Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delivered their second round of border wall lawsuits against Rio Grande Valley landowners who refuse to voluntarily hand their properties over so that the border fence can be built on them.

Eloisa Tamez stands on the 1930s levee that split her family land in two. She is resisting the construction of a border fence that will further divide the land on which her family has been living since the 1780s.
(Source: G. Daniel Lopez/The Brownsville Herald)

In total, 33 lawsuits have been filed by the DHS against South Texas landowners, some whose land has been in their families since the 1700s. According to sources in the Valley, some of the people who were named by the government in today's round of lawsuits didn't even know they were being sued by the government.

So much for communication, but what do we expect from a federal agency that has been caught in one of the biggest lies when it comes to the whole concept of listening and sharing.

For the last couple of weeks, one topic that has perpetuated the media and the blogosphere is the notion that there exists a Black-Brown divide on the national political front.

It's pretty much accepted among the inteligente that it's just a bunch of verbage to fill in the downtime during this campaign season, and might I dare say, plant an unsubtle thorn into the side of the Obama campaign.

Yet, from TIME to Newsweek to cable and radio talk shows, the discussion of this so-called "divide" has triggered way too much attention in the "white" media realm.

If there exists anything between Blacks and Latinos when it comes to national politics, it's the fact that rather than be angry with our black hermanos — we're envious that someone has arrived who is eloquent, inspiring and a person of color.

Flor Crisotomo is the latest undocumented immigrant to ask for sanctuary at Chicago's Adalberto United Methodist Church, the former sanctuary of Elvira Arellano.

Flor Crisostomo, an illegal immigrant from Mexico arrested at a workplace raid at a Chicago site of IFCO Systems in 2006, is helped by supporters as she leaves a news conference in Adalberto United Methodist Church where she sought sanctuary today Monday, Jan. 28, 2008 in Chicago to avoid deportation. Federal immigration officials say if she doesn't comply with a deportation order by tonight, she'll be considered a fugitive. Crisostomo says she knows her action will almost certainly lead to deportation or imprisonment. But she says she had to act to try and change U.S. immigration laws. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) (M. Spencer Green - AP)

Flor is staying for all the reasons why all undocumented immigrants stay — no job back home that can pay enough to keep her family fed, clothed and her children in school. The prospect of going back to an impoverished situation with no recourse to work herself out of it is enough reason that she and many stay and would rather challenge the federal government.

Residents in the Texas Rio Grande Valley have been fighting two wars: the war in Iraq that has taken many of their young people from the region and the war against the Department of Homeland Security which is wanting their private property to build a border fence between the U.S. and Mexico.

Unlike some other portions of the U.S.-Mexico border, residents along the Texas border aren't willing to hand over their property so easily to the government. They want more time to try to convince the government that alternative ideas can be just as effective, if not more so, in creating a secure but less disruptive barrier between the two countries.

One Texas border property where Department of Homeland Security wants to construct a fence.
(Source: KVEO.com)

Yet the government has tired of talk, and from an administration that set the standard for pre-emptive strikes, the Department of Homeland Security is attempting to circumvent the landowners and claim the land in the name of national security.

Chicago's Adalberto United Methodist Church is back in the news.

Known for providing sanctuary to Mexican national Elvira Arellano, the church finds itself facing the same request by more members of their congregation.

Adalberto United Methodist Church was the sanctuary home for Elvira Arellano.
(Source: chicagoist.com)

It's a decision that must be balanced between the Rule of Law and the Word of God, and it's a decision that has church officials praying hard.

Dr. Dowell Myers, professor of urban planning and Demography at the University of Southern California, held a telephonic press briefing this afternoon, sponsored by the Washington D.C.-based Immigration Policy Center.

Professor Dowell Myers

The occasion was the release of Dr. Myers' report: "Thinking Ahead About Our Immigration Future: New Trends and Mutual Benefits in Our Aging Society."

In a kind of folksy, self-deprecating manner, Dr. Myers laid out the facts about immigration, as the numbers show them to be. He wonders why there is such a rabid intensity to expel the very population who will be the saving grace of this country in a few years.

The assumption by many state lawmakers is that if undocumented immigrants are denied a place to live and the opportunity to be a licensed driver, they will have no choice but to leave.

But it doesn't work like that.

