Latina Lista

Spotlight: Kansas City police learn to coexist with immigrant communities through culture immersion

2008-07-19T04:39:06Z

When writing about immigrant communities, law enforcement and immigration enforcement, it's too easy to focus on everything that is not working. Yet, there are programs in place that are working. Unfortunately, they don't get the notice they deserve. In a new feature that will run periodically on Latina Lista, we will focus on those programs that are operating and proving to have a positive impact on the Latino communities. Our first Spotlight feature focuses on what the Kansas City police department is trying to do to coexist with the local Latino community — they immerse themselves into the culture and language by taking an intensive 10-week training program that includes making them proficient enough to be considered bilingual and places them in the neighborhoods they police to get to know the people, the culture, the local leaders and most importantly, not just to protect them but talk with them.

“I think it's one of the most important things I've done since being with the department,” said Megan Laffoon, an officer for nearly three years and one of the first to finish the department's Spanish language and culture program. “I don't think you can fully serve a community if you can't speak their language.” The program is in just its second year, and hard evidence of it's effect remains largely anecdotal. But advocates cite numerous examples in which the emerging trust between Hispanics and police has helped with investigations.

Another ICE detention facility gets a failing grade for poor treatment of undocumented immigrants

2008-07-18T01:44:29Z

The intention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to criminalize all undocumented immigrants caught living in the United States illegally has reached a saturation point with courts in the southwest region of the country. article:

New immigration cases, many of them stemming from misdemeanor arrests, represented 58 percent of all new federal prosecutions in April, dwarfing the number of drug and white-collar crime cases, according to the data.

Even with these misdemeanor arrests, undocumented immigrants must spend time in jail or detention awaiting deportation. If the courts are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, we can only imagine how the conditions at the detention facilities must be. Well, thanks to a new report released this week, we know exactly how conditions are in the Pacific Northwest, one of the busiest regions of the country for immigrant deportations. The report paints a less than rosy picture of detention conditions and it has Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the defensive.]]> Voices from Detention: A Report on Human Rights Violations at the Northwest Detention Center, outlines abuses happening at the ICE-sponsored facility. Unfortunately, the abuse allegations are no different than what has been reported at other facilities in recent times. Some of the findings of the report's researchers include:

1. Legal Due Process: a. Insufficient number of attorney-client meeting rooms for 1,000 detainees (only four), leading to lengthy delays and waits to access legal counsel b. Breaches of attorney-client privacy and confidentiality by detention center guards during interviews and through monitoring of mail and telephones. c. Lack of notification of attorneys and family members of detainees when transferred to other facilities 2. Detainees Pressured to Sign Papers: About a quarter of all detainees interviewed said they were pressured to sign papers whether they understood them or not. They said if they refused to sign, guards exerted psychological pressure with verbal threats and physical intimidation. An interviewed attorney stated that ICE improperly advises arriving detainees to take voluntary departure (deportation) without advising them that they will lose their right to an attorney and will be deported again should they ever return to the U.S. This is in direct violation of the U.S. Supreme Courtʼs clear direction since 1943 that immigrants be allowed to make intelligent decisions about the documents they are signing. 3. Treatment by Guards and Federal Marshals: Detainees reported numerous allegations of misconduct and physical and verbal abuse. Five detainees provided extremely disturbing accounts of strip searches. One estimated that he was strip searched 5-10 times over a period of 2-3 months following attorney visits. During these searches, he was stripped completely and made to stand in front of officers and turn and bend over. He was not touched but felt humiliated. 4. Medical Care: Approximately 75% of detainees interviewed reported medical problems that required medical attention at the NWDC medical clinic. Eighty percent who sought care were dissatisfied with the treatment they received. 5. Food: About 80% of the detainees interviewed stated they received an insufficient quantity of food and were often hungry after meals. For those remaining in detention for months or years, scarce food results in hunger, poor nutrition, and digestive problems. 6. Living Conditions, Visitation, and Language Barriers: Interviewees detailed concerns about overcrowding and lack of privacy in the bathrooms and showers. In one area, there are 80 people who share six or seven toilets. Dining tables near the toilets give rise to concern about sanitation. One detainee reported seeing a dead rat in the downstairs toilet that was left for two days preventing use of that toilet. Regarding visitation, one detaineeʼs wife drives for three hours from Oregon to visit him once a month with their daughter who has a debilitating illness. Upon arrival they typically wait an hour for a fifteen minute, no-contact visit. A few times, she has waited two hours to see her husband. The visits have been traumatizing. Some detainees say that the short, no-contact visits cause them to feel even more depressed and hopeless.

For such low-level crimes as misdemeanors are, the conditions at this detention facility, and we can assume at others, fulfills the old saying that the "punishment outweighs the crime." The only question left to ask is, "Why?"

California's high drop-out rates of Latino and black students are not surprising — it's "expected"

2008-07-16T23:02:36Z

The California Department of Education released a report detailing how the true(er) drop-out rate for California's high school students stands at 24 percent. What was not so interesting was the breakdown by ethnicities:

The new data revealed high dropout rates for minority students: 41.3 percent of black students, 31.3 percent of Native Americans, 30.3 percent of Hispanics, and 27.9 percent of Pacific Islanders. White students had a 15.2 percent dropout rate, while Asians had a 10.2 percent rate.

Uninteresting because it's the same story that's always heard. In fact, when the day comes that African Americans and Latino students surpassed their Anglo and Asian peers, that will be a big story. Why? Because somebody will finally see that the key to reversing this dismal tradition has to do with a simple word but a complex concept — expectations.]]> Why do Asian students generally get higher marks than Latinos?, students were brought together to talk about the racial achievement gap. What was revealed is that certain students were expected to do better, while others were not. I'm not talking about parental expectations but faculty expectations. As was noted in the article:

But as one student said in a separate interview, many Latino students are responding to cues. Johana Najera, 17, said the Academic Decathlon offers a not-so-subtle cue about who belongs. "We already know that it's Asian, and they kind of market it more for Asians," Najera said. She noted that the shirts for the Academic Decathlon team have a logo done in the style of anime, Japanese animation. "It appeals more to Asian students," she said.

