Money talks

Money talks--and in all languages.

Latin migrants are sending tons of money home--and this has caught the attention of many politicians.

A report in the Feb. 24 International Herald Tribune reported that "the economic influence of migrants is undeniable." The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that migrants sent more than $45 billion to Latin America and the Caribbean last year alone.

Enlaces America, a Chicago-based immigrant advocacy group calls this phenomenon a revolution led by a growing network of more than 500 small, family-operated organizations. A lot of migrants are even running for office in Mexico. And we all know that political clout is definitely a plus.

Latin Migrants Gain Political Clout in U.S.

International Herald Tribune -
February 24, 2005

Less than two months after he was elected, Mayor Alberto Ruiz Flores of Valparaiso climbed in his truck and set out on a 26-hour road trip, from the central Mexican state of Zacatecas, across the U.S. border to a backyard barbecue in the small city of Oxnard in Southern California. With him was a wish list of public works projects.

His goal was to solicit money from some of the 400,000 Mexicans including about half the population of Valparaiso who leave their country each year for work in the United States. Those who have left Valparaiso send home an estimated $100,000 a day. What they send home each month is about equivalent to what the municipality will spend all year.

A week later, Ruiz was at a restaurant in Aurora, Illinois, for a meeting with a Mexican factory worker and billboard painter who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Valparaiso. The week after that, he invited migrant leaders from Dallas and Las Vegas to join him for the annual crowning of the municipal beauty queen.

"I consider myself the mayor of Valparaiso and the mayor to those, like you, who had to leave Valparaiso in search of a decent life," Ruiz said at the start of each encounter. "You have shown with your generosity that you are still a part of Mexico. Without you, who knows where we would be."

For Ruiz, politics does not stop at the U.S. border. The same is true across Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America, where more officials like him answer to cross-border constituencies.

The remittances sent home by migrant workers, both legal and illegal, are translating into political clout. Their communities in the United States, better organized and more vocal than before, have become social and political forces too important to ignore.

It is a phenomenon that has made Washington a principal battleground to lobby support among Salvadorans for the Central American Free Trade Agreement; New York a crucial state in elections in the Dominican Republic; and Chicago a mandatory campaign stop for Mexican politicians.

On Tuesday, in Mexico City, migrant power was further consolidated when the lower Chamber of Deputies passed legislation that would allow the migrants to cast absentee ballots from the United States allowing Mexicans with American citizenship to vote in both places.

The measure would open the way for an estimated 10 million Mexicans and Mexican-Americans to vote in presidential elections next year, in a potential tidal wave that could have significant effects on Mexico's fledgling democracy. Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil and Honduras also allow their migrants to cast absentee ballots.

The migrant-voting measure, which was passed by an overwhelming majority and was expected to win easy passage in the Senate, would also provide money for Mexican political parties to campaign in the United States. It would prohibit them, however, from receiving foreign campaign donations.

The economic influence of the migrants is undeniable. The Inter- American Development Bank estimates that migrants sent more than $45 billion to Latin America and the Caribbean last year, exceeding foreign investment and official development assistance for the third year in a row.

The situation is also changing in the United States. scar Chacon, the director of a Chicago-based immigrant advocacy group, Enlaces America, called the phenomenon a quiet revolution led by an expanding network of more than 500 small, family-operated organizations that have narrowed the gap between the rich and the poor.

These U.S.-based immigrant groups are placing greater demands on politicians at all levels. Their leaders have met with advisers to President George W. Bush to push for sweeping changes to immigration law, and with presidents across Latin America to demand everything from the power to cast absentee ballots and run for office in their homelands to universal health insurance.

"Once, the voices of immigrants were weak," said Efrain Jimenez, a former auto mechanic who now oversees multimillion-dollar infrastructure projects in Zacatecas, financed by immigrants in California. "We had money, but we had no organizations."

"Now we have hundreds of organizations," he said. "No president can ignore us."
Migrants are raising money for public works, forming political action committees to support candidates at home and, in small but growing numbers, returning home to run for public office themselves, Chacon said.

