example).

So let's bag the picnics and parades this Labor Day. American workers should march in protest. They're getting the worst deal they've had since before Labor Day was invented -- and the economy is suffering as a result."

Robert Reich: This Labor Day We Need Protest Marches Rather Than Parades:

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La Popularidad de Obama Cae Entre la Población Latina

2011-08-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

Para nadie es un secreto que la popularidad del Presidente Barack Obama ha caído de manera significativa entre electores latinos y la población latina en general. Las razones son muchas, entre las que se pueden destacar: la continua debilidad de la economía, la cual ha afectado seriamente a las familias latinas; altos niveles de desempleo; la ausencia, hasta hace unos días, de mejorías en las políticas migratorias del país; etc.

Si bien el estado de la economía y el desempleo alto son problemas generalizados que afectan a la nación, la población latina si tiene intereses particulares, como en el caso de una reforma migratoria, que han sido descuidadas por los poderes ejecutivo y legislativo.

Resultará interesante ver el comportamiento del electorado latino en la eleccion del 2012, puesto que los legisladores federales del partido Republicano, y sus contrapartes en muchas entidades estatales, son quienes han bloqueado una reforma migratoria y/o impulsado o aprobado leyes anti-inmigrantes.

Los Latinos verán a Obama y a los demócratas como la opción menos mala? Se aumentará el apoyo latino a los republicanos?

El desencanto actual con Obama es documentado por una nueva encuesta realizada por Impremedia/Latino Decisions. A continuación, un fragmento del articulo publicado en La Opinión y el link para dicha nota:

El más reciente sondeo Impremedia/Latino Decisions, realizado entre finales de julio y principios de agosto muestra que el nivel de voto seguro de los latinos por Obama en 2012 permanece a niveles insuficientes para, a estas alturas, ofrecer la supermayoría del voto hispano necesario para que el presidente pueda ganar determinados estados difíciles, como Nuevo México, Colorado y otros del oeste.

Actualmente, sólo el 39% de los votantes latinos está seguro de votar por el presidente Obama el año que viene. Esa cifra era de 43% en febrero, cuando IM/LD realizó una encuesta similar y había subido a 49% en junio, tras la captura de Osama Bin Laden y el discurso de Obama en El Paso, Texas, reafirmando su apoyo sobre la inmigración.

La encuesta también halló que sólo la mitad de los votantes latinos está "entusiasmado" para votar en las elecciones presidenciales del próximo año, un 26% está "algo" entusiasmado.

Obama pierde brillo ante latinos - La Opinión - noticias locales, nacionales e internacionales desde Los Ángeles - impre.com:

Tea Party Origins and Key Features

2011-08-19T09:21:00.000-07:00

Campbell and Putnam offer a ver interesting analysis of the origins and key features of the Tea Party movement.

An excerpt:

Our analysis casts doubt on the Tea Party’s “origin story.” Early on, Tea Partiers were often described as nonpartisan political neophytes. Actually, the Tea Party’s supporters today were highly partisan Republicans long before the Tea Party was born, and were more likely than others to have contacted government officials. In fact, past Republican affiliation is the single strongest predictor of Tea Party support today.

What’s more, contrary to some accounts, the Tea Party is not a creature of the Great Recession. Many Americans have suffered in the last four years, but they are no more likely than anyone else to support the Tea Party. And while the public image of the Tea Party focuses on a desire to shrink government, concern over big government is hardly the only or even the most important predictor of Tea Party support among voters.

So what do Tea Partiers have in common? They are overwhelmingly white, but even compared to other white Republicans, they had a low regard for immigrants and blacks long before Barack Obama was president, and they still do.

More important, they were disproportionately social conservatives in 2006 — opposing abortion, for example — and still are today. Next to being a Republican, the strongest predictor of being a Tea Party supporter today was a desire, back in 2006, to see religion play a prominent role in politics. And Tea Partiers continue to hold these views: they seek “deeply religious” elected officials, approve of religious leaders’ engaging in politics and want religion brought into political debates. The Tea Party’s generals may say their overriding concern is a smaller government, but not their rank and file, who are more concerned about putting God in government.

Crashing the Tea Party - NYTimes.com:

The Wrong Worries- Another Excellent Article by Krugman

2011-08-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

Paul Krugman's consistent claims that it is necessary for US economic policy to focus on employment creation has been admirable, in light of the continuously high unemployment rates at the national level and, even more so, in states with high Latino and Mexican-origin populations.

His most recent op-ed in the NY Times calls attention once again to this issue, now framed within the context of the drastic declines in the stock markets in the US and other countries.

As he indicates in the excerpt below, the ratio of employment to population has remained virtually the same during the last two years, resulting in a lastin human catastrophe.

"Yes, officially the recession ended two years ago, and the economy did indeed pull out of a terrifying tailspin. But at no point has growth looked remotely adequate given the depth of the initial plunge. In particular, when employment falls as much as it did from 2007 to 2009, you need a lot of job growth to make up the lost ground. And that just hasn’t happened.

Consider one crucial measure, the ratio of employment to population. In June 2007, around 63 percent of adults were employed. In June 2009, the official end of the recession, that number was down to 59.4. As of June 2011, two years into the alleged recovery, the number was: 58.2.

These may sound like dry statistics, but they reflect a truly terrible reality. Not only are vast numbers of Americans unemployed or underemployed, for the first time since the Great Depression many American workers are facing the prospect of very-long-term — maybe permanent — unemployment. Among other things, the rise in long-term unemployment will reduce future government revenues, so we’re not even acting sensibly in purely fiscal terms. But, more important, it’s a human catastrophe."

The complete article:

The Wrong Worries - NYTimes.com:

Immigrants are key to California's future

2011-07-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

Today's L.A. Times has an excellent op ed by Peter Schrag, who has been one of the most persistent writers in the state addressing the demographic transformation of California and the political/electoral irrationality that persists.

A fragment of the article and the link:

Immigrants are key to California's future - latimes.com: "Yet as boomers retire by the millions beginning in this decade, taking their skills with them, California, rather than making college and other advanced education more accessible, is making access harder, shutting down programs and increasing the costs. 'Cultivating a stronger base of future home buyers,' Myers says, 'will help the older generation as much as the young. This partnership needs to be strengthened between older future home sellers and younger potential home buyers.'

So far, however, the critical economic and social nexus between the self-interest of older white homeowners and the younger Latinos and other immigrants who represent much of the state's future is hardly perceived by much of California's tax-averse electorate."

Dream Act News: California Governor Jerry Brown eases path for undocumented college students to receive aid

2011-07-25T17:03:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Gov. Brown and Gil Cedillo!

Jerry Brown eases path for undocumented college students to receive aid - latimes.com: "Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Monday allowing undocumented college students to access private financial aid for college, calling the new law “another piece of an investment in people.” But he said he was not yet ready to commit to signing a second piece of the Dream Act, which would provide public funding for those students.

Brushing over the politics of illegal immigration during a ceremony at the Los Angeles City College library, Brown talked about the bill within the broader context of maintaining education funding during the budget crisis.

“We are facing many obstacles and adversaries,” Brown said. “The debate is very clear: shrivel public service, shrink back, retrench, retreat from higher education, from schools, from the investment in people; or make the investment. So this is one piece of a very important mosaic, which is a California that works for everyone and a California who understands where our strength is."

Más de un millón de mexicanos, listos para inmigrar a EU; se encuentran en lista de espera

2011-07-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

Más de un millón de mexicanos, listos para inmigrar a EU - El Universal - El Mundo: "Casi un millón 400 mil mexicanos están en las listas de espera para inmigrar en forma legal a Estados Unidos a través de la petición de un familiar, un trámite que podría forzarlos a esperar hasta 18 años, según datos oficiales difundidos hoy.

Las cifras del Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos, correspondientes al año fiscal 2010, muestran que a pesar de la cantidad de mexicanos en espera de inmigrar, sólo se concedieron 26 mil entre octubre de 2009 y septiembre de 2010.

La limitación en el número de visas disponibles para quienes buscan inmigrar a través del sistema de familia extendida, definida como los hijos adultos o los hermanos de un ciudadano estadounidense, ha motivado un enorme rezago."

La Serpiente sin Cabeza. La fútil cacería de capos.

2011-07-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

Interesante nota en el Milenio de hoy:

La Serpiente sin Cabeza. La fútil cacería de capos. | blogs.milenio.com: "De acuerdo con un reporte de inteligencia de la Oficina de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (CBP, por sus siglas en inglés), obtenido por MILENIO, todo apunta a que la disponibilidad de droga en calles estadunidenses es independiente de qué tan fuerte se golpee a las estructuras de mando de los cárteles.

En el reporte, fechado el 13 de julio pasado y creado 'sólo para uso oficial', la agencia estadunidense echa por tierra la idea de que la decapitación de un cártel deja a la organización herida de muerte, un tema altamente polémico que va contra la ortodoxia y esfuerzos gubernamentales que presumen la caída de capos como grandes logros. La duda se resume a dos puntos: ¿Puede la cacería exitosa de un narco de peso reducir la oferta de narcóticos? ¿Si no hay un jefe, los embarques se detienen?

Para responder esas y otras interrogantes, CBP se basó en tendencias detectadas tras la muerte y arresto de jefes criminales entre febrero de 2009 y febrero de 2010, incluidos operadores de alto nivel del cártel de los Beltrán Leyva, el Golfo, Los Zetas y el cártel de Sinaloa.

"Desde 2008 los cárteles mexicanos han perdido personajes clave, quienes fueron arrestados o abatidos. Este análisis enfrenta la principal pregunta que surge de esto: ¿afecta eso el flujo de narcóticos a Estados Unidos?", se cuestionó CBP. Su respuesta es no."

My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant - Jose Antonio Vargas

2011-06-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

Jose Antonio Vargas, an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines who went on to become a Pulitzer prize winning author, has written a moving account of his personal experience in an attempt to influence immigration policy in Washington, D.C.

A brief excerpt:

I’ve tried. Over the past 14 years, I’ve graduated from high school and college and built a career as a journalist, interviewing some of the most famous people in the country. On the surface, I’ve created a good life. I’ve lived the American dream.

But I am still an undocumented immigrant. And that means living a different kind of reality. It means going about my day in fear of being found out. It means rarely trusting people, even those closest to me, with who I really am. It means keeping my family photos in a shoebox rather than displaying them on shelves in my home, so friends don’t ask about them. It means reluctantly, even painfully, doing things I know are wrong and unlawful. And it has meant relying on a sort of 21st-century underground railroad of supporters, people who took an interest in my future and took risks for me.

The complete article:

My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant - NYTimes.com

With executive pay, rich pull away from rest of America - The Washington Post

2011-06-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

An interesting Washington Post article on the growing economic disparity in the nation:

An excerpt:

For years, statistics have depicted growing income disparity in the United States, and it has reached levels not seen since the Great Depression. In 2008, the last year for which data are available, for example, the top 0.1 percent of earners took in more than 10 percent of the personal income in the United States, including capital gains, and the top 1 percent took in more than 20 percent. But economists had little idea who these people were. How many were Wall street financiers? Sports stars? Entrepreneurs? Economists could only speculate, and debates over what is fair stalled.

The complete article:

With executive pay, rich pull away from rest of America - The Washington Post:

Immigrants or their Children Founded 40% of Fortune 500 Companies

2011-06-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

An informative new report by the Partnership for a New American Economy has revealed the extent to which immigrants and their children contribute to the national economy.

The report, The 'New American' Fortune 500, has just been released.

Key findings include:

More than 40 percent of the 2010 Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children. Even though immigrants have made up only 10.5 percent
of the American population on average since 1850, there are 90 immigrant-founded
Fortune 500 companies, accounting for 18 percent of the list. When you include the
additional 114 companies founded by the children of immigrants, the share of the
Fortune 500 list grows to over 40 percent.

The newest Fortune 500 companies are more likely to have an immigrant founder.
Just shy of 20 percent of the newest Fortune 500 companies — those founded over the
25-year period between 1985 and 2010 — have an immigrant founder.
Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or children of immigrants employ
more than 10 million people worldwide. Immigrant-founded Fortune 500 companies
alone employ more than 3.6 million people, a figure equivalent to the entire population
of Connecticut.

The revenue generated by Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants or children
of immigrants is greater than the GDP of every country in the world outside the
U.S., except China and Japan. The Fortune 500 companies that boast immigrant or
children-of-immigrant founders have combined revenues of $4.2 trillion. $1.7 trillion of
that amount comes just from the companies founded by immigrants.

Seven of the 10 most valuable brands in the world come from American companies
founded by immigrants or children of immigrants. Many of America’s greatest brands
— Apple, Google, AT&T, Budweiser, Colgate, eBay, General Electric, IBM, and McDonald’s,
to name just a few — owe their origin to a founder who was an immigrant or the child of
an immigrant.

Immigrant-founded Fortune 500 companies drive a wide range of industry sectors
across the American economy. Fortune 500 companies founded by immigrants are not
confined to a small subset of industries or fields. Instead, they range across aerospace,
defense, Internet, consumer products, specialty retail, railroads, insurance, electronics,
hospitality, natural resources, finance, and many other sectors.

The full report can be found here: http://www.renewoureconomy.org/sites/all/themes/pnae/img/new-american-fortune-500-june-2011.pdf

US Census: Mexicans are Largest Hispanic Group Nationwide and in 40 States

2011-05-31T22:18:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011

2010 Census Shows Nation's Hispanic Population Grew Four Times Faster Than Total U.S. Population

Release Information
CB11-CN.146
Public Information Office
301-763-3030

Brief
Press kit
Spanish Release

Mexicans are Largest Hispanic Group Nationwide and in 40 States

The U.S. Census Bureau today released a 2010 Census brief on the nation's Hispanic population, which shows the Hispanic population increased by 15.2 million between 2000 and 2010 and accounted for more than half of the total U.S. population increase of 27.3 million. Between 2000 and 2010, the Hispanic population grew by 43 percent, or four times the nation's 9.7 percent growth rate.

The Hispanic Population: 2010 brief looks at an important part of our nation's changing ethnic diversity with a particular focus on Hispanic origin groups, such as Mexican, Dominican and Cuban.

Detailed Hispanic Origin Distribution

About three-quarters of Hispanics in the United States reported as Mexican, Puerto Rican or Cuban origin in the 2010 Census. Mexican origin was the largest group, representing 63 percent of the total U.S. Hispanic population — up from 58 percent in 2000. This group increased by 54 percent and saw the largest numeric change (11.2 million), growing from 20.6 million in 2000 to 31.8 million in 2010. Mexicans accounted for about three-fourths of the 15.2 million increase in the total Hispanic population between 2000 and 2010

The Mexican origin population represented the largest Hispanic group in 40 states, with more than half of these states in the South and West regions of the country, along with two states in the Northeast and all 12 states in the Midwest.

Puerto Ricans, the second largest group, comprised 9 percent of the Hispanic population in 2010 — down from 10 percent in 2000. The Puerto Rican population grew by 36 percent, increasing from 3.4 million to 4.6 million. Puerto Ricans were the largest Hispanic group in six of the nine states in the Northeast and in one western state — Hawaii, with a population of 44,000.

The Cuban origin population increased by 44 percent, growing from 1.2 million in 2000 to 1.8 million in 2010. Cubans made up approximately 4 percent of the total Hispanic population in both the 2000 and 2010 Censuses and were the largest Hispanic origin group in Florida in 2010 with a population of 1.2 million.

Since 2000, three detailed Hispanic origin groups surpassed a population of 1 million: Salvadoran (1.6 million), Dominican (1.4 million) and Guatemalan (1.0 million).

Regional Geographic Distribution

The Hispanic population grew in every region of the United States between 2000 and 2010, and most significantly in the South and Midwest. The South saw a 57 percent increase in its Hispanic population, which was four times the growth of the total population in the South (14 percent). Significant growth also occurred in the Midwest, where the Hispanic population grew by 49 percent. This was more than 12 times the growth of the total population in the Midwest (4 percent).

While the Hispanic population grew at a slower rate in the West and Northeast, the regions still saw significant growth between 2000 and 2010. The Hispanic population grew by 34 percent in the West, which was more than twice the growth of the total population in the West (14 percent). The Northeast's Hispanic population grew by 33 percent, or 10 times the growth of the total population in the Northeast (3 percent).

States

More than half of the Hispanic population in the United States resided in just three states: California, Texas and Florida. In 2010, 37.6 million, or 75 percent, of Hispanics lived in the eight states with Hispanic populations of 1 million or more: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Arizona, New Jersey and Colorado. Hispanics in California accounted for 28 percent (14.0 million) of the total Hispanic population, while the Hispanic population in Texas accounted for 19 percent (9.5 million). Hispanics in Florida accounted for 8 percent (4.2 million) of the U.S. Hispanic population.

The Hispanic population experienced growth between 2000 and 2010 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. In eight states in the South (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) and in South Dakota, the Hispanic population more than doubled in size between 2000 and 2010. Even with this large growth rate, the percentage of Hispanics in 2010 in each of these states remained less than 9 percent, far below the national level of 16 percent.

Hispanics in New Mexico comprised 46 percent of the total state population, the highest proportion for any state. Hispanics were 16 percent or more of the state population (matching or exceeding the national level) in eight other states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Texas.

Counties

Hispanics were the majority of the population in 82 out of the nation's 3,143 counties. In the South, Hispanics were the majority in 51 Texas counties and one Florida county (Miami-Dade). In the West, Hispanics were the majority in 12 New Mexico counties, nine California counties and two counties in each of the following states: Arizona (Santa Cruz and Yuma), Colorado (Conejos and Costilla) and Washington (Adams and Franklin).

In the Midwest, Hispanics were the majority in two Kansas counties (Ford and Seward), and in the Northeast, Hispanics were the majority in one New York county (Bronx).

Counties with the highest proportions of Hispanics were concentrated in bands along the states bordering Mexico — Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

Concentrations of Hispanics were also found outside these border states. In particular, Hispanic concentrations were found in counties within central Washington; in Kansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado; around Chicago and along the East Coast from New York to Virginia; in central and southern Florida; and the District of Columbia.

The Hispanic population increased to more than twice its size since 2000 in at least one of every four counties. Of the 3,143 counties in the United States, Hispanics at least doubled in population size in 912 of them. Among the 469 counties with at least 10,000 or more Hispanics in 2010, the top five fastest growing counties were Luzerne, Pa. (479 percent change); Henry, Ga. (339 percent change); Kendall, Ill. (338 percent change); Douglas, Ga. (321 percent change); and Shelby, Ala. (297 percent change).

-X-

Editor's note: “People of Mexican origin” refers to people who report their origin as Mexican. It can include people born in Mexico, in the United States, or in other countries. This holds true for all the detailed Hispanic origin groups discussed in the brief (e.g., people of Cuban origin, Salvadoran origin, etc). The question on Hispanic origin is an ethnicity question and not a place of birth question. All Hispanic origin responses are based on self-identification. Throughout the brief, terms such as “Mexican origin” and “Mexicans” as well as “Cuban origin” and “Cubans” are used interchangeably, and in all cases refer to the ethnic origin of the person, not exclusively their place of birth or nationality.

The Bilingual Advantage -Alzheimer Symptoms Delayed

2011-05-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

This NY Times interview with cognitive neurologist Ellen Bialystok highlights an unexpected benefit of bilingualism: that it appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer disease symptoms.

The link to the article:

The Bilingual Advantage - NYTimes.com

El Presidente de Mexico, Felipe Calderón Promulga Ley de Migración

2011-05-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

El día de hoy, el Presidente Felipe Calderón, ha promulgado la Ley de Migración que el Congreso de la Unión aprobó a fines del mes de abril.

La nueva ley se enfoca en atender la problemática de la inmigración a México y descuida la emigración de mexicanos a Estados Unidos.

Representantes de organizaciones de derechos humanos han criticado importantes deficiencias en la nueva ley, tal como la negación a otorgar visas de transito a migrantes que cruzan por territorio mexicano para eliminar su estatus de indocumentados y, en consecuencia, hacerlos menos vulnerables ante el crimen organizado, autoridades corruptas, etc.

Por otra parte, la ley se considera un avance en relación a la desfasada Ley General de Población de 1974 que, hasta ahora, representaba el marco legal para regular la llegada a territorio nacional de extranjeros y establecía sus derechos y obligaciones.

Calderón promulga ley de Migración - El Universal - Nación

Blake traza los 4 ejes de la política migratoria

2011-05-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

El Secretario de Gobernación de México, Jose Francisco Blake, ha declarado que el gobierno mexicano ha adoptado una nueva política publica en torno a la migración, la cual los siguientes 4 ejes: modernización, revisión de responsabilidades, eficiencia en tramites, y rendición de cuentas.

La nota completa:

Blake traza los 4 ejes de la política migratoria - El Universal - México

La Educación Publica en México: El rumbo perdido

2011-05-22T14:43:00.000-07:00

En el actual numero de la revista Nexos encontramos una excelente discusion sobre los desafios que Mexico enfrenta para mejorar su sistema de educacion publica.

El articulo central es "El Rumbo Perdido", escrito por Gilberto Guevara Niebla, quien ofrece un análisis de la evolución del sistema educativo en el siglo XX, particularmente a partir del sexenio de Manuel Avila Camacho.

Guevara Niebla destaca la continuidad que ha existido desde entonces en un sistema que ha sido centralizado y que ha empleado un modelo educativo desfasado tanto de la realidad e intereses de la sociedad mexicana como de las innovaciones educativas a nivel internacional.

El link para el articulo:

Nexos - El rumbo perdido

Migrantes reprochan en EU violencia al Presidente Felipe Calderon

2011-05-19T20:51:00.000-07:00

En una reunion con mexicanos radicados en Las Vegas, el Presidente Felipe Calderon recibio quejas de estos, quienes manifesaron su inconformidad y temor por la violencia que existe en el pais y que resulta en una mayor inseguridad para ellos al regresar a su patria.

La nota completa:

Migrantes reprochan en EU violencia a FCH - El Universal - México

The DREAM Act To Be Introduced Into the Senate and House on Wednesday, May 11

2011-05-10T22:43:00.000-07:00

For Immediate Release

What: Press Briefing --- The DREAM Act To Be Introduced Into the Senate and House on Wednesday, May 11

Where: Immigrant Legal Resource Center
1663 Mission St., Ste. 602
San Francisco, CA 94103

When: 11 a.m. (briefing will be repeated in a briefer format at 12 noon)
For Further Information: Mark Silverman:, tel: 4l5 305 8217 – mark@ilrc.org
Bay Area contacts: DREAM Act students who are available for interviews: Natalia: at 408 568 2273, can appear in written press or on radio;
Saul, (408) 891 7921, can appear in written press or on radio; Monica, 925 698 9025, all media;

ILRC and Others Commend Senators and Congresspersons for Introducing the DREAM Act on Wednesday, May 11

San Francisco, May 10, 2011 -- The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), other organizations and DREAM Act students commend principal author, Senator Richard Durbin, co-sponsors Senators Boxer and Feinstein of California, and the other co-sponsors in the Senate, and Congressman Berman and other sponsors in the House for their planned introduction of DREAM Act legislation into the Senate and House on Wednesday, May 11th.

The DREAM Act, which based on last session’s provisions of the bills, provides the opportunity for undocumented students who entered the United States as children to obtain legal status if they pursue college education or join the military.

“The DREAM Act is good and fair for these children, good for our economy, and good older Americans who will be depending for the social security on contributions by younger workers and professionals, including the DREAM Act students, and generally good for our country,” stated Mark Silverman, Director of Immigration Policy of the ILRC.

VALORACION DE MÉXICO DISMINUYE EN EU - GALLUP WORLD AFFAIRS

2011-05-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

VALORACION DE MÉXICO DISMINUYE EN EU

GALLUP WORLD AFFAIRS

07/05/2011

La encuesta anual de Gallup World Affairs, señala que México se encuentra en la media de la tabla que incluye 21 países, con un 45% de aprobación positiva, solamente dos puntos por encima del mínimo medido en 1993 y muy por debajo del 74% que obtuvo hace seis años.

?Es la segunda vez que Gallup ha hallado más estadunidenses con una imagen negativa en lugar de positiva de México?, entre las principales causas de la imagen negativa de México entre los estadounidenses, se encuentran la violencia asociada con el narcotráfico y la inmigración ilegal, sugiere el análisis de Gallup.

Canadá es el país con mejor imagen en Estados Unidos, seguido de Gran Bretaña (88 por ciento positiva), mientras que en el extremo inferior de la tabla, Irán recibe 85 por ciento de opinión negativa, seguido de Corea del Norte, con 84 por ciento y Afganistán, con 82 por ciento.

VALORACION DE MÉXICO DISMINUYE EN EU - GALLUP WORLD AFFAIRS - Consulta Mitofsky

Remarks by the President on Comprehensive Immigration Reform in El Paso, Texas

2011-05-10T21:39:00.001-07:00

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release May 10, 2011
Remarks by the President on Comprehensive Immigration Reform in El Paso, Texas

Chamizal National Memorial El Paso, Texas

1:21 P.M. MDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, El Paso! (Applause.) Well, it is wonderful -- wonderful to be back with all of you in the Lone Star State. (Applause.) Everything is bigger in Texas. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!

THE PRESIDENT: I love you back! (Applause.) Even the welcomes are bigger. (Applause.) So, in appreciation, I wanted to give a big policy speech outside on a really hot day. (Laughter.) Those of you who are still wearing your jackets, feel free to take them off. I hope everybody is wearing sunscreen.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We live here.

THE PRESIDENT: You say you live here? You don’t need it, huh? (Laughter.) Well, it is a great honor to be here. And I want to express my appreciation to all of you for taking the time to come out today.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. (Applause.)

You know, about a week ago, I delivered a commencement address at Miami Dade Community College, which is one of the most diverse schools in the nation. The graduates were proud that their class could claim heritage from 181 countries around the world -- 181 countries. (Applause.)

Many of the students were immigrants themselves, coming to America with little more than the dream of their parents and the clothes on their back. A handful had discovered only in adolescence or adulthood that they were undocumented. But they worked hard and they gave it their all, and so they earned those diplomas.

And at the ceremony, 181 flags -- one for every nation that was represented -- was marched across the stage. And each one was applauded by the graduates and the relatives with ties to those countries. So when the Haitian flag went by, all the Haitian kids -- Haitian American kids shouted out. And when the Guatemalan flag went by, all the kids of Guatemalan heritage shouted out. And when the Ukrainian flag went by, I think one kid shouted out. (Laughter.) This was down in Miami. (Laughter.) If it had been in Chicago, there would have been more.

But then, the last flag, the American flag, came into view. And everyone in the room erupted in applause. Everybody cheered. (Applause.) So, yes, their parents and grandparents -- some of the graduates themselves -- had come from every corner of the globe. But it was here that they had found opportunity. It was here that they had a chance to contribute to the nation that is their home.

And it was a reminder of a simple idea, as old as America itself: E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants -- a nation that welcomes those willing to embrace America’s ideals and America’s precepts. That’s why millions of people, ancestors to most of us, braved hardship and great risk to come here -- so they could be free to work and worship and start a business and live their lives in peace and prosperity. The Asian immigrants who made their way to California’s Angel Island. The German and Scandinavians who settled across the Midwest. The waves of Irish, and Italian, and Polish, and Russian, and Jewish immigrants who leaned against the railing to catch their first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.

This flow of immigrants has helped make this country stronger and more prosperous. (Applause.) We can point to the genius of Einstein, the designs of I. M. Pei, the stories of Isaac Asimov, the entire industries that were forged by Andrew Carnegie.

And then when I think about immigration I think about the naturalization ceremonies that we’ve held at the White House for members of our military. Nothing could be more inspiring. Even though they were not yet citizens when they joined our military, these men and women signed up to serve.

We did one event at the White House and a young man named Granger Michael from Papua New Guinea, a Marine who had been deployed to Iraq three times, was there. And you know what he said about becoming an American citizen? He said, “I might as well. I love this country already.” That’s all he said. Marines aren’t big on speeches. (Laughter.)

Another was a woman named Perla Ramos who was born and raised in Mexico and came to the United States shortly after 9/11, and joined the Navy. And she said, “I take pride in our flag and the history we write day by day.”

