The latest news relating to the political world as it impacts the US Latino community.
The latest battle over immigration in Arizona ended in a resounding defeat for the anti-immigrant faction in the legislature after the Senate rejected five wide ranging bills targeting undocumented immigrants yesterday. “It’s time for us to take a timeout,” said Senator John McComish, a Phoenix Republican. “It’s something that the people don’t want us to [...]
A newly released report says the wide achievement gap between Latino students and their peers in Massachusetts is partly the state’s fault. Latino students miss an average of nearly three weeks of school a year and had a graduation rate of 60 percent in 2009 compared to 82 percent statewide said the report by UMass-Boston’s [...]
Expectations for the President’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night were high among Latinos, with leaders from major Latino advocacy groups issuing their own set of policy priorities they wished to see the President tackle in his speech. Following President Obama’s address, Hispanic lawmakers praised his speech for acknowledging those issues they considered [...]
President Barack Obama called on lawmakers to work together to pass comprehensive immigration reform in Tuesday’s State of the Union address, but acknowledged it would be a tough battle. “I know that debate will be difficult and take time, but tonight, let’s agree to make that effort,” Obama told the joint session of Congress last [...]
Colorado has become the latest state to take on the issue of immigration into its own hands. This week, Republican lawmakers in the state introduced an immigration enforcement measure mimicking the controversial SB 1070 in Arizona. As previously reported in La Plaza, Colorado has recently stepped up its crackdown on illegal immigration by participating in [...]
On Thursday, the Obama administration is set to announce the formation of the Employment Compliance Inspection Center, an audit office designed to supervise I-9 employee files and ensure workers are in the country legally. In an interview conducted by the Wall Street Journal, John Morton, chief of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), [...]
On Tuesday, Mississippi followed in the steps of Arizona when the state Senate passed a measure that would allow law enforcement officers to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws if there is reason to suspect that they are in the country illegally. As previously reported in La Plaza, Bill Chandler, the director [...]
The first glimpse of the 2010 Census Data about a month ago revealed the obvious, states gaining congressional seats were those whose populations were fueled by growth in the Latino population. Despite this fact, it remains uncertain how much representation Latinos will actually gain in effect. The country saw an increase in population by 10% [...]
The White House said on Friday that the President has directed that changes be made to regulations and policies governing travel and cash sent to Cuba. “The President believes these actions, combined with the continuation of the embargo, are important steps in reaching the widely shared goal of a Cuba that respects the basic rights [...]
Hundreds of people from central Nebraska and Omaha are expected to gather at the state Capitol on Wednesday to show their opposition to an Arizona-style immigration proposal. The protest called the “Unity Rally for the Good Life” is being organized by the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights. “Such a law is unconstitutional and runs counter [...]
