Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis delivers a special message to Americans this Labor Day.

“Labor Day has always been what it was originally intended to be: a day to celebrate the contributions that working men and women have made to the strength and prosperity of the country,” Solis said in a video message posted on the Department of Labor website.

On this symbolic holiday for American workers all across the nation, Solis shares what she says she’s seen and heard from workers in her travels during the past year, including steps the administration is taking to stimulate the economy.

“I’ve heard their stories of hardship and success,” Solis said.  “You can be certain that, like the President, I will not stop working until every American is back on their feet—and we have fulfilled our mission to provide ‘good and safe jobs for everyone.’”

U.S. Department of Labor

Youtube

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday after his failure to cooperate with the federal government on an investigation looking into allegations that his practices discriminate against Hispanics.

The Justice Department, which has been investigating Arpaio for over a year, is calling the sheriff’s refusal to hand over documents “unprecedented.”

“The actions of the sheriff’s office are unprecedented,” Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division, said. “It is unfortunate that the department was forced to resort to litigation to gain access to public documents and facilities.”

Federal officials say Arpaio’s office has repeatedly declined to hand over documents to federal investigators examining whether his aggressive tactics against undocumented immigrants have violated their civil rights.

Arpaio and his attorney released a statement suggesting the lawsuit is nothing more than a publicity stunt.  They denied accusations that the sheriff has been uncooperative, but the suit by the Justice Department states Arpaio held a news conference at one point announcing he would not cooperate with the investigators.

“These actions make it abundantly clear that Arizona, including the Sheriff, is Washington’s new whipping boy,” Arpaio said. “It’s time to take the gloves off.”

In a separate investigation, a federal grand jury in Phoenix is examining whether Arapio misused federal funds and abused the power of his office to intimidate his political opponents.

The state of Arizona has been facing pressure from the federal government for its anti-immigrant policies in the last few months.  The lawsuit against Arpaio is the third targeting harsh immigration policies in the state, which many have called racist.  The first came against the controversial SB 1070 and Gov. Jan Brewer.   On Monday, the department also sued the Maricopa County Community College district for allegedly placing illegal requirements on non-citizens seeking jobs.

The Washington Post

Immigration expands the economy’s productive capacity, stimulates investment and promotes specialization that in the long run boosts productivity says an Economic Letter published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

The letter written by Giovanni Peri, an associate professor at the University of California, Davis, and a visiting scholar at the FRBSF, summarizes recent research that examines the impact of immigrants on the broader U.S. economy.

The effects of immigration on the total output and income of the U.S. economy can be studied by comparing output per worker and employment in states that have had large immigrant inflows with data from states that have few new foreign-born workers,” Peri wrote.

Peri also writes that consistent with past research, there is no evidence that immigrant workers are taking jobs away from Americans.

“The impact of these immigrants on the U.S. economy is hotly debated.  Some stories in the popular press suggest that immigrants diminish the job opportunities of workers born in the United States,” Peri said in the letter.  “Economists who have analyzed local labor markets have mostly failed to find large effects of immigrants on employment and wages of U.S.-born workers.”

In his summary Peri says that this suggests the economy absorbs immigrants by expanding job opportunities rather than by displacing workers born in the United States.  Secondly, the presence of immigrants is associated with increased output per worker says Peri.

“The U.S. economy is dynamic, shedding and creating hundreds of thousands of jobs every month. Businesses are in a continuous state of flux,” Peri said.  “The most accurate way to gauge the net impact of immigration on such an economy is to analyze the effects dynamically over time.”

Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles is turning away Puerto Ricans applying for state-issued identification cards on the grounds that their birth certificates are considered invalid.

Elizabeth Torres, whose 19-year-old son was denied an identification card by the BMV, says Puerto Ricans are not being given their rights as US citizens.

“We’re not illegal aliens, we are citizens of this country,” Torres said. “We have everything, all the documents and all that, but we are not treated as such.”

The policy at the Ohio BMV is based on a law in Puerto Rico that will invalidate all older birth certificates on Sept. 30.  Up to 5 million people on the island and 1.4 million in the U.S. are being required to apply for new birth certificates with security features.  The move follows raids against a criminal ring that stole thousands of birth certificates and other identifying documents from several schools in Puerto Rico.

“They are not placing credibility in their certificates,” Lindsay Komlanc, Ohio BMV spokeswoman, said. “For an agency that uses a birth certificate as one of the primary documents to be able to verify identity, that’s something we have to look very hard at.”

