Today marks the completion of the second week of the DREAM Now series. I am sorry I was not able to get a letter out on Wednesday.  Too much travel and not enough sleep led me to come down with a soar throat and a fever on Tuesday.  Thankfully, I’m starting to recover, today.  If you’re not getting enough of your DREAM Now fix I recommend reading Matias Ramos’ post on why he stood up during Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) speech at Netroots Nation.

Thanks in part to the supporters of the DREAM Now Series,  Reid is now on board with pushing DREAM Act this year.  Most of the credit for turning Reid, of course, should go to courageous undocumented youth activists for their civil disobedience in Reid’s office and making their presence known during his appearance at Netroots Nation.  While Reid still needs to be pushed, most of our efforts to get the DREAM Act enacted, this year, should now shift towards securing the last few mostly Republican Senate votes we need.  The National Council of La Raza has a list of Senators who have not yet publicly committed to voting for the DREAM Act.  If your Senator is on that list, you better start getting to work.

Before all of our efforts move towards securing mostly Republican votes for the DREAM Act in the Senate, however, there is one last set of important supposed “allies” that have yet to voice their support for passing the DREAM Act this year and, according to Congressional leadership, are actually obstructing it from happening: the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC).

Those of us in the migrant youth movement have long known that the CHC has been a barrier to passing the DREAM Act on its own.  The supposed defenders of migrant rights in Congress can, in fact, be an enemy of migrant youth.  This uncomfortable fact was spotlighted for the entire progressive blogosphere to see during Nancy Pelosi’s remarks on the DREAM Act to Netroots Nation:

You mentioned the DREAM Act…There is a difference of opinion about how we go forward on that.  In our House we are committed to comprehensive immigration reform.  Our Congressional Hispanic Caucus doesn’t want us taking one piece, you know, taking a piece that might be appealing and leaving the undocumented behind.

So we–our principles are secure our border, enforce our laws, protect our workers, don’t exploit workers coming in, but have a path to legalization for those who are here, not fully documented.  And if we take off some of the rosier pieces of it, the thought is that it would diminish the prospect for comprehensive immigration reform.

Others have a different view, “let’s just run with it if we can get it passed.”  That’s a debate we have.  But our Hispanic Caucus is of the comp–[rehensive view?]–and I support that…That’s why we haven’t, while we’re all co-sponsors and all support the DREAM Act don’t want it to diminish our prospects for dealing with the undocumenteds in our country.

Nancy Pelosi – Netroots Nation (24 July 2010)

Every time someone says the whole thing cannot pass, only part of it, it weakens us, it divides us, it confuses us, it scatters us all over the place. we once had a united movement for comprehensive immigration reform, now we don’t have a united movement, and that is causing, that is detrimental to the movement for all of us.

Luis Gutierrez – The DREAM Is Coming (20 July 2010)

There is a lot to dissect here but the most important points are the following.

First of all, to force another generation of unauthorized migrant youth to give up their lives for the broader movement is exploitation, pure and simple.  This is especially true when undocumented youth themselves and many of their undocumented family members are against it.  Politicians using undocumented youth as the engines for comprehensive immigration reform are no better than the exploitative employers of undocumented workers.

Second, not only is it exploitative to make this argument, but it is strategically wrong.  Getting the DREAM Act passed this year will not weaken the fight for immigration reform, it will strengthen it.  No one questions the fact that undocumented youth are the strongest and most sympathetic leaders of the migrant rights movement.  Why not allow them to earn legal status so that they can fight even harder for their family members and communities?  I know I’m not leaving this fight after the DREAM Act is passed and I can say that for just about everyone that I know whom I consider a leader of the undocumented youth movement.

Finally, and this is a point that no one else talks about, everyday that we wait to pass the DREAM Act is another day where potential migrant youth leaders are being deported, lost to “attrition”, or even to death or suicide.  Anyone who stands in the way of some sort of relief from this violence, now, is not an ally, but an enemy.

Within those three simple truths there is a lot of complexity, part of which I will try to address here.

First, I will address Luis Gutierrez, specifically, since I quoted him as being representative of the CHC, and on immigration, for the most, part he is.  While I believe the CHC can be an enemy of migrant youth, as a whole, I don’t yet consider Luis Gutierrez, personally, an enemy of migrant youth.  I say this because there is no politician currently in U.S. Congress that has done more to advance the cause of migrant rights.  When he introduced CIRASAP he also co-sponsored the DREAM Act, a major nod to the migrant youth movement which I was appreciative of.  After some pressure, he also ended up doing the right thing by saying he’ll inclue LGBT families in CIR.  Many undocumented youth leaders also identify as queer.

