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Is Pennsylvania Rep. Lou Barletta part of some unknown Italian American tribe that has always been here in this country because last time we checked the Ellis Island records, there are about 667 people named Barletta who crossed the Atlantic Ocean for a better life in the United States of America. Guess Rep. Barletta can’t […]

UPDATE, April 1, 2013 10 pm EST: the Florida Atlantic University protest group behind the call to stop the GEO Group’s efforts said the following in a press statement: “This shows that students, faculty and the community working together can speak out for justice and human rights and win—even against a $2 billion company and […]

First, the good news: Immigration reform has gained support among Democrats and Republicans. And now, the bad news: Immigration reform also has some very determined opponents in both parties. As recent headlines show, the pro-reform Republicans include national party leaders who see their party in a demographic death spiral without Latino support along with employers […]

This is the first of a series of reports from the Open Society Justice Initiative about the trial in Guatemala City of former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sanchez, former military intelligence chief. The charges are “crimes against humanity and genocide.” As the OSJI states, “The charges arise from systematic massacres of […]

This week the trial of Guatemala’s ex-dictator Efraín Ríos Montt began. Democracy Now! featured this story today on their show. Here is the video: The show’s site also provided more context about this historic trial: In Guatemala, a landmark trial is underway against former U.S.-backed dictator Efraín Ríos Montt on charges of genocide and crimes […]

Last night Puerto Rico’s World Baseball Team shocked sports fans everywhere when it defeated two-time champion Japan, 3-1, in San Francisco to advance to tomorrow night’s WBC championship between the winner of tonight’s Dominican Republic-Netherlands game. Given that the Puerto Ricans are the tournament’s underdogs, first defeating the USA and now the Japanese, boricuas on […]

Let’s get this straight: last night’s bench-clearing brawl between Mexico and Canada at the World Baseball Classic in Phoenix’s Chase Field was ugly. However, we don’t know what is sadder—the actual fight or the reactions and consequences after the fact. Here are a few things you should know: No one will get disciplined. Yes, you […]

A ruling in the case CURTIS ACOSTA, et al., Plaintiffs, vs. JOHN HUPPENTHAL, et al. Defendants, has been rendered out of United States District Court, District of Arizona. In short, the ruling was a crushing blow to the Mexican American Studies program out of Tucson, which is banned under current Arizona law. As Plantiffs’ attorney […]

Yes, familia, even opinion writers in blue state Massachusetts show their cultural ignorance once in a while. Take the case of The Boston Globe’s Jeff Jacoby, a conservative columnist who today penned the following opinion piece, “Americans speak every language, but only English unites us.” The column focuses on Gabriel Gómez, a second-generation Colombian American […]

Today Terra.com reported that an ATM at “El Ocho de Blanco,” a bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, printed a receipt with the sentence “WE HATE FAGS,” causing some in the island’s LGBT community to criticize the bar and the ATM owner for the offensive message. The bar’s management insisted that it had no control […]

During the past few years, it’s been easy for some to ask: What is the deal with Arizona? Or, more specifically, what is the deal with that sheriff? With banning books — Shakespeare, really? With the racist SB 1070, which requires anyone who might not look right to carry proof of citizenship or legal residency? […]

Today Emilio Sánchez, President and Editor-in-Chief of the Miami-based VOXXI news site, wrote a three-page post entitled “A Fierce Campaign Against the Dignity of Salomon Melgen.” In the piece, Sánchez suggested reasons as to why he thinks the latest FBI investigation of Melgen, who is listed on VOXXI’s site as the company’s Chairman and Founder (UPDATE: […]

The prospects for comprehensive immigration reform have never looked brighter. After 71% of Latinos voted to re-elect Barack Obama, a stunned Republican party saw the consequences of pandering to its xenophobic fringe during the Republican primaries and the general election. In the wake of this demoralizing defeat, some GOP leaders have publicly reconsidered their hardline […]

And the hits keep on coming. In response to the news of a bipartisan immigration reform framework, Pennsylvania Rep. Lou Barletta told a local paper the following: It’s amnesty that America can’t afford. We have to stop people from coming in illegally. This will be a green light for anyone who wants to come to […]

Now that everyone is an immigration expert all of a sudden, you just knew that some politicians would overlook a few issues surrounding the debate. Case in point, New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, who appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this morning and just had to go there. Here it is. Those “illegals.” Yo, Senator […]

Here comes the narrative. Immigration reform. Bipartisan support. The U.S. Latino vote is pissed. Etc, etc, etc. Today MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the bipartisan push for comprehensive immigration reform was front and center. And it kind of bothered us. First, watch the video that featured Senators John McCain and Chuck Schumer. We have watched the video […]

Any predictions from certain Mexican American columnists that rhyme with Venderrette saying that Texas Senator Ted Cruz (R) would have a more open mind to the latest bipartisan immigration reform framework announced today were put to rest when Cruz issued the following statement: I appreciate the good work that senators in both parties have put […]

This morning, DREAMer activist leader Erika Andiola made an appearance on Univision’s Al Punto with Jorge Ramos. Andiola, whose family story gained global attention after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials raided her home the night of January 10, discussed several topics in this segment, from the events surrounding the ICE raid to the recent announcement […]

We received the following release from United We Dream today: 20+ Local Affiliates Hold Rallies, Vigils, Call-In Days and “Banner Drops” to Decry Deportations that Divide Families and Push Obama to Lead on Immigration Washington, D.C. – This week, coinciding with President Obama’s inauguration, hundreds of DREAMers across the country will participate in nearly two […]

This is why SNL frustrates us: even when they are funny, it seems that they can’t pull it off completely, that the privilege is just too engrained in its writing staff. Case in point: the show’s “Starbucks” commercial parody from this weekend. No doubt, the idea was really funny. Generally speaking, Starbucks are notorious for […]

Even as the Department of Homeland Security announced yesterday that deferred action recipients are now considered to have a “lawful presence” in the United States, recent events in Arizona and in other parts of the country have sent a mixed message. The homes of Arizona DREAMers continued to get raided in 2013, from Erika Andiola […]