Today’s Video: Correa non grata

Leaders from around the world have come to New York during the UN General Assembly this month and the presence of some of these figures can be controversial. Such is the case with the anticipated protests today against Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech at the UN as well as the head of one Latin American country.

As part of his agenda in New York Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa was scheduled to attend and possibly speak at a cultural event in Union City, New Jersey tomorrow evening. That led to an uproar from members of the local Latino community, especially those with ties to Cuba, Venezuela and Ecuador. “As a Cuban-American I think it is not appropriate for (Correa) to come here,” said Union City Commissioner Lucio Fernandez to NJ.com after local politicos were reportedly “taken…by surprise” by such an angry reaction to a possible Correa visit.

Ultimately the pressure from the community led Union City Mayor Brian Stack to issue a simple message to Correa: don’t show up.

As seen in the above video, Stack deplored Correa’s “association with Fidel and Raul Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chaves of Venezuela” as well as Ahmadinejad. Though Stack claimed that Correa “is not a communist” the mayor also declared that he would “never support…dictators”.

It remains to be seen if the event to be held in Union City High School will go on without Correa. Meanwhile the Ecuadorian president will reportedly attend other gatherings in the New York City area.

Video Source – Hudson County TV via YouTube

Online Sources- NJ.com, La Hora, Hudson Reporter, CBS New York

Daily Headlines: January 14, 2011

* Venezuela: U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said that Venezuela doesn’t pose “a significant threat” to the U.S. but also admitted that he was concerned over the South American country’s arms purchases.

* Brazil: The death toll from a series of landslides and flooding in southeastern Brazil rose to nearly 500 fatalities.

* U.S.: A report by researchers at Seton Hall University found that New Jersey’s day laborers have been the targets of widespread abuse by employers.

* Argentina: Are plans to start a best soccer player in Europe award next season sour grapes over Argentina’s Lionel Messi winning the Ballon d'Or last week?

Image – Carlos Garcia Rawlins/REUTERS via Christian Science Monitor (“Venezuelan soldiers take part in a military parade on June 24, 2009, to celebrate the 188th anniversary of the battle of Carabobo in Valencia, where Simon Bolivar's decisive victory against Spanish forces led to Venezuela's independence.”)
Online Sources- El Universal, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Herald Sun

Latinos in Trenton caught up in immigration hoax

Was somebody trying to spook Latinos in New Jersey from attending this Sunday’s immigrant’s rights rally in Washington? That’s one possibility being brought up after an immigration hoax reportedly scared Latinos in Trenton.

False word spread through e-mails and text messages that federal officials were conducting raids at a shopping mall in the New Jersey capitol. “We don’t know where this is coming from, but it was very upsetting to a lot of people. It’s just not right,” said Latin American Legal Defense and Education Fund representative Maria Juega to The Trentonian newspaper. The deception led to Latinos staying away in droves from stores like a Food Bazaar supermarket whose manager reported a 20% drop in customers as a result of the hoax.

The rumors come on the heels of another hoax that claimed that immigration agents conducted raids a Philadelphia area Wal-Mart stores. That ruse was more detailed than the one on Saturday:

The Food Bazaar rumor followed a similar false story of a supposed agreement allowing immigration agents to enter Wal-Mart stores to arrest illegal immigrants, Juega said.

The rumor has been spread through e-mail and text messages that include photographs of agents next to handcuffed people, she said. The pictures were supposedly taken during a recent raid at a Philadelphia area Wal-Mart. Lee said the distribution of the photographs suggested the rumor was an orchestrated hoax.

Whatever the motive may be behind the hoaxes (including a supposedly “misguided” attempt at promoting immigration reform) such juvenile tricks do nothing but stoke fear and deepen divisions in our communities. They are a distraction from the important work of formulating, passing, and enacting meaningful changes to the immigration system.

Image- Illinois State Museum
Online Sources- NJ.com, PR Newswire, The Trentonian, New York Daily News

A funny thing happened on the way to Bogotá...

With apologies to Stephen Sondheim for title of this post, passengers of one Bogota-bound flight suffered quite the scare on Friday:

"Continental Airlines Flight 881 from Newark International Airport to Bogota International Airport was diverted to Jacksonville International Airport due to a potential person of interest. The plane landed without incident at approximately 5:45 p.m.," the TSA said in a statement.

"The passenger was cleared by the FBI and the flight is continuing to Bogota," the TSA added.

According to a local New York news station the “person of interest” matched the name of someone on the “No Fly list” but his date of birth was different.

Happy travels everyone!

Image- news.com.au
Online Sources- Wikipedia, Reuters, NBC New York

Brazilian Court Wants Boy in Brazil back in US

Brazilian supreme court judge ruled Tuesday that the 9-year-old boy at the center of an international abduction and custody fight must be returned to the United States with his American father.

The ruling is the latest in a five-year legal battle that has involved both the American and Brazilian courts, and spurred up international controversy. The Jersey resident and father, David Goldman, is put one step closer to being reunited with his son, Sean.

The boy was abducted by his mother, a Brazilian native and Goldman's wife at the time, to Brazil in 2004. The woman and the boy have remained there ever since. After the mother passed away however, the boy's custody has been put to question.

After the mother died, Sean was left with her second husband, a prominent lawyer in Rio de Janeiro whose family has continued the fight to keep the boy in Brazil.

Mr. Goldman filed lawsuits in the United States and Brazil to get his son back, and after a 5 year battle the supreme court has now ruled in his favor.