Because of these extremely important steps, I’m willing to give Gutierrez some leeway, but I have to say that he was wrong in trying to talk down undocumented youth in the middle of a historic action.  His implication that undocumented youth are dividing the movement is also wrong.  Mohammad Abdollahi said it best:

Congressman Gutierrez, my name is Mohammad, I was one of the youth that was in the sit-in in Senator McCain’s office, on May 17 in AZ, as a result I have been placed in deportation proceedings so for you to sit here and talk to these 5, 6 youth that are sitting in this office, and to put them down, and to constantly tell them instead of supporting them, is a shame. You need to stand up for this community, this is going to continue to happen, and you need to be their ally.

Mohammad Abdollahi – The DREAM is Coming (20 July 2010)

Just because I am willing to give Gutierrez some leeway, however, does not mean that the rest of the CHC is off the hook.  This is especially true of Nydia Velasquez, the current chairwoman of the CHC who has refused to co-sponsor the DREAM Act.  It is absolutely ridiculous that the migrant youth movement has had to expend energy over this past year and a half trying to get CHC members to co-sponsor the DREAM Act when that energy could have been much better spent elsewhere.

I would like the CHC, as a whole, to come out with a statement in support of moving the DREAM Act on it’s own this year, but with all the egos involved, I doubt that is going to happen.  What we can do, as migrant advocates, though, is make very clear that the CHC does not stand for us when it comes to this issue.  Contrary to Gutierrez’s and Pelosi’s statements, much of the migrant rights movement has already united around pushing the DREAM Act this year.

While asking for a statement from the CHC as a whole might not be the best use of our energy in the short window we have to push the DREAM Act, I do not think it is too much to ask for the chairwoman of the CHC, Nydia Velasquez, to co-sponsor the DREAM Act.  Many CHC members who were previously slow to do so like Joe Baca, Loretta Sanchez and Henry Cuellar, are now co-sponsors of the DREAM Act.  If Nydia Velasquez were to do the same, it would be a huge signal to the migrant youth movement and the public at large that the CHC is ready to allow for the DREAM Act to move on it’s own.

If you haven’t signed the petition, yet, ask Nydia Velasquez to co-sponsor the DREAM Act.

UPDATE: While writing this I asked for a statement from Gutierrez’s office and received the following

From Gutierrez:

It is the whole immigration system that needs fixing, so I will keep fighting for the ten things that need to happen to fix it because I think they fit together and solve things in a holistic manner.  If the Senate or the Speaker tells me we can only get one, I will fight hard for that one thing, but continue to ask for ten because that is what is needed.

Luis Gutierrez (30 July 2010)

From Douglas Rivlin, Press Secretary to Gutierrez (D-IL-04):

The way the Speaker’s remarks were interpreted — that Members of the CHC don’t want DREAM to pass because it would take away power from CIR in the future — doesn’t ring true. I don’t think I have met anyone on the Hill or in the CHC that thinks passing a clean DREAM Act this year hurts CIR significantly.  Maybe a few worry that after any victory, the Democrats will say to the rest of the immigrant community, “okay, come back for more in about 5-10 years.” But that is not a huge concern.

Winning DREAM would not significantly diminish the chances of winning CIR in the future or necessarily help them either.  Losing a vote for the DREAM Act is a different matter.  Losing a vote by a big margin would hurt CIR, especially if Democrats defect, and only a narrow loss in, say, the Senate, would cause no harm and may even help.

Douglas Rivlin (30 July 2010)

This statement from Rivlin is extremely important because it directly contradicts what Nancy Pelosi said at Netroots Nation.  As Rivlin said, passing the DREAM Act will not hurt our chances at passing CIR.  I disagree with Rivlin on other counts, such as the fact that passing the DREAM Act would not help immigration reform in the future, but the statement is still helpful.

It would be even more helpful if the CHC as a whole were to come out with a statement saying that they wouldn’t oppose passing the DREAM Act on it’s own this year.  That way we’re not playing games with politicians intent on passing the blame to one another.  Still, this statement is a good start.

The “DREAM Now” letter series is inspired by a similar campaign started by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.  Every Monday and Wednesday DREAM-eligible youth will publish letters to the President, and each Friday there will be a DREAM wrap-up.  If you’re interested in getting involved or posting these stories on your site, please email Kyle de Beausset at kyle at citizenorange dot com.

