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Archive for the ‘Virginia’ Category

For over a year, we’ve been covering the various anti-immigrant measures in Virginia and the Latino community’s struggle against the hate.

The Washington Post is reporting that the state is attempting a different approach, with the aim of assimilating, not isolating, the undocumented…

Recommendations include shortening the Medicaid residency requirements for certain qualified immigrants, offering in-state tuition to immigrants who meet specific criteria and creating an immigration assistance office.

In the coming weeks, the Virginia Commission on Immigration will send Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) two dozen recommendations, most of which would help immigrants instead of penalizing them…

The commission proposed increasing the number of English classes and creating a plan to address the needs of foreign-born residents. It also urged the federal government to compile more complete immigration statistics, increase the number of visas for foreign workers and pass comprehensive immigration legislation.

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schoolkids.jpgSome of our readers praised local anti-immigrant measures, like the one Prince William County, Virgina passed, but to used a cliched phrase, what happens when those chickens come home to roost. More specifically, what happens when the impact of these policies impact you, the non-immigrant, the non-Latino, where it hurts, your wallet?

Hundreds of foreign-born families have pulled their children from Prince William County public schools and enrolled them in nearby Fairfax County, Arlington County and Alexandria since the start of the school year, imposing a new financial burden on those inner suburbs in a time of lean budgets.

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Prince William County : Racism Against Latinos

7:15 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Virginia| race · Comments Off

28 Feb 2008

I’ve done a few post on that followed the development of the plan in Prince William County, Virgina to make it legal to discriminate against undocumented people, which in reality is a license to harass and racially profile Latinos. Don’t believe me you say? Just watch this video via ProInmigrant, that shows children berated by a man, demanding if they are citizens and speak English, not to mention the curses and lewd images the young people are exposed to. Check the video after the jump.

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2008_02_13t005812_450x285_us_usa_politics_1.jpgNaysayers are shaking their heads as Barack Obama came out as a winner in three primaries yesterday (Virginia, Washington D.C. and Maryland). The press is having a field day with the win, pointing that Obama pulled the vote of women and ::gasp:: Latinos (you mean they will vote for a black candidate?).

In Virginia, Obama outdid Clinton among women by a margin of 58 percent to 42. He also captured the majority of those voters who make less than $50,000: 59 percent to 40 percent. And even bested Clinton among Latinos by a margin of 55 to 45, though the later made up a small portion of the voting public and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Latinos make up about 4% of the electorate there.

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Prince William County Losing Latinos : Documented and Not

10:18 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia| Immigration| Virginia · Comments Off

23 Oct 2007

When Prince William County, Virginia passed an anti-immigrant measure earlier this month, a wave of Latinos began moving out of the county. And it’s not just undocumented Latinos. A climate of fear has permeated the county causing one-way U-haul rentals to go up and business at a money transfer store to go down. Schools teaching English have lost 80 percent of their students. Locals say that those who haven’t moved out , don’t dare step outside.

What a way to live.

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They’ve been planning it for awhile and while the state of Virginia rejected a controversial proposal to create the country’s first state-run facility where illegal immigrants arrested for certain crimes could be held while awaiting trial or until federal officials deport them, Prince William County’s supervisors unanimously voted yesterday to move forward with a plan to deny certain county services to illegal immigrants and to direct the police to enforce immigration laws.

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princewilliam.jpgEconomic boycotts are an extremely difficult political tactic. They require widespread mass support in order to be effective. But the difficulty of using such a weapon isn’t stopping Latinos in Prince William County, Virginia from using it as a tool against anti-immigrant policies. The boycott, which began yesterday, is a week long campaign targeting all non-immigrant-owned businesses, including such chains as Wal-Mart and McDonald’s. At such an important time for businesses, back to school time, the impact of a boycott could be great. Although, those that back the measure aren’t so sure.

“They don’t have a prayer of reversing this resolution, which has the support of 80 percent of county residents,” said Greg Letiecq, an activist who heads Help Save Manassas. “This is an attempt to bully immigrant businesses.”

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virginiaimmigrants.jpgThe Board of Supervisors in Prince William County, outside Washington, D.C., says police will be able to ask about immigration status and county officials will be able to deny services to undocumented persons, ranging from non-emergency medical care to public parks, to libraries. They say they feel compelled to do something in the wake of Congress’s failure to overhaul immigration law. Opponents call the measure racist and say it opens the door to legalized racial profiling. And before anyone tells me that the law will only impact undocumented immigrants let me leave you with a quote from someone in Virginia.

“I don’t see a white [county] employee asking a person with blue eyes and white skin for proof of residence,” said Ricardo Juarez, a leader for Mexicanos Sin Fronteras in Prince William County.

Via / The Examiner

No Cinco de Mayo celebration in Virginia

1:53 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Events| Immigration| Virginia · Comments Off

7 May 2007

Virginia’s Mexican-American community had to do without their annual Cinco de Mayo celebration this year, as a result of a curious phone call from ICE officials and fears that possible immigration raids might make attendees an easy target for ICE officials:

An organizer said she called off the traditional May 5 celebration of Hispanic pride after she said she received a phone call from the Fairfax office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

“I don’t want to be responsible for one single parent to be taken from their home, whether they’re illegal or not,” said Maria Roe, who launched the festival three years ago.

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Peruvian Among Victims of Virginia Tech Shooting

12:01 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Virginia · 3 Comments

17 Apr 2007

virginia-tech.jpgAmong the 32 fatal victims of the Virginia Tech shooting unleashed yesterday by Cho Seung-Hui was a Peruvian student, 21 year old Daniel Pérez Cueva.

Daniel’s mother said her son was studying French as part of his major in International Studies. The family has not yet made the decision if Daniel will be interred in his native Peru. Currently the victim’s father is petitioning for a humanitarian visa that would allow him to leave the capital of Lima. Ironically when father and son spoke last week they lamented the violence in the world.

Today the shooter was identified as Virginia Tech senior Cho Seung-Hui, a South Korean native. Seung-Hui shot himself after committing the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history.

Via / El Diario-La Prensa

Image Via / Destination 360


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VivirLatino is a daily publication published by 2 Mujeres Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse and influential Latino and Latina community in the U.S.

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