(The following is a press release that was issued today for undocumented workers in the New Orleans' area who may be afraid to evacuate due to ICE immigration enforcement.)

IMMIGRANT WORKERS GAIN KEY ASSURANCE FROM HOMELAND SECURITY;

NO CHECKPOINTS ALONG EVACUATION ROUTES FROM GUSTAV

Immigrant workers demanding a safe evacuation from the path of Hurricane Gustav received key assurances from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that no immigration enforcement actions or checkpoints would occur in the evacuation process or along evacuation routes. The New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice gained the assurances for safe passage of immigrant workers just as mandatory evacuations began across the Gulf Coast. The exact agreement is below.

As Gustav approached, immigrant workers and their families feared evacuation due to anticipation over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints. Of the over 200 surveys of day laborers which the Workers' Center conducted as Hurricane Gustav approached, the fear of detention and deportation by DHS was identified as the single greatest obstacle to accessing humanitarian relief. "We want to take our families to safety. We should not have to face deportation as we escape from the storm" said Dennis Soriano, an organizer with the Congress of Day Laborers.

Hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers arrived in the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to assist in the reconstruction of New Orleans and other cities. However, even as they were contributing to the rebuilding efforts, they faced extraordinary abuse, including high levels of wage theft, police brutality and massive immigration raids.

"This agreement would be the first clear assurance of safety from the federal government to immigrant workers who came to the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Katrina" said Saket Soni, Director of the Workers' Center. "It's a small victory on the path to a humane and just relief effort."

Despite these assurances, immigrant workers and their advocates expressed concern about the treatment immigrants would receive in the relief effort. "Once we have evacuated safely, will DHS come to the shelters?" asked Soriano; "When we are returning home to rebuild the city, will we face DHS checkpoints on our way back?"

"We hope that these public assurances from DHS will be the first step towards a Memorandum of Understanding that clearly establishes what we all know: there's no place for immigration enforcement in humanitarian relief" said Jennifer Rosenbaum, Counsel to the Workers' Center. Ms. Rosenbaum has represented hundreds of immigrant workers in post-Katrina New Orleans efforts.

Soni said immigrant workers would continue to fight for access to the relief. "Just like everyone else who was forced to leave, immigrant workers and their families want to stay safe in the shelters, and they want to come home to New Orleans and help rebuild their city."

The New Orleans Workers' Center for Racial Justice is a membership based organization that works with African-American and immigrant workers in the post-Katrina landscape.

###

AUGUST 31, 2008
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

· Las prioridades mas altas del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS por sus siglas en Ingles) en cualquier emergencia son las de salvar y sostener la vida, preevenir la pérdida de propiedad lo tanto posible, y asistir con la recuperación de la región afectada.

As a woman, I am all for supporting my hermanas when it comes to pursuing opportunities and blazing their trails in politics and breaking the glass ceiling, which makes what I'm about to say all that much harder for me to say.

Republican Vice-President nominee Alaska Governor Sarah Palin

The selection of Sarah Palin as Sen. John McCain's running mate is a stunt that is pandering for the gender vote, and that is insulting on so many levels.

Given McCain's age and Palin's documented limited experience in politics, it seems so obvious that all he wants is eye-candy. Palin would be given no real responsibility other than to be the public face of his administration to distract the American public and global allies to their policies.

There are many other Republican female politicians who would have been a much stronger qualified candidate for this position and maybe that was the problem. A 72-year-old former military officer probably doesn't like being challenged by strong women whom he can't control.

Anyone of the other Republican female politicians would undoubtedly have challenged him simply because of their experience. So, to appeal to female voters while still maintaining control, why not select a woman who has never been to Washington, doesn't know the intricacies of diplomacy or how to operate in Washington circles?

The writing is on the wall as to what McCain would use Palin for — smile, shake hands and nod in agreement to everything.