Approximately 65,000 undocumented youth graduate from U.S. high schools every year, who could benefit from passage of the DREAM Act.  Many undocumented youth are brought to the United States before they can even remember much else, and some don’t even realize their undocumented status until they have to get a driver’s license, want to join the military, or apply to college.  DREAM Act youth are American in every sense of the word — except on paper.  It’s been nearly a decade since the DREAM Act was first introduced.  If Congress does not act now, another generation of promising young graduates will be relegated to the shadows and blocked from giving back fully to our great nation.

This is what you can do right now to pass the DREAM Act:

1. Sign the DREAM Act Petition
2. Join the DREAM Act Facebook Cause
3. Send a fax in support of the DREAM Act
4. Call your Senator and ask them to pass the DREAM Act now.
5. Email kyle at citizenorange dot com to get more involved

Below is a list of previous entries in the DREAM Now Series:

Mohammad Abdollahi (19 July 2010)
Yahaira Carrillo (21 July 2010)
Weekly Recap – Tell Harry Reid You Want the DREAM Act Now (23 July 2010)
Wendy (26 July 2010)
Matias Ramos (28 July 2010)

Note: A federal judge just blocked parts of Arizona’s SB 1070 this morning. You can read more about that here. SB 1070 was scheduled to go into effect as passed tomorrow.

Tomorrow the most anti-immigrant state law will go into effect in Arizona. While the federal government via the Department of Justice has filed a brief injunction to attempt to stop the law from going into effect, there’s no sign that Arizona will have a change of heart. Recently, Chris Rock was on The View and he was asked about Arizona and SB 1070.  Rock responded, “I feel bad for the Mexicans. I think they should just leave.. They don’t want you there. Blacks did in South Carolina.”

While there have been some reports of Latino immigrants leaving the Grand Canyon State, the majority have not. Recently, I asked some friends from Arizona if Latinos are leaving and they noted that while some families have left, many have stayed put. The reason? Economics. The economic situation is dire. Many immigrants have bought homes, are barely surviving, and simply don’t have the means to get up and go. While thousands have departed the state, tens of thousands simply cannot afford to. This reminds me of when former California GOP Governor Pete Wilson later recanted to a close friend why Latinos hated him so much, and Wilson was told, “you managed, via Proposition 187, to anger not just Latino immigrants but Latinos in general.”

A country stolen by trickery of the natives and bartered with senior Mexican military officials for 1/3 of Mexico, built and strengthened by immigrants (Mexicans, Irish, Italian, Polish, etc) has taken an isolationist view in regards to immigration. There is a belief in this country that immigrants rob from the United States. This couldn’t be further from the truth. What we need to remain a 21st century leader is to be open and transparent, much like we were in the 19th and 20th century. When our nation was more open and welcoming of immigrants, we created the economic engine that made our country the envy of the world. The US has been losing some ground in technology to countries abroad; do we, as Americans, really want to import every food we eat? Our strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, oranges and beef? How many volunteers have raised their hands to pick the crops on American fields? Stephen Colbert was the last guy who raised his hand making the final count 4. Yes, four Americans ready to replace immigrant farm workers. This is laughable, tragic and painful all at once. The agricultural industry, greatly subsidized by American taxpayers, relies on hardworking, determined, “no BS” workers.

President Obama and the Congress must act, not before November elections, not in 60 days, but now. Not just more Larry Pages, Sergey Brins, but all immigrants. We must legalize the workforce that for so long has been in the shadows and not realized its God given potential. We must, like Fred Wilson pointed out, increase the visas for science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) grads, startup visas, and H1B visas to ensure American companies have a steady stream of high caliber workers. And most of all we must not let comprehensive immigration reform be a political football like we’ve seen with Americas War Veterans with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Wendy and I am a daughter, a friend, a student, and, most importantly, a dreamer. I came to this country in 1999 from Peru when I was seven years old, accompanied by my mother, father, and sister. Getting on the plane, I did not know that words like “undocumented” and “dreams” would play such a major role in my young adult life. Growing up in New York, I began to embrace the United States and the feeling of being an American; I learned to balance this country’s traditions with my own without difficulty. I came to notice that the people around me, regardless of their different ethnic backgrounds and customs, were not so different from me after all.
As early as elementary school, I worked hard to get good grades, going from ESL in second grade to straight A’s by third grade. I graduated the sixth grade with a great reputation amongst my peers and teachers; the logical thing to do at that point was reach for the same level of success in high school. Upon entering high school, I was sure that I would flourish both socially and academically–with nothing to get in the way of me and my aspirations. I thought high school would be yet another chapter in my life that would be full of ease and more opportunities to make my parents proud. Academically, I was able to flourish. I was in advanced classes as a freshman and sophomore, which made it possible for me to take Advanced Placement College level courses in my junior and senior years. I became involved in various extracurricular activities, and tried my best to hold office or be as much of an active member in everything that I joined. Being a member of clubs such as Students Against Destructive Decisions (S.A.D.D.) and the Foreign Language Honor Society allowed me to do two things that are very important to me: reach out to the youth in my community by teaching them about healthy decision making, as well as advocating unity amongst all individuals regardless of their backgrounds.

