A Silver Lining in the Juvenile Justice System

Submitted by Robert Valencia on Fri, 03/08/2013 - 12:38pm
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Photo courtesy of the Justice Policy Institute

This article was originally published at the Justice Policy Institute

The string of shootings in Newtown, Aurora, and Oak Creek last year would make some reconsider establishing ‘stop-and-frisk’ policies in several violence-ridden U.S. cities. Most recently, an article by The Chicago Tribune’s Stephanie D. Neely on March 1, claimed that stop-and-frisk policies are needed in an attempt to curb gun violence in Chicago. According to Neely, 2,600 shooting incidents were reported to the Chicago Police Department, of which 400 resulted in homicide.


Five Tips for Talking Immigration Issues

Submitted by Julie Rowe on Fri, 03/01/2013 - 12:17pm
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So, there’s a lot to talk about. Where do we start? We have ideas

Immigration policy is finally at the center of the national debate. But questions linger about what policy reform will look like, the role enforcement will play, if it will include a guest worker program and so on. And now ICE has announced the release of hundreds of detainees, stirring controversy but also shedding light on who is being held for how long and for how much. So, there’s a lot to talk about. Where do we start? We have ideas.


THE OPPORTUNITY AGENDA APPLAUDS HUD’S NEW FAIR HOUSING RULE

Submitted by Alan Jenkins on Tue, 02/12/2013 - 7:25pm

On February 8th, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued new regulations to better enforce and apply the Fair Housing Act across our nation. The regulations affirm, in particular, that policies and practices that have an unjustified discriminatory effect, known as “disparate impact,” violate the Act. HUD is the principal federal agency charged with enforcing and interpreting the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.


Public Opinion on Social Issues and Public Policy: 20 Charts you should see (Part 1)

Submitted by Eleni Delimpaltadaki on Tue, 02/12/2013 - 2:10pm
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From immigration reform to God and the Superbowl, public opinion matters and these charts give you the headlines you should know if you care about or work on social issues. 

By Eleni Delimpaltadaki Janis 

Significant Gains in Support for Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants 

 


Taco Cid Using Ethnic Humor to Diminish People

Submitted by The Opportunity... on Fri, 01/25/2013 - 2:51pm
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Image courtesy of nbclatino.com

By Laura Cahue

Columbia, SC — Some initially thought there might be a tongue-in-cheek message when the owner of Taco Cid in West Columbia outfitted her employees with offensive T-shirts about undocumented immigrants. Well, there wasn’t. If anything, she seemed to believe that gimmicks will grow her business, noting that the T-shirts are “witty” and for sale.


Advancing Home Opportunity on Capitol Hill

Submitted by Alan Jenkins on Wed, 01/23/2013 - 5:14pm
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Speakers at the Jan 22 Capitol Briefing (From Right to Left): Nancy Zirkin, Alan Jenkins, Nikitra Bailey, Janis Bowdler, