EL MAGONISTA | MAR. 7, 2024 | VOL. 12, NO. 5

After a failed bipartisan national security bill and amid reports that the White House is considering executive action that could restrict asylum, the nation’s immigration crisis will be a topic of interest for many attending President Biden’s State of the Union address Thursday.

Biden is expected to tout his first-term successes, including increased infrastructure and manufacturing spending, and talk about how he would improve the economy further during a second term.

But how much of his address will he devote to discussing immigration? Listeners may be disappointed.

“Do you want to remind people that ‘I’ve been in office for three years and we’ve had more people come across the border than [ever]’? It’s somewhat of a failure,” said Alison Howard, a political science professor at Dominican University of California who researches State of the Union speeches.

“You can’t ignore it,” Howard said. “But do you want that to be the takeaway from your State of the Union address? I would think not.”

Attendees will tell a different story. Several members of Congress have announced invited guests who symbolize various aspects of the debate.

Among them are a Border Patrol agent from New York; an immigrant rights activist from Chicago; Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program recipients; and the wife of a man killed by a neighbor in Texas who said Latinos weren’t welcome in his community. Read More

Organized Labor lost a giant Sunday.  Ray Cordova passed away after a long illness in the Long Beach VA Hospital.  Cordova was a longtime fan of this blog and a friend who will be missed.

Here’s the statement from the DPOC on Cordova’s passing:

The Democrat known as the “Godfather” of LA-OC labor politics has passed away. Ray Cordova was affectionately known as the Godfather after decades of activism, picketing, campaigning, and mentoring Democratic labor and other leaders.

He suffered a fall at his home office and while recuperating from that, developed a series of health problems that had kept him hospitalized. He passed away on January 28, 2024.

Raymond Cordova’s extraordinary life was centered around three things: his family, his country, and his union brothers and sisters.

He was a Vietnam War veteran serving as a sergeant in an Airborne unit. Ray’s long career in the Labor Movement included leading the Communications Workers of America Local 9571 and serving as a delegate to both LA and OC Labor Councils, and Chair of the South County Labor Council. Read More

As president, Trump sought to use military planes and bases for deportation. Now, he and his allies are talking about a new effort that current and former officials warn could be impractical and dangerous.

Faced with a surge of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018 and 2019, Donald Trump’s White House discussed ways to more aggressively deploy the resources and the might of the U.S. military.

Aides and officials spoke privately about detaining migrants on military bases and flying them out of the country on military planes — ideas that the Pentagon headed off. Throughout his presidency, Trump himself would frequently demand to send troops to the border and catch people crossing.

“He was obsessed with having the military involved,” said a former senior administration official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions. Read More

Al cierre de 2023, los migrantes mexicanos que radican en otros países, principalmente en Estados Unidos, registraron cuatro años consecutivos como los principales generadores de divisas en México gracias a los recursos que envían a sus familiares en territorio nacional, revelan datos oficiales.

El flujo de dólares que mandan los connacionales a México está por encima de los generados por el sector agroalimentario, la inversión extranjera directa (IED), las ventas petroleras al extranjero y la derrama económica que dejan los turistas internacionales.

Sólo en 2023, según datos oficiales, las remesas sumaron 63 mil 313 millones de dólares; superando los 51 mil 873 millones de las exportaciones de productos agroalimentarios, los 36 mil 58 millones de la IED, los 33 mil 218 millones de las exportaciones de petróleo y los 30 mil 809 millones de dólares que dejó el turismo extranjero.

El año pasado, de acuerdo con datos oficiales, hubo una industria que generó más divisas que los migrantes: la automotriz, con 188 mil 900 millones de dólares; sin embargo, este sector depende de una buena suma de importaciones en piezas automotrices, maquinaria, productos metálicos y demás insumos, por lo que no es comparable.

