"We are an
English-speaking nation" declared State Rep. Russell Pearce (R-Mesa) as
he tried to explain his new bill which would make English the official
language of Arizona.
It's amazing how a
politician can make a statement which has no basis in reality… Although
it's true that English has been the dominant language in the US, many
other languages have shaped America's linguistic landscape….
By David Madrid
Growing up as a
Chicano, three generations deep in the United States, I have always felt
the segregation between Chicanos and Mexican immigrants -- what we call
"border brothers" and some call "wetbacks." It is a clash of identity
and misunderstanding on both sides. Even something as lethal as the gang
warfare between Nortenos and Surenos here in the Bay Area has this
conflict at its base…. For years I heard the word "wetback" thrown
around loosely by other Chicanos at school or from some family members.
It wasn't always used with hatred, but often more as a description, a
way to identify. I never used the word, but I never tripped off it,
either.
In the beginning
of February, we were treated by one of those periodical "spats" between
the Mexican and US governments. In this case, it was due to the issuance
of a warning to US tourists by the US ambassador to México, Tony Garza.
This was a cautionary letter to potential travelers from the US to the
northern border area of México. A number of people here went up the wall
over the letter. But recent events along the border (a lot of it due to an
escalating drug cartel turf war that I wrote about recently) was a timely
reminder for US citizens to take care along the border. The US was only
doing what it should in looking out for their citizens.
By Immigration
Forum
We
ought to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner for so brightly defining the
difference between effective immigration enforcement and ineffective
immigration enforcement. His proposal falls squarely into the ineffective
immigration enforcement camp and advances the fallacy that enforcement
alone can lead to border security or immigration control. …Those who feel
this measure will enhance border security in a meaningful way are fooling
themselves. The desire for control over immigration is shared by all
Americans, native-born and immigrant alike.
By
Raoul Lowery Contreras February 14, 2005
"The confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as attorney general yesterday was
depressing." New York Times Editorial, February 4 … "But beyond his other
failings, Mr. Gonzales has come to represent the administration's role in
paving the way for the abuse and torture of prisoners by American soldiers
and intelligence agents. Giving him the nation's top legal post is a
terrible signal to send the rest of the world, and to American citizens
concerned with human rights," wrote the Times…. "Other failings?" The Times
didn’t elaborate but it is clear the Times simply did not approve of
Hispanics reaching the highest levels of government.
By
Fr. Paul Kasun OSB
One of the most fascinating documents that the Catholic
Church wrote on migration appeared last year. It explains in detail the
various steps that integrate immigrants into communities all over the
world. People in Latin America, Africa, Asia or here at home can apply its message. Moreover, even though
it is written for Catholics, any religious group may benefit from its
research and experience….What does it say? First, people are moving from
one place to another more than any time in the history of the world,
either within their own country or to another country. Second, people are
driven to emigrate because of an imbalance of social, economic and
demographic factors…
On February 7, 2005
President Bush proposed his 2006 budget. The budget includes a big
increase to the Department of Defense, to the Department of Homeland
Security and the FBI. However, it seeks a cut down on vital social
programs such as Medicaid –the federal-state health program for the poor
and disabled-, food stamps, farm subsidies, disability services to
veterans, a program that provides low-income people with home-heating aid,
a loan program for college students, federal spending on vocational
education in high school (which will be entirely eliminated) and other 48
education programs.
By Laura Carlsen
In her January 18
confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sec.
of State-designate Condoleezza Rice asserted that the Western Hemisphere
is “extremely critical” to the United States. “With our close neighbors in
Latin America we are working to realize the vision of a fully democratic
hemisphere bound by common values and free trade.” … While it’s heartening
to see that Latin America has made it onto the map of the Bush
administration’s foreign policy, there is little reason to expect policy
toward the region to change or deepen in the next four years. More likely,
with all eyes on the Middle East , the region will remain an arena for ad
hoc crisis intervention, with Cuba and Colombia as opposite focal points.
