Arkansas

The University of Arkansas moved higher on the list in Kiplinger’s Personal Finances magazine as among the best for Arkansas students and nonresident students. It was also named the best place for Hispanic students to attend college in the state.”*

*From: http://media.www.thetraveleronline.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Lawmakers heard Tuesday that state and federal law protects the right for children of illegal immigrants to attend school while living in Arkansas. That means the largest state costs of the migration can’t be eliminated.

The news came during a joint hearing of the state House and Senate’s education committee. Afterward, two Republican lawmakers questioned the lengths the state should go when providing that care as Arkansas’ Hispanic community grows at one of the fastest rates in the nation. “*

*From: http://www.todaysthv.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

The mission of the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas is to celebrate education, culture and community.

The group did all three at its annual Holiday Dinner and Open House on Tuesday. Held in the lobby outside its new offices at the Family Resource Center in Springdale, the party attracted about 150 clients, supporters and members.

They heard about organization programs, lauded graduates of a recent computer class and watched entertainment by singer Flor Morena and dance group Ritmo Latino. A buffet dinner of steak and chicken fajitas was provided by Acambero Mexican Restaurant.”*

The study shows Hispanic voters represented only 1.3 percent of voters in Arkansas during the 2006 gubernatorial race. That percentage many only slightly creep up next year, as more than half of the nation’s Hispanics are foreign-born and nearly a third are under 18. “*

A 15-minute presentation Tuesday night before the Hope City Board of Directors turned into an hour-long debate over confusion about an Hispanic outreach group’s membership/identity card and its validity.

Angelo Zambrano, intake specialist for the Latin Community Organization, an outreach services provider for the New Arkansan Resource Network under a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor administered through the Arkansas Department of Workforce, gave the board an overview of the group’s workings and purpose.”*

Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., voiced support for providing some children of illegal immigrants with college aid Monday, a day after Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee said he was not sure he would support such a program at the federal level.

When Huckabee was Arkansas governor, he supported legislation in 2005 that would have granted in-state tuition to the children of illegal immigrants. The measure, an early version of which also would have made undocumented immigrants eligible for state scholarships, passed the state House but fell short in the Senate.
“*

“Bee Movie “will be shown in Spanish at the Blackhawk Theatre here on Saturday.

“Several people have asked me about showing a movie in Spanish,” said Jeff Cato, owner of the theater. “I hire quite a bit of Hispanic labor and they always ask.”

Cato said he hires people both in his construction jobs and to work at the theater.”*

The investigation of a deadly passenger bus crash along a rain-soaked highway in eastern Arkansas was hindered by a language barrier between state police and the victims, who were primarily Latino, authorities said Monday.

Three people died in the late-night crash — a Mexican citizen and a naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico who were bus passengers, and the driver of a pickup the bus collided with.

At least 19 others were hospitalized, including three children. Several were in serious or critical condition.”*

Nearly half of the babies delivered by Hispanic mothers in Benton County last year were born out of wedlock.

That was double the rate for white, non-Hispanic mothers in the county.

The statistics mirror national trends that have the attention of advocates of all persuasions.”*

The growing Mexican population in Arkansas and neighboring mid-south states created a demand for passports and identity cards beyond what even the Mexican government prepared for.

In its first six months, the Mexican consulate based in Little Rock has seen the number of citizens it serves a day rise from 50 to 120, said consul Andres Chao. Now, Chao said the consulate plans to hire three or more new staffers in the coming year, anticipating demand will only grow.

The demand is there for the office to process more papers, but the office doesn’t have the workers, Chao told reporters after giving a speech at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. “If we add another eight (workers), we could attend daily probably 300 people yet to come.”"*

Members of Arkansas’ hispanic community gathered at the state fairgrounds Saturday for the 14th Annual Encuentro Hispano, or hispanic encounter.

It was put on by the Catholic Diocese, and included cultural and religious events, along with free health screenings. Jade Salazar endured a flu shot at the Encuentro Hispano Health Fair Saturday. Her mom said it’s one less thing for her to talk about.”*

As floods swept through Mexico this week, the telephones at Red Cross chapters in Arkansas remained silent even as Spanish television channels remained fixed on the disaster.

Arkansas has one of the fastest-growing Hispanic populations in the nation, with the majority of immigrants filling poultry plant jobs and construction trades coming from Mexico. But that population moving to northwest Arkansas so far hasn’t reached out when disasters strike family members still living in the country.

“It’s going to take a while,” said Susan Duel-Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Red Cross’ northwest Arkansas chapter. “They have not built a relationship with us because until up to recently, they could not speak to us in their native tongue.”*

The Clinton Presidential Library is building a bridge to its Spanish-speaking visitors.

