For those of us who have entertained the idea of seeing the first Hispanic President of the United States — well, we might have to wait a few more years.

Today, Young Voter Strategies released a poll titled Polling Young Voters, Volume III: Early 2008 Presidential Picks.

The poll asked young adults who they favored at this moment in time for President.




Young adult Democrats' top three choices are:

1. Hillary Clinton
2. Barack Obama
3. John Edwards

Coming in at #4 is Bill Richardson


New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson

It's kind of ironic that Richardson would get such a poor showing among young adults seeing that Latinos are the youngest demographic in the nation.

In fact, what the poll shows is Bill Richardson is hardly known to young adults. He scored a cumulative percentage of only 5%. Among the adults, it was a tad higher with 17% - but he still came in fourth.

It's not like Bill isn't trying to reach out to young people.

On his web site Bill Richardson for President Exploratory Committee, he has links to every popular social network that young people are on: Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc.

So, why don't more young Democrats know about him or the qualifications that easily surpass Barak's resume?

Because Bill is committing the number one mistake adults make with young people: He's talking AT them and not TO them.

In fact, a lot of what is written in his name sounds, pardon the expression, "canned."

I was going to hunt for some examples to support this theory when on Bill's own MySpace page there was an insightful message from a reader named "Thor."

Thor sums up the problem nicely:

Dear. Gov. Richardson, or person who maintains this site. I think this site would be better if it was more personalized. What type of person is Bill, talk about his films, books, tv shows etc etc. Who is Bill Richardson?

Just as all these social network sites have revolutionized how this new generation interacts with one another, so too has it changed the rules of political campaigns and media in general.

Today, and in the foreseeable future as this generation matures, it will always be about the conversation, sharing a part of yourself.

Who can converse with someone who is just about the facts? That's not sharing by today's definition.

Whether she liked it or not, Hillary had her life shared before all of us, courtesy of Monica Lewinsky.


Barak Obama meets with Nebraska Young Democrats at a steak fry.
(Source: University of Nebraska- Omaha Young Democrats)

Barak, by virtue of his birthright, has been sharing all over the country.

Bill, who can claim a birthright just as proudly as Barak, isn't sharing all that much.

Where before a candidate needed tons of dinero to create and broadcast campaign commercials or travel from one part of the country to another to speak one-on-one to potential voters, he/she has all of that capability now at their fingertips — literally.

But there is a secret ingredient to tap into this wealth of new technology and new dialogue — creativity.

This generation thrives on it. A candidate doesn't have to lose the message while being creative.

Like his MySpace page, Bill's YouTube film was not creative - just the filming of what sounded more like a political rally.

Where's the creativity in that? Where's the fun in watching that?

If a candidate wants to reach these young adults, then they better speak their language.

There are so many tools available to candidates to get their message out there: viral videos promoting the candidate, establishing a presence on Second Life,…

If I gave any more suggestions, I would have to charge a consultant's fee :)

But there's no excuse for coming in fourth when young supporters like Thor are ready to help — they're just waiting to be heard.

It's a well-known fact within Latino communities that the truest victims, who are most powerless in this immigration debate, are not the undocumented who are here or even the children born or brought here — but the spouses and children left behind south of the border.

Too many times, the men who leave their wives and families behind - really leave them behind. As soon as they make it to this side, they conveniently get amnesia that they have a wife and children waiting. These men start new lives with new women on this side of the border, never sending the promised money home where it is desperately needed.

Never knowing what happened to their loved ones has been reason enough in the past, and I suspect the present, to force these women left behind to come looking for their husbands.

When they get here, they not only get their hearts broken but find themselves even more powerless than before with not knowing the language, in a strange country and at the mercy of their cheating husbands and even sometimes the new lovers.

So, when I read the news that a group of women in Mexico had banded together to make a living for themselves in their husbands' absence, I believed it.

Scattered throughout Mexico are various co-ops where women are creating small businesses to bring in the money that never arrived as promised from their loser husbands.

Yet, when I arrived on the homepage of this site, the words

From the women and children of Mexico....
.....to the people of the U.S.A.

Enforce Your Laws definitely caught my attention.

Could these women be so fed up — and justifiably so — that they would make such a demand?

Reading further, I saw the letters, supposedly by the women who are now successful jewelry artisans, pleading with their husbands to return while demanding the United States close the border to illegal migration.

What really caught my attention was that these women are making a public plea for the U.S. to deport their husbands.

TO THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT - CLOSE THE BORDER
SEND OUR MEN HOME TO US, EVEN IF YOU MUST DEPORT THEM
(only treat them in a humane manner - please do not hurt them)

This site is almost believable if it weren't for the inclusion of the "Mexico-USA Illegal Migration News."

Used as support for the deportation argument, it makes for odd content on a site that can't seem to make up its mind whether or not to appeal for the return of their loved ones or be the "Mexican voice" for lawful entry into the United States — odd in and of itself.

But like with everything, the best way to clarify and verify anything is to go to the source.

An email address is provided on the site. I emailed it and the letter failed to deliver.

Maybe her inbox was full. Maybe.

But one thing is apparent — this is the kind of site made for the Lou Dobbs of the world to show that the US border argument even has supporters in Mexico.

It's almost a kind of reverse propaganda psychology.

If that is the case, then a new chapter in this debate is being written — from across the border .

There are a few updates regarding the T. Don Hutto Residential Facility in Taylor, Texas.

An eyewitness reports:

The razor wire has finally come down around the perimeter fence at the T. Don Hutto prison in Taylor Texas.

As I was driving down Welch Street this Thursday afternoon (1:06PM), I witnessed the last bit of dismantling of the razor wire.

Seems like a lot of activity is going on in and around the prison grounds....

J. Orta


Also, the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children has released a report titled "Locking Up Family Values: The Detention of Immigrant Families."

