Daily Headlines: July 23, 2012 (Updated)

* Cuba: Oswaldo Payá, a leading Cuban dissident and supporter of the Varela Project, died in a car crash on Sunday.

Update: Representatives of several foreign governments on Monday expressed their condolences over Payá's death.

A White House statement, for example, praised the late dissident as "a tireless champion for greater civic and human rights in Cuba."

Meanwhile, anti-Castro activists in Cuba and exile groups in the U.S. have urged for a thorough investigation into the circumstances behind Payá's death.

"According to information we've obtained from people traveling with him, there was a vehicle trying to force him off the road... We don't think it was an accident," Payá's daughter reportedly claimed.

* Mexico: A rally organized by the YoSoy132 student movement in Mexico City yesterday was the latest protest against the results of the July 1st general elections.

* Puerto Rico: Will the commonwealth’s sagging economy lead to the end of legalized cockfighting?

* U.S.: Proceedings began last week in a civil lawsuit alleging that deputies under controversial anti-immigrant Sheriff Joe Arpaio engaged in racial profiling against Latinos in Arizona.

Video Source – YouTube via NDI Public Affairs (Circa 2003 documentary on Oswaldo Payá and the Varela Project).

Online Sources including Update - Fox News Latino, MSNBC, Bernama, Huffington Post, The Latin Americanist, Washington Post, AFP

Weekend Headlines: December 24-25, 2011

* Cuba: The U.S. State Department is “deeply disappointed” that jailed contractor Alan Gross will not be among the 2900 prisoners to be reportedly released by the Cuban government.

* Central America: Nicaragua filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice against plans by neighboring Costa Rica to build a road along the banks of the San Juan River.

* U.S.: A federal judge ruled in favor of expanding a class action lawsuit against Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio to include every Latino questioned or detained by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office since January 2007.

* Brazil: Brazilian officials placed an additional $5.4 million fine on Chevron as a result of environmental damage from an offshore oil spill last month.

* Mexico: Authorities at the port of Lazaro Cardenas seized over 229 metric tons of chemicals that are used to make methamphetamine.

* South America: Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said that he would deploy 10,000 troops along the border with Colombia due to security concerns.

Video Source –YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Reuters, Voice of America, Huffington Post, Xinhua, MSNBC, AFP

McCain, Kyl: Send troops to border

While Arizona is at the cusp of passing one of the country’s strongest anti-immigration bills the state’s federal senators have introduced their own tough proposal on immigration.

Sens. Jon Kyl and John McCain proposed deploying 3000 National Guard soldiers along the U.S.-Mexico border. "The situation has spiraled out of control," McCain said at a press conference today as he claimed that illegal immigrants crossing the border has supposedly led to a spike in crime in Arizona.

The proposal made part of a ten-point immigration plan that focused primarily on security and included suggestions such as erecting “double- and triple- layer fencing” along the border and increasing funds for the Border Patrol.

McCain has long been a proponent of comprehensive immigration reform and had championed a failed 2006 reform proposal that was supported by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. Yet McCain has faced strong conservative opposition in his bid for reelection that has been critical of his immigration stance. "It is unconscionable that nearly a decade after 9/11 the backdoor of the United States remains open," declared McCain’s main opponent- former Congressman J.D. Hayworth- at a recent Arizona Tea Party rally.

The push for stronger legislation against immigrants in Arizona could lead to one of the staunchest opponents of immigration to run for governor:

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been raising fistfuls of money for months now, but the question is: for what?

If Arpaio knows what office he will run for next, he isn't saying yet. But he promises to let voters know by May 1 whether he will hang onto his sheriff's badge or toss his hat into the ring for governor.

Arpaio has raised $2 million to date, money he cannot touch until he starts campaigning for sheriff or shifts gears to run for governor. He has been soliciting contributions for nearly a year, and the response has been striking even for someone with his name recognition.

(Hat tip on the final link: Gawker).

Image- CBS News
Online Sources- CNN, Washington Independent, The Hill, Fox News, azcentral.com, Gawker

Napolitano underlines immigration changes

With the Obama administration facing growing criticism over its lax approach to immigration, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano tried to assure that the White House hasn’t ignored immigration.