Over time, the students, subconsciously or not, internalize these low expectations and they evolve into self-deprecating remarks that attribute low academic performance to "being Mexican" or "being brown." Just as the flip side to this is how Asian students are assumed to be all high achievers and honor students. The unfortunate truth that has emerged from these years of "expectational conditioning" (a phrase I made up) is that Asian students are assumed to graduate and go on and study math, biology or engineering while Latino students are either expected to get pregnant, join a gang and drop out. But it doesn't have to be this way, and more than ever, academic attitudes need to change if we are to survive with a profitable economy in this country. A 2006 labor study reveals that 500 of the largest U.S. companies will lose 50 percent of their senior management by 2011. With so many students dropping out of high school, and that's only California, it is highly probable that there won't be enough qualified professionals to fill the positions that are coming vacant in three years. Whenever the topic of dropouts is discussed, debate always centers on improving the physical campus, equipping the teachers with better facilities and tools and offering more challenging and robust curriculums. Yet, the simple answer is that teachers, counselors, principals and everyone who walks into that school should expect ALL of the students to excel. But that expectation has to start from preschool and sustained throughout these children's academic careers. Because when teachers and school officials believe these children can succeed and do better, the parents will believe it too. The sad thing is that most kids, at one time, knew they could do it but when no one believed they could succeed, and only fail, it was easy to comply because that was the expectation.

An easy test of rhetoric to prove the sincerity of one presidential contender

2008-07-16T00:06:22Z

As the presidential candidates stumped their way across the country from LULAC to NCLR, delivering a slightly altered version of a speech they gave the week before, Latino voters, as all voters, are faced with an interesting dilemma. The dilemma is trying to decide who is more sincere when delivering canned rhetoric. Though one of the candidates probably didn't see this coming, there is now an easy way to test one man's sincerity.]]> promesas. Yet, Senator McCain included an extraordinary passage in his speech to the NCLR that he had not earlier told his other audience. He said:

I know many of you are Democrats, and many of you would usually vote for the presidential candidate of that party. I know I must work hard to win your votes, but you have always given me a respectful hearing, and I appreciate it. I know many of you were disappointed and hurt by those who used the debate on immigration last year, not to respectfully debate the issue, as most did, but to denigrate the contributions of Hispanics to our great country. I denounced those insults then, and I denounce them today.

As a Latina writer/blogger who has been subjected to these insults, Sen. McCain's gesture is appreciated. And while it took courage to go against the most vocal of his party and extend his apologies, it's one thing to offer an apology to an appreciative group and quite another to make the same plea to his colleagues. It would be a true test of merit for Sen. McCain if he repeated this same denunciation of insults to other non-Latino groups and among his own party members. It would be a measurable way to know that he's not just saying he's sorry to get the Latino vote but it's as heartfelt as he claims it to be, not to mention, he's willing to stand up before a not so appreciative audience to say so. Otherwise, the Latino electorate is left to wonder how sincere McCain really is and just how much he speaks for his own Party.

Newspaper series reveals rampant abuse of power under Sheriff Joe Arpaio's watch

2008-07-14T16:13:19Z

When it comes to immigration enforcement, outside of ICE or the Department of Homeland Security, only one other law enforcement department has become as synonymous with conducting hunts for undocumented immigrants — Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, or the one name that embodies the infamous department, Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Sheriff Joe's "crime suppression" sweeps have catapulted this limelight-loving officer to the forefront of the illegal immigration debate where local politicians are afraid to challenge him in public and the sheriff himself has become so emboldened by his notoriety that he routinely issues press releases and holds court at press conferences to denounce those officials, state or local, who don't agree with him. In fact, the sheriff considers himself such an authority on how to enforce immigration law, he's currently making the rounds of book stores to sign his latest book Joe's Law: America's Toughest Sheriff Takes on Illegal Immigration, Drugs and Everything Else That Threatens America. From the title alone, it can be deduced that Sheriff Joe sees himself as a savior of sorts but there's no clearer sign that his perspective is delusional after reading an excellent five-part series on the sheriff and how his focus on immigration enforcement has not only promoted racial profiling by his officers but also has encouraged a climate of trumping up charges against people to justify traffic stops and ignoring the true criminals in his jurisdiction who, it's reported, have been granted carte blanche to committing crimes since Sheriff Joe and his team are too busy scouring the highways and area towns for anyone who looks like they're "illegal."]]> Reasonable Doubt is an excellent, objective and in-depth report that traces the evolution of Sheriff Joe's policies, their impact on his department and his constituents and the byproducts that have arisen because of his tactics, both internally and externally. The newspaper's editors explain that the investigative journalism piece began six months ago and was based on three basic questions: How does Arpaio's illegal immigration enforcement strategy work? What is it costing the taxpayers? And what is the effect on other aspects of his agency — and public safety in general — if his focus has become so heavily on illegal immigration? Though the whole series is an eye-opening case study on how one man changed his political fortunes by manipulating a controversial issue, there were some key findings that the newspaper editors felt were worthy to be highlighted. Among them were:

Deputies are failing to meet the county’s standard for response times on life-threatening emergencies. In 2006 and 2007, patrol cars arrived late two-thirds of the time on more than 6,000 of the most serious calls for service. The sheriff’s “saturation” patrols and “crime suppression/anti-illegal immigration” sweeps in Hispanic neighborhoods are done without any evidence of criminal activity, violating federal regulations intended to prevent racial profiling. Deputies regularly make traffic stops based only on their suspicion that illegal immigrants are inside vehicles. They figure out probable cause after deciding whom to pull over.