In the report, they cite first-hand evidence that the penal-type environment of the facility, the threats to children that if they don't behave they won't see their parents again, the limited access to medical and mental health resources, and the prolonged detention of families is far from the "humane" alternative touted by Homeland Security.

Though these efforts are aimed at shutting down facilities of these types, the bigger goal should be to reevaluate our policy on the detention of immigrant families awaiting asylum or deportation.

This morning, it was revealed that Univision, the nation's largest supplier of Spanish-language imported programming, got slapped with a record $24 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission.

It seems that Univision was lacking when it came to educational programming for children.

It's no surprise since the network's moneymakers are the Mexican-made telenovelas. Yet, according to the FCC, by law, all television broadcasters have to include at least 3 hours a week of educational programming for children.


Gaby Espino, one of the stars of the telenovela Mundo de Fierras
(Source: Univision)

According to an Associated Press article, The penalty involves charges that 24 Univision stations between 2004 and early 2006 circumvented guidelines on airing educational children's programs by running soap operas aimed mainly at adults.

The stations had the audacity to say that because of a particular soap that had children as the main characters, it satisfied the FCC's requirement. It didn't matter that there still involved adult situations.

Don't know how coincidental it is, but a quick check of the Univision homepage today revealed an advertisement for the children's show "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" They advertised it showing every Saturday and Sunday — that satisfies two of the three hours/week — not very creative or imaginative programming for a television network.


Carmen Sandiego
(Source: Univision)

I will concede reaching teens through telenovelas that touch on the hard facts of life is no different than such English-language shows as the now cancelled OC or any of the CW shows, but small children need something more.

PBS or Nickelodian can't and should not be the only source of bilingual programming for children.

And it is CREATIVE bilingual programming that this age needs. Not old reruns of a cartoon dubbed in Spanish.

If Univision was truly a community player, they would put some of their resources into programming that taps the unique imagination of today's Latino pre-schoolers and elementary-age children.

And not import yet another program made for Latinos who live elsewhere.

The emails started coming this past Monday: "Latino kids being targeted. Please help. Get involved."

That was the gist of a city-wide campaign in Dallas spearheaded by Latino community leaders when they heard the news of a 15-year-old Latino student, Oscar Gutierrez, who died last weekend after a long struggle with drug use.


Oscar Gutierrez

The police say he died from snorting a concoction of heroin and Tylenol PM known to kids as "cheese," — he was the fourth death in the past year in Dallas attributed to the deadly mixture.

Cheese is made by crushing heroin and Tylenol PM together and typically folded into notebook paper. A quarter-gram sells for $5 and a single hit usually sells for $2 — very affordable for kids with lunch money.


Heroin cut with Tylenol PM makes a powder drug dealers call "cheese."
(Source: Dallas Independent School District)

From Monday through Friday, momentum grew within the Latino community as news slowly trickled out from the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) that there were 200 criminal cases against mostly Hispanic students, at five Hispanic-dominant middle schools and high schools, who had been caught with cheese.

Concerned Latino parents met at local restaurants to learn about the drug, Hispanic community leaders appeared on radio morning shows at urban music stations popular with kids to talk about it — and parents and community leaders were getting fed up that their children's own school district seem to be dragging their feet to do anything.

As one mother wrote on a Dallas Hispanic community listserve:

My daughter is now in a rehab clinic because of this drug (cheese). One of her friends died two weeks ago, and yet, nobody is doing anything about it. They are getting kicked out of school but nobody is doing anything to attack the root. I understand it was her choice, and that is what we are working at but the drugs are "ridiculously" available everywhere, especially inside the schools, where they are supposed to be studying.
Maria

On Spanish-language news, the spokesperson for DISD, Celso Martinez, said that DISD was in the business of educating students, not treating drug use. They said the most the school district could do was refer students to treatment centers.

No one asked for the school district to act as treatment centers, but to get involved and to care about the welfare of their students.

According to local drug treatment centers, it was about 18 months ago that they first started seeing kids coming in for treatment for snorting cheese.

In April 2006, a Dallas television station first reported on the drug and its popularity among young kids.

So, the question remains to be asked: why didn't school district officials move before being forced by the community?

It wasn't until the Latino community leaders started making a lot more ruido (noise) that it attracted the attention of U.S. Texas Senator John Cornyn who brought the subject up in a meeting he had come into Dallas for with North Texas law enforcement officers about sharing ideas on gang initiatives.

As a result of the Latino community's efforts this week, it's come to light that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is now sharing intelligence about the local heroin trade and drug testing equipment with Dallas schools' police investigators.

And the school district has decided this week to set up a bilingual drug hotline next Monday.

And though some would like to think the big drug cartels of Mexico are orchestrating this addiction crisis, DEA agents say thre is no evidence of that. What is painfully clear is that cheese is being made by Latino students, some gang members, and being sold to their homeboys and homegirls.

It's been reported that some of the student dealers threaten to beat up kids if they don't try it. Talk about extreme bullies.

It may have reached epidemic proportions in Dallas now, but chances are other Latino students across the nation may either already have cheese on their campuses or will soon.

Since it's mostly a Latino-generated and distributed drug, it's an issue that Latino parents and community leaders must educate ourselves about and remain vigilant.

Kids addicted to cheese:

Are sleepy and have trouble waking up.
They're disoriented.
They have personality shifts, possible aggressive behavior or their grades are dropping.
They also could have flu-like symptoms, nausea, vomiting and anxiety from withdrawl.

The symptoms could mimic a host of different things, and kids will never be straight when asked if they're taking/snorting anything.

So, the job becomes especially harder.

But it's worth it, if mijo/mija are going to have any kind of future at all.

