Señora Presidenta de la Cámara de Representantes, Sr. Vicepresidente, miembros del Congreso: Estoy aquí esta noche no sólo para dirigirme a las distinguidas damas y caballeros en este gran recinto, sino para hablar directa y francamente con los hombres y mujeres que nos trajeron aquí. Sé que para muchos estadounidenses que nos observan en este momento, el estado de nuestra economía es una inquietud mayor que todas las demás. Y con toda razón. Si no han sido afectados personalmente por esta recesión, probablemente conocen a alguien que ha sido afectado: un amigo, un vecino, un miembro de su familia. No necesitan escuchar otra lista de datos para saber que nuestra economía se encuentra en crisis, porque la viven todos los días. Es la preocupación con la que se despiertan y motivo de desvelo de noche. Es el empleo que pensaron que tendrían hasta jubilarse, pero que ahora han perdido; el negocio con el que soñaron y que ahora pende de un hilo; la carta de aceptación a la univers...

WASHINGTON .- The Center for Immigration Studies has prepared a detailed employment breakdown for immigrants and native-born Americans based on December 2008 data, the latest publicly available. (The Department of Labor generally does not separate out unemployment statistics for immigrants and the native-born.) Among US-born blacks and Hispanics without a high school degree , unemployment is 24.7 percent and 16.2 percent respectively — two to three times the national rate. Those native-born Americans most in competition with immigrants, particularly illegal immigrants, are teenagers (16-17), all adults (18+) without a high school diploma , and young workers (18 to 29) with only a high diploma. Unemployment rates for less-educated native-born Americans (all races). Less than high school: 17 percent. Young with high school diploma only: 15 percent. Teenagers: 21.9 percent. Unemployment for less-educated native-born blacks. Less than high school: 24.7 percent. Young with...

Washington, DC - On February 24, ICE agents raided a workplace in Bellingham Washington. The next day, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano was questioned about the raid by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) while Napolitano testified before the House Homeland Security Committee. Later, Secretary Napolitano announced her office would conduct a review of how and why the raid was conducted. The following is a statement by Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan pro-immigrant advocacy organization in Washington. Immigration advocates are pleased Secretary Napolitano acted quickly to call for an investigation and that the White House made clear that workplace raids are inconsistent with the Obama Administration's broader approach to immigration and enforcement oversight. Clearly, the voices of Americans across the country calling for sensible immigration reform are starting to be heard. Rep. Lofgren's questions for the Secretary about the ...

WASHINGTON , DC – In the early hours of February 26, Dannie Baker, a 60-year-old Florida resident, left his townhouse armed with a rifle, walked across the complex to a neighboring unit, and opened fire on a quiet gathering of young, unsuspecting Latino residents in Miramar Beach . When the rampage ceased, two individuals were found dead, and three others critically injured. All five victims were Chilean students participating in a foreign exchange program. While details about the suspect’s motives are few, news reports are pointing to previous anti-immigrant statements made by Baker. One neighbor recalls an incident when Baker “[came] up to me one time and asked me if I was ready for the revolution to begin and if I had any immigrants in my house to get them out.” Baker often volunteered for political campaigns, but stopped after local Republicans started receiving “radical” and “inappropriate” emails from him. Allegedly, the e-mails were so disturbing that volunteers repo...

Sharp growth in illegal immigration and increased enforcement of immigration laws have altered the ethnic composition of offenders sentenced in federal courts. In 2007, Latinos accounted for 40% of all sentenced federal offenders--more than triple their share (13%) of the total U.S. adult population. The share of all sentenced offenders who were Latino in 2007 was up from 23% in 1991, according to an analysis of data from the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. Moreover, by 2007, immigration offenses represented nearly one-quarter (24%) of all federal convictions, up from just 7% in 1991. Among those sentenced for immigration offenses in 2007, 80% were Hispanic. This heightened focus on immigration enforcement has also changed the citizenship profile of federal offenders. In 2007, Latinos without U.S. citizenship represented 29% of all federal offenders. Among all Latino offenders, some 72% were n...

