Our land of the free, but no trespassing

A decision has been made. According to NBClatino.com, "The Supreme Court has upheld the part of Arizona’s controversial immigration law which allows the state’s police officers to check a person’s immigration status once that person has been detained or arrested, if there is reasonable suspicion that person is undocumented.  This has more commonly been referred to as the 'show me your papers please' law." This is good and bad. Good since the Supreme Court struck down three of the provisions which included carrying federal registration cards but bad since officers can still ask undocumented immigrants for their papers.

On Facebook, some had no problem expressing their opinion and even comparing it to Nazi Germany. One Facebook user wrote, "Why not just make all the citizens wear an American flag patch and all the immigrants wear a patch of their country of origin, like they did in Nazi Germany before the Holocaust?" Although it's a bit much comparing what's going on in Arizona to Nazi Germany, this is exactly how a tremendous event begins. One state or person becomes rebellious and takes matters into their own hand. Soon, people start to follow and assume it's right. Arizona Govenor Jan Brewer commented, ""Today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court is a victory for the rule of law. It is also a victory for the 10th Amendment and all Americans who believe in the inherent right and responsibility of states to defend their citizens."


What will the future hold for a country that wants us to spend money in their industry yet likes to find ways to prevent us from becoming citizens? The citizenship process can take years and involves so many different paths. Time can only tell.

Job Alert: NALAC seeks assistance

The National Association of Latino Arts & Cultures conference (in Philadelphia) is fast approaching. While the host committee works diligently with the national committee, they are also in the process of hiring. This is a perfect opportunity to temporarily work (3 months) as well as connect with Philadelphia's arts & culture community. Of course there will be opportunities to meet and mingle with conference attendees, but this is work after all. Hurry because the deadline to submit your resume is Friday, June 29. You should also be ready to work from July 16 - October 21.

In a nutshell, they conference coordinator should be able to manage various tasks including:

• Plan logistical and administrative arrangements as directed by the Philadelphia Conference Host Committee;
• Coordinate logistics for Philadelphia Host Committee meetings and events as needed to include communication, preparing meeting materials and notices, securing meeting spaces and other duties as needed;
• Meet with necessary vendors and representatives to gather information for services and equipment; e.g., audio-visuals, production equipment, transportation, catering, etc.
• Identify and assign volunteers as needed;
• Identify alternative performance venues, hotel/housing opportunities;
• Assist with registration, production and various administrative duties as directed by NALAC before, during and immediately following the conference from October 14-22, 2012;
• Make special deliveries or pick ups;
• Respond to the needs and requests of the Philadelphia Conference Host Committee;
• Work closely with the Philadelphia Conference HOst Committee in all national conference planning aspects;

This week's articles of interest

Asians Surpass Latino in Number of U.S. Immigrants - There goes the neighborhood. Soon AAJA will be boosting with members. 

Why we need minority media - This is pretty much self-explanatory. 

Telemundo Philadelphia now in HD - Oh how technology has advanced. Hispanic media has only been airing for the past 30 years...even more interesting huh? 

McDonald's Photo Shoot: Why Burgers Look Different in Advertisements - I've always wondered this myself. And in the video, it's clear they are completely fake. Sure it's the same product, but when you PhotoShop and give it some "makeup," it's not the real thing. 

Arizona Latino media join together for a cause

In a time when media outlets are looking for the biggest advertisers and competing for ratings and everything else, Arizona's Latino media is taking a different approach. Under the mantra "Hoy Somos Arizona" (Today We Are Arizona), 23 media outlets in the Latino community attempted to address people's fears and uncertainty that the looming U.S. Supreme Court's decision on SB 1070 has left in the community. The 30-minute broadcast aired today from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on TV and radio stations in Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma, and looped over the Internet for viewing by audiences nationwide on hoysomosarizona.com.

Probably one of the most historic events in media ever, Arizona's Latino media has been has had a struggle how to portray what is happening in their government. These TV, radio, print and online outlets put everything aside and came together to set things right.