The concept of
balladeer has evolved with the passage of time. There are many ways of
defining a balladeer. For some, he is a poet accompanied by a guitar, a
handful of words and much feeling in his singing. For others, he is a
slow singer, accompanied by his guitar, a half voice and emotion… Latin
America has a tradition of balladeers. By now, we can also speak of
composers who sing. The Dominican Republic is well known for its
balladeers as are Argentina,
Cuba, Uruguay, Colombia and Spain…
By Eduardo Montalvo Something
unprecedented happened last week at the U.S. Senate. During his first speech
of his Senate career, Sen. Mel Martinez addressed the Senate in Spanish. …
This part of the speech stunned the Senate stenographer, who was only able
to type "speaking in Spanish" into the record as Martinez
delivered his speech. Everyone else was astonished with this unexpected
speech…. For more than 200 years, senators addressed the Senate in English,
out of respect for their fellow senators, their constituents and every
American who did not speak their language.
By Robert Miranda Mark Belling has been back on the airwaves since his
suspension [vacation] for a couple of months. In that time period Belling
uttered the term "gook" over the airwaves and declared that neither he nor
his program has changed. Clearly, his "sincere" apology is worthless….
Clear Channel Radio CEO, John Hogan recently met with this writer and
several members of the Coordinating Committee Against Hate Speech (CCAHS).
Whatever Hogan feels personally about this situation in Milwaukee, one thing is
certain-Clear Channel Radio is going to keep Mark Belling on the air at WISN-Radio…
By Alan Riding
The idea of promoting
cultural diversity around the world sounds reasonable enough. It
recognizes that everyone profits from the free flow of ideas, words and
images. It encourages preservation of, say, indigenous traditions and
minority languages. It treats the cultures of rich and poor countries as
equals. And, most topically, it offers a healthy antidote to cultural
homogeneity. …Try turning this seemingly straightforward idea into an
international treaty, however, and things soon become complicated.
(sic)… For more than
a thousand years, Michoacán has been the home of the Purhépecha
Indians (more popularly known as the Tarascans). The modern state
of Michoacán preserves, to some extent, the territorial integrity of the
pre-Columbian Kingdom of the Purhépecha. This kingdom was one of the most
prosperous and extensive empires in the pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican world.
The name Michoacán derives from the Náhuatl terms, michin
(fish) and hua (those who have) and can (place) which
roughly translates into "place of the fisherman."
By John
T. Plecnik
As our nation gets used to the idea of Howard Dean serving as Chairman of
the Democratic National Committee, another national, political organization
is looking for leadership. The College Republican National Committee (CRNC)
is preparing to host elections during its 56th biennial convention in
Arlington, V.A. From June 24-26, the most influential members of the
College Republicans will join their elder cousins in the GOP for a massive
rally and election. Every national office, from Chairman to Treasurer, is
up for grabs. …For anyone foolish enough to write off the CRNC as child’s
play, consider the millions of dollars they’ve raised, their paid staff and
army of volunteers. Even the White House keeps an eye on their favorite
students. The elections for national office are no game, and some
candidates are expected to raise thousands of dollars for their campaigns….
Patrick
Osio, Jr. has written a short but intensive manual on the Mexican
perspective on numerous issues between our two countries. The manual is an
in depth primer on the culture and protocol for better understanding
Mexicans that in turn allows establishing personal and business
relationships, and how to avoid the most common faux pas that can ruin
relationships and business deals.
The manual is available through Electronic delivery for $9.95
making it possible to download the manual to save on your hard
drive, printing its entirety or particular sections while
reaping considerable savings over printed copies.
In the first State of the Nation of his second term,
President George W. Bush last Wednesday laid out his plans to make radical
changes to the country’s Social Security system, which he argues will be
bankrupt by the year 2042. But according to Congressman Sam Farr
(D-California), the president’s intentions are not to prevent the system’s
presumed collapse, but to eliminate the essential purpose it was created
for. Latinos would be among those most affected by the President’s plan,
which follows the same models used in Chile and Mexico.
Political analyst
Victor Espinoza from Mexico's Northern Border College -- known by the
acronym COLEF -- said in an interview that amid the rising verbal
confrontation and antagonistic positions on border violence, which has
unexpectedly clouded the spirit and relations between the Mexican and U.S.
governments, Mexicans should not wrap themselves "in the national flag."
President uses
law's escape clause to drop funding for new homeland security force.
Washington -- The
law signed by President Bush less than two months ago to add thousands of
border patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border has crashed into the
reality of Bush's austere federal budget proposal, officials said Tuesday.