If the selection of Palin was to soften the image of the hardline stance that the Republican Party has adopted when it comes to controversial issues, the insult lies in that this party doesn't think women are smart enough to see through a smoke screen.

What we do see is that the Republican Party sees this selection as a non-entity in a McCain adminstration and if something should happen to where Palin does assume the presidency, she's someone that can be a figurehead while others control the White House.

How sad that this race has devolved to such a point that the contest is already over before it began.

It's an understatement to say that Barack Obama's acceptance speech last night for the Democratic nomination was a success.

Barack Obama delivering his acceptance speech at Denver's Invesco Field.
(Source: NYTimes)

But it wasn't a success because of the historic speech he delivered or the line-up of speakers that preceded him or even because of the musical talents that shared the stage or the celebrities sprinkled among the audience, but because of the NUMBER of people his speech attracted.

Eighty-four thousand people of all colors and walks of life packed into Denver's Invesco Field and thousands more milled around outside who couldn't get in. Across the country, people created "watch parties" just to share in this event.

Obama hit the nail on the head and exemplified how he and his campaign "get it" when he said:

What the naysayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's about you. It's about you.

How true is that? When you have thousands of people contributing across the country to a political campaign for the first time in their lives because they were deemed important enough to be included, not because of their social influence or professional position, but simply because they are an American voter then finally this great political system that started all those many years ago by our forefathers who counted on EVERYONE's support, whether it was with money or sweat, is finally returning to its roots.

Gone should be the days when such politics is reserved for the elite or influential among us with deals and celebrations behind closed doors or accessible only via a television screen. Gone should be the days when such politics excludes the youngest voters because the assumption is that they are not fully informed.

Gone are the days when politicians speak to only one segment of the population and claim to be speaking to the whole of the country.

Gone are the days when the people of this country won't get involved in the political process and stand by complacently as power-greed politicians use our country for their own selfish purposes.

Gone are the days when politics is business as usual.

Gone are the days when there was no hope because whoever wins the bar has been raised that we can indeed do better.

It's natural that people are going to disagree. That's a given.

And when it comes to political party delegates assembling together to craft the party's platform, disagreement is historically accepted as part of the process, but eventually things are worked out.

However an embedded FOX journalist hanging out with the Republican delegation as they craft their party's platform in preparation for next week's Republican National Convention, revealed that there are two issues Republican delegates are grappling with that specifically impact the Latino community — illegal immigration and making English the official language — neither of which Republicans can see eye-to-eye on.

What's worse, these are issues that are not just dividing the Republican Party but creating a national chasm along racial lines and moral convictions.

And if what's happening behind closed doors with the Republican delegation is any indication of future political will to solve the immigration problem, the chasm is just going to get deeper with slim hopes that it will ever be repaired.

While freestyle wrestler Henry Cejudo basked in the glow of Olympic gold medal success, his family story as the son of undocumented immigrants underscores a punitive federal policy that separates “mixed status” families.

It’s no wonder that the unexpected Olympic gold medal win by freestyle wrestler Henry Cejudo took the news media by storm. After all, Henry’s story had all the right elements that the media loves and which fans of Horatio Alger-type stories can’t get enough of.

U.S. wrestler Henry Cejudo savors his gold medal victory at the 2008 Bejing Olympics.

Henry was the underdog competitor and by all accounts shouldn’t have been sitting across from Matt Lauer of the Today show the morning after clutching the gold medal sitting on his chest, but he was.

For some, Henry’s destiny was already written when he was born 21 years ago into poverty, the son of undocumented Mexican immigrants, raised by a single mom, moving from one bad neighborhood to another.

It’s not surprising that Henry found more success at wrestling than calculating equations. Yet what is surprising, more so than the fact that Henry’s success has been widely celebrated for being the youngest American wrestler to bring home a gold medal, is that no one questioned whether he was an American.

Continue reading An Olympic spotlight shone on the harsh reality of mixed-status families

It is 1,367 miles from Denver, Colorado, the site of the Democratic National Convention, and Laurel, Mississippi, the site of the latest "biggest" immigration raid in the country.

