PCUN President Ramón Ramírez smiles as SB 833 passes in the Oregon House of Representatives. Photos by Jules Garza, El Hispanic News

By Richard Jones, El Hispanic News

 
Salem — Five years after cutting off driver licenses for those living in Oregon without immigration documents, Oregon’s legislators went back to work and created a means to allow undocumented immigrants to drive on the streets and highways of the state.

Oregon Senate Bill 833 will create a new level of driver permission. In addition to the current driver license, Oregon will now create a four-year driver card.

With both houses of the legislature approving SB 833 in late April, and Gov. John Kitzhaber signed the bill on May 1. Implementation will likely not take place until January of next year.

The Oregon Senate passed the bill by a margin of 20 to 7 — with three senators not voting — on April 23. Fourteen Democrats and 6 Republicans voted for the measure. Two Democrats and one Republican did not vote. The House of Representatives backed the bill 38 to 20 on April 30, with two members not voting.

Five years ago, in 2008, Oregon ceased issuing driver licenses to undocumented immigrants. The turnaround from February 2008 to April 2013 came from many sources. Prime among them was the likelihood that more drivers will purchase more automobile insurance. Few insurance companies will sell policies to unregistered drivers. With that in mind, the Oregon immigrant rights organization Causa dubbed SB 833 the “Safe Roads Bill.”

Compromise in the wind?

Photo by Jules Garza, El Hispanic News

“This is the largest victory for Latino families, Causa, our allies and our movement in Oregon history,” said Luis Guerra, a spokesperson for Causa Oregon. “The work that went into passage of SB 833 is due to the dedication and hard work of a broad coalition of bipartisan legislators, civic leaders, law enforcement, and organizations from the immigrant rights, legal, business, faith, education, and health communities.”

In their praise for the result, Causa referred to the bill as “Oregon’s bipartisan Safe Roads Bill.” A significant number of Republicans did vote for SB 833.

Rep. Dennis Richardson, a Republican from the Medford and Grants Pass area, sent an email to his constituents on April 26 asking for their input on the bill via an online survey. In the email, he outlined arguments both for and against SB 833. While asking for guidance from voters, he did give twice as much space to the supporting arguments SB 833.

Richardson said he found that four other states had adopted driver card programs. In New Mexico, he said, the rate of uninsured motorists dropped from 33 percent in 2002 to 10.6 perecent in 2007. In Utah, the number of uninsured drivers fell from 10 percent to 5 percent. Richardson said the improvement to the insured rates could be attributed to driver card programs in those states.

Opponents, Richardson said, argued that “since everyone with Oregon automobile insurance already pays for uninsured motorist coverage, the fact that automobile insurance would be more readily available is not a significant enough reason to create a special driver’s card for illegal immigrants.”

Perhaps the change from 2008 was that SB 833 was not making it an all or nothing proposition. SB 833 did not ask for a full driver license package. Instead, the SB 833 program called for a driver card — which offers fewer functions than a full license, but a lot more than nothing. In the following months, strategists from both parties will likely review the SB 833 campaign and figure what it might means for future issues.

Some features of SB 833

The 24-page bill “Directs Department of Transportation to issue driver card to applicant who does not provide proof of legal presence in United States but otherwise has complied with all requirements and has resided in Oregon more than one year.”

In general, the bill states, “a driver card is subject to the same statutes and procedures that govern driver licenses and driver permits and shall be issued, renewed, or replaced in the same manner as driver licenses or driver permits.”

The bill requires candidates for a driver card to show proof of age, as well as proof that they have lived in Oregon more than a year.

Holders of driver cards will not be eligible to have a commercial driver license, and they will not be able to use the cards as government-issued identification. The cards will expire every four years.

The bill sets out several fees.  A knowledge (written) test will cost $5, while a skills (driving) test goes for $9. Several other fees that apply in special cases range from $30 to $75.

For full details, refer to legiscan.com/OR/text/SB833/id/827283/.

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Kuno Becker portrays General Ignacio Zaragoza in “Cinco de Mayo, La Batalla.” Photo by Sandra Mayerstein, Pantelion Films 2013

That’s right, it’s time to celebrate Mexico’s victory in the Battle of Puebla. While the grocery stores and television ads would have folks in the U.S. believe it’s all about beer and tortilla chips, there’s real history and a real sense of culture and community behind el Cinco de Mayo. Luckily, we not only have several options to celebrate, we also have a chance to widely share what makes the fifth day in May worth noting every year thanks to a new, soon-to-be-released historical film. Read on to learn more.

