Looking back: Best Idea of 2011

No doubt a great idea was partnering with Reyna Montoya creating YEA! --Youth for Education in Action- that took the most awesome team in the world Reyna Montoya, Maxima Guerrero, Brax Lopez and all the volunteers to participate in the Mesa special election of 2011.

Outcome. Phase 1: 300 + voter registrations, mostly young people. More than 180 voters were registered on the Permanent Early Voter List (PEVL). Phase 2: More than 3,000 doors were knocked in Mesa District 18 on low propensity precincts inviting people to vote.
We also were on the news several times!    Best outcome of all: Russell Pearce the "creator" of SB1070 and Prop 300 was voted out in spite of sham candidate Olivia Cortes. It seems to me that YEA! will survive time and place and can be a valuable platform of civil engagement.
Click here to see YEA!'s work.

Arizona's Special Election and the Unfolding Everyday Drama

For the first time ever a State Senator President is being recalled and a new election is set for November the 8^{th, 2011.}

The State Senator is not other than Russell Pearce, an early proponent of many anti-immigration l laws that have been copycatted in many states and had devastated Arizona’s economy. He is infamous for pushing SB1070.

Russell Pearce is not only bad for the immigrant and minority population but he had slashed education budgets K to 12, colleges and universities to record lows, affecting all and sabotaging our future In Arizona.

He has introduced the most ridiculous laws like "birthter" bills and made the Colt AZ official’s gun at the time when the economy in the state is in shambles.

Mr. Pearce is notorious for his associations with neo-Nazis groups and recently the media had disclosed his participation on the Fiesta Bowl Scandal where he took illegal gifts and junkets.

State Senator Russell Pearce is one of the most divisive public figures and a well-known bully who intimidates people, even inside his own party, who forces elected officials to follow his extremist agenda. He is notorious to rally support to extremist candidates to eliminate moderate Republican voices from the Legislature.

Now that he has being recalled and the election on Nov the 8^th will take place he has planted, with the help of tea party activist and even members of his own family, a Hispanic woman candidate to divide the vote and confuse Latinos.

Olivia Cortes , has been called to testify on her candidacy and has stated she doesn’t know who paid a petition gathering company to put her in the ballot, does not know the volunteers who are posting signs, or where the supports for her campaign comes from in spite that she handles treasury.

In an unprecedented move probably unique at this time in the nation, and for the sake of the well being of Arizona, the Democratic Party has agreed not to put a candidate in the hopes that a unifying Republican, Mr. Jerry Lewis, can win in which may be one of the most conservative districts in the nation.

New information comes every single day about this election. We are keeping our sights on November the 8th.

If you live in Mesa District 18th participate in this important election. If you are not registered to vote, a group of students will be registering new voters Wednesday October the 5th and Thursday October the 6th at Mesa Community College from 10 A.M. to 7 P.M. by the clock tower.

As I predicted some time ago, State Senator Russell Pearce introduced the challenge to the 14th amendment to the US constitution to deny citizenship to the children of the (at least one of the parents) undocumented. Read here an article by Time magazine.

Today the legislation seemed to be weakening, although there are reports that Pearce will look for ways to vote it in other committees.

Make no mistake. The reason the challenge to the 14th amendment in the AZ legislation is loosing steam is not because cute kids marched in protest, or organized Latinas raised their voices but because the Chambers of Commerce came discreetly but forceful against it.

Money talks and there is not secret that the economy of Arizona cannot endure another

(or the continuation) economic boycott.

DREAMers Vs Pearce

During the GOP Election Day Victory Celebration (Nov 2, 2010 at the Hyatt Hotel), DREAM Activists from the Arizona DREAM Act Coalition confronted State Senator Russell Pearce. He is the creator of anti-immigration laws that had propelled flawed politicians to power in Arizona, including Governor Jane Brewer.

I met Stephen Lemons-aka the Feathered Bastard- (from the Phoenix New Times) at the Anti Defamation League Torch of Freedom Award Ceremony few days later. He knew about the DREAMers confronting Pearce and wanted more information. I happened to know somebody had video taped it. This is the Feathered Bastard Blog which is rated one of the top blogs with more than 322 facebook postings so far. Thanks Stephen for e-publishing the evidence of the courage of the DREAMers trying to unsuccessfully debate rude Russell Pearce, but being able at least to freak him out and throw him out of his comfort zone!