With all of that said, it was shattering to me when the burdens of my situation began to reveal themselves. With high school came a serious reality check. There were several setbacks I began to come across, all dealing with my future. Up to the age of 16, the effects of my legal status were just an impending nightmare that seemed very far away. While my closest friends threw lavish sweet sixteen parties, purchased their first cars, found steady jobs, and began to look into colleges, I found myself making more and more excuses for my lack of participation in these American ‘rights of passage.’ The frustration built up until my senior year in high school. The counselors at school could provide me with little to no information about my ‘undocumented’ dilemma and what I was to do about college. It was devastating to see so many doors being shut in my face so close to the end. My visions of going to a prestigious private university and getting awarded scholarships for my high grades quickly disintegrated. For the first time, I began to feel alone; I also felt very confused–how was it that innocent youth were being denied one of the most basic human rights? the right to be educated. There was nothing left for me to do but to condense my high expectations to accommodate my family’s financial possibilities, as the scholarship money I received was not enough to cover the full tuition of the schools to which I had applied. Without financial aid not much is possible. After several sleepless nights and stressful days, I came to the conclusion that something needed to be done.

I have enrolled in an honors program at a community college and will start attending this fall, working towards getting my associates degree in Liberal Arts. Although I am privileged enough to be able to continue my education beyond high school, I cannot say things have gone they way I’d expected. After I graduate from community college I would love to continue my education at Binghamton University–whose acceptance I had to respectfully decline–or Fordham University at the Lincoln Center campus. I know it was not my grades that prevented me from applying to the best universities, as I graduated with a 4.0 GPA and ranked 12 in my class–it was the lack of those nine digits. What’s worse is I did not willingly get myself into this situation; my parents, who had nothing but the best intentions for me and my sister, made the choice because they envisioned us achieving the American Dream. I want to make their visions a reality.

The DREAM Act would allow me and thousands of undocumented youth to give back to society. All I want is a great education so that I can grow up to become a professional. I want to make an honest living in this country. I want to stay here. This is my home now. I have marched in Washington D.C. and I have joined the fight for the DREAM! I no longer want to live my life in the shadows, constantly afraid of what could happen. I have learned to accept the fact that I am undocumented, and I’m finally unafraid. I have done nothing wrong and only wish to have the same opportunities as all of my peers. Please Mr. President, you have the power to make my dreams a reality; DREAM ACT 2010!

Sincerely,
Wendy

Along with that undocumented young adults are launching a DREAM Letters campaign addressed to Barack Obama. This social media campaign is inspired by a similar effort that the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network implemented for the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell”. This is the second letter in the series (the first letter was published on Monday):

President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President,

My name is Yahaira Carrillo and I’m undocumented.  As I write this, over 20 undocumented youth are risking arrest and deportation to demand that Congress take action for the DREAM Act.  Just over two months ago, I, along with two others, became one of the first undocumented immigrants in U.S. history to do the same.  Like Mohammad Abdollahi, who wrote you a letter on Monday, I too am queer.  I risk being deported to a machista country, Mexico, where killings related to homophobia are rising.

I was born in 1985 to a barely-turned 16 year-old who had been kicked out of her house while she was pregnant for being a disgrace to the family. I lived with my mother in an abandoned house in Guerrero, Mexico. She struggled to find work, but was either harassed or asked for sexual favors. She said no. She was 17 in 1986 when the 8.1 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico. She decided to take me to the U.S., but we didn’t stay that long. At my grandmother’s request, we returned to Mexico. The hits kept coming: my mother ended an abusive relationship with a military man and feared for her life.