Go big

The 29th Annual Cinco de Mayo Fiesta will offer a number of diversions for kids and adults May 3-May 5 at Portland’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Photo courtesy of Lara Media Services

Portland’s massive Cinco de Mayo Fiesta, now in its 29th year, stretches out the celebration into three full days, May 3-5, 11 a.m.-11 p.m., at Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Get in free 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on May 3, and stay late for fireworks at 9:55 p.m. The weekend also includes live music and dancing, lucha libre matches, a live butterfly exhibit, a flash mob at 6:30 p.m. on May 4, and more. Visit cincodemayo.org for more details.

Looking for something a little more intimate and farther north? The Hispanic Chamber of Yakima County offers up the 12th Annual Cinco de Mayo Fiesta Grande May 4-5 in downtown Yakima, Wash. Among the Fiesta Grande’s offerings are a car show, street soccer, talent show, and charro parade. Learn more at yakimahispanicchamber.com. Sunnyside, Wash., is also home to an annual celebration; this year’s will be held May 3-5 in downtown Sunnyside. Contact the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce at 800-457-8089 or 509-837-5939 for more information.

Go to the movies

Technically there aren’t currently any plans to release it in the Pacific Northwest, but the Mexican film “Cinco de Mayo, La Batalla” opens May 3 in Los Angeles, Orange County, and Mexico. We may have to wait for the DVD release, but that doesn’t mean we can’t eagerly anticipate the chance to see Kuno Becker (“Goal!”) portray General Ignacio Zaragoza as he leads his troops to victory over the French army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The Spanish-language film, directed by Rafa Lara (“La Milagrosa,” “Labios Rojos”), is rated R.

Get community-oriented

Southwest Portland’s Rieke Elementary and North Portland’s César Chávez School are teaming up for the Rieke Art Fair and Cinco de Mayo Celebration on May 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Rieke Elementary School (1405 S.W. Vermont St.). In addition to art classes and artistic vendors, the fair will include authentic Mexican food provided by César Chávez School parents and musical entertainment by Guitarras Románticas, Confluence, and Panache. The art fair will coincide with the weekly opening of the Hillsdale Farmers Market located in the Rieke Elementary parking lot. See riekeartfair.com for further details.

Open House Ministries, a faith-based shelter for homeless families in Vancouver, is hosting a Cinco de Mayo meal and celebration to raise funds for the shelter on May 5, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., at 900 W. 12th St., Vancouver, Wash. Tickets are $10 and RSVPs are requested to Lucy Gaspar at 360-980-7328. Also contact Gaspar if you are interested in sponsoring or donating food to the event. For more on Open House Ministries, visit sheltered.org.

The Democratic Party of Washington County has dubbed its SpringFest 2013 fundraiser “Cinco de Mayo, El Festival de la Primavera.” Taking place May 5 from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Local 290 Plumbers & Steamfitters Hall (20210 SW Teton Ave., Tualatin), the fundraiser will feature a keynote address by Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, a silent auction, raffle, and Mexican buffet dinner. Tickets are $30; $25 for seniors, veterans, and PCPs (precinct committee persons); and $15 for children. For information and reservations, visit washcodems.org/Springfest_2013 or call 503-626-7018.

Get moving

Andrea’s Cha Cha Club (832 SE Grand Ave, Portland) will host Pilon D’Azucar May 2 (doors open at 9 p.m.) for a night of salsa (including a lesson early in the evening), cumbia, merengue, bachata, son, timba, and more. Andrea’s will also be home to a “Sexy 5 de Mayo Fiesta Celebration” May 4, starting at 9 p.m. with a dance lesson. DJ Ariel will spin Top 40s, cumbia, bachata, merenguge, cubaton, timba, salsa, and tropical.

If you have any strength left in your legs after all that dancing, check out Portland’s Cinco de Mayo run/walk — which offers a half marathon as well as 5k and 10k runs/walks, and a half-mile run for kids. Runners will meet up early in the morning at Pioneer Courthouse Square on May 5, but first check out terrapinevents.com for registration information.

The post Cinco de Mayo: Celebrate, connect, and show it’s about more than cerveza and sombreros appeared first on El Hispanic News.

Ramón Ramírez, Frank García, Jr., Rep. Jessica Vega Pederson, Elizabeth Slater Remley, Andrea Cano, and Jeff Stone celebrate the César Chávez Community Service Day proclamation and the passage of SB 833. Photo by Jules Garza, El Hispanic News

Elizabeth González

Oregon State University student Elizabeth González will be one of just 30 students nationwide to participate in the inaugural GEAR UP Alumni Leadership Academy (GUALA) in Washington, D.C., this summer. González will be the only Oregon student represented and will travel to the capitol for a week-long retreat in June to receive training in grassroots advocacy, social media advocacy, and leadership skills. A sociology major and alumna of Madras High School, González is active in the Kalmekak outreach program, the Meso American Student Association, and the College Assistance Migrant Program. “I am really excited to be able to give back to those who have helped me so much with my education, as well as being able to improve the GEAR UP program for those who come after me,” Gonzalez said in a release.

