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Autor: Factchequeado Además de que el presidente electo, Donald Trump , recuperó el liderazgo republicano en Arizona, en las elecciones del 5 de noviembre de 2024 , los ciudadanos en ese estado aprobaron con 1,887,806 votos (62.6%) contra 1,126,588 votos (37.4%) la Propuesta 314 (Medida de aplicación de la ley de inmigración y fronteras de Arizona). La medida propone que la policía estatal y local tenga el poder de arrestar a inmigrantes indocumentados en Arizona, facultad que hasta ahora sólo era otorgada a las autoridades federales, como la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de Estados Unidos ( CBP, en inglés ), Patrulla Fronteriza de Estados Unidos (U.S. Border Patrol, en inglés) y el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos ( ICE, en inglés ). También conocida como la Ley de Frontera Segura, la HCR 2060 ( Propuesta 314 ), busca convertir en un delito estatal la entrada sin documentos a Arizona por cualquier lugar que no sea puerto de entrada, y permite los arrestos por autoridades locales, más allá de los puertos de entrada oficiales en la frontera sur. Esta ley, impulsada por republicanos, argumenta que la aplicación de la ley migratoria ha sido débil, lo que ha creado una crisis de seguridad pública en Arizona, “causada por cárteles transnacionales involucrados en tráfico humano y contrabando de drogas en la frontera sur” (Sección 2, núm 1). Este proyecto de ley fue introducido por el representante republicano Ben Toma ante la Cámara de Representantes el 14 de febrero de 2024. Ocho días después, la HCR 2060 fue aprobada en el pleno de la Casa de Representantes y pasó al Senado, que la aprobó en mayo último para aparecer en la boleta. Sin embargo, la Propuesta 314 no se convertirá inmediatamente en ley, puesto está siendo impugnada por la organización Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA, por sus siglas en inglés). Además, esta propuesta está influenciada por la SB 4 de Texas , que está siendo discutida en los tribunales federales. Los legisladores de Texas aprobaron en 2023 el Proyecto de Ley Senatorial 4, que permite a la policía de Texas arrestar a personas por cruzar sin documentos la frontera con México, pero los desafíos legales, como la demanda por parte del Departamento de Justicia de Estados Unidos a Texas, alega que el gobierno federal tiene jurisdicción exclusiva para hacer cumplir las leyes de inmigración, así como las organizaciones proinmigrantes han impedido que se implemente, mientras el litigio avanza en los tribunales federales. Como la Propuesta 314 se basa en el Proyecto de Ley 4 del Senado de Texas, ambas son similares y se espera que la ley de Arizona pueda entrar en vigor una vez que el Tribunal de Apelaciones del Quinto Circuito de Estados Unidos en Nueva Orleans determine si la ley de Texas viola la cláusula de supremacía de la Constitución. Una ley similar a la SB 1070 El proyecto de ley 314 también se compara con una de las controvertidas leyes antiinmigrantes de Arizona, la SB 1070 , conocida como “Muéstrame tus papeles” y que fue aprobada en 2010 y anulada por la Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos en 2012. La ley permitía a la policía solicitar el estatus migratorio por la duda razonable de que una persona estuviera sin documentos en Arizona. Durante el tiempo de la SB 1070, había retenes policiacos en las calles y era común que por el aspecto latino (color de piel e idioma) fueras cuestionado sobre tu estatus migratorio por las autoridades, para luego ser entregado a ICE, lo que puede volver a suceder con la nueva ley 314. “La aprobación de la Propuesta 314 dividirá a las familias de Arizona y pondrá a vecinos unos contra otros. Después de la desastrosa ley SB 1070, todos creíamos que Arizona había aprendido la lección de no juzgar a sus ciudadanos basándose en su apariencia física”, dijo en un comunicado Reyna Montoya, directora ejecutiva de Aliento , una organización que apoya a familias indocumentadas. La Unión Americana por las Libertades Civiles (ACLU, en ingles) de Arizona se ha opuesto a la HB 2060 desde su introducción en la Legislatura del Estado de Arizona y se unió a organizaciones de derechos de los inmigrantes como  para impugnar la Propuesta 314, asegurando que agotará las opciones para impedir la implementación de esta ley “inconstitucional” y “dañina”. “La Proposición 314 no solucionará las fallas de nuestro sistema de inmigración, ni ‘asegurará la frontera’ en la forma en que lo han representado sus proponentes”, dijo Noah Schramm , estratega de política fronteriza de la ACLU de Arizona. “Lo que hará, si los tribunales alguna vez lo permiten, es separar a las familias, exacerbar la discriminación racial y aumentar la criminalización de los inmigrantes y las comunidades de color”. La organización LUCHA, que afirma trabajar por la transformación racial, social y económica, demandó el 5 de junio de 2024, cuestionando la medida porque asegura que contiene diversos aspectos inconstitucionales.  “Nuestra impugnación fue en la Corte Suprema de Arizona y se enfoca en que una propuesta de ley o un referéndum en la boleta no puede tener múltiples cambios constitucionales”, dijo a Factchequeado Abril Gallardo, director de personal de LUCHA. Entre otros cambios, en la boleta electoral no solo se votó por convertir en un delito estatal la migración, sino que también le otorga poder a los jueces estatales para emitir órdenes de deportación. La ley también requiere el uso del programa E-Verify para verificar la elegibilidad para algunos programas de beneficios públicos y empleo. Además, busca convertir en un delito el uso de documentos falsos para solicitar beneficios públicos. Explicó que en inglés se conoce como “ Single subject rule ” y se refiere a una norma legislativa que exige que una ley trate únicamente sobre un solo tema. Esta regla se implementa para evitar que se introduzcan temas no relacionados en una sola legislación, lo que puede causar confusión y dificultar el proceso de toma de decisiones. Incrementan sentencias por tráfico de fentanilo De acuerdo a la proposición 314, sección 4, también se establece un cargo por delito grave ( felony ) y requisitos de sentencia aumentada por la venta de fentanilo si causa la muerte de otra persona. También, se clasifica la venta de fentanilo como un delito grave de Clase 2 y se incrementan las penalidades. “Como usaron el tema del fentanilo, usan esta crisis que sí existe y estratégicamente lo juntan con la cuestión migratoria, buscando crear una narrativa de que el fentanilo es el resultado de la migración”, dijo Gallardo. No obstante, un reciente estudio de la Comisión de Sentencias de Estados Unidos realizado en el año fiscal 2023 encontró que el 86.4% de los individuos sentenciados por tráfico de fentanilo eran ciudadanos de los Estados Unidos. Por su parte, la ACLU señaló que todas las enmiendas de la Proposición 314 no se pueden hacer cumplir de inmediato, pero varias partes de la ley entrarán en vigor después de la certificación estatal el 25 de noviembre de 2024, como el aumento de penalidades por tráfico de fentanilo. Clasifica nuevos delitos a nivel estatal para cruces fronterizos no autorizados La sección 5 de la HCR 2060 clasifica la entrada irregular como un delito menor ( misdemeanor ) clase 1, pero si la persona ya había sido previamente condenada por la misma acción, el delito se convierte en grave ( felony ) clase 6 , lo que generalmente conlleva más tiempo de prisión (entre 4 meses y 2 años, aunque pueden llegar a 6 años) que un delito menor (máximo 6 meses de prisión).  Según la Propuesta 314, la inmigración sin documentos será un delito menor de clase uno en el caso de ser la primera infracción y un delito grave, de tratarse de infracciones posteriores. Además, otorga a los jueces estatales el poder de ordenar deportaciones, algo que hasta ahora no estaban facultados a hacer. Los recursos económicos para implementar esta ley siguen siendo una cuestión relevante que aún no se define para la policía local y los alguaciles del condado, a quienes se les asignará una tarea que, hasta hace poco, había estado reservada a las dependencias federales. El jefe de policía de Yuma, Thomas Garrity, dijo a Arizona’s Family que si bien está de acuerdo en que la inmigración debe permanecer siendo ejecutada a nivel federal, están preparados para las obligaciones que implica la Proposición 314 a nivel local. Concede autoridad a los jueces estatales para deportaciones  Con el argumento de agilizar los procesos de deportación, la Propuesta 314 plantea otorgar a los jueces estatales la capacidad de ordenar deportaciones, algo que actualmente recae exclusivamente en tribunales federales de inmigración. En la sección 5, esta ley indica que un juez o magistrado estatal puede emitir una orden de retorno a una nación extranjera para una persona que es arrestada por entrada irregular. También establece que a la persona se le tomen huellas digitales, fotografías y medidas biométricas.  La ley establece que antes de que se emita la orden de retorno, la agencia que detenga al migrante debe recopilar los datos del detenido y cruzarlos con todas las bases de datos criminales locales, estatales y federales para identificar si la persona es una amenaza para la seguridad nacional. El proyecto no deja claro cómo los jueces estatales pueden decidir sobre asuntos migratorios que tradicionalmente se definen a nivel federal. Como ya hemos informado en Factchequeado , las deportaciones son procesos complejos , que requieren coordinación entre agencias del gobierno estadounidense y cooperación de gobiernos de otros países (aunque esto último no siempre ocurre). Leyes de inmigración a nivel estatal Arizona es el estado que más recientemente legisla para dar a los funcionarios estatales la facultad de ejercer funciones hasta ahora federales en materia migratoria, después de que los republicanos lo propusieran y se aprobaran en Texas , Iowa y Oklahoma. Los esfuerzos de estos tres estados han sido frenados por tribunales federales, pero otras disposiciones en la Ley 314, no dependen de otros estados, como que también se convierte en delito que las personas presenten documentación falsa en el intento de solicitar empleo o  recibir beneficios de programas locales, estatales y federales, y estipula como requisito el uso del programa E-Verify por parte de los empleadores después de contratar a un trabajador. Si no lo hacen, incurren en un delito.  Los altos costos de la Ley 314 Los opositores a la Propuesta 314 argumentan que afectaría a la economía de Arizona, además de fomentar la discriminación racial de los latinos. Mientras, los defensores dicen que es necesaria porque el gobierno federal no ha hecho lo suficiente para detener a las personas que cruzan de forma no autorizada.  El Grand Canyon Institute (organización no partidista que desarrolla investigaciones sobre políticas económicas y sociales de Arizona) estima que la Propuesta 314 le costaría al estado 325 millones de dólares anualmente. Para el momento, no hay fondos designados para esta propuesta , lo que significa que Arizona tendrá que desviar recursos de programas esenciales para llevar a cabo su implementación. Lea el artículo completo aquí: https://www.hechoencalifornia1010.com/que-sabemos-de-la-propuesta-de-ley-314-aprobada-en-arizona-que-pretende-convertir-en-crimen-estatal-la-migracion-no-autorizada-entre-otras-cosas-%c2%b7-factchequeado-com/