By Steven A. Camarota WASHINGTON – The Center for Immigration Studies has prepared a detailed employment breakdown for immigrants and native-born Americans based on December 2008 data, the latest publicly available. (The Department of Labor generally does not separate out unemployment statistics for immigrants and the native-born.) Among US-born blacks and Hispanics without a high school degree, unemployment is 24.7 percent and 16.2 percent respectively — two to three times the national rate. Those native-born Americans most in competition with immigrants, particularly illegal immigrants, are teenagers (16-17), all adults (18+) without a high school diploma, and young workers (18 to 29) with only a high school diploma. Unemployment rates for less-educated native-born Americans (all races). Less than high school: 17 percent. Young with high school diploma only: 15 percent. Teenagers: 21.9 percent. Unemployment for less-educated native-born blacks. Less than high scho...

The current recession is having an especially severe impact on employment prospects for immigrant Hispanics, according to an analysis of the latest Census Bureau data by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. The unemployment rate has increased more and the share of the working-age population that is employed has fallen more for immigrant Hispanics than for other racial and ethnic groups in the first year of the recession. Trends in other indicators during the one-year old recession, such as the change in labor force participation or the growth in the number of unemployed persons, also reveal a more severe impact on foreign-born Latinos. Native-born Hispanics and blacks in the labor market have also felt strong negative effects from the recession. However, changes in the employment rate and other indicators of labor market activity during the recession have been less severe for them than for foreign-born Hispanics. The report is based on an analys...

Kuala Lumpur, (RHC) El académico malasio Chandra Muzaffar, presidente del Movimiento Internacional por un Mundo Justo (JUST) instó al presidente estadounidense, Barack Obama, a devolver cuanto antes la base naval de Guantánamo al pueblo de Cuba sin condiciones previas. Si Obama es sincero en negociar con otros estados sobre la base del respeto mutuo, debiera comenzar cambiando la actitud de Estados Unidos hacia su pequeño vecino, que desde el triunfo de la Revolución de 1959 ha estado caracterizada por una arrogancia insoportable y una insolencia sin paralelo en el mundo moderno, aseveró Muzaffar en un comunicado dado a conocer esta semana aquí. La base naval norteamericana de Guantánamo es una instalación ubicada en un área de 117,6 kilómetros cuadrados del territorio nacional de Cuba, ocupada desde 1903. Además de perpetuar un centro de ocupación colonial en Guantánamo, en los últimos 50 años sucesivos presidentes estadounidenses han sometido a Cuba a toda injusticia imaginable, a...

CARTA AL PRESIDENTE HUGO CHAVEZ (LO MEJOR QUE HE LEIDO EN MUCHO TIEMPO) Esta es una pregunta que seguramente nos viene a todos los profesionales que luchamos día a día por aprender y tener así un mejor desempeño en nuestras actividades (ya que como así lo aprendimos desde pequeños, es la única vía por la cual se alcanza mejorar nuestra calidad de vida) cuando analizamos la gestión Presidencial que AUN se mantiene vigente. Frecuentemente me he preguntado... ¿En que pensará el presidente cuando deja de apoyar al sector 'Productivo' del país y se dedica a señalarnos como si lo que tenemos se lo debiésemos a que pertenecemos a la mal llamada oligarquía'? Prefiere apoyar al Venezolano que se encuentra sumergido en la miseria solo porque según él, nosotros los 'oligarcas' nos hemos dedicado a pisotearlo y robarlo por 40 años de corrupción y bla, bla, bla... Señor Presidente, Ud. sabe perfectamente porqué hay tanta pobreza en el país, no se aproveche de la ignorancia ...

Por Vicky Peláez " No aprobaré jamás que ningún hijo del país se una a una nación extranjera para humillar a su patria " . — General José de San Martín, 1821 Extrañas cosas están pasando en la política exterior de Estados Unidos: el viaje del subsecretario de Estado, John Negroponte a la América Latina pasó prácticamente desapercibido en los grandes medios de comunicación a diferencia de anteriores giras de otros altos funcionarios norteamericanos. No hubo análisis ni comentarios, y Negroponte optó un perfil bajo, haciendo declaraciones cautelosas y evitando provocar polémica. ¿ Entonces, cuál fue el propósito de su viaje a Colombia , Ecuador , Perú y Panamá? Oficialmente John Negroponte estuvo acompañado por el subsecretario de la Oficina de Asuntos del Hemisferio Occidental, Thomas Shannon junto con una comitiva de la Casa Blanca para reforzar la debilitada presencia norteamericana en la región y tratando de dar un nuevo impulso a las relaciones comerciale...