If ever proof was needed to show that this Administration would go out of its way to connect terrorism with undocumented immigrants, we have it now — courtesy of a federal audit.


Inspector General Glenn Fine
(Source: Dept. of Justice)

The Department of Justice’s Internal Controls Over Terrorism Reporting, Audit Report 07-20 released yesterday revealed that government officials in the FBI, the Justice Department's Criminal Division, and the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys mislabeled cases as anti-terrorism.

According to nearly all of the terrorism-related statistics on investigations, referrals and cases examined by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine's office only two of 26 sets of department data reported between 2001 and 2005 were true.

The Inspector General concludes that these "mistakes" were not intentional, but rather were a result of how different groups within the government defined anti-terrorist cases and how the numbers were gathered.

Yet given the track record of this Administration, which has learned quite well how to "spin" information to its own advantage, one has to wonder how 24 "mistakes" were made out of 26 cases.

At any rate, some of those "mistakes" were (as detailed in a TIME magazine article):

A November 2001 federal crackdown on security breaches at airports, for example, yielded arrests on immigration and false document charges, but no evidence of terrorist activity. Nonetheless, the attorneys' office lumped them in with other anti-terror cases since they were investigated by federal Joint Terrorism Task Forces or with other counterterror measures.

Charges against a marriage broker for being paid to arrange six fraudulent marriages between Tunisian nationals and U.S. citizens.

Prosecution of a Mexican citizen who falsely identified himself as another person in a passport application.

It's reported that each of the government entities included in the audit have either fixed the problems by changing the way it counts and classifies anti-terrorism cases or are working internally on redefining the term anti-terrorism.

If that is the case, numbers should be drastically altered and it will be seen that terrorism isn't knocking quite as loudly on our southern border door as we were led to believe.

Then too, hopefully, the rhetoric will subside equating undocumented immigrants as terrorists.

It was only a matter of time.

It was only a matter of time before some in the Latino community would feel that they had to take a more public and vocal stance against the wave of immigrant deportations sweeping the country that are breaking up families, imprisoning children, and spearheading fear and intimidation in Latino-dominant communities across the nation.

Some of us expected a stronger effort to be led by LULAC or the National Council of La Raza. Yet, probably because of the political sensitivity of the issue these major organizations have held back - preferring to wait Congress out and issuing only press releases and holding court with press conferences.

Yet, one demographic that is notorius for their impatience and their passion and their idealistic views that justice can prevail when people realize that injustice is being committed, decided to lead the charge this time around — Latino teens.

To be specific, it's a group calling themselves El Zocalo Urbano.

This group comprised of high school and college Latino youth from the Chicago area have formed a lobby and plan to descend on the steps of Congress in Washington on March 15 to ask Congressional leaders to put a moratorium on any more raids and deportations.



These young people, many of whom are from the Pilsen area of Chicago, are witnessing firsthand the impact of the immigration raids. They've either heard the stories or witnessed the ICE agents arrive before dawn to take away parents while it's still dark.

It was only a matter of time before these young people decided to do something, but what is troubling to some of us is that these young people might not have formed at this moment in time if it weren't for the efforts of an immigration rights group called Centro Sin Fronteras.

Where politics can sometimes handcuff adults into "playing by the rules," it doesn't hold the same restraints on young people.

Also, it doesn't hurt that grass roots organizers of immigration rights groups have learned a valuable lesson in that the voices of children sometimes ring the loudest.

But as we saw with the spring rallies when thousands of Latino students left their classrooms to march in solidarity with their communities, good intentions can sometimes backfire and hurt a cause instead of helping it.

As of now, El Zocalo Urbano, number about 50, but they're hoping that the sympathizers and supporters who are continually growing with the help of a MySpace site will quadruple their numbers by the time they reach DC.

And that would not be bad, but what would be bad is if we had young people who didn't respect the seat of this nation's government or the democracy that enables them the right to march, speak out and demand change.

The last thing anyone of us in the community-at-large wants to see is a repeat of last spring's marches when Mexican flags were flown, young people were using rude gestures and foul language to get attention.

And that's the kind of attention nobody wants.

El Zocalo Urbano can achieve many good things with this trip: greater awareness of what these deportations are doing to their local communities, putting faces to what have only been random names and statistics in the media and the opportunity to meet with Congressional leaders to personally plead the case.

El Zocalo Urbano and the other young people who will join them need to show Congress they mean business, and what better way than dressing in your best suits and dresses and project the most professional manner possible.

It's a lot harder to be dismissed when you dress like you mean business.

Maybe then Congress can take a lesson from our young people and start the process themselves.

It would be about time.

It's been widely believed in the illegal immigration debate that there are only two ways to see this debate: you're either for it or against it.

Either way involves just seeing where the issue stands today.

Some see the undocumented as lurking on every street corner acting more like science fiction characters from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," ready to steal the identities of unsuspecting citizens.

Others see the undocumented as a group who either continually put themselves at the mercy of strangers depending on them for their livelihoods like at day labor camps, or as a people who are just trying to put down roots and give their families a decent life that includes three meals a day, sending their kids to school, having a job, and a roof over their heads.

What is indisputable is that there are over 12 million undocumented whose main mission in this country has been to work. From where they come from, education is a luxury that means little if you can't put tortillas or rice and beans on the table and a roof over your head.



Many of the undocumented, by virtue of wanting better for their children, insist their children go to school. But too many times, the children, who may not be legal themselves, see little value in pursuing any kind of education if they can't get a job or afford to go on to college.

It's a trend with some very disturbing outcomes.

A new report, America's Perfect Storm: Three Forces Changing Our Nation's Future, by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) documents that factors are converging to create a future workforce who will be far less literate by 2030 than where we are today.

