Kansas

A handshake Friday night between Mayor Carl Brewer and Mexican Gov. Ismael Hernandez Deras sealed a notion to begin examining ways Wichita and Durango, Mexico, can build economic ties.

The governor and his family and other elected officials from Mexico stopped in Wichita to greet the local Durango community at Frida’s Mexican Grill, 1580 W. 21st St.

About 100 people from Durango filled the large banquet room to witness the visit.”*

The Kansas League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) elected new state officers at its annual state convention held April 19, 2008 in Topeka, Kansas. LULAC is the oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the country with a membership of over 700 councils nationwide. Currently, there are three councils operating in Kansas located in the cities of Topeka, Salina and Garden City. Topeka also has a LULAC Senior Center that has been serving the greater Topeka community for over 35 years.

Individuals elected for the upcoming year include; Elias Garcia of Topeka-State Director, Jacqueline Bujanda (Garden City)-Deputy State Director, Rodrigo Bonilla (Salina)-Treasurer and Rosa Cervantes (Garden City)- was appointed Secretary by Garcia. All offices are for terms of one year.

In addition to the election of officers, the LULAC convention included a couple of workshops addressing the issues; Immigration: Part of the Solution and Diabetes: a Latino Community Killer. Also during the state convention; a luncheon was held that featured distinguished Topeka attorney-at-law, Pedro Irigonegaray, an evening scholarship dinner was coordinated in which thousands of dollars worth of scholarships were awarded to area high school students and the LULAC Councils caucused, drafted and voted on several state resolutions framing the position of Kansas’ STATE LULAC .

Regarding priorities for Kansas LULAC for the upcoming year, Garcia stated that the focus will be on increasing the number of LULAC councils around the state, construct a Kansas LULAC website, implement a statewide LULAC Youth Leadership Program, encourage and promote Latino Voter Registration, seek educational, private and governmental partnerships to better connect the Kansas Latino community with educators, business and their elected officials.

Garcia further stated that it is imperative that State LULAC engage all city, county and state levels of our Kansas society and government and without fear of outside retaliation or reprisal and be that independent Latino voice at the “policy level” table to advocate, in a non-partisan fashion, on behalf of the best interests of the Kansas Hispanic community concerns

For more information regarding the Kansas League of United Latin American Citizens, please contact Elias L. Garcia 785.969.0728 and/or link to: LULAC.org

The Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will honor three members with Excellence in Achievement Awards and hand out its 2008 scholarship during its sixth annual meeting and awards dinner tonight at the Airport Hilton.

Gary Freeman, a partner at Regier Carr & Monroe LLP and the group’s treasurer, will be honored for his service.”*

Members of the Latino Vision Council will share their valuable insights and experiences with KU officials on the many challenges faced by Latino and Hispanic youths and their families as they contemplate KU and higher education.

Members of the council have a history of leadership in their respective communities. The nearly two dozen council members include public school officials, state officials and leaders of community, religious, media and social service organizations. Four KU students will also serve on the council.”*

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

It had not happened in a while, a general market newspaper bought a Hispanic newspaper.

The Hutchinson News ( 32,000 daily/35,000 Sunday), a paid, general circulation daily newspaper serving Hutchinson (KS), Reno County and a 39-county area, recently acquired Wichita (KS) based Tiempos. Tiempos is published biweekly, 10,000 free distribution. It is Spanish language only.”*

*From: http://www.portada-online.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

When Kecia Sales and Juan Marquez were married, they were like scores of other couples: very much in love with plans to live together for the rest of their lives.

But it wasn’t to be.

After their December 2004 marriage, he told her he had been living illegally in the U.S. since 1999. After leaving Mexico, Marquez had made his way to her hometown of Kansas City, Kan., where they met and married, and she took his name.