Families start to gather outside Howard Industries as news of ICE raid spreads in the community.
(Source: leadercall.com)

Yet, the two towns might as well be on opposite sides of the world for all the attention Democrats want to show the immigration issue during their convention.

And that's not just sad news for the over 500 people who have been detained in this latest raid but for all whose hopes rest with the one party that has actually shown the political will to address the hard issues that afflict the broader Latino community.

Not even the announcement of Sen. Joe Biden as Barack Obama's running mate could minimize the long shadow cast by Hillary Clinton over the Democratic National Convention.

Hillary Clinton (in yellow) appears at the Hispanic Caucus meeting on the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
(Source: NMFBIHOP)

With news reports that her supporters are now angry that Obama didn't choose her as his VP and that they are even more fueled to vote for McCain over Obama is a sad commentary on loyalty run amuck.

The unfortunate thing is that Hillary is only prolonging her swan song — to the point that her message teeters on "Don't do as I say, do as I feel."

The dilemma for the Democratic campaign is how many will follow Hillary's heart?

After three weeks and wasting $41,000, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrived at a startling conclusion — creating a program to allow undocumented immigrants to self-deport doesn't work.

(Source: Daylife.com)

As Latina Lista noted in the first week of the federal government's program "Scheduled Departure," the idea was a bust from the beginning.

Why it took even this long for ICE to figure it out is a testament to the fact of how out of touch Washington is with the reality, NOT of immigration enforcement, but the reasons why undocumented immigrants continue to stay here and continue to come to the United States.

It's a safe bet to say the country is awash in "momentum."

There's momentum building for next week's Democratic convention. There's momentum building as to who will be the running mates for both presidential candidates and there's another momentum, that so far has been under the radar — but it's growing.

The momentum is for a national call for a moratorium on immigration raids.

Yet, before you roll your eyes and say "heard that before," this time it's a little different.

This momentum has taken on a new twist that will make it very hard to ignore — or stop.

While Latina Lista has reported on those farmers and vineyard owners who are guilty of not ensuring the well-being of their workers, there are some farmers who go beyond the obligations of a good employer. These farmers not only care about keeping their Mexican workers safe but want to understand where they come from and why they make the dangerous trips to work on their farms in the first place.

Puentes/Bridges participant visits with one worker's family in rural Mexico.
(Source: Puentes/Bridges)

As a result, these farmers immerse themselves in the culture of Mexico courtesy of a special 10-day cultural immersion trip just for farmers into rural Mexico. Called Puentes/Bridges, the program enables U.S. farmers travel to Mexico in late November.

Puentes/Bridges was the brainchild of Wisconsin high school Spanish teacher Shaun Duvall. Started in the late 1990s when Mexican workers started to arrive in large numbers to work the local dairy farms, Duvall was being called by local farmers to interpret between their new employees and themselves.

But it wasn't long before Duvall realized that translating alone wasn't going to bridge the cultural gap. So with the cooperation of a few local dairy farmers, Duvall organized the first trip into Mexico in 2001.

The trip includes visits to a variety of farms, as well as to historical and archeological sites. Lectures and tours are conducted by experts in Mexican culture, history, and immigration issues. Participants then have a three-day stay with a Mexican host family while attending intensive Spanish language classes during the day. Lastly, the group visits the families of the employees of one or more trip participants.

What has made the yearly project remarkable is the fact that the farmers on the trip actually get to visit the families of some of their workers. Testimonies attest that such interaction has gone a long way in fostering unique relationships between these Midwest farmers and their workers.

Duvall now operates Puentes/Bridges full-time and conducts fundraisers to help with funding for the trips which costs about $2,000 per person depending on air fares.