The three factors converging together to create this perfect storm are:

* substantial disparities in skill levels (reading and math)
* seismic economic changes (widening wage gaps)
* sweeping demographic shifts (less education, lower skills)


According to a Christian Science Monitor article on the report, Baby boomers are retiring and being replaced by less-skilled workers. A combination of immigration and population growth means that the share of the population that is Hispanic is expected to grow from 14 percent in 2005 to more than 20 percent by 2030. More than half of the immigrant Hispanics lack a high school diploma.

What this means in black and white is that the foundation of this country's strength — its Middle Class — is dissolving before our eyes.

Shouts of "send them back" is not the answer, nor will it work. It has to be understood that even with all the stress of living a covert life on this side of the border, it is still better than living with nothing on the other side.

What needs to be done, and now with documentation, there's more urgency than before, is to narrow the acheivement gap among students so that all students can read, write and possess the kinds of high cognitive skills that will be needed for the workforce of the future, and to maintain a strong middle class.

In an unusual move, three organizations are banning together to release a national report card grading states on the K-12 education in nine categories.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Center for American Progress and the American Enterprise Institute plan to not only release the report card but also an action agenda.

The ETS and these organizations recognize the urgency of the situation because of what the long-term consequence will be: inequality.

From a Question and Answer interview on the ETS site:

What makes this inequality different or of greater concern?

Traditionally America has had a rather large middle class. What will these forces do to affect the middle class where many families have the opportunity to improve themselves?

A: What is different today is the growing inequality among large segments of our population with respect to wages, income and wealth. According to the Economic Policy Institute, CEOs in 1979 earned 35 times more than the average American worker. By 2005, this gap widened to 262 times as much. Looking at the overall distribution of incomes, we find that in 1980 the richest 20 percent of Americans earned about 44 percent of all income and by 2002, their share had grown to 50 percent. Income inequality is important not only because it limits our economic potential but also the quality of our democracy. According to Benjamin Friedman, "economic growth is not merely the enabler of higher consumption; it is in many ways the wellspring from which democracy and civil society flow."

Recognition that all children should receive a thorough education with the intention of preparing them for a future that not only values their skills but acknowledges their presence, is no longer something that can be relegated to drawn out debates.


(Source: Hispanic PRwire)

As the cliche goes, "The future is now."

And it's within our power, for the time-being, to mold that future into something prosperous or watch it result into something far less desirable.

It really is difficult being an undocumented immigrant in this country. Forget the ICE round-ups or the vague immigration reform debate supposedly happening in DC or even the penalizing ordinances being passed by towns and cities across the nation, those all pretty much send the same message of telling undocumented immigrants they can't make a life here and should return home.

Yet, when businesses and industries are sending the exact opposite message of the government - who can blame these people for still coming and having hope for a better life?

For example, the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth has a new pitch line to draw more workers to their agriculture industry — Venga a Michigan.

It seems last year there was such a shortage of migrant farm labor, those people who are willing to pick the crops, that farmers had trouble harvesting their crops.


Migrant farm workers
(Source: newpaltz.edu)

So, despite the bad conditions that exist in migrant housing and labor practices at a lot of these farms, the state is actively seeking migrants to make the trek from Texas or Florida (where Michigan government officials have gone to pitch their campaign) to offset any major disruptions to an industry that is the second-largest industry in the state.

They don't seem to care if the people picking the crops are citizens or not - they're labor that's needed.

Another business that is reaching out specifically to undocumented immigrants is the Bank of America, or at the time this post was published, they were still trying to figure out whether or not to continue.

It seems the bank created a credit card program at five California branches three months ago where applicants don't need to show proof of citizenship or a Social Security Number.



Customers can get the card if they already have a checking account with the bank that's in good standing for three months. It comes with an upfront fee and a higher-than-average interest rate that can exceed 21 percent.

Needless to say, the backlash over such a program has exploded to the point that the bank may seriously have to reconsider their program.

But it doesn't erase the fact that this bank sees a viable business opportunity with people, regardless of their citizenship, who still spend money - thus adding to our economy.

These same people also eat pizza.

It wasn't that long ago that the national pizza chain, Pizza Patron, made headlines because they announced they would accept pesos from their customers in payment for pizzas.

Well, the backlash was much like what Bank of America is facing now. If B of A can weather the storm, they may find themselves as profitable as Pizza Patron.

According to a February 4 article, 31% of the pizza chain's stores set weekly sales records since the campaign began.


(Source: New York Times: Illustration by Leif Parsons)

All of these examples just go to show that while some in Washington are pulling one way, the reality of the undocumented immigrant situation is pulling in the opposite direction.

If there really was concern about illegal immigrants costing the U.S. money, then one would think that more effort would be made to tap into this group's spending power and labor potential, and less pointless debate on how to punish them for helping our economy in the long-run.

If Homeland Security had had their way, in addition to watching Super Bowl commercials of men pulling out their chest hairs after eating a Snickers bar, we would have been subject to watching a recruitment ad for the U.S. Border Patrol.

That in itself may not have been bad but the content of the ad was disturbing enough for the NFL to throw a flag at this powerplay.


Bears TE Desmond Clark gets double-teamed by Colts defenders Gary Brackett and Cato June. (AP)
(Source: Superbowl.com)

It seemed that the ad Homeland Security wanted to broadcast contained such phrases as
"the right men and women to help protect America's southwest borders." It listed the duties as preventing "the entry of terrorists and their weapons," blocking "unlawful entry of undocumented aliens" and "stopping drug smuggling."

The people in Washington, and obviously the ad agencies, don't understand that though yes, undocumented immigrants cross the southern border and drug cartels are active, there exists and has always existed a positive and brotherly exchange between towns and cities along the southern border - it even reaches up into Middle America.