The Ohio BMV has been denying Puerto Ricans with the older certificates identification cards since April even though they won’t become invalid until a month from now.  The reaction to concerns of possible fraud has led some to believe racial discrimination may be taking place.

“Puerto Rico is being victimized because of the fact you’ve got so much attention on Latino immigrants in the United States,” Brent Wilkes, executive director of LULAC, said. “Puerto Ricans are not immigrants, but they’re still Latinos.”

Any state that has already decided the existing certificates are invalid is acting out of bias says Wilkes.  On Wednesday, representatives from LULAC met with Thomas Stickrath, director of the Ohio Department of Public Safety, which oversees the BMV.  Komlanc says the director explained his agency’s position to the group and “appreciated the opportunity for dialogue.”

“The meeting opened channels of communication,” Marilyn Zayas-Davis, Ohio legal adviser for LULAC, said.

Torres’ son, Alfredo Pagan, doesn’t drive but needed an Ohio ID card to take his high school equivalency test says his mother.

“My son wants to get a job and help me with the house expenses and all that,” Torres, who left Puerto Rico 12 years ago, said.

The Boston Globe

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans five years ago, immigrant workers that flocked to the city to help rebuild continue to face the all too common problem of day laborers, wage theft.

After a Department of Homeland Security directive that suspended employment immigration enforcement in the area immediately following the hurricane, thousands of workers traveled to the city for the plentiful work involved in rebuilding.  Those workers continue to toil today, even under the threat of violence from employers and wage theft.

In one case, Jacinta Gonzalez, an organizer with the Congress of Day Laborers in New Orleans, says a worker who demanded payment for his labor at a construction site was threatened by his employer with a hammer.  The first thing the police did after being called for help by the worker was to question his immigration status.

“These are the sort of situations that prevent day laborers from asking for help when their wages are denied,” Gonzalez said.

Even though the immigration directive did not last long, it still created an inviting environment for undocumented workers.

“Conditions were set to attract a labor force of Latino immigrants,” Elizabeth Fussell, a professor at Washington State University, said. “There was a large population of undocumented immigrants who were coming to do the work that was necessary in the city.”

The Latino population in the area has increased from 4.4 percent in 2000 to 6.6 percent last year, according to Census Data.  The portion attributed to the influx of workers after Hurricane Katrina is not certain but social scientists say it does make up part of the number.

“After Katrina hit, there was much more work and much more wages for people — there were other wages to be found,” Gonzalez said.

Now, advocacy groups are calling for specific legislation to protect vulnerable workers, whether documented or not, from abusive pay practices and threats of violence.  A city ordinance is essential to combating a wage theft problem too big for advocates and undocumented workers to deal with on their own argue worker’s rights advocates.

“The workers need protection, they’re not getting it right now,” Ilana Scherl, an Oxfam field representative in New Orleans, said. “The only way we see to achieve that is to have a policy in place protecting the workers.”

Currently, the policy developed with the help of the New Orleans Center for Racial Justice, is being negotiated with the mayor’s office and other officials at city hall.  It is unclear whether the policy may be implemented but one New Orleans City Councilman, Arnie Fielkow, has said he would support a wage theft ordinance.

The advocates in New Orleans say there is concern that the anti-immigrant mood sweeping the nation may affect their effort to pass the ordinance.  However, they remain hopeful that the general goodwill many New Orleans residents feel toward the workers who helped rebuild their city will prevail.

“In this climate, the fear of opposition is always there,” Gonzalez said. “But New Orleans is a city that recognizes that day laborers did participate and did come to the rescue in terms of reconstruction.”

The Washington Independent

A discrimination suit has been filed by the U.S. Justice Department against a Phoenix-area community college system for allegedly demanding non-citizens to show extra paperwork, beyond what was required under federal law, before they could be hired.

The Maricopa County Community College District faces the latest challenge to immigration policies in Arizona by the Justice Department.  After a yearlong probe, Justice Department officials say they uncovered “a pattern or practice of discrimination” by the community college system. Nearly 250 non-citizen job applicants were required to present green cards and other work-eligibility documents beyond those required by federal law over a period of 18 months.

The lawsuit filed on behalf of Zainul Singaporewalla, a U.S. permanent resident, says that Glendale Community College withdrew a part-time math teaching job offer even after Singaporewalla produced a California driver’s license, Social Security card and a Department of Homeland Security form attesting to his permanent legal status.  The college demanded Signaporewalla fill out more immigration paperwork and present a green card.

Thomas E. Perez, the assistant attorney general who heads the Civil Rights Division, said the Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination clause “makes it unlawful to treat authorized workers differently during the hiring process based on their citizenship status.”

