Haitian authorities have charged ten American Baptist missionaries for attempting to take thirty-three Haitian children across the Haitian-Dominican border. The ten American missionaries have been formally charged with kidnapping and criminal association. Under Haitian law, anyone charged with attempting to kidnap a child is not eligible for bail. If convicted of kidnapping, the American missionaries could face up to a lifetime of prison; the criminal association charge could lead to sentence of three to nine years in prison.
The American missionaries did not have government approval to take the Haitian children across the border. The missionaries lacked the proper paperwork, and the children did not have passports to leave the country.
Several missionaries said they believed the children to be orphans. Group leader Laura Silsby said her group was trying to take the orphans to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. Silsby told the Associated Press that most of the children had been delivered by distant relatives, while others came from orphanages that had been destroyed by the earthquake.
However, this conflicts with the version of events offered by the children’s parents.
The parents state that a missionary member had convened a group of approximately 500 people in their small town and explained to them that the group wanted to take their children into the Dominican Republic, where they would feed, clothe, and educate them. Several parents said they had willingly given their children to the missionaries who had promised a better life for them and said they could see their children whenever they wished. Villagers said they were not told their children were being offered for adoption.
In January, the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (LBAW) hosted their annual Awards and Fundraiser Dinner. As a part of the event, two notable Latino entities were highlighted: Chief Justice Paul De Muniz and The Martinez Foundation.
Chief Justice Paul De Muniz became a part of the Oregon Supreme Court in January 2001. Significantly, Chief Justice De Muniz is the first Hispanic to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court. Chief Justice De Muniz was elected to the court in 2000, and then unanimously elected as Chief Justice and re-elected in 2006. From 1997 to 2000 Chief Justice De Muniz served on the Oregon Court of Appeals. In addition, Chief Justice De Muniz served on the Judicial Fitness and Disability Commission and the Supreme Court Access to Justice for All Committee. He also chaired the Committee to Implement Recommendations made by the Oregon Supreme Court Tast Force on Racial/Ethnic Issues in the Judicial System which published the report “A Commitment to Fairness” in 1996. We congratulate Chief Justice Paul De Muniz in his achievements and recent recognition from LBAW.
The Martinez Foundation was also selected by LBAW to be awarded the Charity of Choice Award. The Martinez Foundation was founded in 2008 by former Major League Baseball Mariners standout Edgar Martinez and his wife Holli Martinez. After retiring from the Mariners, Edgar and Holli returned to school at the University of Washington. This experience changed their lives and highlighted the importance of education. The two started the Martinez Foundation which provides scholarships to underrepresented populations to pursue a higher education, particularly to help diverse students receive a degree in Education. The idea is that diverse teachers can help to have a positive effect on the success of students of color. These scholarships are used to combat these current statistics: teachers of color in Washington total just 7%; and over 50% of students in Seattle are of color while teachers of color are only 10%. We applaud the Martinez Foundation for their efforts to increase diversity in the classroom, in creating incentives for others to be teachers, and in their efforts to enhance learning for students of color! For more information visit: http://www.themartinezfoundation.org/about.html.
The Southern Education Foundation is offering a Summer 2010 internship in education policy and practice for graduate students completing their first year. The deadline for this application is Friday, March 19. Please see below for more information:
The Southern Education Foundation (SEF) is the South’s oldest education philanthropy, tracing its origins back to 1867. Its mission is to advance equity and excellence in education for low income students and communities in the South, the region that is home to 40 percent of the nation’s poor people. The South has the lowest levels of education attainment and achievement, the highest drop out rates and provides the least need-based financial aid for higher education. It has the greatest need for new leaders to develop corrective public policies and practices to improve education quality and opportunity at all levels. Education, the great equalizer, is the means to advance economic growth, strengthen democratic values and participation, and improve everyone’s quality of life.
Recognizing the need to develop new outstanding leaders in education, philanthropy and the non profit sector, SEF has initiated a unique “Southern Education Leadership Initiative.” The Initiative exposes highly motivated and diverse upperclassmen and graduate students enrolled in Southern colleges and universities to information about contemporary education issues and provides them with seven week internships in leading organizations concerned with equity and excellence in education. Since 2004, 103 students have been placed at non profit organizations such as CARE USA, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, College of Charleston, Clark Atlanta University, Center for Women Policy Studies, Georgia Pacific Foundation, Jessie Ball DuPont Fund, Assisi Foundation, Foundation for the Mid South, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, Southern Regional Education Board, and the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta. SEF is exposing the next generation of leaders to opportunities to use their talents in service to the public interest.