By  Corine Lesnes   (Phoenix (Arizona), special correspondent) If the Democrats win in Arizona, they will owe it in part to the mobilization of a group of Hispanic women activists, driven into politics by the anti-immigration laws of the 2010s. They have risen through the ranks, succeeded in getting elected to local assemblies, and advanced their demands for equality. Their struggle has resurged today, but the pioneers have organized themselves. "Fear tactics don't work anymore," said Alejandra Gomez, founder of LUCHA (Living United for Change in Arizona), an organization that boasts of having knocked on the doors of 500,000 voters since September.             Latinos make up 33% of Arizona's population and 25% of the electorate. With less than a week to go before a decisive election nationally, but also for Arizona, where Republicans now hold just two majority seats in the Assembly and Senate (down from 12 in each chamber in 2010), Latinas are at the forefront of the mobilization. "Studies show that they are the ones who encourage men to vote, and all family members in the household" said Gomez. "Women are the true believers in the American dream." Immigration, abortion, education: Each woman has their own background and motivation. "We must be grateful to all our moms," the activist insisted. "They showed us how to fight." Alejandra Gomez: 'We're going to fight' As a child living in California, Gomez had no idea that her father was living in the US without papers. In 1994, when Golden State voters passed "Proposition 187," a measure that deprived undocumented immigrants of social services, at the forefront of the rise of anti-immigration sentiment in the country, the family preferred to move to Arizona. Years later, in 2010, Alejandra was caught out in Phoenix by a similar law (SB 1070), known as "show me your papers," which allowed local police to check the status of anyone they wished. A political scientist student, "Alex" decided there was no point in running away and founded LUCHA. As in California, Republicans suffered from the awakening of the sleeping giant. Arizona's Latino electorate gave Biden a majority in 2020 and elected a Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, in 2022. Today, the same project to criminalize undocumented immigrants is back. In early 2024, the state's Republican elected officials passed a text – known as the "Border Invasion Act" – but it was blocked in March by Hobbs. To bypass the governor's veto, they decided to submit it directly to the voters on November 5. It's "Proposition 314," an initiative that awakens memories of humiliation and racial profiling in the community. "The Republicans were getting really concerned about losing power. They used the playbook that has always existed and demonized our communities," denounced Gomez. "They needed an issue to be able to drive out their base. And so that was immigration." Proposition 314 goes hand in hand with Trump's plan for "mass deportations" of migrants if elected. It intends to give local police the right to arrest undocumented migrants, whereas the subject of immigration is a prerogative of the federal government. "In practice, it's going to be logistically impossible. We don't see how they're going to be able to enforce such a measure - which is not even funded. This is a fear tactic to cause people to leave, to self-deport, as they did in 2010 when entire neighborhoods emptied out," Gomez explained. But the environment has changed. "The reality is that immigrants were the essential workers that kept the country moving during the pandemic," said the activist. "We will keep fighting." Raquel Teran: 'Our rights are under attack again' On Sunday, October 27, Gomez filled in her ballot paper in the company of several dozen women – and a few men – in a trendy gallery in Phoenix's barrio . An elegant brunch in honor of the " Jefas en la Lucha " – "Women leaders in the struggle." Among the organizers was Raquel Teran, one of the leading figures in the Latino community, who is running for Congress in Arizona's Third Congressional District. Teran is a force of nature. Moved by the growing hostility towards immigrants, she joined the association encouraging voter registration, Mi Familia Vota, back in 2008, at a time when only 100,000 Latinos were registered (compared with over 650,000 today). She too was part of the fight against SB 1070, when 50, 000 people came to pray in front of the Capitol in Phoenix, and for the impeachment, in 2011, of State Senator Russell Pearce, the bill's architect. Two years later, she launched a petition against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the emblem of the hunt for illegal immigrants, whom he parked in a tent city. Convicted for his discriminatory practices, the sheriff was pardoned by Trump in 2017. Elected to the local assembly, to the Senate and then to the Arizona Democratic Party, Teran has survived two lawsuits brought by her Republican opponents questioning her American citizenship. "Our rights are under attack again. But since 2016 we've been organizing. Since t he moment that Donald Trump was sworn in, the next day, there was a movement of women all across the country who went out and march, and it did not just stay at the marches. It really was a march to the polls. The following election, when we took over the House, we were able to regain sanity by electing Joe Biden in 2020. Here in Arizona, we elected a US senator. We had historic victories. So it's been a fight that women have been leading." As November 5 approaches, women have never been more motivated, she asserted. " We have abortion on the ballot. We have an opportunity to make history by electing the first female president. Sure, some people want to focus on the mind of that minority that is speaking out against a woman being the president or against the issue of abortion. But it's a moment to celebrate ou power ." Raquel Teran has no doubts about victory. "We've done it before. We'll do it again!" Analise Ortiz: 'I've been accused of inciting an insurrection!' Analise Ortiz grew up in a family of six and her parents were teachers. A graduate of Arizona State University's prestigious Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, she left the investigative field after three and a half years in the business. "I realized that I could do so much more if I was not having to show both sides of issues that I felt did not have two sides. So I started working at American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona in 2018 on criminal justice reform and legislative advocacy." She entered politics in 2022. At the age of 30, she was elected to the State House of Representatives. It's not easy to make your voice heard there: with the Republicans in the majority, they control the agenda. According to The Arizona Republic, 24 Democratic bills were brought to the floor in 2023, compared with over 300 Republican bills. But Ortiz is pleased to have been part of a historic moment: the fight against the law banning abortion altogether in Arizona, a text dating back to 1864, which came back into force after the Supreme Court's decision to stop considering abortion a federal right in 2022. "We made a procedural motion to repeal it and the Republicans blocked us. And in that moment, I shouted, Shame on you. On the House floor, along with several of my other colleagues." Ortiz was hit with an ethics complaint claiming that she had been inciting an insurrection on the floor of the House. "Both myself and another Latino male were put through this circus of an ethics hearing. And I do not believe I would have been facing that ethics hearing if I was not a woman of color." The moment remains one of her proudest. "Ultimately we did repeal that abortion ban, and that wouldn't have happened if we hadn't made national headlines by shouting 'Shame on you' on the House floor." Gabriela Delapaz: 'It was hard for me to be taken seriously' Gabriela Delapaz hasn't cast her ballot yet, but on abortion, she doesn't understand the opponents' intentions. "Why take rights we already have? We should use our energy to help children!" Her parents came to the US illegally before she was born, and have only been US citizens for eight years. They worked hard to get here. "I owe it to them to continue to fight. We've made a lot of progress, but we have to show up every day." As a customer relations employee in a large company, Delapaz realized after a few years that she wasn't going to get ahead because of her origins. "It was difficult to be taken seriously," she said. especially because I'm kind." She went back to school and is preparing to become a physical therapist. Relieved to continue to be herself. And in hospitals, "there's a shortage of people who speak Spanish," she said. On abortion, Delapaz finds it hard to get her friend to understand her position. "I try to explain how the election impacts us, women, and isn't just about issues that concern him." She's not sure she's succeeded. "Men often find it hard to see beyond their own self-interest," she claimed. Laura Madrid: 'We must not forget our young men' Laura Madrid has made a career in a man's world. Born in Mexico, she arrived in Yuma, on the American side of the border, at the age of 7. Since November 2021, she has been the first Latina immigrant owner of an audiovisual media company in Arizona. Her radio station, La Onda, a Spanish-language news station, aims to be "neutral," she said. But she is rarely invited to Republican-organized events. Madrid had been working in the commercial radio sector for over 15 years when she decided to buy the station rather than let it go under. The banks refused her a loan. "Too risky." She was advised to buy "a food truck instead."             The businesswoman has two sons, aged 14 and 19. The oldest will be voting for the first time. She worries about the gender gap, which has never been greater than in this election, particularly in the Latino electorate. "I see it when I speak to my boys, she said. My children's generation, they don't understand the importance of the things that are changing for women. They think that women already have all the rights."             They have to be educated. "They are not aware that still today, women don't earn the same wage, don't have the same opportunities, or that they are not always invited to the table when decisions are made." Laura was raised in a very conservative household, where talk about religion or politics was not welcome. She is careful to encourage discussions in her family. "We need to educate our young men about what their generation's going to look like." By stressing mostly the rise of women, "we are forgetting about our young men." Read Full Article Here: https://www.lemonde.fr/en/united-states/article/2024/11/02/2024-us-presidential-election-latinas-on-the-front-line-of-the-fight-against-trump-in-arizona_6731327_133.html