Some are serving as mayors, city council members and state legislators, bringing fresh perspective and ideas from their time spent in the United States, and new demands for accountability from governments long regarded as corrupt or ineffective.

Like Mexico, most countries bar political parties from receiving foreign campaign donations. But in recent years, U.S.-based migrants have formed political action committees to sponsor campaign trips to America by politicians back home. They also send delegations of U.S.- based workers back to their home countries to help candidates campaign. Few places understand these changes better than Zacatecas: More than half of the state's people live north of the border, mostly in California, Illinois and Texas. While the rest of Mexico debates whether to give migrants the power to cast absentee ballots, Zacatecas is already allowing its migrants to return home and run for office.

Two migrants, including Andres Bermudez, a wealthy California grower known as the Tomato King, won mayoral races. Two others won seats in the State Legislature.

The governor of Zacatecas, Amalia Garcia, has traveled to the United States at least four times since she was inaugurated in September.

"I consider Zacatecas as a binational state," she said. "Although the reasons our people have migrated are painful, these people have guaranteed our social stability." Southern California is the capital of the Mexican diaspora, and a hotbed of Mexican politics, led by the Federation of Zacatecan Clubs and men like Guadalupe Gomez.

The federation meets in a drab gray building in East Los Angeles that looks more like an abandoned warehouse. Its leaders are auto mechanics, postal workers, hospital administrators, real estate agents and tax consultants.

The federation proclaims that it is apolitical. But it is precisely its close ties to the government of Zacatecas that have helped it grow into one of the most successful migrant fund-raising groups in the United States and helped men like Gomez change from a mild-mannered tax consultant to a high-powered political operative.

In 1998, Gomez established a migrant political action committee that was key to electing the first opposition governor of Zacatecas, helping the state break free of nearly seven decades of authoritarian rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Two years later he helped President Vicente Fox win the support of Mexican migrants in Fox's bid to become Mexico's first democratically elected opposition president.

In an agreement negotiated by Gomez and other federation leaders, every dollar that had been sent home was matched by three more dollars from the local, state and federal governments in a program called Tres por Uno, or Three for One. Gomez then negotiated with Fox to nationalize the program. For the first time, Mexican migrants were not only sending money home, but also had a say in how the money was spent.

"We do not want anyone deciding for us what our communities need," Gomez said. "We are not going to Mexico asking for help. We are offering help. We want to play a key role in the future."

Latino clout in Washington will, hopefully, tackle education, health, and immigration issues

from the January/February 2005 edition of Hispanic Magazine:

Power Surge

Two newly elected senators represent the growing Latino clout in Washington.

In November, Senators Ken Salazar, a Democrat, and Mel Martínez, a Republican, suddenly became the most prominent Latino officials in the nation. The lawmakers represent the first Hispanic senators in nearly 30 years, joining 23 Latinos in the House of Representatives—another milestone.The new representation in Congress, combined with a stronger Hispanic voice in the Bush Cabinet, is expected to give Latinos greater clout in tackling the issues most pressing for them in coming years—issues such as education, health, and immigration.

Attention all Mexicans in the U.S. -- You don't have to travel to Mexico to vote for your president!

Today, if you're a Mexican in the United States, the only way to vote for Mexico's president is to return to Mexico and vote. On Tuesday, Mexico's House of Representatives approved a bill that, for the first time, will let Mexicans vote for president at polling stations set up in the United States and other countries. According to the below article from the Republic Mexico City Bureau, last year, migrants in the United States sent back more than $16 billion to Mexico in money transfers, making them a powerful political force.

Mexican House supports voting in U.S.
Polling stations would be for presidential race only

Chris Hawley
Republic Mexico City Bureau
Feb. 23, 2005 12:00 AM

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's House of Representatives approved a bill Tuesday that, for the first time, will allow Mexicans to vote for president at polling stations set up in the United States and other countries.

