Afternoon NewsTaco
Friday May 4 , 2012
Justice Department: Alabama Law Hurting Hispanic Students (USA Today): Alabama’s controversial immigration law has had lasting consequences on the education of Hispanic students and others learning English, according to a Justice Department letter to the state.
Immigration law protesters detained outside Alabama Senate (Chicago Tribune): The protesters prayed and sang “Amazing Grace” and “This Light of Mine,” and called for the repeal of the controversial law before being led to a separate room in the Alabama State House. Two senators knelt and prayed with the protesters, but were not detained.
Immigrants’ Greatest Potential Ally – American Women (New American Media): The Latina mother — who has the power to change the demographics of this country through childbirth — has replaced the male immigrant worker as the new threat for many nativist Americans.
She also has become the target of a new wave of legislation.
Blacks and Latinos need to work together politically (The Bellingham Herald): Some historically black urban areas are now predominantly Latino. The congressional district that includes Harlem is 55 percent Latino and 27 percent black. Harlem, the symbolic cradle of black culture, has long sent a black representative to Congress. But that may soon change, if a Latino challenger unseats the 81-year-old incumbent, Rep. Charles Rangel.
Voter registration down among Hispanics, blacks (Washington Post): That figure fell 5 percent across the country, to about 11 million, according to the Census Bureau. But in some politically important swing states, the decline among Hispanics, who are considered critical in the 2012 presidential contest, is much higher: just over 28 percent in New Mexico, for example, and about 10 percent in Florida.
Hispanic Political Clout May Ebb in November (The National Journal): The cresting of the great generation-long wave of legal and illegal immigration from Mexico won’t meaningfully affect the political leverage of Hispanics in the U.S. for decades, if ever. But some Hispanic leaders worry that their political influence will ebb in November nonetheless.
The Saga of Immigrant Youth: Debated and left unresolved (Huffington Post): As we mark the Supreme Court’s decision on Plyler vs. Doe, it’s fitting that the DREAM Act and access to higher education are again at the forefront of the contentious conversation on immigration reform. Conveniently enough, the attention also comes in an election year, when both parties seek the Latino vote, which will prove critical, particularly in swing states.
Republicans Plan to Pitch Romney to Latinos with Door-to-Door Campaign (Fox News Latino): Republicans will be going puerta a puerta (door to door) to rally Latinos to turn out to vote – for Mitt Romney, specifically – in November, said Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee.
