Nebraska

“The Nebraska Mexican-American Commission is seeking nominations for an award to be given to a family during Nebraska’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.”

“An award-winning Hispanic writer and scholar is planning to visit the University of Nebraska at Omaha this week for a lecture and book signing.”

“Democratic Sen. Barack Obama has begun airing a Spanish-language ad on radio stations in Nevada, introducing himself as a “son of a foreign father,” his presidential campaign said Tuesday.

The ad, the campaigns first media buy in the state, emphasizes Obamas religious affiliation, his call for unity and his fathers immigrant background.”

“After years of debate, Nebraska’s most widely known advocacy agency for Latinos is changing its name to better reflect immigration patterns.

The nonprofit Chicano Awareness Center, born in 1971 out of the Chicano civil rights movement, now will be called the Latino Center of the Midlands.

It’s a move that supporters say will be more inclusive of new immigrant populations served by the south Omaha center. It’s also expected to lure more clients and funding sources.”

“Grand Islands a good place to live, but it has room for improvement including in the area of race relations.

A panel of Hispanic community leaders delivered that message universally Thursday night during a public dialogue hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service.

About 15 people primarily leaders from the city government, Grand Island Public Schools, Heartland United Way and police department sat in the audience and offered their input on how Grand Island can become a better community.”

“The celebration started at the Super 8 Motel in Omaha sometime before midnight Sunday, or nearly 48 hours after Arturo and Idalia Vela and their two sons jumped into a car in Monterrey, Mexico and headed north.

More than 23 hours later, and after driving more than 1,200 miles through five states, the Vela family arrived in Omaha around 1 a.m. Saturday, giving them plenty of time to sleep before watching one of the proudest moments of their lives.”

“As Hispanic numbers rise across the state, particularly in towns where meatpacking plants attract immigrants, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is working on ways to lure Hispanic high school graduates to the capital.

More than a third of Hispanic teenagers drop out of Nebraska high schools, says the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education. And only 40 percent of those who reach UNL are awarded a degree within six years.”

“Realizing that together they can offer a united voice for the Hispanic community in Lexington, 10 of Lexingtons Spanish-language churches have joined to form the Hispanic Ministerial Association of Lexington.”

“A new immigration court will be created to help handle cases from Iowa. There are currently 54 immigration courts in 25 states but the closest to Iowa are in Chicago and Bloomington, Minnesota, and right now cases are often handled by teleconference with a judge in Chicago. Three new immigration courts are being created, one of them in Omaha.”

“The arrests in Grand Island were part of a wide-ranging raid at six Swift plants — including one in Cactus, Texas — in a crackdown on suspected illegal immigrants and I-D fraud.

Superintendent Larry Appel of the Dumas DOO-mus Independent School District, which covers Cactus, says about 20 elementary students withdrew after the riad.”

“A Nebraska state lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow people without Social Security numbers to get behind the wheel. The rule would not apply to commercial drivers”

“One month ago Friday immigration agents detained more than 250 employees at the Swift and Company plant in Grand Island. While many still face criminal charges, others in the Hispanic community work to rebuild their lives.

There is still a lot of fear in the community, but they have received a lot of strength from the church - in particular, St. Marys Cathedral.

From day one they reached out to those affected, and continue to help now.”

“hats one conclusion drawn from a study released earlier this month by two professors at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The study focused on the assimilation of second-generation Latino students in Nebraska.

Results from the study showed that second and third-generation Hispanics between the ages of 25 and 65 were more likely to pursue a college degree and hold a bachelors degree than first-generation Hispanic immigrants.”

“A group of Latino police officers in Omaha donated thousands of dollars to aid those affected by the ICE raid at Swift & Co. earlier this month, and for one Grand Island family, the donation came not a second too soon.

Virgil Patlan, president of the Latino Police Officers Association in Omaha, traveled to Grand Island on Friday to present a check for $4,200 to the Swift Family Fund established through the Heartland United Way.”

“Nebraskas Minuteman Civil Defense Corps says it has a state lawmaker willing to sponsor a bill to punish businesses for hiring illegal immigrants, but wont say who it is.

The group wants Nebraska to fine businesses — and revoke licenses in some cases — if employers fail to verify that their employees are in the country legally.”

“The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Food Processing Center has begun offering printed materials from its From Recipe to Reality seminar in Spanish, expanding the reach of its entrepreneurship program.

“This will remove barriers to the program and encourage more Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs to attend the seminar,” said Jill Gifford, manager of the Food Entrepreneurship program. The From Recipe to Reality seminar is the first phase of that program.”

“Maribel Lopezs classmates worried about things like making friends or whether they could stomach the cafeteria food. But the first-grader had more pressing concerns when she came to school here five years ago from Mexico.

“She didnt know how to ask to go to the bathroom,” said her mother, Maria Lopez, through an interpreter, “so she would just come home.”"

“This article is the fifth in a series of 15 stories that examine county government in Nebraska - how it came to be as it is, what it does, what it costs - and what it means to the people who live in central and western Nebraska and the people who work in county government. Each story was reported and written by students in the Depth Reporting class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications. The series also appears in The Telegraphs sister papers, the Kearney Hub and the Scottsbluff Star-Herald.

Dr. Oscar Sanchez and Fabiola Sandoval-Sierra both came to Nebraska within the last 15 years, but they arrived by very different routes.”

“A Sunday prayer vigil offered support to Grand Islands Hispanic community, which was shaken last week by a federal immigration raid at a meatpacking plant in the city.

“For many of us here, we came to this country to help provide a better life for our kids,” said Alvaro Paiz, president of the Grand Island Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Its sad to see these kids crying because their fathers are in jail when all they wanted to do was come here to work.”"

“The first Spanish language chemical education class recently was held at Pathfinder Support Services in Fremont, a first for the area.

Prior to the first class with an interpreter on Dec. 9, Spanish-speaking people were forced to watch videotapes for the three- or eight-hour class, said Ermyl Leazenby, a certified drug and alcohol counselor at the agency.

“What everyone uses is the videotapes,” she said. “The tapes don’t go into the effects of alcohol and drugs on the body. They dealt more with values and beliefs.””

“Holiday profits arent necessarily in the bag this year following a round-up of illegal meat-packing workers.

“They want to come and buy some stuff, but theyre scared to come,” Maria Garcia said of her customers.

The aisles at Azteca Market have been empty. Just a few years ago, her shop stayed open four hours late on Christmas Eve to satisfy all her customers, who shopped until 11 that night.”

“After the arrest of 261 workers in Tuesdays federal raid of Grand Islands Swift & Co. plant, leaders of the citys Hispanic community are banding together to provide support and find answers.

An emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon of the Hispanic Leaders Group and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce stretched six hours as the groups discussed what direction to take next, said Odalys Perez, director of the Grand Island Multicultural Coalition.”

“A number of people in Grand Island still need help. Local organizations are coming to the aid of those families affected by the raid. A local Hispanic Church is delivering meals to those in need.

The Heartland United Way has received a grant from Swift and Company to help families impacted by the raid for necessities such as rent, utilities and prescriptions.”

“Alma Rawlings of Grand Island believes many children were separated from their parents as a result of Tuesdays Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE raid on the Swift plant.

Rawlings owns Latino Check Cashing on Fourth Street.”

“The raids on six Swift & Co. plants across the country could disrupt cattle markets and local economies, a beef marketing specialist says.

Losing a significant portion of its staff will cut into each plants daily slaughter, said Darrell Mark, a beef marketing specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.”