Tiempo Libre joins the Oregon Symphony May 9 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Photo by Elvis Suarez, GlassWorks MultiMedia

Cynthia Carmina Gómez’s appointment to the Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs (OCHA) by Gov. John Kitzhaber has been approved by the Oregon Senate. Gómez’s appointment carries a three-year term  on the 11-member commission. Gómez, Portland State University’s director of cultural centers in the Department of Diversity and Multicultural Student Services, is a first generation Mexican-American who has lived in Oregon since 1993. She is currently on the United Way Diversity Advisory Committee and is a parent representative on Bridger’s Portland Public School Site Council. “We are thrilled to have Cynthia’s expertise on the commission,” OCHA Chair Andrea Cano said in a press release. “Cynthia’s background in social justice, education, and working with adjudicated youth will contribute to the OCHA’s policy work in these areas.”

The city of Beaverton is seeking applications from performers, artists/crafters, and cultural exhibitors interested in participating in the third annual Beaverton International Celebration. This year’s event is slated for July 27, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. There is no entry fee to participate as an artist/crafter or exhibitor. Performing arts groups selected for this event will receive a stipend of $400. The application deadline has been extended to May 20. For information and to apply, visit BeavertonOregon.gov/InternationalCelebration/ or contact Deidre Schultz at schuetz.deidre@gmail.com or 503-730-4452.

The post News briefs: May 2013 appeared first on El Hispanic News.

Clipboard in hand, Ignacio Paramo, a supervisor at the center, awaits day laborers and employers. Photo by Richard Jones, El Hispanic News

By Richard Jones, El Hispanic News<
 
Portland, OR — On the last Saturday in April, a small lot on the corner is barely visible to the drivers zipping south on Martin Luther King Blvd. Even so, the MLK Worker Center attracts people in search of day laborers. That might be as few as 15 jobs per day during the worst January weather or as many as 54 on pleasant warm days.

“Since we opened we have has provided more than 16,000 jobs,” says Romeo Sosa, executive director of VOZ Workers’ Rights Education Project.

An hour before the 2 p.m. closing time, supervisor Francisco Aguirre calculated that some 50 day workers had found jobs. With any luck the count might break the record of 54 jobs in one day.

Matters were not always so bright. For many years in Portland, day laborers looking for work would gather at corners along N.E. MLK Blvd. or E. Burnside St. If it happened to be raining — or if the temperature dropped to 20 degrees below freezing — they stood outside and toughed out the conditions.

At that early stage, far-seeing day workers began to organize. Only by consolidating their strength could they make progress.

The next major improvement occurred on June 16, 2008, when day workers found shelter at the current site of the MLK Workers’ Center.

The Portland Development Commission (PDC) provided a site to VOZ, and with the help of volunteer labor the VOZ team touched up the basic materials available and converted them into a decent looking pair of shelters.

The relationship between PDC and VOZ is still positive. The PDC started by offering VOZ a five-year lease, charging only $1 annually. This year the PDC will start sending out monthly leases.

In the early days on street corners, when a pickup truck stopped and the driver held up three fingers, six men would rush to the truck bed, trying to be one of the lucky ones hired that day.

Conditions have improved remarkably since then. Now when an employer arrives in search of labor, he or she checks in with a supervisor. Gone are the rushing and shoving. A supervisor handles the selection much like a raffle. In full sight of all the candidates, he pulls four names from a box. Then, writing on a form on his clipboard, the supervisor logs the names of the workers and that of the employer.

On the other hand, employers who have been pleased with workers may request them by name for another job.

Even with the difficulty of locating the MLK Workers’ Center, employers manage to find their way to the small parking lot. There they hire day laborers for landscaping, painting, household goods moving, and other chores. Workers often bring tools, work gloves, and hard shoes for tough jobs.

One woman conceded she had something of an advantage. In addition to performing hard labor chores alongside men, she can also take care of inside chores — vacuuming and dusting — jobs that men have little knowledge of.

Sosa says that workers receive $12 per hour. Workers performing skilled jobs can receive higher wages for their time. By custom, Sosa adds, those who get hired will donate $1 the next day to help maintain the facilities.

Volunteers pitch in

The opening of the MLK Worker Center marked a great leap forward. The larger of the two buildings — about 24-feet by 24-feet — sometimes serves as a meeting room, or a lunch room, or just a place to sit down to rest and sip a cup of coffee.

