Hispanic / Latino

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren said that she would work to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation by the end of the year. At the town hall meeting designed to address the recent ICE raids, she said:

"With your help and your stories, I believe I can help others in the Congress understand,'' said Lofgren, who became chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law when the Democrats took control of Congress in January. "If we are just punitive to those who have started to make a life here, who we will really punish is America.''

For more information on passing comprehensive immigration reform, check our website.

In case you missed it, I was quoted in this AP article on how Governor Bill Richardson's Hispanic roots help separate him from the other 2008 presidential candidates, saying:

Joe Garcia, executive vice president of the nonprofit NDN, formerly known as the New Democratic Network, said Richardson is "what the new Democratic Party will look like" as it works to attract Hispanics and make inroads in the West.

"I think he offers tremendous opportunity for the growth of the party in areas where the party needs to grow," the Miami activist said.

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

According to an article in the Miami Herald, Hillary Clinton touched on immigration reform yesterday in Liberty City, FL, saying:

"Let's bring them out of the shadows,'' Clinton said. "If they're criminals, let's deport them, but for all the others, let's give them a path to legalization. But don't let them jump the line over people who have been waiting legally.''

For more information on NDN's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election, click here.

The Washington Hispanic’s María Elena Salinas writes on “What immigrants think about immigration.” The article centers on a study performed by Bendixen and Associates, who recently conducted a poll for NDN of Cuban-Americans in South Florida,  which reveals that the majority of legal immigrants are pro-immigration. Significantly, 77% of the participants in Bendixen’s study are registered voters in the U.S., and are not necessarily happy with the way that either party is handling the immigration debate.

Para nuestros lectores hispánicos:

María Elena Salinas del Washington Hispanic escribe sobre “Lo que los inmigrantes piensan de los inmigrantes.” El artículo se centra en un estudio realizado por Bendixen y Asociados que muestra que la mayoría de inmigrantes legales están a favor de la inmigración. 77 por ciento de los participantes son electores registrados en los Estados Unidos, y a muchos no les gusta la posición de cualquier partido político sobre inmigración.

…800 personas de 43 países… participaron en una encuesta conducida por Bendixen y Asociados en nueve idiomas para determinar cómo inmigrantes legales en este país observan el debate migratorio y el papel de los indocumentados en el país.

El estudio demuestra que la gran mayoría, 67 por ciento para ser exactos, sienten que está creciendo un sentimiento antiinmigrante en EE.UU. y más de la mitad siente que esto les afecta directamente a ellos y sus familias.

Uno de los argumentos más fuertes que escuchamos en contra de programas de trabajadores temporales es que los indocumentados le quitan las plazas de empleo a los estadounidenses y residentes legales. Pero la encuesta de Bendixen muestra que el 81 por ciento cree que eso no es cierto. Es más, 73 por ciento cree que los indocumentados de hecho ayudan a la economía como mano de obra barata.

El debate de inmigración podría tener una repercusión política en ambos partidos. El 77 por ciento de los participantes en la encuesta de Bendixen son votantes registrados y no necesariamente le dan buenas calificaciones a ningún partido político por su manejo de tema migratorio.

There are two very interesting (but different) articles on how immigration is affecting young children and teenagers. First, the LA Times brings attention to the fact that children are being held in detention centers with their parents who have entered or are living here illegally. Then, The Sacremento Bee has an article on how the youth are expressing their concern over Governor Schwarzenegger's comments on illegal immigration and the unwillingness of some to assimilate.

Janet Murguía had a fascinating op-ed in Sunday's Washington Post on the relevance/importance of a guest worker program in comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Learn more about NDN's work on immigration on our website.

Over the weekend, Joe Garcia, Director of NDN’S Hispanic Strategy Center, was quoted in an important piece in the Miami Herald on the relationship between the Democratic Party and Cuban Americans. NDN is leading the charge to engage a new generation of Cuban Americans:

Joe Garcia, vice president of the New Democrat Network, said the Bush administration hobbled the Republican Party by ``selling itself out to the ultra-right.''

''What I think you are going to find from Democrats is they are going to look to engage the Cuban-American community for the solution,'' Garcia said.

Polling results also show indications of a political shift among younger Cuban-Americans:

Bendixen's poll showed that 49 percent of Cuban Americans favored the 2004 sanctions and 45 percent opposed them. Cuban exiles who arrived after 1980 opposed sanctions 55 percent to 41 percent; those who came before 1980 favored restrictions 63 percent to 29 percent.

A similar poll conducted in September for U.S. Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart found Cuban Americans in his district backed current sanctions, although younger voters were less likely to support the embargo. In that poll, 80 percent of the Cuban Americans interviewed arrived before the Mariel boatlift.

A very interesting article from the LA Times shows how the immigration issue plays in a campaign for a role that has little authority over immigration issues. Yet by having a stance on immigration, those hoping to represent the 1st District on the Orange County Board of Supervisors are hoping to increase voter turnout. As the article points out:

Emphasizing a tough-on-illegal-immigration stance there might seem risky. But with low voter turnout expected, candidates are gambling that such a polarizing issue can drive conservatives to the polls, because they tend to vote more in special elections such as this one.

The San Bernardino County Sun has an interesting article with more on the ICE raids that took place in mid-January. To re-cap, the article points out that:

In the weeklong mid-January ICE operation, 761 foreign nationals were taken into custody. Many have already been deported. In addition to the 338 arrested at large in Southern California, another 423 were arrested in county jails throughout the region.

The Times has a must read piece for anyone looking to learn more about how to best to speak to Hispanics here in the U.S. 

Some key stats: Spanish speakers are ten percent of the US population; half of all new people in the US through birth or immigration are Hispanic; Spanish speakers include 31m of the 42m hispanics in the US; and soccer is king with US Spanish speaking Hispanics. 

None of this should come as a big suprize for anyone following our work in the Hispanic community these past few years.  To see more about our recent media campaign using soccer to speak to Hispanics visit www.ndnfutbol.org.