The measure highlights the growing political and economic power of Mexican migrants, and will likely set off a furious race to collect votes in Arizona and other U.S. states for the July 2006 presidential election.

Representatives from the United States applauded loudly from the visitors gallery as the measure passed. Mexicans in Arizona said they felt they were regaining their political rights.

The bill was approved 391-5 with 22 abstentions. It is expected to pass the Senate within weeks and be signed into law by President Vicente Fox.

"This vote is giving rights to people who, until this moment, were not allowed to be complete citizens," said Hector Flores, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. "It's something positive and important, and they deserve it."

The bill would allow an estimated 10 million Mexicans in the United States to register to vote at polling stations set up in consulates. Currently, citizens must return to Mexico to vote.

The measure applies only to the presidential vote. Mexicans in the United States still would not be able to vote in legislative or local races.

"Everybody should have the right to vote for the president. The foreign relations that government will apply . . . can affect my life and the life of my family," said Raúl Patricio O'Farrill Lozano, 41, a Mexican attorney who has lived in Phoenix for eight years.

O'Farrill said he flew to Mexico City in 2000 to cast a vote for Fox.

Elias Bermudez, a Sonora native living in Phoenix, said the foreign voters could change Mexico's political landscape.

"Most of the votes in Mexico are conditioned on what party you belong to and who is giving you some benefits personally," Bermudez said. "I think those of us who are in the United States will have a better perspective as to who will be the best candidate . . . because I believe we don't feel the pressures as people in Mexico."

Indeed, the foreign vote is seen as a major gamble for Mexico's political parties, because no one is exactly sure how the emigrants will vote."

For us, this moment is as important as the vote that gave women the right to vote in 1953," said the bill's author, Rep. Laura Elena Martínez Rivera of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. "It is simply the just and right thing to do."In 2000, Fox's National Action Party wrested the Mexican presidency away from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, for the first time in 71 years. It will likely be looking for votes in Arizona, Texas and other border states where workers may share Fox's enthusiasm for free enterprise.

The PRI hopes to win votes among recent emigrants, people unhappy with Fox's government. It is likely looking toward New York City, which has many migrants from its traditional southern strongholds in Puebla, Oaxaca and Chiapas states.

The leftist Popular Democratic Party has been lobbying to win the absentee vote since 1988. It has pockets of support in California and Chicago. Last year, migrants in the United States sent back more than $16 billion to Mexico in money transfers, making them a powerful political force.

"In the last decade the demographics have changed considerably," said Jose Lerma, a Tucson attorney who attended the legislative session with other members of the Advisory Council of the government's Institute of Mexicans Abroad. "It's not just a pocket of Michoacans in Chicago, a pocket of Oaxacans in California. You are going to see very active campaigns in all areas where there are votes."

Staff reporter Susan Carroll contributed to this article.

The Chicano Civil Rights Movement---from marches to tacos

The Chicano Civil Rights Movement marks its beginning around 1965 when Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) founded the United Farm Workers Union. Out of this grew the “Brown Power” movement that spanned streets and stages and, today, taco shops.

According to the Midwest’s Julian Samora Research Institute, in the 60s, the Chicano movement was both a human rights struggle and a movement for liberation. In this realm, universities became one of the focal points of protest in the movement.

“The 60s and 70s were an exciting time,” said Lea Ybarra, associate professor of academic affairs at California State University at Fresno (and former student at Fresno State). “We felt we could make a difference.”

United Farm Workers Union
In 1966, the United Farm Workers Union made headlines with its Delano grape strike, a time when workers and supporters carried banners on a 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento to fight for better pay and safer working conditions for farm workers.

Chavez, dedicating his life to obtain better pay and safer working conditions for farm workers, also fasted many times to bring attention to his cause. In 1968, he fasted for 25 days; in 1972, he fasted for 24 days; and in 1988, he fasted for 36 days. On Aug. 21, 1988, Rev. Jesse Jackson took up where Chavez left off and fasted on water for three days before passing on the fast to celebrities and leaders such as Martin Sheen, actor; Edward James Olmos, actor; Emilio Estevez, actor; Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert Kennedy; Danny Glover, actor; Carly Simon, singer; and Whoopi Goldberg, actress.

