Politics

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has agreed to hold a full day hearing on the issue of Puerto Rico’s status and the results of a non-binding plebiscite held last November 6, according to reports from El Nuevo Día. Initially postponed from June 11, committee leaders Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) finally agreed […]

This just in from the New York Daily News: Officer Jessenia Guzman is not the only Spanish-speaking cop to face consequence under the NYPD’s controversial English-only policy. A total of nine Hispanic officers have been cited for running afoul of the policy, a national Latino police organization said Tuesday. Many of the officers were hit […]

As we were reading our feed this morning, we came across yet another shining moment from Alabama senator Jeff Sessions (R), one of the more vocal critics of immigration reform. Sessions made an appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation and basically said that this whole immigration reform push is all about “ethnic politics” and that […]

To quote the great Ricky Ricardo, “You got a lot of explainin’ to do.” Such is the case of Texas Senator Ted Cruz and his dad Rafael Bienvenido Cruz, who were featured today on NPR. The younger Cruz, born in Canada and now one of Congress’ stauchest critics of the current immigration reform bill being […]

I knew almost immediately that when a story from offthegridnews.com began with this headline, “U.S. Food Stamps In Puerto Rico Costing You 2 Billion Dollars,” readers weren’t going to get much actual real information about Puerto Rico and its relationship with the United States. That was pretty much confirmed when the piece’s author, Tara Dodrill, […]

Earlier this week, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach was invoking the Second Amendment when describing a protest in his front yard by immigration activists. Today, according to the HuffPost, Kobach is now claiming that Sunflower Community Action advocates were employing tactics perfected by the KKK. Here is what the HuffPost shared about Kobach’s latest […]

The Daily Texan reported yesterday that the University of Texas’ “Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS) took another cut Friday when Gov. Rick Perry line-item vetoed $1.5 million in funding to the center approved by the Texas Legislature.” Perry issued a statement where he explained that “he vetoed the funds for the center and other […]

Today, after conservative bloggers expressed outrage about “a mob” of 200 people using “intimidation tactics” at a protest in front of the home of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, Fox News’ Tod Starnes interwiewed Kobach, who said that he is calling for a criminal investigation about the protest. Here is what Starnes reported: “I […]

So now we really know where Puerto Rican governor Alejandro García Padilla stands when it comes to the island’s status quo and its commonwealth relationship with the United States. In an interview on CNN en español, García Padilla said that if Puerto Rico were to become the 51st state of the Union, the island would […]

You don’t think words matter? You don’t think people like Michelle Malkin and Rep. Steve King aren’t strategically using words and labels to whip up the desperate nativist fervor in the United States of America? Last week, the Twitter profile Rep. King was sharing the Iowa congressman’s disgust that a bunch of young people (“self-professed […]

Rep. Steve King, the GOP congressman who pushed a restrictive amendment in the House of Representatives basically calling for the end of deferred action for DREAMers, took his opinions to Twitter this morning when his profile tweeted the following: 20 brazen self professed illegal aliens have just invaded my DC office. Obama’s lawless order gives […]

Today during the opening session of a debate that is considering whether the current immigration reform bill should be put to a vote in the Senate, Virginia senator Tim Kaine (D) gave his remarks supporting the measure in Spanish. Such a speech almost guarantees top billing today on Spanish-language media, and it will raise several […]

SAN JUAN – Yesterday Ricardo Rosselló, Michael González Cruz, and Joel Isaac Díaz, leaders of Boricua ¡Ahora Es! (BAE), a political advocacy group that believes in changing Puerto Rico’s current territorial status with the United States, filed a joint complaint to the Puerto Rico’s Commission on Civil Rights, saying that that the civil rights of […]

This morning, I spent 30 minutes with Madelyn Lugo, chairperson of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) organization. We covered several issues surrounding the latest developments with the official Coors parade can that has led to controversy in New York City’s Puerto Rican community. We also discussed the request by the state attorney general […]

Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum is one clueless Republican. Today, Schlafly basically shared more ignorance about U.S. Latinos in a minute than most people will share in a lifetime. We have no words. Just listen to what she had to say when asked about whether the Republican Party should do a better job in […]

In case you missed it, HuffPost Live did a segment last week to discuss the May 15 statehood bill Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi submitted to Congress. The segment was hosted by @AliciaMelendez, and the segment’s guests were: Angel Toledo-Lopez @atoledolopez (San Juan, Puerto Rico), Professor of Political Science at the Sistema Universitario Ana G. Méndez Kenneth McClintock @PRKDMc (San […]

With only two days left before filing a final petition to force a special election, supporters of a campaign to recall Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio entered its final push to gather 90,000 remaining signatures. Supporters are hoping that last week’s federal court decision against Arpaio and his office stating that they racially profiled Latino […]

This just in from AZ Central: The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has engaged in racial profiling and must not use Hispanic ancestry as a factor when making law-enforcement decisions, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Murray Snow issued the ruling Friday, more than eight months after a seven-day trial on the subject concluded. […]

This week, Philadelphia’s Al Día News held a forum with Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett (R). During that forum, Corbett was asked by Sabrina Vourvoulias, Al Día’s managing editor, if he had any Latinos on his staff. Corbett responded by saying, “No, we do not have any staff members in there. If you can find us […]

Rep. Raúl Labrador, a Republican from Idaho, is one of three voting members of Congress to be born in Puerto Rico. Labrador was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, while Democrat José Serrano was born in Mayagüez and Democrat Nydia Velázquez was born in Yabucoa. Since Labrador is the only Republican in Congress with birth ties […]

Several outlets have reported tonight that the genocide conviction of former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt has been annulled. This is what Reuters reported: “Guatemala’s constitutional court on Monday overturned a genocide conviction against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, throwing out all proceedings in his case since a dispute broke out last month over who […]