Daniel Gonzalez Arizona Republic Comedian George Lopez cracked jokes about Mexicans during a campaign rally for Kamala Harris in Phoenix last Saturday, but his comments didn't cause the same political backlash as jokes about Puerto Rico and Latinos made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at a Donald Trump rally in New York the same weekend. Some Trump supporters are calling the muted reaction generated by the Lopez jokes compared to the outrage ignited by the Hinchliffe comments a double standard. Others point out there is a difference between a Latino making jokes about his own people and a non-Latino making jokes that sound more like hate speech. At the campaign rally for Harris at Trevor G. Browne High School in a predominantly Latino area on the west side of Phoenix, Lopez suggested Mexicans might steal materials before Trump had a chance to build his promised border wall. "Enough lies," Lopez said . "Donald Trump said he was going to build the wall, and George Lopez said, 'You better build it in one day because if you leave that material out there overnight.'" Lopez then looked around the stage dramatically as if to suggest the materials had been stolen. Lopez, who is of Mexican descent, followed up with a second joke suggesting Mexicans are poor at math. Trump "also said he was going to get Mexico to pay for the wall," Lopez said. "I wish he would have asked me. We can't even split a check at a restaurant, but you know." The diverse crowd appeared to laugh at both jokes before Lopez went on to declare his support for Harris, calling her "the real deal." In contrast, Hinchliffe made several jokes about Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, and Latinos at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden on Sunday that ignited an immediate political backlash that some say could cost Trump votes among Puerto Rican and Latino voters considered crucial to winning battleground states with large Latino populations, such as Pennsylvania and Arizona. "There is literally a floating island of garbage floating in the ocean right now," Hinchcliffe joked. "I think it's called Puerto Rico." Hinchcliffe also joked that "Latinos love making babies" and that he welcomes migrants to the U.S. "with open arms, and by open arms, I mean like this." Hinchcliffe then waved his hands while mouthing the words, "No. No. Go back." Grammy-winning singer Bad Bunny announced his support for Haris in response to Hinchcliffe's jokes about Puerto Rico, and several other high-profile Puerto Ricans also have expressed their outrage. "Thankfully, my sweet abuelita wasn’t here to hear that disgusting remark. But if she was alive today, I think she would say, ‘Tony Hinchcliffe, go (expletive) yourself,’" said actor Aubrey Plaza at the Wall Street Journal Magazine 2024 Innovator Awards event on Wednesday in New York City. What's the difference between the comedians and their jokes? The Trump campaign has sought to distance itself from Hinchliffe's comments following the uproar that has included protests by Puerto Rican supporters in Philadelphia, New York and Chicago. "It was a comedian who made a joke in poor taste. Obviously, that joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or our campaign," Trump 2024 national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on the program, "Fox & Friends." But some Trump supporters see a double standard. "Absolutely," said Gretchen Patterson, 59, a Phoenix resident who was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Patterson, who identifies as conservative and cast an early ballot for Trump-Vance, said she was not offended by Hinchliffe's joke about Puerto Rico. She believes the comments have been misinterpreted and blown out of proportion. Hinchliffe, Patterson said she believes, was referring to Puerto Rico's mounting trash crisis caused by dwindling landfill space, not the Puerto Rican people. "The joke was not about the people. The joke was about the garbage issue the island has," Patterson said. She's glad Hinchcliffe's comments are drawing attention to the trash issue and some of the other problems the island is facing. "Do you want to get offended, or do you want to say, 'Good, shed some light and let's figure it out what we need ... to rectify the problem that is happening right now ,'" Patterson said. She also wondered why so many people were offended by Hinchliffe's jokes at a Trump rally and not by Lopez's jokes at a Harris rally. If people were offended by Hinchcliffe's jokes, they should also be offended by Lopez's comments, regardless of whether one is Latino and the other is not, she said. "It's either all of it is wrong, or none of it is," Patterson said. "Because what Lopez implied is that Mexicans are thieves, and that is an insult to the Mexican community because that is not true. I know some of the most honest people in the Mexican community, so to call everybody thieves is just not right." Francisco Pedraza, a politics professor and associate director of the Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research at Arizona State University, said he does not believe the jokes are comparable because Lopez was using humor to unify people while Hinchliffe was using humor to divide. "George Lopez is not cracking his jokes to define who belongs in America," Pedraza said. "He's saying you are a part of the American polity. Be better." Whereas the spirit of Tony Hinchcliffe, he said, paired with Trump's negative comments about immigrants, is disparaging towards Latinos, Puerto Ricans, and Mexican-Americans. "The undertone is we don't want you here. That's the difference. " That is why Lopez's jokes about Mexicans didn't elicit the same political backlash as the jokes about Puerto Rico and Latinos by Hinchcliffe, Pedraza said. "George Lopez, he is delivering these jokes from a place that clearly he's signaled is out of love, respect and compassion for his community," Pedraza said. The Trump campaign understands that Hinchcliffe's comments are likely to cost Trump votes and that is why the campaign has tried to distance themselves from the comments, Pedraza said. "They know that it comes from a place where the aim is to exclude these people on the basis of a trait or a feature that is out of their control," Pedraza said. "It's not equivalent." César Fierros, communications director at Living United for Change in Arizona, an advocacy group that works to increase voter participation by Latinos, said he does not believe Lopez's jokes will hurt the Harris campaign. "If anything using Lopez as a surrogate is a great way to connect with Latino voters in AZ that adore his comedy, especially among older Latino voters," Fierros said in an email. "On the other hand," Fierros said, "Hinchcliffe's comments explicitly targeted a community in a way that left an arena full of Trump supporters shocked, not amused. His words were unmistakably aimed at Puerto Ricans, and the audience's reaction was an audible gasp rather than laughter. I think that reflects how off-base and offensive it was." Some voter campaigns are already using Hinchcliffe's comments to try and erode Trump's support among Latino males , who prefer Trump at higher rates than Latinos in general. The Working Families Party plans to send 100,000 text messages on Thursday aimed at Latino males, said Matthew Marquez, the group's Arizona campaign director. "We're going to shine some light on what was said around Puerto Rico," Marquez said. "If he attacks one Latino community, he is essentially attacking all our Latino communities." Still, some Latinos were put off by Lopez's jokes about Mexicans. "It's never a good idea to reinforce stereotypes — no matter who delivers the punchline," said Phoenix City Councilman Carlos Galindo-Elvira, who has attended Harris campaign events. "The consequences of the presidential election are far too serious for Latinos and all Americans." Joe Garcia, executive director of the Chicanos Por La Causa Action Fund, a nonprofit political advocacy group, said the attention being placed on jokes by comedians is distracting from larger issues that will impact Latinos. "It's a sad state of affairs when we are looking at what comedians have to say in determining who we should vote for as the leader of the free world," Garcia said. "Rather than focusing on humor, or even inappropriate humor, we should focus instead on what is being said by the candidates themselves." For instance, Garcia said, Trump has promised to carry out the largest deportation in the nation's history. "I don't think he's joking, I don't think he's kidding when he says that," Garcia said. Read Full Article Here: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/10/31/is-there-a-double-standard-over-political-rally-jokes-george-lopez-tony-hinchcliffe-harris-trump/75941533007/

More than 30 organizations urged unity against the threat of mass removals: ‘The threat of deportation is not just a campaign promise’ Patricia Caro The countdown is underway to January 20, the day Donald Trump will take office as president of the United States. Faced with the threat of mass deportation that the Republican president-elect has promised , migrant rights organizations are wasting no time uniting to protect immigrants on two main fronts: asking those who may be affected to contact defense groups and get information, and urging local and state authorities as well as the Biden administration to take advantage of the little more than two months left to approve measures to prevent expulsions. “You may be hearing noise as I speak. It’s people working in my house, because I want to be sure that I can see when ICE and CBP agents come knocking on my door. This is not a drill,” explained Greisa Martínez Rosas, executive director of United We Dream, during an online session on behalf of a coalition of 38 human rights organizations from 32 states scheduled to announce their actions in response to Trump’s threats. Martínez is one of the beneficiaries of DACA , the program granting legal residence to half a million migrants who entered the country illegally when they were children (the so-called Dreamers). It is just one of the programs that are in the sights of the president-elect in his crusade against immigration, which he intends to begin on the first day of his term. Immigrant advocates are warning anyone who will listen that the situation is very serious. “The threat of deportation is not just a campaign promise. We have witnessed it in the last [Trump] administration. We saw raids in our communities, in our neighborhoods. We witnessed how our families came to CHIRLA and asked for resources because they were coming after their father, their mother, even grandmothers,” said Areli Hernández, another DACA beneficiary and director of Executive Affairs for CHIRLA, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. Alarm bells went off in the migrant community as soon as Trump’s victory was announced, and the appointments of hard-line immigration advocates Tom Homan , Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem to his administration leave no doubt about the new president’s intentions. To be prepared for what may come, the organizations are asking President