Arizona has been at the center of the immigration debate, even making a splash on the international stage this week after the Department of State referenced its lawsuit against the state over SB 1070 in a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council.  The Justice Department is also investigating Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for alleged civil rights abuses.

Officials at the college declined to comment on the suit, citing the ongoing investigation.  However, a state official, not authorized to speak about the lawsuit, criticized the Justice Department’s choice of words in a news release announcing the legal challenge.

“If they didn’t use ‘immigration’ in the headline of their press release, this wouldn’t have been a flashpoint,” the official said.  “I don’t think their new release would have attracted as much attention as it did.”

The headline read: “Justice Department files a lawsuit alleging immigration-related employment discrimination.”

Politico

Utah State Rep. Paul Ray said on Monday he will ask the state Legislature next year to call for a constitutional amendment to repeal giving automatic citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil.

Ray made the claim that children of illegal immigrants are a huge drain on taxpayer-funded services at a press conference at the Utah State Capitol.   The Republican legislator lamented cutting services to the disabled community, “while being forced to fund welfare programs for those who are not here legally.”

“We have to take away incentives to come to the U.S. illegally,” Ray said. “It may not seem very compassionate. It may seem awfully hard-nosed. But at some point we need to draw a line in the sand and say illegal is illegal and we’re not going to fund it anymore.”

Latino leaders condemned the action by Ray and other anti-immigration legislation as acts of racism.

“I think it is just another act of racism and a waste of time,” Frank Cordova, president of Centro Civico Mexicano and a longtime activist and leader, said. “What good is a resolution in the Legislature when Congress has to act to change that…? They are just showing another side of their racist attitude. They should be focusing on issues like education and jobs.”

Last week Gov. Gary Herbert also said he would favor revisiting the 14^th Amendment to repeal automatic birthright citizenship.  Other Republican legislators in the state have called for passage of an anti-immigrant law similar to Arizona’s SB 1070.

“You have people that are coming over here just to have children born on our soil so that they can be able to use our system,” Ray said.

In fact, undocumented immigrants do not qualify for government services (except in some cases of an emergency delivery of a baby), only their US born children do.  Critics say there is no validity to the claim that undocumented immigrants are coming to the US just to reap the advantages of the legal status of their children.

Cordova says many Latinos “view such resolutions as an attack on anyone who looks different.”

Deseret News

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is none too happy about the federal government’s challenge to her state’s anti-immigrant law being referenced to in a United Nations Human Rights report.  The State Department cited their lawsuit against Arizona as an example of how the United States is protecting human rights.

Brewer, who signed the legislation into law just a few months ago, sent a letter on Friday to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling the State Department report “downright offensive.”  While a judge has blocked certain parts of the law from taking effect, many civil rights activists have condemned the law for unfairly targeting Latinos and what they say will lead to racial profiling.

“A recent Arizona law, S.B. 1070, has generated significant attention and debate at home and around the world,” the report read. “The issue is being addressed in a court action that argues that the federal government has the authority to set and enforce immigration law. That action is ongoing; parts of the law are currently enjoined.”

The reference is part of a required report to the United Nations Human Rights Council.  In the 30-page report, the government’s challenge to the anti-immigration law is listed as one of about 100 steps it has taken to uphold human and civil rights in the U.S.

The report, however, did not mention some of the most controversial pieces of the law.  Law enforcement officials in the state would be required to question a person’s legal status under “reasonable suspicion.”

“The idea of our own American government submitting the duly enacted laws of a state of the United States to ‘review’ by the United Nations is internationalism run amok and unconstitutional,” Brewer wrote. “Human rights as guaranteed by the United States and Arizona Constitutions are expressly protected in S.B. 1070 and defended vigorously by my administration.”

Politico

By Rep. Henry Cuellar

As featured in the Huffington Post:

The cliché is true. ‘Education is the gateway to opportunity’ has been said so many times that it’s almost an empty expression. But it’s still very true.

Earning an education is the greatest investment a person can make and adhering to that axiom has paid off for million Americans, including myself.

As individuals, as a community and as a country- we can all agree that keeping Americans equipped with knowledge and skills is of the highest importance.

But, today, what once was a path to prosperity is leading us to second place—or actually 18^th place internationally according to a recent study on secondary education by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Indeed, the statistics paint a stark picture. According to the OECD study, only 75 percent of American students graduate from high school, compared to 93 percent in South Korea.