It is evident that "driving while brown" is a very serious and real issue in Sheriff Joe's jurisdiction. Given the documented abuse of power to create imaginary or exaggerated grounds for arrests and his single-minded focus on catching people whose only crimes are being in the country illegally compared to the rapists, murderers and burglars whom his department is ignoring just to say they catch "illegal immigrants" is a flagrant abuse of his position, public monies and the civil rights of those he stops and those he's sworn to protect. What is so startling about the Reasonable Doubt series is that Sheriff Joe and his officers seem to flaunt their abuse of power in front of these reporters because they know no one locally will challenge them. For that reason, it's imperative that a bipartisan federal probe be launched to determine just how much at risk Sheriff Joe and his officers are putting the constituents of Maricopa County in for the sake of appearing tough on illegal immigration, as well as, determine the extent of unethical behavior by this department in making immigration arrests. It's said that Sheriff Joe doesn't like people questioning his tactics nor his motives but nor do people like to be stopped because they simply "look illegal."

Special Sunday Post: Nashville-area police department's abuse of ICE's 287(g) program calls for federal review

2008-07-13T19:46:21Z

Juana Villegas DeLaPaz, a Nashville, Tennessee resident, should be happily tired these days since the recent birth of her fourth child. And Villegas DeLaPaz is tired but it's one derived of an emotional ordeal that has drained and depressed this 33-year-old mother — not because of her undocumented status, but because of what local law enforcement subjected her to as she was about to deliver her baby. Juana Villegas DeLaPaz (Source: wtvf) Our thanks to Tim Chavez, publisher of Nashville-based Political Salsa who alerted Latina Lista to the fact that on July 3, 2008, Villegas DeLaPaz was pulled over by Berry Hill, TN police and, who during the course of being questioned, was found to not have a driver's license and was subsequently arrested. Acting as operatives of ICE's 287(g) program, the Berry Hill police department is authorized to identify those persons who may be undocumented immigrants for deportation proceedings — AFTER they've been arrested. Yet, in a review of what Berry Hill police did on the eve of our nation's Independence Day, it is clear that their actions violated the purpose of 287(g) and needlessly subjected Villegas DeLaPaz to such emotional terror that it caused her to go into labor and endure the next few days of unspeakable treatment at the hands of those entrusted to protect their communities.]]> ICE's own definition of the 287(g):

What is the program designed to do? The 287(g) program is designed to enable state and local law enforcement personnel, incidental to a lawful arrest and during the course of their normal duties, to question and detain individuals for potential removal from the United States , if these individuals are identified as undocumented illegal aliens and they are suspected of committing a state crime. What is the program not designed to do? The 287(g) program is not designed to allow state and local agencies to perform random street operations. It is not designed to impact issues such as excessive occupancy and day laborer activities. In outlining the program, ICE representatives have repeatedly emphasized that it is designed to identify individuals for potential removal, who pose a threat to public safety, as a result of an arrest and /or conviction for state crimes. It does not impact traffic offenses such as driving without a license unless the offense leads to an arrest.

As stated earlier, Villegas DeLaPaz didn't have a valid driver's license but she did have two other pieces of documentation that should have sufficed and garnered her only a written citation: a valid vehicle registration sticker and a consulate photo identification. With these two pieces of documentation, it should have been enough to let her go with a citation, especially since the officers saw her advanced stages of pregnancy. Yet, in this climate of zero tolerance and zero common sense, they chose to use her lack of a driver's license as cause to arrest her, though 287 (g) guidelines explicitly say the individual should "pose a threat to public safety" and "does not impact traffic offenses such as driving without a license." Once they arrested her and started proceedings, Villegas DeLaPaz went into labor. What followed is both disturbing, outrageous and beneath what the U.S.A. used to stand for. According Poltical Salsa:

Villegas DeLaPaz was arrested, incarcerated and forced to go through labor under armed guard handcuffed to by her wrist and ankle to a hospital bed. When she arrived at the hospital, the nurse asked the accompanying officer to step outside while Villegas DeLaPaz changed into her hospital gown - he refused, forcing Villegas DeLaPaz to unclothe before him. Then she was shackled on her legs whenever she went to the bathroom. The nurse asked that the shackles be removed because she wanted Villegas DeLaPaz to be able to clean up after childbirth and do other hygiene to prevent infection. Again, the attending officer refused. Her newborn was taken from her and did not receive needed breast milk for several days. She was re-jailed and denied a breast pump to express her milk. Nurses attending her were crying. She could not sleep in the jail because of the intense pain from her swollen breasts. She was not allowed to call her family so her husband could be with her for the birth.

By the police department's own admission, Villegas DeLaPaz endured more days in jail than she should have because of the 4th of July holidays. The Berry Hill police department is not making apologies for their actions but instead are portraying themselves as compassionate because they surrendered Villegas DeLaPaz to her family instead of deporting her. Chances are they realized that if they deported her their public image would have sunk so low that it would have been a public relations nightmare to rectify it. However, the Berry Hill police department's actions underscore why it is dangerous to put a federal program in the hands of local law enforcement who either may be required to fulfill quotas or show superiors "progress" in justifying the expense of paying their salaries while they were offsite receiving training. No matter the reason, the Berry Hill police department's abuse of the 287(g) program calls for an immediate suspension of the program by ICE until a proper investigation can be conducted to determine if the program was abused in implementing it and, if so, a fine should be levied against the department and/or a revised supervision of the program be implemented. In their haste and zeal to "authorize" local law enforcement to act as branches of federal authority for them, ICE has done nothing to hold those local law agencies accountable for abuses such as this. It is time they did before more atrocities against nonviolent, low-level violators of U.S. law are treated like death row criminals.