Interns are selected through a competitive process—only the most talented and committed will be able to participate. Each intern is required to participate in a pre-placement orientation meeting in Atlanta, undertake an independent project during the course of his/her internship, and present lessons learned from the internship at a closing meeting in Atlanta.
Interns receive:
- An opportunity to work for seven weeks in an organization doing outstanding work in education, e.g., a policy institution, community-based organization or philanthropic institution;
- A living expense stipend of $3,000 (for undergraduates or graduating seniors), or $3,500 (for graduate students completing their first year), as well as travel expenses to visit the Southern Education Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia, for orientation and closing activities;
- Exposure to research in the field, practical experience and opportunities to meet and work with outstanding and inspiring leaders involved in education policy and practice;
- An opportunity to develop a project – website, presentation or publication of his/her own design – to share with other students at his/her campus following the summer experience.
For more information, please visit: http://www.southerneducation.org. Click here to download the application.
Don’t you just love TV commercials? Be honest. I know I do, especially GEICO.
Their marketing team has not one or two but three easily recognizable ads with the gecko, cavemen, and that stack of money with eyeballs (I know you can hear the music in your head right now).
If the GEICO team were in charge of creating a commercial for the recent Supreme Court decision lifting the ban political ads paid for by corporations, they would probably add a functioning mouth to that little stack of money.
Earlier this month the Supreme Court overruled two precedents regarding the First Amendment rights of corporations.
In a 5-4 decision, the Court ruled that the government cannot regulate political speech and corporate money will now be able to bombard your TV screen with political ads. The ban came from a 2002 law that prohibited the broadcast, cable or satellite transmission of “electioneering communications” paid for by corporations or labor unions from their general funds in the 30 days before a presidential primary and in the 60 days before the general elections.
President Obama called the decision “a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health insurance companies and the other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans.”
For those of you who are annoyed by TV commercials, they may soon serve as a welcomed escape from political communication.
The NY Times article on the decision.
A guest post from the Puerto Rican Bar Association–
Dear Friends:
The Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA) Scholarship Fund, Inc. is pleased to announce the availability of its applications for the 2010-2011 PRBA Scholarship Awards Program for Latino law students on its newly unveiled website, www.PRBA.net.
All Latino law students residing, or attending law school, in New York are eligible to apply for the Scholarship Awards, ranging between $1,500 to $2,000, subject to certain restrictions. Please click here for more information.
Following the receipt of completed applications by the deadline of March 13, 2010, the PRBA Scholarship Fund would select recipients based on financial need and academic promise. Scholarship recipients will be contacted directly by the PRBA. Please closely follow the application’s instructions.
Please click here to download the 2010-2011 application.
The PRBA, founded in New York in 1957, is one of the oldest Latino bar associations in the United States. Today, the PRBA continues its tradition of breaking down barriers to the legal profession with active members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
Please spread the word of this worthwhile Scholarship program.
Thank you,
Javier E. Vargas
PRBA Board Member
A friend sent me a link to a website titled “Stuff Educated Chicanos Like”. You can find the link here:
This website is meant as a tongue-in-cheek attempt at making fun of Chicanos/Latinos/Hispanics/Mexicas/Mexican Americans (see # 3 on website link). The website is a compiled list of witty (and yes, many times truthful) entries about behaviors that many of us, and our university-educated Latino friends do in an attempt to seem closer to the motherland.
One of my favorites on the list comes in at #4: “Conferences and Conventions”. Educated Chicanos, referred to as “ECH’s” love to attend National Conferences. “ECHs will go to meet other ECHs. Officially, it’s to ‘network.’ But really it’s about dressing up and going to the end of conference dance.” (For an example, see the NLLSA 2009 Conference picture below). Just kidding, I hear the annual National Latino Law Student Conference is a great networking event.
#4 Conferences and Conventions
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- 2009 NLLSA Conference – Chicago
#16 is also good – “Making Tamales”. Educated Latinos love to pretend to make tamales by inviting all their friends for a “Tamale making party” and then take pictures of themselves in their sorry attempt at making tamales. There is a picture of three Latinas smiling at the camera, looking like they are having the best time at making tamales. The picture caption reads “ECH’s learning the oppressive art of tamale making”.
In an attempt to make this relevant to the legal profession (at least somewhat), I have compiled a special edition titled, “Stuff Latinos in Law School Like”
1. Making the lame pun “Tortas” for the word “Torts”
2. Celebrating anything with “tequila” shots
Celebrating the fact that you finished your memo with shots of “really good tequila” – when this tequila is really Patron or something similarly disgusting.
3. Explaining to fellow classmates what Critical Race Studies means
4. Latinas enjoy wearing heels on the day of their Final Exam
This is part of their strategy- the sound of their heels clicking on the floor serves as a mechanism to distract others from their exam and sabotage the curve. They don’t care if their walk is unsteady – that all-nighter spent studying was rough.