For example, though soccer is the "football" of Latin America, many of our southern neighbors have adopted US football teams into their hearts. In Monterrey, Mexico, there is estimated to be 1,500 season ticket holders for the Dallas Cowboys.

The NFL has said they didn't want to air the commercials because they didn't want to get entangled into the immigration debate. They even offered Homeland Security the opportunity to run a generic ad that didn't mention the border specifically.

Homeland Security officials counter by saying that the NFL didn't want to air it because they didn't want to risk angering the rising fan base south of the border.

"The NFL missed a golden opportunity to reach countless patriotic citizens who want to answer the call to help prevent another terrorist attack on American soil," said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council, the union that represents the agency's nonsupervisory personnel.

Yet, who said (Al Queda) terrorists are coming in from our southern border?

If the ad only mentions the southern border, then the NFL was correct in rejecting it.

The Border Patrol is supposed to patrol all of our borders. Who knows how many "terrorists" or undocumented immigrants or drugs have passed over our northern border with Canada.

Any recruitment ad for the Border Patrol should be encompassing of all of this country's borders. To focus only on the southern border with all the implications advertised in the ad, is, of course, offensive - especially when there are so many eyeballs glued to the small screen that night.

Nationally, the game was the second most-watched Super Bowl ever and the third most watched national television program in history.

It says something when this country's businesses/organizations have to step in and exhibit the kind of restraint and diplomacy when it comes to communicating with our global neighbors that should be the priority conduct of any government administration who needs foreign cooperation to achieve success with their foreign policy.

For an organization that has created one of this country's most violent sports, they showed remarkable sensitivity in their judgement for not airing the Border Patrol commercials - regardless of their motives.

Sometimes songs really do say it all.

Happy Valentine's Day — today and every day!




(click on the title to hear the song)

One of the reasons why the immigration marches and rallies of last spring were so powerful was because the actual voices of those affected by the debate were speaking out.

Too often their voices get lost amid the rhetoric from everybody else (including Latina Lista :)) who are so busy trying to speak for them, that we don't stop long enough to let them speak for themselves.

Regardless of their citizenship status, it's an inalienable right of every human to be able to express themselves - and to be heard.

On a listserve of an organization in Dallas, Texas, called DFW International Community Alliance a young person who is undocumented shared his/her feelings about being called illegal.

"It's my fault. I make him mad."

I don't know how many times I've heard or read that sentence from young Latinas trying to justify the reason why their novios (boyfriends) gave them a black eye.

For these girls, it's okay for their boyfriends to throw beer bottles at them or swear at them or push them as they accuse them of cheating on them just because they're talking to other guys or want a night out alone with their girlfriends.

These boys' actions clearly show that they see their girlfriends as possessions and have no respect for their feelings or that they are even people in their own right, not to mention, they have serious issues of their own.




For girls caught up in this kind of scary abuse, it's not always easy to break from it - or even recognize it.

And it's a lot harder to talk about it with someone. In fact, for the girl and her friends, the abuse may even be hard to recognize because they're so close to it - especially if the guy is a "nice" guy but gets abusive when he's drunk, alone with his girlfriend or has an unhealthy jealous streak.

Survivors of date abuse know all this, and some have finally gotten together to help other girls, and boys, recognize an abusive relationship for what it is and how to get out of it.

A new National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline is now available via the internet.



The web site offers real-time chat sessions so that participants can share their stories, and be helped in the process.

Knowing that abusive individuals are always "checking up" on their girlfriend/boyfriend, the site even contains a safety message.

The internet site and the telephone hotline are manned by trained peer volunteers.

Any Latina who puts up with abuse is not real lista (smart), but there is help now - and it's only a click away.

Some signs to look for if you think you or tu amiga/amigo are being abused include:


Embarrass you with put-downs or gossip about you?
Look at you or act in ways that scare you?
Control what you do, who you see, talk to, where you go, or what you wear?
Stop you from seeing your friends or family members?
Make all of the decisions?
Prevent you from working or attending school?
Act like the abuse is no big deal, it’s your fault, or even deny doing it?
Force you to have sex?

"To put this death toll in perspective, the fortified US border with Mexico has been more than 10 times deadlier to migrants from Mexico during the past nine years than the Berlin Wall was to East Germans throughout its 28-year existence."
Professor Wayne Cornelius, University of California, San Diego

The immigration debate across the country has focused only on the undocumented who have made it through all the obstacles, natural and manmade, at our border with Mexico.

Yet, a very important part of this debate are all the migrants who never made it past our border to get to the point to be categorized as undocumented. It's worse for them - they're forgotten.


In honor of migrant border deaths
(Source: Arizona Indymedia.org)

Today, the American Immigration Forum released a new study titled A Humanitarian Crisis at the Border: New Estimates of Deaths Among Unauthorized Immigrants

It's easy to discount border deaths as being the fault of those who were trying to cheat our system of justice, but there's something wrong when people are systematically dying trying to free themselves of their own oppressive situation.

Researchers credit this increase of border deaths to what they call the "Funnel Effect."

In the mid-1990s, the U.S. government implemented a “prevention through deterrence” approach to immigration control that has resulted in the militarization of the border and a quintupling of border-enforcement expenditures. However, the new border barriers, fortified checkpoints, high-tech forms of surveillance, and thousands of additional Border Patrol agents stationed along the southwest border have not decreased the number of unauthorized migrants crossing into the United States. Rather, the new strategy has closed off major urban points of unauthorized migration in Texas and California and funneled hundreds of thousands of unauthorized migrants through southern Arizona’s remote and notoriously inhospitable deserts and mountains.

And it's there, in those remote areas, where men, women and children die when they just can't take another step in the heat or stand the frigidity of the winter nights.

The medical examiners, to whom the bodies are brought, report that the majority of the deceased are under 40 and that there is a rising trend being seen of kids under the age of 18.