Another building — about 8-feet wide and 30-feet long — serves as the on-site office and classroom. Sosa notes that the floor now needs substantioal repair.

Supervisors such as Ignacio Paramo and Aguirre take care of business on site.

The MLK Worker Center hosts more than workers. On the last Saturday in April, about 20 teenagers from Ascension Catholic Church in Portland had come to learn about the center. Later they grabbed brooms and swept down the asphalt paths and parking areas and collected litter.

One of the girls said that to help the teens understand the plight of those who sometimes could not always afford to feed themselves, the group had not eaten dinner the previous night. She said they would remain without food until that night to complete their 24-hour fast.

Another group of a half-dozen adults arrived from the Yankton Community Church near St. Helens. Jeff Van Natta said this group comes down about once a month with sack lunches for the day laborers.

“They welcome us with warm smiles,” Van Natta says. “It gives them hope. You can see it in their eyes.” In winter, he says, the workers really look forward to a bowl of hot soup.

On other days, one of the day workers said, bakeries sometimes bring treats, or an Asian restaurant might offer up some of their specialties.

This all-purpose facility now has a cabinet, a refrigerator, a microwave a tiny toaster-oven, and even a TV that could get lost behind a pizza box. Only one thing was missing: indoor running water. There is only one source for water and that is a hose by a fence adjacent to the sidewalk.

The facilities at the center aren’t exactly built along the lines of a five-star luxury hotel. The waiting room serves to protect prospective day laborers with shelter from harsh winter days. Inside, workers can warm themselves with coffee. Outside, in fair weather or foul, day workers can relieve themselves in one of two portable toilets on site. But running water? Maybe. If the hose is not frozen.

As much as the MLK Worker Center has improved the workers’ conditions, it is still a notch below any basic human standards.

A better future?

Even though the MLK Workers’ Center has made impressive progress, the project needs more attention. Sosa and his staff have been meeting with Portland officials, including Mayor Charlie Hales, to discuss the situation. Sosa reports that in forums Hales has definitely expressed support the center.

“He’s on our side,” Sosa says.

Sosa also maintains good relationships with businesses near the center.

“We clean the street and pick up garbage,” he says. Moreover, he adds, “We invite them to come to our events.”

Sosa would like to bring the site up to decent sanitary standards. Indeed, he says an architect has sketched out some preliminary plans for a two-story building to serve all the center’s needs.

That’s where a gray cloud floats over the project. If VOZ invests a large sum of money in building and ties into city water and sewage services, VOZ would not have legal control of the site. In theory, the PDC could wait until the lease runs out and then claim the improvements as belonging to the PDC and, in effect, to the city of Portland.

To cover the interests of VOZ investors, Sosa would like to have the PDC — and Portland — sign the property over to VOZ.

Sosa also worries that PDC might have its own plans for this small chunk of property.

At the moment, PDC spokesman Shawn Uhlman says he has heard no plans for PDC to develop the site in any way.

Uhlman said that he has sent VOZ a renewal lease form to sign.

It is uncertain if worker center members will, one day in the future, wash their lunch dishes in an indoor sink or continue to use hoses by the fence — or if they’ll have access to a bathroom rather than a portable toilet in January.

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Portland Opera presents Verdi’s comedic opera “Falstaff” May 10-18 at Portland’s Keller Auditorium. Photo by Kent Miles

By Julie Cortez, El Hispanic News

 
If comedy is hard, try hustling for laughs while belting out arias. Oh, and you’re going to have to pass muster as a Shakespearean actor at the same time. And wear a fat suit.

“You have a body over your body that you don’t feel,” says bass baritone Eduardo Chama. “You sweat like a pig!”

Such is the test facing Chama as he fills the role — and the fat suit — of the title character in Portland Opera’s production of “Falstaff,” opening May 10 at the Keller Auditorium.

“Most conductors love this opera,” he says, “because it’s such a challenge.”

Giuseppe Verdi’s final opera and only his second comedy, “Falstaff” distills the thousands of words in Shakespeare’s “The Merry Wives of Windsor” down to hundreds, resulting in great demands on performers in terms of dialogue, rhythm, and believability, according to the Argentina-born opera singer, who also teaches voice at Rutgers University. Musically, he adds, the work requires the talents of the singers and the orchestra to be “squeezed to the max.”

Yet Chama insists the risk he runs is not of bringing too little to this massive task, but too much.

“I’m very energetic,” Chama says. “I always go to 300 percent.”

He credits directors like Portland Opera’s Christopher Mataliano for reining him in so he doesn’t resort to “cheap comedy” — an easy path to veer toward in a comedic work about the continuing misadventures of one of the Bard’s most beloved — and most low-brow — characters, the lusty and rotund Sir John Falstaff.