While speaking at an El Paso conference of law enforcement chiefs, Napolitano (image) tried to differentiate Obama’s approach to immigration from that of his predecessor. She claimed that the Obama administration was taking “a common-sense, comprehensive look” at immigration policy including changes to the controversial 287 (g) program that deputizes police as immigration agents. She also emphasized the need for a bilateral approach with Mexico to tackle immigration and combat drug-related violence including spending an additional $30 million “to support security measures” along the border.

Napolitano’s claimed policy changes have been insufficient to those on both sides of the immigration debate. Take the 287 (g) program:

"If I'm told not to enforce immigration law except if the alien is a violent criminal, my answer to that is we are still going to do the same thing, 287g or not," Joe Arpaio, an Arizona sheriff, told The Wall Street Journal last month.

Some Hispanic advocacy groups say that 287g still gives police too much power, essentially giving them a green light to racially profile.

Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, said she had hoped the Obama administration would do away with 287g altogether.

It may be understandable that Obama doesn’t wish to make any major changes since immigration is such a hot-button issue. Yet there’s a big need for reform and the baby steps listed by Napolitano are far from enough.

Image- AFP
Online Sources- Department of Homeland Security, Christian Science Monitor, The Latin Americanist, Washington Post

Haiti, Joe Arpaio stories get Pulitzers

The 2009 Pulitzer Prize winners in journalism were announced earlier this week and a pair of stories concerning Haiti and immigration was recognized.

Despite begin laid off in January as part of staff cuts, former East Valley Tribune reporter Paul Giblin won a Pulitzer along with Ryan Gabrielson for covering controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Both reporters were praised for examining the pitfalls of Arpaio employing the much-derided 287(g) program which deputizes local police to serve as immigration agents:

In a five-part series titled ‘Reasonable Doubt,' Gabrielson and former Tribune reporter Paul Giblin examined how Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio focused on combating illegal immigration to the detriment of police protection, resulting in slow emergency response times and lax criminal enforcement.

The Pulitzer Prize committee praised Gabrielson and Giblin for "their adroit use of limited resources to reveal, in print and online, how a popular sheriff's focus on immigration enforcement endangered investigation of violent crime and other aspects of public safety."

Miami Herald photographer Patrick Farrell received a Pulitzer for Breaking News photography for his images of storm-ravaged Haiti. “It is exceptional documentary photography with a purpose” said Luis Rios- the Herald's director of photography. The above image proves Rios’ assertion.

Image- CBS4.com
Online Sources- CBS4.com, miamiherald.com, The Latin Americanist, TheMonitor.com

GAO: Deputizing police for ICE doesn’t work

The intended targets: serious criminals such as drug smugglers.

Those who are arrested: usually minor offenders for crimes like loitering and public urination.

A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that the deputizing of local law enforcement officers to serve as Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has been mostly a failure.

Aside from mostly targeting minor infractions as described above, the GAO study also found that officers “misuse(d) their authority” due to a lack of federal supervision under the program known as 287(g).

The 287(g) program has been employed by numerous local agencies nationwide. The most notable example being by controversial Arizonan sheriff Joe Arpaio who recently paraded illegal immigrants in striped suits and chains in front of the media.

The GAO report comes in anticipation of a House committee hearing later today on suspected racial profiling in federal immigration policy:

Representative Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat and chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, which will hold the hearing on Wednesday, said in a statement that “the record is incomplete, at best, as to whether this program is a success.”

“Without objective data, we cannot evaluate the effectiveness of this program, nor can we determine whether better results could be achieved by other means, such as increasing the number of ICE agents,” he said…

Representative Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas, who was instrumental in getting the program started in 1996, said, “Law enforcement officials believe that this voluntary program works.” He added, “Those who are serious about public safety should call for its expansion.”

The GAO report comes days after research and advocacy group Justice Strategies blasted the 287 (g) program for ineffectiveness and racial profiling. Additionally, the Migration Policy Institute recently concluded that most immigrants detained by ICE were nonviolent offenders.