Altar to deceased migrant who died at the border
(Source: No mas muertes.org)

The saddest part of this is that these people who die in these remote areas are many times never identified. So, their families are left to forever wonder what happened to their queridos (loved ones).

It is a torture that no family deserves to be put through.

The report doesn't advocate opening the borders for free passage.

What it does support is the necessity and urgency of an immigration reform bill that recognizes the role immigrant labor has in this country, and plans for accordingly.

Border deaths keep rising which can only mean that the people are continuing to come, regardless of how strict our laws are or how loud the threats of detention or deportation.

Isn't it ironic that these migrants have no fear of death, but are petrified of the poverty that traps them?

There's no wall tall enough or army big enough to stop that kind of fear from advancing.

The answer to the title of this post sounds like it should be a no-brainer but with the Army under pressure to meet its quota to help with the additional troops President Bush has decided is needed in Iraq, a second look must be given as to whether the Army, and possibly other branches of the military, are making promises to at-risk kids that either don't live up to the hype or are just not the only available option.



In an article that chronicles the efforts of army recruiters in the Dallas, Texas area, some very common reasons for enlistment by young Latinos are revealed explaining why their numbers have more than doubled since 1993 when the perentage of black enlistees has taken a dive from 22 to 15 percent over the last six years.

The two most common reasons that have historically spurred the enlistment of young Latinos into the military are: job training and education.

A third reason among Latinos who are not citizens is citizenship. The article cites that in North Texas "where the population is around 35 percent Latino, nearly 20 percent of last year's 4,100 Army recruits were Hispanic, many of them from immigrant families."

…a good chunk of the Latinos who enlist are legal residents who get on a fast track to citizenship by joining the military. The local recruiting battalion didn't have figures on the area's number of immigrant soldiers, but (Dallas Army recruiter) Leal says that more than half of his recruits — he enlists one to two each month — come from immigrant families, and three-quarters of those are green card holders, not citizens.

For generations of Mexican-Americans, military service has been a way to assimilate and display patriotism, something Leal has noticed time and again. "The ones who do join are usually the best soldiers because they have something to prove," he says. "They chose this country, so they don't take it for granted like the ones who were born here."

However, promises of a free education are dangled in front of every recruit (which should tell us all something - that these kids do understand the importance of an education.) But some who have big dreams of attending an Ivy League school get pulled back to reality all too fast.

Soldiers can count on at least $38,000 under the GI Bill, but additional funds — such as the "up to $70,000 for college" often advertised — depend on application and acceptance to various programs based on individual qualifications.

And if young recruits think they will be on easy street once they're in fatigues, well…

In 2003, it was documented that there were a significant number of military families who were living in poverty and collecting food stamps.

Even promises that their pay will be increased if they are sent into the war zone isn't complete truth if they get hurt over there and have to return home for medical care.

As was the case with one Army veteran who got wounded in Iraq. This soldier didn't just have to worry about his health but keeping credit agencies away from him because the Army had downgraded his pay when he was recuperating in the hospital and left him with a debt of over $6,000.

The promise of an education is almost a moot point these days with more and more public and private universities offering free tuition to those whose families earn less than $25,000.

Job training is great if they can transfer those skills to civilian life, but last we checked there wasn't a high demand for infantry skills or tank mechanics.

It's often said among Latino families that Junior entered the military for discipline and direction.

The problem with that statement has always been that the same could be administered by any parent or school counselor or adult friend - if only the effort was taken to spend one-on-one time with that young person who just needed attention and guidance and was asking for it.

When nobody had the time or patience, the dotted line was an easy alternative.

The problem is this Administration has made it clear it will fight till the death, or until Congress and "we the people" put a stop to the senseless sacrifice of our young people, our future.

Until that happens, young Latinos will be sought after to fill the void that exist in the ranks of the military.

But it doesn't have to be that way anymore. The alternatives are there; these young people just have to know they exist.

It would seem that nowadays, Latino kids are more at-risk for military recruitment than gang-joining.

For every five steps we think we're taking to cleanse this country of racism, discrimination and prejudice, we always end up sliding back and starting all over again.

The latest example of how we're dancing around the issue of prejudice and racism in this country is the news that the Ku Klux Klan is enjoying a "rebirth" these days.


(Source: Anti-Defamation League)

The Anti-Defamation League released a new report today citing how the polarizing issues of illegal immigration, gay marriages and urban crime have re-energized a group that was dying out but has taken new life by feeding on the frenzy stirred by Congressional opportunists.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, who tracks the activities of hate groups, there has been … a noticeable spike in activity by Klan chapters across the country. The KKK believes that the U.S. is "drowning" in a tide of non-white immigration, controlled and orchestrated by Jews, and is vigorously trying to bring this message to Americans concerned or fearful about immigration.

The report says that among the states registering an increase in Klan activity or growth are: Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Michigan and Nebraska.

Most of these states have seen their Spanish-speaking immigrant population double or triple over the last few years.

Though the KKK adheres to old-fashioned hate and Dooms Day predictions to rally new members, they are now totally 21st Century savvy - which means they aren't so easy to pick out in the white hoods and robes and burning crosses anymore.

Nowadays, they blend in with the neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups. Yet, what is really troubling is that they're bonding with these other hate groups to grow their ranks, and spread their intolerance.

The ironic thing is that the honest critics of illegal immigration, who may not agree with the methods and message of these hate groups, are finding themselves spewing the same irrational doctrine that these groups, who thrive on people's fear of those who are different, are declaring.

At the rate anti-undocumented immigrant hysteria is growing in this country, there won't be much difference between hate group members and all those who are trying to drive out the undocumented from this country.

Which gives rise to the question: Which is worse, having a group of people who are here illegally, but only to work or empowering and strengthening a group responsible for the darkest chapters of American History?