“A fast is first and foremost personal,” Chavez said. “It is a fast for the purification of my own body, mind, and soul. The fast is also a heartfelt prayer for purification and strengthening for all those who work beside me in the farm worker movement. The fast is also an act of penance for those in positions of moral authority and for all men and women activists who know what is right and just, who know that they could and should do more. The fast is, finally, a declaration of noncooperation with supermarkets who promote and sell and profit from California table grapes… Together, all things are possible.”

Today, the UFW, now led by Chavez’s son-in-law Arturo Rodriguez, continues to fight for workers’ rights.

El Teatro Campesino
The farm workers also took to the stage to educate people about their cause. In 1965, a playwright and strong UFW supporter named Luis Valdez organized the farm workers into El Teatro Campesino (The Farm Workers’ Theater).

The theater looked not only to raise funds for workers but to teach communities about the Chicano movement, the UFW, and the ‘60s grape boycott. In 1971, England’s Shakespeare Academy collaborated with El Teatro Campesino, which helped spread the word to an international level.

Recently, El Teatro’s play “Zoot Suit” toured nationally. The musical, by Juan Valdez, is based on the World War II-era “Sleepy Lagoon Murder” trial of 17 Mexican-Americans and the Zoot Suit Riots that followed. On July 11, 2000, The Wall Street Journal called the play “one of the few important theater pieces to reflect on the Mexican-American experience.”

Today, El Teatro still calls San Juan Bautista, Calif., home. Next year, the company will celebrate its 40th anniversary.

“El Teatro Campesino is one of the few arts organizations whose mission is to condemn the brutalization of the human body and the human spirit that is farm labor today,” Luis Valdez said. “We provide a voice for those whose voices are not heard or valued. And despite the controversy surrounding undocumented workers, we at ETC recognize their humanity and we will continue to work for social justice.”

Taco Shop Poets
In the 60s, poets like Allen Ginsberg took to the stage in coffee shops. Today, the mind—and mouth—are fed at taco shops.

The Taco Shop Poets have been meeting in San Diego since 1994. The group states that it’s “taking over coffee shops in San Diego, Tijuana, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Denver, New York, and beyond—taking poetry to an audience not usually exposed to the spoken word and taking the usually jaded spoken word audience to a new environment for poetry.”
Why taco shops? Group member Adrian Arancibia says they used to meet in coffee houses but a lot of the messages weren’t picked up by the customers.

“They weren’t hip to what we were saying,” he said. “We decided to do our stuff in taco shops, and as soon as we did, things exploded for us. People identified with what we were trying to say. We love that background. We read out poems while in the background you can hear the people placing orders for tacos.”

The Taco Shop poets say that taco shops are places where people eat, talk, and leave behind social class and barriers in search for the perfect carne asada burrito.

Said Arancibia: “We come out of a line of poetry, a tradition, that dates back to (Aztec poet) Netzayacoatl but it also has its roots with (poets) Lorna Dee Cervantes, Jose Montoya, Cherrie Moraga, and it has its roots with Raul Salinas.”

“What the taco shop poets are doing,” said ‘60s poet Raul Salinas, “poets were doing back then and it was just a right time for a gathering, a coming together of all the creative forces. You had poets at every event. The poets back then were writing about the Chicano communities at the time and you were carving out your space…you were carving out your identity as a writer and it was a matter of survival. I mean, we didn’t have anything so we had to look within our community.”

San Diego artist David Avalos said its important for the Chicano movement to continue: “It’s exciting to see young people find something in what a group of people a generation earlier did and saying it’s worthwhile. We want to continue that. We want to find our own way of doing it. We want to take the next step and move the Chicano Movement forward.”

