“We Latinos know what its like to live under occupation therefore we must identify ourselves with the Palestinian people.”
- Protester in 42nd street and 7th avenue on November 18, 2012.
Beautiful.
(vía laninaseria)
Some 631,000 ballots cast in Arizona have yet to be counted, Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett said in a statement Thursday. The number was 602,334 on Wednesday. Hanging in the balance are several hotly contested races, including Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s effort to hold onto his seat for a sixth term. In Maricopa County alone 459,000 uncounted early and provisional ballots surely could swing the race either way—as of Tuesday night Arpaio held a 90,000-vote lead over Democratic challenger Paul Penzone.
From the same ColorLines article:
Latino advocacy and immigrant rights organizations are particularly concerned, because it’s Latino voters who are more likely to vote early. And a disproportionately high number of uncounted provisional ballots came in from parts of the state like West and South Phoenix where Latino voters are concentrated and precincts near Arizona State University, where students tend to vote. The sheer number of provisional ballots raises concerns.
Is it a coincidence that Latinos’ and Student’s, groups who tend to vote Democrat over Republican, ballots haven’t been counted? Of course not. I don’t feel the tiniest bit guilty calling this electoral fraud.
From the Latin@ Heritage Month 2012 Fact Sheet:
LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES:
Did you know that Latinos are the nation’s largest minority group? Latinos/as make up 16.7% of the overall United States population.
Latinos Value Education:
- 77% of all Latinos ages 18-24 have a high school diploma or GED.
- Latino college enrollment has reached a new high of 16.5%
- Latino student enrollment throughout all levels of schooling has risen dramatically in 2011. Overall, Latino students now make up nearly one-quarter (23.9%) of the nation’s public school enrollment.
- By the year 2036, Latinos are projected to compose
- one-third of the nation’s children ages 3 to 17.
The Latino vote:
- In the 2010 congressional election the percentage of Latino voters was 7%.
- Sixty percent (60%) of Latinos supported the Democratic Party while 38% supported the Republican Party.
- In 2010, Latino voters indicated that education followed by jobs and health care are the issues that most impact how they vote.
- In 112th congress, there are 2 Latinos serving in the Senate and 26 in the House. There are 2 Latino governors in the US.
Latinos and work:
- Latinos are predicted to account for 3/4th of the growth in the nation’s labor force from 2010 to 2020.
- 67.8% of Latinos, 16 years and older, were in the civilian labor force in 2010.
- The number of Latino-owned businesses has increased 46.3% since 2002, reaching 2.3 million businesses in 2007.
Serving our country:
- 1.2 million Latinos 18 and older are veterans of the US armed forces.
Read more about Latin@s in the U.S. here.
At a time of heated and divisive debate over immigration, the new feature-length documentary, “Harvest of Empire,” examines the direct connection between the long history of U.S. intervention in Latin America and the immigration crisis we face today. Based on the groundbreaking book by award-winning journalist and Democracy Now! co-host Juan González, “Harvest of Empire” takes an unflinching look at the role that U.S. economic and military interests played in triggering an unprecedented wave of migration that is transforming our nation’s cultural and economic landscape. González is a columnist at the New York Daily News and author of three other books, including “News for All the People: The Epic Story of Race and the American Media.” We’re also joined by the film’s co-director, Eduardo López
This documentary looks amazing. You can find out more about it here, which contains a link to pre-order the DVD before it’s official release this October 6th.
Americans who rely on Fox News or conservative radio as their main sources of information are more likely to have negative views of Latinos and immigrants than those who watch more mainstream outlets. That’s according to a new study by the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which found that “[c]onservative talk radio and Fox News audiences hold significantly more anti-immigrant and anti-Latino opinions.” NHMC stated that Fox News audiences are “more likely to agree that Latinos are on welfare (56%), take jobs from Americans (43%) and have too many children (42%).”
These are all stereotypes Fox has pushed in its coverage of immigration issues.
Well, I can’t see how this is surprising….
A Latina Responds to Mitt Romney
A new ad from MoveOn.org Political Action and PresentePAC+. A recently exposed video from a Mitt Romney fundraiser reveals he said he’d have an easier time winning the election if he were Mexican. Here’s one Latina’s response.
This video is in reference to this distasteful quote brought to you by Mitt Romney:
My dad, as you probably, know was the governor of Michigan and was the head of a car company. But he was born in Mexico … and, uh, had he been born of, uh, Mexican parents, I’d have a better shot at winning this,” Romney said. “But he was unfortunately born to Americans living in Mexico…. I mean I say that jokingly, but it would be helpful to be Latino.” Controversial private fund-raiser video shows candid Romney – CNN
Asked 4 Times, Romney Won’t Say If He’ll Maintain Obama’s Immigration Directive
During Wednesday evening’s Univision forum, Mitt Romney was asked four times if he would maintain President Obama’s directive allowing young undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States on a temporary basis — but refused to offer a clear answer.
The whole interview was a joke. Romney derailed question after question. Truly disrespectful.
(Fuente: thinkprogress.org)
Between Latina women, 74% support Obama vs. Romney’s 21%
Between Latino men, 61% support Obama vs. Romney’s 32%
Hispanic Magazine creates a yearly rank for the best colleges and universities for Latino students. Included on this list are academic institutions that continue to successfully recruit and retain Hispanic students.
