Posts Tagged ‘Texas’
Texas Executes Jose Ernesto Medellin Against International Law and Protests
11:38 am By Maegan La Mala · Controversia| Justice| Texas| Women| World| children| crime| mexico · 2 Comments
6 Aug 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court did not grant a reprieve to Jose Ernesto Medellin and executed him last night based on a 1993 conviction for raping and killing two Texas teens.
“I’m sorry my actions caused you pain. I hope this brings you the closure that you seek. Never harbor hate,” Medellin, 33, told those gathered to watch him die. He was pronounced dead at 9:57 p.m. local time.
The Mexican national’s case has drawn international attention from all sides of the political spectrum. Some have taken his case as an example of all that is wrong with U.S. immigration policy and used Medellin as a scapegoat in their anti-immigrant (and let’s be real, anti-Latino) campaign.
Pro-human rights activists globally protested the impending execution, saying it was a violation of international law. Even the Bush administration, State Department, and Attorney General intervened, asking for a delay in the execution.
Texas Thumbs Nose to International Community, Set to Execute Mexican National
11:33 am By Maegan La Mala · Controversia| Justice| States| Texas| mexico · Comments Off
4 Aug 2008Last we told you about a plea from the Mexican courts to the U.N. for intervention in the impending executions of 5 Mexican nationals in the state of Texas. Today, at least one of them is a mere 24 hours away from death. The State of Texas has chosen to ignore international clamor and discard allegations that the suspect was never allowed the right to speak to his consulate while under arrest. The Houston Chronicle reports:
At issue is Texas’ refusal to hold a hearing to determine whether Medellin’s defense was harmed by his inability to confer with Mexican consular officials at the time of his arrest. A suspect’s right to talk with his consulate is guaranteed by the United Nations’ Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to which the United States is a party.Medellin insists he told both Houston police and Harris County officers that he is a Mexican citizen. Prosecutors say the killer never informed authorities of his nationality.
In a sworn statement, Medellin said he learned that the Mexican Consulate could possibly help him in 1997, four years after his arrest. He unsuccessfully petitioned the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on the issue in 1998.
Teaching ‘em Early : Texas Teens Sets Up Latino Classmates
8:37 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| race| youth · 2 Comments
10 Apr 2008
I’ve been accused of teaching my children radical positions but someone should be asking what the parents of 13 year old Melanie Bowers, of Athens, Texas, are teaching her. Well actually what is society teaching her? After all, after hearing of the alleged attack on the girl that 21 Latino students were involved in after seeing a class assigned sign that read: “If you love our nation, stop illegal immigration” the internet and right wing pundits were all up in arms. Sending all citizen Latinos back to Mexico (as if that’s where we all come from). Most recommended putting all the 21 children on suspension and or jail immediately and the deporting of many of them although all were citizens.
Compare this to the reaction when a person of color is attacked.
Let’s wait and see what the investigation shows is the most common response.
No double standard here, move it along. Except…..
Teens Deported for Skipping School
10:18 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia| Education| Immigration| Texas| children · 6 Comments
28 Feb 2008
When I was a teenager, skipping school meant detention, cleaning lockers, and a beat down from my mom. 17 year old twin hermanas Brisa and Lluvia Amante (yes, Breeze and Rain Lover) skipped school once and went to truancy court. They were fined and sent on their way. But when the sisters skipped school again they ended up being deported to El Salvador.
Obama, Mariachi Style
4:26 pm By Maegan La Mala · Politics| TV| Texas| US Presidential Race 2008 · Comments Off
22 Feb 2008As Hillary and Barack tore it up in Texas last night, worry has been on the minds of many a Texan Obama supporter (I know some) because, at least in other states, Clinton has been the clear leader among Latino voters. Perhaps that’s the reason why Texans are seeing this little gem appear in their inboxes. From the makers of the Obama reggaeton hit, check out Obama, Mariachi style:
I wonder what Dolores Huerta thinks of this attempt at “going to the nopal”.
Via / YouTube
Texas governor criticizes U.S. on immigration reform
5:48 pm By Maegan La Mala · Immigration| Politics| Texas| mexico · 6 Comments
30 Aug 2007
While the Dixie Chicks got in a whole helluva lotta trouble when they spoke against the Bush administration while abroad in Europe. Now their paisano Texas governor Rick Perry is doing a little bit of trash talking against the U.S. Congress while on the other side of the border in Mexico:
Leading a large delegation of Texas executives trying to drum up business in Mexico, Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday criticized the U.S. Congress for failing to pass an immigration bill that would legalize millions of workers.“I don’t think this is that difficult an issue if Congress would have the maturity to sit down and really discuss it and cut out all the mean rhetoric,” Perry said during a break in the third day of meetings with Mexican officials and business executives.