Watch the first part below:

Twitter fiesta with BeingLatino & Verizon FiOS

Being Latino and Verizon FiOS have teamed up for an Ultra Speed Twitter Party on Tuesday, June 26 at 9 p.m. EST. For full rules and regulations visit beinglatino.us.

Party Details: 

Party Details:
What: Verizon FiOS Ultra Speed Twitter Party
When: Tuesday, June 26, from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT
Where: Twitter Hashtag: #SomosFiOS
Who to Follow:
Panelists: @Franklogic, @ASexiness, @ramonbnuezjr,
@RemingtonsWorld, @webcitygirls
Moderators: @BeingLatino, @Hispanicize
Brand: @SomosFiOS
Prizes:

• Starhawk video game
• PlayStation® Vita (x2)
• PS3 Console (160GB)
• Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC – PlayStation 3 (320GB) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Bundle

12 million undocumented living in the U.S.

Yep. A very large number of people living in the United States of America are undocumented. And yes they still consider themselves American. A few days before President Barack Obama made an historic, direct action that will make our nation's immigration policy more fair, more efficient, and more just, Time Magazine published the article, "Not Legal. Not Leaving." According to the article, "One year ago, Jose Antonio Vargas publicly revealed he's an undocumented immigrant. Now he reports on life in citizenship limbo and how others' 'coming out' can change the debate." A very bold move, Vargas and others now face questions including why they aren't becoming citizens or why they aren't being sent back to their country.

Throughout the article Vargas, who is not Mexican but Filipino, accounts his own story and others who have official "come out" on their own or because of others. Vargas is one of an estimated 11.5 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. The Time articles sites some interesting numbers: 59% of the these are from Mexico. About 1 million come from Asia and the Pacific Islands, about 800,000 from South America and about 300,000 from Europe.  Some numbers which stuck out included, "...households headed by undocumented workers collectively paid $11.2 billion in income taxes, $1.6 billion in property taxes and $8.4 billion in consumption taxes."

So what is going to happen? What if all 12 million undocumented immigrants were forced to leave? My opinion...there would be mayhem. The path to citizenship is probably one of the most complex systems ever; it can take months or even decades.

Obama approves the Dream Act

Well not really...close enough though. If the end of the world is scheduled for December 2012, then things are certainly changing. Announced today by President Obama and his executive staff, certain young people who were brought to the United States as young children, do not present a risk to national security or public safety, and meet several key criteria will be considered for relief from removal from the country or from entering into removal proceedings. Not exactly the Dream Act but it's a start. Those who demonstrate that they meet the criteria will be eligible to receive deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal, and will be eligible to apply for work authorization.

A statement was provided by Juntos, "The vast majority of our communities are not getting a quality education due to an underfunded public education system which every year serves our students less and less. Many of our youth fall victim to the infamous School to Prison Pipeline and end up dropping out of school. Statistics show that out of school youth are much more likely to enter into the criminal justice system." Although this is just the beginning, some people might be a little ticked off. I'm sure the comments will continue including "taking our jobs" and "go back to your country." Remember though, it's a free country. We'are all given the same opportunities.

Opinion: When leaders leave their organization.

There comes a time when a person's executive role is one. Whether they skip town, retire or just move on to bigger and better things, their respective organizations come to a stand-still. In less than one month, two extremely important Latino non-profits are losing their executive directors. Both Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas and Artístas y Músicos Latino Americanos (AMLA) are seeking new leaders. While Veronica Castillo, current Raices ED, is retiring, Lucas Rivas, current AMLA ED, is moving on to Los Angeles, CA for an offer he could not refuse. So what are these organizations to do?

The easy answer is to just move on. Whenever a current leader resigns, they give the organization almost a month to seek new leadership. People are quick to judge and complain about why they resigned but that's life. Nobody likes change, but sometimes it does leave room for improvement. The ironic part is that both organizations recently launched new websites; and they look great. Who should replace them? I would hope it's someone local; someone who knows the market. I wish nothing but the best for Veronica and Lucas.