Joe Biden to quickly adopt measures to protect them, because this is a moment “that requires moral and political leadership,” says Martínez Rosas. There are three priorities for which they are pressuring the current administration, which they blame for not having done what was necessary in four years to protect them: activate temporary protected status (TPS); speed up the processing of people in detention centers, and ensure that any new measures taken will be made to protect migrants . According to these groups, one of the most effective tools they have is the dissemination of information. “Immigrants have rights: human rights, civil rights, that is the most important thing to remember,” says Hernández. One of the recommendations she makes is to get a “rights card” on her website that reminds people that they have the right to remain silent. “We don’t have to disclose our [immigration] status when they ask us. That is still a right,” she says. Organizations have begun to mobilize all their resources to inform migrants of their rights through workshops, legal resources and educational services. They also claim to have increased resources to reinforce the psychological help that migrants will need due to the anxiety that the fear of deportation and family separation can trigger. The battle against oppressive measures approved by the new administration will be fought in the courts, for which legal services are already preparing, as in the case of Arizona. At the election, the border state approved a proposal to authorize the police to detain undocumented migrants. “We will fight against Trump’s mass deportation agenda every step of the way. We will work with allies in the legislature and take legal action to defend immigrant families in Arizona,” said Karime Rodríguez, director of services for Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA). As they prepare for the legal challenges that may come, these groups are appealing to civil organizations, such as unions, businesses and universities, to join in protecting migrants. They are also calling on local and state authorities to quickly approve measures that would increase their protection. Without the support of the authorities, they acknowledge, the room for maneuver is small. “The window within which we can take action is short, and we must work together to reach Congress and the presidency and ensure that there are results. In the meantime, we call on our members to take action to protect themselves,” said Mireya Reith, co-director of FIRM (Fair Immigration Reform Movement). Read Full Article Here: https://english.elpais.com/usa/elections/2024-11-14/human-rights-advocates-call-on-biden-to-speed-up-reforms-to-protect-migrants.html

KJZZ | By Alisa Reznick Immigrant activists and legal experts are preparing to fight the mass deportations planned under the next Trump administration. Over the last few days, Trump has tapped figures like former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement head Tom Homan and former advisor Stephen Miller to lead deportation efforts come January. United We Dream Executive Director Greisa Martinez Rosas told reporters on a press call Wednesday that those plans were meant to sow fear in her community. “Twenty, 30 years ago, that strategy may have worked, but I join this call today as an undocumented, unafraid, queer and unashamed woman who can tell you with certainty — I will not be driven back into the shadows,” she said. Martinez said DACA recipients like her and other immigrant communities had already survived one Trump presidency by building up resources to protect themselves, and they would do it again. She said in Arizona, that fight is further complicated by the passing of Proposition 314, which she said was an attempt to deputize local police as immigration officers. The measure has been compared to Arizona's SB1070 and gives local and state police the ability to carry out immigration-related arrests. Voters passed it by a roughly 60-30 margin last week, but some of its core provisions are on hold for now as litigation moves forward against SB4, a similar law in Texas. Karime Rodriguez — empowerment services manager with Living United for Change in Arizona, or LUCHA — said despite Trump’s win, some gains were made for progressives. “Many of our voters stood firm against Trump’s mass deportation again, a reminder that we can and will resist efforts to tear our families and communities apart,” she said. “LUCHA’s work led to important victories right here in Arizona, with over 630,000 doors knocked on and conversations rooted in hope. We secured gains in the state legislature and U.S. Senate, and as voters, we are still being counted.” She said LUCHA and other groups would fight deportations through community mobilization, allies in the state legislature and legal action when possible. The groups called on local leaders to use tools they had to resist deportations in their states and cities. Read Full Article Here: https://www.kjzz.org/fronteras-desk/2024-11-13/immigrant-activists-in-arizona-pledge-to-fight-against-trump-plans-for-mass-deportations

Más de una treintena de organizaciones de migrantes llaman a la unidad: “La amenaza de deportación no es una promesa de campaña” Patricia Caro La cuenta atrás para el 20 de enero, el día que Donald Trump asuma la presidencia de Estados Unidos, está en marcha y ante la amenaza de deportación masiva que el republicano ha anticipado no hay tiempo que perder. Las organizaciones de defensa de los derechos de los migrantes se están uniendo para protegerlos con dos frentes principales: pidiendo a los que pueden estar afectados que se dirijan a los grupos que los defiendan y se informen e instando a las autoridades locales, estatales y al Gobierno de Biden a que aprovechen los poco más de dos meses que quedan para aprobar medidas que eviten las expulsiones. “Puede que estén oyendo ruido mientras hablo. Es gente trabajando en mi casa, porque quiero estar segura de que puedo ver cuando los agentes del ICE y del CBP estén llamando a mi puerta. Esto no es un simulacro”, explicó Greisa Martínez Rosas, directora ejecutiva de United We Dream, durante una sesión online en nombre de una coalición de 38 organizaciones pro derechos humanos de 32 Estados programada para anunciar sus acciones ante las amenazas de Trump. Martínez es una de las beneficiarias de DACA, el programa por el que medio millón de migrantes que entraron en el país de forma ilegal cuando eran niños (los llamados dreamers ) residen legalmente. Pero es uno de los programas que están en la mira del presidente electo en su cruzada contra la migración, que pretende empezar el primer día de su mandato. Los defensores de los migrantes están advirtiendo a quienes les quiera oír que la situación es muy grave, y que va en serio. “La amenaza de deportación no es una promesa de campaña. Lo hemos presenciado en la última administración (de Trump). Vimos redadas en nuestras comunidades, en nuestros vecindarios. Fuimos testigos de cómo nuestras familias venían a Chirla y pedían recursos porque estaban recogiendo a su papá, su mamá, incluso abuelitas”, afirmó Areli Hernández, también beneficiaria de DACA y directora de Asuntos Ejecutivos de Chirla (Coalición para los Derechos Humanos de los Inmigrantes, por sus siglas en inglés). Las alarmas saltaron para la comunidad migrante nada más conocerse la victoria de Trump, pero los nombramientos anunciados de los defensores de la línea dura contra la migración, Tom Homan , Stephen Miller y Kristi Noem, no dejan lugar a dudas de las intenciones del republicano. Para estar preparados ante lo que pueda venir, las organizaciones piden al presidente Joe Biden que adopte con celeridad medidas que les protejan, porque este es un momento “que requiere liderazgo moral y político”, apunta Martínez Rosas. Tres son las prioridades por las que presiona a la actual Administración, a quien culpa de no haber hecho lo necesario en cuatro años para protegerlos: activar la protección temporal el TPS; acelerar los procesos de las personas que están en centros de detención, y “no hacer más daño”, asegurándose de que cualquier nueva medida que se tome será para proteger a los migrantes. Según estos grupos, una de las herramientas más efectivas con las que cuentan es la difusión de información. “Los inmigrantes tienen derechos, derechos humanos, derechos civiles, eso es lo más importante que debemos recordar”, dice Hernández. Una de las recomendaciones que hace es que se saquen una “tarjeta de derechos” en su web en la que se recuerda que tienen el derecho de permanecer en silencio. “No tenemos que decirle a la gente nuestro estado (migratorio) cuando nos preguntan. Eso sigue siendo un derecho”, sostiene. Las organizaciones que los defienden han empezado a movilizar todos sus recursos para informar a los migrantes de sus derechos a través de talleres, recursos legales y servicios de educación. También aseguran haber aumentado los recursos para reforzar la ayuda psicológica que necesitarán los migrantes por la situación de ansiedad que el miedo a la deportación y la separación familiar puede desatar. La batalla contra las medidas opresivas que apruebe la nueva Administración se librará en los tribunales, para lo que los servicios legales ya se están preparando, como en el caso de Arizona. El Estado fronterizo aprobó en los comicios una propuesta para autorizar a la policía a detener a los migrantes indocumentados. “Lucharemos contra la agenda de deportaciones masivas de Trump en cada paso del camino. Trabajaremos con los aliados en la legislatura y emprenderemos acciones legales para defender a las familias inmigrantes de Arizona”, afirmó Karime Rodríguez, directora de servicios de Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) . Mientras se preparan para las contiendas legales que puedan llegar, estos grupos están apelando a las organizaciones civiles, como sindicatos, empresas y universidades para que se unan en la protección de los migrantes. A su vez, se están dirigiendo a las autoridades locales y estatales para que aprueben con celeridad medidas que aumente su protección. Sin el apoyo de las autoridades, reconocen, el margen de maniobra es pequeño. “La ventana dentro de la cual podemos tomar medidas es corta, y debemos trabajar juntos para llegar hasta el Congreso y la presidencia y asegurarnos de que haya resultados. Mientras tanto, hacemos un llamado a la acción a nuestros afiliados para que se protejan”, señaló Mireya Reith, codirectora de FIRM (Movimiento de Reforma Inmigratoria Justa). Lea el artículo completo aquí: https://elpais.com/us/2024-11-14/los-defensores-de-los-derechos-humanos-piden-a-biden-que-acelere-las-reformas-para-proteger-a-los-migrantes.html