McCain's "God's children" ad is offensive to all Latinos and should be banned from airwaves

2008-07-11T15:54:23Z

A big part of politics, aside from the candidates stumping from city to city, are the campaign's television advertisements. In some cases, these advertisements outlast the candidates and the race itself. Usually, the advertisements spotlight the candidates' interaction with the public and the issues of the day. The advertisements should be vehicles to move the campaign along. Rio Grande Texan Navy veteran Virginia Torres died on July 4, 2008. She was given full military honors. (Source: Rio Grande Guardian) That's why, the latest advertisement by the McCain campaign entitled "God's Children" is a puzzlement and a sad commentary on the state of the Republican Party, not to mention, an offensive piece of footage to all Latinos, whether Republican, Democrat or Independent, who should demand for its immediate removal from the airwaves.]]> JOHN MCCAIN: My friends, I want you the next time you're down in Washington, D.C., to go to the Vietnam War Memorial and look at the names engraved in black granite. You'll find a whole lot of Hispanic names. When you go to Iraq or Afghanistan today, you're going to see a whole lot of people who are of Hispanic background. You're even going to meet some of the few thousand that are still green card holders who are not even citizens of this country, who love this country so much that they're willing to risk their lives in its service in order to accelerate their path to citizenship and enjoy the bountiful, blessed nation. So let's from time to time remember that these are God's children. They must come into country legally, but they have enriched our culture and our nation as every generation of immigrants before them. Thank you. JOHN MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message. Why is this ad so offensive? To begin with, anyone who is unfamiliar with the history of Hispanics in this country or Hispanics at all, would think after hearing the intro to this ad that everyone of us has just arrived on these shores — WRONG! While the talk in the media is always about the undocumented immigrants, of which the majority are Latino, there are millions of families who have been here for generations. We have actually reached a point among U.S. Hispanics who have been here for generations where Spanish, beyond the Taco Bell menu, is unknown to our children. The McCain ad makes it sound that every Latino soldier is an immigrant — WRONG! While there are some notable examples of immigrant soldiers who are fighting for this country without the security of citizenship, compared to the overall number of Hispanic soldiers in service, they are a small fraction. Finally, to have to remind viewers that these are "God's children" is offensive on several levels: 1. Obviously, the ad is trying to gently scold those party hardliners and anti-immigrant extremists to show some compassion towards Latino immigrants. Yet, what this also says is that too many in the Republican Party, who must be reminded that Latinos are God's children, will never act in the best interests of Latino constituents. This ad underscores just how relegated to the corner Latinos are by the Republican Party. 2. Because this ad endorses the false assumption that all Latinos are recent immigrants, it unfairly sets the mindset in those Americans who aren't familiar with Latinos, to equate all Latinos with undocumented immigrants and the problems associated with them. 3. Finally, this ad marginalizes every single Latino in this nation, whether citizen or not. And what's worse, is that it's doing it to our children, husbands and wives who are serving in the military. As a show of good faith, the McCain campaign should withdraw this offensive advertisement. LULAC, the American GI Forum and NCLR, to name a few, should also stand together in this affront to the proud legacy of Latinos in this country and also demand its removal. This isn't a harmless political advertisement — it's a prejudicial endorsement of how Latinos are different (because there is no distinction between citizen and undocumented in these people's minds) from mainstream society. So different in fact that people have to be reminded that we are "God's children" too?

Latino bloggers wait for presidential candidates' response to special survey on issues pertinent to Latino electorate