This year marks
the 25th anniversary of the 1980 Refugee Act. This important legislation brought
our domestic law into conformity with international obligations: to
protect refugees in dire need of a safe haven. After the Holocaust,
nations painfully acknowledged that too many had closed their borders to
refugees fleeing certain death. The United States committed
to ensuring that this would not happen again…
One of Mexico's three
gubernatorial elections last Sunday is noteworthy in that it puts at least
a small brake on a disturbing - and backward - political trend.
In the country's
southern state of Guerrero, home to several famous Mexican resorts,
including Acapulco, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) was soundly
defeated by the left-wing Democratic Revolution Party or PRD.
The 76-year reign
over the country of the corrupt PRI ended in 2000 with the election of
President Vicente Fox and his center-right National Action Party (PAN).
But since then…
The Every Imigrant's Guide
to Crossing the Border Illegally
By Charles LeDuff and J. Emilio Flores When the desert is cool, as it is now, illegal immigration
becomes a flood.
Of the million people who were arrested trying to sneak into the United States over the
Mexican border last year, more than half were caught from January to April,
the United States Border Patrol says.
To avoid detection, smugglers now lead people through more demanding and
dangerous terrain; more than 300 people died trying to cross last year.
They were just three
births shy of 4,000 last year at the Laredo Medical Center maternity ward
here in Texas. Three thousand nine hundred ninety-seven healthy, screaming
new American citizens, of whom, estimates Armida "Armi" Calvillo, chief
nurse, about half were born to visiting Mexican moms. …Mexican madres
giving birth in US maternity wards in order to obtain better care - and
blue passports - for their offspring, is as old as the border itself. But
in recent months, say staff here, it's been increasing - in direct
proportion, they suggest, to growing crime and insecurity in towns on the
Mexican side.
Pacific News
Service, News Feature, By Elena Shore
A controversial bill
passed today by the House of Representatives has spurred a unique
coalition between liberal and conservative groups who oppose the measure.
Religious and immigrant rights groups, conservatives and conservationists
are joining forces against the REAL ID Act, a bill introduced by House
Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI).
Sensenbrenner's bill
received the backing of the Bush administration yesterday, in what La
Opinión writer Lilian de la Torre-Jiménez calls "a hard blow to the
nation's immigrant community."
By Rita M.
Gerona-Adkins, As expected,
President George W. Bush tackled his agenda for immigration policy reform
in his State of the Union Address on February 2.
In 92 words and in less than a minute out of his 40-minute-long address,
Bush criticized the present immigration system and suggested a policy
reform:
“America’s
immigration system is also outdated – unsuited to the needs of our economy
and to the values of our country.”
By Jim Wasserman Rice grower
Frank Rehermann contemplates his 33rd spring planting while worrying about
the lowest crop prices he has ever seen. … And not only that, he is
hearing troubling things from the federal government, his silent partner
on 900 acres about 60 miles north of Sacramento. … President Bush, in his
budget plan released Monday, is proposing to cut farm subsidy spending 5
percent this year and cap subsidies at $250,000 per person.
Immigration Policy IN FOCUS
The IPC’s latest IN FOCUS report examines the important role and growing
potential of immigrant women entrepreneurs in the U.S. business sector.
Immigrant women entrepreneurs are rapidly making their mark in every
region of the country and across a large range of industries. Today,
immigrant women of the post-1960s wave of immigration comprise one of the
fastest growing groups of business owners in the United States.
The study examines the rise of immigrant women entrepreneurs and profiles
them as a group using data from the 2000 Decennial Census and other
sources.
Young Children of
Immigrants in Two Parent Families Have Triple the Poverty Rate of Children
with U.S. Born Parents One in five
young children of immigrants in two-parent families lives below the federal
poverty level-triple the rate for children with U.S.-born parents, new
research from the nonpartisan Urban Institute shows. Twenty-two percent in
the first group are poor versus 7 percent in the latter…. Although
children of immigrants are more likely to be in two-parent families, the
second parent is less likely to work, says Urban Institute researcher Randy
Capps.
By
Domenico Maceri
By
Richard N. Baldwin T. 
By
Raoul Lowery Contreras
By
Erika Robles
By
John P. Schmal
Patrick
Osio, Jr. has written a short but intensive manual on the Mexican
perspective on numerous issues between our two countries. The manual is an
in depth primer on the culture and protocol for better understanding
Mexicans that in turn allows establishing personal and business
relationships, and how to avoid the most common faux pas that can ruin
relationships and business deals.