Then, my father called- after abandoning my mother while she was pregnant and being MIA for most of my early years, decided he wanted us to join him in California. My options have always been limited. I was 8 years old when I came to the U.S. When I was 14, my 18-year-old boyfriend wanted to marry me. I said no. When I graduated from the top of my high school class, I thought I couldn’t go anywhere. My parents were migrant farm workers- college wasn’t likely. But years later, I found a private college in Kansas that would accept me. I worked myself to the bone, and obtained an Associate’s Degree. Today, I am working towards my Bachelor’s degree. According to my calculations, it will take me eight years.

I’ve had people tell me that it’s not a big deal, that I should keep on waiting for the DREAM Act to pass. My life has been on pause, rewind or replay for years. Waiting is not an option.  That is why undocumented youth like myself are risking everything, right now, to pass the DREAM Act, this year.  If we’re putting our lives on the line for this, Mr. President, the least you can do is call members of Congress and ask them to do the same.

It started with 3 undocumented youth sitting in John McCain’s office, and it has escalated to 20.  How many more will it take before Congress passes the DREAM Act?

Sincerely,
Yahaira Carrillo

This particular piece is worth noting because it gets to the essence of the corruption issues in LA County’s Southeast cities and also explains a bit why I think some of these cities with large Latino (and within that immigrant) populations find themselves with leadership like this:

“”They’ve awakened a sleeping giant,” Denisse Rodarte, a lifelong Bell resident and one of the organizers of the rally, told me in her home a short distance from City Hall.

But why was the giant asleep in the first place, and unaware of the plundering?

Corruption is everywhere in California and beyond, from civic centers to Wall Street. But there’s a particular strain of brazen malfeasance in south and southeast L.A. County, with a shameful history of headlines emanating from Maywood and South Gate and Compton and Carson, to name a few. Whether you’re talking to residents or think-tank types, you hear some common themes.

Those cities have largely poor, immigrant populations that are too busy working to pay close attention to City Hall, which means they can be easily exploited. Voter turnout is low, in part because many residents are undocumented and even many legal immigrants aren’t yet qualified to vote. And there’s not much media presence because of cutbacks by everyone in the industry, including The Times, so the rascals are left to steal with impunity.

“It’s a very predatory type of mentality,” said Cristina Garcia, a Bell Gardens resident who is an adjunct professor at USC.”

I think Lopez could even take it a step further and say that the civic culture in these cities has to change. Now that the citizens are more aware of what is happening, they are in a position to do that. But it will take education, savvy, and dedication.

We have heard “sleeping giant” analogies in Latino politics for years, with every election cycle there is some pundit telling us that the “sleeping giant” will awaken. People were saying this after the 2008 Presidential elections, in which Latinos were credited with giving Obama the edge in certain swing states. Lopez is correct that the population in municipalities like Bell is exploitable because of its immigration and social status. Until we can effectively mobilize those of us who are citizens and eligible to vote and then continue to stay politically engaged beyond simply voting, I have a feeling that we will continue to hear stories like this. Should we have immigration reform of some sort in the near future, it will be up to those of us who are more knowledgeable about political issues to educate our brothers and sisters who are new to the game so that they flex their political muscle.

This list was signed by “Concerned Citizens of the United States” and indicated that this group observes people in public and included language that blamed undocumented people and those on the list for increases in crime, domestic violence and substance abuse. There was a message on the list urging officials to begin deportation procedures.

Yesterday I was able to speak with Tony Yapias, who heads up the Proyecto Latino de Utah, who has seen the list and has been responding to individuals and families who were listed. Yapias offered an interesting glimpse into what is happening in Utah in regards to immigration and provided some context for how he became involved in addressing this list.

On June 30, Yapias received a phone call from a woman identifying herself as a state worker and a Latina. She went on an angry tirade criticizing Yapias’s involvement in the immigrant and Latino communities. She did not identify herself by name, but she was angry about the immigration situation and expressed that state workers wanted to have a forum with Yapias. She also sprinkled her phone tirade with sentences in Spanish.

Accustomed to receiving threatening calls from anonymous people who harbor anti-immigrant sentiments, Yapias felt that something was different about this call because of the woman’s statement about state workers wanting to have a forum with him. When Yapias asked the woman what agency she worked for, she replied “I’m all of it.” This tipped off Yapias leading him to believe that it was someone from the state of Utah’s Workforce Services, which he describes as a “one stop shop” for applying for medicaid, food stamps and other services.

