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1. Congressional Hispanics struggle
2. CNMI policy may exile some foreigners
3. TX fending suit over DL policy
4. TN city to vote on language policy
5. Activists protest raids

1.
Latinos fight for political recognition
By Gebe Martinez
The Politico (Washington, DC), January 21, 2009

Puffed with pride after casting 10 million votes in November that were vital to President Barack Obama’s election, Hispanics are feeling empowered to make great demands on the new president.

But as Hispanics look to Obama to help realize their agenda, and as they take seats in the new president’s Cabinet and on congressional leadership teams, they also are facing an annoying reality: There remains a gap between the power they have earned and the Washington elite’s perception of their power.

One reason for the lag in perception may be that Latino policy leaders as well as individual members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have matured politically at a faster speed than has the caucus as a whole.

As the civil rights groups, political organizers and lawmakers have steered Latinos toward unprecedented levels of activism, the congressional caucus — haunted by past internal fighting and disorganization — is still being challenged to show that the sum of its parts makes it as strong as it should be.

The result is a continuing — albeit lessening — struggle for acknowledgment and places at key leadership tables.

During a recent ceremony for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, its new head, House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia M. Velazquez (D-N.Y.), pledged to her Latino colleagues, “I will work my heart out to make this Congressional Hispanic Caucus a force and a relevant institution.”

That anyone needs to be reminded of Latinos’ influence and the caucus’s relevance is almost mind-boggling to Latino civil rights and policy leaders. They often find themselves reciting the recent history: Hispanics have reached the highest levels of political leadership on Capitol Hill, and the exponential growth of the Hispanic population and voters during the past decade has made them a force to be reckoned with.
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17703.html

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2.
Commerce: Foreign investors, retirees also face losing status
By Haidee V. Eugenio
The Saipan Tribune (CNMI), January 23, 2009

Foreign investors and foreign retirees-just like nonresident workers-face losing their immigration status if they are outside the CNMI by June 1, 2009, when the federal government takes control of local immigration, according to Commerce Secretary Michael J. Ada.

Commerce has issued 492 foreign investor permits as of Jan. 22, Ada said.

“A foreign investor permit,” according to Ada, is also an immigration status.

There are three types of investor permits: a short-term or exploratory business permit, a long-term business permit and a foreign investment certificate.

“If they plan on doing business here for, say, the next two years, and they don't need to go back to their own country, then they're fine. However, if they do need to exit to go back to their country for any reason, that permit will not allow them back in under that immigration category,” he said in an interview.

A two-year foreign business permit is issued to those who have at least $150,000 in investments in the CNMI, while a foreign investment certificate is issued to those with at least $250,000 in investments.

“Foreign investment is a significant issue because of our economy. .One of the reasons why the governor is going into litigation is it will have a detrimental impact on our economy and most people kind of look at this federalization [as a way to] get green cards. It has nothing to do with it; the whole situation of federalization is a detriment to our economy. It takes away our labor. It's also going to impact our tourism markets. We'll be losing the Chinese and Russian markets,” he said.
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http://www.saipantribune.com/newsstory.aspx?newsID=87133&cat=1

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3.
DPS sued over rules for immigrant drivers
By Clay Robison
The Houston Chronicle, January 22, 2009

Austin -- Civil rights advocates sued the Texas Department of Public Safety recently, contending that new driver's license requirements for immigrants discriminate against people legally in the United States.

The suit, filed in state district court in Austin by the Texas Civil Rights Project, seeks to force the DPS to stop enforcing the rules, which went into effect Oct. 1.

Jim Harrington, the group's director, called the rules “an unconscionable burden on immigrant survivors of domestic abuse and discriminatory against the Hispanic community.”

He said the policy also “creates a danger to the public safety because it forces people to drive without insurance... It is ill-conceived, unconscionable and counterproductive.”

Supporters of the new policy, including Gov. Rick Perry, have said the more stringent document checks required of immigrants have made the state safer. They have said the new rules were designed to keep illegal immigrants from getting licenses and to fight fraud and identity theft.

The suit was filed on behalf of three women, all legally working in the United States, who have been denied or likely will be denied license renewals because the DPS doesn't accept their work authorization status.

The new rules require non-citizens to show official work authorization proof in the form of an official employment authorization document (EAD) every six months to renew their licenses.
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/sacultura/38000494.html

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4.
Nashville voters set to decide whether English will be the government's official language
By Juanita Cousins
The Associated Press, January 21, 2009

Nashville, TN (AP) -- Nashville could become the largest U.S. city to make English the mandatory language for all government business under a measure being put before voters Thursday, but critics say it might invite lawsuits and even cost the city millions in federal funding.

Though similar measures have passed elsewhere, the idea has ignited an intense debate. Proponents say using one language would unite the city, but business leaders, academics and the city's mayor worry it could give the city a bad reputation, because, as Gov. Phil Bredesen put it, "it's mean spirited."

The referendum's most vocal supporter, city Councilman Eric Crafton collected enough signatures to get the "English First" charter amendment on the ballot because he fears government won't run smoothly if his hometown mirrors New York City, where services are offered in Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Italian and French Creole.

Crafton has tried to eliminate the city's language translation services since 2006, but the mayor vetoed a similar measure in 2007.

"A community that speaks a common language is unified and efficient," said Crafton, who is fluent in Japanese and married to a native of Japan.

Exactly how much English would be silenced if the measure passes is murky. While it requires that all government communication and publications be printed in English, it allows an exception for public health and safety.

If it passes, there will be uncertainty about what government services can be translated and what can't, said health department spokesman Brian Todd. For example, the public health exemption might allow health workers to use translation to tell an immigrant with tuberculosis or a sexually transmitted disease how to avoid contaminating others, he said.

The department currently provides brochures in several languages about health issues ranging from disease prevention to the side effects of immunizations. It also uses translation services to help enforce dog leash laws and codes that prohibit lots with high grass and weeds.

"Are we going to be able to go out and tell someone in English only that they've got to cut their grass?" Todd said.

Detractors have also said the English First policy may not survive a court challenge because Title VI of the Civil Rights Act requires agencies that receive federal dollars to provide free translation services.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-nashville-eng...

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5.
Immigrant Advocates Call for End to Raids
At Rally Outside ICE, Activists Also Urge Legislation Allowing Path to Citizenship
By N.C. Aizenman
The Washington Post, January 22, 2009; A02

Several hundred immigrant supporters and religious leaders from across the country marched to the Southwest Washington headquarters of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency yesterday, strumming guitars, beating drums and waving colorful homemade banners exhorting President Obama to halt immigration raids and promote legislation offering illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

Although the demonstration featured many speeches in Spanish and cries of "Sí se puede!" -- Yes we can! -- the crowd was also notable for its diversity. Suely Neves, 26, of the Boston group Deported Diaspora had come on behalf of her fellow Cape Verde immigrants. Standing next to her, Indian American immigrant Dimple Rana, 28, said she was concerned about the fate of the Cambodian refugees she works with in Lowell, Mass.

"I've seen a lot of good friends deported because of minor prior convictions," Rana said as groups waving banners from Florida and New Orleans chanted behind her.

Many of the demonstrators had come to town to celebrate Obama's inauguration, and the mostly religious representatives who addressed the crowd portrayed the event as a chance to spiritually "cleanse" the agency of the Bush administration's stepped-up enforcement approach. At the same time, they urged Obama to make good on his campaign promise to push through a legalization plan similar to one that former president George W. Bush twice tried unsuccessfully to get through Congress.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/21/AR200901...