Eduardo Chama

Chama describes Falstaff as a “very cute” and “very rude” rogue — a man of questionable morals who nonetheless believes, to a point, in honor amongst thieves. He’s also in the throes of a middle-age crisis.

“He truly believes he’s sexy,” Chama says.

Short on cash, Falstaff seeks to shore up his finances by seducing two married women — only to be abused and humiliated as the women team up to exact revenge on the aging knight.

“He’s a role that everybody loves,” Chama says, and he expects “Falstaff” to appeal to fans of comedy, opera newbies, and folks looking for something a little different on date night. The performer even suggests bringing the object of one’s affection to this production might improve the odds of having a particularly successful evening after the curtain falls.

“If you know what I mean,” he says with a smile, channeling a touch of Falstaff’s winking charm.

There will be four performances of “Falstaff” between May 10 and May 18 at Portland’s Keller Auditorium. For information about the production and tickets — which start at $25 — visit portlandopera.org or call 503-241-1802.

The post Opera singer Eduardo Chama talks ‘Falstaff’ and fat suits appeared first on El Hispanic News.

Alberto Moreno

By Alberto Moreno, El Hispanic News

 
In 1977 we arrived in this country. My sister and I. After travelling on Coyote’s back for thousands of miles across uncharted territories.

Unknown to us at the time another voyager had also begun its own journey, its own tentative improbable migration across a different frontier. On the year of our arrival to this country, Voyager was launched on its maiden flight across our mysterious, uncharted galaxy. This small crucible portaging with it our hopes and aspirations into distant planets. Its small atomic heart beating lonely across a dark unseen sky. Reaching.

Sent into the abyss to shine a mirror into dark space and see ourselves reflected there. Hardwired into its ribs and bones our longing for ourselves.

Built into its metallic body a question. Are we alone?

This small crucible has now been travelling by its lonesome for 35 years, searching for other life among this vast cosmos, searching for this divine reflection.

In that time here countless wars have been waged. Millions of men and women have perished to our own tended darkness.

In only a generation, Mahatma, Martin, and César have come and gone.

Our careless leaders and fathers boast the threat of nuclear annihilation. Trillions of dollars have been spent on the armature of war and the extinction of human lives.

But we have not always given in to the narrative of fear. There is evidence buried, of our better nature. We are unearthing it now. This evidence of our irrational compassion and kindness.

In the meantime, Voyager’s lonely heart thumps, carrying forward a kind of prayer into the vast night sky. A small red beacon pulsing on and off. On and off.

Voyager has now travelled across our planetary system, past small Pluto, past lovely Venus, and has bid farewell to Saturn’s rings.

We cannot know with certainty what its mechanical eye has seen or who has witnessed its solitary silent passing.

But carried in this tender hull we have placed an invitation. In the form of two golden plaques to describe where the spacecraft came from, with images of an unclothed man and unclothed woman, a diagram of a solar system, and a pictorial showing the sun relative to other nearby stars.

The discs carry photos of the Earth and its life forms, spoken greetings from people and a medley of Earth sounds, including the sounds of whales, a baby crying, waves breaking on a shore.

In case, just in case, anyone is out there.

I marvel at this chance meeting and how courageous we are. To journey naked, save for our hope, in the event that someone should want to claim us.

To receive us and in so doing answer our one question, our own plaintive prayer. That we are not alone. That we are so loved that our seeding is neither accidental nor unique.

Since we launched Voyager, we have spent billions upon billions of dollars to search for other life.

And do not misunderstand me — human inquiry has its place. But I want to scream or whisper to us that there is life here. Sweet, sacred life. And it is endangered.

But I want to say again that there is tender, beautiful, precious life here among us. Worth preserving. Worth defending. I want to say we are each other’s longing. Here. Now!

And I want to share a secret with you. I want to whisper it into your ear, as if we were lovers so that only you and I hear it. And that is this:

That everything will turn out alright.

And that you are Great. Beyond measure. This is your birthright.

Do not believe the lie that tells you that you are small.

Rage against the lie that tells you that you are a sin or illegal! Your body is not illegal! It is above all things, sacred. Know instead that you are grace incarnate waiting for itself.

Do not believe the lie that tells you that you are your fears. Or your anger. Anger is only a bridge and not the full path.

Do not believe the narrative of hopelessness and powerlessness. You are powerful beyond your own imagining.

This brief appearance you call your life has been in the making for millennia and the echo of your deeds will reverberate for generations to come.

No, fear is not your inheritance. You are not this darkness which visits you in this moment of your life. Instead know that you are hope’s cradle and the fire’s consuming source.