2008-07-10T22:40:32Z

CrossLeft, Culture Kitchen, Citizen Orange,Latino Politico, The Unapologetic Mexican, Migra Matters, Para Justicia y Libertad, Mamita Mala and Zuky) drafted a survey for the presidential candidates to fill out. The survey would provide the substance lacking in the candidates' speeches that Latino voters are looking for. Yet, it may reveal too much substance. To date, almost three weeks has passed, and neither candidate has acknowledged the survey, let alone, filled it out. So, the survey is being sent to both campaigns again — in the hopes that each candidate will show his sincerity in addressing issues pertinent to the Latino electorate and deliver substance with the rhetoric.]]> CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE Name: Party Affiliation: Address: Home Phone: Campaign Phone Office: Office Sought/Opponents in: If you are a State candidate, please indicate your State Registration Number: The Sanctuary is a multi-issue organization working in the service of human rights, human reasoning and progressive discussion. Therefore it is critical for us to understand your position on the following issues. Please give specific answers to the questions and answer them as thoroughly as possible. Please type your answers. Use additional sheets as necessary. 1. Could you please articulate what you think are the most pressing issues for the U.S. immigrant community, at home AND abroad, and how you would hope to address those issues as President? 2. Do you support comprehensive immigration reform? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 3. What policy conditions would comprehensive immigration reform have to meet in order for you to support it? Please be specific? 4. Do you support the establishment of an expanded guest worker program? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 5. Do you support the expansion and construction of a virtual border along the U.S./Mexico border? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 6. Do you support the switch from family based immigration standards to the merit based system put forth in the last round of Senate CIR? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 7. Do you support the "touchback" requirements of previous comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) legislation that would require undocumented immigrants to return to their countries of origin in order to normalize their status? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 8. Would you support the addition of funding for stricter enforcement of general labor standards such as wage and hour or safety regulations as part of CIR legislation? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 9. Would you support an increase in the cap of low-skilled employment-based green cards issued each year from it's current level of 5000? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 10. Would you favor raising the 65,000 cap on high-skilled H-1B temporary work visas, in light of the fact that in the last two years, H-1B visas were quickly filled in a matter of days? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 11a. If so, would you also favor limiting the number of H-1B professionals a company can hire? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 11b. If so, would you also favor limiting the number of H-1B professionals employment brokers are allowed to recruit? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 11 c. If so, would you favor including meaningful prevailing wage requirements keyed to the Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act? Yes No Please explain 12. Do you have a position on providing materials concerning health care and public benefits programs in languages other than English? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 13. Do you support lifetime eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for disabled and/or elderly refugees and asylees who are eligible for SSI except for a lack of U.S. citizenship? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position 14. What are your feelings on immigrant detention? 15. Do you support family detention centers? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 16. Do you support private companies profiting of of immigrant detention? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 17. Do you support the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act, the bill that would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to develop procedures to ensure adequate medical care for all detainees held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 18. Do you support the United American Families Act, the bill that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow permanent partners of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, including same-sex partners, to obtain permanent residency? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 19. Do you support the community service requirement of previous DREAM Act legislation that would grant provisional (conditional) legal residency to immigrant graduates who perform 910 hours of volunteer community service? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 20. Would you support an immediate moratorium on community and work site raids by ICE? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 21. Do you approve of ICE's use of excessive force to conduct immigration raids as seen recently in Postiville, Iowa? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 22. Do you support the Families First Immigration Enforcement Act, the bill that would provide for safe and humane policies and procedures pertaining to the arrest, detention, and processing of aliens in immigration enforcement operations? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 23. Would you support the incorporation of requirements that would tie both future economic aid and trade agreements to substantive benchmarks in sender nations that would alleviate some of the economic and humanitarian conditions that foster continued migration? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 24. Would you renegotiate the NAFTA last phase that just went into effect that lifts restrictions on more US agricultural products, particularly poultry, imported into Mexico? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 25. Do you support cancelling or renegotiating NAFTA?" Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 26. Do you support providing subsidies for corn-based ethanol? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 27. Do you support the farm bill, more specifically the agricultural subsidies it contains? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 28. Do you support a restructuring of trade-distorting US farm subsidies? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 29. Do you support a significant shift in subsidies to help farmers adopt conservation and renewable energy practices on farms? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 30. Do you support Plan Colombia (the Plan that was meant to combat the principal threat to the nation's political and economic elite: the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)) even though after closer examination of Plan Colombia, it has been revealed that the Plan states that public companies and banks are to be privatized leading to massive layoffs and further increasing unemployment at a time when cutbacks in government spending has removed any vestiges of providing a social safety net for those affected? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 31. Do you support Plan Mexico, which has been considered to be a duplicated of Plan Colombia, which has entrenched violence and corruption in Colombia while failing to reduce drug flow? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 32.Do you support canceling or renegotiating Plan Mexico? Yes No Please explain. How long have you held this position? 33. What would you do to address the racist and nativist rhetoric that is becoming mainstreamed and that is tied to a rising crime wave fueled by the same sentiment? 34. What are you going to do to take a more global approach to the issue of migration? 35. What would you do to provide opportunities in the countries that migrants are fleeing from? 36. How do you address the overwhelming amount of money the U.S. federal government spends on defense and military expenditures, at home and abroad, and would you see to it that less money is spent on militarization and more money is spent on social programs? 37. What leadership have you taken on immigration issues, including but not limited to the issues addressed in this questionnaire? 38. On what immigration issues will you take leadership?

Eyewitness comes forward to tell the true story of what happened at Postville, Iowa

2008-07-09T18:00:22Z

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE Department of Homeland Security has a lot of job responsibilities. According to their web site:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is responsible for eliminating vulnerabilities in the nation's border, and with economic, transportation and infrastructure security. The ICE organization is composed of four law enforcement divisions and several support divisions. These divisions of ICE combine to form a new investigative approach with new resources to provide unparalleled investigation, interdiction and security services to the public and our law enforcement partners in the federal and local sectors.

However, they are best known for their raid sweeps where they either make dawn visits on unsuspecting families or roll in on buses for massive apprehensions like the one in Postville, Iowa. To those of us who catch the images as we channel surf or scan the day's headlines, the real stories are never seen or heard because the news is so carefully controlled by ICE officials — and that has been the problem. ICE or the Department of Homeland Security releases news of undocumented immigrants in such a biased way that, of course, there would be an unanimous chorus to deport these people. The number one accusation levied against undocumented workers caught up in work site raids is that they stole someone's Social Security number, in essence, their identity. ICE officials purposely leave us with the impression that these workers do it in a malicious and purposeful manner so they can achieve their American Dream and wreak havoc on hard-working, patriotic citizens. Well, now there finally comes an eyewitness account on how ICE conducts business which should leave us all shivering about the direction of this country, its commitment to human rights and the overshadowing role partisan politics plays in persecuting a group of people who thought that all they needed to get by in this country was hard work.]]> essay posted by Duke of Migra Matters at the site The Sanctuary (of which Latina Lista is a founding member), Dr. Erik Camayd-Freixas, Ph.D. of Florida International University recounts his experience as one of 26 federally certified interpreters flown into Postville, Iowa to assist with translating for the 390 Spanish-speaking detainees during one of the biggest immigration sweeps in the nation. His account is astonishing because, as a layperson with knowledge of how the legal system works, from his 23 years as a federally certified interpreter, he cuts through the legalese to expose exactly what ICE is doing to these people. Apprehending people who are in the country illegally is one thing but to corner these same people to force them into criminalizing themselves so that it can be publicized that these people are a threat to national security is beneath the integrity of this country. Dr. Camayd-Freixas found that the whole issue of using false Social Security numbers for these people was a non-issue since a lot of them didn't understand what a Social Security number was or its purpose, since all the paperwork was filled out by plant officials. As Dr. Camayd-Freixas noted:

…To an impartial and informed layperson, the process resembled a lottery of justice: if the Social Security number belonged to someone else, you were charged with identity theft and went to jail; if by luck it was a vacant number, you would get only Social Security fraud and were released for deportation. In this manner, out of 297 who were charged on time, 270 went to jail. Bothered by the arbitrariness of that heavier charge, I went back to the ICE Search Warrant Application (pp. 35-36), and what I found was astonishing. On February 20, 2008, ICE agents received social security 'no match' information for 737 employees, including 147 using numbers confirmed by the SSA as invalid (never issued to a person) and 590 using valid SSNs, "however the numbers did not match the name of the employee reported by Agriprocessors...This analysis would not account for the possibility that a person may have falsely used the identity of an actual person's name and SSN. In my training and expertise, I know it is not uncommon for aliens to purchase identity documents which include SSNs that match the name assigned to the number. Yet, ICE agents checked Accurint, the powerful identity database used by law enforcement, and found that 983 employees that year had non-matching SSNs. Then they conducted a search of the FTC Consumer Sentinel Network for reporting incidents of identity theft. The search revealed that a person who was assigned one of the social security numbers used by an employee of Agriprocessors has reported his/her identity being stolen. That is, out of 983 only 1 number (0.1%) happened to coincide by chance with a reported identity theft. The charge was clearly unfounded; and the raid, a fishing expedition. On April 16, 2008, the US filed criminal complaints against 697 employees, charging them with unlawfully using SSNs in violation of Title 42 USC §408(a)(7)(B); aggravated identity theft in violation of 18 USC §1028A(a)(1); and/or possession or use of false identity documents for purposes of employment in violation of 18 USC §1546.

ICE's reckless regard for the law and human rights doesn't end there. In a new video posted by American News Projects, we hear, in their own voices, the frightening experiences of Latinos caught up in these immigration raids. There has been a historical acceptance in this country that government departments, like ICE, FBI, CIA, etc. are above reproach because they are operating within the parameters of keeping this country safe. In contrast, we have always criticized similar behavior, that ICE exhibits, and performed by other countries' enforcement agencies like the KGB or the Chilean Secret Police, etc. as being undemocratic and inhumane. Yet, we find ourselves faced with an agency that refuses transparency, to be held accountable for their actions, railroading the criminal justice system to validate their tactics and causing emotional and physical abuse on citizens of another country who are not criminals in this country. This is perhaps the biggest story happening within this country but the media is so distracted by the presidential election that they are not seeing it. News is that The New York Times has taken notice and plans to run an expose later this week on ICE's actions and interview Dr. Camayd-Freixas, but more media should be focused on this travesty. It's time we all saw it and demanded the answers we are entitled to. In fact, isn't it our patriotic duty to pull the reigns on an agency that obviously feels it can create its own laws to justify their own ends.

LULAC appearances by McCain and Obama underscore sensitivity of immigration issue

2008-07-08T18:24:14Z

Part of the expectations of any niche group, that is lucky enough to snag a high-profile speaker, is that the speaker's remarks will be specifically tailored to the group and reveal, if not startling news, something to maintain a buzz after the applause dies down. That certainly had to have been the esperanza (hope) today of those attending the 79th Annual League of United Latin American Citizens National Convention & Exposition (LULAC) in Washington, D.C. and who were sitting in the audience listening to the day's guest speakers — Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama. Even though it is a presidential contest and both nominees are wary of alienating any small part of their supporter base by saying anything slightly deemed controversial, there was clearly one speech that didn't just speak directly regarding issues relevant to LULAC attendees but crossed the safety zone of election politics.]]> observed that policies pertinent to the Latino constituency are "fraught with political risk." Yet between the two, Obama delivered more of what a Latino audience was waiting for: a personalized speech that, while regurgitating Wikipedia facts regarding well-known historical injustices committed against Latinos, it still was specific enough that the same speech couldn't be used for any other event for a non-Latino audience. But the buzz that Obama's speech had that McCain's lacked was a promise Obama made: to make immigration reform his top priority in his first year in office. It would be foolish to think that Latinos will be completely happy with the final outcome of any reform legislation but it was promised that it will be addressed. Now that he has committed himself to this promise, Obama's words will come back to haunt him if he doesn't fulfill them but, at least, he said them. That goes a much longer way than delivering a generic speech about the economy, business tax rates, employment insurance and finally devoting one small paragraph towards the end of the speech to the issue (immigration reform) that impacts too many Latino communities/families in this nation, as Sen. McCain's speech did. For McCain, Latino issues are too "sensitive" to fully endorse, especially on a public stage. For someone who ended his speech in front of the LULAC audience by citing his POW experience in the military, McCain isn't showing the kind of bravery that one would expect from someone who endured the humiliating hardships that he did at the hands of an enemy combatant. One would think that as a former hostage he would refuse to be manipulated and succumb to toting the party line to appease a certain group — but it is an election. That point was made crystal clear today when for the first time in this campaign, someone actually emailed me McCain's remarks to LULAC. After having written for months about being ignored by the McCain campaign, I thought I had finally gotten noticed. My euphoria was short-lived when I received an email from a fellow journalist who asked if I had received the notice about a conference call McCain's campaign was conducting regarding Obama's LULAC appearance. I had not. When I signed on (courtesy of my friend), Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, (R-FL) was shredding Obama's Senate record when it came to the immigration issue. After he was done, the floor was opened for questions. After a couple of questions regarding McCain's changed positions on the immigration issue and Diaz-Balart vigorously defending how McCain has not changed his position but is just refocusing an emphasis on a different part of the issue, the floor was closed to questions. In total, 3 questions were allowed. Evidently, to say immigration reform is a sensitive issue in the McCain campaign is an understatement — but at least that says more than saying nothing at all.