Sources: “Taco shop poets” by Fernando Romero, Feb. 10, 2000 (www.hispanicvista.com); www.elteatrocampesino.com; www.ufw.org; “Univisiones,” PBS Channel 11, Oct. 10, 2004; “The Origins and History of the Chicano Movement” by Arturo Rodriguez, April 1996, www.jrsi.msu.edu/RandS/research/ops/oc07.html.

Ontiveros: 'What, exactly, is there to be happy about?'

There's no safety in these numbers

Saturday, April 7, 2001

BY SUE ONTIVEROS SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

`That must make you very happy."

People have said this to me more than once since the U.S. Census confirmed that Latinos are the fastest-growing minority in the United States. Why, there are even more of us than was first projected. The number of Hispanics in this country shot up 58 percent, moving us from 9 percent to 13 percent of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Some 35 million people identified themselves as Hispanic on the latest census forms.

And just looking at those numbers, I suppose people could assume I was pleased. But I am not. In fact, the news has had the opposite effect on me. All I see is so much potential so near but so darn far away. If anything, those numbers frustrate me.

That's because at the same time I am hearing those numbers I have seen some more troubling ones. Census Bureau stats also show that 30 percent of Latinas between the ages of 16 and 24--the fastest-growing female population in the United States--have dropped out of high school. In our high-speed, high-tech society, 30 percent of Latinas don't even have a high school degree. For female African-Americans in that same age group, the dropout rate is 12.9 percent; for their white counterparts it is 8.2 percent. And who is second on that dropout rate list? Latin males ages 16 to 24. What is even more disturbing is that the dropout rate among all Latinos has been steady at 30 percent to 35 percent for the last 25 years. There's been little or no progress in a quarter of a century. If that isn't a bleak bit of information, I don't know what is.

Only 10 percent of Hispanic women complete college, compared with 13.9 percent of their black and 22.3 percent of their white counterparts, according to figures from the National Council of La Raza. You know, back in the dark ages when I went to college, the figure was only slightly lower, so little progress is being made in this arena as well. Back then I figured the Latinas of my generation were supposed to be just the start, followed by more and more Latinas. Seeing that that hasn't happened is simply discouraging.

The American Association of University Women recently released a study that shows that poverty, poor schools, lack of teacher training on how to motivate/teach Latino students, and lower academic expectation all contribute to the high Latina dropout rate. However, what this study also reveals is that there is a strong perception in the Latino community that education won't bring success. It says Latinas have to combat the bad-mouthing from those within the community who think striving for education makes one "nerdy" or "acting white."

There's a very telling scene in the 1988 movie "Stand and Deliver," which shows how one of the young Latinas tries in vain to study in between taking care of her younger siblings. I suppose everyone was so dazzled by those students' achievement that we overlooked this very real problem, which continues to plague young Latinas today. The AAUW study shows that child care of younger siblings continues to take precedence over education for young Latinas.

So with education systems failing them and no encouragement from home or community, the next statistic is to be expected. For the first time, the Latina teenage pregnancy rates are much higher than those of their white and African-American counterparts, according to the AAUW study. I guess if you see no other avenues beckoning you and with motherhood so highly regarded in the Latino community, these young girls figure why not?

Well, here's one last number to show why not. More and more Latino children are living in poverty. In Illinois, figures show 18 percent, up from 14 percent, of Latino children are impoverished.

So there you have it. There are a whole bunch more of us Latinos. But way too many of us are lacking adequate education, are poor and are having babies when we're not much more than babies ourselves.

What, exactly, is there to be happy about?

Bills you should know about

Three cheers for Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) for his support!

