You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘hispanics’ tag.
CNN’s “Out in the Open” on Monday night featured the topic of immigration, assimilation and language. The information presented seemed to be fair and of good quality. I also found a discussion between between a Republican candidate for President, Congressman Tom Tancredo, and a syndicated columnist, Miguel Perez, to be one of the better exchanges on the program.
Carpentersville was also in one of the featured segment. But, once again, it was presented as an example of the nation’s extreme. The English only resolution passed earlier was offered as a contrast to a Texas border town on the banks of the Rio Grande that has Spanish as its official language (although it is really bi-lingual). That town was shown to have progressed since 1999, while Carpentersville is in a state of decline and having many homes in Hispanic neighborhoods up for sale. The Texas town was one of peace and calm. Carpentersville was one of combativeness and division; as a city being “torn apart”.
The piece ended with “In this cultural battle, language is a mighty sword.”
This is not simply my interpretation of what they intended to show. This is what they actually did show.
Folks, putting aside the arguments for or against the validity of the interpretation presented, this is another perfect example of how the Village of Carpentersville is viewed in this country and in this area. This is not an isolated report, but is another indictment of the atmosphere that exists in the town.
It is not something we can argue against.
It is not something we can defend against.
This is something we must work to change the impression of.
That does not come from attempts at catch-phrases and slogans. It is not something you can legislate out of the way.
Rather it must be an effort to reach out to the whole community — not simply 40% or 60%, but the whole community — to listen to their concerns and find ways to address and solve them.
I’ll also just mention that Trustee Sigwalt and resident Adam Ruiz represented the opposing sides in the piece. Comments from Sigwalt were mostly benign, while Ruiz expressed his disappointment at what was happening in the town.
It highlighted concerns of which we all need to be aware and which the Village government, particularly the Board, needs to be sensitive to.
Residents Jay Radke, Frank “don’t call me a racist or a Nazi” Stoneham and a woman whom I could not identify also made up part of the “low light reel”.
The program ended by speaking about assimilation and learning the English language by Mexican immigrants. The study can be found here [PDF] … but it basically pointed out that while 100% of new immigrants speak fluent Spanish, only 35% of their children do, and 3rd and 4th generation (grandchildren/great grandchildren) only 17% and 5% respectively. This was offered as evidence that the English language is not in any type of danger, and that these people who come to America do understand that it is necessary to learn English to get ahead in this country and in this world.
The reports synopsis states:
Although the life expectancy of Spanish is found to be greater among Mexicans in Southern California compared to other groups, its ultimate demise nonetheless seems assured by the third generation. English has never been seriously threatened as the dominant language of the United States, and it is not threatened today—not even in Southern California. What is endangered instead is the survivability of the non-English languages that immigrants bring with them to the United States.
Amid all of the xenophobia and nativism surrounding the immigration debate, there is a real security concern. In the language of the bureaucracy, the problem is referred to as the ”O.T.M.’s,” or Other Than Mexicans.
Found this piece from former National Security Advisor, Richard Clarke, “A Back Door for Terrorists”. I think that it makes a great case for why we need to put pressure on our federal officials to secure our borders, and why attempts at piece-meal enforcement around the country is
- insufficient;
- may put us at greater risk because the federal government is allowing it and may be less inclined to stop it; and,
- leaves loopholes that cannot be closed by local enforcement;
especially when the focus is on Hispanics. Taking a uniform approach has a better opportunity to ensure that rights of legal citizens, residents and visitors are respected.
Since 9/11, it has been far more difficult to get a visa to enter the United States if you are a citizen of a country considered a terrorism concern. But it is not difficult for a Pakistani, for example, to enter Mexico or another Central American country from which he can get to our border relatively easily, cross it and blend in.
Be sure to read it in it’s entirety.
I received the following tonite from Silvia Realzola of Carpentersville Community Alliance. You can read about the events surrounding this agreement and what lead to it in a story published in the Daily Herald.
- This is a result of the hard work of many people and organizations. Thank you to everyone! This battle was started several years ago and the outcome is GREAT! This demonstrates that following the process and working together for an end purpose will get POSITIVE results – it may take some time, but in the end working together for positive change can happen. Once again thank you to all those poll watchers, election judges, volunteers that put in endless hours for the benefit of our community.We must continue to work together – positive change can happen!
Silvia Realzola, President
Carpentersville Community Alliance
From: USDOJ-Office of Public Affairs
To: USDOJ-Office of Public Affairs
Sent: Wed Sep 26 18:59:58 2007
Subject: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF HISPANIC AND SPANISH-SPEAKING VOTERS IN KANE COUNTY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
WWW.USDOJ.GOV
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT PROTECTING
THE RIGHTS OF HISPANIC AND SPANISH-SPEAKING VOTERS IN KANE COUNTY
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced today the settlement of a lawsuit against Kane County, Ill., alleging violations of the rights of Spanish-speaking voters under the Voting Rights Act. The settlement agreement with Kane County requires the county to provide all voting materials and assistance in Spanish as well as in English and ensures that limited English-proficient voters can receive assistance from the persons of their choice. It also permits the Justice Department to monitor future elections.