Because for every punitive, mean-spirited and unAmerican tactic to drive these people out, there are countless communities who believe there has to be a better way than persecuting the most hard-working (accused) lawbreakers in the country.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg cites immigration as being the key to economic growth and faults the presidential candidates for promoting a "xenophobic" policy on immigration.
(Source: newsday.com)

Today, Jose Padilla, the Al Qaeda terrorist-in-training, was finally sentenced.

Though he was initially caught, branded, persecuted and paraded by the federal government as a terrorist for allegedly wanting to create a "dirty bomb" in 2002, the judge in sentencing Padilla today went on record and said that

there was no evidence linking the men to specific acts of terrorism anywhere or that their actions had resulted in death or injury to anyone.

So, exactly why is Jose Padilla being sent away for 17 years and 4 months when he's already experienced the worst treatment over the last six years at the hands of our own government which has left him mentally traumatized?

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his now famous “I Have a Dream speech. It wasn’t just words on paper, but passion in motion. Because of that, those words inspired a generation to see the future differently, fraught with possibilities and potential.

Also in 1963, five short months before Dr. King delivered his historic vision of the future another catalyst for changing a generation’s perception of tomorrow, aired its final show — The Jetsons.

Though the animated show would go on to live in syndication and movies, the ½ hour cartoon about a family who lived in the 21st century amid technology that was out of this world, excited a generation, and subsequent ones, with dreams of space travel, rocket packs, “homework disks” and all the possibilities limited only by our imaginations.

Fast-forward to 2008, 45 years later, and we see that as a society, we are well on track to fulfill the Jetson’s vision of the future.

Yet, we can’t seem to get two steps ahead without falling five steps behind in fulfilling Dr. King’s hopes.

Speculation on which group could be the swing vote in the Nevada caucus, and the overall presidential election, has centered on three groups: females, young people and coming in at a distant third, Latinos.

Given past rhetoric as to the strength of the Latino vote, a lot of people didn't dismiss Latinos entirely but felt females and young people had stronger potential to deliver the vote to either candidate.

Nevada was said to be the test for the strength of the Latino vote in this upcoming election, and Latinos didn't disappoint.

When news broke that the Obama campaign had gotten the Culinary Worker's Union endorsement, it appeared that Obama would easily win the Latino vote given the number of Latinos who are members of the Union.

But Latinos, though loyal, are also individual thinkers and it appears that most of them responded to Clinton's hard campaigning and counter claims against the Union's alleged strong-arm tactics to deliver a vote to Obama.

It's been the trend across the country for state legislators to stand behind their respective chamber podiums, declare they're doing the will of the people and proceed to create and pass laws aimed at making life so uncomfortable for undocumented immigrants that they will feel they have no other option but to leave the state.

What state legislators in Oklahoma didn't count on after passing such a punitive measure against the undocumented was that some citizens would be ready to drive them out of the state — if they could renew their licenses to do it.

Yesterday, a Duke University political scientist released some preliminary findings of a study she is conducting on Latinos and declared that when it comes to choosing between Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, Latinos will choose Clinton.

(Source: Salon.com)

Of course, this is released right before the first caucus where the Latino vote actually has a chance of impacting who wins, since eligible Latino voters make up 12 percent of Nevada's electorate.

But how would Dr. McCain arrive at such a conclusion?

Well, she says it's because Latinos identify more with whites and seeing that Clinton is white and Latinos being Latinos — it's a natural assumption.

But if the New Hampshire primary taught us anything at all, it's that no assumption can be made as to who will have a 2-1 advantage over the other at the end of the night.

After all, the state is home to the gambling Mecca of North America and while bets will probably be placed, everyone knows you don't count your winnings until the last hand is played.

With all eyes and ears, morning, noon and night, fixed each day on the happenings of the presidential candidates and which demographic will vote for which candidate, it's easy to miss the rest of the news.

Otherwise, we would have noticed that the Department of Homeland Security is trying to clean up its act — even if it is only to comply with court orders.

The "Hour of Reckoning" has arrived: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has filed the first of an expected 102 lawsuits to force landowners along the US-Mexico border to fork over their property to the government for the border fence.

The first town that DHS is targeting is Eagle Pass, Texas — population, 26,401.