Before passing draconian immigration bill, one state conducts self-audit to see if illegal immigration hype matches the facts

2008-07-07T21:28:45Z

An article in The Dallas Morning News over the weekend reported that, according to the Mexican Consulate in Dallas, 400 immigrant families have or are in the process of returning to Mexico. The consulate knows this because these families have asked for transfer documents for their children to attend school in Mexico. Nayelli (center) and Keila (right) wait outside of a closet while their sister and mother pack belongings of the family, who after 10 years are returning to Mexico due to economic adversity and the anti immigrant climate of the nation. (Source: Roberto M. Sanchez/Al Dia) The trend isn't isolated to only Dallas. Phoenix and Chicago are also registering increases in Mexican transfer requests too. There were anecdotal reports that the same was happening (people leaving) in Oklahoma when that state's immigration laws were enacted, and it will probably end up happening in Missouri too. Today, the Governor of Missouri signed into law the latest state-enacted bill that targets undocumented immigrants. Though Missouri only has 1 percent of the estimated 12 million undocumented, it seemed to be strangely large enough for the Governor to declare:

Gov. Matt Blunt said the state could not wait for the federal government to respond to what has become a serious national problem.

However, the true problem may not be so much the citizenship status of these people but the lost revenue funneled through local economies because of their purchasing power.]]> $928 billion annually. By 2010, it's expected to reach $1.2 trillion. The economic impact of undocumented immigrants on a community/state has become a cliche-cited reason for passing such draconian laws to drive them out of these same places. The usual practice is to pass the laws first, then decide how much they actually cost the communities. Well, one state is finally putting the horse before the cart. In order to bolster their arguments to pass immigration laws, since it failed to previously pass, legislators in Kansas have inserted into the state budget bill the Legislative Division of Post Audit. It is an audit that will attempt to calculate how much illegal immigration costs the state. The report is expected to be completed sometime next year.

The audit will try to determine the costs to the state of Kansas for benefits and services provided to illegal immigrants, the estimated tax revenues from illegal immigrants, and whether the taxes they pay offset the costs of benefits provided. And finally, the audit will study the effect that illegal immigration has on labor costs and the job market in Kansas.

Though one could say that the Kansas legislators are doing the audit under duress, or praying that it bolsters their argument, the fact remains that with such an emotionally-charged issue, it is imperative that the facts be uncovered and examined. As one Kansas legislator said, "“Before we decide on fiscal policies that affect our economy, shouldn’t we have some idea on what we are doing and what the outcomes might be if we make those changes?” It's the only way to reach a real solution that is long-lasting and fair.

McCain's visit to Mexico's Basilica de Guadalupe is misguided campaign move

2008-07-03T19:16:43Z

An odd thing happened this morning in Mexico City where Sen. John McCain is "having talks" with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. McCain, his wife and entourage, descended upon the Basilica de Guadalupe, at 8 a.m. The Basilica is the Mexican version of Mecca for Catholics of Mexican descent. In fact, every Mexican American community in the United States has at least one church in their town named after the patron saint of Mexico. John McCain and his wife Cindy listen to Monsignor Diego Monroy Ponce explain the miracle of Our Lady of Guadalupe. (Source: El Universal) It's a fact that should not be news to an Arizona native like Sen. McCain and for that reason, and because the Senator is Protestant, Mexican pundits were having a field day with McCain's visit to the Basilica. As one reporter who has covered many presidential campaigns said, "The Basilica is usually not on the list of presidential campaign stops." However, when you're stumping for Mexican American votes it just might be.]]> video report featured in the Mexico City daily El Universal, McCain was met by a young protester outside the Basilica. The student derided McCain's support of the Iraqi War and accused the candidate for only visiting the Basilica to "get votes." It's that transparent. That this is Sen. McCain's first visit to Mexico City is a little hard to believe or that this would be his first visit to the Basilica. The Basilica, a national treasure, is usually visited by most tourists to Mexico. To use his visit to the Basilica as a way to show solidarity with Mexican Americans or that he is "in touch" with the culture is a misguided campaign move. As a Senator from Arizona, he should have long before visited Mexico City and the Basilica. If McCain really wanted to reach out to Latino voters in the U.S., he should try visiting anyone of the hundreds of Our Lady of Guadalupe churches in the United States. Yet, that prospect seems unlikely. Since most of these churches are in the heart of Hispanic communities and have large Latino congregations, the territory may not be as desirable for someone trying to appease his own conservative colleagues while asking for votes of a population under attack by his own party, which is leading the charge against them. So McCain plays it safe by paying his respects to a revered Mexican figure — across the border. Shameful! If McCain really wants the Latino vote, and in the process assure Latinos that he can equally represent Latino constituents along with others, then he needs to come where we live — not where our cousins, grandparents or ancestors lived. Evidently, McCain thinks by holding closed door meetings with pre-selected Latino community members or appearing on a Spanish talk show — as he will this week on Azteca America's Issues: Caras y Voces, he's reaching out to Latinos. Esta equivocado (he's wrong). His campaign still refuses to work with most Latino bloggers and some Spanish media. He isn't going into Hispanic communities and talking cara a cara (face-to-face) with people. The Senator's behavior, as most of the Republican Party candidates running in local elections, don't illustrate an honest effort to tell the Latino electorate that he/they can be a President/Representative for ALL people. So far, it's pretty obvious that the only times Senator McCain feels comfortable coming face-to-face with Latinos is when it's on the other side of the border.

