Last week the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2006-2008 American Community Survey Data, providing a sneak peak at the increasing diversity of the U.S. population. 

Included in the new survey is information on the foreign-born population and languages spoken at home. According to the report, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area has the highest percentage of foreign-born inhabitants- 36.9 percent. In addition, both San Jose and Los Angeles, California have populations with over 30% foreign-born. McAllen, Texas, is the country’s most multilingual city, with a whopping 84.2% of the population speaking a language other than English at home. Over three-quarters of the people in El Paso, Texas also speak a language other than English at home. 

And as we inch closer to the 2010 census, more predictions are being made about the Latino population in particular.  

A new AdWeek article predicts that the 2010 census will show that the Hispanic market is set to explode. According the article: 

"Hispanic Americans continue to grow in number at a rate four times that of the general population, with the 2010 Census expected to show their total rising to nearly 50 million, from 38 million in 2000. And second-generation Hispanics are fast becoming the driver of the group’s growth, with 88 percent of Hispanic children born in America, versus 61 percent of adults." 

While two-thirds of U.S. Hispanics will still live in California, Texas, Florida, and New York, the 2010 Census is also predicted to show “dramatic growth east of the Mississippi in the Southeast corridor”. 

AdWeek also reported that advertising agencies are set to capitalize on this growth, which centers on acculturated second and third generation Latinos-- not Spanish-dominant immigrants. Cynthia McFarlane, head of Hispanic ad agency Conill, elaborated by saying, “It totally transforms how we see the market…There is a new American culture forming, and these consumers are having a tremendous impact on mainstream America." 

Alex Lopez Negrete, head of Lopez Negrete Communications, also provided insights as to how the Census will affect marketing in America:  

"There are certain categories, geographies, brands where the Hispanic market is now the general market and the Hispanic marketing strategy will be the overriding strategy…The Census will confirm the cultural pervasiveness of Hispanics.” 

Also of note is a new Wall Street Journal article that reports a growing battle over a citizenship question, adding a dimension of debate to the 2010 census. According to the WSJ,  the Vitter amendment “would require the 2010 Census to include a question about citizenship, a change that would cost millions of dollars and possibly derail a full count.”

The article predicts that making this change “could fuel a boycott of the Census supported by some Latino leaders as a way to protest U.S. immigration policy.” However, others support the Vitter amendment:

“Rev. Miguel Rivera, head of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, said the measure could pressure Democrats to overhaul immigration policy sooner. "In some ways, Sen. Vitter’s amendment is indirectly helping us achieve and accomplish our purpose," because it could pressure Democrats to overhaul immigration policy, Mr. Rivera said.”

Arturo Vargas, who heads the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, does not think a boycott is a good idea, but believes the Vitter amendment would have the same result, saying  "The more doubt you introduce into the debate, the more likely you are to scare people away from the census.”

An interesting video clip from the Today Show (July 2009) examining the role of Latinos in the 2010 Census:

En diferentes acciones, la Policía Federal aseguró a 68 indocumentados centroamericanos en las últimas 48 horas y detuvo a un presunto traficante de personas, informó la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública (SSP) federal

Explotación sexual amenaza a inmigrantes

I live in Alpine, a small community of about 6,000 in far west Texas. We are located about 90 miles from the small border town of Presidio, which is just across the river from the Mexican town of Ojinaga, Chihuahua. This is a remote area, far removed from the hustle and bustle of big border towns like El Paso-Juarez and Laredo-Nuevo Laredo.

For this reason, an article in the Rio Grande Guardian caught my eye today. Here are some key excerpts:

Gov. Rick Perry has called on the federal government to stop plans to move about 34,000 undocumented immigrants from the southwest into Mexico via the land port at Presidio.

Under the Alien Transfer and Exit Program, Border Patrol, due to start Nov. 1, an average of 94 immigrants per day are to be bused, mostly from Arizona, to the Marfa sector for voluntary deportation.

Perry said the plan will increase the likelihood that these individuals will immediately cross back into Texas. On Saturday, he penned a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano voicing his concerns.

Some key points made in Perry’s letter include:

“Moving aliens apprehended in other western states into Texas and dropping them in a border community is unnecessarily burdensome and costly to taxpayers as there are numerous points of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border,” Perry wrote.

“Turning the Presidio area into a way station for the repatriation of illegal immigrants adds responsibility to local authorities and holds the potential of increasing the strain on local and state infrastructure resources.”

Apparently, the goal is for them not to stay at the border but to return to their place of origin, something Mexico is determined to make happen.

What I would like to know is if you agree with Perry that such a load will put an uneccessary burden on Presidio and Ojinaga. If so, what would be a better solution?