Image- ABC News
Online Sources- azcentral.com, KPHO.com, the Latin Americanist, New York Times, AP, UPI

Bloggers of the world unite!

• A porn actress has accused a married, journeyman ballplayer of having a “tawdry romance” with her. Discuss.
• Sage words from Mexican author Carlos Fuentes.
• A look at the late Cuban-born cartoonist Antonio Prohías.
• Will Uruguay escape largely unscathed from the global economic slowdown?
• This Saturday a protest will be held against controversial Arizonan sheriff Joe Arpaio. (If you’re lucky you just might catch a glimpse of Charles Barkley).
• Say “hello” to Colombia’s narco-paramilitary leaders.
• A personal note: I love Argentine singer Juana Molina!
  

Image- Concurring Opinions
Online Sources- La Plaza, Plan Colombia and Beyond, Deadspin, VivirLatino, Guanabee, Small State, Latin American Musings, Latin American News Review

News Briefs: Immigration

* Attención Salvadoreños: You have until this Tuesday to complete applications for temporary protected status in the U.S.!

* According to a university study published last month recently arrived immigrants to the U.S. tend to learn English quickly.

* What can regional unemployment rates tell us about immigration trends in the U.S.? Professor Greg Weeks explains.

* Earlier this month, IFCO Systems North America agreed to pay the largest settlement for a workplace immigration bust: $20.7 million.

* On the one hand, this New York Times editorial hopes that the incoming Obama administration will significantly change the “moral… (and) strategic failure” of current immigration policy.

* On the other hand, controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio claims that he “plans to continue crime sweeps and raids aimed at illegal immigrants and businesses that employ them” regardless of the presidential change.

Image- New York Times (“Jose Rosa, left, an immigrant from El Salvador living in Manassas, Va., (at the 2007) National Capital Immigrant Coalition Rally.”)
Online Sources- New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Standing FIRM, CNN, bizjournals.com

Daily Headlines: May 27, 2008

* Venezuela: Newly-elected London mayor Boris Johnson will not renew an energy deal with Venezuelan oil firm PDVSA which was used to lower fuel costs for London buses and pay for a discount-fare program.

* Honduras: The office of controversial Arizonan Sheriff Joe Arpaio denied allegations that it misused tens of thousands of dollars to pay for a program with Honduran law enforcement officials.

* Puerto Rico: Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton spent their weekend in Puerto Rico courting support in anticipation for this Sunday’s Democratic presidential primary on the island.

* Peru: Despite an admitted lack of direct proof a former general testified that he had “absolute conviction” that ex-president Alberto Fujimori masterminded a pair of massacres in the 1990s.

Sources- Bloomberg, International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC

Image- BBC News (Former London mayor Ken Livingstone and Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez meeting in 2006.)

Sheriff Arpaio misused funds in Honduras?

In a game of good cop/bad cop Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio would undoubtedly fit the role of “bad cop.” His persona is that of a no nonsense officer with little respect for lawbreakers that includes a very tough anti-immigrant stance.

Arpaio’s views have been loved by some and loathed by others yet the latest controversy involves the “Bay Islands Sister Agency Project for Justice and Service”.

Arizonan senator Bob Burns wants to look into the spending of $30,000 for the project which was used to send state employees to Honduras. Burns has raised doubts over RICO funds that paid for the project and were said to be used to combat violence by gangs such as MS-13. However, some officials don’t believe Arizona is under serious threat from MS-13:

“A spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Honduras does not play a significant role when it comes to organized crime in Arizona. “Obviously there are Hondurans involved in criminal enterprises here in the state of Arizona. But when you look at human smuggling and narcotics, that’s all going to be driven mostly by Mexican citizens. They are more familiar with the border area. They have the infrastructure here that supports those criminal activities,” said Vincent Picard, ICE Spokesperson.

Arpaio fully backed the program though yesterday he decided to suspend it due to the county’s “budget crunch”.

Sources- Wikipedia, Arizona Republic, azcentral.com, KTAR, CNN

Image- Village Voice