Independent analysis underscores the danger of not having a working immigration policy

2008-07-02T21:57:20Z

analysis of an incident that happened in Phoenix, Arizona but could and does happen every day in southwestern cities within a reasonable distance of the Mexican border. Weapons commonly used by Mexican drug cartel hit squads. (Source: abcnews) A group of men outfitted to look like a Phoenix police SWAT team and firing over 100 rounds of ammunition into the home of a Jamaican drug dealer turned out to be not Phoenix police but a Mexican drug cartel hit squad coming to do their drug lord's bidding. It's been known for sometime that the dire warnings of Mexico's violence spilling over to this side of the border has already started happening. As the Stratfor report details:

Traditionally, when violence has spiked in Mexico, cartel figures have used U.S. cities such as Laredo, El Paso and San Diego as rest and recreation spots, reasoning that the general umbrella of safety provided by U.S. law enforcement to those residing in the United States would protect them from assassination by their enemies. As bolder Mexican cartel hit men have begun to carry out assassinations on the U.S. side of the border in places such as Laredo, Rio Bravo, and even Dallas, the cartel figures have begun to seek sanctuary deeper in the United States, thereby bringing the threat with them.

Is there any way to stop these criminals who bypass our border patrols and are able to track down their prey with military precision and then disappear back across the border into Mexico? Yes. By recognizing that these individuals are the true criminals who warrant apprehension and incarceration and by instituting an immigration policy that identifies those who want to work from those who just want to kill.]]> It's obvious that a poor immigration policy is partly to blame for the carte blanche behavior of these murderers. That these individuals are able to lie low in a community that already is trying to stay below the radar of local law enforcement is a telling example of just how much we need for this very community to be active and out in the open. In those communities where police have not been made honorary agents of the federal government, the trust factor is much higher within the Latino community. If that were the case in Phoenix, where the undocumented walk with their heads down for the most part because of the tactics employed by the Maricopa County Sheriff's office, then maybe someone might have heard something that this was going down and could have warned the local police. Being able to live freely, meaning never having to second-guess yourself about picking up the phone to call your local police department because you fear your good deed would get you deported, goes a long way in saving lives and keeping the community-at-large safe. Immigration reform goes beyond just revising the number of available visas or making a guest worker program. True reform is going to have to recognize the fact that a community of 12 million living underground does not make for a safe country. Eventually, the issue will have to be faced: Do we give those who are here amnesty so we can better institute, and this time around actually do it, an immigration policy that brings these people out of the shadows and creates an organized process in the future for those who want to come and work to do so but return home after a period of time? Or do we continue as we are and pray that the next time a drug cartel hit squad comes to town and lies low that somebody with everything to lose will still come forward and do the right thing — knowing they'll be rewarded with a one-way ticket home? How much worse will things have to get before the right choice is made?

Presidential campaign stops in Latin America and Europe mean little for US voters

2008-07-02T00:25:48Z

It's long been known that the rest of the world is anxiously watching our presidential campaign as if it were a primetime drama. Now, it seems that both candidates want to include that global audience in their elections. Obama plans to go to the Mideast and Europe. McCain left for Latin America today. A trip to Iraq is understandable and should be expected of both candidates. After all, the groundswell of US troops stationed there, who happen to be voters, makes sense. But a trip to any other country at this stage of the game doesn't make sense and would seem to be a waste of campaign funds. In fact, a trip to Latin America, at this point in time, serves more as a blatant attempt to pander for the Hispanic vote rather than any constructive trip to achieve results.]]> reported today that McCain left to go to Colombia and Mexico to discuss everything from narcotics and trade with Colombian President Uribe to the fight against the drug cartels with Mexican President Calderon. Visiting Latin America without being able to do nothing more than not being able to promise anything seems like a photo opp and nothing more. To be fair, going to Europe seems like a lame cover for going on vacation. Yet, by traveling to Latin America and setting up high-profile meetings with the Presidents of these countries seems to send the message that something will be done, and we know it won't. Nobody, but the President has the authority to make deals and then only with the approval of Congress. So what is a Senator running for the presidency going to do other than sit there nodding his head? It would be one thing if he returned to Congress to pass along what he learns and starts a concrete effort to help with the problems that exist in those countries and which impact us every day. Yet, that won't happen because there's an election to win and what's important now is appearances rather than substance.

Federal judge "compels" Department of Homeland Security to honor original agreement with Texas university

2008-07-01T01:10:58Z

As the nation gets ready to celebrate the 4th of July this week, Texans along the U.S.-Mexico border are defending their property rights in the face of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) scooping up land to construct the mandated border wall. Dr. Juliet Garcia, president of UTB/TSC speaks to reporters after the judge's ruling at today's hearing. (Source: UTB.edu) One of the biggest and most controversial cases involves The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College and The University of Texas System. Scholars, lawyers, teachers, students and other Valley residents remain perplexed at the insistence of the DHS to construct a portion of the border wall through the campus of The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College cutting 180 acres that the university needs to expand in the future. Back in March, the federal court ruled that DHS had to sit down with school officials and reach a mutual solution. Yet, DHS was prepared to ignore the ruling and seize the land through eminent domain. That blatant disregard for the previous ruling prompted school officials to file a motion with the federal government to compel DHS to comply with the previous ruling. Well, the federal court in Brownsville ruled today and, though they don't like it, DHS is going to have to sit down with school officials and try to reach an agreement. Since the school has never encountered a problem with undocumented residents trespassing on the school campus, one has to wonder and the media should be asking why is DHS so intent on bypassing federal laws to construct a barrier that the majority of people along the border do not want? For now, this is a bittersweet victory that is important because, especially this week, it commemorates that when it comes to the government and its people — the people's rights prevail against unjust acts. After all, it's the American way and not the first time in our history that the people had to remind a government that a government is for and by the people, and not to represent the wishes of an elite few.