Archive | Politics
One day before Arizona's new tough immigration law was supposed to go into effect, a federal judge temporarily blocked some of its controversial provisions. Some aspects of the law will be carried out on schedule. But Judge Susan Bolton of Federal District Court in Phoenix issued a preliminary injunction against sections that required immigrants to carry papers with them at all times and that called for the police to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws. She also delayed the part of the law that made it illegal for undocumented workers to solicit employment in public places. [...more]
U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday that halts major components of the Arizona SB1070 from taking effect Thursday — 90 days after Gov. Jan Brewer signed it into law. Her ruling came less than 24 hours before full-enforcement came into effect, just as police officials were making last-minute preparations. Bolton ruled on the grounds that if Arizona were to implement SB1070, it would infringe and interfere with federal policy. [...more]
The northern Twin Cities suburb of Lino Lakes has become the first Minnesota city to adopt English as its official language. The city council Monday night approved a controversial measure barring the local government from translating official city actions and documents into other languages. Council members called the resolution a common-sense budget matter, but it may have come at a cost. Before the public comment period began, speakers who lined up for the podium were advised to keep their comments civil and brief, but emotions soon spilled over. "You all scare me. It's like Nazi Germany. I'm scared, really," said Dora Salazar-Rolfzen addressing the council. [...more]
Since the immigration debate began in earnest back in 2006 when marchers filled the streets from Los Angeles to Washington DC, students have had a pivotal role. In some cities, it was the students who organized marches using their social media tools. During the 2008 presidential election when it was imperative that young Latinos register to vote, as well as, their family members, the students more than rose to the occasion. In fact, it was because of the student voter turnout that Latinos registered an increase in voters for the first time. [...more]
I come from Tierra Blanca, a very poor town in Veracruz. After my children's father abandoned us, I decided to come to the U.S. There's just no money to survive. We couldn't continue to live that way. We all felt horrible when I decided to leave. My three kids, my mom, and two sisters are still living at home in Veracruz. The only one supporting them now is me. My kids' suffering isn't so much about money. I've been able to send enough to pay the bills. What they lack is love. They don't have a father; they just have me. My mother cares for them, but it's not the same. [...more]
Three decades after the Supreme Court ruled that immigration violations cannot be used as a basis to deny children equal access to a public school education, one in five school districts in New York State is routinely requiring a child’s immigration papers as a prerequisite to enrollment, or asking parents for information that only lawful immigrants can provide. The New York Civil Liberties Union, which culled a list of 139 such districts from hundreds of registration forms and instructions posted online, has not found any children turned away for lack of immigration paperwork. But it warned in a letter to the state’s education commissioner on Wednesday that the requirements listed by many registrars, however free of discriminatory intent, “will inevitably discourage families from enrolling in school for fear that they would be reported to federal immigration authorities.” [...more]
After all the shouting, all the posturing, and all the debate over who should enforce the nation's immigration laws, the United States v. the state of Arizona and Gov. Janice K. Brewer is finally coming to court Thursday. Justice Department lawyers from Washington are expected to march into the federal courthouse in Phoenix and argue that Arizona's crackdown on illegal immigration should be stopped. Lawyers for the state will insist, just as forcefully, that it must continue. [...more]
While Anglo Americans have not suffered the nooses of the KKK, not felt the humiliation of Jim Crow laws , not feared a state in which they must carry their passports at all times, or have seen restaurant signs comparing them to dogs, the media- government- political complex of the 21 century is now thoroughly devoted to their protection from racism.
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These lawless badlands in the hills east of Tijuana have long teemed with bandits and rapists, but these criminals demanded only phone numbers. They started calling the immigrants' loved ones in Pomona, San Diego and Bakersfield: Send us money or we'll shoot, they said. [...more]
The latest available data from the Justice Department show that criminal immigration enforcement by the two largest investigative agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has increased to levels comparable to the highest seen during the Bush Administration.
