Sunday, May 20, 2012

Number of Majority-Minority Counties and States Grow

Shifts in the nation’s demographics, especially with regards to the Hispanic population have been recognized in states like California, Texas and Arizona for at least the past two decades.  However,  immigrants from around the world are contributing to the changing face of many other parts of the country.

GUEST BLOGGER SERIES: Benita Veliz "Life Inside the Music Box Ain’t Easy"

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By: Benita Veliz Recently, I heard the song “Music Box” by Regina Spektor. The first few lines of the song say, “Life inside the music box ain’t easy. The mallets hit, the gears are always turning. And everyone inside the mechanism is yearning to get out”.

Students Cross Border for School Despite Border Violence

Mariana Diaz and Alejandro Caballero cross the U.S.-Mexico border checkpoint every day to attend high school in El Paso. They hail from a key battleground city in Mexico’s drug wars, Ciudad Juarez. Federal soldiers patrol the streets of Ciudad Juarez, which saw 1,600 homicides this past year.

Supreme Court Justice Nomination Update

President Barack Obama, perhaps, is just days away from naming his choice to fill the Supreme Court seat being left vacant by retiring Justice David Souter. It is rumored that he considering both Hispanic and women candidates. Either would be significant for the Supreme Court given that in its more than 200 year history, only [...]

Hispanic Caucus Meets with Van Jones to Connect Hispanic Community to Green Jobs Movement

The  Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) met with Van Jones, who is the Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Equality. The meeting’s purpose was to discuss how the Latino community could help move the new clean energy economy forward. The CHC wants to ensure that the Latino [...]

Survey Shows High Teen Pregnancy Rate for Latinas

According to a survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy co-sponsored by the Hispanic advocacy group, National Council of La Raza, 53 percent of Latinas get pregnant in their teens, about twice the national average.

CHC, CAPAC and Progressive Caucus Discuss Immigration Reform with Community Leaders

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The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) in conjunction with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) and the Progressive Caucus met with a diverse coalition of organizations invested in the debate on Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The focus of the discussion was on how to advance legislation this year that would enact the reforms necessary to fix [...]

U.S. Expanding Immigration Checks

The Obama administration is expanding a program created during George W. Bush’s administration that will check the immigration status of every person who gets booked in a local jail by matching fingerprints with the federal immigration database. This program, according to current and former U.S. officials, could increase deportation of illegal immigrants who have been [...]

Poll Reveals Reality of Hispanic Voters

A new poll from America’s Voice, a group favoring immigration reform similar to what Obama has outlined, has mixed reviews for the White House. The poll, conducted by Sergio Bendixen of Bendixen & Associates, reveals that Obama has strengthened his support among Hispanic voters, yet the community has high expectations for him to fulfill his [...]

GOP to Increase Focus on Hispanic Voter Gap

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The Republican Party saw a sharp collapse in support from Hispanic voters in 2006, one that carried on in the 2008 election. Due to GOP attacks on illegal immigration, it was no surprise that Hispanic voters fled to the Democratic Party. In fact, John McCain only got 31 of the 44 percentage points George W. [...]