You are life’s longing for itself expressed briefly in this most tender of forms.

And know finally and beyond all doubt that

There Will Come A Time

There will come

A time

When against

Our waning, dying

Faith

Someone will come

To claim us

Will come, simply

To walk us home …

The post Opinion: The archeology of kindness appeared first on El Hispanic News.

Will demonstrations like this Portland one in support of José Barreto Alonso, who held by ICE in 2012, be less necessary under the new attempt at immigration reform? Photo by Jules Garza, El Hispanic News

By Valeria Fernández, New America Media

 
Phoenix, AZ — Maria Del Rosario Rodríguez first heard the good news via a text message from her husband. She rushed to tell her co-workers — there might be a chance for her to reunite with her family on U.S. soil for the first time since she was deported in May 2011.

“My husband told me he heard on the news there’ll be immigration reform for those who are outside (the U.S.),” said the 36-year-old woman, speaking by phone from her current residence in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico.

A bipartisan group of senators known as the “Gang of 8” introduced an immigration reform bill in the U.S. Senate on April 17 that includes a long path to citizenship for some of the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country, and a chance for those who have already been deported to return, if they have children or spouses who are already U.S. citizens and can meet other requirements.

That means Rodríguez could get a shot at reuniting with her two U.S.-citizen children, whom she now sees every 15 days when they come visit her in Puerto Peñasco, a Mexican tourist town located five hours by car from their home in Phoenix.

The provision of the bill in question, S. 744, would allow the parents of U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents to request a waiver from the secretary of Homeland Security to allow them to apply for legal residency.

Applicants would need to meet all requirements, which include not having a felony conviction. Those who qualify would be classified as Registered Provisional Immigrants (RPI) with a right to travel and work in the United States. After 10 years, they would then be given a chance to apply for a green card.

The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act would also allow DREAMers — undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children — who have been deported a chance to reenter the United States with RPI status.

While this is apparently the first time an immigration reform bill offers deported immigrants a chance to return to the country legally, the law is still very narrow, explained Claire Bergeron, a research assistant at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) a non-partisan immigration think tank based in Washington, D.C.

“It will be limited to people that were not deported for a criminal reason,” said Bergeron. “What kind of criminal convictions will bar you will depend on regulations issued by DHS [Department of Homeland Security].”

In Arizona, this particular aspect of the proposed bill is of special interest because the state has carried out large numbers of deportations resulting from state laws like SB 1070 and heavy-handed enforcement tactics such as immigration sweeps of neighborhoods and businesses in places like Maricopa County. During 2010, the year SB 1070 became made it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant in Arizona, more than 92,000 people were deported from Arizona, accounting for about one quarter of deportations nationwide.

“With SB 1070 we’ve seen too many deportations,” said Petra Falcón, president of the organization Promesa Arizona. The activist group has been holding vigils the last few days in expectation of the immigration bill being introduced.

Falcón and others marched on April 17 to the Maricopa County Jail on 4th Avenue in Phoenix to protest the arrest of immigrants caught working with false documents — a charge that could result in their deportation.

“Moving forward, we must ensure that individuals are not excluded from participating in this historic reform because of old or minor criminal offenses,” said Alessandra Soller, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Arizona.

The provision S. 744 would also allow people currently in deportation proceedings to apply for RPI status.

Falcón and other activists believe that’s a positive element of the proposed bill, but say President Obama should declare a halt on all deportations, with so many continuing to face harsh penalties in states like Arizona.

Renewed hope

Jaqueline García, a 16-year-old U.S. citizen, has renewed hope that her grandfather — her legal custodian — will now have a chance to come back home. In May of last year, he was driving to the hospital to visit his wife when local police pulled him over, asked for his papers, and subsequently turned him over to immigration authorities.

“He didn’t have anything [crimes] on his record,” García said.

After her grandfather was deported, García dropped out of high school to become the main breadwinner for her family.

“I’m really hoping for this legislation to keep going further,” she said. “I really need my grandfather. It’s been really hard for me to work two jobs, taking care of my brother and my grandmother.”

Cynthia Gómez, the 17-year-old daughter of Maria Del Rosario Rodríguez, is more skeptical.

“I’m obviously excited about it, but I’m doubtful. It sounds too good to be true,” Gómez said.

For the past two years, Rodríguez has had to adjust to life in Mexico after being gone for over a decade.

“There’s lots of people like me here [in Mexico],” she said. “My son doesn’t like to come here (and) the future of my daughter is in the U.S. I do hope they do something, because I’m not the only one.”