“Every citizen has a right to vote, regardless of what language they speak,” said Rena J. Comisac, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. “Today’s agreement removes a procedural impediment to voting which hindered significant numbers of language minority citizens from exercising that right. The county should be congratulated for resolving the issue quickly and constructively.”
“The right to vote is a fundamental guarantee for all American citizens,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. “Without the assistance necessary to ensure equal access to the polls, Spanish speakers cannot exercise that right effectively. We are pleased that the county has agreed to resolve this complaint.”
The complaint charged that the county failed to provide Spanish-language assistance at the polls to the majority of its Spanish-speaking voters in recent elections and that the county prevented Spanish-speaking voters from receiving assistance from the persons of their choice, even in cases where bilingual assistance was otherwise unavailable. The settlement agreement resolves all of the charges in the complaint and was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois contemporaneously with the complaint and an accompanying order allowing federal observers to monitor Election Day activities in its polling places. The order still must be approved by a panel of three judges.
The Voting Rights Act requires that certain jurisdictions with a substantial minority-language voter population, which includes Kane County, provide all voting materials and assistance in the minority language as well as in English. The Act also assures voters who need assistance in voting, such as those unable to see or read the ballot, the right to receive that assistance from a person of their choice, other than the voter’s employer or union representative.
Since 2002, the Division has brought more than twice the number of lawsuits to enforce the minority language provisions of the Act than it brought in the preceding 26 years combined; all but one of the lawsuits were to enforce the assistance provision of the Act. During this time period, the Division has filed successful Voting Rights Act lawsuits across the country, with cases in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Washington, and has filed the first cases in its history on behalf of Filipino, Korean, Haitian, and Vietnamese American voters.
To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931. More information about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws is available on the Department of Justice Web site at www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/index.htm.
###
07-770
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE USE THE CONTACTS IN THE MESSAGE OR CALL THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT 202-514-2007.
Yep … they’re still at it folks.
In light of the lawsuit, President Sarto directed staff to postpone work on a draft of a controversial ordinance viewed by many across the US as targeting immigrants. And, Sarto also said he would hold off on appointments to the “Improvement Committee”, which has also been seen in the community as focusing on one segment of the population.
Trustee’s Paul Humpfer and Judy Sigwalt didn’t like the action.
He is a village president, not a king. said Humpfer.
However, Sarto is the Chief Executive Officer of the Village. Per the Carpentersville Municipal Code:
The president shall be and shall have the powers and perform the duties of chief executive officer of the village, shall preside at all meetings of the board, and shall devote to the responsibilities of his or her office such time and endeavor as the faithful discharge thereof may require.
As such, he is not simply another member of the Board, or having merely the powers of Trustees.
That said, I believe it is a good idea to postpone the work and enactment of the ordinance and committee, particularly in light of the lawsuit that has been filed. While it would have been better for Sarto to bring this first to the Board if he did not mention to them that they remove it from the agenda, I believe it is the right and prudent to take this action.
However, even in absence of this being brought to the whole Board first, the Board should not vote to proceed with these things as a matter of political spite. No matter what we eventually learn of the facts of the lawsuit, the present situation in Carpentersville is demonstrative of bigotry and bias.
Leaders in this community are those that recognize that fact and stand up to to speak out and do something about it.
But, there are others simply come up with slogans and rhetoric to tell the people that they shouldn’t feel what they are feeling. Those are not leaders.
What have these trustees done to bridge the divide that exists in Carpentersville? People in the community feel targeted. What have they done to reach out to those people and put them at ease?
In September/October 2006, they came up with an ordinance that worried a lot of people.
What did they do to reassure those people? Said, “It’s not about race. It’s about what’s legal”. (Making attempts to change the law.) And, the told them they needed to learn English; which worried them — even those that spoke English — more.
And, what did they do to reassure them, then? Told them they were going to come gunning for “code violators”. Which made them and others — even those who kept their property looking pretty good — feel more worried.
And, what did they do to reassure them, then? They said “watch out! We’re going to modify the laws to come for your vehicles!”
They haven’t done one thing to try to ease people’s minds about what they are doing. Telling someone “It’s not about race” when there are impressions (real or not) of a pattern that it is about race, hasn’t done anything to put the community at ease.
Now, with a lawsuit pending that is zeroing in on that pattern, the Board shouldn’t forge ahead like cowboys trying to tame the wild west. They need to step back, save the town from bankruptcy and heal the wounds that people have in the community.
Carpentersville Action Network 
Recent Comments