El Mojado

This song captures an immigrant’s emotional struggle very well, I think.

El Mojado by Ricardo Arjona (translated)

He packed a pair of shirts, a sombrero

His vocation of  adventurer

Six pieces of advice, seven photos, a thousand memories.

He packed his desires to stay

His condition to transform into the man that he dreamed and has not become

He said good-bye with his face disguised with a smile

he begged to his God crucified in his mantelpiece

the defense of his own people  and perforated the border as he was able

If the moon smoothly slides through any cornice

without any permission, why does the wetback need

to verify with visas that he is not of Neptune?

The wetback wants to be dried

The wetback is wet

by the tears that drip from the nostalgia

The wetback, the one without papers, carries the bulk

That the legal one would not carry even if obligated

The role of a piece of paper has made him become a fugitive

He’s a fugitive and he is not from here because his name

does not appear in the files. Neither is he from there because left

If the moon smoothly slides through any cornice

without any permission, why does the wetback need

to verify with visas that he is not of Neptune?

Wetback your truth tastes like a lie,

the anxiety tastes like sadness

to see a freeway and to dream

of the truth that leads you to your home

Wet, wet of so much cry knowing that in some place

a kiss in pause awaits you since the day you left

If the moon smoothly slides through any cornice

without any permission, why does the wetback need

to verify with visas that he is not of Neptune?

If the universal visa extends the day in which we are born

and is invalid at death, why do they pursue you wetback

If the consul of the skies has already given you permission?

More reactions to Arizona immigration law…

Watch The Daily Show’s Law & Border.

Former Arizona governor and current Department of  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said:

“That one is a misguided law. It’s not a good law enforcement law. It’s not a good law in any number of reasons.”

On Twitter comedian George Lopez tweeted:

“Arizona. George Lopez is coming… Oops… I just got pulled over… apparently I fit the profile… Gacho!!”

Latin pop star Ricky Martin tweeted:

“Equality is understanding that we all come from the same place. Racial profiling should never be tolerated, in the U.S. or anywhere in the world. We’re moving backwards. Scary.”

New Arizona Immigration Law, a step back for the U.S.?

On Friday Gov.  Jan Brewer of Arizona signed a bill on illegal immigration that aims to identify and deport illegal immigrants. It has been a popular topic of discussion for the way it will attempt to do this.

Many say this is a step back in immigration reform because it promotes racial profiling. President Obama is one of its many critics. He said:

“The actions by the Arizona legislature threaten “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans.”

“Our failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others,” Obama said at a Rose Garden naturalization ceremony for 24 members of the U.S. military. “That includes, for example, the recent efforts in Arizona.”

The law, which is expected to take effect in August, would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give the police the power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally.

It would also make it a misdemeanor to not carry immigration papers. Additionally, it would allow people to sue local government if they believe  state immigration law is not being enforced.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said it “opens the door to intolerance and hatred” and it’s  “a violation of human rights.”

It will be interesting to see in what ways people will continue to speak out against/for this law. Maybe, a higher Hispanic voter turnout? A higher conservative voter turnout? How will Obama act?

One of many controversies to come I’m sure…

Views on Illegal Immigration and my questions on them

According to the 2009 Houston Area Survey:

The recent negative views of immigrants in general have begun to turn around.

The proportion of area residents who believe that the increasing immigration mostly “strengthens,” rather than “threatens,” American culture grew from 39% in 1997 to 57% in 2005, and then dropped to 44% in 2007, before recovering to 49% in 2009.

How does this attitude differ among immigrants of different countries?

Similarly, the percentage of area residents who favor “granting illegal immigrants in the U.S. a path to legal citizenship, if they speak English and have no criminal record” declined from 68% in 2007 to 56% in 2008, and then grew to 61% this year.

The number of survey respondents who said that the increasing ethnic diversity in Houston brought about by immigration is a “good thing” dropped from 67% in 2005 to 62% in 2007, and remained unchanged (at 61%) in 2009.