Diario La Opinión reportó baja histórica

Immigration has in many ways become overly-politicized in America, with the heated arguments overshadowing the fact that immigrants are people too, whether they came to America legally or not.  For this reason, I’m always looking for positive stories to share, those that show the individual tales of strength, perseverance, and optimism that have always drawn people to this country.

The Immigrant Archive Project is dedicated to telling the stories of Latino immigrants, recording interviews and sharing them via multimedia.

Here’s a description from the site:

The Immigrant Archive Project is an independent national initiative dedicated to preserving the life stories of America’s Latino immigrant population. We accomplish this by recording, in their own words, the intimate stories of Latino immigrants of all nations. The content of these interviews will be shared with listeners via radio, internet, and traveling educational as well as art installations.

Through this initiative we hope to preserve the struggles, dreams and accomplishments of America’s vast and diverse Latino immigrant population so that future generations may learn from their collective experience.

You can even submit your own story or sign up to volunteer.

A great project, indeed.

Yesterday, the Bennett-Vitter Amendment was defeated in Congress, meaning that the 2010 Census will not require respondents to indicate their legal status.

When Bennett announced the bill, he said "It does not make any sense for congressional seats and the Electoral College to be determined by a process that unfairly provides the advantage to those communities with high illegal populations." Read more background on the debate here.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune:

"Bennet's plan was intended to remove undocumented immigrants from the count used to split U.S. House seats among the states...

After the vote, Bennett charged that Democratic leaders moved to side-step his amendment because 'the majority wants to have illegal residents included in the apportionment count so that states like California and New York can gain more congressional seats.'

He promised to continue to push for a citizenship question on the census in future years, "so we can fairly determine congressional representation and ensure that legal residents are equally represented."

Both the Census Bureau and some immigrants-rights organizations had voiced strong opposition to the bill, which would have cost an extra one billion dollars to reprint the Census surveys.

The bill's defeat ensures that everyone living in America will be counted.

Fue necesaria una redada masiva a un despacho fiscal de Colorado que atendía a inmigrantes para descubrir un delito de robo de identidad, y las autoridades requirieron los miles de documentos confidenciales que confiscaron para construir su caso, dijeron abogados representantes del condado de Weld

Fue necesaria una redada masiva a un despacho fiscal de Colorado que atendía a inmigrantes para descubrir un delito de robo de identidad, y las autoridades requirieron los miles de documentos confidenciales que confiscaron para construir su caso, dijeron abogados representantes del condado de Weld.

Los abogados están pidiendo al Tribunal Superior de Colorado que anule el fallo de una corte menor que detuvo una investigación de robo de identidad, que los fiscales dijeron podría llevar hasta mil 300 presuntos inmigrantes ilegales que son acusados. Los fiscales argumentaron que los documentos fiscales probaron que esos inmigrantes estaban trabajando con nombres o números de la Seguridad Social falsos o robados.

Pero un abogado de la Unión Americana por las Libertades Civiles (ACLU, por sus iniciales en inglés) , que demandó con éxito al condado de Weld este año para evitar que el fiscal de distrito presentara más casos, argumentó que las autoridades violaron la privacidad de la gente cuando inspeccionaron hasta 5 mil documentos fiscales confidenciales sin tener los nombres específicos de los sospechosos.

Un juez estuvo de acuerdo con la ACLU y determinó que la orden de registro para inspeccionar los documentos fiscales carecía de causa probable y violó la privacidad de la gente. Otros tres jueces de distrito emitieron fallos similares en casos que también surgieron a partir de la investigación.

''Mire, no hay una manera amable de tipificar esta indagatoria. Esta es una clásica expedición para ver qué se pesca'', dijo Liz Harris, abogado de la ACLU.

En el centro del caso está decidir si las autoridades violaron la ley con sus métodos de investigación. También ilustra la dificultad de procesar los casos de robo de identidad, particularmente a través del uso de registros fiscales, los cuales son confidenciales bajo la ley federal.

Nadie pone en duda que algunos de los inmigrantes estaban violando la ley al utilizar identidades falsas para trabajar.

Michael J. Rourke, un abogado representante del condado de Weld, señaló que era imposible para los investigadores ser más específicos en su solicitud de orden de allanamiento.

La sociedad mexicana va a salir perjudicada si no es frenada la violenciaque sufren migrantes centroamericanos,advierte especialista

La violencia de los grupos criminales que cada mes secuestran al menos a mil 600 inmigrantes centroamericanos en territorio mexicano —de acuerdo con cifras de la Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos (CNDH)— no representa sólo una crisis humanitaria para salvadoreños, hondureños o nicaragüenses, sino que afecta también a los mexicanos que viven en pueblos y ciudades donde ocurren esos plagios.