Since its been in operation, the program has received high marks and positive feedback. As one participant shared:

“I think the most meaningful part of the trip was the opportunity to see with our own eyes where our employees come from, and how hard they must work to overcome the transition to our culture. Most importantly, we have better employees because they see that we have made an investment in learning about their culture and their country. This seems to make them try even harder.” - Deb Reinhart, Puentes/Bridges trip participant

The story of the largest immigration raid in history that happened at Postville, Iowa would seem like a "has-been" story regurgitated ad nauseam, but there's a second part to it that is proving to be more disturbing than the surprise raid and round-up of 389 people.

Relatives of detained Postville workers react to ICE raid.

It is the fact that the U.S. government has created a virtual "open-air" prison in this town where 43 women who are mothers and accustomed to working to feed their children must wear ankle bracelets to monitor their movements and are reduced to begging for food because the federal government won't allow them to work or otherwise provide for their children — and won't allow them to leave.

In fact, when a federal immigration judge in Chicago issued a ruling last week allowing 10 women who had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Postville raid to return to their home countries voluntarily, he went against what ICE officials had wanted, which was deportation.

Why?

Because ICE wants to make sure these women never have the opportunity to legally re-enter the country.

Come November, Floridians will vote to eradicate a provision of their State Constitution that went into effect in 1926. It's called the "Alien Land Law" and it prohibits anyone ineligible for citizenship from owning property.

(Source: modernmechanix.com)

It was directed squarely at Asian immigrants. Proponents for wanting to get rid of the archaic law say that the language used to define who is ineligible is entirely based on race and therefore is "patently unconstitutional" and as such, repulsive to current-day Floridians.

In describing why the law was passed in the first place, Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, said that at that time white America had both "an inferiority complex and a superiority complex" about Asian immigrants.

Eighty-two years later, it's sad to see that little has changed and that white America still wrestles with both ends of the complex spectrum.

The question that needs to be asked is "Why?"

A new federal program dubbed “Scheduled Departure” calls on undocumented immigrants to self-deport. It’s not a new idea or a very good one, but it may be the reality check the government needs to see the immigration issue in a new light.

Back when Comprehensive Immigration Reform or CIR was in the throes of being tossed, turned and twisted by Congressional legislators to make it fit everyone’s idea of a perfect remedy, it wasn’t surprising that the final result looked more like a bad dream waiting to happen than a real solution.

Since then, many have voiced their concern about the future of CIR. In fact, GOP Colorado Senate candidate Bob Schaffer recently stated he believes it will take decades to deal with the issue.

“The strategy that was tried last year of trying to pass one bill that was going to fix everything, it’s not practical.” Schaffer said. “It’s not going to happen. You have to compromise on every single section of the bill to the point where you’re going to get a mediocre attempt at a solution.”

One such mediocre idea that floated around at the time of the CIR debate dealt with having undocumented immigrants self-deport. When it was first proposed, the idea seemed too ludicrous to be taken seriously. However, the idea has taken root at the federal level where Washington is finally getting the reality check it needs when it comes to the immigration issue.

Continue reading "Why ICE's self-deport program is a bust »

It goes without saying that the saddest element in the current enforcement of immigration laws is the apprehension, deportation or abandonment of children.

Stories surface every day of parents who were apprehended and fearing the same for their children, say nothing about their children at home. They hope a relative or neighbor will eventually realize their children are alone and will take care of them until they can be reunited.

A Mexican state policeman asks the names of two children who were deported from the United States to Nogales, Sonora.
(Source: La Jornada)

According to a new report released this week in Mexico City by the Population, Border and Migrant Affairs Commission, for every three adults deported from the United States there is one child abandoned and left behind.

But what is even more shocking and deserves further scrutiny from Congress and the American people is the documentation in the report that cites how in the first 7 months of the year the United States has deported 90,000 children to Mexico — children without their parents and who are alone.

On the day 63-year-old Maria de Jesus Alvarez died, the temperature was hovering above 103 degrees. This mother of nine, along with 150 other farm workers that day at the Anthony Vineyards, was being pushed to pick table grapes faster.