The figures are especially disheartening in the Hispanic community. The Pew Hispanic Center released earlier this year that 41 percent of Hispanic adults in the U.S. do not have a high school diploma, compared with 14 percent of white adults.

You don’t need a degree in economics to know that those who have gone on to college level coursework typically earn more money than high school graduates. In the district I represent in South Texas- which is largely Hispanic- only about 20 percent of adults have college degrees.

Approximately 40 states currently have a deficit or are in a deficit situation and many are cutting spending on education, leading to major job losses for teachers. In August, Congress was called back in session and passed emergency legislation for the education community, providing $10billion total for the nation. This legislation will save or create 319,000 jobs, including 161,000 teacher jobs with 13,400 jobs in Texas.

Last April in Laredo, over 300 middle school students participated in a program called STEM- Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics. Hispanics lag in these fields and it’s vital that our schoolchildren are aware of opportunities in these industries. They met with scientists and engineers from NASA, Texas Instruments, Mercedes Benz Technology, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Texas A & M International University among others. Through hands-on work stations and labs, these students were exposed to a whole new world of career options. I’m proud to say that this event will grow and continue annually.

More than any other commodity, the industrious mind is America’s greatest resource and we need to make sure we are maintaining our investment to compete globally.

Thomas L. Friedman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the NY Times, summed it up when he wrote, “My parents told me, “Finish your dinner. People in China and India are starving.”  I tell my daughters, ‘Finish your homework. People in India and China are starving for your job.’”

One of the biggest investments in education doesn’t even cost a penny. All it takes is time. Being involved in your child’s education is more than buying a pack of pencils during back-to-school shopping. It means keeping the lines of communication open with teachers, students and parents. Don’t wait for a problem to talk to teachers. Review your child’s school records each year. It is your right, and you should know what information is in the file. Keep informed about your child’s grades and test results.

America is one of the few places in the world where if you dream big enough and work hard enough you can improve your lot in life. Let’s reaffirm our commitment to education to strengthen our communities. Let’s keep education as a path to success and not a bridge to nowhere.

Congressman Henry Cuellar was sworn into office in January 2005.  Prior to his election to the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Cuellar served as Texas’ 102nd Secretary of State and as a fourteen-year member of the Texas Legislature.  Congressman Cuellar is a lawyer, businessman and educator.

He has made improving education one of his key goals throughout his career and is the most degreed member of Congress serving today, with five advanced degrees.  He holds an Associates degree, Bachelor’s degree, Masters, Juris Doctorate and a Ph.D.

He is currently the Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Communication and a member of the House Budget & Agriculture committees.

Congressman Cuellar and his wife Imelda reside in Laredo with their two daughters, Christy and Catie.

The support of Latino voters in key states will depend on how a candidate tackles the top rated issue among Latinos, comprehensive immigration reform, in upcoming midterm elections.

“Political analysts agree that how a candidate talks about immigration—or tries to avoid the subject—will go a long way in determining the level of Latino voter support in key states,” says Gebe Martinez, Senior Writer and Policy Analyst in a column published by the Center for American Progress Action Fund last week.

Martinez says the Latino electorate is increasingly being alienated by those politicians taking a harsh stance on immigration and talking negatively against immigrants or those who might look like immigrants.

“Politicians are again being reminded that the harshest rhetoric on immigration does not always win the approval of voters who prefer solutions to the broken immigration system,” Martinez said.  “If they ignore the warnings, backlash will come from Latino voters in the November general election.”

Martinez highlights last week’s GOP gubernatorial primary in Florida as an example of the Latino backlash.

“Latinos’ alienation is so great that one prominent supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, Republican lobbyist Ana Navarro, surveyed the remains of Florida’s primaries and wondered whether her party could recover by November,” Martinez said.

Even Latino voters in Miami-Dade County, where Republicans usually have a stronghold among Cuban-Americans, stayed away from the polls last Tuesday after the top two Republican contenders for the governor’s seat raised the anti-immigrant rhetoric “to new heights.”  Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum alienated the Hispanic leadership he initially had the support of, including Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, after unveiling legislation in his state similar to Arizona’s SB 1070.  McCollum ended up losing to his opponent Rick Scott.

In the case of Arizona, it may mirror the situation that followed conservative politicians in California after the state implemented an anti-immigration law in the 90s, says Martinez.  The GOP in California suffered at the ballot box for years, a lesson Republicans in the state have not taken lightly.

“Conservative political strategists understand the equation: a campaign without Latino support in key states equals defeat,” Martinez said. “But the candidates themselves are just beginning to understand the math, despite years of forewarnings.”

Center for American Progress Action Fund