NCLR Dream Act and Student Adjustment Act Overview

Each year, 65,000 undocumented students graduate from our nation’s high schools. Many of these students, due to their immigration status, face a number of roadblocks in pursuing higher education. Although they have attended the same schools and grown up in the U.S., they lack access to in-state tuition rates, as well as the financial support, that are available to their U.S.-born peers. In effect, through no fault of their own, these students are often unable to attend college. As a result, Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) sponsored the “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act,” S. 1545. In the House, Representatives Chris Cannon (R-UT), Howard Berman (D-CA), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) introduced the “Student Adjustment Act,” H.R. 1684. If enacted, both bills would facilitate state efforts to offer in-state tuition to undocumented students. They would also allow hardworking immigrant youth, who have long resided in the U.S., the chance to adjust their status, enabling them to contribute fully to our society.

Click here for Dream Act of 2003 information (tells you who supports it, who doesn't).

'Real ID' Act--upsetting?

The National Council of La Raza is upset about this "Real ID" Act. On Feb. 10, 2005, the NCLR issued a press release about it. The White House supports this act.

Do you?

“It is irresponsible for the House of Representatives to move forward on this ineffective and ill-conceived legislation,” stated Janet Murguia, NCLR President and CEO. “If these provisions had been in place on September 11, 2001, they would not have stopped the terrorists from carrying out their attacks. The ‘REAL ID Act’ does nothing to enhance national security and it undermines public safety.”

On Wednesday the White House released a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) supporting the “REAL ID Act.”

“It is especially disappointing that the White House is supporting this legislation. This is a major step backward, not forward, from what is really needed: comprehensive immigration reform,” said Murguia. “The ‘REAL ID Act’ is harmful to immigrant communities, does not do anything to move toward meaningful immigration reform, and only makes the upcoming debate more divisive and difficult.”

NCLR Summary:
The “REAL ID Act,” sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chair F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), would make all Americans less safe and undermine fundamental American values of fairness, due process, and protection for those fleeing persecution. The “REAL ID Act” would result in an increased number of unlicensed, uninsured drivers on the roads, persons fleeing persecution from receiving humanitarian relief in the U.S., and additional fences along U.S. borders.

Pre-school is the perfect time to talk to children about the importance of education

On June 6, 2004, the National Council of La Raza reported that data released on June 5, 2004 by the U.S. Census Bureau states that Hispanics were the most likely of all Americans to be preschoolers; more than one in ten (10.4%) Latinos are five years old and under. In fact, Latinos are the only racial or ethnic group whose five-and-under population exceeds 10 percent.

And, according to a Feb. 22, 2005 article in the USA Today, the Census Bureau released data that showed immigrants who came to the USA this decade are more educated than those who arrived in the late 1990s. The data also indicate that the adult children of immigrants are exceeding their parents' income and educational levels.

The article also states that more than 34 million people in the USA, or almost one in eight, were born in another country, according to the government's survey of 62,500 households in March 2004. About 6 million arrived since 2000, 59 percent of them from Latin America and 23 percent from Asia. If the pace continues, immigration could hit more than 14 million this decade, up from the previous high of 12 million in the 1990s.

Also, according to a Feb. 17 article in the Fresno Bee, a recent poll found that 82 percent of black teens, 73 percent of Hispanic teens and 64 percent of white teens believe some level of higher education is essential to achieve their goals.

And it's everyone's responsibility to teach children about the importance of education---and age doesn't matter. Pre-school is the perfect time to talk to children about the importance of education.

The real problem lies in keeping Latino students in high school. More than 50 percent of Latinos don't even graduate from high school. And there's free money out there!

For example, Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers announced in February 2004 a major new initiative designed to encourage talented students from families of low and moderate income to attend Harvard College. The initiative has four major components (including recruitment, admissions, and a summer academic program designed to prepare talented students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds for college) and the financial aid component increases aid for students from low and moderate income families. Beginning with the 2004-05 year, parents in families with incomes of less than $40,000 will no longer be expected to contribute to the cost of attending Harvard for their children. In addition, Harvard will reduce the contributions expected of families with incomes between $40,000 and $60,000. Children need to take advantage of this program! But how many even know about it?