Maria de Jesus Alvarez attends a United Farm Workers gathering.

Yet, Maria wasn't feeling well. Her head ached and she had been vomiting and feeling nauseated off and on. Not having any shade made things worse and when Maria started feeling really sick, she nor her co-workers recognized that she had symptoms of heat stroke.

If Maria had known that her symptoms were a sign of something severe it might have saved her life. As it is, she died August 3.

Another victim of a preventable cause.

Last week, Homeland Security had a change of mind about building the infamous Texas-Mexico border fence in Presidio, Texas.

A change of mind NOT a change of heart.

It seems reality kicked in when it was discovered that the budget was higher than what had been planned for to build this section of the fence. News is that officials in Washington are reviewing the problem to come up with alternative solutions.

Yet, according to what Latina Lista learned today, the solution may have been handed Washington officials on a "vegan" platter.

There's talk that if Obama becomes the new occupant of the Oval Office, he automatically becomes the poster boy for the argument to end affirmative action programs.

In fact, in November, on election day, three states will be considering doing away with race and gender preferences for college admissions and local and state government hiring — Arizona, Colorado and Nebraska.

California, Washington and Michigan have already passed such initiatives.

While it would be easy to assume that because a biracial man was able to win the biggest election in the country, any person of color could follow in his footsteps.

Yet history tells us it's not that easy or quick to duplicate such a feat.

This week, Mexico City was the site of the XVII International Aids Conference. Among the 22,000 in attendance was Dayana Mendoza, the newly crowned Miss Universe 2008. Ms. Mendoza received her crown last month in Vietnam where the world learned that she hails from Venezuela and speaks English, Spanish and Italian.

However these days, Ms. Mendoza is speaking on behalf of the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) to generate a higher awareness for HIV/AIDS prevention. Before the Mexico City convention, the LCOA released a report citing how Latinos comprise 22% of all U.S. cases of HIV/AIDS in 2006.

The LCOA was specifically waiting at the international conference for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officials to release their report on the estimation of HIV incidence in the United States to get a more precise picture of how badly infected is the Latino community.

Yet, because the CDC relied on outside sources to conduct their research who did not include Puerto Ricans from the island of Puerto Rico, the results proved to be a gross undercount of how many Latinos are truly infected with the disease.

According to the LCOA, the undercounting is significant because it has a "direct impact on the allocation of funding and resources brought to bear on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Hispanic community, as well as creating confusion regarding the success or failure of prevention efforts."

The LCOA is working with the CDC to rectify the discrepancy brought about by omitting Puerto Ricans from the research.

In the meantime to help with their prevention efforts, the LCOA has created the "Madrina" program to elevate awareness of HIV/AIDS among the Latino community. This year's madrina is Miss Universe 2008.

When I was crowned Miss Universe 2008, I committed to increasing HIV/AIDS awareness by focusing on women's health and reproductive rights. As a 22-year-old woman, I am particularly invested in supporting young women and educating them about the growing threat of the AIDS epidemic.

This past month, I became a madrina to the Latino Commission on AIDS (LCOA) a community-based organization that conducts HIV prevention work and supports HIV organizations across the United States, in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Madrinas of the organization are women that commit themselves to promote HIV/AIDS prevention education.

In Venezuela and most of Latin America, Madrinas play an extended and important role; they become someone that the family can rely on for support. I hope that through my advocacy work on behalf of the Latino Commission on AIDS and HIV prevention, I will be able to reach a lot of young women, impart education and messages of hope.

Early this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention raised its estimates for the number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States and reported that around 1.1 million Americans are currently living with the HIV, and more than 30% of them are under the age of 30.

(Readers, who have noticed my byline on op-eds (opinion editorials) in some print publications around the country, have asked why they can't find them on Latina Lista. Well, now they can. On the left-hand side of the page, there is a new "Supplement" that I've dubbed, what else, "Op-eds." The following op-ed is from last week.)

