News Clips March 18, 2010

Pearce immigration bill shelved at last minute

Mesa Republican Sen. Russell Pearce and his efforts to toughen immigration enforcement took a beating in the Legislature on Wednesday.

A comprehensive immigration-reform bill that Pearce has been working on for years was expected by some to hit the governor’s desk today. Instead, it was pulled from the House Committee of the Whole agenda at the last minute on Wednesday at the request of some concerned Republicans.

Senate Bill 1070 already has been approved by the Senate. It would, among other things, require law enforcement to try to determine the immigration status of an individual whenever there is reasonable suspicion about that status, allow an illegal immigrant found in Arizona to be charged with trespassing and make it illegal to pick up or be picked up as a day laborer.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/election/azelections/articles/2010/03/18/20100318politics-sensors0318.html

Health bill picking up key votes

Reporting from Washington
President Obama and Democratic leaders gathered momentum for their sweeping healthcare overhaul Wednesday, picking up support from Democratic factions where defections were most feared: liberals, abortion opponents and backbenchers.

Working into the night to put the finishing touches on the legislation, Democratic leaders said they continued to expect the balloting to be a cliffhanger.

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-na-healthcare18-2010mar18,0,7590833.story

Obama’s moral failure on immigration

I’m a community organizer. Last week, I did something I never thought would be possible. I met with the president of the United States in the West Wing of the White House.

President Barack Obama met for 75 minutes with 14 leaders from across the country to discuss immigration reform — and the destruction of some 1,100 immigrant families a day through deportations carried out by his administration.

The meeting was tense, blunt and passionate. And there was a racial irony to our discussion. Our labor, faith and immigrant rights leaders included seven Latinos, three Asians and four whites. We were meeting with our country’s first African-American president, the son of an immigrant father. His senior advisers at the meeting included three African-Americans (one the child of immigrants), a Latina, a Chinese-American woman and a white woman.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/ct-oped-0318-immigration-20100318,0,1740729.story

The Latino Completion Gap, Examined

March 18, 2010

With Latino Americans expected to make up more than 20 percent of the college-age population by 2020, most policy makers recognize that it will be nearly impossible to meet President Obama’s college completion goals without significant improvement in the graduation rates of Hispanic students, which have long lagged those of other racial and ethnic groups, as numerous studies have documented.

A new analysis digs more deeply into the data surrounding Latino graduation rates, and while it confirms the overall reality that Latino students trail their white peers at all types of institutions, no matter how selective, it also reveals wide variation in the relative success of institutions with similar student bodies. That matters, the authors say, because it shows that the educational practices of institutions matter.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/03/18/hispanic

Groups mobilize to pressure lawmakers to act on immigration reform

Plans include a march in Washington, a texting drive, ‘tacos for justice’ coupons and score cards for lawmakers’ votes on immigration issues. ‘The time for promises is over,’ an organizer says.
Frustrated at the White House and Congress, immigrant advocates are rolling out a series of pressure tactics to push forward legalization for illegal immigrants and other reforms.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to march Sunday in Washington, D.C., urging officials to act on legislative reforms or face the consequences — including a possible Latino voter backlash in November.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-latino18-2010mar18,0,203431.story

Putting feet down at key D.C. march

The last hope for immigration reform.

That’s what Sunday’s March for America in Washington will be: a last-ditch massive effort to push hard for the President and Congress to abandon their reluctance and do their duty.

“The march can show Washington how much support there is for reform around the country,” said Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens), who will be one of the speakers. “And this can make a great difference.”

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2010/03/18/2010-03-18_putting_feet_down_at_key_dc_march.html#ixzz0iX20Y3Ne

Courting Hispanics

Resurgent Republic has a new poll suggesting Republicans court Hispanic voters on core Republican messages of the economy and national security, and showing that many Hispanics back GOP views on issues like the handling of terrorists.

The observation that Hispanics are, on issues, more conservative than they vote isn’t a novel one, though it’s often made on social issues. But Republicans are still trying to repair their party’s dramatic collapse between George W. Bush’s intense courtship of Hispanic voters and the collapse of immigration legislation in 2006, which left their brand deeply tarnished.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0310/Courting_Hispanics.html

Hispanic Media’s Social Revolution

Q&A With Telemundo EVP of Digital Media and Emerging Business Peter Blacker
By Laura Martinez — Multichannel News, 3/17/2010 2:29:38 PM
Peter Blacker, executive vice president of digital media and emerging businesses at Telemundo, has a message for his advertisers: the Spanish-language network — and sister cable net Mun2 — is their chance to finally leverage the power of social media and join the throngs of Hispanics who are active on Twitter, Facebook and other platforms. As Blacker and other top executives at the NBC-owned network geared up for this year’s client-development meetings, the social media enthusiast gave Hispanic TV Update contributor Laura Martinez a sneak preview of how his network plans to get to the forefront of the “digital water cooler.”

http://www.multichannel.com/article/450393-Hispanic_Media_s_Social_Revolution.php