According to Bergeron, there are still many questions that need to be answered as to how the waiver for those who were deported will work, and whether it will extend to those who left the United States by choice.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the number of undocumented immigrants in Arizona dropped by 200,000 between 2008 and 2011. Many chose to leave the state to relocate to other, friendlier locations. Others returned to their country of origin due to Arizona’s strict employment laws and the frequent immigration sweeps.

Salvador Reza, a longtime human rights activist in Arizona and a member of the indigenous collective Tonatierra, said that giving a second chance to people who were deported is one of the “only aspects of the bill I like.”

“What I worry about,” he said, “is how they’re criminalizing the people that will be left outside of the reform.”

The post Some deportees could reunite with families in U.S. under new immigration bill appeared first on El Hispanic News.

Jaime Rodriguez (center) is surrounded by supporters wearing his campaign T-shirts. Left to right, Michael Crabbe, Nancy Ashton, Rodriguez, Aije Ashton, and Timbrel Ashton. Photos by Richard Jones, El Hispanic News

By Richard Jones, El Hispanic News

 
Hillsboro, OR — Blocks away from the Tom Hughes Civic Central Plaza in Hillsboro, one could hear the Elvis Presley sound-alike belting out the King’s hits. En español, no less.

Foods and crafts awaited the crowd. Hillsboro’s ninth annual Latino Cultural Fiesta was in high gear.

And, with a school board election set for May 21, no fiesta would be complete without a candidate or two. In this case the candidate was Jaime Rodríguez, who is seeking a seat on the Hillsboro School Board, position 2. Rodríguez had set up shop at the Democratic Party booth, offering information sheets and campaign buttons, posters, and T-shirts.

The previous day in Northeast Portland, Erick Flores — and his Parkrose School District position 5 campaign materials — greeted coffee drinkers at a Starbucks shop. In addition to his handouts and buttons, Flores had pages and pages of names of voters along with their party registration. Along with this, he had maps to enable supporters to know which homes had been visited and which doors they should knock on. The goal: reach as many voters in as possible without knocking on any door twice.

Both Rodríguez and Flores enlisted dozens and dozens of volunteers to encourage citizens to send in their ballots — and vote for the “right” candidate.

These days, it seems, any candidate — school board candidates or prospective U.S. senator —must huddle with an advisor to develop a carefully thought out plan to expect to be competitive. And that plan needs to identify a short list of issues that will resonate with voters.

Rodríguez and Flores had done their homework.

Since school board members receive no pay for their labors, the cost of campaign materials comes largely from the candidates’ pockets and purses.

Working with a savvy print shop worker, Flores found that by using several trade secrets it was possible to turn out professional-looking brochures at bargain prices.

The Hillsboro School District

Jaime Rodríguez’ small campaign cards offer a quick summary of his values — “Kids First!” — but, seated on an outdoor table at the fiesta, he quickly shifted into the details of his major issues.

He says adequate funding means having sufficient money to hire enough teachers to keep class sizes at a reasonable level. Or, failing that, schools should have classroom assistants to provide individual attention for students in need of special help.

“Teacher aides are needed in large classrooms,” he notes.

On the other side of the public purse, Rodríguez proposes to create a set of “checks and balances to be sure that resources are being used [wisely].”

Rodríguez says school board members should stay in touch with their state legislators to keep them posted on the needs of schools.

He also pegs technology as a critical element in education. “This is what I hear from parents, teachers, and students,” he reports, adding that he agrees with them. “Technology is needed for students to be competitive in the real world.”

“Computers in our classrooms are antiquated,” he charges. “They take too long to download information.”

Moreover, he says, teachers should know how to use computers and other technological tools.

“Hillsboro is very diversified in population,” Rodríguez says. It is important, he adds, to “insure that teachers have the cultural diversity training they need. Don’t put them in a classroom situation without training.”

So far, Rodríguez says, he and his opponent, Glenn Miller, have not appeared on the same platform together. Nonetheless, Rodríquez feels confident about his chance in the May 21 election.

The Parkrose School District

Erick Flores turns a coffee shop into a campaign center as he explains the programs he would like to initiate as a member of the Parkrose School Board. Photos by Richard Jones, El Hispanic News

On his smaller brochures, Flores says he’s an advocate “for greater and stronger schools.”

In his campaign for position 5 in the Parkrose School District, Flores has two opponents —Bruce Altizer and Heather Simoneau.

During Flores’ meet-and-greet with Starbucks’ customers, Diego Hernández dropped by to greet Flores. Hernández is unopposed in his quest to win a seat on the Reynolds School District Board of Directors, position 2.

Flores came to the United States when he was 17. As an immigrant, he knows well the difficulties of adapting to how things operate in this country. Thus he aims to help parents new to the U.S. to understand how the education system works.