That’s the promise of this country -- that anyone can write the next chapter in our story. It doesn’t matter where you come from -- (applause) -- it doesn’t matter where you come from; it doesn’t matter what you look like; it doesn’t matter what faith you worship. What matters is that you believe in the ideals on which we were founded; that you believe that all of us are created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. (Applause.) All of us deserve our freedoms and our pursuit of happiness. In embracing America, you can become American. That is what makes this country great. That enriches all of us.

And yet, at the same time, we’re here at the border today -- (applause) -- we’re here at the border because we also recognize that being a nation of laws goes hand in hand with being a nation of immigrants. This, too, is our heritage. This, too, is important. And the truth is, we’ve often wrestled with the politics of who is and who isn’t allowed to come into this country. This debate is not new.

At times, there has been fear and resentment directed towards newcomers, especially in hard economic times. And because these issues touch deeply on what we believe, touch deeply on our convictions -- about who we are as a people, about what it means to be an American -- these debates often elicit strong emotions.

That’s one reason it’s been so difficult to reform our broken immigration system. When an issue is this complex, when it raises such strong feelings, it’s easier for politicians to defer until the problem the next election. And there’s always a next election.

So we’ve seen a lot of blame and a lot of politics and a lot of ugly rhetoric around immigration. And we’ve seen good faith efforts from leaders of both parties -- by the way, I just noticed, those of you who have chairs, if you want to sit down, feel free. There’s no rule about having to stand when I’m --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: -- we love you! (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: But we’ve seen leaders of both parties who try to work on this issue, but then their efforts fell prey to the usual Washington games. And all the while, we’ve seen the mounting consequences of decades of inaction.

Today, there are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants here in the United States. Some crossed the border illegally. Others avoid immigration laws by overstaying their visas. Regardless of how they came, the overwhelming majority of these folks are just trying to earn a living and provide for their families. (Applause.)

But we have to acknowledge they’ve broken the rules. They’ve cut in front of the line. And what is also true is that the presence of so many illegal immigrants makes a mockery of all those who are trying to immigrate legally.

Also, because undocumented immigrants live in the shadows, where they’re vulnerable to unscrupulous businesses that skirt taxes, and pay workers less than the minimum wage, or cut corners with health and safety laws, this puts companies who follow the rules, and Americans who rightly demand the minimum wage or overtime or just a safe place to work, it puts those businesses at a disadvantage.

Think about it. Over the past decade, even before the recession hit, middle-class families were struggling to get by as the costs went up for everything, from health care, to college tuition, to groceries, to gas. Their incomes didn’t go up with those prices. We’re seeing it again right now with gas prices.

So one way to strengthen the middle class in America is to reform the immigration system so that there is no longer a massive underground economy that exploits a cheap source of labor while depressing wages for everybody else. I want incomes for middle-class families to rise again. (Applause.) I want prosperity in this country to be widely shared. (Applause.) I want everybody to be able to reach that American dream. And that’s why immigration reform is an economic imperative. It’s an economic imperative. (Applause.)

And reform will also help to make America more competitive in the global economy. Today, we provide students from around the world with visas to get engineering and computer science degrees at our top universities. (Applause.)

But then our laws discourage them from using those skills to start a business or a new industry here in the United States. Instead of training entrepreneurs to stay here, we train them to create jobs for our competition. That makes no sense. In a global marketplace, we need all the talent we can attract, all the talent we can get to stay here to start businesses -- not just to benefit those individuals, but because their contribution will benefit all Americans.

Look at Intel, look at Google, look at Yahoo, look at eBay. All those great American companies, all the jobs they’ve created, everything that has helped us take leadership in the high-tech industry, every one of those was founded by, guess who, an immigrant. (Applause.)

So we don’t want the next Intel or the next Google to be created in China or India. We want those companies and jobs to take root here. (Applause.) Bill Gates gets this. He knows a little something about the high-tech industry. He said, “The United States will find it far more difficult to maintain its competitive edge if it excludes those who are able and willing to help us compete.”

So immigration is not just the right thing to do. It’s smart for our economy. It’s smart for our economy. (Applause.) And it’s for this reason that businesses all across America are demanding that Washington finally meet its responsibilities to solve the immigration problem. Everybody recognizes the system is broken. The question is, will we finally summon the political will to do something about it? And that’s why we’re here at the border today.

And I want to say I am joined today by an outstanding Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, who’s been working tirelessly on this issue. (Applause.) Our commissioner who’s working diligently on border issues, Alan Bersin, is there, and we appreciate him -- Bersin. (Applause.)

So they’re doing outstanding work. And in recent years, among one of the greatest impediments to reform were questions about border security. And these were legitimate concerns. What was true was a lack of manpower and a lack of resources at the border, combined with the pull of jobs and ill-considered enforcement once folks were in the country.

All this contributed to a growing number of undocumented people living in the United States. And these concerns helped unravel a bipartisan coalition that we had forged back when I was in the United States Senate. So in the years since, “borders first, borders first,” that's become the common refrain, even among those who were previously supportive of comprehensive immigration reform.

But over the last two years, thanks to the outstanding work of Janet and Alan and everybody who’s down here working at the border, we’ve answered those concerns. Under their leadership, we have strengthened border security beyond what many believed was possible. They wanted more agents at the border. Well, we now have more boots on the ground on the southwest border than at any time in our history. (Applause.)

The Border Patrol has 20,000 agents -- more than twice as many as there were in 2004. It’s a build-up that began under President Bush and that we’ve continued, and I had a chance to meet some of these outstanding agents, and actually saw some of them on horseback who looked pretty tough. (Laughter.) So we put the agents here.

Then they wanted a fence. Well, the fence is --

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE PRESIDENT: The fence is now basically complete.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Tear it down!

THE PRESIDENT: Then we’ve gone further. We tripled the number of intelligence analysts working at the border. I’ve deployed unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol the skies from Texas to California. We have forged a partnership with Mexico to fight the transnational criminal organizations that have affected both of our countries. (Applause.) And for the first time -- for the first time we’re screening 100 percent of southbound rail shipments to seize guns and money going south even as we go after drugs that are coming north. (Applause.)

So, here’s the point. I want everybody to listen carefully to this. We have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement. All the stuff they asked for, we’ve done. But even though we’ve answered these concerns, I’ve got to say I suspect there are still going to be some who are trying to move the goal posts on us one more time.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: They’re racist!

THE PRESIDENT: You know, they said we needed to triple the Border Patrol. Or now they’re going to say we need to quadruple the Border Patrol. Or they’ll want a higher fence. Maybe they’ll need a moat. (Laughter.) Maybe they want alligators in the moat. (Laughter.) They’ll never be satisfied. And I understand that. That’s politics.

But the truth is the measures we’ve put in place are getting results. Over the past two and a half years, we’ve seized 31 percent more drugs, 75 percent more currency, 64 percent more weapons than ever before. (Applause.) And even as we have stepped up patrols, apprehensions along the border have been cut by nearly 40 percent from two years ago. That means far fewer people are attempting to cross the border illegally.

And also, despite a lot of breathless reports that have tagged places like El Paso as dangerous, violent crime in southwest border counties has dropped by a third. El Paso and other cities and towns along this border are consistently among the safest in the nation. (Applause.) Of course, we shouldn’t accept any violence or crime. And we’ve always got more work to do. But this progress is important and it’s not getting reported on.

And we’re also going beyond the border. Beyond the border, we’re going after employers who knowingly exploit people and break the law. (Applause.) And we are deporting those who are here illegally. And that’s a tough issue. It’s a source of controversy.

But I want to emphasize we’re not doing it haphazardly. We’re focusing our limited resources and people on violent offenders and people convicted of crimes -- not just families, not just folks who are just looking to scrape together an income. And as a result, we’ve increased the removal of criminals by 70 percent. (Applause.)

That’s not to ignore the real human toll of a broken immigration system. Even as we recognize that enforcing the law is necessary, we don’t relish the pain that it causes in the lives of people who are just trying to get by and get caught up in the system.

And as long as the current laws are on the books, it’s not just hardened felons who are subject to removal, but sometimes families who are just trying to earn a living, or bright, eager students, or decent people with the best of intentions. (Applause.)

And sometimes when I talk to immigration advocates, they wish I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself. But that’s not how a democracy works. What we really need to do is to keep up the fight to pass genuine, comprehensive reform. That is the ultimate solution to this problem. That's what I’m committed to doing. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, we can. We can do it. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

THE PRESIDENT: The most significant step we can now take to secure the borders is to fix the system as a whole so that fewer people have the incentive to enter illegally in search of work in the first place. This would allow agents to focus on the worst threats on both of our -- both sides of our borders, from drug traffickers to those who would come here to commit acts of violence or terror. That’s where our focus should be.

So, El Paso, the question is whether those in Congress who previously walked away in the name of enforcement are now ready to come back to the table and finish the work that we’ve started. (Applause.) We’ve got to put the politics aside. And if we do, I’m confident we can find common ground.

Washington is lagging behind the country on this. There is already a growing coalition of leaders across America who don’t always see eye-to-eye, but are coming together on this issue. They see the harmful consequences of a broken immigration system for their businesses and for their communities, and they understand why we need to act.

There are Democrats and Republicans, people like former Republican Senator Mel Martinez; former Bush administration Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff; leaders like Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York; evangelical ministers like Leith Anderson and Bill Hybels; police chiefs from across the nation; educators; advocates; labor unions; chambers of commerce; small business owners; Fortune 500 CEOs.

I mean, one CEO had this to say about reform: “American ingenuity is a product of the openness and diversity of this society. Immigrants have made America great as the world leader in business, in science, higher education and innovation.” You know who that leader was? Rupert Murdoch, who owns FOX News, and is an immigrant himself. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Rupert Murdoch’s views, but let’s just say he doesn’t have an Obama sticker on his car. (Laughter.) But he agrees with me on this. (Applause.)

So there is a consensus around fixing what’s broken. And now we need Congress to catch up. Now we need to come together around reform that reflects our values as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants; reform that demands that everybody take responsibility. So what would comprehensive reform look like?

First, we know that government has a threshold responsibility to secure our borders and enforce the law. And that’s what Janet and all her folks are doing. That’s what they’re doing. (Applause.)

Second, businesses have to be held accountable if they exploit undocumented workers. (Applause.)

Third, those who are here illegally, they have a responsibility as well. So they broke the law, and that means they’ve got to pay their taxes, they’ve got to pay a fine, they’ve got to learn English. And they’ve got to undergo background checks and a lengthy process before they get in line for legalization. That’s not too much to ask. (Applause.)

And fourth, stopping illegal immigration also depends on reforming our outdated system of legal immigration. (Applause.) We should make it easier for the best and the brightest to not only stay here, but also to start businesses and create jobs here. In recent years, a full 25 percent of high-tech startups in the U.S. were founded by immigrants. That led to 200,000 jobs here in America. I’m glad those jobs are here. I want to see more of them created in this country. We need to provide them the chance. (Applause.)

We need to provide our farms a legal way to hire workers that they rely on, and a path for those workers to earn legal status. (Applause.) And our laws should respect families following the rules -- reuniting them more quickly instead of splitting them apart. (Applause.)

Today, the immigration system not only tolerates those who break the rules, but it punishes folks who follow the rules. While applications -- while applicants wait for approval, for example, they’re often forbidden from visiting the United States. Even husbands and wives may have to spend years apart. Parents can’t see their children. I don’t believe the United States of America should be in the business of separating families. That’s not right. That’s not who we are. We can do better than that. (Applause.)

And we should stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents. (Applause.) We should stop denying them the chance to earn an education or serve in the military. And that’s why we need to pass the DREAM Act. (Applause.) Now, we passed the DREAM Act through the House last year when Democrats were in control. But even though it received a majority of votes in the Senate, it was blocked when several Republicans who had previously supported the DREAM Act voted no.

That was a tremendous disappointment to get so close and then see politics get in the way. And as I gave that commencement at Miami Dade, it broke my heart knowing that a number of those promising, bright students -- young people who worked so hard and who speak about what’s best in America -- are at risk of facing the agony of deportation. These are kids who grew up in this country. They love this country. They know no other place to call home. The idea that we’d punish them is cruel. It makes no sense. We’re a better nation than that. (Applause.)

So we’re going to keep fighting for the DREAM Act. We’re going to keep up the fight for reform. (Applause.) And that’s where you come in. I’m going to do my part to lead a constructive and civil debate on these issues. And we’ve already had a series of meetings about this at the White House in recent weeks. We’ve got leaders here and around the country helping to move the debate forward.

But this change ultimately has to be driven by you, the American people. You’ve got to help push for comprehensive reform, and you’ve got to identify what steps we can take right now -- like the DREAM Act, like visa reform -- areas where we can find common ground among Democrats and Republicans and begin to fix what’s broken.

So I’m asking you to add your voices to this debate. You can sign up to help at whitehouse.gov. We need Washington to know that there is a movement for reform that’s gathering strength from coast to coast. That’s how we’ll get this done. That’s how we can ensure that in the years ahead we are welcoming the talents of all who can contribute to this country and that we’re living up to the basic American idea that you can make it here if you try. (Applause.)

That’s the idea that gave hope to José Hernández. Is José here? Where’s -- José is right over there. (Applause.) I want you to hear -- I want you to think about this story. José’s parents were migrant farm workers. And so, growing up, he was too. He was born in California, though he could have just as easily been born on the other side of the border, if it had been a different time of year, because his family moved around with the seasons. So two of his siblings were actually born in Mexico.

So they traveled a lot, and José joined his parents picking cucumbers and strawberries. And he missed part of school when they returned to Mexico each winter. José didn’t learn English until he was 12 years old. But you know what, José was good at math and he liked math. And the nice thing is that math was the same in every school, and it’s the same in Spanish as it is in English.

So José studied, and he studied hard. And one day, he’s standing in the fields, collecting sugar beets, and he heard on a transistor radio that a man named Franklin Chang-Diaz -- a man with a surname like his -- was going to be an astronaut for NASA. So José decided -- right there in the field, he decided -- well, I could be an astronaut, too.