Bridge that connects Eagle Pass, Texas to Piedras Negras, Mexico.
(Source: Time.com)

In true frontier style, the mayor of Eagle Pass, Chad Foster, who is against the construction of the fence and chairs the Texas Border Coalition, declared,

The first battle of the Texas Revolution was in Gonzales, Texas ... Gonzales posted a flag that said 'Come and Take It.' ... We ain't rolling over.

With such opposition facing them, you would think DHS would try harder to work with border residents but Foster and his colleagues say the opposite has happened.

Why is it that in Washington conversations tend to be one-sided?

Take for instance my favorite subject these days — immigration. The focus always centers on Mexican immigrants and their impact on U.S. society. Nobody wants to talk about the flip side of this conversation - that while, yes, Mexican immigrants are coming north, there also are American emigrants going south.

American retirees in Mexico find life enjoyable and affordable.
(Source: mayanholiday.blogspot.com)

And, according to migration experts, U.S. citizens impact the regions of Mexico they have settled into just as much as Mexican immigrants do here.

In the first of weekly analysis of what is happening on our side of the world, in an effort to keep readers informed, Latina Lista, along with special contributors from North, Central and South America, will strive to highlight those situations/people that are impacting the lives and politics of our closest neighbors — because it all eventually crosses the border.

“He rose to power winning the hearts of his countrymen. He conquered global opinion with his good deeds. He overtook the world when no one was looking.”

This epitaph is the modest version of what I envision will be on the gravestone of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez. Since modesty and Chavez are oxymorons, time will tell the wordlength, but one thing is certain — Chavez has now solidified his image as the “Savior of the Americas," no matter how much the US vilifies him.

Though it was leaked last night that Gov. Richardson would be leaving the presidential race, he made it official today.

In his afternoon farewell speech, he showed the good manners every Latina mother would be proud to see practiced by their son, when he listed one-by-one his opponents and said something nice about each one:

Senator Biden's passion and intellect are remarkable.

Senator Dodd is the epitome of selfless dedication to public service and the Democratic Party.

Senator Edwards is a singular voice for the most downtrodden and forgotten among us.

Senator Obama is a bright light of hope and optimism at a time of great national unease, yet he is also grounded in thoughtful wisdom beyond his years.

Senator Clinton's poise in the face of adversity is matched only by her lifetime of achievement and deep understanding of the challenges we face.

Representative Kucinich is a man of great decency and dedication who will faithfully soldier on no matter how great the odds.

And all of us in the Democratic Party owe Senator Mike Gravel our appreciation for his brave leadership during the national turmoil of Vietnam.

Believe it or not, manners still mean a lot to most Latinos.

Though he lost, Richardson exits as a classy guy and will be remembered for doing two things:

1. Holding the world record for the most handshakes in eight hours — 13,392.
2. And something no other candidate had thought to do with the Latino electorate — he didn't just reach out to Latino voters, he INVOLVED them.

How? With one of the tenets of good manners: a simple invitation.

The Associated Press reports that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn his bid for the presidency.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson

Couple his poor results in both Iowa and New Hampshire and, as reported earlier this evening by Latina Lista, Latino groups in Nevada had delivered early endorsements to Hillary Clinton, Richardson's withdrawl from the race makes sense, no matter how disappointing it is for the Latino community.

Yet, Richardson has wit, experience and a knack for DIPLOMACY going for him.

Pretty good criteria for a Vice-President!

Last week, Nevada's largest Spanish-language newspaper El Mundo announced they were endorsing Hillary Clinton for President.

Frontpage of Nevada's El Mundo newspaper.

Mainstream media reporting on the endorsement were sure to include:

El Mundo is the oldest and most politically engaged Spanish paper in Nevada, where Hispanics make up nearly 25 percent of the population but a far smaller portion of the electorate. The group will be closely watched in Nevada Democrats' Jan. 19 presidential caucus.

Just as Iowa and New Hampshire have been the testing grounds for electorate turnouts among young people and women, Nevada is the testing ground to see if the country's Latinos can finally start fulfilling our own turnout prophecy.

There's good reason to think that our time has arrived.

An interesting exchange recently with a young twenty-something Latino reader shed light on why so many young Latinos and Latinas are finding themselves attracted to Obama and plan to vote for him.

Barak Obama
(Source: slate.com)

It boils down to one word: inspirational.

Illegal immigration has not just evolved into a polarizing issue during this presidential campaign but the savvy in society have learned how to manipulate this issue to their advantage.