Rafael Carranza and Paula Soria Arizona Republic Proposition 314, the legislatively referred ballot measure that would criminalize unauthorized border crossings and allow Arizona and local law enforcement to arrest and deport migrants, easily passed as ongoing vote tallies continued to pad a sizeable “Yes” lead.  But arrests and prosecutions under the new state crimes established by the ballot measure are unlikely to begin anytime soon.   Even after election results become official, language in Proposition 314 bars its immediate implementation as U.S. federal courts determine whether states can enforce immigration laws. That question could end up before the Supreme Court.  Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen told The Arizona Republic that Republican Donald Trump’s reelection lessened the immediate need for state laws such as the ones Arizona voters overwhelmingly backed under Proposition 314.  "Now with the new president, it's kind of irrelevant because we now have the federal government that's going to enforce the law,” Petersen said. “As long as the federal government is enforcing the law, we don't need state government to be spending resources on this.”  Although election results in Arizona are not yet final, voters appeared set to approve Proposition 314, also known as the Secure the Border Act, by a two-to-one margin.  In addition to criminalizing crossings and allowing local police to arrest migrants, the ballot measure also requires the verification of immigration status to access public benefits and stiffens penalties for smuggling fentanyl that results in another person’s death. The immigration enforcement provisions within Proposition 314 are based off Texas’ Senate Bill 4, and the two share similar language. But the latter is blocked from taking effect as the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans determines whether the law violates the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas in January , claiming the federal government has sole jurisdiction for enforcing immigration laws. But under a Trump administration, the DOJ could amend or drop its legal challenge, paving the way for laws like Proposition 314 to take effect. Petersen said they added language that allows Proposition 314 to take effect only if federal courts clear Texas’ Senate Bill 4 to ensure that it’s constitutional. But the Senate president added that lawmakers would have had to wait two more years before they had another chance to get a measure on the ballot, so this was their window of opportunity.  "Now we have this tool in case we ever needed, if the federal government ever fails to follow the law,” he said. “Now we have something to fall back on and where we can protect our citizens.”  Arizona voters shift right on immigration, border The wide margin with which Proposition 314 passed indicates a rightward shift on immigration among Arizona voters. It mirrors nationwide attitudes that culminated with the reelection of Trump, who made immigration and the border a central campaign issue.  The “yes” vote maintained healthy leads in almost all of Arizona’s 15 counties, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of State.  But others credit “misleading and misguided” ballot language plus the lengthy number of races and propositions on the ballot for contributing to the ballot question's approval.   Reyna Montoya, the founder and CEO of Aliento, a group that assists undocumented and mixed-status families in Arizona, said both of those things made it harder to fight the measure. Aliento called or knocked on the doors of over 50,000 voters during the campaign cycle hoping to sway them to vote against Proposition 314. “The most emphasized part in the description was about border security and fentanyl, kind of making a correlation that undocumented immigrants are the ones to blame for the fentanyl crisis which is disheartening,” Montoya said.  Most fentanyl coming into the United States is smuggled by U.S. citizens crossing through ports of entry in Arizona, federal data shows. Critics vow to defend immigrant communities Opponents of Proposition 314 argued that allowing state and local law enforcement to arrest and deport migrants in Arizona will deepen mistrust between immigrants and police, create the potential for racial profiling, and cost taxpayers millions to detain, jail and remove migrants.  "Proposition 314 will not fix the flaws in our immigration system, nor ‘secure the border’ in the way its proponents have represented," said Noah Schramm, the border policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona. The group said it was considering all legal options. The Phoenix-based community group Living United for Change in Arizona, or LUCHA, knocked on more than 612,000 doors of Latino voters this election cycle. Executive director Alejandra Gomez called the approval of Proposition 314 was a dark moment moment for Arizona. If implemented, the ballot measure would "bring racial profiling, family separations, and a climate of fear targeting Arizona’s Latino and immigrant families," Gomez said. "Our communities, and our economy, will suffer. Immigrant-owned small businesses, a cornerstone of Arizona’s economy, could be crushed." Greisa Martinez Rosas, the executive director for United We Dream, an advocacy group for younger undocumented immigrants and Deferred Action recipients, said the ballot measure is meant to make immigrants feel unsafe in the communities they grew up and live in. "It is intended to make our neighborhoods zones of harassment and intimidation, where our communities and our neighbors could be stopped, questioned, and deported," she said. "No matter what the circumstances are, our people refuse to be driven into the shadows." Montoya said that regardless of the results and whether Proposition 314 takes effect, Aliento will continue their work advocating for undocumented and mixed-status families.  “We might’ve lost a battle,” she said. “But we’ll continue to push forward until we build a state that continues to honor the contributions of immigrants.”  Read Full Article Here: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/10/border-proposition-easily-passes-but-will-not-take-effect-immediately/76118831007/

The sole swing state on the US border with Mexico is home to almost one million immigrants  Ellie Sennett Maricopa County, Arizona November 06, 2024 As early  Arizona  election results trickled in on Tuesday evening, there was optimism among the people who spent the day knocking on voters' doors to rally support for  Kamala Harris  and down-ballot immigration issues. Arizona is the only swing state on the  US  border with  Mexico , and with nearly a million immigrants living here, the stakes in the race between Ms Harris and  Donald Trump  were high. A coalition of immigration advocates, including those from other border states such as Texas and California, huddled into Phoenix's expansive Corona Ranch and Rodeo venue for a night of food, drinks, live music and dancing. Parents played and danced with their young children, running around waving blue balloons and chanting “Si se puede” or “Yes, you can”. Cowboy hats and campaign T-shirts were worn throughout the room. “I think that there's a lot of reasons to be a little scrambled and afraid, but I'm feeling really good. I feel really grounded,” Greisa Martinez Rosas, an undocumented activist with the US advocacy group United We Dream, told  The National. “We've been preparing for this moment for the last three years. We know what it feels like to win, and we know what it takes to win.” But Arizona Proposition 314 passed with a significant majority among voters – almost 63 per cent support. The measure makes it a crime for non-citizens to enter the state at any location other than a port of entry, allows state and local police to arrest non-citizens who cross the border illegally, and permits state judges to order deportations. The rise in migrant crossings has been felt strongly in Arizona, and Republican backers of the measure claim it will help to better secure the US border and block a national surge in drug trafficking. Immigration advocates, up early on election day in their final push to talk to Maricopa County voters, said the fate of this bill would have implications across the whole US. “The reason that we are trying to actively fight against this resolution is because I think what we're going to see … more of a turn towards state and local enforcement of anti-immigrant laws … and then we're going to see copycats around the country,” Michelle Ming, United We Dream's policy director, told  The National  on Tuesday. The bill's passing, paired with a sweeping Republican mandate including control of the White House, Senate and probably the House of Representatives, will result in reliving the “trauma” experienced by immigrant and undocumented workers under the previous Trump administration. As the reality settled in throughout the night on Tuesday, those remaining in a fast-dwindling crowd chose to look at small victories. “What the night is looking like for me – enjoying it with my peers, my team leads, everybody that has helped us reach 600,000 doors [knocked on in this election],” watch party guest Alex told  The National. “The last few days we've done the best that we can … and whether we lose or win [tonight], we are still going to fight until we win.” Fear and resolve also crept in. “My sister is a Daca [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals] recipient, so this morning, she asked me, like, 'What's going to happen to me?'” Bruna Sollod told  The National  in the early hours on Wednesday. “And I said to her, 'Nothing, because I'm part of a movement that will fight for you and protect you, and so nothing's going to happen to you'.” She added, however, that “we need to prepare for mass deportation”. Mr Trump's victory came with a significant gains among Latino voters, particularly men. “I could talk about the white vote because I'm definitely frustrated by a lot of white women who continue to do this to us,” Ms Sollod said. “But I think there's a lot of work to be done with voters in our own communities and having tough conversations with them, and I think those are lessons to try something new.” Arizona helped to seal a swift victory for  Mr Trump , who has promised mass deportations when he re-enters the White House in January. An estimated 11 million undocumented migrants live in the US, although conservatives say the true figure may be two or three times that number. Mr Trump  said he would call on Congress to provide funding for another 10,000 border patrol agents, and has even quoted a founding-era law – the 1789 Alien Enemies Act – as a means of deporting immigrants with criminal records. That has particular implications for Arizona. About 13 per cent of the state's residents were born in another country, and 16 per cent of residents are native-born Americans with at least one immigrant parent. One in six Arizona workers is an immigrant, according to the American Immigration Council. “Our communities have been here for generations, they have built their whole lives here, and the impact of this election in particular will directly effect a lot of people here in Arizona,” Victor Guillen Febres, an organiser who migrated to the US from Venezuela, told  The National. “I came here looking for opportunity, for a better life. It really was a pivotal moment for me in 2016 when I started seeing a lot of anti-immigrant rhetoric and hate.” Mr Guillen Febres is a former Temporary Protected Status holder, a programme Mr Trump slashed in his first term and could threaten in a second. Recent data from the Department of Homeland Security, first published by  Forbes , shows that up to 2.7 million people could be deported within the next two years if Mr Trump again ends TPS and other immigration protection. “Arizona has been here before,” said Alejandra Gomez, executive director of Arizona immigration group Lucha. Discussing the stakes of the US election in Arizona, the phrase “SB-1070” – known as the “show me your papers” law – is mentioned frequently among these mainly Latin and Hispanic-American activists. Under that state measure, local police were allowed to demand papers and investigate the immigration status of a person suspected to be undocumented, and make arrests without warrants if they believe they are deportable immigrants. The fear it inspired for many families in Arizona is remembered well as they prepare for another Trump term. “Time and time again at the doors we heard the stories of the families that were separated, and once again we're living that reality again. No matter what, we know we're still going to be here, this is our home,” Ms Gomez said. Ms Sollod said that the work begins now. “Our mandate for the next few weeks and months is to show immigrants that they are not alone, they are not going back into the shadows … we're going to fight like hell to make sure people are able to stay with their loved ones.” READ FULL ARTICLE HERE: https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/us/2024/11/06/arizona-donald-trump-immigration/