So José kept on studying, and he graduated high school. And he kept on studying, and he earned an engineering degree. And he kept on studying, and he earned a graduate degree. And he kept on working hard, and he ended up at a national laboratory, helping to develop a new kind of digital medical imaging system.

And a few years later, he found himself more than 100 miles above the surface of the Earth, staring out of the window of the shuttle Discovery, and he was remembering the boy in the California fields with that crazy dream that in America everything is possible. (Applause.)

Think about that, El Paso. That’s the American Dream right there. (Applause.) That's what we’re fighting for. We are fighting for every boy and every girl like José with a dream and potential that's just waiting to be tapped. We are fighting to unlock that promise, and all that holds not just for their futures, but for America’s future. That's why we’re going to get this done. And that's why I’m going to need your help.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

END
1:56 P.M. MDT

Video of Obama Interview on Osama Bin Laden Death

2011-05-08T23:12:00.000-07:00

The following is the complete video of the interview granted by President Obama to 60 minutes on the military operative to "hunt Osama Bin Laden down" and the subsequent death of the Al Qaeda leader during the operation.

It is important to remember that the 9/11 put an end to the attempt then being made by the Mexican and US administrations to establish a binational migration agreement. Thus, immigrants from Mexico and elsewhere were among the greatest victims of the Al Qaeda terrorist activities.

Presidential “Latinos and Education” Town Hall—A Key to Winning the Future

2011-04-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

President Obama held a town hall meeting in a predominantly Latino school in Washington, D.C. to discuss the educational challenges faced by our youth and the pivotal role young Latinos will play in the nation's future.

The meeting was later televised on Univision.

This White House blog entry highlights some of the key points relevant to a discussion of Latinos and education:

Presidential “Latinos and Education” Town Hall—A Key to Winning the Future | The White House

Senado de México Aprueba Nueva Ley de Migración

2011-02-26T18:11:00.000-08:00

El jueves pasado el Senado mexicano aprobó una iniciativa que buscaba actualizar y mejorar las políticas nacionales en torno a la migración, particularmente a la inmigración y a la transmigración - fenómenos relacionados al ingreso de personas provenientes de otros países a México.

La iniciativa tuvo modificaciones significativas en las ultimas etapas del proceso legislativo. La iniciativa pasa ahora a la Cámara de Diputados.

El activista migrante Primitivo Rodriguez explica lo ocurrido en un mensaje que circula por las redes de migrantes:

¡INESPERADA E HISTÓRICA VICTORIA DE LOS PUEBLOS MIGRANTES EN EL SENADO DE LA REPÚBLICA!

Apreciadas amigas y amigos, con mucho gusto les envío el informe sobre un voto fuera de lo común que tuvo lugar ayer jueves. Espero les sea de utilidad, al menos para tomarse un buen tequila o mezcal...o tres.

1. El dictamen sobre la Ley de Migración cambió sustancialmente.

El día de ayer, jueves 24, alrededor de las 3 de la tarde las 86 Senadoras y Senadores presentes en la sesión del Senado aprobaron por unanimidad el dictamen sobre la Ley de Migración. Ese dictamen fue resultado de acuerdos de última hora, y poco o nada tenía que ver con el dictamen que se discutió el jueves 17 y el propio martes 22.

EL PUNTO MÁS TRASCENDENTE DEL CAMBIO LOGRADO EN LAS ÚLTIMAS HORAS DE LA NEGOCIACIÓN FUE EL RELATIVO A OTORGAR UNA VISA DE TRÁNSITO VÁLIDA POR 186 DÍAS A CUALQUIER MIGRANTE QUE LA SOLICITE.

Otros dos acuerdos de gran importancia negociados mientras tenía lugar la sesión de ayer jueves fueron quitar a la Policía Federal toda autoridad e injerencia en el campo migratorio (y por supuesto a cualquier otra policía), y eliminar el castigo a empleadores de indocumentadas/os.

A reserva de analizar con detenimiento el dictamen aprobado en el Senado y verificar que lo dicho en este correo sobre el dictamen es correcto, CELEBREMOS CON MERECIDO GUSTO ESTE PRIMER GRAN PASO DEL PROCESO LEGISLATIVO, ESTA SIGNIFICATIVA VICTORIA QUE RECONOCE Y HONRA LA DIGNIDAD DE TODA/O MIGRANTE, SEA O NO INDOCUMENTADA/O.

Dado que los acuerdos de última hora sobre el dictamen tuvieron lugar prácticamente a puerta cerrada, Estados Unidos y sus redes políticas y sociales en México, así como grupos xenófobos y militaristas del país no supieron lo que venía ni pudieron en consecuencia intervenir en lo que estaba ocurriendo. Con todo, es probable que Estados Unidos y dichos grupos busquen revertir lo aprobado en el Senado, como alertó el Senador Carlos Navarrete, Coordinador del Grupo Parlamentario del PRD, en la Cámara de Diputados.

Entre otros puntos, los poderes afectados por la decisión del Senado buscarían entre otros objetivos: A) devolver a la iniciativa de ley su carácter de instrumento policial para proteger “la seguridad nacional;” B) rechazar en consecuencia las visas de tránsito; C) restaurar la autoridad de la Policía Federal en temas migratorios; D) rechazar el que no se castigue a empleadores de indocumentadas/os.

El dictamen aprobado tiene ahora un contenido dominante de SEGURIDAD HUMANA, no de SEGURIDAD NACIONAL, de PROTECCIÓN A MIGRANTES y no de CONTROL Y CERRAR FRONTERAS. El dictamen RECONOCE LA DIGNIDAD Y DERECHOS DE TADA/O MIGRANTE INDEPENDIENTEMENTE DE SU CONDICIÓN MIGRATORIA, Y VALORA POR IGUAL SU CARÁCTER DE AGENTE DE CAMBIO EN LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DE UN MEJOR FUTURO.

Justo por todo ello podría generarse una fuerte reacción contra el dictamen. Por lo mismo, éste NO SÓLO DEBE SER DEFENDIDO, SINO MEJORADO EN SU CONTENIDO Y PROYECCIÓN. Por otra parte, el dictamen DEBE CONTAR CON AMPLIA BASE SOCIAL DE APOYO, DENTRO Y FUERA DE MÉXICO.

¿Cómo surgió, se generó esta inesperada decisión del Senado?

Llegué ayer al Senado para unirme a una manifestación de protesta contra la iniciativa de Ley de Migración, “peor a la SB 1070 de Arizona” cuyo principal convocante era el Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano, dirigido por personas como Elvira Arellano, Carlota Botey y José Jacques Medina. El Padre Alejandro Solalinde, director del albergue para migrantes en Oaxaca, Hermanos en el Camino, se uniría a la manifestación.

A la entrada del Senado me encontré con la directora de una de las ONG que formaron parte del grupo de trabajo sobre el dictamen formado en el Senado. De manera suave e indirecta le reproché que “la sociedad civil organizada” que trabajó la iniciativa de ley con Senadoras/es no propuso documentar y entregar permisos de tránsito a migrantes con destino a Estados Unidos, y que sin ese punto todos los demás artículos de la ley protegiendo derechos de migrantes quedarían en bonitas palabras. Me respondió que documentar a migrantes en tránsito era una demanda radical que ni de relajo aprobaría el Senado. Concluí señalándole, más por inconformidad que por certidumbre, que si el Senado aprobaba, como era de esperarse, una ley similar a las de EUA y Arizona, “la hundiríamos en la Cámara de Diputados.”

A reserva de análisis más documentados y “fríos,” pienso que el profundo cambio que sufrió el dictamen en las últimas horas previas al voto fue posible a la conjunción virtuosa de ambientes y hechos como:

· Las múltiples y reiteradas condenas de las políticas y prácticas migratorias de México por parte de migrantes centroamericanas/os, así como sus testimonios públicos sobre las atrocidades de que son víctimas por parte de funcionarios, policías y delincuentes.
· Las condenas en el mismo sentido que han hecho dirigentes de albergues para migrantes en tránsito, organizaciones en México que prestan servicios legales a migrantes, académicas/os, y especialistas en temas migratorios.
· El informe que presentó el miércoles la Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos sobre los miles de secuestros de migrantes que han tenido lugar en los últimos meses.
· El impacto público que logró en la última semana equiparar la iniciativa de Ley de Migración con las leyes antimigrantes de Estados Unidos y de Arizona.
· Señalar, en el mismo sentido, que con dicha iniciativa, México le daba carácter de ley al trabajo sucio que le hacía a Estados Unidos.
· Haberse pasado de listas la Secretaría de Gobernación y la Comisión de Población y Desarrollo, presidida por el PAN, al endurecer el dictamen sin conocimiento de Senadoras/es que lo acordaron la semana pasada.
· El voto en contra del dictamen por parte de 14 Senadores del PRD y 2 del PT en la sesión del pasado martes.
· En esa misma sesión, las más de 50 reservas específicas presentadas sobre el dictamen y que se discutirían en la sesión del jueves.
· La reiterada y bien publicitada oposición al dictamen por parte de Senadores como Ricardo Monreal.
· Las declaraciones del Coordinador del grupo parlamentario del PRI en la Cámara de Diputados, y de dirigentes priistas en contra del dictamen presentado el jueves 17 y el martes 22.
· Los Grupos Parlamentarios del PRI y del PAN decidieron soltarse el pelo, tirar amarras y presumir orgullosos un rostro digno, sensible y visionarios.
· Los golpes políticos y mediáticos de Estados Unidos contra México, destacando en estos días los relativos al asesinato del agente del ICE, Jaime Zapata, en el estado de San Luis Potosí.
· La noticia difundida el miércoles 23 y el propio jueves 24 de que en Arizona se preparan leyes aún más duras que la SB1070.
· La demanda de obispos católicos de México y Centroamérica, dada a conocer ayer, para que la ley que votara el Senado no incluyera criminalización de migrantes, y por el contrario, ayudara a detener el atroz abuso contra ellas y ellos.
· El llamado el miércoles en el mismo sentido del presidente de Guatemala y presidentes de otros países centroamericanos.
· La inconformidad con el dictamen de las ONG y académicas/os que participaron en el grupo de trabajo formado por el Senado.
· La manifestación que tuvo lugar ayer jueves a la entrada del Senado con mantas y consignas que condenaban la “criminalización” de migrantes, y repudiaban el dictamen por ser igual o peor a la SB1070 de Arizona.
· El cabildeo que realizó ayer en persona -y que tuvo de inmediato alto impacto político- el Padre Alejandro Solalinde. El Padre ha ganado singular autoridad moral por su compromiso con migrantes sin documentos a pesar de agresiones y amenazas de muerte que ha recibido de funcionarios y delincuencia organizada. Ayer, en el Senado todo mundo quería salir en la foto con el padre Solalinde, a quien incluso se permitió sentarse un rato en una de las curules reservadas a Senadoras/es. Con el Padre hacían también cabildeo reconocidas defensoras de migrantes como Elvira Arellano y la Hermana Leticia Gutiérrez.
· En un contexto global, sirvieron de “ambiente” favorable para cambiar el dictamen las insurrecciones de pueblos árabes, en estos días, la del pueblo libio.
· Finalmente, con la modestia del caso, habría que señalar el buen impacto que tuvo en medios y en el Senado la Carta Abierta firmada por 40 dirigentes de organizaciones de migrantes, académicas y académicos, activistas, empresarios y religiosos. La Carta tenía como demanda central documentar/dar permisos de tránsito a migrantes de Centroamérica y de otras regiones. Era necesario, indispensable, presentar esta demanda por ser la clave del respeto a la dignidad y derechos de las/os migrantes. Una demanda que por desgracia no estaban impulsando las ONG del grupo de trabajo con el Senado, ni las ONG de derechos humanos. Una demanda que había promovido el PRD en una iniciativa de ley de migración presentada el año pasado, pero que fue obligado a abandonar por no apoyarla otros grupos parlamentarios. Una demanda que sólo hicieron pública e impulsaron hasta el final el Padre Solalinde, el Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano, y los firmantes de la Carta Abierta, entre los cuales se encuentra un colega de Solalinde, el Padre Flor María Rigoni, director del albergue para migrantes Casa Belén, en Tapachula. Una demanda que pensábamos tenía pocas, muy pocas, poquísimas posibilidades de aceptarse.

Apreciadas amigas y amigos:

FORTALEZCAMOS Y MEJOREMOS EL DICTAMEN APROBADO AYER EN EL SENADO. NO PERMITAMOS QUE LO REVIERTAN O CONGELEN GRUPOS XENÓFOBOS, CORRUPTOS Y MILITARISTAS O LA DELINCUENCIA ORGANIZADA. TAMPOCO DEJEMOS QUE SALGAN ADELANTE LAS AMENAZAS, CHANTAJES Y PROVOCACIONES QUE PUEDA PONER EN JUEGO ESTADOS UNIDOS.

¡Vivan los pueblos migrantes del mundo, Viva su lucha!

¡Salud!

Primitivo

Sigue el Boletín de prensa del Senado sobre la aprobación del dictamen.

jueves, 24 de febrero de 2011

El Senado de la República aprobó en lo particular el dictamen que expide la nueva Ley de Migración, que establece la obligatoriedad del Estado de respetar y defender los derechos humanos de los migrantes.

APRUEBA SENADO EN LO PARTICULAR NUEVA LEY MIGRATORIA

EL Senado de la República aprobó en lo particular el dictamen que expide la nueva Ley de Migración, que establece la obligatoriedad del Estado de respetar y defender los derechos humanos de los migrantes.

Los senadores avalaron con 86 votos los 59 artículos que habían sido reservados en la sesión anterior durante la discusión y aprobación en lo general del dictamen.

La Ley tiene como objetivo facilitar y garantizar la movilidad de los indocumentados por territorio nacional, en condiciones de respeto a su vida y dignidad.

Asimismo, este nuevo ordenamiento cataloga a los migrantes como verdaderos sujetos del desarrollo local y global, y no como un peligro o amenaza para las comunidades por donde transitan, asientan o encauzan sus esfuerzos y trabajo.

Al exponer los acuerdos alcanzados, el senador panista Humberto Andrade Quezada, presidente de la Comisión de Población y Desarrollo, afirmó que hoy se está culminando con la cuenta pendiente que tiene el país en el tema migratorio.