The attitudes toward illegal immigrants, however, appear to have hardened.

In the 2009 survey, 64% agreed that, “The children of illegal immigrants should have the right to attend the public schools,” down from 71% in 2007.

This year, 68% were in support of “imposing fines and criminal charges against employers in your community who hire illegal immigrants,” up from 56% two years ago.

In 2007, 44% were in favor of “a law that would deny health and welfare services to illegal immigrants in Texas.” In 2009, 50% said they supported that proposal.

How will the health care bill affect illegal immigrants? Among those that receive welfare what percentage are illegal immigrants?

Sharpstown Mall Now Targeted to Hispanics, this is what the future looks like

Sharpstown Mall, located on the corner of Bellaire Boulevard and Southwest Freeway, is now being transformed into a Latin American themed mall called PlazAmericas.

Once named “Best Hip-hop Mall” by the Houston Press (read more here), the mall will undergo a $10 million renovation to target the Hispanic community. The mall will have a play area for children, an 83,000 square foot mercado and several stages for live entertainment.

Why the sudden change? Well it’s not too unexpected as the Hispanic population is the majority in that area and continues to grow steadily, while the white population decreases and the number of blacks stays about the same.

According to the official city of Houston website, these are the estimated race demographics for council district F which is the Sharpstown area.

2000
White: 39,186
Black: 49,810
Native American: 373
Asian: 34,378
Pacific: 75
Other: 477
Two or More: 4,534
Hispanic: 96,306

2009
White: 27,570
Black: 51,864
Native American: 354
Asian: 38,278
Pacific: 74
Other: 382
Two or More: 4,367
Hispanic: 125,241

In 2014, it’s expected the numbers will look as follows:
White: 23,021
Black: 51,612
Native American: 350
Asian: 40,311
Pacific: 74
Other: 340
Two or More: 4,263
Hispanic: 139,743

The numbers say it all and just as the Hispanic population continues to increase in the Sharpstown area it continues to increase in Texas and the entire U.S.

According to the US Census, Hispanics remain the largest minority group.

With a 3.3 percent increase between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, Hispanics were the fastest-growing minority group.

The nation’s Hispanic population increased 1.4 million to reach 45.5 million on July 1, 2007, or 15.1 percent of the estimated total U.S. population of 301.6 million.

California (13.2 million) had the largest Hispanic population of any state as of July 1, 2007, followed by Texas (8.6 million) and Florida (3.8 million). Texas had the largest numerical increase between 2006 and 2007 (308,000), followed by California (268,000) and Florida (131,000). In New Mexico, Hispanics comprised the highest proportion of the total population (44 percent), with California and Texas (36 percent each) next in line.

For this reason among many others, many are anxious to see the census results. Certainly, they will be an eye-opener for some. Maybe one day Hispanics will no longer be labeled as a minority?

Research Plan

I have finally decided what my theme will be for the blog. As you can see I want to focus on issues affecting the Latino community. Therefore, I had to change the layout to match. I plan on doing my best to find possible answers for the following questions:

I. History
What are the causes of anti-immigrant sentiments? Is it a continuation of the past?

II. Scope
How is interracial marriage affecting population demographics (number of whites)?
Currently, what is the percentage of whites and and what are the predictions for the population demographics?
What is the graduation rate among Hispanics and what are the factors contributing to this?

III. Reasons
What are race relations like (Hispanics and Blacks, Hispanics and Whites) and what are the causes of this? (Houston Area Survey)
What is the illegal immigration sentiment like among different races?
What would U.S. be like (theories) without (illegal) immigrants?

IV. Impacts
How will illegal immigrants be affected by health care reform?
What are the most influential Latino politicians and what causes do they support?

V. Countermotives
What are some anti-immigration organizations and what do they stand for?
What re some of the immigration reform possibilities?

VI. Futures
What would the demographics of the U.S. look like if immigration continues the way it has? (Numbers)

Although these topics affect everybody (indirectly, at least), I feel more attached to these subjects since both my parents are immigrants and exemplify an interracial marriage.