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Latinos now view immigration as their leading concern along with the economy in what activists say is a major shift most likely driven by controversy over Arizona's tough law against illegal immigrants. Nearly a third of Latinos also believe that racism and prejudice are the central issue in the immigration debate, over national security, job competition and costs of public services for illegal immigrants, according to a national survey released Wednesday. [...more]
Gov. Gary Herbert has ordered an investigation into the release of 1,300 names of people purportedly living in Utah as illegal immigrants. The anonymous release of the 30-page package of detailed private information arrived in the postal mail at various locations starting late last week. Copies were sent to at least a half dozen agencies, including law enforcement and media outlets in the Top of Utah. Gov. Herbert has instructed state agencies to conduct an internal review to determine if the document originated within an agency, said Angie Welling, the governor's communication director. [...more]
In a private meeting with White House officials this weekend, Democratic governors voiced deep anxiety about the Obama administration’s suit against Arizona’s new immigration law, worrying could cost a vulnerable Democratic Party in the fall elections. While the weak economy dominated the official agenda at the summer meeting here of the National Governors Association, concern over immigration policy pervaded the closed-door session between Democratic governors and White House officials and simmered throughout the three-day event. [...more]
The folks in charge of Democratic political strategies decided last year that immigration should not be a topic in this year’s fall elections. The head in the sand strategy was so pervasively accepted that Democratic controlled state legislatures like Colorado dumped key immigration agenda items in an ill fated attempt to mute the debate and top Presidential advisors encouraged postponement of immigration reform. As it turns out you can’t easily quiet 14 million families and their friends. [...more]
A roaring celebration rocked Spain on Sunday, with some 300,000 people in the capital's downtown forming a sea of red and yellow in tribute to the nation's first World Cup title. The country's flag and team colors were in full display on Paseo de Recoletos boulevard as hordes of fans watched the match live on gigantic TV screens. Then, as the final whistle marked Spain's 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in extra time, fireworks lighted up the sky. Crowds began dancing and singing one of the team's battle cries, "Let's Get Them." [...more]
Jan Brewer is a lousy Governor. As Brewer positions herself as the new darling of the GOP her handlers are wishing that anti-immigrant passions will obfuscate any real analysis of her performance as an appointed head of a State. However any objective view of her performance to date indicates that Jan Brewer is the Sarah Palin of the Desert. In an attempt to curry favor with Arizona’s’ right wing base Brewer has made her state a pariah among the young, the ethnic, and the creative class in America. This is bad news for any state that is so dependent on tourist dollars that their license plate slogan is dedicated to their largest attraction. It is also bad for any state that wants to attract new economic ventures. [...more]
The DOJ has just released the complaint against Arizona and its racial profiling bill, SB 1070.
Read the text of the complaint here!
http://nuestravoice.com/images/blog/Complaint-filed-version.pdf
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The Justice Department has decided to file suit against Arizona on the grounds that the state's new immigration law illegally intrudes on federal prerogatives, law enforcement sources said Monday. The lawsuit, which three sources said could be filed as early as Tuesday, will invoke for its main argument the legal doctrine of "preemption," which is based on the Constitution's supremacy clause and says that federal law trumps state statutes. Justice Department officials believe that enforcing immigration laws is a federal responsibility, the sources said. [...more]
President Barack Obama has blamed Republicans for standing in the way of immigration reform, but he may have to contend with deep misgivings from within his own ranks as he tries to revive reform legislation. Fourteen sitting Democratic senators voted to filibuster the last comprehensive immigration reform bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) brought to the floor in June of 2007. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, also voted against it. Reid declared at an immigration rally in Las Vegas in April that he had 56 votes for comprehensive reform and needed just “a handful of Republicans.” [...more]
One of the most common defensive remarks by people who are vehemently supportive of anti-immigrant bills like Arizona's SB 1070 is that they are not against legal immigration but illegal immigration. However, a new study by Vanderbilt University Political Scientist Efrén Pérez found that the statement is not entirely true. In fact, Pérez found that in most people's minds there is little distinction between Latino immigrants and Latinos born in the United States. Also, when the subject of immigration is raised, people automatically think of Latino immigrants. For his study titled "Explicit Evidence on the Import of Implicit Attitudes: The IAT and Immigration Policy Judgments," due to be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Political Behavior, Pérez designed an immigrant implicit association test or IAT. [...more]
