The latest news relating to the political world as it impacts the US Latino community.
According to a census poll released this week, Latino children are the fastest growing demographic in the nation, and according to experts, they are the demographic that should most be invested in. The poll conducted by Pew Hispanic Center concludes that by 2060, Latinos will make up one in every three Americans. The children of [...]
Based on numbers from the 2008 election, 2.3 million non-voters in Texas who were registered to vote never made it to the ballot box. According to the new study, of these non-voters, 34% are Latino, and those between ages 35-44 were staying away at a much higher rate. Young Latinos, between 18-44 years old, also [...]
A recent report from the Pew Hispanic Center released that Latinos earn the largest median household income in the Washington, D.C. metro area (as high as $62,000) and earn the least in the Texas Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito metro area (as low as $28,600). Not surprisingly, the Brownsville, Texas metro region has the highest rate of poverty [...]
Legal barriers in a total of 23 states threaten to impact voter registration and participation of Latino citizens in the upcoming election. According to a report released today by the Advancement Project, some of the voter suppression policies are alleged noncitizen voter purges of registered voters targeting naturalized citizens, states requiring proof of citizenship for [...]
Texas statewide redistricting plans were overturned Tuesday by federal district court judges in Washington D.C., providing credence to the charge that the plans discriminates against Latino voters. The state was seeking preclearance under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. This section requires lawmakers to get approval from the federal government before enacting laws based on the state’s [...]
Across the country states have been addressing their re-districting needs in recent months, redrawing voting maps that will fairly reflect new Census statistics from the 2010 Census. The latest figures showed that the population in Texas grew by 4 million people, giving the state 4 new congressional seats. The plan drafted by the three-judge panel [...]
The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to announce new rules for mercury and other toxic emissions from coal-fired and oil-fired power plants. Anticipation of the rules sparked a firestorm within the fossil-fueled power industry and its political supporters, who say utilities will be forced to close out-dated, coal-fired power plants before a 2015 deadline. Republicans like [...]
The Supreme Court’s decision late last week to halt the recently announced Texas election maps proposed by a three-judge panel in San Antonio is raising concerns over the impact it could have on the rights of Latino voters in the state. The action is the most recent in the redistricting battle in Texas that started [...]
U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (TX-D), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and 14-year Congress veteran, announced he will not be seeking reelection in 2012. “Serving in Congress has been a privilege,” said Gonzalez in a press release. “But today my obligation and responsibility to family will keep me from seeking another term, while at the [...]
The birth rate among Latinos decreased by 11% since 2007, according to preliminary 2010 data released earlier this month. The decline is attributed to the dwindled economy and a general downward fertility trend in the U.S. Last year, less than 1 million babies were born to Latinos. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that [...]