The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer?

Recently Forbes magazine announced that the new richest man in the world is Mexican Carlos Slim.

For many that’s the only bit of information they know about him. However, his name is not unfamiliar since for the third consecutive year he has been given this title.

It may be a bit bothersome that the world’s richest man comes from a country that has such a large division between rich and poor. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development of its 30 member nations Mexico has the largest gap between rich and poor.

In Mexico, the richest have incomes of more than 25 times those of the poorest.

Also according to OECD this is the case for countries which have seen an increased gap in income distribution:

Factors that have driven changes in income inequality and poverty over time

-Changes in the structure of the population are one of the causes of higher inequality However, this mainly reflects the rise in the number of single-adult households rather than population ageing per se.
-Earnings of full-time workers have become more unequal in most OECD countries. This is due to high earners becoming even more so. Globalisation, skill-biased technical change and labour market institutions and policies have all probably contributed to this outcome.
-The effect of wider wage disparities on income inequality has been offset by higher employment. However, employment rates among less-educated people have fallen and household joblessness remains high.
- Capital income and self-employment income are very unequally distributed, and have become even more so over the past decade. These trends are a major cause of wider income inequalities.
-Work is very effective at tackling poverty. Poverty rates among jobless families are almost six times higher than those among working families.
-However, work is not sufficient to avoid poverty. More than half of all poor people belong to households with some earnings, due to a combination of low hours worked during the year and/or low wages. Reducing in-work poverty often requires in-work benefits that supplement earnings.

Another important fact to consider: The minimum daily wages in Mexico are 57.46, 55.84 and 54.47 pesos, depending on what geographic area. That is approximately $4.57, $4.44 and $4.33.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon says he is creating jobs to close the  gap between the rich and poor, but statistics have shown that the gap hasn’t changed much over time.

According to the CIA in 2008 Mexico was ranked no. 29 with a Gini index of 48.2. (A Gini index is the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country. The index is calculated from the Lorenz curve, in which cumulative family income is plotted against the number of families arranged from the poorest to the richest. The more unequal a country’s income distribution, the farther its Lorenz curve from the 45 degree line and the higher its Gini index.)

United for Chile

There’s no doubt a photo can say a thousand words. This photo may do just that for Chileans as it has been used widely to represent hope after the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck on February 27.

Even ‘Chile Ayuda a Chile,’ the 24-hour telethon that raised over $60 million to build emergency homes in Chile, used the photo as the official emblem for solidarity. The man pictured is Bruno Sandoval, a citizen of Pellehue, a municipality affected by the earthquake.

“It caught my attention that the flag was there. I picked it up and I shook it a little because it was all dirty and there I began to look at it and from there I saw Roberto (author of the portrait) and he photographed me.  I left it there.  There is a person over there, a crazy man (man with mental problems), that well is known in Pelluhue and they said he had taken it, but I don’t know if he has it now.  Many are looking for it, ” said Sandoval. (translated)

AP photo by Roberto Candia

“I feel a lot of pride because is an image that is lifting the country at this time, I see it as a blessing of God that it was me and and because of what happened at that moment and I feel that the flag was there so I could pick it up and the photographer could capture it. It was very spontaneous, with no intention”. (translated)

Music has also helped during these difficult times. The Chilean hip hop duo ‘Traficantantes’ created their  song for hope titled “Everybody United.”

The beginning says ” This song goes out to my Chile, for the millions of people that are suffering, for the land that witnessed our birth, this is for you my dear Chile. Strength!”

Chorus translated:

Everybody united let’s give a hand to leave the differences behind. My heart is in your hands.  My country is asking for happiness.

Video Made by Youtube user:

The song is by from rock band Los Bunkers from Concepcion, Chile.  Here are some of the lyrics, translated.