Afirmó que la intención del Senado fue dejar de lado “cualquier posible sospecha de la criminalización y la penalización del migrante, independientemente de su estatus migratorio”.
Añadió que “el Senado, en este esfuerzo continuo, el único espíritu que lo mueve es la protección de los derechos humanos”.

Comentó que respecto a los diferendos que existían en torno al artículo 26, donde se estipulaban las obligaciones de la policía en auxilio de las autoridades migratorias; “no modificamos el párrafo tercero, retiramos el artículo en su totalidad”.

Con esto, “queremos mandar una señal muy clara de que el Senado está consciente de la aportación y valor del migrante”, puntualizó.

Además --dijo-- se definió el ámbito de las asociaciones de la sociedad civil que prestan auxilio y acompañan al migrante, para que no sean perseguidas ni sujetas de revisión como lo habían sido hasta ahora.

Resaltó que “se trata de una ley integral, de avanzada, moderna, que permite tener una posición como país de congruencia y de fuerza para exigir en otros lugares, para los nuestros, lo que sí debemos dar en este país en respeto, defensa y protección del migrante”.

Por su parte, el senador Francisco Herrera León, presidente de la Comisión de Asuntos Fronterizos Sur, lamentó que se tenga que reconocer que en lo general no precisamente hemos resguardado y valorado los derechos de los migrantes.

“Ahí están los datos sobre secuestros, sobre trata de personas, sobre tráfico de menores, todo esto que engloba el fenómeno migratorio”, indicó.

Sin embargo, la señal que “este Senado de la República quiere enviar al país, a los migrantes, pero también al mundo, es que en México ni se penaliza ni se criminaliza ni se persigue a nadie”, declaró.

Refirió que entre los fundamentos del dictamen destacan la definición de una política migratoria, hasta hoy ausente; el respeto irrestricto y el reconocimiento a los derechos de los migrantes y el no más facultades a la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública.

“El espíritu de la ley es que el Instituto Nacional de Migración se modernice, se actualice, se ponga al corriente y sea quien atienda, como son sus funciones, el fenómeno migratorio en su totalidad”, aclaró.

El legislador priísta dijo que no se quieren detenciones ni aseguramientos de migrantes, sino “todas las facilidades para su regularización y queremos en el último de los casos acompañamiento y asistencia para un retorno digno de seres humanos”.

Expresó que con esta ley se busca devolverle a México autoridad moral; queremos que esta legislación sea un marco de referencia para la región y el mundo.

En su oportunidad, el senador Tomas Torres Mercado dijo que el PRD comparte que la Policía Federal tenga como tarea central cuidar de la integridad y derechos de los migrantes y de que los que ingresen, salgan o residan en el país.

Agregó que más que convertir a la Ley de Migración en un instrumento de seguridad pública, pone equilibrio a una política de Estado sobre el tema de población y migración, porque la Ley regula el fenómeno migratorio atendiendo al origen, al tránsito y destino que motivan la constante movilidad humana en y hacia el país.

Por el PT, el senador Ricardo Monreal Ávila destacó que en la última etapa de la negociación para la aprobación del dictamen “se modificaron artículos que hubiesen sido ominosos para la tradición política” de México.

Dijo que con la supresión de las disposiciones que otorgaban facultades a la Policía Federal para detener a los indocumentados que transitan por el país y permitían la denuncia anónima en su contra, “ya no queda ninguna duda de que en la Ley no existe indicio alguno para criminalizar la migración”.

Sin embargo, el legislador lamentó que no se avaló su propuesta de institucionalizar las acciones en materia migratoria como el Programa Paisano, que el gobierno federal ha implementado, en los últimos años “porque sí han servido”.

Por Convergencia, el senador Dante Delgado Rannauro reconoció los avances alcanzados, producto tanto de senadores como de la voz de la sociedad, organizaciones no gubernamentales y defensoras de los derechos humanos de inmigrantes que no podían tolerar la criminalización del tránsito por nuestro país.

Agregó que el problema de los flujos migratorios hacia Estados Unidos y de los países latinoamericanos a México o EU, es consecuencia de una política económica global fracasada, que no permite la reactivación económica en las regiones, pues se siguieron modelos sin referente en la economía mundial.

Una vez aprobado el dictamen en lo particular, el senador Arturo Núñez Jiménez, presidente en turno de la Mesa Directiva, felicitó a nombre de ésta a “quienes hicieron posible el acuerdo que honra la tradición de México en materia de asilo, refugiados y en sus propias reivindicaciones con los migrantes mexicanos en Estados Unidos”.

Illegal Immigrant Students Worry After Dream Act Loss - NYTimes.com

2011-02-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

A NY Times article discussing the human costs of failed immigration reform. In this case, the perilous situation in which immigrant students find themselves after fighting for approval of the DREAM Act and seeing it fail in Congress:

Illegal Immigrant Students Worry After Dream Act Loss - NYTimes.com

Fallece el obispo Samuel Ruiz

2011-01-24T10:02:00.000-08:00

Ha fallecido el obispo Samuel Ruiz, una persona a quien conocimos cuando realizaba su labor pastoral a favor de la comunidades indígenas de Chiapas.

Que descanse en paz este hombre sencillo y tenaz que ha dejado huella en la vida de muchos de nosotros.

Fallece el obispo Samuel Ruiz - El Universal - México

Freedom Gone South - By Joshua E. Keating | Foreign Policy

2011-01-14T10:22:00.000-08:00

Freedom House has changed its evaluation of Mexico from free to partly free due to the State's failure to protect citizens from the violence generated by organized crime.

The Foereign Policy article:

Freedom Gone South - By Joshua E. Keating | Foreign Policy

2010 Immigration Report of State Immigration Laws, Bills, Resolutions

2011-01-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)has issued the following press release informing about the results of their 2010 report on state immigration laws:

Broken Federal Immigration Policy Leaves States in a Lurch

With no federal legislation, state legislators move to enact local solutions.

Congress again failed to consider comprehensive immigration reform in 2010. Despite federal inaction, state legislatures continue to lead the way in addressing the complex and challenging issue of immigration.

According to a new immigration report from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), states enacted a record number of bills and resolutions on immigration issues during the 2010 sessions.

Forty-six state legislatures and the District of Columbia enacted 208 laws and adopted 138 resolutions for a total of 346. Ten additional bills were vetoed. During the same period in 2009, 44 states enacted 202 laws and adopted 131 resolutions for a total of 333. Twenty bills in 2009 were vetoed. Montana, Nevada, North Dakota or Texas were not in regular session in 2010. Every state that met in regular session in 2010 considered laws related to immigrants and immigration, including legislation addressing legal immigrants, migrant and seasonal workers, refugees or unauthorized immigrants.

"State legislatures will continue to step forward and create local solutions without comprehensive federal legislation," said William Pound, executive director of NCSL. "In the long term, immigration policy requires federal reform, and states look forward to working with the federal government to find effective solutions."
As in previous years, employment, law enforcement and identification/driver’s licenses remained the top issues addressed in state legislation related to immigrants. E-verify legislation was enacted in four states—Georgia, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. A new area of concern for state legislators in 2010 was child abductions. Alabama, Florida and Tennessee enacted laws to help prevent them.

Getting the most attention last year was Arizona's new immigration laws (SB 1070 and HB 2162). Six bills similar to Arizona's were introduced in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, but none were enacted.

Summaries of all enacted laws and resolutions are available online in a searchable database and in two PDF charts sorted alphabetically by state and by category.This NCSL publication and PDF are registered with the NCSL copyright and may not be reproduced, uploaded or distributed in any way in its entirety.

Link:

2010 Immigration Report

President and First Lady to Honor Victims | C-SPAN

2011-01-12T17:16:00.000-08:00

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President and First Lady to Honor Victims | C-SPAN

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Shot in Tucson - NYTimes.com

2011-01-08T13:56:00.000-08:00

Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (Arizona)and 17 other people were shot today at a public event in Tucson. She was shot in the head and has undergone surgery. She is considered to be in stable condition.

Giffords has been a critic of the anti-immigrant policies being implemented in Arizona and elsewhere.

A suspect, 22 year old Jared Laughner, was arrested, trying to run away.

Giffords had received threats, although the motive for the shooting has not yet been reveales.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Shot in Tucson - NYTimes.com

Escapan de la migra: Historias de indocumentados famosos

2011-01-04T09:13:00.000-08:00

La reciente revelación de parte de Salma Hayek, informando que había sido indocumentada en Estados Unidos por un tiempo, ha llevado a considerar experiencias parecidas de otros artistas y deportistas latinoamericanos.

El portal de10 presenta una lista de diez casos donde el estatus de indocumentado ha sido parte de las vivencias de estos personajes mexicanos y latinoamericanos.

Seguramente no son los únicos casos, dada la magnitud del fenómeno migratorio en el continente y la continua inexistencia de políticas migratorias racionales en Estados Unidos.

De10.mx >> Escapan de la migra Historias de indocumentados famosos

A mariachi's journey is the ballad of a lifetime

2010-12-30T18:57:00.000-08:00

A most unique story by LA Times columnist Steve Lopez about the Marquez family from Southern California and the performance of "Danzon #2" by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, a piece written by Arturo Marquez.

A mariachi's journey is the ballad of a lifetime - latimes.com

Md. legislation proposes in-state tuition benefits for some undocumented students

2010-12-29T10:44:00.000-08:00

A bill is being proposed to the Maryland state legislature by state senator Victor R. Ramirez, which would offer undocumented students in the state the possibility of paying in-state tuition at state universities. An estimated 250,000 students would benefit.

According to the Washington Post:

"We're working backwards," said Ramirez, who previously introduced the in-state tuition benefit in the House of Delegates and now plans to do so in the Senate. "We have said, 'You can go to school for 12 years' - we have invested in you for 12 years, and when that investment is ripe for the picking, we say, 'No more.' "

A similar bill was passed by the General Assembly in 2003 but was vetoed by Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. If it is approved by the legislature again, Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) is expected to take a more sympathetic view, the measure's supporters say.

Md. legislation proposes in-state tuition benefits for some illegal immigrants

Immigration overhaul: President Obama's push for reform appears dead

2010-12-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

More press coverage speculating on the specific priorities of the Republican Party and influential legislators who will be heading key committees.

Immigration overhaul: President Obama's push for reform appears dead - latimes.com

Passing of DREAM Act is very unlikely in next Congress, Republicans say

2010-12-23T15:04:00.000-08:00

Republican leaders are stating that they are unwilling to consider any type of amnesty, including the DREAM Act, until the nation's borders are secure.

This is an argument that has been made repeatedly over the past decades.

It is also a convenient excuse to avoid developing any true policy alternative that takes into account the structural factors that create a continuing demand for foreign labor.

From such a perspective it apparently does not matter that millions of people are left in the shadows of American democracy and justice.

Passing of DREAM Act is very unlikely in next Congress, Republicans say

With census growth, Hispanic groups target redistricting to up political clout

2010-12-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

The demographic changes documented by the 2010 Census will lead to a redistricting process. Latinos have grown in number and their presence has increased in strategic states. Civil rights organizations like MALDEF and PLDEF have met recently to develop a plan that can also result in increased Latino electoral influence and political power.

With census growth, Hispanic groups target redistricting to up political clout

What did the 2010 US Census say about America?

2010-12-21T23:43:00.000-08:00

The national population has grown to over 308 million. Most of the recent growth has been due to increased births (17 million) and less from immigration (10 million).

80% of the population growth has come from minority groups. Latinos had the greatest gains.

What did the 2010 US Census say about America? - The Curious Capitalist - TIME.com

U.S. gun dealers with the most firearms traced over the past four years

2010-12-18T19:06:00.000-08:00

The increased drug-related violence that is affecting Mexican society cannot be explained without taking into account the massive smuggling into Mexico of US-sold weapons. As this Washington Post article illustrates, thousands of guns used in drug-related crimes and homicides in Mexico can be traced directly to specific US gunshops. Moreover, little is actually being done to curtail this aspect of the drug problem.

U.S. gun dealers with the most firearms traced over the past four years

Immigration Vote Leaves Obama Policy in Disarray - NYTimes.com

2010-12-18T15:55:00.000-08:00

The Dream Act has been rejected by the US Senate. It received only 55 of the necessary 60 votes. 5 Democratic senators opposed the bill and only 3 Republicans favored it.

The decision is not only a serious setback to immigrant youth, but to President Obama's strategy as well. He has emphasized increased enforcement and deportations and obtained no support from Republicans even for a bill that many had considered the most likely to be passed.

Immigration Vote Leaves Obama Policy in Disarray - NYTimes.com

Visualizing Slavery - NYTimes.com

2010-12-10T17:06:00.000-08:00

Amazing map offered by the NY Times, documenting the extent of slavery in the United States during the pre-Civil War era.

Visualizing Slavery - NYTimes.com

California's Ailing Republicans: A Dying Breed?

2010-11-28T15:26:00.000-08:00

A Huffington Post article detailing the electoral decline of the Republican Party, which has lost nearly all state-wide races since 2002.

One of the factors influencing this trend has been the extremist positions the party and its candidates have taken on a number of issues, which makes a party leader say that the GOP is a tarnished brand.

Another factor is the chaning demographics in the state, which includes the rise of the Latino population.

The complete article:

California's Ailing Republicans: A Dying Breed?

Temporary Blues: November 2010 Election Only a Momentary Setback for Democrats

2010-11-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

An insightful analysis of the November 2010 election seen within the changing context of demography and partisan voting trends.

Author Dylan Loewe correctly points out that the demographic support for each of the two parties differs significantly and that the Democratic base and potential support is and will be much greater in the forthcoming years. Key in this process is the continued growth of the Latino population, which continues to be alienated by sectors of the Republican party.

The full article:

Temporary Blues | The American Prospect

MSNBC's The Ed Show: Obama Needs to Get Tougher

2010-11-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

An interesting clip from the Ed Show.

Do Democrats owe their hold on the Senate to Hispanic voters?

2010-11-04T14:44:00.000-07:00

Now a Washington Post article on the same issue of the Latino influence on Tuesday's election:

Do Democrats owe their hold on the Senate to Hispanic voters?