By Alyssa Bickle November 5, 2024 New data released last month challenges longstanding misconceptions about Arizona’s Latino electorate and stands as a warning to Democrats who take their vote for granted. For grassroots organizations, this isn’t new information — for years, groups that work with the Latino community have said that they are not a monolithic group of voters. Latino voters have a wide range of political views, experiences, priorities, and do not vote based on any single, unifying issue — they care about the issues that affect their families, their community, and their country. In Arizona, there are 1.3 million eligible voters who are Latino, which has doubled since 2000 – making up 25% of the state’s electorate . Latino voters plan to turnout Data for Social Good, in partnership with Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) conducted a survey in April and May 2024 of over 1,000 Arizona Latinos, online and over the phone. The groups believe it is one of the largest surveys of Latino voters ever conducted in Arizona and can provide invaluable insights into building political power within the Latino community. “Our work does not stop on election day, beyond 2024 we plan to use this data to continue building political power for Latinos in Arizona and across the country,” said Alejandra Gomez, executive director of LUCHA. “This data gives us a roadmap to strengthen our advocacy and to hold elected officials accountable and to push for policies that will make a difference in the lives of working families.” The survey found that: The majority of Latino voters feel the Republican Party does not care about the issues they face Over 90% of Latino voters in Arizona are planning to vote in the 2024 election—and 77% are absolutely certain they will— signaling a powerful turnout in a battleground state Nearly 80% of Latino voters believe that voting is the most effective way to create meaningful change, underscoring their transformative civic power The majority of Latino voters, nearly 40%, describe their political views as moderate, with 36% describing themselves as liberal and about 25% conservative. One of the most important trends in the data that needs to be recognized is the growing number of Latinos who identify as neither Democrat nor Republican, which made up nearly 30% of the respondents. Democrats were still the preferred party by those surveyed, with more than double the share of Republicans. “They aren’t being swayed by empty rhetoric, they’re making informed decisions based on their values and the issues that matter most to them,” Gomez said. Too often, only Latinos who are highly engaged and vote in every single election, local and national, are the only ones who are targeted, leaving newly eligible voters off the table, Gomez said. For the people that have no party preference, they are not only never hearing things that matter to them — they are also not being contacted by candidates. A red mirage The data also disproves that Latinos are drifting towards the Republican Party—but doesn’t mean they are running to the Democratic Party either, Gomez said. Instead, she believes Arizona Latinos are more committed to the values often pushed forward by Democrats than the Party itself. But it will take a concerted effort by Democrats to convince Latinos that their party represents the issues that matter to them instead of simply showing up with cultural symbols, telling them to vote, and expecting the ballot to be cast in their favor. “We’re not just observing the political process from the sidelines, we’re ready to make our voices heard,” said Gomez. “My message to political campaigns is that this boom and bust apparatus of coming in a few months before the election, throwing in a bunch of commercials just does not work, the pandering does not work for Latino communities, specifically here in Arizona.” Latinos are a diverse community, with differing national origins, class identities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and geographic locations, Data for Social Good President Lisa García Bedolla told The Copper Courier, and all of these factors matter in understanding the Latino electorate. While there does tend to be similarities in opinions among Latinos, she added, it’s not for biological or cultural reasons, —but for the shared set of lived experiences that lead the community to see politics in a particular way. García Bedolla gave the example of immigration: the idea that this is the number one issue for the majority of Latino voters needs to be abandoned—although a politician’s stance on immigration can frame how they feel about the Latino community, not just immigration itself. While Latino voters tend to be framed only as immigrants or Spanish speakers — in reality, the data shows that over a third have been in the United States for four generations or more. How immigration plays a role In Harris’ last campaign visit to Arizona ahead of election day, the Mexican-American band Los Tigres Del Norte performed and urged voters to get out and vote for Harris – showing the campaign’s final push to appeal to Latino voters. The band performed songs such as “La Puerta Negra,” one of their most popular hits, and “De Paisano a Paisano,” which describes the struggles of the Latino working class and crossing the border in search of a better life. Liz Garza’s mother, a Glendale resident who attended the rally, immigrated from Jalisco, Mexico, said she feels a kinship with Harris because they are both daughters of immigrants. Knowing that has helped Garza relate more closely with her, and thinks that Harris’ background helps her draw a connection to the Latino community. Garza canvasses for the Harris-Walz campaign in the west Valley. She said doesn’t see as much loud, public support for Harris among her community in day-to-day life, but when she is talking with people at their doorstep, people share their support for Harris openly. Latinos who support Harris aren’t as loud about their vote as the Trump voters are, Garza said. But even with her efforts as a volunteer, she doesn’t think outreach is consistent nor substantive enough to make a real impact, leaving voters feeling like neither party cares about them. Trusting those that stick around The Latino community places more trust in organizations like LUCHA, rather than the Democratic Party, Gomez said. Year-round, their organizers connect with the communities they serve and listen to what is important to them — not just showing up around the election to get them to turn out to vote. “We’re actually trying to change the material conditions that are challenging our communities within their neighborhoods, to be able to show and prove to communities that they actually have the power to be engaged, to make the change,” Gomez said. Because they have taken the time to develop that trust, LUCHA’s word carries weight when they tell people they believe the person who is going to deliver meaningful change on the kitchen table issues that Latinos care about is Kamala Harris, not Trump. “Trump has shown us that he’s a racist bigot, that he hates the working class, that he only cares about his own agenda,” said Gomez. “Now we see him getting desperate, and we see him starting to berate our communities, but what he didn’t count on is that our communities stand together.” LUCHA canvassers have knocked on over 600,000 doors ahead of election day. And while they’re out, they collect information to guide what future outreach will look like. The data is being used and will continue to be used to inform the messaging, outreach, and engagement efforts that LUCHA conducts year-round to ensure that they are resonating with the Latino community and addressing the real concerns they have. Read Full Article Here: https://coppercourier.com/voterhub-2024/poll-latino-voters-arizona-harris-trump/

Autoría: Kimberly Rocío López Arizona es uno de los estados más disputados porque cada voto cuenta y los candidatos agotan sus opciones para conquistar a los ciudadanos. Ese mismo día, Kamala Harris, la candidata del partido Demócrata, tomó un vuelo a Phoenix para pedir a la población latina su voto en un mitin en el Talking Stick Resort Amphitheater, un anfiteatro con capacidad para 8 mil personas. Harris logró reunir a unas 3 mil. La mítica banda norteña, Los Tigres del Norte, fue los teloneros de la candidata. Apenas tocaron cinco canciones. Un hombre de sombrero se cubrió el rostro para enjugar las lágrimas cuando sonó uno de los himnos de los migrantes mexicanos que compara a Estados Unidos con «una jaula de oro»; porque ganan dinero por su trabajo pero viven «como prisioneros». La canción alude precisamente a uno de los mayores miedos de la comunidad latina y una de las principales amenazas de Donald Trump, el candidato republicano que promete romper el récord de mayores deportaciones al llegar al poder. La falta de oportunidades de la que huyen, la criminalización, la discriminación, los sacrificios que impone la emigración y el abandono de sus países de origen son realidades que retrataron en el corto repertorio. Mientras una parte del público cantó, bailó y lloró; el resto siguió el ritmo con las palmas porque no entendían la letra en español de las canciones. La siguiente melodía, en este contexto, en este territorio, fue un grito de guerra frente al racismo que los quiere expulsar. «Somos más americanos», además de ser una canción emblemática de Los Tigres del Norte, es una lección de historia que recuerda cómo Arizona fue parte de México hasta 1848 cuando Estados Unidos lo anexó a su territorio. En 1912 pasó a ser oficialmente un estado estadounidense. «Nos compraron sin dinero las aguas del Río