On Monday, July 12, Yapias received a copy of the list, and as he read it over, he initially felt shocked and terrified. Realizing that what was contained in the list was an egregious breach of confidentiality, he decided to contact the governor’s office to request that an investigation take place. Yapias expressed to the governor’s office that he suspected that this list may have come from Workforce Services because of the kind of information contained and because of the call he received on June 30 from the unidentified state worker.

Plainly the list singled out the Latino community because of the Spanish surnames, leaving out the possibility that other non-Latino immigrants could very well be using state services or in fact be undocumented. Last week, in another media interview with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez, Yapias said,”…They don’t have any other names on this. I mean, yes, most of the undocumented immigrants in our community—in our state or throughout the country are Latinos. But, you know, what about the 35 percent or so who are non-Latinos—Asians, African—from Africa, from Europe, from the rest of the world?”

Utah Governor Gary Herbert asked that an immediate state agency review take place on Tuesday, July 13, and by Thursday, July 15, the state had found at least two state workers who may have been responsible for the creation of the list. The employees who do work for the Department of Workforce Services have been suspended from their jobs pending the ongoing investigation, but the person who made the call to Yapias apparently has not been suspended from her job and has even admitted to her supervisor that she instigated that phone call.

From what has been revealed at this point, it does appear that state and federal laws have been broken in the distribution of this list of “undocumented people”. Furthermore, some of the people on the list were in fact legal and one person on the list was even getting ready to take the citizenship examination. Yapias indicated that he suspects charges will be filed within the next week against those workers who breached the laws of confidentiality with this data. When asked what he felt about the attorney general prosecuting this case, he said, “Nothing lesser than full prosecution should be accepted.”

When I asked if there were other vigilante type acts happening in Utah in the name of immigration enforcement, Yapias said that there really isn’t much vigilante behavior except for this one. He also commented about the situation in neighboring Arizona creating an environment for the states wanting to take immigration matters into their own hands and offered this:

“These workers had access to information that was very confidential. We trust that this information should remain private. They [those who compiled the list] thought that they were being patriotic by identifying the “illegals” to turn into the feds and other state agencies, but they didn’t calculate how this could backfire.”

Because in Utah, the LDS church (Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints aka Mormon Church) is heavily involved in civic and political life, I did ask Yapias if the Mormon Church has commented on immigration more recently because of what is happening in Arizona and because he has asked the President of the Church for an official declaration, much like what the Catholic Bishops have offered on the immigration issue.

“Unless the LDS church takes a stand like Bishop Wester did on behalf of immigration reform in representing the US Catholic Bishops, we will have a similar law to the one passed in Arizona here in Utah,” Yapias opined.

Russell Pearce, one of the lawmakers behind Arizona’s SB 1070, is considered a “devout Mormon.” And ironically, Mormons have had their own immigration history migrating to Utah and settling there as squatters when it was still part of Mexico, and today some of the break off sects of the Mormon church have settled in the Mexican state of Chihuahua to avoid polygamy laws in the US. I have noticed that the traditional media doesn’t explore the LDS connection, but it is a dimension worth exploring since this faith and members of it are heavily involved in both Utah and Arizona politics.

For more information about this case, read and watch the following:

“They Have Terrorized Our Community” via Democracy Now!

Footage from KSL TV in Salt Lake City

And since Mitt Romney is back in the news, this blog is worth revisiting regarding the Mormon Church and its history with people of color.

Some highlights of exorbitant salaries in this poor city include:

• City Chief Administrative Officer Robert Rizzo is paid a whopping salary of $787,637. In 1993, he started in the City of Bell at $72,000 and has managed to ramp up his salary in the past decade. Rizzo’s current contract with the City of Bell guarantees 12% salary increases each July. And the city council has rewarded this fat cat with another week of vacation, bringing his annual vacation to five weeks.
• Bell Police Chief Randy Adams makes nearly a half million, earning $457,000 a year. This is about 50% more than the police chief of Los Angeles. The City of Bell has about 37,000 people, whereas the city of Los Angeles has a population of about 3.8 million people.
• And the city council members in Bell pay each of themselves a hefty $100,000 per year for what amounts to a part-time job. Cities of comparable size typically pay their council members $400 per month. This particular issue is being investigated by the district attorney, but the salaries of the other city officials (police chief and administrative chief, etc.) appear to not be in violation of any law.