To create this list of the top 25 colleges and universities for Latinos, the following criteria has been used:
- Total Hispanic student enrollment
- Number of Latinos graduating
- Number of Hispanic-related degree programs
- Number of Hispanic student organizations and minority support programs
- Number of Hispanic faculty
- 1. Stanford University
Old Union
Stanford, CA 94305-3005
Tel: (650) 723-2091
School Website
Students: 14,945
Undergrad students: 6,812
Graduate students: 8,328
Type of school: private
Campus type: suburban
Tuition & fees: $25,917
Hispanic students: 10 %
Most popular majors: biology, economics, and computer science- 2. Rice University
MS 17, P.O. Box 1892
Houston, TX 77251-1892
Tel: (713) 348-7423
School Website
Undergrad students: 3,102 (Fall 2008)
Graduate students: 2,237 (Fall 2008)
Doctoral students: 1,247
Type of school: private
Campus type: urban
Tuition & fees: $16,835
Hispanic students: 10 %
Most popular majors: economics, electrical engineering, and English- 3. Harvard University
Byerly Hall, 8 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: (617) 495-1551
School Website
Students: 19,140
Undergrad students: 6,714
Graduate students: 12,422
Type of school: private
Campus type: urban
Tuition & fees: $26,000
Hispanic students: 8 %
Most popular majors: government, economics, and biology- 4. University of California, Berkeley
110 Sproul Hall, #5800
Berkeley, CA 94720-5800
Tel: (510) 642-3175
School Website
Undergrad students: 25,151
Graduate students: 10,317
Type of school: public
Campus type: urban
Tuition & fees: $3,633 in-state, $14,227 out-of-state
Hispanic students: 10 %
Most popular majors: molecular/cell biology, English, and psychology- 5. Swarthmore College
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore, PA 19081
Tel: (610) 328-8300
School Website
Undergrad students: 1,491
Type of school: private
Campus type: suburban
Tuition & fees: $26,098
Hispanic students: 10 %
Important information for the college-bound Latino. Click through the link for the full list.
What a Romney “1950s” Presidency Would Mean for Latinos
During the 1950s, African Americans endured life under racist Jim Crow laws and were used like laboratory rats in government-run medical studies, such as the notorious “ Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment .” Lesbians and gays were not allowed to immigrate to the U.S. because they were seen as having a mental illness that some “scientists” believed could be cured through electroshocks, euphemistically called “conversion therapy.”
Latinos fared no better during these “Happy Days.” For instance, as a result of the racist stereotype of their hyper-fertility, throughout this period many Latinas were forcibly sterilized like animals to prevent their “overpopulation.” Around this same time—while fighting and giving their lives for freedom and democracy abroad— Latino war veterans were often denied the right to burial in their hometown cemeteries because of their race. During this era, Latinos lived under “ Juan Crow” poll taxes and segregated schools and swimming pools; it was not uncommon to see signs in front of restaurants and public areas reading: “ No Dogs, Negros, or Mexicans ” allowed.
Only a few years prior to the dawning of the 1950s, people of Mexican descent were lynched at even higher rates than African Americans in some parts of the country. The lynch mobs were composed of “law enforcement” agents known as the Texas Rangers. Ironically, we now commemorate this group of vigilantes by naming a professional baseball team in their honor. During the 1950s Mexican indentured servitude existed in the form of the notorious Bracero Program, which fumigated these “guest” workers like livestock before they were allowed to enter the country, only to later exploit their labor in order to keep American bellies full. This was also the period when the infamous “ Operation Wetback ” terrorized Mexican-American barrios through immigration raids that resulted in the deportation of nearly one million foreign and U.S.-born Latinos who “looked illegal.”
Why only rich-white-straight men remember the 1950’s as the “Happy Days”.
(Fuente: alternet.org)
"
Mitt Romney will be the first Republican presidential candidate of the modern era who opposes legalization of undocumented immigrants. That doesn’t get you Hispanic votes. Furthermore, your idea of making life impossible for undocumented people in order for them to self-deport is too cruel. The United States should not be like Arizona.
Latinos don’t forget that it was you, the Republicans, who approved Arizona’s anti-immigrant law SB 1070. Other similar laws in Alabama and Georgia, among other states, were also approved by you. Resembling Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who has been accused of racism and discrimination by the federal government, isn’t good for you. It makes you look like enemies to Hispanics.
"—
Univision anchor Jorge Ramos in a letter to Republicans titled “Since Ronald Reagan, any Republican candidate that gets less than a third of the Latino vote will lose the election.”
Ramos ends the letter by telling Republicans “Yes, you are going to lose the Latino vote in 2012. And you have done everything to deserve that result. But your dilemma will be what to do in order not to lose Hispanic support for generations to come.”.
[original Spanish letter can be found here]
Campaign update: McCain convinced Romney to stop saying “self-deport”
McCain still says Romney needs to do more to win over Latinos.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s statement that his administration would pass crack-down laws so that undocumented immigrants “self-deport,” it caused quite a stir.
We should be worried when McCain becomes the voice of reason…