Photo Source

Venezuela to return island to the U.S. (updated)

Update:

Apparently Gov. Corazine skipped appearing at the handover ceremony due to fears over being labeled as a "socialist." (Link via FP Passport).

Original Post:

The Venezuelan government will give back an island near Philadelphia that had been used as an oil storage facility.

Petty's Island – a 300-acre island in the Delaware River- will be transferred from Citgo to the government of New Jersey for use as a wildlife sanctuary. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the move at last week’s Summit of the Americas as a gesture in favor of environmental conservation.

In a news release issued on Wednesday, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine welcomed Citgo’s decision:

"Earth Day is a fitting time to consummate the donation of this special place," Corzine said in the news release. "Petty's Island has become an important home to bald eagles, kestrels and a wide variety of waterfowl. We are opening a new chapter in the island's long history by restoring it and giving it back to nature and the people of New Jersey."

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection must certify that Citgo's cleanup of the island has met state standards before the title can be transferred, the news release said.

According to Corazine, Citgo pledged to create a $2 million fund for the Natural Lands Trust to manage the island which is home to endangered black-crowned night herons and a pair of bald eagles.

Image- New York Times (2005 photo of Petty's Island is with the Philadelphia skyline in the background).
Online Sources- FOX News, CNN, BBC News

New Jersey officials want return of fugitive in Cuba

The possibility of normalizing relations between the U.S. and Cuba has had its supporters and detractors. (In the latest bit of news, Fidel Castro says President Barack Obama "misinterpreted" his brother Raul's remarks on discussing “everything, everything, everything” with the U.S.). Some of the strongest backers hoping for a thawing in relations between the two states are prosecutors in New Jersey.

Joanne Chesimard was convicted over three decades ago for killing a New Jersey state trooper in a 1973 gunfight. She broke out of prison in 1979, changed her name to Assata Shakur, and fled to Cuba where she currently resides.

New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced yesterday that she would seek Chesmiard’s extradition to the U.S.

David Wald, spokesman for the attorney general, said Milgram and State Police Superintendent Rick Fuentes will write to Obama to request Chesimard's extradition.

"If the president is trying to establish a different relationship, this is something he needs to talk to them about," Wald said.

According to the AP, Fidel Castro “appeared to defend Shakur without naming her” by allegedly referring to her as a victim of "the fierce repression against the Black movement in the United States."

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- miamiherald.com, MSNBC, The Star-Ledger, The Latin Americanist

Colombian assaulted in New Jersey

Earlier today we mentioned the latest developments in the case of slain immigrant Marcelo Lucero. In nearby New Jersey, another Latino immigrant suffered a brutal and ugly beating.

Wilter Sánchez is recuperating at a New Jersey hospital after he was assaulted last week. Sánchez fled his native Colombia after receiving death threats yet never imagined that he would be targeted in the U.S. “God didn’t allow me to die” he said hours after undergoing intensive facial reconstruction surgery.

The assault on Sánchez has been condemned by the Colombian Consul in New York as well as the Latin American Consulate Alliance. Rubén Beltrán- Mexican consul in New York and Alliance coordinator- expressed his “worry and energetic rejection” of Sánchez’ beating and called on local authorities to investigate and “apply justice” to those responsible.

The crime itself is very tragic in that a Latino immigrant was targeted, and possibly more so in that the assaulters were people of color:

Authorities have detained five African-Americans, three of them minors, and have accused them of robbery and…added charges of assault…

(Sánchez’ cousin Fernando) Quinchia claimed that after Sánchez was beat up the men returned to their car and tried to run him over.

Image- Yahoo! Noticias
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, El Diario/La Prensa, New American Media, lostiempos.com, El Espectador

Report: Immigrants benefit New Jersey

The following should come as no surprise to anyone even remotely familiar with the state of New Jersey:

An analysis by the Eagleton Institute Program on Immigration and Democracy says that New Jersey's 1.7 million foreign-born population has no negative impact on the Garden State's economy overall.

Immigrants account for 20 percent of the state's population, but make up a higher percentage of the work force because more of them are of working age…

The study finds immigrants contributing at both the highest and lowest ends of the economic spectrum. The foreign-born account for 40 percent of all advanced degree holders in New Jersey, and immigrants also occupy some of the lowest-earning jobs in the state.

One of the reports co-authors observed that “it's impossible to imagine our economy functioning without them” though warned that the report’s results shouldn’t be extrapolated to represent national immigration figures. Yet one advocate observed that the report overturns false myths on immigrants like “they get a free ride, free education, they don’t pay taxes, they don't do anything except take out of our economy.”

The report comes on the heels of a statewide immigration crackdown which, according to this New York Times editorial, has led to numerous abuses.

Image- daylife.com (“Alexander Alaca holds an U.S. flag and a sign calling for immigration reform as he marches with others to an immigration rally in Jersey City, N.J., Tuesday, May 1, 2007.”)
Online Sources- nj.com, newsday.com, New York Times

Daily Headlines: July 11, 2007

Hooray! It's our 2000th post!!!

* Follow-up: Now that Peru’s Machu Picchu (image) is one of the world’s new "seven wonders", tourism officials will increase the fees to visit the site.

* Want to have a pro-immigration rally in Bridgeton, New Jersey? Try paying $1500.

* Venezuela’s government will create a special anti-drug police force.

* Guatemala’s only train service will shutdown in September due to problems with the government.

* A U.S. federal judge sentenced a sports agent to five years in jail for smuggling baseball players out of Cuba.

Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, International Herald Tribune, Forbes, MSNBC

Sources (Spanish)- Clarin, El Diario/La Prensa

Image- NASA