Salem-News.com Immigration articles Page 9

Defending Mexico Tourism in Tough Times

Part one in a special series on Mexican tourism.

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - Violeta Serrano takes a break from haggling with a couple from Seattle over the price of a beach towel.

Part of the wave of people that's gradually drifted from Acapulco to other vacation destinations in Mexico, Serrano runs a curio shop just off Puerto Vallarta's popular Los Muertos Beach. The small business owner has seen better days.

New Wave of Cross-Border Activism

"You can't have Juarez without El Paso and you can't have El Paso without Juarez" - Ana Morales - Peace and Justice without Borders

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - If anything marks the first weeks of 2011 in Mexico and the Paso del Norte border region, it is the growth of citizen activism in response to femicide, human rights violations and a broad range of atrocities stemming from the so-called drug war.

Galvanized by the recent murders of two women from Ciudad Juarez, activist mother Marisela Escobedo and poet Susana Chavez, public demonstrations were held in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua City, Monterrey, Culiacan, Pachuca and Mexico City.

Security News: A Positive Spin on Mexico Violence

According to a Mexican national news agency, 507 people were reported killed in gangland-style killings across Mexico during the first 14 days of the new year.

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - In its second-to-last year in office, the Mexican President Calderon's administration is on a public relations offensive to counter a ceaseless barrage of criticism over the conduct and progress of the so-called drug war.

In response, Calderon administration officials-echoed by Washington-are increasingly claiming victories in various operations against organized crime.

Immigration News: Debate Simmers Outside the Beltway

Many immigrant workers and their families in New Mexico are now under pressure from Border Patrol checkpoints and patrols, in collaboration with local police agencies.

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - At the state and local levels, the debate over immigration continues to simmer in 2011. In Las Cruces, New Mexico, for instance, public forums on the immigration question are scheduled to be held at City Hall on Thursday.

A roster of speakers is lined up to address the legal, economic and human rights aspects of immigration.

A Nation of Farm Workers

“I’m not sure we’ll ever return to the type of full employment we’ve had in the past” - Charles McMillon, Washington, DC-based MBG Information Services

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - In New Mexico and the United States, farm work keeps undergoing historic transformations.

Globalization, mechanization, technological innovation, and job outsourcing have eliminated or changed thousands of jobs in cotton, pecan, chile, pecan, onion and other crops.

Two Sisters, Two Planets

A hardy shout away from Ciudad Juarez, El Paso experienced a dramatically different reality in 2010

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - Hugging a common land and embracing a sisterly river, El Paso and Ciudad Juarez are linked in a zillion ways. But in 2010, the twin cities might as well have been on different planets.

Depending on the press or law enforcement source, anywhere between 3075 and 3156 people were murdered in the Mexican city and the adjacent Juarez Valley. Of the victims, 304 or 306 were women, again depending on the source.

2010: Turning Points in Chihuahua

This year international media devoted much reporting to the violence that engulfed Ciudad Juarez...

(CIUDAD, Juarez) - If anything could be said about 2010 in Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua, it might be stated that any semblance of human rights flew out the window.

Ushered in with the January murder of Juarez Valley human rights defender and army critic Josefina Reyes, the year drew to a close with the December slaying of activist Marisela Escobedo in Chihuahua City...

US Senate: The Grinch that Stole Christmas 2010

Angela M. Kelly of the Washington-D.C-based Center for American Progress Action Fund termed the Senate vote a “Grinch-like rejection.”

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - By a margin of five votes, the DREAM Act failed today to achieve the 60 votes necessary to ensure its passage in the US Senate. First introduced in 2001, the Dream Act would have provided a pathway to legalization for hundreds of thousands of undocumented young people who enroll in college or join the US military.

The vote fell on December 18, which is celebrated around the world as International Migrants Day.

U.S. Senate to Vote on DREAM Act Saturday

Oregon Immigrant Rights Coalition urges bi-partisan passage of crucial legislation.

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) filed a cloture motion on the DREAM Act setting up a vote for Saturday Morning.

The Act will create a path to citizenship for immigrants who entered the United States undocumented as children under the age of 16 and have lived in America for at least five years, obtained a high school or General Ed. Development diploma and have demonstrated good moral character.

Ciudad Juarez: Enough is Enough

In a joint statement, organizations called on the government to end its “simulations” and make “human rights for all a reality on this border.”

(LAS CRUCES, N.M.) - December on the border is a time of family, faith and fiesta. Every year, thousands pay homage to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

While throngs jam international bridges for holiday shopping excursions, lively gatherings of friends and family on both sides of the border enjoy tamales, posole and festive times.