Did Polls Underestimate Democrats' Latino Vote? - NYTimes.com

2010-11-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Another article pointing out the potentially vital role played by Latino voters and the flaws in most of the mainstream polls that exclude bilingual informants:

Did Polls Underestimate Democrats' Latino Vote? - NYTimes.com

Latino voters played key role in California races, other national contests, survey finds

2010-11-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

Latino advocates argue that Latino voters played decisive roles in victories achieved by Democratic candidates in California, Nevada and other states. It is suggested that the pro-immigration reform position adopted by those candidates earned them the support of Latino voters. It is also pointed out that Latino candidates, democratic and republican, had important triumphs, including Susana Martinez in her race for New Mexico governor.

The complete article:

Latino voters played key role in California races, other national contests, survey finds

Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law : NPR

2010-10-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

A National Public Radio report explores the roots of the infamous Arizona SB 1070 law, which is one of the most extremist anti-immigrant laws in the nation. The report finds that the law has its origins and was driven by the private prison industry, which saw the potential incarceration of undocumented immigrants as a lucrative opportunity.

A fundamental role in this process was played by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which includes powerful corporations like Reynolds American, Exxon, and includes Corrections Corporation of America, "the largest private prison company in the country". Among the members is also Arizona State senator Russell Pearce, who introduced the bill.

Funding was channeled to the campaign and to supportive legislators.

The report can be found here:

Prison Economics Help Drive Ariz. Immigration Law : NPR

Carly No Es Mi Amiga (Carly Fiorina Is Not My Friend)

2010-10-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Lou Dobbs, American Hypocrite | The Nation

2010-10-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

The Nation magazine has just released an article, written by Isabel Macdonald, which provides evidence that one of the nation's most vociferous critics of undocumented immigration, Lou Dobbs, has knowingly been employing undocumented workers for years to perform various tasks at his mansions.

Macdonald interviewed five such workers during the course of the year-long investigation.

The complete article:

Lou Dobbs, American Hypocrite | The Nation

Former Whitman housekeeper alleges she was treated like 'garbage"

2010-09-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman was accused today by Nicandra Diaz, an undocumented immigrant employed as a housekeeper for nine years, of mistreatment and abuse.

The revelation is sure to influence the ongoing process of an already close race with former governor Jerry Brown.

Diaz is being represented by Gloria Allred, who has drawn attention to numerous attention-grabbing cases.

Additional revelations about Diaz' experiences as an emloyee of the Whitman household are expected.

The complete article from the LA Times:

Former Whitman housekeeper alleges she was treated like 'garbage'| PolitiCal | Los Angeles Times

Paul Krugman: Downhill With the G.O.P.

2010-09-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

In this article Nobel Prize Winner Paul Krugman examines the Republican Party's "Pledge to America", focusing on the fiscal implications of the document.

In addition to pointing out that the document is at war with arithmetic, Krugman observes that, more than anything else, it reflects the vision of conservative intellectual Irving Kristol.

The late Irving Kristol, one of the intellectual godfathers of modern conservatism, once wrote frankly about why he threw his support behind tax cuts that would worsen the budget deficit: his task, as he saw it, was to create a Republican majority, “so political effectiveness was the priority, not the accounting deficiencies of government.” In short, say whatever it takes to gain power. That’s a philosophy that now, more than ever, holds sway in the movement Kristol helped shape.

Krugman concludes:

Realistically, though, Republicans aren’t going to have the power to enact their true agenda any time soon — if ever. Remember, the Bush administration’s attack on Social Security was a fiasco, despite its large majority in Congress — and it actually increased Medicare spending.

So the clear and present danger isn’t that the G.O.P. will be able to achieve its long-run goals. It is, rather, that Republicans will gain just enough power to make the country ungovernable, unable to address its fiscal problems or anything else in a serious way. As I said, banana republic, here we come.

The link to the article:

Op-Ed Columnist - Downhill With the G.O.P. - NYTimes.com

Video of Stephen Colbert Testifying in Congress About Immigrant Farmworkers in America

2010-09-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Stephen Colbert To Testify Before Congress On Immigration; Today's Episode of Colbert Report to Cover His Work in Agriculture

2010-09-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

Television personality, comedian, and faux conservative, Stephen Colbert, apparently will testify in US congressional hearings on immigration. He is scheduled to join United Farmworkers Union (UFW) president, Arturo Rodriguez, in the calls for an AgJobs program.

Earlier this summer, Colbert participated in the UFW's "Take Our Jobs" campaign, designed to draw attention to the agricultural industry's dependence on an undocumented immigrant labor force. Colbert spent a day performing farm labor and that experience will be aired today in the Colbert Report.

The complete note on the Huffington Post:

Stephen Colbert To Testify Before Congress On Immigration

GOP Battle Plan: Deprive Rivals of Cash

2010-09-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

The potential GOP victory at the polls in the November election is leading them to consider different strategies to reverse the reforms that have been implemented by a US Congress under the control of the Democratic Party. Among the targets: the recently approved health-care overhaul.

As the Wall Street Journal article indicates, a preferred strategy is to deny funding to opposed programs.

The complete article:

GOP Battle Plan: Deprive Rivals of Cash - WSJ.com

Poverty Rates Increase for the Nation as a Whole, for Hispanics, for Foreign-Born

2010-09-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

The Bureau of the Census released the following data regarding poverty in the nation (all numbers in thousands):

People in Poverty
2008 38,829 million (13.2% of national pop.).
2009 43,569 million (14.3% of national pop.).

Hispanic Origin in Poverty
2008 10,987 (23.2% of pop.).
2009 12,350 (25.3% of pop.).

Foreign Born in Poverty
2008 6,536 (17.8% of pop.).
2009 7,162 (19.0% of pop.).

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/pdf/cb10-144_tableb.pdf

New Census Report: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009

2010-09-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

A new Bureau of the Census report with the latest socio-economic data:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY, SEPT. 16, 2010

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009

Summary of Key Findings

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that real median household income in the United States in 2009 was $49,777, not statistically different from the 2008 median.

The nation's official poverty rate in 2009 was 14.3 percent, up from 13.2 percent in 2008 — the second statistically significant annual increase in the poverty rate since 2004. There were 43.6 million people in poverty in 2009, up from 39.8 million in 2008 — the third consecutive annual increase.

Meanwhile, the number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 46.3 million in 2008 to 50.7 million in 2009, while the percentage increased from 15.4 percent to 16.7 percent over the same period.

These findings are contained in the report Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009. The following results for the nation were compiled from information collected in the 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC):

Income

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to people reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

Among race groups, Asian households had the highest median income in 2009. Real median income declined between 2008 and 2009 for non-Hispanic white and black households, while the changes for Asian and Hispanic-origin households were not statistically different. (See Table A [PDF].

Regions

In 2009, households in the West and Northeast had the highest median household incomes. (The apparent difference between the two regions was not statistically significant.) Real median income declined between 2008 and 2009 in the Midwest and West; the changes for the Northeast and South were not statistically significant. (See Table A [PDF].

Nativity

In 2009, households maintained by naturalized citizens had the highest median income. Native-born households and those maintained by noncitizens experienced income declines from 2008 to 2009, in real terms. The changes in the median income of all foreign-born households and households maintained by a naturalized citizen were not statistically significant. (See Table A [PDF].

Earnings

In 2009, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round were 77 percent of that for corresponding men, not statistically different from the 2008 ratio.
The real median earnings of men who worked full time, year-round rose by 2.0 percent between 2008 and 2009, from $46,191 to $47,127. For women, the corresponding increase was 1.9 percent, from $35,609 to $36,278. (The difference between the 2.0 and 1.9 percent increases was not statistically significant.)

Income Inequality

The change in income inequality between 2008 and 2009 was not statistically significant, as measured by shares of aggregate household income by quintiles and the Gini index. The Gini index was 0.468 in 2009. (The Gini index is a measure of household income inequality; 0 represents perfect income equality and 1 perfect inequality.)

Poverty

The poverty rate in 2009 was the highest since 1994, but was 8.1 percentage points lower than the poverty rate in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates are available. The number of people in poverty in 2009 is the largest number in the 51 years for which poverty estimates are available.
In 2009, the family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty were 11.1 percent and 8.8 million, respectively, up from 10.3 percent and 8.1 million in 2008.
The poverty rate and the number in poverty increased across all types of families: married-couple families (5.8 percent and 3.4 million in 2009 from 5.5 percent and 3.3 million in 2008); female-householder-with-no-husband-present families (29.9 percent and 4.4 million in 2009 from 28.7 percent and 4.2 million in 2008) and for male-householder-no-wife-present families (16.9 percent and 942,000 in 2009 from 13.8 percent and 723,000 in 2008).

Thresholds

As defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2009 was $21,954. Since the average annual CPI-U for 2009 was lower than the average annual CPI-U for 2008, poverty thresholds for 2009 are slightly lower than the corresponding thresholds for 2008. (See <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstables/032010/pov/new35_000.htm> for the complete set of dollar value thresholds that vary by family size and composition.)

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to people reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

The poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites was lower in 2009 than it was for other racial groups. The poverty rate is not statistically different from the 2008 poverty rate for Asians, but increased for all other race groups and for Hispanics. Table B [PDF] details 2009 poverty rates and numbers in poverty, as well as changes since 2008 in these measures, for race groups and Hispanics.

Age

The poverty rate increased for children younger than 18 (from 19.0 percent in 2008 to 20.7 percent in 2009) and people 18 to 64 (from 11.7 percent in 2008 to 12.9 percent in 2009), while it declined for people 65 and older (from 9.7 percent in 2008 to 8.9 percent in 2009).
Similar to the patterns observed for the poverty rate in 2009, the number of people in poverty increased for children younger than 18 (14.1 million in 2008 to 15.5 million in 2009) and people 18 to 64 (22.1 million in 2008 to 24.7 million in 2009) and declined for seniors 65 and older (from 3.7 million in 2008 to 3.4 million in 2009).

Nativity

The 2009 poverty rate for naturalized citizens was not statistically different from 2008, while the poverty rates of native-born and noncitizens increased. Table B [PDF] details 2009 poverty rates and the numbers in poverty, as well as changes since 2008 in these measures, by nativity.

Regions

The poverty rate increased from 2008 to 2009 in the Midwest, South and West while all four regions had increases in the number of people in poverty. (The 2009 poverty rate for the Northeast was not statistically different from its 2008 poverty rate.) See Table B [PDF].

Health Insurance Coverage

The number of people with health insurance decreased from 255.1 million in 2008 to 253.6 million in 2009. Since 1987, the first year that comparable health insurance data were collected, this is the first year that the number of people with health insurance has decreased.
Between 2008 and 2009, the number of people covered by private health insurance decreased from 201.0 million to 194.5 million, while the number covered by government health insurance climbed from 87.4 million to 93.2 million. The number covered by employment-based health insurance declined from 176.3 million to 169.7 million. The number with Medicaid coverage increased from 42.6 million to 47.8 million.
Comparable health insurance data were first collected in 1987. The percentage of people covered by private insurance (63.9 percent) is the lowest since that year, as is the percentage of people covered by employment-based insurance (55.8 percent). In contrast, the percentage of people covered by government health insurance programs (30.6 percent) is the highest since 1987, as is the percentage covered by Medicaid (15.7 percent).
In 2009, 10.0 percent (7.5 million) of children under 18 were without health insurance. Neither estimate is significantly different from the corresponding 2008 estimate.
The uninsured rate for children in poverty (15.1 percent) was greater than the rate for all children.
In 2009, the uninsured rates decreased as household income increased: from 26.6 percent for those in households with annual incomes less than $25,000 to 9.1 percent in households with incomes of $75,000 or more.

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to those reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

The uninsured rate and number of uninsured in 2009 were not statistically different from 2008 for Asians while increasing for all other race groups and for Hispanics. See Table C [PDF].

Nativity

The proportion of the foreign-born population without health insurance in 2009 was nearly two-and-a-half times that of the native-born population. The uninsured rate was not statistically different for naturalized citizens but rose for noncitizens and the native-born.
Table C [PDF] details the 2009 uninsured rate and the number of uninsured, as well as changes since 2008 in these measures, by nativity.

Regions

The Northeast had the lowest uninsured rate in 2009. Between 2008 and 2009, the uninsured rates and number of uninsured increased in all four regions. See Table C [PDF].

The Census Bureau's statistical experts, with assistance from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and in consultation with the Office of Management and Budget, the Economics and Statistics Administration and other appropriate agencies and outside experts, are now developing a Supplemental Poverty Measure. The Supplemental Poverty Measure will provide an additional measure of economic well-being. It will not replace the official poverty measure and will not be used to determine eligibility for government programs. See Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009, for more information.

The Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement is subject to sampling and nonsampling errors. All comparisons made in the report have been tested and found to be statistically significant at the 90 percent confidence level, unless otherwise noted.

For additional information on the source of the data and accuracy of the estimates for the CPS, visit <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/p60_238.pdf>.

Newsroom: Income & Wealth: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009

Transmisión en Vivo de la Celebración del Bicentenario de la Independencia Mexicana

2010-09-15T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ahora puedes encontrar en el sitio la transmisión en vivo de la celebración del bicentenario.

Felicidades al Pueblo Mexicano al Celebrar el Bicentenario de su Independencia!

2010-09-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

Esta noche México celebra el bicentenario del movimiento independentista que inicio el cura Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla en el pueblo de Dolores, Guanajuato.

Felicidades a todo el pueblo mexicano, incluyendo a los que se encuentran fuera del territorio nacional pero recuerdan y reconocen la importancia de este evento histórico.

Increase in American Poverty Rates Expected

2010-09-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

New Census reports will be issued next week and one of the expected developments will be the documentation of increases in the poverty rates in the nation, a consequence of the recession the nation is still going through. Some predictions point to the possibility that the poverty rate will rise to 15%, approaching the levels in existence in the 1960s, before the War on Poverty policies were implemented.

Let's keep in mind the origins of the recession and the pre-existing trend towards greater inequality in the nation before laying all the blame on the Democrats.

U.S. Student Became Mexico Drug Kingpin ‘La Barbie’ - NYTimes.com

2010-09-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

A New York Times article examines the roots of Edgar Valdez Villarreal "La Barbie", from his middle class background in Laredo to the top of Mexican drug cartels.