Bravo y nos quitaron a Texas, Nuevo México, Arizona y Colorado». En todo el mundo, hay más de 12 millones de mexicanos migrantes en distintos países, pero especialmente en Estados Unidos y Canadá. Desde la tarima en la que minutos después Harris daría un discurso que omitió la migración, el vocalista Jorge Hernández recordó: «…Yo no crucé la frontera, la frontera me cruzó América nació libre, el hombre la dividió…» El discurso de Harris y el miedo a Trump Phoenix se encuentra a 180 kilómetros del punto más cercano de la frontera con México. Es una de las ciudades más pobladas de Estados Unidos donde más del 40 por ciento de sus habitantes son latinos, la mayoría mexicanos. Aunque en los últimos años ha tomado ventaja el idioma anglosajón, en Phoenix se habla por igual el español que el inglés. Cinco días antes de las elecciones, Harris eligió esa ciudad para reforzar su mensaje. En inglés y en español, figuras políticas importantes en Phoenix tomaron el micrófono sobre el escenario para dar su apoyo a Harris. Regina Romero, alcaldesa de Tucson desde 2019; Katie Hobbs, gobernadora de Arizona; Gabrielle Giffords, exmiembro de la Cámara de Representantes; y Rubén Gallego, candidato al senado, pidieron uno tras otro el voto para la candidata demócrata. «Estamos muy cerca de Halloween, pero no hay nada que nos dé más miedo que Donald Trump en la Casa Blanca», bromeó la alcaldesa de Phoenix en su intervención. Y es cierto. En Phoenix, la población latina teme verlo de nuevo en la presidencia. «Sabemos lo que Trump ha hecho con nuestra comunidad y no queremos repetir eso», dijo Gina Méndez mientras hacía fila para entrar al anfiteatro. Ella integra la organización Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA). Latinos como Gina se organizaron en grupos para salir a las calles a tocar puertas y pedir a los ciudadanos que voten. Es una práctica común en los últimos meses en lugares como Arizona donde el margen de ventaja entre uno y otro candidato es mínimo. Hasta el 5 de noviembre, Phoenix tendrá la oportunidad de elegir a su candidato para la presidencia, como también dará su voto a una serie de enmiendas legislativas. Entre las más importantes figura una propuesta para garantizar el acceso al aborto hasta el punto de la viabilidad fetal y otra que permitiría a la policía estatal arrestar a personas que crucen la frontera de forma irregular. Estas modificaciones dividen a la población, a los latinos y a los estadounidenses republicanos más radicales. A lo largo de su campaña, Harris se ha posicionado a favor de los derechos reproductivos de las mujeres y en contra de la retórica anti inmigrante. Sin embargo, en su visita a Guatemala, uno de los países que más expulsa a su población, pidió y repitió expresamente a los guatemaltecos: «No vengan». En tanto, Trump ha radicalizado su discurso en contra de migrantes y en contra de las mujeres. «Hay una pelea por el futuro y por la libertad, como la libertad fundamental de cada mujer de tener derecho sobre su propio cuerpo. Trump no cree que las mujeres deban tener la autoridad para tomar decisiones sobre sus propios cuerpos, dice que las mujeres deben ser castigadas por sus decisiones, no respeta la libertad y la inteligencia de las mujeres», dijo Kamala Harris sobre el escenario. Su intervención fue la última. La antecedieron Los Tigres del Norte y Ruben Gallego, quien de ganar las elecciones sería el primer senador latino del Estado. En 25 minutos, Harris habló del daño que hizo Trump en la presidencia y de cómo beneficiaría a «sus amigos millonarios» de llegar al poder. También enlistó sus prioridades: bajar el costo de la vida, promover el acceso a la vivienda, reducir impuestos para la clase media, y garantizar la salud como un derecho y no un privilegio. Aunque ha sido pilar en su discurso, esta vez no habló de migración, dejó que sus invitados lo hicieran por ella. «Este concierto me hizo tener flashbacks de cuando era niño, los que son latinos saben de qué hablo», dijo Ruben Gallegos al subir al escenario. El candidato pelea por un puesto en el senado contra Kari Lake, la candidata republicana que, fiel al estilo de Trump, se ha referido a los migrantes como violadores y criminales.  En inglés o en español, latinos o estadounidenses nativos reunidos en el lugar tenían una consigna común: «No vamos a regresar, we're not going back. Votar por Trump, dicen, sería dar un paso atrás en materia de derechos y oportunidades».  Según las encuestas más recientes, Donald Trump encabeza la intención de voto en Arizona, supera a Kamala Harris por dos puntos porcentuales. En las elecciones pasadas la victoria del Partido Demócrata en Arizona fue una sorpresa que desean que se repita porque, aunque Harris no represente al cien por ciento sus intereses, regresar a la era de Trump sería volver a vivir con miedo, volver al pasado.   Leer el artículo completo aquí: https://www.plazapublica.com.gt/migracion/cronica/el-dia-que-los-tigres-del-norte-cantaron-para-kamala-harris

By Lourdes Medrano After 37 years of living in the United States, Gastón Garcia overcame anxiety over the naturalization process and became a citizen in Tucson, Arizona, in late September 2024. He has another milestone still ahead: voting for the first time. Wearing a dark blue suit and a broad smile, he walked out of his naturalization ceremony holding a small U.S. flag and his citizenship certificate. The timing was no coincidence; he aimed to become eligible to vote before the Nov. 5 presidential election.  “I am very excited that I will be able to vote,” says Garcia, 57. “We can express our voice and, more than anything, we can make ourselves count.” In swing states such as Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, and large states such as California, the influence of Latino voters like Garcia could be key to choosing the next president in the race between former President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Newly naturalized citizens and an influx of young Latinos reaching the voting age of 18 boosted the estimated number of eligible Latino voters to 36.2 million in 2024, up from 32.3 million in 2020. A poll released in mid-October by Phoenix-based advocacy group Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA) and Data for Social Good shows that a majority of 1,028 registered Arizona voters surveyed between April and May are highly motivated to cast a ballot. While immigration remains important for many Latinos, the poll found they are also deeply concerned about the economy, health care access, and affordable housing. The findings track with results from national polls examining the issues Latino voters are thinking about less than a month before the election. The shifting demographics of Latino voters reflect the nuanced distinctions within an evolving population often characterized as a monolithic voting bloc. “We’re a diverse community with a wide range of political views, experience, and priorities,” says Alejandra Gomez, executive director of LUCHA. Canvassers have been knocking on doors all over the state since March to encourage voters—Latinos in particular—to cast a ballot and hopes are high that they will turn out en masse, says Stephanie Maldonado, managing director at LUCHA. “I definitely do see our community showing up and showing up big this November 5th,” she adds. Garcia says he’s looking forward to making his vote count. For years after coming to the U.S. from Mexico, he worked in construction. In the 1990s, he started his own landscaping business, which he still operates. These days he worries about inflation because his earnings don’t go as far as they used to when buying necessities. “Prices have gone way up, for food and gasoline and other items,” he says. Garcia is hopeful the next president will take on issues related to the economy, but he also would like the future commander-in-chief to push for immigration reforms. What’s needed, he says, is an orderly, speedier process that gives eligible people already in the country or waiting to apply for U.S. asylum south of the border an opportunity to live here legally. “People come here to improve their lives and to achieve the American dream, as I did,” he says.  Dustin Corella, who was born in Tucson, is among a generation of young Latinos coming of age in 2024. Soon after turning 18 in June, he registered to vote and is eager to cast a ballot. “It feels like a big responsibility,” he says. The issues motivating Corella to vote include his desire to elect politicians who ensure appropriate funding for public education as well as after-school programs and other resources aimed at youth in the community. And he says there’s a need for elected officials who can better address the impact of climate change, adding, “Those are the things that I care about, and I’m looking for leaders who can tackle them and create opportunities for the next generation.” Corella is one of 1.3 million eligible Latino voters in Arizona. The state, along with California, Texas, Florida, and New York, is home to about two-thirds, or 65%, of all Latino eligible voters in the country, according to the Pew Research Center . For Latinos and immigrant communities across the country, the stakes are high this election, says Nicole Melaku, executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans . The coalition of immigrant and refugee rights organizations is working to encourage the nation’s naturalized citizens to vote, especially in the face of anti-immigrant attacks. For example, a slew of Republican campaign ads focuses negatively on immigrants. “With the likes of Project 2025 looming about in the background, of family separation and of attacks to our democracy, I think it was important for us to make sure that our communities, and naturalized voters especially, are aware of the power that their vote and their voice has to shape the outcome of the election,” Melaku says. Project 2025 is a policy agenda of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that aims to radically restructure the federal government in a conservative administration. Experts caution that the project threatens voting rights and promotes a litany of anti-immigrant measures with far-reaching implications. Trump has distanced himself from the project, but he has made immigration a key part of the race. In one campaign stop after another, Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric against immigrants punctuates his speeches. Should he win, he promises to quickly launch a mass deportation of immigrants living in the country without legal status—and even some with legal status. Instead of countering him with pro-immigrant rhetoric, Harris has responded by taking a tougher stance on the issue, including a proposal to toughen asylum restrictions implemented by the Biden administration. She has also endorsed comprehensive immigration reforms . Trump blames Harris for a record number of migrants—many of them asylum seekers—entering the U.S. from Mexico, even as entries have declined sharply in 2024 amid policy changes on both sides of the border.  In the border state of Arizona, the immigration debate is ever present. On Nov. 5, voters will reject or approve Proposition 314, which would give the state authority to enforce federal immigration policies. The initiative, Maldonado says, “specifically targets immigrant communities and continues to push racial profiling, which we know is a top concern among the Latino community. And I think that this election for us is pushing back against policies that continue to criminalize our families and communities.” Immigration hits close to home for Maldonado, who comes from a mixed-status family. She and her two siblings are U.S.-born citizens and her father is a legal resident. However, her mother is undocumented, says Maldonado, and returned to Mexico some time ago. Her mother’s departure was the catalyst for Maldonado to become more involved in electoral and civic matters. “We need a permanent solution on immigration, not just for my family, but millions of families across the country and many diverse families that are living in these complexities of being separated,” she explains.  The Latino vote in the upcoming election could mean a shift in the usual narrative about the nation’s second-largest group of voters, Maldonado says. “If we didn’t have this much power, there wouldn’t be so many attempts at trying to strip away our rights.” She adds, “We just need to come together and make it happen even greater this year.” Read Full Article Here: https://www.yesmagazine.org/democracy/2024/10/30/election-voting-new-citizens