Waking up in the mornings does not do me very well
To look through the window to see the sky darkening
Walk through the street and that the people can see
the mountain of sadnesses that you left at dawn
the cities that you marked, the stones that I threw
the dream that you killed, the wound that bled

Tomorrow there will be promises at my door to open
Tomorrow there will be a tear in my eyes for you

The old ones are of the worse
They never had not even a bit of reason
but to me the years did not make me very happy
To remember is another false step
and who wants to be look at themselves at in a mirror that will not break

Chile Quake May Have Shortened Earth Day

I thought this article was very interesting and it taught me something new.

The quake, the seventh strongest earthquake in recorded history, hit Chile Saturday and should have shortened the length of an Earth day by 1.26 milliseconds, according to research scientist Richard Gross at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

You can find the complete article here.

Early Childhood Education Optional

For many years I believed that pre-k was the entry level for all children who began elementary school. I recently found out that this is not the case for all children.  When I was in pre-k it was free of cost so I never understood why some mothers would choose to keep their kids at home sitting in front of a television or in a daycare then at a school.

Now I understand what may be a possible motive; it’s not free.

I discovered this when my mother tried to enroll my four-year-old sister Mia into school.  So pre-k is optional? Turns outs it has always been optional, but now it’s an option that is more out of reach. That is, if you don’t meet certain eligibility requirements.

According to HISD in order to attend pre-k for free a child must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Be homeless
• Be unable to speak or understand English
• Be economically disadvantaged
• Be the child of an active-duty member of the U.S. military or one who has been killed, injured, or missing in action while on active duty
• Child is or ever has been in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services following an adversary hearing held as provided by Section 262.201, Family code
• NSLP to include all children who meet any eligibility criteria for Head Start, not only those who meet the low-income eligibility criteria for Head Start. The TEC, §5.001(4), defines educationally disadvantaged as “eligible to participate in the national free or reducedprice lunch program.” Consequently, all children who are eligible for Head Start are eligible for free prekindergarten, based on their eligibility for the NSLP. [1][1] Public Law 110-134, which amended 42 USC, §1758

In 2006, children of military personnel also become eligible.

Otherwise enrolling your child in preschool will cost you. My sister was not eligible and therefore my mother was told she had to pay.

Oh, but don’t worry there is a payment plan, she was told. The state-set fee is $4,290 per year, which may be paid in 10 installments of $429. No, we are not talking about college tuition. We are still talking about Preschool here. Keep in mind that preschoolers only go to school for half of a regular school day.

This was difficult to hear since my mother was looking forward to enrolling Mia into school since she can’t afford daycare. Also, with an intelligence far beyond her age, Mia was  eager to start school. Thankfully, we were able to resolve this problem, but my curiosity on this matter remained.

Why doesn’t Texas have universal preschool? Oklahoma, Georgia and Illinois among other states have universal preschool so why don’t we?

It’s important to define what universal preschool is. Universal preschool simply means making preschool available to all. Sure there are plenty of schools offering pre-k, but what happens if a parent doesn’t qualify for free or reduced lunch or meet any of the other eligibility requirements and can’t afford preschool tuition? The answer is

Georgia uses proceeds from the state lottery to fund preschools. Its preschool programs are offered to any four-year-old.

There is no doubt that early childhood education is a concern for many.

President Obama has pledged to increase funding for early childhood education. He has said:

For every dollar we invest in these programs, we get nearly $10 back in reduced welfare rolls, fewer health costs and less crime.

In 2009, Governor Rick Perry vetoed legislation that would enhance Pre-K standards. He also signed a two-year, $182 million state budget that included $25 million in new funding to support the enhanced pre-k program. This would benefit the existing pre-k program.

Some believe children who attend preschool are better prepared for elementary school.

According to researchers from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University their studies show that:

Georgia’s pre-K program offers provides early effective early education experiences that reduced the gaps between where children began preschool as four-year-olds and where they began kindergarten.

On the other hand, some seem to think  early childhood education is unnecessary and a waste of money.

According to an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal preschool may even be harmful to children.

The only preschool programs that seem to do more good than harm are very intense interventions targeted toward severely disadvantaged kids.

Read more here.