You don’t have to be a professional pollster to know that the topic of immigration reform has slid down the ladder of urgent issues facing today’s voters. Rising gas prices, an unsteady job market and the war in Iraq are just a few of the issues that have displaced this volatile subject.

In fact, a recent Rasmussen Reports poll shows that immigration ranks only above abortion in the top ten issues that worry voters the most.

Some who advocate for undocumented immigrants might see this fall in the polls as a good thing, since it gives those people who feel persecuted a respite from all the harsh rhetoric targeting them. Not to mention, it adds ammunition to the argument that most Americans don’t feel threatened by the presence of undocumented immigrants.

Yet, this low ranking in the polls is also troublesome because while it indicates that the average voter is faced with more dire problems, it also means that what is happening in regard to immigration enforcement and reform is on the backburner of getting noticed, and most importantly resolved.

It's being called the "Black Summer" in the San Joaquin Valley of California these days.

Why?

San Joaquin Valley farm workers spread out to pick the season's harvest of carrots.
(Source: ucdavis.edu)

Because last Thursday yet another farm worker died of heat stroke.

Jorge Herrera, 37, of Delano, California died almost four weeks after collapsing at the Vignolo Vinyards loading table grapes. He leaves behind a wife, two children and colleagues who are fed up burying their friends for an illness that can easily be avoided — if the government cared to do something.

While blogs exist because of the writers who conceive them, they also thrive on the interaction among readers sparked by blog posts.

Here at Latina Lista, I have my share of readers who never fail to show me the error of my thinking. While I (sometimes) appreciate their diligence, I always appreciate the fact that they come back and visit.

One regular reader, known to all of us as "Horace," has been one of those kinds of readers that keeps me grounded in seeing what the debate sounds like from the "other" side. While we are diametrically opposed in our opinions when it comes to immigration issues, we are still on the same side when it comes to wanting the best for this country.

Tonight, Horace announced that he wouldn't be as frequent a visitor to Latina Lista because he is due to be deployed to Iraq on August 15.

I may not be posting for a period of time, as I will be deploying to Iraq for God and country on 15 August, and my internet service may be restricted. Frank, liquid, Tex, et al, keep Marisa straight…

Well Horace, while we may sit on opposite sides of the proverbial wall these days, I do have one wish for you — stay safe over there and come back healthy so we can continue the debate, and finally learn that I'm right :)

(Update: August 6: Jose Medellin was executed at 10 p.m. CST at Huntsville, Texas: Update: August 5, 9 p.m.: The Supreme Court has decided to review the request of Jose Medellin's appeal for a stay. As such, his execution scheduled for 6 p.m. today has been postponed.)

At 6 p.m. this evening, death row inmate Jose Medellin will be put to death for his confessed part in a brutal gang rape and murder of two teenage girls in Houston in 1993. Jose's brother, who was 14 at the time and also a part of the same gang, is already serving a 40-year-sentence for his part.

Elizabeth Pena, 16, and Jennifer Ertman, 14, were brutally raped and murdered by Jose Medellin and other gang members in Houston, TX for which Medellin will be put to death in Texas on Aug. 5, 2008.
(Source: Economista.com)

By all accounts, what Jose, his brother and other members of that gang did to these girls was savage and sadistic. There's no excuse for it — then or now. Not even claims of youthful stupidity can justify the torture these girls endured for only being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Each of these guys deserves to be behind bars for a long, long, long time.

Yet, an ongoing international debate has elevated this horrendous murder case into the poster child of legal cases when it comes to respecting international treaties and dealing with foreign-born criminals.

The ensuing conversation has lead to the question: Should the death sentence of Jose Medellin be delayed in order to comply with international protocol or should death by lethal injection continue as planned this evening?

The answer is an easy one.

When the editors at The Sanctuary, of which Latina Lista is a founding member, submitted a rather lengthy questionnaire last month to all the presidential candidates, critics asked who did we think we were to expect the candidates to answer questions that were so Latino-centric.