Históricamente, el principal generador de divisas del país había sido las ventas de productos petroleros; sin embargo, a mediados de la década pasada comenzaron a bajar. Leer Mas

Si se considerara como un país aparte, la población de origen latino que vive en Estados Unidos –y muy particularmente la mexicana– significaría la quinta economía de todo el mundo, debido a que se trata de un grupo que ha accedido a mejores condiciones educativas y tiene posibilidades de invertir en la creación de negocios.

Así lo afirmaron los participantes en el Encuentro Binacional de Cooperación Académica California-México, quienes subrayaron que la población de origen mexicano tiene cada vez mayor peso electoral en la Unión Americana, por lo que tiene el poder de decidir quién será el próximo presidente de ese país, lo que genera miedo en ciertos grupos sociales.

Durante el foro, auspiciado por la Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM), Ana Valdez, presidenta de la organización Latino Donor Collaborative, destacó el peso demográfico de los colectivos de origen latino en Estados Unidos, los cuales representan ya 20 por ciento de la población y se espera que en 2060 sean 31 por ciento.

Dentro de ese grupo, los mexicanos son hoy 67 por ciento de los latinos y tienen una influencia determinante, pues su tasa de natalidad es alta, acceden cada vez más a la educación superior e incluso tienen posibilidades de migrar dentro de Estados Unidos para poner negocios en estados diferentes a California o Texas, donde históricamente se han asentado. Leer Mas

The Supreme Court could decide the fate of the DACA policy within the next two years. DACA provides protection from deportation and gives legal work authorization to roughly 600,000 undocumented individuals who came to the U.S. as young children. A recent federal court decision will likely send the case to the Supreme Court; if the Justices choose to hear the case, their ruling will likely determine once and for all if those protections can remain in place.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing the case against DACA
The case challenging the legality of the DACA policy is currently under review by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Opening briefs have been filed by the appellants (those defending DACA, including the Biden administration and leading advocacy organizations) in January, and will be answered by the opposition (those trying to end DACA) by February 26th.

In February, legal briefs were submitted by amici curiae, or “friends of the court,” detailing the devastating impacts that ending DACA would have on children and families, communities, and the economy. Read More

More than five decades ago, Morgan Chu was taught a version of American history that all but ignored the experiences of Asian Americans like him.

Chu, an attorney who grew up in New York and moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA, never learned that the U.S. government barred Chinese people from immigrating to the United States in the 19th century and incarcerated tens of thousands of American citizens of Japanese ancestry without charges during World War II.

He was not taught about state laws in the early 1900s that prevented Asians from owning land or, even earlier, marrying outside their race. Nor did any of his classes recognize the contributions Asian Americans have made in shaping the nation beyond a scant mention of Chinese laborers who helped build the transcontinental railroad.

But in 1969, Chu and his wife, Helen, then a fellow Bruin, helped push UCLA to create some of the first ethnic studies programs in the nation, after joining scores of other students in protests, rallies and meetings.

Now, 55 years later, the Chus are doubling down on their commitment with a $10-million gift to create endowed chairs for Asian American, African American, Chicano and American Indian studies centers housed in the UCLA Institute of American Cultures. The gift, announced Monday, will also fund research projects and programming across the institute — cementing UCLA’s role as a national leader in this academic field. Read More

Sacramento State — home to the largest number of Black students within the California State University (CSU) system — is launching what will become the nation’s first-ever Black Honors College.

Slated to begin operating in the fall, the honors college will enroll students who have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and an interest in Black history, life, and culture.

“This is one component of a larger effort to increase success rates for Black students,” said Dr. J. Luke Wood, who returned to his alma mater seven months ago to helm the sixth largest institution of the 23-campus CSU system. “We’re creating an institution within the institution.”

Unlike Honors Colleges at some other institutions that have created specialized programs to attract Black students, Sacramento State’s model is radically different. The entire college is being designed specifically with the Black student in mind.

The college will have its own dean of students, director, counselors, academic advisors, and outreach and support staff, and it will draw from existing faculty who have “a demonstrated record of success in teaching Black students,” said Wood. Read More