Judge says “no” to housing discrimination in Texas
5:38 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Justice| Texas · Comments Off
23 May 2007
We’ve written a couple of times about Farmers Branch, Texas, and the quest of some there to make discrimination against undocumented immigrants city policy. In addition to attempts to make English the “official” language of the city, legislation was proposed which would impede landlords from renting to the undocumented. Voters in the town supported discriminatory law, pushing it to approval with 68 percent voting in favor, but at the urging of MALDEF and attorneys for landloards, a federal judge said “no”:
U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay wrote in granting a temporary restraining order that only the federal government can determine whether a person is in the United States legally.
Texas: Immigrants contribute to state, cost local government
1:42 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Money| Texas · Comments Off
8 Dec 2006
The Texas state comptroller’s office has released a report that will satisfy and disappoint those on both sides of the immigration debate. It seems that in the state of Texas, undocumented immigrants
“have boosted the state’s economy by $17.7 billion and haven’t been a drain on state government.”
The downside? The same report says that they cost local governments $929 million in 2005.
Freddy Fender ill, but out of hospital
6:23 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities| Music · 1 Comment
12 Oct 2006
Freddy Fender, one of the first singers of Mexican-American origin to gain national fame and score a number one hit, is extremely ill from blood poisoning but has been released from the hospital, according to AP:
Freddy Fender has been discharged from a hospital and was resting at his South Texas home Thursday, but family and friends said the Grammy-winning musician remained gravely ill.Fender, 69, had been getting treatment for cancer in Oklahoma but was transferred to a hospital in San Antonio last week because of a blood infection.
“He’s not doing too good,” said his wife, Vangie Huerta. “It’s kind of like — we just got back yesterday and it’s kind of breaking us.”
Ron Rogers, who has acted as a spokesman for Fender, said the musician had talked about making a public statement but hadn’t been able to yet.
“Of course he’s ill, gravely ill, and he’s at home resting,” he said.
Fender, born Baldemar Huerta, grew up as a migrant farm worker in South Texas, and reached the height of his fame in the mid-70s with a number one hit on the country charts: Before the Next Teardrop Falls. Before falling ill with blood infection, he was suffering from incurable cancer.
Via / Yahoo! Entertainment
Hate crimes against Latinos increase, tied to debate
6:09 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Immigration| Media| society · 3 Comments
17 May 2006
Hate crimes against Latinos are on the rise according to two new studies by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center; it seems that aggressors are using the immigration debate as an excuse to incite violence:
Hate crimes against Latinos are on the rise, according to a two recent reports. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of hate groups has risen 30 percent since 2000.Mark Potok, editor of the SPLC’s quarterly report on extremist organizations, told USA Today that immigration “has been critical to the growth of the hate movement.”
ADL’s report, released on April 24, states that white supremacists, skinheads, and other extremist groups are using the immigration debate to incite violence against Latinos, regardless of status, around the country.
The most recent and most publicized hate crime incident against a Latino is the case of David Ritcheson, a Houston teenager who was brutally beaten in Houston after some other teens suspected he had attempted to kiss a white girl.
Spring Democrats, a liberal Houston-area blog (yay!), points the figure at the local press, which seems to be shining the light away from the incident. Indeed, the case is getting less attention than one would expect. The Houston Chronicle has no coverage of the incident on its website, even though it happened fairly recently.
Other media seem to have forgotten about it as well; just do a Google News search on “David Ritcheson” and you’ll get basically nothing. Not so the case with Natalee Holloway. That wasn’t a hate crime, but it is a story that still has major legs a whole year later.
Via / CivilRights.org and Spring Democrats
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- Pedro Julio Serrano on the Murder of Lopez Mercado
- Bay Area Community Members to Hold Vigil and Release Statement about Murders in Maryland and Puerto Rico
- Transgender Day of Remembrance and Latin@s
- Dear Troll(s):
- Puerto Rican, Latino Clergy, Theology Professors, Community Members To Condemn Brutal Hate Killing of Gay Puerto Rican Man
- Vigils for Justice y en Memoria de Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado
- Russell Athletic rehires fired union organizers
- When Things Go Wrong…Terribly Wrong.
- Official VivirLatino Statement on Lou Dobbs Leaving CNN
- Sexual Violence Against Women in Immigrant Detention