5. Wanting to involve a piñata for a Latino law student event
The idea of equipping blindfolded law students with a stick is always shot down by the Dean of Students.
Last month, the Associated Press reported that Rodi Alvarado, a Guatemalan woman who first arrived in the United States in 1995 and whose asylum case was in limbo in immigration courts for nearly 15 years, was finally granted asylum by an immigration judge in San Francisco. Ms. Alvarado had suffered years of abuse from her husband and applied for asylum on the basis of membership in a particular social group, one of the five grounds on which an individual can qualify as a refugee. A victim of domestic violence, Ms. Alvarado was initially granted asylum by an immigration judge in 1996, but in 1999, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reversed the grant in what has become a well-known opinion in the area of asylum law, In re R-A-.
The United States has recognized that domestic violence asylum applicants may bring valid claims for asylum, which requires an applicant to show a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, nationality, religion, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. In addition, either the applicant’s government or an individual or group that the government is unwilling or unable to control must inflict this persecution. The difficulty with Ms. Alvarado’s case in 1999 was that the group she claimed membership in was not a particular social group according to the BIA—the majority also did not find that her group, “Guatemalan women who have been involved intimately with Guatemalan male companions, who believe that women are to live under male domination,” demonstrated a nexus between her husband’s conduct toward her and her membership in this group.
Despite the BIA’s denial of asylum, Ms. Alvarado was not removed from the country. Instead, several Attorneys General took action because of the implications decisions such as this would have on gender-based asylum claims, namely those by domestic violence victims. Shortly after In re R-A- was decided, Janet Reno placed a stay on this case until regulations proposed in December 2000 on asylum and withholding definitions were finalized. In 2008, Michael Mukasey lifted a second stay (which was placed by John Ashcroft) so the case could be reconsidered in light of developments in the case law.
It is uncertain exactly what led to the grant of Ms. Alvarado’s asylum claim – one possible explanation is the arrival of a new presidential administration and leadership in the Department of Homeland Security that favored granting asylum in these cases. As of now, however, there is no uniform way for adjudicators to handle cases brought by domestic violence victims, since the particular social group category is not one which applicants can easily satisfy. In addition to having a “common, immutable characteristic”, the group must be “socially visible” and have enough “particularity” so that one can distinguish between members of this group and other members in society and recognize that this group is being harmed because of their status.
As of today, the Department of Homeland Security has yet to finalize the regulations it proposed on amending parts of the definition of refugee such as “persecution”, “particular social group” and the “on account of language” or the nexus between the persecution and the particular social group. In the last several months, and recently after Ms. Alvarado was granted asylum, the Department has stated that it is working on these regulations so that cases involving victims of domestic violence can be handled more consistently. Until then, there may be other women such as Ms. Alvarado whose cases lie in waiting.
To learn more about gender-based asylum and claims by victims of domestic violence, please visit the following links:
Center for Gender and Refugee Studies
New York Times article, U.S. May be Open to Asylum for Spouse Abuse
New York Times article, New Policy Permits Asylum for Battered Women
Associated Press article, Domestic Violence Victim Granted Asylum in U.S.
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Barbara Barreno, a second-year student at Vanderbilt University Law School, is NLLSA’s South Atlantic Regional Director.
The terrible earthquake that shattered Haiti’s Port-au-Prince has left tens of thousands dead, and many thousands more in desperate need of food, water, and shelter. Unlike political disasters — i.e., Rwanda or Darfur — where world actors seem paralyzed, sclerotic, and otherwise slow to respond, the global response to Haiti has been inspiring.
Various Latin American countries, such as Brazil and Uruguay, already had peacekeeping commitments in Haiti when the earthquake struck. Those countries are now fully engaged in the rescue and relief effort. In fact, the quickest reactions to the crisis did not come from the OECD countries. According to the International Red Cross, the “lion’s share” of the initial response came from Latin American countries.
The rallying didn’t stop there. Cuba and the United States, bitter enemies for over 50 years, put aside their differences — albeit briefly — to focus on the rescue efforts. In a rare diplomatic breakthrough, Cuba is allowing the U.S. Medical Evacuation flights to use its airspace, cutting 90 minutes off its one-way flight time to and from Haiti.
Even in the midst of all this carnage, it’s inspiring to see leaders focus on what’s actually important for a change — even if it takes a natural disaster to get them to do it.
To donate to Haiti relief please visit UNICEF’s website, or text “HAITI” to 90999.