To put things in perspective, the City of Bell has a total area of 2.4 square miles. According to the US Census Bureau, the estimated median household income in the City of Bell is $38,502. The City has a higher percentage of individuals and families living under the poverty level than the national average. And of the city population 25 years and older, only about 3 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

I was able to communicate with a Ricardo Lara, a local candidate for Assembly in the 50th district which includes the City of Bell, and he offered this:

“I’m a strong believer in honest pay for an honest day’s work. While I understand the need to attract qualified staff, I urge the City of Bell to re-evaluate how they compensate top managers. Regardless of results, compensation that is three times the average of neighboring cities is not acceptable, especially when you consider the unemployment rate and the budget deficits we face in Southeast LA County and throughout the state.”

And today the LA Times has come out with an article following up on the original piece showing city outrage over the inflated salaries.

I was particularly struck by this statement in the follow up piece:

“It’s a blue-collar city. A lot of people are just trying to make ends meet,” said Bell resident Victor Munoz, who said he was laid off from his telecommunications job last year and was now taking pharmacy technician classes.

Munoz, 42, has lived in the area for decades and says the immigrant community is largely unaware of what happens at City Hall.

“They don’t know or they don’t understand it,” he said. “Because of the language barrier or their schooling, they don’t always comprehend what’s going on.”

I find this particularly troubling since the City Council in Bell appears to be all Latino. One would hope that officials in our communities would not line their pockets at the expense of the working class that they serve. This reminds me of the cacique mentality that Cockroach People so eloquently writes about in the Latino community in Chicago. What kind of message does this send to youngsters in Bell, California who might be interested in pursuing a career in public service? And what exactly do the citizens of Bell receive for luxury priced city officials? I can guarantee you that it isn’t luxury style city services.

Fenton communications, teaming up with Presente.org, has already been operating a site called, MoveTheGame, urging the public to get involved in the effort to relocate next year’s All-Star game out of Arizona.

Since the Arizona law pretty much sanctions racial profiling in the name of immigration enforcement, one could imagine that an event with MLB, whose league is comprised of not only a diverse group of players but immigrants as well, that there could be hostility towards players, players’ families, and fans. The Major League Baseball Players Association has already issued a statement in opposition to the Arizona law back in April.

My feeling is that it is unconscionable to put MLB players, their families and fans at risk of being stopped by the local law enforcement authorities in this state because they may appear ‘foreign’. Furthermore, Major League Baseball shouldn’t award a state that stokes the flames of hatred and fear with an event like the All-Star game that brings in millions of dollars.

The meat of Murguia and Henderson’s piece is at the end, which I will include for readers here:

Surely the “best interests of baseball” include protecting players and millions of fans of color, not allowing MLB to be perceived as condoning blatant discrimination and injustice, and taking a stand for fairness, equality and other values that Americans and baseball hold dear. Selig should stand up for these players, these fans and these values.

Such a move would not be unprecedented. The NCAA does not allow post-season events, such as the Final Four, to occur in states that fly the Confederate flag. Years ago the NFL stood up to Arizona over its refusal to recognize the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday and moved the 1993 Super Bowl. Those sports institutions defended their players and fans, even though there was no direct threat to their safety. The Arizona law, however, is a direct threat, and Selig ought to take action.

If MLB wants to maintain the right to call baseball America’s favorite pastime, and preserve the legacy of Jackie Robinson, the All-Star game should not go to Phoenix next year. Commissioner, for the sake of baseball players and millions of fans, move the game.

If you are in agreement that MLB should move next year’s All-Star game, please take action here.

“Three-quarters of all crop workers working in American agriculture were born outside the United States. According to government statistics, since the late 1990s, at least 50% of the crop workers have not been authorized to work legally in the United States.”

So the UFW is offering its service in assisting Americans who are unemployed by offering to train them to become farm workers and in the process replace the immigrant labor currently working the fields. Those who are interested in becoming a farm worker can fill out a form submitting their contact information so the UFW can follow up with them. With so many people out of work, one would hope that able bodied Americans would give it a try, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. The UFW President Arturo Rodriguez explained the campaign on the Cobert show yesterday. Check it out:

And also worth checking out simply for the creative factor is Nezua of the Unapologetic Mexican, explaining the insanity of the argument that immigrants are taking our jobs. Nezua was on the ball and produced this news clip last week:

And I will admit that none of the unemployed people I know are eager to work in the fields.