More Bad News After the 2010 Election

I must confess I'm still in shock about the results of the 2010 elections across the USA but specially in Arizona.

Besides loosing congressional seats and a big GOP win on all possible fronts, re-elected State Senator Russell Pearce has been named Senate President. The introduction of more anti-immigrant laws is inevitable.

Voters have approved prop 107 which bans the so called affirmative action programs (another "gift" from Russell Pearce and sell out State Legislator Steve Montenegro).

On the chopping block will be valuable initiatives like WISE (Women In Science and Engineering) and Hispanic Mother and Daughter Program, among others that encourage the participation of underrepresented groups in higher education. These programs also made important contributions towards the integration of immigrants.

This is what an alumni of the program said about the Hispanic Mother and Daughter Program:

"We all know that the United States is a country of immigrants. Every single person that has come here has had to learn to adapt to a totally different way of life.

Se dice que nosotros los Hispanos nos negamos a adaptarnos... (It is said that we Hispanic are not seeking integration.)

This is precisely what programs like HMPD helps us do. It opens up new doors to Hispanic Mothers and Daughters, by informing us and making us aware of all the opportunities and choices available when it comes to our education. I can honestly say that if it was not for this program, my path toward college would've been a way bigger challenge. And I would hate to see other girls miss the opportunities that I had if this program disappears."

Sad times for AZ when proven programs that support educations for all are not valued.

The Next Outrage

If you think SB1070, the law that makes a state crime being undocumented in the State of Arizona and seeks "attrition through enforcement", among other things is bad enough, wait to you read about what Russell Pearce is setting the stage for on next Legislative sessions. This proposals will target immigrant children as young as 5 years old:

SB2382

http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/hb2382h.pdf

Summary

Dept. of Education will collect data of students enrolled in public schools and charter schools whose parents cannot provide lawful legal status.

Each Dec 15 will submit reports. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall withhold school district's appointment of state aid if a school district does not comply. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall withhold the salary, bonus or both of any employee or school district that fails to comply.

SB2182

For the purpose of determining state aid to school districts and charter schools, the determination of Average daily attendance shall exclude children whose parents are unable to provide child's lawful presence in the United States.

http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/49leg/2r/bills/hb2182p.htm

The bills are technically dead but there is always the possibility of bringing them back in the next legislature (with different numbers). This is the tactic employed for parts and pieces of SB1070.

Those bills will try to challenge a Supreme Court Decision known as Plyler vs Doe.

Here is from Wikipedia:

Plyler v. Doe, 457 (1982), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a state statute denying funding for education to children who were illegal immigrants and simultaneously struck down a municipal school district's attempt to charge illegal immigrants an annual $1,000 tuition fee for each undocumented student to compensate for the lost state funding^[1]. The Court found that where states limit the rights afforded to people (specifically children) based on their status as aliens, this limitation must be examined under an intermediate scrutiny standard to determine whether it furthers a substantial goal of the State.

.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyler_v._Doe

Plyler vs Doe is a supreme court decision that establishes:

If the State is to deny a discrete group of innocent children the free public education that it offers to other children residing within its borders, that denial must be justified by a showing that it furthers some substantial state interest. No such showing was made here.

According to the following piece, collecting data on the students and producing reports where the cost for the state is established, would be used to justify state interest.

Anti-immigrant former Congressman Tom Tancredo writes in an article called "The Next Arizona Earthquake" the arguments anti-immigrant activist will employ to challenge Plyler vs. Doe:

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=151021

"While it is true that the 1982 Plyler decision did forbid schools from denying a public education to children who are illegal aliens, the court did not say such a denial is unconstitutional. The court merely said Texas had not proved its case that providing that education placed an undue hardship on the public treasury.

That may have been true in Texas in 1982, but is it true in Arizona in 2010? Is it true anywhere in Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, Colorado,Oklahoma, Utah or Georgia in 2010?

The only way to know the answer to that question is to first ask it. But to answer it requires asking for the school enrollment data. That's why Russell Pearce's SB1097 is so refreshingly revolutionary.

The Plyler decision did not forbid schools from collecting enrollment data. That is another myth promoted by the "immigrant rights" lobbyists."

Is this really going to happen??? Not for sure. It's a possibly scenario that we must be prepared to confront.