An interesting study released by the University of Chicago last week titled the Black Youth Project surveyed attitudes of young people ages 15 to 25.


(Source: Black Youth Project)

Though the study focused on young Blacks, Whites and Latinos also comprised part of the survey pool so as to provide comparable data.

According to the study's authors, this survey measures the opinions and perspectives of an often overlooked group among social scientists and pollsters.

Not surprisingly, the study found this demographic had some very definite and, in some cases, startling opinions.


(Source: Black Youth Project)

For example:

A majority of Black youth (68%) feel that the government would do more to find a cure for AIDS if more White people had the disease.

Fifty-seven percent of Latino young people disagree that the government should make getting an abortion illegal under any circumstances.

And among the three groups: Blacks, Whites and Hispanic girls, only 53% of Latinas believed the statement “Rap music videos portray Black women in bad and offensive ways,” compared to 66% of Black girls and 60% of White girls who believe the statement.

Yet, an even more surprising revelation from the survey was the fact that 48% of Black youth and 29% of White youth believe that the government treats immigrants better than it treats most Black people in this country, compared to 18% of Hispanic young people.

Since "immigrants" are synonymous with Latinos these days, this is an answer that deserves further exploration, as well as why young Latinas feel it's okay to degrade women in music videos.

Obviously, this is a study that is long overdue and should garner more attention that it's getting.

As we reported this morning, the Ibrahim family has been released from the T. Don Hutto Residential facility.



Mrs. Ibrahim hugs her 3-year-old daughter
whom she hasn't seen in 3 months.




Children hug their long-missed 3-year-old sister.


The 15-year-old son, Hamzeh, is reported as having described conditions inside the facility as "really bad."


One family out - how many more to go?

The first family at the T. Don Hutto Residential Facility, the converted prison where non-Mexican immigrant families awaiting processing of their deportation cases, have been released.


T. Don Hutto Residential facility

E-rumors were circulated late last night that the Ibrahim family, who include four children ages 5, 8, 14 and 15 and their 5-month pregnant mother, would be released at 10 a.m. this morning at the facility outside Austin, Texas. The e-rumor evidently is fact and the family is being picked up by limousine and chauffeured back to their home in Richardson, Texas. Presumably to be reunited with their father who was held at a separate detention facility in the state of Texas.

The family will be returning to their apartment that has been kept and paid for by the brother of Mr. Ibrahim for the past 3 months, who has also been taking care of the youngest Ibrahim child, 3-year-old Zahra. Zahra was born in the United States and therefore could not be held with her family.

Because of the nature of the Ibrahim's case, being Palestinians seeking asylum because of the extreme violence and danger taking place in their home country, plus the medical condition of Mrs. Ibrahim, the children with her, the father detained elsewhere, the separation from their youngest child, and the fact that no country would accept them — all combined in a perfect storm of pressure and public outcry that it forced a federal appeals board, The Board of Immigration Appeals, to reopen the asylum case.

According to experts, it's unheard of that the Board of Immigration Appeals would reverse itself on an asylum case and reopen it for a Palestinian. An ICE spokesman said that the board's decision "in effect, wipes away the Ibrahim's deportation order."

That is good news.

Yet, there are more children locked up behind those bars with their mothers who are supposed to be having their cases reviewed for deportation as well. They don't come from countries where violence drives the people out to look for a better way of living, but rather, those countries where abject poverty is the cause.

The sad thing is that these other children, who don't deserve to be behind bars, are anonymous and have no one to give their voice to their situations, like the Ibrahim children luckily had.

One man, Jay Johnson-Castro, is trying to give those other children a voice by staging a march from San Diego to the Hutto facility in Taylor, TX.

In an email that Jay sent to his supporters last week, he says:

I’m taking off in a few minutes for San Diego. I will be joining others for the Border Caravan, a motorcade, that will drive from San Diego all the way to Brownsville…in protest of the border wall. Virtually every mayor that I’ve been able to contact, from El Paso to Brownsville, is either hosting us if we stay in their city or meeting us as we pass through the 1280 miles of the Texas portion.


The Border Caravan will then swing up to Taylor, Williamson County, Texas on the (February)12th…before we head back to San Diego. We will hold Vigil IV in front of the Hutto prison camp. We want every mother and child freed immediately. We want the two Palestinian families that were living in Dallas freed…to go back to their American way of life.

Then Jay made an uncharacteristic request that Latina Lista feels deserves to be shared:

For those of you who have read this far, I make a most humble appeal. I often don’t know how to pay for the gas to travel from Del Rio to Austin, to Brownsville…let alone to San Diego. When I leave this morning, I will only have $62 in my pocket. I am embarking on a 7500 mile trip. If any one is willing to help…I will humbly accept that help…with deep gratitude. I am providing the e-mail address of my friend as volunteer assistant, Sarah Boone. sboone@stx.rr.com.


As an “out of the box” 60-y-o American who was raised in poverty in the Alaskan wilderness, I am proud to say that I’ve never asked for any help and I have never used one dollar from a social program. But I find myself having to swallow my pride here and ask for any help that anyone is willing to offer. I am totally dedicating my life to freeing these children. This crime cannot continue to be committed on American soil…let alone in the State of Texas. Not in the name of democracy, liberty, justice. Surely…not in the name of national security.

May the true Americans…may “We the people of the United States of America”…FREE THE CHILDREN…

All they need is a voice to be heard.

Red as in today is "National Wear Red Day!"




Today, is when we mujeres remind ourselves that heart disease is the Number One killer among Latinas!