They became one of an estimated two million mixed families, where at least one member is a citizen or lawfully living in the country and the other isn’t. The vast majority of those families, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, involve an illegal parent and legal children - yet another shade of the ongoing immigration conundrum in the U.S.”*

*From: http://canadianpress.google.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

The Kansas Department of Labor is working closely with a Hispanic advocacy group to file wage claims against employers who refuse to pay workers, regardless of their immigration status.

Undocumented workers — often fearful of deportation if they complaining of unpaid wages — have long been reluctant to report labor abuses to authorities.

But more immigrants have been emboldened by a Kansas Supreme Court ruling last year that illegal immigrants like other workers were entitled to compensation under a state law that doubles the amount of money an employee can collect if an employer deliberately withholds wages.”*

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

A key Kansas lawmaker is opposing a provision in an immigration bill to repeal a state law allowing children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state college tuition.

Sen. Pete Brungardt, R-Salina, chairman of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, called the repeal efforts a “nonstarter,” and noted that the Legislature had failed in three previous efforts to repeal the law.

Under the 2004 law, children of illegal immigrants are eligible to pay in-state tuition if they have lived in Kansas for at least three years, graduated from a Kansas high school and are on the path toward citizenship.”*

*From: http://blogs.kansas.com/weblog/2008/03/in-state-tuition-for-immigrants-looks-safe/DELETEME!
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

But Marquez, 26, and his wife, 40, finally decided he should return to Mexico and begin the long, uphill fight to re-enter the country legally.

Marquez’s decision came as Kansas and some 40 other states try to pass legislation this year dealing with illegal immigrants because Congress has failed to act. It’s a move Hispanic advocates say affects more than illegal immigrants.

“It impacts also documented immigrants because families tend to be of a mixed status. Hurting one individual hurts the entire family. It creates an unwelcoming atmosphere to all immigrants, whether legal or not,” said David Ferreira of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.”*

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

Legislators agree that Kansas employers shouldn’t hire illegal immigrants, but they disagree over how the state should punish violators, a House committee chairman said Monday.

The Federal and State Affairs Committee considered four bills dealing with illegal immigration. They dealt with hiring requirements, denying most public benefits to illegal immigrants, allowing local governments to ban them from renting houses and requiring local and state law enforcement officers to review the citizenship of people they stop for any violation.”*

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

Feb. 13 was to be the traditional Hispanic Day at the Statehouse. Started in 1982, with the Kansas Advisory Committee for Hispanic Affairs, this day offered Hispanics an opportunity to know legislators up close.

This year, instead, he program agenda squeezed together the different concerns of Latinos and African-Americans, and the results were revolting.

The keynote speaker, Julie Chavez-Rodriquez, programs director for the Cesar E. Chavez Foundation, was excellent. The tacos and fried chicken delicious. But the time with our legislators was lost.”*

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

Many Latino voters in the Dodge City area are ready to cast their votes in the next presidential election, and it seems that many support either of the two Democratic front-runners.

Irene Mayorga, who works for Southwest Kansas Area Cooperative 613, became an American citizen three years ago one year too late to vote in the previous presidential election.

Mayorga said her favorite presidential candidate is Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.”*

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

With sentiment against illegal immigrants strong, Kansas is among a dozen states this year that could require proof of citizenship before someone can register to vote.

Supporters say such a law is necessary because of what they think is a growing trend among illegal immigrants to register to vote. Opponents see it as anti-Hispanic legislation that’s a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist.

Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, the state’s chief election official, has heard stories about illegal immigrants registering, but “never have I had anybody bring me proof where I can prosecute.””*

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

Talk of anti-illegal-immigration proposals generated emotional debate Wednesday between constituents and lawmakers.

The Kansas African American Affairs Commission and the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission coordinated the forum to allow people to ask lawmakers about pending legislation.

The rocky discussion centered on Sen. Peggy Palmer’s proposed Kansas Illegal Immigration Relief Act. Among other things, it would require businesses to verify job applicants’ employability and allow police to ask about any person’s citizenship during an arrest.”*

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

The Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will have a panel discussion on marketing to Hispanic businesses at this month’s meeting.