The library, designed to resemble a bridge and one of former President Bill Clinton’s favorite metaphors, now offers a Spanish-language option on touch-screen displays that dot three of its main exhibits. The displays, unique among America’s 12 presidential libraries, allow for changes and variations to how visitors experience the library, as opposed to the wall placards and labels common to museums.

“The goal was to make this library accessible to all,” library spokesman Jordan Johnson said. “This is just another step in that direction.”"*

THIS week executives from some of Arkansas’s principal companies—Tyson Foods, the world’s largest meat processor, Alltel, a wireless company, and Stephens, one of the biggest investment firms outside Wall Street—joined ministers, civic leaders and the local American Civil Liberties Union to form the Arkansas Friendship Coalition. The group, led by Steve Copley, a Methodist minister, stresses that states should abide by federal immigration laws rather than try to make their own.

This sudden respect for the wisdom of Washington has been prompted by anti-immigration laws passed in Arkansas’s neighbours, Oklahoma and Missouri. Oklahoma’s Taxpayer and Citizen Protection Act, which went into effect on November 1st after a lawsuit failed to stop it, will be one of the most stringent in the country. It imposes tighter screening on employers, essentially barring undocumented workers from getting jobs. Illegal immigrants will also find it harder to get benefits.”*

Police in Arkansas haven’t been tracking the immigration status of suspected criminals as much as police in neighboring states do.

Figures obtained from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement reveal that Arkansas law enforcement officials are much less likely to check whether a suspect is in the state legally, according to an analysis by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

“*

Gov. Mike Beebe says the Hispanic community has a “disconnect” when it comes to the subject of illegal immigration.

Beebe told an audience at the University of Central Arkansas that while he doesn’t want to paint Hispanics with a wide brush, but “one of the things that the Hispanic community has, in effect, a disconnect with, with the non-Hispanic community, is the whole issue of ‘ illegal. ’” “*

“The Hispanic community has a “disconnect” with non-Hispanics on the issue of illegal immigration, Gov. Mike Beebe told a group of University of Central Arkansas students Wednesday.

Beebe was fielding students’ questions in a public forum on the UCA campus when a student mentioned legislation in Congress that would put children of illegal immigrants on a path toward citizenship, as long as they came to the U.S. with their families before turning 16 and they plan to attend college or join the military.

The measure failed a test vote in Wednesday in the U.S. Senate. “*

““Wake Up! Take Control!” Is the theme for the inaugural Latino AIDS Awareness Day in Arkansas.

More than 100 people took part in entertainment, free food and free H-I-V testing at Southwest Community Center to kick off the event. “*

“A new educator at UALR is the first Hispanic professor in to work in her department.

(Anarella Cellitti, UALR Dept. of Education) “I always go where there is a big concentration of Latino students. That’s my goal.”

And that’s part of why Anarella Cellitti is now an Associate Professor of Early Childhood at UALR.”

“By way of Mexico, El Salvador, Missouri and Minnesota, an author spoke Wednesday evening about the importance of sharing and looking for stories.

Sandra Benitez, author of “A Place Where the Sea Remembers” and “Night of the Radishes,” was the fourth distinguished Latin American author to come to the UA, a tradition that has become a staple of the Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations.

“I am so impressed with your campus,” Benitez said to the audience of about 300 people at the Union Theatre. “I am so impressed with your population, your international student population,” she added, citing the more than 100 countries represented at the UA.”

“Illegal immigration is no problem for me. My taxes haven’t been raised to provide medical care to undocumented people. My only tax change lately is that the state cut my grocery tax in half.

Speaking of that, I buy a lot of chicken. If undocumented immigrants are among those processing and packaging this product - and I’m not saying they are - I sure do appreciate it.

I like chicken, and it’s good for you if you cook it right. My kinfolks in Southwest Arkansas who worked in what they called “the chicken plant” always told me it wasn’t the best work.”

“As Arkansas’ new kicker, Alex Tejada’s job is to make solid contact with the ball.

As a Hispanic playing a high-profile position, he’s helping the Razorbacks make contact with the state’s growing Latino population.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Tejada joined a team desperate for consistent kicking after the 2006 season, when the Razorbacks made only six field goals all season. After two games, Tejada is already 5-for-5. “

“Governor Mike Beebe has directed his office to take action. Beebe says he is committed to improving education and better serving the community. That includes hiring more Hispanic teachers as the Hispanic student population grows.”

“A legislative committee is to hear testimony Tuesday on some of the cost illegal immigrants generate in Arkansas.

Information provided to legislators says illegal immigrants represent a small percentage of the number of those served by Arkansas’ programs in health and human services. Other agencies say they could not estimate immigrations costs. “

“About 250 people turned out to receive matricula consular cards during the first visit to the region by the Mexican consulate in Little Rock.”