U.S. Student Became Mexico Drug Kingpin ‘La Barbie’ - NYTimes.com

Piden crear Comision de Asuntos Migratorios

2010-09-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

En respuesta a problemas graves, tales como el asesinato de 72 migrantes en Tamaulipas y aprobación de la ley SB 1070 en Arizona, el senador priista, Heladio Ramirez Lopez, ha presentado una iniciativa en el Senado de la República para que se establezca una Comisión de Asuntos Migratorios, la cual trabaje de manera explicita asuntos relacionados a este tema. En la actualidad, temas relacionados son abordados por diversas comisiones, incluyendo una sobre relaciones con Norteamérica.

Hay que señalar que el mismo problema existe a nivel de la Cámara de Diputados.

Asimismo, hay casos, como en Michoacán, donde el poder legislativo estatal ya estableció una Comisión de Asuntos Migratorios.

La nota completa:

Piden crear Comisi�n de Asuntos Migratorios - El Universal - M�xico

Video de Casa de "La Barbie" en el Estado de Mexico

2010-09-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

Este vídeo de Milenio Diario muestra la casa en el Estado de México donde fue capturado el narcotraficante, Edgar Valdez Villarreal, mejor conocido como "La Barbie".

Choca trailer que transporta cuerpos de migrantes

2010-09-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Lo que faltaba:

El trailer que transportaba 56 cuerpos de los migrantes asesinados en Tamaulipas ha chocado contra dos vehículos al transitar por el Distrito Federal, rumbo a las instalaciones del Servicio Medico Forense.

La nota del Universal:

Choca tr�iler que transporta cuerpos de migrantes - El Universal - DF

Immigration Creates Jobs and Increases Income of US Workers: New Report by the NBER

2010-08-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

A digest of the recently released report issued by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which finds that immigration creates jobs and adds to the income of US workers:

The Effect of Immigration on Productivity: Evidence from US States

A one percent increase in employment in a US state, attributable only to immigration, is associated with a 0.4-0.5 percent increase in income per worker in that state.

Immigration during the 1990s and the 2000s significantly increased the presence of foreign-born workers in the United States, but the increase was very unequal across states. In The Effect of Immigration on Productivity: Evidence from US States (NBER Working Paper No. 15507), NBER Research Associate Giovanni Peri analyzes state-by-state data to determine the impact of immigration on a variety of labor market outcomes, including employment, average hours worked, and average skill intensity, and on productivity and income per worker.

Peri reports a number of distinct findings. First, immigrants do not crowd-out employment of (or hours worked by) natives; they add to total employment and reduce the share of highly educated workers, because of their larger share of islow-skilled relative to native workers. Second, immigrants increase total factor productivity. These productivity gains may arise because of the more efficient allocation of skills to tasks, as immigrants are allocated to manual-intensive jobs, promoting competition and pushing natives to perform communication-intensive tasks more efficiently. Indeed, a measure of task-specialization of native workers induced by immigrants explains half to two thirds of the positive effect on productivity.

Third, Peri finds that inflows of immigrants decrease capital intensity and the skill-bias of production technologies. The decrease in capital intensity comes from an increase in total factor productivity; the capital-to-labor ratio remains unchanged because investment rises coincident with the inflow of immigrants. The reduction in the skill-intensity of production occurs as immigrants influence the choice of production techniques toward those that more efficiently use less educated workers and are less capital intensive.

Finally, Peri finds that for less educated natives, higher immigration has very little effect on wages, while for highly educated natives, the wage effect of higher immigration is positive. In summary, he finds that a one percent increase in employment in a US state, attributable only to immigration, is associated with a 0.4 to 0.5 percent increase in income per worker in that state.

A central challenge in establishing a causal link between immigration and economic outcomes is the fact that immigrants may be disproportionately attracted to states with strong economic performance. Peri recognizes this problem, and uses information on state characteristics, such as the location of a state relative to the Mexican border, the number of ports of entry, as well as the existence of communities of immigrants there before 1960 to predict immigrant inflows. He then studies how these predicted inflows, rather than actual inflows, are related to labor market outcomes. He argues that the state characteristics that underlie his predictions are not likely to be associated with either labor market outcomes or productivity. He also controls for several other determinants of productivity that may vary with geography such as R and D spending, computer adoption, international competition in the form of exports, and sector composition.

-- Claire Brunel

The Digest is not copyrighted and may be reproduced freely with appropriate attribution of source

The link to the digest and report: http://www.nber.org/digest/mar10/w15507.html

Secuestros de migrantes se concentran en tres entidades: Veracruz, Tabasco, Tamaulipas

2010-08-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Gran impacto ha tenido a nivel mundial la noticia sobre la ejecución de 72 migrantes en el estado de Tamaulipas por el crimen organizado, presuntamente los Zetas, a quienes se les acusa de tal barbaridad.

Quienes hemos estamos vinculados a los procesos migratorios nos hemos dado cuenta de cuanto y como ha ido empeorando la situación a lo largo de la frontera en las ultimas décadas, a tal grado que se ha convertido en un verdadero calvario para quienes la cruzan, con o sin documentos, siendo mexicano o de otro país. A pesar de esto, nos quedamos atónitos ante la magnitud de este acto criminal.

Uno de los temas relacionados a este complejo tema es el de los secuestros de migrantes. Sobre esto, informa la Comision Nacional de Derechos Humanos (CNDH) que en los últimos seis meses se han reportado 1,267 plagios contra migrantes centroamericanos.

El 77.2% de ellos ocurren en tres estados que forman parte del circuito migratorios por donde circulan del sur al norte de México: En Veracruz se reportaron 443 plagios, en Tabasco 272 y en Tamaulipas 263.

Por supuesto que los plagios y otros crímenes que se cometen en contra de los migrantes ocurren en otros estados de la República Mexicana, por lo que se requieren medidas mas eficaces por las autoridades de todos los niveles de gobierno.

Las autoridades estadounidenses también deberían de reflexionar sobre el hecho que, ante la ausencia de una política migratoria que refleje la realidad de la demanda laboral por la mano de obra extranjera, tanto las fuerzas anti-inmigrantes como el crimen organizado saben ocupar los espacios vacíos.

Y quienes siempre salen perdiendo son las mujeres y hombres que solo buscan trabajo para vivir mejor.

El diario Milenio discute mas ampliamente este asunto en el siguiente articulo:

Secuestros de migrantes se concentran en tres entidades | Ediciones Impresas Milenio

TIGRA on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act: Includes Needed Remittance Regulation

2010-08-16T19:51:00.000-07:00

TIGRA (Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action) has been involved in organizing international migrants and migration-related organizations around the issue of remittances - something that affects migrant communities all over the world, in sending and receiving nations. Most recently, they have been involved in influencing US policy and are now communicating their support for the recently approved Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which includes much needed protection for people utilizing remittances services.

According to TIGRA:

On July 22nd, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This financial reform bill, replete with overdue remittance regulation, scores a considerable victory for the United States' forty three million immigrants that support their families from afar. Forever at the mercy of a murky and mostly-unregulated industry, remitters - global sustainers sending forth more than $400 billion a year - can now be assured of increased access to the equations behind their transfers.

The current lack of transparency in the marketplace represents an egregious exploitation of a population dependent on the services of these providers. TIGRA has long sought to right this wrong, recently devising a strict set of accreditation standards to leverage their network into corporate adherence. Fee and rate transparency is first on the list, followed by fair pricing 20% below the industry standard, a philanthropic commitment to community reinvestment, and, fourth, a pledge to avoid any investments that further displace people. After all, our goal is to make migration an option and not a necessity.

Under the Dodd-Frank law, the remittance industry will be at least partially reformed through a variety of newly-legislated requirements:

1. A multilingual written notice, provided prior to each transaction, will explicitly detail the exact amount of local currency destined to the designated recipient, the exchange rate applied to the transfer, and a full-disclosure of any applicable fee structures.

2. Similarly, a post-transfer receipt in the user's native language will be provided. This notice will document the amount of money to be received, expected date of delivery, recipient identification information, and a statement explaining a user's rights regarding error resolution and recourse.

While we applaud the passage of this law and commend the legislators and advocacy groups on their efforts, we must also maintain a pragmatic perspective. As Francis Calpotura, Executive Director of TIGRA and architect of Remit4change.net, says: "Until we reform the prevailing business model itself, one that blatantly eschews corporate social responsibility and proactive community reinvestment, we haven't genuinely affected the predatory nature of this $420 billion industry."

TIGRA (Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action) is a movement center for transnational organizing that promotes financial justice through the economic power of immigrants-those who send billions of dollars to families they've left behind. TIGRA considers the system of remittances as the next frontier of economic security work that links domestic and global issues.

TIGRA (Instituto Transnacional de Investigacion y Accion de Base) es un centro de trabajo de organización transnacional para fomentar movimientos populares abogando por la justicia económica a través del poder económico de los migrantes - los que mandan miles de millones de dólares a sus familias que dejaron atrás. TIGRA considera que el sistema de remesas es la nueva frontera en la lucha por la seguridad económica que une los problemas domesticos con los globales

Preparan senadores del PRD propuesta de reforma migratoria | Milenio.com

2010-08-06T14:30:00.000-07:00

La prensa mexicana informa que la bancada parlamentaria del PRD en el Senado mexicano prepara una propuesta de reforma migratoria mexicana como respuesta a lo que actualmente ocurre en Estados Unidos.

Según se informa, tal reforma tiene como objetivo favorecer a los mexicanos que emigran a Estados Unidos.

Tal propuesta seria una de varias reformas que se están preparando actualmente en el Congreso, tanto en la Cámara de Diputados como en el Senado, entre las que tocan asuntos de los derechos políticos de los mexicanos en el extranjero, como los derechos de inmigrantes y transmigrantes que entran a territorio mexicano de Centro América y otras partes del mundo.

La nota completa:

Preparan senadores del PRD propuesta de reforma migratoria | Milenio.com

Lawrence Downes: The Hunt for American Decency in the Arizona Quicksand

2010-08-04T17:32:00.000-07:00

Lawrence Downes has written an interesting article in the NYT discussing the battleground that Arizona has become in the nation's debate over immigration reform.

Ironically, he underlines when quoting Thomas Saenz, current president of MALDEF, the very same people who are calling for laws like SB 1070 to end an apparent lawlessness are the sames one who proudly bare their contempt for the U.S. Constitution.

Editorial Observer - The Hunt for American Decency in the Arizona Quicksand - NYTimes.com

Secretaria de Educación Publica de México: Convocatoria Para el Programa de Educación Superior Abierta y Distancia (ESAD)

2010-08-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

La Secretaria de Educacion Publica de Mexico (SEP) ha lanzado una convocatoria a los mexicanos en el exterior interesados en continuar sus estudios superiores, para hacerlo por medio de su programa ESAD. A continuacion la convocatoria y el link para el documento informativo:

Convocatoria Internacional
| |
El Programa de Educación Superior Abierta y Distancia (ESAD), por conducto de la Subsecretaría de Educación Superior (SES) y en colaboración de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE), convoca a todas las personas de nacionalidad mexicana que residan en cualquier país fuera de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, interesadas en cursar estudios del tipo superior, en la modalidad no escolarizada, abierta y a distancia, a que del 12 de julio al 8 de agosto de 2010, inicien el proceso de registro.

El primer paso para estudiar una carrera es decidirse y comenzar los trámites que lo hagan posible. Ahora que has solicitado ingresar formalmente a Programa ESAD, debes cubrir una serie de requisitos que te permitirán estudiar el Curso Propedéutico, para ello es necesario que realices el Registro. Si tienes alguna duda respecto a la Convocatoria Internacional, vista la sección de preguntas frecuentes.

Te invitamos cordialmente a que estudies con nosotros. Mucho éxito y agradecemos tu confianza.

Da clic aquí para descargar la Convocatoria Internacional 2010

Olvide la SB 1070: la disputa es otra

2010-08-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

Un articulo del periodista Jorge Fernandez Menendez, analizando el contexto político en que aparece la SB 1070 en Arizona.

Entre otras cosas, se destaca la estrategia política que se ha seguido de parte de los republicanos para arrinconar al presidente Barack Obama y debilitarlo dentro del contexto estadounidense.

Una de las consecuencias de los sucesos es algo que ya hemos comentado previamente: la creciente militarización de la frontera como una forma de asegurar la capacidad del gobierno para controlar el territorio nacional ante las amenazas del narcotrafico, la inmigración indocumentada, y posibles actos terroristas.

La nota completa:

Exc�lsior - Olvide la SB 1070: la disputa es otra

Sarah Palin Says Obama Does Not Have the Cojones to Fix Immigration; Supports SB 1070

2010-08-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

Former Alaska Governor, one-time Republican Vice Presidential candidate, current Fox News commentator, and high charging public speaker, Sarah Palin, launches another one of her nonsensical attacks on President Barack Obama, this time focusing on the issue of immigration policy and, more specifically, on the situation in Arizona.

In her rambling intervention, Palin states that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has the cojones to do what President Obama will not do, which is to protect the American people through the enforcement of immigration laws.

The first thing that comes to mind, of course, is whether Palin has any idea what cojones means in Spanish and if it is the most appropiate term to be used by a high profile, highly-paid public figure who claims to stand for family values, etc.

We'll leave for another ocassion the discussion of her simplistic interpretation of immigration policy and federalism.

Watch the video below:

Dana Milbank - Headless bodies and other immigration tall tales in Arizona

2010-07-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

In this Washington Post article Dana Milibank refutes the arguments about immigration-related violence and crime in Arizona that have been publicly espoused by public figures such as Governor Jan Brewer and Senator John McCain.

According to Miliband, statements claming that Arizona is a kidnapping capital of the world, that decapitated bodies have been found in the desert, or that violence in general has escalatated as a result of "out of control" immigration simply do no have corroborating evidence.

Moreover, if no such reality exists, then the arguments and rationale behind the need for initiatives such as SB 1070 are false.

To read the complete article click on the link below:

Dana Milbank - Headless bodies and other immigration tall tales in Arizona

Presente.org Says We Need More than Speeches - Calls for Results and and end to the 287G Program

2010-07-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

The following is a response by Presente.org to today's speech by President Barack Obama:

Dear Friend,

1,000 per day. That’s the rate at which immigrants are being deported under the Obama Administration. Amazingly, it's more than under President Bush, and the vast majority are students, taxpayers and hardworking community members.¹

Today, President Obama addressed the nation, and once again expressed his commitment to immigration reform. But at this point, as Latino and immigrant communities are being torn apart, we need more than empty promises. We need action.

