Animals Chased For Hours After Deadly US27 Crash (CBS4 Miami)

A deadly crash on U.S. 27 north of Weston has claimed the life of a Florida trucker and dozens of farm animals. "Not in my 29 years have I ever seen anything like this before," Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Wysocky.

Man Charged for Trucker Murder (FOX News Chicago)

A Wisconsin truck driver was indicted Tuesday for the murder of another trucker.

Trucker charged with killing co-driver pleads not guilty (The Trucker)

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rudy Arnette has pleaded not guilty to charges he beat and stabbed to death co-driver Robert Hardy, 46, Jan. 26, as the two were driving a Falcon Transport truck from Vermont to Ohio.

New report on Hispanic immigration

FOCUSING ON THE SOLUTIONS:
Future Employment-based Immigration Flow
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 3, Issue 3

Washington D.C. - Today, the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) releases the final in our series of "Solutions Papers," Future Flow: Repairing our Broken Immigration System. The perennial question of how to regulate future employment-based immigration flows has been, by far, one of the greatest sticking points in the immigration reform debate. In 1986, lawmakers passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) in an attempt to reign in undocumented immigration through heightened worksite and border enforcement, combined with legalization of most undocumented immigrants already in the country. Unfortunately, IRCA failed to address the fact that immigrant workers would be needed in the future, and the lack of future flow mechanisms resulted in a large unauthorized immigrant population.

Policymakers now have the opportunity to realistically assess our future employment-based immigration needs. This includes permanent and temporary visas, high-skilled and low-skilled workers. Many people agree that our current legal immigration flow is drastically out of sync with America's labor needs. If the U.S. is to thrive in the globalized 21st century economy, employment-based immigration must be seen as a strategic resource that can both meet labor market needs and foster economic growth and competition while still protecting U.S. workers and improving wages and working conditions. This paper lays out the key principles for future employment-based immigration flows within the context of comprehensive immigration reform.

To read the paper in its entirety, see:

Future Flow: Repairing our Broken Immigration System
(IPC Focusing on the Solution series, February 2, 2010)

Latino leader offers warning

Latino Congreso speaker sends 'showdown' warning to Democrats
By David Montero / El Paso Times, 01/30/2010

EL PASO -- Antonio Gonzalez, frustrated because President Obama did not devote more of his State of the Union speech to Latino issues, had a warning Friday for the White House and Democratic members of Congress facing elections in November.

Do not, he said, assume that the Latino vote is a lock for Democrats.

"We think 2010 is a showdown year," Gonzalez said. "We have tremendous leverage."

Gonzalez, president of the nonpartisan William C. Velasquez Institute, made the comments at the start of the fourth annual National Latino Congreso at the Camino Real Hotel.

The congreso is seeking to highlight issues of importance to Latinos, including immigration reform, the economy and participation in the 2010 Census. Some groups want Latinos to boycott the census as a protest against the government they believe is ignoring their needs.

Nativo Lopez, national president of the Mexican-American Political Association, supports that position.

"We're living in serious, perilous times, as said by the president in his State of the Union address, where Latinos were essentially excluded from that address," Lopez said.

He also said immigration enforcement policies of the Obama administration are "more robust, more aggressive and more insidious than even under the Bush administration."

In 2007, census officials asked for a suspension of raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ensure a more accurate count in 2010.

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, said the Congressional
Hispanic Caucus is still in talks with the White House to hold off ICE raids during the census count. So far, he said, the White House has not agreed to a freeze on raids.

"There is plenty of precedence for it. President Reagan did it," Reyes said.

Luis Figueroa, a lawyer for the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said that if the policy does not change, many Latinos will remain "in the shadows" during the count.

Reyes said he hoped the split among Latinos over whether to be counted is resolved by the congreso. The debate will be today at the hotel.

"I am puzzled we are debating or discussing or wondering whether it's a good idea to participate in the census," Reyes said. "... It's a dumb idea not to be counted."

Lydia Camarillo, vice president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said Texas could gain as many as four seats in Congress, depending on the census count. Texas currently has 32 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

David Montero may be reached at dmontero@elpasotimes.com; 915-546-6249.