The meeting is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday in Room 102 at the University of Phoenix, 3020 N. Cypress. It is free for members and $15 for nonmembers. Registration is required at www.wichitahispanicchamber.org by noon Friday.”*

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

James Terrones of Olathe has been reappointed to the Kansas Hispanic and Latin American Affairs Commission.

…In another appointment, George Gomez of Lenexa was reappointed to the Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.”*

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

Opposition to a proposed Kansas law targeting illegal immigrants is moving beyond Hispanic groups to include statewide business associations.

The Kansas Chamber of Commerce, the Kansas Farm Bureau and the Kansas Building Industry Association are among 30 business groups working as a coalition to oppose such measures.

“We believe that the illegal immigration issue can only be truly solved at the federal level,” said Jeff Glendening, vice president for political affairs with the Kansas Chamber. “Kansas businesses should not be penalized for following federal immigration guidelines.”"*

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

A new Oklahoma immigration law, which is one of the strictest in the nation, could have far-reaching effects on Kansas.

About 14 percent of Oklahoma’s legal and illegal immigrants have been moving to neighboring states or Mexico as a result of the bill, said Linda Allegro, a political science professor at the University of Tulsa.

With the outflow of migrants, some are concerned Kansas will become a “sanctuary state,” said Brent Metz, Kansas University assistant professor of anthropology”*

*From: http://www2.ljworld.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

“Be very, very cautious before going into this minefield,” Mike Seney, an Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce official, told the Lawrence Journal-World. “There is a reason for a federal pre-emption on this.”

Kansas lawmakers should heed the warnings.

Oklahoma’s crackdown on illegal immigrants — billed as the toughest in the nation — sounded good to many people when it was passed last year. The law makes it a felony to harbor, transport or hire an unauthorized immigrant.”*

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

Nuestra America in the U.S. will feature acclaimed experts discussing how the shift in the population has affected communities, labor, politics, education and cultural production in the U.S. The event takes place Feb. 8 and 9 in the Kansas Union.

The title of the conference is a reference to poet, writer and leader of the Cuban Independence movement Jose Marti’s concept of “Our America.”"*

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

With Congress on the sidelines, lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri say they have no choice but to make illegal immigration a target in 2008.

In both states, legislators are pushing tougher laws. The measures — being considered in neighboring states and already passed in Oklahoma — range from increased authority for law enforcement to tougher rules for employers.

“You’re seeing this now because this issue has hit the heartland,” said Sen. Scott Rupp, a Wentzville, Mo., Republican who said he had seen two instances of illegal immigrant labor in his home district.”*

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

A law enacted last year requiring people to prove they’re in Kansas legally before getting a driver’s license is expected to reduce the number of licenses issued to illegal immigrants, a Senate committee was told Thursday.

“Over the next six years, we might see 50,000 licenses not renewed because they can’t prove lawful residence,” Secretary of Revenue Joan Wagnon told the Federal and State Affairs Committee.

Kansas once had a reputation as a place where it was easy for an illegal immigrant to get a driver’s license, but that has changed, senators were told.”*

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

Anxious not to sit out one of the year’s bigger issues, Kansas House Democrats unveiled their own immigration reform plan yesterday. It counters more aggressive legislation that’s been floated by Republicans.

Here are the components of the plan, which has not yet been introduced as a bill.”*

*From: http://primebuzz.kcstar.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

Kansas lawmakers eager to pass new laws cracking down on illegal immigration should look before they leap. By rushing through bills based more on rhetoric and fear than hard data, lawmakers risk imposing a cure that’s worse than the illness.

Yes, many Kansans are rightly fed up with our nation’s broken borders. They want action. But local activist group Sunflower Community Action is right in arguing that lawmakers have an obligation to weigh, with analysis and studies, the real impact of illegal workers and laws aimed at driving them out.”*

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

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