Latino News

Mayor Bloomberg starts speaking Spanish at pressers

cesar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:43:15 +0000

Mayor Bloomberg - who has his eye on a third term at City Hall - has introduced a new twist to his standard news conference: Translation or, rather, traducción. "Before we go to questions, I would like to summarize today's announcements for some of our Spanish speakers," he says at the end of most public events. He then launches into two sentences of Spanish that - though heavily accented and somewhat mispronounced - are sure to land him on Spanish-language TV and radio. "It's extremely smart," said Fernando Mateo, president of Hispanics Across America who advised Bloomberg on Latino outreach in his 2005 campaign. "To hear it through a translator is not as good," he said. "It's someone else interpreting what you're saying."

Leaders want Hispanic in Cabinet

cesar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:33:58 +0000

National Latino leaders vowed Sunday to press President-elect Barack Obama to nominate another Hispanic to the Cabinet post vacated by Gov. Bill Richardson, a leading light in the Latino community who caused “great disappointment” with his decision to withdraw from consideration. Within hours of Richardson pulling his name as Secretary of Commerce, the head of the League of United Latin American Citizens had compiled a list of 10 Latino elected officials and corporate CEOs that would be offered to the Obama transition team. The list included Rep. Xavier Beccera (D-Ca.), who turned down the U.S. Trade Representative post, Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz. “It will be topic number one,” said Brent A. Wilkes, national executive director of the League, known as LULAC, which describes itself as the country’s oldest and largest Hispanic organization. “We were happy that they appointed three Latinos, and we hope we can keep that intact.”

Richardson Withdraws As Commerce Nominee

cesar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:31:45 +0000

Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, President-elect Barack Obama's choice for commerce secretary, withdrew from consideration for that job on Sunday, saying a pending investigation into whether his administration gave lucrative contracts to a political donor would have "forced an untenable delay" in his confirmation.

Hispanics Decorate Rose Parade Floats

cesar — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:41:31 +0000

Wishing to be part of an event seen worldwide, Hispanic families in Southern California are pitching in to help decorate floats for the New Year's Day Rose Parade in Pasadena. "Year after year I've seen so many people come with their families to decorate these creations, and when I get up on the float with Sebastian (his pet bird) I see all the people who have worked on the floats with me," float designer Raul Rodriguez told Efe. "It's something personal for them, because they work on something that will be shown around the world," the artist said, standing in front of the China Airlines float with its phoenix atop five lanterns, on which he will ride in the Rose Parade on Jan. 1 with his bird Sebastian on his shoulder. The theme of the 2009 Rose Parade along Colorado Blvd. will be "Hats Off to Entertainment." Designed with this theme in mind will be 46 flower-bedecked vehicles, which together with 20 equestrian groups and 21 marching bands will make up the New Year's Day spectacle.

Economy Seen Behind Lagging Immigration Renewals

cesar — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:37:51 +0000

The recession may have taken its toll on Central Americans who needed to postmark their immigration renewal paperwork by Tuesday to remain in the U.S. legally, consular and embassy officials said.

Immigrants Feeling Economic Pain

cesar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:23:33 +0000

In a year when jobs have become scarce for everyone, the proportion of working-age Latino immigrants participating in the labor force has fallen, according to a new report.

The slowdown in the growth in the number of Latino immigrants who are employed or actively looking for work is a testament to the depth of the recession, according to the report issued last week by the nonpartisan Pew Hispanic Center.

"Latinos are still an important source of workers to the U.S. economy," wrote Rakesh Kochhar, Pew's associate director for research. "However, this growth is now led more by native-born Hispanics and less by immigrant workers."

Latino immigrants, including many undocumented workers, had found plentiful job opportunities in the construction boom earlier this decade. It was a sector in the economy that grew even during the 2001 recession.

Baca Looks To New Term, New Agenda

cesar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:19:56 +0000

Democrat Joe Baca is heading into his sixth congressional term with high hopes following his party's Election Day sweep. Baca, D-Rialto, said he plans to introduce more than 20 bills and resolutions, including initiatives to fight gangs, cut down on home foreclosures and ensure access to food stamps for the poor. Baca said his chances to enact the measures are bolstered in the House, where Democrats picked up 21 seats Nov. 4. Democrats also picked up at least seven seats in the Senate and won the White House. "It's an excellent opportunity for me to carry some of the legislation I want to work on," Baca said during a recent interview in his Capitol Hill office. "I'll continue to be an advocate for the poor and disadvantaged." As chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Baca was a leading proponent of comprehensive immigration legislation in the last congress.

Tensions Rise With U.S.-Mexican Border Fence

cesar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:16:15 +0000

The fence that the U.S. government is erecting along the border with Mexico had been a vague notion to Victor Serrano — until he drove by a new section near his house last month.

Polly Baca - Multiculturalism

oscar — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:15:37 +0000

Getting Immigration Right

cesar — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:45:45 +0000

It’s way too early to tell whether the United States under President-elect Barack Obama will restore realism, sanity and lawfulness to its immigration system. But it’s never too early to hope, and the stars seem to be lining up, at least among his cabinet nominees.

If Mr. Obama’s team is confirmed, the country will have a homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano of Arizona, and a commerce secretary, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who understand the border region and share a well-informed disdain for foolish, inadequate enforcement schemes like the Bush administration’s border fence. And it will have a labor secretary, Hilda Solis of California, who, as a state senator and congresswoman, has built a reputation as a staunch defender of immigrants and workers.

The confluence of immigrants and labor is exactly what this country — particularly, and disastrously, the Bush administration — has not been able to figure out.

In simplest terms, what Ms. Solis and Mr. Obama seem to know in their gut is this: If you uphold workers’ rights, even for those here illegally, you uphold them for all working Americans