Though the risk rises as we get older, Latinas of all ages are affected by heart disease. Especially with statistics like these:


More than 60% of Hispanic women are physically inactive.
Nearly one-third of Hispanic females are overweight.
High blood pressure
High blood cholesterol
Diabetes
Smoking
Having a family history of early heart disease
Age (55 or older for women)

Yet, we are all Latinas Listas and so when we hear that our mothers, tias, abuelas, hermanas AND for ourselves, feel:


* Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes. It may feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. The discomfort can be mild or severe, and it may come and go.

* Discomfort in other areas of the upper body including one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.

* Shortness of breath. May occur along with or without chest discomfort.

* Other signs include nausea, light-headedness, or breaking out in a cold sweat.

We know que no hay tiempo para esperar (that there's no time to wait) in calling an ambulance or getting ourselves or our family/friends to the hospital quickly, one way or another.

And just so we don't become one of these statistics, it's time to really start that exercise program and watching what we eat.

It's no longer a question of if we want to — we have to, if we want to be around for our familias!

Whenever there is a problem to be solved, thousands of dollars will be spent on consultants, focus groups and meetings — all dedicated to trying to solve a problem that usually affects "other" people.

Take for instance the school dropout problem.

States across the country are finally feeling the panic of the loss of too many students. From Texas to North Carolina, education administrators and state government officials are scratching their heads as to what could possibly keep Latino kids in school and motivated to go to college.

Well, there has always been an easy solution — just ask the kids!

Finally, somebody who understands that today's kids are the best source for thinking up a solution for something that they witness and know on a firsthand basis.

All they need is a little motivation:



Youth Venture and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are teaming up with MTV Tr3s Voces for a very special contest called Tu Voz My Venture.

The three partners will select teams of two or more youth, ages 13 – 20, every week through June 29th, who submit great ideas for encouraging their peers to graduate from high school and college. Tu Voz My Venture winners will receive grants of up to $1,000 to create their ventures - an organization, business or club to help young Latinos stay in school and prepare for college and careers.

The winning teams will win $5,000 scholarships that will be split evenly among the team members.

Time doesn't need to be wasted on debate as to whether or not to do something — it just needs to be done.

On December 20, 2006, Nielsen Media Research released their "Most Popular" lists for 2006.



The lists are pretty comprhensive. From tv shows and songs to web sites and advertising trends, the list seems extremely thorough. Given their reputation and credibility, we would expect nothing less from such a nationally known company that makes its business from knowing what people watch, read and listen to.

On January 24, 2007, Nielsen released their "Most Popular" 2006 lists for African American viewing habits.

A quick scan of the major findings definitely illustrates a difference between the overall (general) list and the African American list.

For example:
Programs with majority African American casts such as “Girlfriends” and “Half and Half” appear in the list of African American top ten programs but not in the general public's top ten list.


Nielsen has yet to release the "Most Popular" list for Hispanic viewers but if their Top Ten TV Programs Among Hispanics list from the week of January 22, 2007 is any indication, something is terribly wrong.

All ten shows are on Univision. All ten shows are telenovelas. All ten involve the same three telenovelas: La Fea Mas Bella, Duelo de Pasiones and Mundo de Fieras.

No wonder all the major networks and Rupert Murdoch, with his telenovela-focused cable channel MyNetworkTV, labored under the false assumption that if they built a telenovela, we would come - after all that's what Nielsen says.

Now the networks and cable channels are learning a very hard and expensive lesson. Murdoch's channel is trying to salvage its fledgling network and diversify its total telenovela line-up by now offering a martial arts program - go figure.

But chances are Mr. Murdoch or the major networks don't understand why Hispanics aren't tuning into their shows or showing much interest in any upcoming programming.


American telenovela on MyNetworkTV

They're probably thinking that Hispanics tune into Univision's telenovelas but not theirs because the American-made ones lack the "feel" of the ones from Mexico.

Newsflash: Hispanics, as a whole, don't watch telenovelas - especially second, third, etc. generation Latinos.

Nielsen has been under fire by AIM TV's Help Change TV drive, for a while now, for not figuring in nativity among their Hispanic viewers. Nielsen can't seem to understand that there is a big difference between what Hispanics who have just arrived in the last several years like to watch on tv and Hispanics who have several generations invested in this country.

But it's not that hard to figure out.(especially when there are people pointing it out.)

Once when interviewing a spokesman from Nielsen and I asked him why they didn't ask for nativity when interviewing families, he replied that it would be considered an invasion of privacy.

He obviously doesn't know our culture. Otherwise, he would know that the first or second question out of most Latinos' mouths when we run into somebody from Mexico or South America is usually "de donde es Ud.?" (where are you from) or "de que parte?" (which part?)

It's never been my experience that someone did not answer. Usually it's with todo gusto and very much pride that they do answer.

If Nielsen took into account the true viewing habits of US-born Latinos versus non-native Latinos, the list would look a whole lot different.

I would even venture to guess it would be more similar to the African American list than the current Hispanic list.

By allowing for these differences, Nielsen would be helping the community in recognizing and documenting the differences between native-born and non-native born Hispanics.

They would be helping advertisers and broadcast programmers too in crafting ads and shows to better appeal to these growing influential groups.


On January 29, 2007, Nielsen Media announced that they would start including college student viewing habits in their measurements.

The realization that the television choices of college students mattered came after a three-year pilot program.

It was discovered that:

The impact of adding college viewing among women was greatest on
primetime dramas with strong female characters.

The impact of adding college viewing among men was greatest on football
and animation programming.

According to a press release issued by Nielsen Media:

"Nielsen is committed to continuously improving the scope of its television ratings, and adding college viewing to our ratings estimate provides a more complete picture of the overall television audience," said Sara Erichson, General Manager, National Services.


So we ask: How come Nielsen isn't committed at that same level to improve the scope of information for Hispanic viewership, and present not just a more complete picture — but the true picture?

I think Mr. Murdoch would have appreciated it.