And so far, the only action we have seen is increased enforcement, including a $600 million dollar request for more immigration agents and a recent deployment of 1,200 troops to the border. Things have become so urgent that hundreds of undocumented youth are committing civil disobedience around the country, risking deportation to send a signal that enough is enough.

That’s why Presente.org, in collaboration with the National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON) and the Trail of DREAMs, is launching an ambitious new campaign calling on the President to use his power to create real change, starting with ending the deeply problematic 287g program. The 287g program is what empowers local authorities like Sheriff Joe Arpaio to conduct vicious raids of Latino communities and is what inspired Arizona to pass SB 1070.^2,3,4It’s time to tell President Obama to move beyond just finger pointing at Republicans, and say BASTA to 287g. Will you join us?

http://act.presente.org

In anticipation of his speech, President Obama met with community leaders on Monday, including Juan Rodriguez — one of four brave immigrant students who have been working with Presente.org since January to raise awareness about the plight of undocumented immigrants through the “Trail of Dreams,” a 1,500-mile walk from Miami to Washington, D.C. After the meeting, Juan told us how it went:

“While the President expressed support for measures that required Congressional action, he refused to act on any of the ones he can change immediately through executive action, such as 287g, the federal program that allows collaboration between local police and ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement). He said his office is looking to see where the flaws of the programs are.”

We think the flaws are clear. The Department of Homeland Security’s own Inspector General recently issued a scathing report with one central conclusion: 287g does not increase public safety.⁵ Only 10 percent of the people deported through the program have committed serious crimes, and more than half have no involvement in violence, drugs, or property crimes. In many communities, 287g has become a license for police officers to hunt down and deport undocumented immigrants who have committed no crime other than working hard to provide for their families.⁶

As a candidate, then Senator Obama spoke eloquently about the horrors caused by our failed immigration system, saying that, " ...when nursing mothers are torn from their babies, when children come home from school to find their parents missing, when people are detained without access to legal counsel ... the system just isn’t working, and we need to change it." But as President, Obama has done little to lessen the terror of deportations. The 287g program is something that the President can end with the simple stroke of a pen, and in doing so, he can show he has more to offer Latino and immigrant communities than just compelling speeches.

Please join us in saying Basta to 287g.

http:act.presente.org

Thank you and ¡Adelante!

Favianna, Roberto, Laurie and the rest of the Presente.org team

References

1. “The Criminal Flaw in Obama’s Immigration Vision,” Colorlines, 5/18/2010,
http://bit.ly/ajPry5

2. “Arpaio uses ICE manual to back enforcement tactics,” The Arizona Republic, 10/23/2009
http://bit.ly/c9WJyL

3. “Congressman Luis Gutierrez Blames Obama Administration for SB 1070 at Arizona Capitol Rally,” Phoenix New Times 4/25/2010
http://bit.ly/dl3PVj

4.“Media Release: Advocates Condemn Obama Administration’s Expansion of DHS’s Failed 287(g) Program” Center for Media Justice, 7/17/2009,
http://bit.ly/bF1xij

5. “The Performance of 287(g) Agreements,” Office of the Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security, 3/2009,
PDF Document: http://bit.ly/b5xgV0

6. “Too Broken to Fix,” New York Times, 4/8/2010,
http://nyti.ms/az3LhU

7. "One Day After Obama’s White House Meeting, Immigration Raids Spark Latino Backlash," America's Voice Online, 3/12/10
http://bit.ly/cNlB3U

Obama calls for comprehensive immigration bill at American University

2010-07-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to move forward on an issue that has been neglected for years, President Obama has reinforced his previously stated commitment to comprehensive immigration reform today, in a speech given at American University. The speech called for an end to partisan posturing and attempted to reframe the issue in the public debate, appealing to the nation's proud immigraton tradition.

An article by the Washington Post reporting on the speech:

Obama calls for comprehensive immigration bill at American University

Immigrant Farm Wokers Say: Take Our Jobs!

2010-06-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

A new campaign has begun to draw attention to the situation of the nation's farm working labor force, largely composed of immigrants from Mexico. They have endured harsh anti-immigrant campaigns and policies, becoming the favorite target of xenophobes and others.

However, now, through the launching of the "Take Our Jobs" campaign (http://www.takeourjobs.org/), the UFW invites people who claim immigrants are taking jobs away from citizens to apply for those same jobs. The UFW vows to help link job seekers with vacancies,

The invitation is as follows:

TAKE OUR JOBS

There are two issues facing our nation--high unemployment and undocumented people in the workforce--that many Americans believe are related.

Missing from the debate on both issues is an honest recognition that the food we all eat - at home, in restaurants and workplace cafeterias (including those in the Capitol) - comes to us from the labor of undocumented farm workers.

Agriculture in the United States is dependent on an immigrant workforce. Three-quarters of all crop workers working in American agriculture were born outside the United States. According to government statistics, since the late 1990s, at least 50% of the crop workers have not been authorized to work legally in the United States.

We are a nation in denial about our food supply. As a result the UFW has initiated the "Take Our Jobs" campaign.

Farm workers are ready to train citizens and legal residents who wish to replace them in the field, we will use our knowledge and staff to help connect the unemployed with farm employers. Just fill out the form to the right and continue on to the request for job application.

Do we have any takers?

Robert Creamer: Evidence Arizona Immigration Law May Be Fatal Mistake for GOP

2010-06-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

An article by Robert Creamer analyzing the impact that Arizona's SB 1070 is already having in the electoral processes in the Southwest, hurting republican candidates in places like Texas and California. An evident trend is the drop in support from Latinos that Republicans have in current public opinion polls and, in addition, speculation that Latino voter turnout this fall may be higher than previously anticipated.

The full article:

Robert Creamer: Evidence Arizona Immigration Law May Be Fatal Mistake for GOP

2000-2010: Transición atorada

2010-06-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

A casi una década desde que la ciudadanía saco al PRI de la presidencia, la tan deseada transición y consolidación democrática de México no ha logrado alcanzarse. Quedan muchas deudas y problemas pendientes. En algunos renglones, como el de la violencia y actividad criminal organizada, parece ser que se ha empeorado.

El articulo de Pascal Beltran del Rió analiza la situación actual y nos invita a reflexionar sobre los cambios habidos y los que siguen atorados.

La nota completa:

Excélsior - 2000-2010: Transición atorada

Ocultó EU a México muerte de migrantes

2010-06-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

Un reportaje del diario Milenio indica que Estados Unidos no ha cumplido con la responsabilidad de informa a las autoridades mexicanas cuando fallece algún connacional bajo su custodia.

Se indica que hay datos sobre al menos 21 muertes de detenidos y que no se informo a las autoridades mexicanas, violando convenios internacionales al respecto.

La nota completa:

Ocultó EU a México muerte de migrantes | Ediciones Impresas Milenio

La Otra Seleccion Mexicana

2010-06-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

Gobierno pide aclarar muerte de migrante

2010-06-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

Una de las consecuencias de la creciente militarizacion de la frontera es que se ha incrementado el numero de migrantes muertos a lo largo de la frontera. La mayoria al intentar cruzar por zonas cada vez mas inhospitas porque ahi hay menos vigilancia. Otros, debido a encuentros violentos con autoridades de Estados Unidos, como es el caso de Anastasio Hernández Rojas, que estan mal capacitadas y/o abusan de su poder.

La administracion Obama debe hacer de este caso un ejemplo para evitar abusos - y para que vaya tomando en cuenta la necesidad de una estrategia mas realista al fenomeno migratorio.

Y nuestra politica migratoria en Mexico?

Gobierno pide aclarar muerte de migrante - El Universal - México

A Right-Wing Schism Over Immigration Reform?

2010-06-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

An article in Mother Jones analyzing the contrasting posture that have emerged among Christian evangelicals over immigration policy. The article discusses recent changes in the positions of important evangelical leaders and the charges of betrayal they have received. The article notes that, at present, some 25% of Latinos consider themselves part of an evangelical church.

A Right-Wing Schism Over Immigration Reform? Mother Jones

Férrea lucha migrante por acceso político

2010-05-31T19:04:00.000-07:00

Una nota de La Opinion (Los Angeles) que analiza un aspecto de la lucha de los mexicanos en el extranjero por los derechos politicos, y que rescata otro ejemplo de demagogia de funcionarios que platican muy bonito en las reuniones pero nunca pueden dictaminar las reformas que alaban - o sacar otras mejores.

Férrea lucha migrante por acceso político - La Opinión - noticias locales, nacionales e internacionales desde Los Ángeles - impre.com

Californians split on Arizona's illegal immigration crackdown

2010-05-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

A new USC/LA Times poll of California voters finds a high awareness of the SB 1070 law in Arizona, a significant racial divide when asked if they support or oppose it (particularly among white and Latino respondents), as well as significant differences between older and younger Californians.

The link to the full article:
Californians split on Arizona's illegal immigration crackdown - latimes.com

For fans of Mexico's national soccer team, one true love

2010-05-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

An interesting article about the growth of US-based interest in the Mexican national soccer team.

We wrote about this phenomenon some 25 years ago for Pacific News Service and it seems that we were only scratching the surface, as the demographic and economic significance has become hard to ignore.

For fans of Mexico's national soccer team, one true love - latimes.com

2010-05-22T15:48:00.001-07:00

For fans of Mexico's national soccer team, one true love - latimes.com

Posted using ShareThis

Calderón en EU: 27 ovaciones y cero respuestas

2010-05-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

Una nota de Milenio indica la dificultad del contexto bilateral actual:

"El Presidente se llevó las palmas de la mayoría demócrata; en cambio, legisladores republicanos se limitaron a advertir que no renunciarán a ninguna de sus libertades para solucionar los problemas de otro país.

En un discurso de 30 minutos, que fue interrumpido 27 veces para ser ovacionado, el presidente Felipe Calderón pidió al Capitolio una reforma migratoria y freno a la venta indiscriminada de armas. Sin embargo, luego del acto legisladores republicanos descartaron eventuales acuerdos en ambos temas."

Calderón en EU: 27 ovaciones y cero respuestas | Ediciones Impresas Milenio

AP-Univision Poll Finds Discrimination High Against Latinos

2010-05-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

A new poll has just been released by the AP and Univision, revealing that Latinos have become the target of discrimination in the country. The discrimination they suffer and perceive is higher than for any other social group in the nation, including women and other racial minorities.

"An Associated Press- Univision Poll found that 61% of people overall said Latinos faced significant discrimination, compared with 52% who said blacks did and 50% who said women.

The survey also underscored how perceptions of prejudice can vary by ethnicity. While 81% of Latinos said they confronted a lot of or some discrimination, a smaller but still substantial 59% of non-Latinos said so."

Latino discrimination: Discrimination high against Latinos, poll finds - latimes.com

Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel blamed for immigration reform's poor progress - latimes.com

2010-05-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

This LA Times article examines an issue that has been raised by pro-immigrant reform forces ever since then President-elect Barack Obama revealed the members of his cabinet. By most accounts, Rahm Emanuel has not done anything to dispel the misgivings people had about him.

Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel blamed for immigration reform's poor progress - latimes.com

Video Obama and Calderon Discuss Immigration Reform, Arizona SB 1070

2010-05-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

The following video is a summary of the joint press conference held by President Barack Obama and President Felipe Calderon, highlighting in this case the issue of immigration reform and their opposition to Arizona's SB 1070.

Michelle Obama Confronted by Second Grader About President Obama's Immigration Policies

2010-05-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

In a visit to a second grade class today, first lady Michelle Obama was questioned by a student about President Obama's policies towards undocumented immigrants, such as the student's mother.

Michelle needs to catch up on the discussion of these issues.

Undocumented Students Protest at McCain Office, Urge Passage of DREAM Act

2010-05-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

Five students, four of them undocumented, staged a protest at Senator John McCain's office in Tucson, decrying the senator's lack of support for the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform.

The students have been placed under arrest and the undocumented may face deportation.

This is one of several activities which have been carried out recently to draw attention to the plight of young people who have have lived most of their lives in the US, studied hard and even enrolled in universities but are unable to begin or complete their studies due to the lack of a DREAM Act.

Link to the story below.

Illegal Immigrant Students Protest at McCain Office - NYTimes.com

Video: Living Conditions of Farm Workers in California's Central Valley

2010-05-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

The following is a video produced by New American Media.

Homeless Farmworkers in the Central Valley from New America Media on Vimeo.

Star Wars Spoof of McCain "Danged Fence" Ad

2010-05-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well, it was only a matter of time before McCain's ludicrous "danged fence" ad was spoofed ... and here it is:

Michael Gerson - The GOP's harsh immigration stance will cost it

2010-05-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

An interesting article from Gerson.

One of his most interesting lines as he discusses the possible costs of the Republican party's anti-imigrant tendency at a time when there is an ongoing demographic growth of Latinos in Southwestern states, who are now at least 40% of the high school students in each state: "In a matter of decades, the Republican Party could cease to be a national party."

Michael Gerson - The GOP's harsh immigration stance will cost it

Mexico the Happiest Nation in the World, Says Coca-Cola Study Measuring Global Happiness

2010-05-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

At least they did not suggest that it is because Mexico is the world's leading consumer of soft drinks ... and has a rapidly growing diabetes problem.

BevNET.com: Coca-Cola Study Measures Global Happiness

Arizona tourism loses more business in wake of immigration law vote

2010-05-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

Even the Republican party has decided to hold its convention in Florida, rather than in Arizona.

Meanwhile, San Francisco and Los Angeles are among the cities that have voted to join the boycott agains the state of institutionalized discrimination.

Arizona tourism loses more business in wake of immigration law vote

Dora La Exploradora en Arizona!

2010-05-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Pobre Dora!

Americans for America Target Colorado Senate Candidate for Supporting Arizona SB 1070

2010-05-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

Another creative ad from Americans for America PAC. This one targets Jane Norton, candidate for senator in Colorado, for supporting Arizona's SB 1070.