Morning NewsTaco
Monday August 13, 2012
Paul Ryan Unlikely To Play Well With Latino And Black Voters, But Matters Of Race May Not Disappear (Huffington Post): In opting for Ryan, Romney has done more than eliminate the possibility of the nation’s first Latino vice presidential nominee. Political analysts told The Huffington Post that in the careful parlance of national politics, the Romney campaign also confirmed that it likely views minority voters as an unwinnable portion of the electorate in 2012.
Racial Profiling Rife at Airport, U.S. Officers Say (New York Times): More than 30 federal officers in an airport program intended to spot telltale mannerisms of potential terrorists say the operation has become a magnet for racial profiling, targeting not only Middle Easterners but also blacks, Hispanics and other minorities.
Idea of the Day: Latinos Report the Highest Uninsured Rates (Center for American Progress): Across all racial and ethnic groups, Latinos report the highest uninsured rates in the United States. Among Latino subgroups, those who lack health insurance coverage are mostly those of Central American or Mexican descent—42.4 percent and 33.6 percent, respectively. In 2010, 30.7 percent of the Hispanic population was not covered by health insurance, compared to 11.7 percent of the non-Hispanic white population. As a consequence, community health centers are crucial to communities of color accessing health care. In 2010, 34.4 percent of patients in community health centers were Latino.
Raids Target Anaheim Street Gangs, Dozens Arrested (Fox News Latino): Dozens of people were arrested during a series of raids in Anaheim, Calif., in an effort to cut down on street gangs. Some of the raids concentrated on a poor, mainly Latino neighborhood known as Anna Drive, where there has been a recent rise in gang activity, authorities said. Police said 33 people were arrested and another 20 to 25 were already in custody in connection to a yearlong investigation of the East Side Anaheim gang, said police Sgt. Bob Dunn. Others are still being sought.
Democrats want Latinos to become a voting force in Texas (Fort Worth Star- Telegram): Calling Latino voters an untapped resource, Democratic Party leaders urged their members Saturday to launch a door-to-door offensive to engage Hispanics on issues such as job creation and immigration. “Hispanics in Texas are a game-changer,” said Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party. “This is how Texas becomes blue.”
Voting Suppression Schemes and How They’re Being Challenged (The Nation): This week marks the forty-seventh anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. A lot has changed since then. A new app called Election Protection was released yesterday that allows voters to register, find their polling locations, and report problems. Voters around the nation are already familiar with the Election Protection program, which has long fielded complaints from voters on Election Day. The increased used of smartphones, along with the increased move to suppress votes, makes the app a must-have this election season. Here are updates from some key states in which constituents are already worried about their vote.
Poll: Voter ID laws have support of a majority of Americans (Washington Post): Almost three-quarters of all Americans support the idea that people should have to show photo identification to vote, even though they are nearly as concerned about voter suppression as they are about fraud in presidential elections, according to a new Washington Post poll.
Voters Kicked Off The Rolls In New Mexico Include Voting Rights Activist, Wife Of State Representative (Think Progress): More than 170,000 people have been purged from New Mexico’s voter rolls — and among them are a prominent voting rights activist, as well as the wife of a Democratic state representative.
Lawyers: Profiling by Arpaio’s office proven (San Francisco Gate): Attorneys who alleged systematic racial profiling in Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration patrols said they proved their case at a trial that ended last week and emphasized that the agency doesn’t have adequate safeguards against singling people out based on their race.
Arpaio Lawyers: Latinos Failed to Prove Sheriff Discriminated (Fox News Latino): In written closing arguments, lawyers for controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio say the Latino plaintiffs failed to prove that him or his deputies engaged in unconstitutional racial profiling. The lawsuit was brought by a small group of Latino drivers who accused Arpaio’s department of discrimination saying they were pulled over only so that authorities could perform immigration status checks.
Who pays the cost of helping young undocumented immigrants? (Los Angeles Times): The agency that handles all immigration related visas and applications is self-funded, and has been since 1986. In fact, the bulk of U.S. Citizenship and Customs’ budget comes from fees paid by immigrants. For example, in fiscal 2011 nearly $2.4 billion of the agency’s $2.8 billion budget was financed through fee revenue, according to congressional testimony.