We want to encourage all you to help Haiti in the wake of the deadly earthquake that ravaged the country yesterday. Although the scope of the destruction remains unclear, the Red Cross has estimated that up to 3 million have been affected. As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is in dire need of the support of our community.
Here are some quick steps you can take to contribute to the relief effort:
You can donate right now using your phone
- Text the word “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5 on behalf of the Yele Haiti Foundation, founded by Haitian musician Wyclef Jean.
- Text the word “Haiti” to 85944 to donate $5 on behalf of the Rescue Union Mission and MedCorp International.
- Text the word “Haiti” to 25383 to donate $5 on behalf of the Internal Rescue Committee.
- Text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10 on behalf of the American Red Cross.
- Text the word “Haiti” to 45678 (in Canada only) onbehalf of the Salvation Army in Canada.
Spread the word
We encourage you to use your social networks to tell others how easy it is to contribute to this important effort. In addition to forwarding this message, you can cut and paste the following message into your status updates for Facebook, Twitter, Google Talk, etc.:
Donate: Text “HAITI” to 90999. $10 will be donated to the Red Cross for relief efforts and you’ll be charged $10 on your cell bill.
You can adjust this message to advertise any organization besides the Red Cross.
Do you have family in Haiti?
The State Department hotline for Americans to inquire about family in Haiti is (888) 407-4747.
We hope that our community of Latino law students can play a significant role in helping Haiti rebuild after this catastrophic event.
Shenandoah Revisited: What One Small Pennsylvania Town Reveals About the Future of Race Relations in the U.S.
The Justice Department announced on Dec. 15, 2009 that it had handed down indictments to two teenagers in the rural Pennsylvania town of Shenandoah for their participation in the beating death of Luis Ramirez, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, in July 2008. The indictments came after a Schuylkill County jury acquitted Brandon Piekarsky, 17, of third-degree murder and ethnic intimidation and Derrick Donchak, 19, of aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation. Instead, Piekarsky was convicted of simple assault, a misdemeanor, and given a sentence of six to 23 months in prison. Donchak was convicted of simple assault and corruption of minors and received a sentence of seven to 23 months. A third teen, Colin Walsh, accepted a plea bargain and is serving a four year sentence in federal prison.
The teens, all of whom are white, had just left a block party and were reportedly under the influence of alcohol the night of the beating. As many as six individuals, including Donchak, Walsh, and Piekarsky, allegedly provoked Ramirez with racial epithets before pummeling him with kicks and punches. The street brawl left the 25-year-old immigrant, who for six years made a living picking strawberries and cherries and working in factories, in a coma. He died from his injuries two days later.
The new federal indictments now charge the two teens with federal hate crimes that carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. In addition, three Shenandoah police officers have also been charged with obstruction of justice and conspiracy for allegedly covering up the fatal beating by tampering with evidence and lying to FBI officials. One of the officers allegedly gave the teens a ride home from the crime scene while advising them to “get their story straight.” Each officer faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction of justice charge and five years on the conspiracy charge.
The beating death and its aftermath have raised racial tensions in the small mining town located approximately 80 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Yet, many see the tragic events of Shenandoah–where the Latino population has grown from 2.8 percent in 2000 to approximately 10 percent today–as representative of the country at large. To some, the arrival of immigrants from Latin American countries means that fewer jobs are left available to other members of the labor force, particularly in blue collar towns like Shenandoah. Others see the Latino population growth as threatening the U.S.’s cultural identity. The view shared by many in Shenandoah toward the changing demographics, however, seems to contradict its long-standing reputation as a melting pot for ethnic groups that include Irish, Greek, Italian, and Lithuanian communities.
“This town is a place where people can be very kind, but there are also a lot of folks who don’t like change and they don’t like people who are different, and they make sure you know it,” said Fernando Bermejo, of Puerto Rican origin who moved to Shenandoah from the South Bronx. Bermejo’s son, Felix, was himself physically threatened by white schoolmates shortly after the highly-publicized acquittal.
With Latinos expected to account for approximately 16% of the total U.S. population after the 2010 census is conducted, what does Shenandoah reveal about the future of race relations in the U.S.? The most recent issue of the Hate Crime Statistics, a report compiled annually by the FBI, found that 64% of all hate crimes committed in 2008 based on perceived ethnicity or national origin targeted Latinos, up from 61% in 2007. This follows an increase of almost 40% between 2003 and 2006, when the immigration reform debate was heating up in Washington. While hate crimes against Latinos are nothing new–some reported in the Southwest as early as 1848–studies conducted by advocacy groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center suggest, unfortunately, that the dramatic increase in the Latino population will likely result in a steady rise of crimes similar to those in Shenandoah.
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Larry Banda, a second-year student at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, is NLLSA’s Central Regional Director.
