Voto Latino was quoted in Time Magazine‘s article titled, “Will Obama’s Immigration Focus Hurt Democrats?“. The article argues,

Since the loss of the South, Democrats have increasingly been courting the western states as a new     base of voters. They’ve succeeded in turning New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada — all of which Obama won in 2008 — into bona fide swing states in recent years, mostly on the back of the Latino vote.

“What’s happening in Arizona is ground zero. The Latino community feels that they’re under assault as a result,” says Maria Teresa Kumar, president of Voto Latino, a group that works to register Latino voters. “What are those implications come midterm elections? It is going to rally the vote at the midterms and in the years to come.” Democrats just have to hope that the rallying effect is louder than the cries of white swing voters out west who are getting tired of hearing about immigration.”

Read the whole article here: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2003675,00.html?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0tgXzO6mF

With the 2010 census coming up, workers want often overlooked groups–Latinos and Asian immigrants, young African-American males, the unmarried, the poor and the homeless–to know they have nothng to be afraid of in being counted.

Please read more at: The Roanoke Times

Lydia Guzman, director of the nonprofit immigrant advocacy group Respect/Respeto,  has started using text messages to warn residents about crime sweeps by a high-profile Arizona sheriff. Guzman says the messages are part of an effort to protect Latinos and others from becoming victims of racial profiling by sheriff’s deputies who allegedly stop Latinos for minor traffic violations to check their immigration status.

Please read more at The Los Angeles Times

MADERA, Calif. — For most people, describing themselves on the U.S. Census form will be as easy as checking a box: White. Black. American Indian.

But it’s not so simple for indigenous immigrants – the Native Americans of Mexico and Central America. They often need more than one box because their ancestry can cover multiple Census categories, and they must also overcome a significant language barrier and a mistrust of government. Read More

MIAMI — While their fellow college students recovered from the night’s revelry, four South Floridians celebrated the New Year with a more active – and activist – approach.

The group set out Friday to begin a 1,500 mile journey they are calling the “Trail of Dreams,” from Miami‘s historic Freedom Tower to Washington, D.C. The goal is to raise support for legislation that would include a path to citizenship for eligible [undocumented] immigrants.

The recent crckdown on undocomented immigration coupled with the country’s financial meltdown have slowed the growth of minorities, according to a new report released by the Census Bureau. The new projections show that whites would continue to make up the majority of the population until 2050. Although anti-immigrant sentiment continues to grow, analysts worry about the long-term affects of a falling immigration rate. At the heart of the issue, it would mean a significant decrease of  vital workers paying Social Security and Medicare for the baby boomer generation.

Please read more at The Los Angeles Times

Democratic congressional lawmakers introduced a comprehensive bill Tuesday that, among other provisions, would offer a path to legalization for the country’s estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants. The piece of legislation was met with criticism from both conservatives and liberals.

Please read more at: The Los Angeles Times and The Feet in Two Worlds

Talk Radio Network’s Matt Fox and AJ Rice have created a new low-brow spoof of the José Feliciano Christmas classic “Feliz Navidad.” The song, entitled “Illegal Aliens In My Yard” aims to spread anti-immigrant sentiment.

Please read more at The Wonk Room

Our friend and ally Katherine Vargas, Press Secretary for the National Immigration Forum, recently published a beautiful Op-Ed in the Miami Herald about the power of voting. Vargas was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and recently became a U.S. citizen.

Here is an excerpt from her piece:

“Being an American is much more than apple pie, baseball and that coveted blue passport. It is also the right to vote. I will no longer be standing on the sidelines of history as others decide on my life and the future of my family. I now have a voice and a vote. I can finally take ownership of my political power. And that is what citizenship is all about.”

To read her entire Op-Ed, click here.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano presided over a ceremony granting citizenship to 110 people from 48 countries at Ellis Island.

The ceremony took place in the Great Room, also known as the Registry Hall, where many of the 12 million immigrants who passed through Ellis Island were registered upon arriving from foreign shores.

Read more »

In the wake of House passage of a sweeping Democratic health care overhaul, conservative Republicans were perplexed and angry Monday that their leaders decided not to force Democrats into a tough immigration vote that they believe could have brought down the bill.

House GOP leaders caught just about everybody by surprise Saturday when, toward the end of debate on the $1.3 trillion health care plan, they opted not to use a procedural motion to force a vote to bar illegal immigrants from buying insurance. Both parties were bracing for the vote and the potential fallout among Democrats divided on the issue.

Read more at Roll Call.

Anti-immigration rallies held by neo-Nazi groups in Arizona and Minnesota this weekend drew large counter-protests sometimes outnumbered the original protest.

Health care not done, GOP changes subject back to immigration

Prince William County, Virginia becomes ground zero in America’s explosive battle over immigration policy when elected officials adopt a law requiring police officers to question anyone they have “probable cause” to suspect is an undocumented immigrant.

Read more »