Flores understands that children who receive help from their parents are more likely to excel in school. One of his goals is to educate parents so they understand how important it is for them to take an active role in their kids’ learning.

Flores aims to close the achievement gap for students of color by changing the school’s attitude. He says it is important “to have models from many communities.” That way, he reasons, we can achieve a path to the middle economic class.

For the next generation to rise to middle class status or higher, he says, “We need all of the people to be involved.”

Correction: An article in our April edition erroneously reported that Erick Flores was running for a seat on the Mount Hood Community College school board. El Hispanic News regrets the error.

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Robin Castro (left) and John Halseth have been together almost 18 years. Photo by Julie Cortez, El Hispanic News

By Julie Cortez, El Hispanic News

 
Robin Castro and John Halseth were married once — for a very short time. The brevity of their union was not caused by infidelity, or youthful haste, or disregard for the hard work needed to make a marriage last. Together almost 18 years, Castro and Halseth are, in fact, still very much in love.

But after becoming legally wed when Multnomah County briefly granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2004, their marriage was taken away by a voter-backed amendment to the Oregon Constitution and by the Oregon Supreme Court.

“After that, when it became that close, we decided we were going to wait and we’re gonna fight for that right,” Castro said of the couple’s decision not to register as domestic partners after their marriage license was invalidated.

“We’re waiting for marriage to be legal right here in Oregon,” Halseth said, “and we’re working hard for that.”

Hundreds of people packed the sidewalk in front of the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse for the “Portland Rally for the Freedom to Marry” on March 26. Photo by Julie Cortez, El Hispanic News

The couple spoke to El Hispanic News during the “Portland Rally for the Freedom to Marry,” held downtown on March 26 to coincide with the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8.

When Measure 36 passed in 2004, amending the Oregon Constitution to limit marriage to one man and one woman, Thalia Zepatos — then a local activist and now director of public engagement for the national Freedom to Marry campaign — recalls thinking it could take another 20 or 30 years for Oregon to be ready to seriously consider extending the right to marry to same-sex couples. Just 10 years later, in 2014, marriage equality will once again be put before Oregon voters — and this time supporters are optimistic, both about the state’s chances and the likelihood that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in their favor come June.

“I’m very, very hopeful after the oral arguments in the cases,” Zepatos said.

“It was something that we never thought would happen in our lifetime,” Castro said, barely audible above the approving honks from drivers passing the rally. “… To see the support that we have now, versus what we had when we were in our 20s — it’s a totally different world.”

“It feels like we’re on this kind of accelerating process of breaking down misinformation,” Thalia Zepatos says. Photo by Julie Cortez, El Hispanic News

Much of Zepatos’ work in recent years has been centered on rallying that level of support — on changing hearts and minds and letting less vocal supporters know they aren’t alone in their opinions. For example, multiple national polls have shown a majority of Latinos support same-sex marriage rights, but it was often a “quiet level of support” within families, Zepatos said. “People were not talking about it too much.”

In response, she helped develop Familia es Familia, a partnership of over 20 national Latino civil rights organizations that has produced a website and bilingual brochure focused on spurring conversations in Latino families around LGBTQ issues. The partner organizations — among them the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the National Council of la Raza (NCLR) — are actively communicating to their communities,  that “Gay people are not someone else,” Zepatos said. “Gay people are part of the Latino community, too.”

“When one group is denied the dignity and the right to marry, it diminishes us all,” NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía said in a press release on the day the Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments on DOMA and Prop. 8. “We stand with our LGBT brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, and sons and daughters, many of whom are Latino, and call upon the Supreme Court to make the right choice and extend the freedom to marry to the LGBT community.”

The release went on to argue: “The Supreme Court decision is particularly important for Latinos in immigrant families because many same-sex binational couples are prohibited from petitioning for a foreign-born partner to receive permanent residence and citizenship. Many spouses have had no choice but to return to their country of origin, often separating not only from their partner, but also from their children. In fact, in nearly one-half of the binational LGBT couples facing separation, one of the partners is Hispanic.”

Castro and Halseth’s more basic motivation for wanting to be legally wed is the desire to ensure they can care for each other as they approach retirement age, but to them it’s also about fundamental fairness — and they are heartened that so many people seem to be moving toward the same conclusion.

“I think people are finally realizing not only the reality that same-sex marriage is equality, but also that it’s good for society,” Castro said. “… It is so overwhelming sometimes when we see the amount of support we have now. I would just say thank you to everybody, because this is not a gay issue; this is an issue that impacts everybody,” he added, tears springing to his eyes. “To see all the support is amazing, and it is overwhelming sometimes, and that could make me cry — but I’m a cry baby.”

For more information on Familia es Familia, visit familiaesfamilia.org.

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