Young voters turned out in record numbers in Arizona in 2020. Trump is making inroads with them now. By Megan Messerly 10/22/2024 06:00 PM EDT PHOENIX — Young people may be in their voting era . But many don’t plan to cast their ballots for Kamala Harris — and Democrats in Arizona are warning it could hobble her here. Youth voters turned out in record numbers in Arizona in 2020, helping to flip the state blue for Joe Biden. But four years later, some Democratic strategists fear the inroads Donald Trump has made over the last four years with younger voters — particularly with young men and young Latinos — is eating away at one of the party’s core, but most fickle, constituencies. And while Harris faces similar challenges with youth voters nationally, including in Michigan, nowhere are they more clear than in the West, where young Latinos alone make up more than 40 percent of all newly eligible voters . Even some young voters who say they will vote for Democrats in other races here are not supporting Harris, recent polling suggests. In the most recent New York Times/Siena College poll, Trump leads Harris by 5 points in Arizona, even as Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego leads GOP Senate hopeful Kari Lake by 7 points. The gap with youth voters in Arizona is even more stark : Harris leads Trump 53-44 among 18 to 29 year olds, while Gallego leads Lake 58-28. Jacob Marson, executive director of the youth-focused organization Keep Arizona Blue, said his group has talked to “tons” of young people who are engaged on the issues but disillusioned with the process. “They’ve been disenfranchised with the political system. They’re not into candidates,” Marson said. “They’ve been told things, and they don’t see a difference in their lives.” According to exit polls , no Democratic presidential candidate in modern history has won with less than 60 percent of the youth vote, a threshold Biden met in 2020 . Challenges surveying younger voters, including capturing a representative sample of them, make it hard to know exactly where Harris is at. But polls suggest that Harris is flirting with, but perhaps not quite meeting, that threshold. While the Harvard Youth Poll shows Harris leading Trump 64 percent to 32 percent among likely voters under 30, a CNN poll conducted by SSRS last month found Harris with a much smaller 12-point lead with likely voters under the age of 35. (Those numbers are much more comfortable than the ones Democrats saw under Biden, who was at one point running essentially neck-and-neck with Trump for the youth vote.) “She’s knocking on that door,” said John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics who has long studied youth voters and runs the Harvard Youth Poll. “I think she’s comfortably in the mid-50s.” (Volpe also runs a research firm that has conducted polls for a PAC supporting Harris.) The Harris campaign still believes there’s time to woo younger voters, including young men and younger Latinos. On Tuesday, the campaign highlighted economic policies it said would help Latino men, and Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are all participating in Hispanic media interviews this week, building on their “Hombres con Harris” effort, which kicked off in Arizona. “These undecided voters are just tuning in now to the election and are getable in this last stretch when the election is finally real to them,” campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said. But the mid-50s may not be enough for Harris in a close race. And even if she can increase her numbers, she’ll still have to turn those voters — and get them to vote not just for other Democrats on the ticket, but for her. In 2020, more Arizonans cast ballots for Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly than for Biden, and some Democrats fear the same thing could happen this time around with Gallego and Harris. Progressive organizations that focus on youth voters say that one of Harris’ biggest challenges is persuading younger people the Biden-Harris administration has done good things for them — and what, specifically, she will do as president. It’s harder, they say, for her to demonstrate the impact of more nebulous and longer-term work on issues like climate change and gun control than it is, for instance, for her to show how the administration delivered for seniors by capping the price of insulin at $35 under Medicare. “The question becomes, ‘What are Kamala and Democrats doing? Because we haven’t really seen a shift.’ And so the conversations at the door often are a little bit longer because there’s a lot more voter education that has to happen,” said Alejandra Gomez, executive director of the progressive group Living United for Change in Arizona. “And then because of the dysfunction and polarization, there’s also just a lot more, in Spanish it’s like, resignación — resignation. We’re resigned, like, well this is what it is, so we have to really walk people back from that.” Some young people, frustrated with the political process, are sitting out the election altogether. Others, who have spent all of their adult lives under Biden’s administration and an economic crunch they blame him for, are casting ballots for Trump, who last took office at a time many of them were in elementary school. “I don’t know if I would say [Trump] was my first choice, but I also don’t think that Kamala is very good. Just some of the things that she says, they make me so anxious,” said Shay Gardner, a 19-year-old Arizona State University student, on a recent Tuesday morning in downtown Phoenix. “There are things Trump says that make me anxious, too. Ultimately, it’s just trying to decide, who do I think will do the least damage over the next four years — and then hopefully things might get better.” The Harris campaign has taken a three-pronged approach to reaching youth voters: on college campuses, online and elsewhere in the community, including concerts, music festivals, sporting events and bars. This fall, it launched a back-to-school push on 150 college campuses in battleground states, including targeted digital and on-campus ads, campaign events on campus and a doubling of youth organizing staff. And, aware of the low levels of trust for traditional media, including among youth voters, the campaign has leaned on influencers — including those whose audiences skew male, like the Track Star show and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker — and meme accounts to get its message out through social media, like Instagram , TikTok and Twitch. It has also placed digital ads on sites geared toward male audiences, like the video game websites IGN and Fandom; fantasy sports, sports betting, and sports news sites like DraftKings and Yahoo Sports ; as well as on more than 100 mobile video games. In Arizona, the campaign has been reaching out specifically to younger Latino voters at local restaurants, barber shops and lowrider events. “I’m in a car club, and the conversations we have even within our car clubs, it gets very interesting — and we’re starting to see more and more of them flip and lean towards Harris,” said Arizona state Rep. Cesar Aguilar, a Democrat and the youngest legislator in the state. “They’re finally having those difficult conversations that need to be had.” Trump and his allies, meanwhile, have invested tens of millions of dollars into reaching out to young people, including through the so-called Send the Vote initiative . And the youth-focused organization Turning Point Action has been a key force in mobilizing politically motivated youth on the right, in the last month holding large-scale voter registration drives and passing out MAGA hats at Arizona State University , the University of Arizona and Grand Canyon University . “We have never seen youth enthusiasm anywhere near this for the Republican candidate,” said Andrew Kolvet, a Turning Point Action spokesperson. “It’s cool to be conservative if you’re young. Like, if you love America, and you’re proud to be American, and you want to be proud to be an American, it’s cool. It’s cool now.” “We still might not have the majority [of the youth vote]. But our job is to lose by less, it’s to close the margin there, so that there’s less ground to make up with the other demos,” Kolvet added. Halee Dobbins, Trump’s Arizona spokesperson, said that the campaign has been “on the ground engaging with young voters directly, including Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans, among others, making presence in college campuses, fairs, festivals, marketplaces, and more.” There are signs in Arizona that it might be working for Trump. Even though experts warn that Trump’s plans could worsen inflation , the former president is promising a kind of economic change young voters are eager to see. Young men, in particular, have been increasingly drawn both to Trump’s persona and his economic message. While Harris still leads young men by 17 points, that’s a much narrower margin than the overwhelming 47-point margin she has with young women, according to the latest Harvard Youth Poll . And she may still have work to do with those young voters, too. “I don’t like Trump as a person. I don’t think he’s a great person. And I think he needs to get Twitter taken away from him — please — because he has some really loud opinions that aren’t the best. But as a whole, his policies are much more aligned with my beliefs,” said Madelyn Dwyer, 20, who is also voting for Trump. “Our economy right now is in the gutter. I’m 20 — so I’m going into adulthood — and I want to be able to buy a house. I bought my first car and it was so much money. And I don’t want to be in crazy debt.” Read Full Article: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/22/harris-lags-young-voters-arizona-00184952