In Sept. 2003, the United We Dream Campaign brought members of Congress, immigrant students, educators, and administrators together on Capitol Hill to win support for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. In Sept. 2003, the NCLR wrote: "If enacted, this important legislation will turn the hope for higher education into a reality for hardworking immigrant students who now face strict limitations to pursuing a college education. With bipartisan and multi-sector support, this urgent campaign is gaining momentum."

The "DREAM Act," a legislative proposal of critical importance to the Latino community, would facilitate state efforts to offer in-state tuition to students, regardless of their immigration status. Currently, undocumented immigrant students are typically charged out-of-state or international tuition fees, regardless of their length of residence in the U.S. and graduation from our nation's K-12 public schools. As a result, they are locked out of the opportunity to pursue higher education. Given that a growing number of states, including Utah, Illinois, Oklahoma, Washington, Texas, California, and New York, have recently enacted state legislation providing immigrant students greater access to in-state tuition rates, the "DREAM Act" responds to the increasing demand for state control over state postsecondary education benefits.

On June 23, 2004, the Educational Policy Institute and the Pew Hispanic Center released documents the progress of Latino students from eighth grade to the workforce. Prepared under contract to the Pew Hispanic Institute, Latino Youth and the Pathway to College uses data from the U.S. Department of Education's National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS), which first surveyed eighth-grade students in 1988 with followup surveys in 1990, 1992, 1994, and a final followup survey in 2000, eight years after scheduled high school graduation.

The study found that, for every 1,000 eighth grade students who are of Hispanic origin, 142 earn a bachelor's degree within 8 years of scheduled high school graduation. By comparison, 318 White students-more than double the number of Latino students-achieve the same outcome.
According to the report, Latino youth during high school were more likely to have been held back, change schools, earn a C or less, take lower forms of mathematics, dropout, and earn a GED than White students. In addition, these students were also more likely to come from a low-income family, have a sibling who dropped out of school, have limited English proficiency, have a parent who did not graduate from high school, have children during high school, and have a parent without any postsecondary experience.

There are a lot of programs out there that a lot of children should be told about---and it needs to begin in pre-school. Why? Because the children can one day be a part of Hispanic MBAs, or the The National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, or the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. They need to be told that they should get an education---and their immigration status doesn't---and shouldn't-- matter.

NAWS must stay!

One organization that has the backing of the United Farm Workers Union is the U.S. Department of Labor's National Agricultural Workers Survey. The agency studies the farm worker population.
The Department of Labor recently unveiled its 2006 Budget: "More Resources for Protecting Workers, Job Training Innovations."

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao said: "This budget strengthens our ability to protect workers and prepare them for good jobs in the 21st century economy. Additional resources will enable us to continue our record-breaking enforcement of worker protection laws, and innovative job training measures will put valuable training options directly in the hands of workers."

The President's Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 budget for the Department of Labor provides added resources for enforcement and compliance assistance to protect workers' health, safety, pay, benefits and union dues. The budget also proposes new job training reforms to make federal-state training programs more flexible and effective. The budget also calls for passage of Association Health Plan legislation and other legislative initiatives related to the Department's agencies and programs.

The United Farm Workers Union wrote (in a Feb. 1, 2005 e-mail): "Tell Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao that it is crucial that the U.S. Department of Labor continue the National Agricultural Workers Survey. In the midst of a major debate on immigration policy, it is especially significant to continue studying the farm worker population. The survey is considered by many government and private agencies to be vital in understanding farm workers and their needs."

The United Farm Workers Union--!Viva la Causa!

The United Farm Workers Union in La Paz, Calif., has fought for farm workers' rights since 1965--and it usually only makes news in California.

Cesar Chavez (1927-1993) founded the UFW 40 years ago. In 1966, the UFW made headlines with its Delano grape strike, a time when workers and supporters carried banners on a 340-mile march from Delano to Sacramento to fight for better pay and safer working conditions for farm workers. Arturo Rodriguez, Chavez's son-in-law, is now UFW's president.