Well, the obvious answer is we're that distinct part of the larger constituency that is being both aggressively courted by both candidates and subjected to the most harsh repercussions of federally implemented policies.

So considering the situation, a questionnaire, no matter how long, seemed like a fair exchange if we are to be political targets from every angle.

Unfortunately, and maybe not surprisingly, not everyone agreed.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act, a significant piece of legislation in closing the gender pay gap .

Latina Lista would like to thank Congresswoman Hilda Solis for elevating attention to this historic piece of legislation and what it means to Latinas:

By Congresswoman Hilda Solis

The House of Representatives made significant progress in closing the wage gap for all women last Thursday, especially women of color, by passing H.R. 1338, the Paycheck Fairness Act. Even though the Equal Pay Act was first signed into law in 45 years ago, women today earn just 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. For women of color, the pay disparities are even worse.

Latinas earn on average 57 cents to every dollar that a man earns. African-American women earn just 68 cents to every dollar that a man earns.

These unacceptably low wage disparities for women are finally being address by Congress. The Paycheck Fairness Act will help empower women workers with the skills and knowledge they need to achieve pay equity with their male colleagues.

The bill provides the penalties and mechanisms that are needed to combat wage discrimination on the US. The bill requires the U.S. Department of Labor to increase outreach and training efforts to work with employers to eliminate pay disparities and creates a new grant program to help strengthen the negotiation skills of girls and women.

This legislation passed the U.S. House on Thursday by a vote of 247 – 178. I was proud to not only co-sponsor and vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act, but speak on the floor of the House of Representatives in favor of its passage.

The Paycheck Fairness Act is not just important to women, but it is vital to the economic security of working families. In these times of rising unemployment, foreclosures and high energy costs, we must address this clear inequity in wages between men and women.

The Paycheck Fairness Act helps women everywhere, especially Latinas, to get paid what they truly deserve for their vital contributions to America’s economy, while helping fight racial and gender discrimination.

Visitors to Latina Lista know that this section of the site is all about my perspectives. But everyone should know that all Latinas, wherever they live, have a perspective to share.

I've tried to do my small part in finding those Latinas who live south of the border, and who want to share their perspectives with those of us in the U.S., by giving them a voice on the site. Unfortunately, their section of the site, Linking Latinas, is too often overlooked by visitors to Latina Lista.

It's readers' loss to not know about the firsthand perspectives coming from such countries as Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, Argentina and Chile that are featured in Linking Latinas.

I was reminded of that when I entered the latest entry from our Argentinian contributor Ana who wrote about a grass-roots radio station started and staffed by patients at a psychiatric mental institution in Buenos Aires. Then there's Rocio's perspective on the latest peace marches in Colombia against FARC, or our newest contributor from Chile, Arttemisa, who is an artist and teacher and who writes to help empower women in Chile against domestic violence and Mayra from Guatemala who worries about how her country will absorb all those deported from the United States.

We are still searching, inviting and adding voices to this site and it's a fascinating journey. I invite you to take a look at Linking Latinas and learn a little more about our hermanas who live far from us but who are a lot closer than we realize.

In case you missed it, the Obama campaign made a historic announcement this week when they announced that the campaign, along with, the Democratic National Party were joining forces to make a $20 million investment in Hispanic voter outreach.

The money will target states such as Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, Ohio, Nevada, and those with sizable Latino populations that live in what are considered swing states.

But will it work or is it even necessary? Also, while Latino politicians can be seen running in their local and state races, the national scene is surprisingly sparse of Latino candidates. Since this should be the election year for Latino candidates why aren't more pursuing national office?

These are just a few of the questions my colleagues Adriana Maestas of Latino Politics Blog and Edmundo Rocha of XicanoPwr will sit down tomorrow morning and discuss face-to-face as part of the line-up for My ooVoo Day, Political Edition.