Whether it’s used as the foundation to spearhead a presidential platform as former Republican presidential candidate, Tom Tancredo, confessed to or as a running theme of a cable talk show like CNN’s Lou Dobbs, the issue is guaranteed to draw in followers, viewers and the hope of one newspaper — readers.

(Source: dallasnews.com)

One week ago, The Dallas Morning News (DMN) published their annual choice for “Texan of the Year.” They chose the “Illegal Immigrant.”

Life hasn’t been the same for the Editorial Board of the DMN.

In Barbara Garcia's predictions for 2008 that Latina Lista recently posted, we noticed that nothing was said of the most contentious issues facing the presidential candidates in this election — immigration reform and a border fence with Mexico.

(Source: caglecartoons.com)

So, we made a special request of the psychic to look at two specific issues and give us her insight as to what we can all expect to happen and when.

We asked Garcia to see when immigration reform would be passed and will the Department of Homeland Security continue with their plans to construct a border fence along the Texas-Mexico border?

By Mitt Romney

We continue with our series of guest posts from the 2008 presidential candidates and take this opportunity to thank Gov. Mitt Romney for sharing his time and outlook for the country.

Governor Romney announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination in the state of his birth, Michigan, on February 13, 2007.

Throughout my life, I have relished the opportunity to lead in the business world, public sector and government. As the founder of Bain Capital, I led a company that invested in start-up enterprises and turned around troubled businesses.

As chairman of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, I turned around a scandal-plagued Games and eliminated a $379 million deficit. As Governor of Massachusetts, I cut taxes for families and businesses, enabled successful students to attend college tuition-free, signed into law landmark health care reform and defended traditional family values.

Through it all, I still consider raising a loving family to be my life’s greatest achievement.

Earlier this year, my high school sweetheart Ann and I celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary. Our lives have been profoundly enriched by our five sons, five daughters-in-law and eleven grandchildren.

My experiences have solidified my belief that the most important work in America today is taking place inside the four walls of the American home.

In order to strengthen the American people, we must strengthen our greatest institution – the family.

Well, if you believe the rumors circulating in the blogosphere, it's that Obama had some of Richardson's supporters in Iowa when they realized there wasn't enough momentum for Richardson.

But just like many of the commenters to the rumor said, "It's not newsworthy since deals are always made during caucuses.

Yet, an interesting observance was made last night by Latina publisher Lorena Lopez of Iowa's La Prensa.

Obama and Richardson

She told Latina Lista last night that she was suprised that Richardson had not fared better among la raza in Iowa.

"He always got a crowd when he appeared here," said Lopez.

But Lopez noticed that among the caucuses she attended, there was only Richardson supporter and that person was Anglo.

Lopez said that all the Latinos she spoke to were voting for Obama. Not for his experience in the political realm but because out of all the candidates, the Iowa Latino electorate found him to be the best candidate who could identify with discrimination.

Only those people who have never traveled outside the United States, or still hold to a national isolationist philosophy, don't understand that what happens in US politics doesn't just stay in the U.S.

Any casual student of history knows that, as a country, our policies have always impacted other countries — on some level(s).

That's why other countries have always taken such a deep and personal interest in what happens in this country. Pick up a newspaper in a foreign capital or watch their nightly news and the amount of coverage afforded to the United States would make someone from another planet think that the whole of the United States was a suburb of that particular city.

And there is no country on earth who has a deeper personal interest in our politics than Mexico. It has reached the point to where Mexican Nationals are asking themselves:

If Mexico elected the next President of the United States, who would it be?

They have decided to find out.

All eyes are fixed on Iowa because of tomorrow night's caucuses. Though many Iowans interviewed claim to still be undecided, that's not the case with some of the state's Latino population.

In fact, several publishers of Iowa's Spanish-language newspapers have already decided whom they will endorse.

No new year can start without wondering what exactly will happen in the coming months.

Psychic Barbara Garcia has released her predictions for 2008. As she touches on a wide spectrum of events, Latina Lista is republishing her syndicated column below.

(Source: inmagine.com)

Time will tell …

The basic energy of 2008 is stability and strength in a weak and unstable U.S. economy. This sort of power will be the hidden instigator of tensions and misunderstandings in all areas of everyday life. Therefore look at the underlying influence of any issue that may come up at work or home.

Global warming has long been a major concern world wide and finally the United States will become a team player in support of scientific efforts.