The UFW's current fight is AgJobs, legislation that would allow 500,000 farm workers working in agriculture to earn the legal right to permanently stay in the United States. "The agricultural industry wants a legal and stable workforce," Rodriguez said in an Aug. 17, 2004, speech. "Undocumented farm workers who are here now want to earn the permanent legal right to stay in this country by continuing to make their crucial contribution to American's economy. Farm workers, the poorest and most abused working people in this country, along with their allies from the labor, Latino, and immigrant rights committee, demonstrated that we can no longer be disregarded. We stopped big business from being handed a victory at the expense of farm workers. And we will be back, with or without the support of this president."

U.S. Office of Immigration stats (1790-1996) and other info.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provides a slew of information, such as forms; immigration laws, regulations, and guides; and hot topics. Definitely worth a read.

Also, the following compilation of federal immigration and naturalization statutes in the United States provides an overview of the legislative history of immigration to the United States. "The dates of enactment and Statutes-at-Large reference numbers are presented in chronological order; they provide a basis for further inquiry for more detailed information."

Immigration Reform--it's about time

Immigration reform is a subject we need to hear more about. Even President Bush has taken notice. In his Feb. 2 State of the Union speech, he asked Congress to work with him to achieve a significant immigration reform that protects workers from abuse, provides incentives for temporary workers to return to their home and families, and protects the rights of legal immigrants. The next day, the National Council of La Raza, a national organization "established to reduce poverty and discrimination and improve life opportunities for Hispanic Americans," liked President Bush's commitment to immigration reform. "The President has clearly indicated a willingness to lead the immigration reform debate, and we welcome his leadership and look forward to working with him and Congress to produce a successful outcome," Janet Murguia, NCLR president and CEO, said.

2004 Promises, promises

On Jan. 7, 2004, President Bush talked about his immigration policy. Here, you can check out the principles of immigration reform on several basic principles. One of 'em talks about protecting the rights of legal immigrants and that "it should not permit undocumented workers to gain an advantage over those who have followed the rules."

Have a look see at the list and tell me what you think.

Immigrants have rights

If you're a farm worker, don't expect any media attention. That is, if your name is Alberto Gonzales or Jessica Govea Thorsbourne. The Washington Post reported recently that newly-appointed U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is the son of migrant farm workers. Jessica Govea Thorsbourne, an organizer for the United Farm Workers Union, died Jan. 23 of breast cancer. Her obit made the L.A. Times.

Although Gonzales and Thorsbourne deserve media attention, so do the thousands of farm workers who don't get a single mention. They suffer from work-related injuries every year--and the type of injuries are more than a bump or a bruise. Injuries vary from head/neck, eye, and chest to crush, fracture, caught in, and overexertion.

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, agriculture ranks among the most hazardous industries.

The 'Minutemen' are coming...the 'Minutemen' are coming

On Feb. 21, the Associated Press reported that about 500 people have already volunteered to join the Minutemen Project, a group of civilian border patrol agents that will be stationed along 40 miles of the southeast Arizona border in April. Why in April? Because this is when "the tide of immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border peaks."

Officials are saying that the 370-mile Arizona border attracts many immigrants. Last year, 1.1 million illegal immigrants were caught by the U.S. border patrol. Tucson has the largest staff of border patrol agents--2,100 in all. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner said that number will increase. He said about 10,000 federal agents now patrol the 2,000-mile southern border.

Some Minutemen say they plan to carry weapons during the 24-hour desert patrols.

So now anyone can guard the borders -- with a weapon? I'm sure there are "guards" who abuse power. Maybe even abuse immigrants?

So what do you think about this?

State to aid citizenship bid to the tune of $3 million

On Feb. 21, the Chicago Tribune reported that Illinois will start a $3 million program for legal immigrants. It will be called the New Americans Initiative that will give $3 million this year to agencies that provide immigrants with guidance to pass the citizenship exam and properly fill out the forms.

And the article reports that the money will pay for ads in Spanish, Polish, Korean, and Chinese. Maybe this will get people thinking about becoming U.S. citizens.

What do you think about this?