Latino legislator slams Obama

Democratic legislator slams Obama for failure to deliver on immigration reform, warns of Latino backlash at the polls
L.A. Times, February 1, 2010

Many Latinos are furious at President Obama for failing to deliver on promises to push immigration reform legislation and may stay away from the polls during this year's midterm elections if they don't see concrete progress, including legalization of undocumented immigrants, a key Democratic legislator said Monday.

“People are angry and disillusioned,” U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Chicago) said in an interview with The Times.

Gutierrez said that Obama’s failure to push immigration reform was symbolized by his State of the Union address last Wednesday, when he devoted only 38 of about 7,300 words to the issue. The “throwaway line,” Gutierrez said, was the final straw for many activists who have been perturbed by the continued pace of deportations and other enforcement actions without concomitant progress in moving reform legislation forward.

Gutierrez said he was short at least 12 votes in the House to pass his immigration legislation, which would legalize most of the nation’s 12 million undocumented migrants, provide more family visas, increase worker protections and offer other reforms. He acknowledged that selling the bill to the American public at a time of double-digit unemployment would not be easy.

But he and Los Angeles labor leader Maria Elena Durazo argued that legalizing undocumented immigrants would help the nation’s economic recovery by raising their wages and allowing them to spend more consumer dollars.
To push their cause, he said, immigrant rights supporters were organizing a national mobilization on March 21.

Without progress, the congressman warned that many Latinos would stay home from the polls this year and for the 2012 presidential election. According to exit polls, Obama received 61% of the Latino vote in 2008, boosting him to victory in the former Republican strongholds of Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida.

“We need to hold all of our political leaders accountable,” he said.

Gutierrez was to speak at an immigration town-hall event on Monday at La Placita Church in downtown Los Angeles. The meeting, which will feature several elected officials, immigrant rights activists and Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, is aimed at bringing renewed visibility to the issue.

- Teresa Watanabe

A Latina that could be governor

Texas Governor Candidate: Alma Aguado a Key for Texas' Future
The Latino Journal E-News, Vol. 3, Issue 3

SAN ANTONIO--Dr. Alma Aguado, (D), candidate for Governor of Texas, could be the essential change agent for Texas’ future. She would be the first Hispanic woman to hold the position.

“We have the opportunity – and ability – to choose the right person to lead us into a successful future. As the Hispanic community continues to influence the economy of our state, country and world, now is the time for change.”

Aguado feels that Hispanic Americans from Texas have long been affected by political exclusion. “Despite the size of this demographic, Hispanics have historically been underrepresented or not represented at all, but are deserving of recognition and power,” says Aguado. The tradition of exclusion continues into the 21st Century. As an example, Aguado was excluded from the KERA Texas Debates on January 8, 2010, a violation of federal law protecting every candidate’s entitlement to air their views. In spite of such obstacles, she believes the legitimacy of a Hispanic female governor will bring trust and confidence back to this key demographic.

Aguado's driving force is the great stake of human capital that will be the majority of the labor force in the years to come: Hispanic children in Texas. She views the lack of spending on public and higher education over the past 15 years in a state that has a 28% adult population without a high school diploma, as a critical need to shift priorities. “Due to budgeting decisions in the interest of corporate welfare, we now have an uneducated, unskilled workforce,” says Aguado. “This is what I call ‘backward vision.’ Only voters can break this cycle.”

Aguado also points to the timeliness of her decision to join the races. “This long-term trend will have far-reaching implications,” she says. "We have the opportunity – and ability – to choose the right person to lead us into a successful future. As the Hispanic community continues to influence the economy of our state, country and world, now is the time for change.”

A strong leader that understands the Hispanic populace of Texas, and has the ability to nurture its youth into a more powerful, more educated demographic, is critical to the future of Texas.

“Our human capital is the most valuable treasure that we have,” says Aguado. “There is no better candidate to address our unique culture and needs. It is time for a woman Hispanic leader in the great state of Texas. It is time for the leadership of Alma Aguado.”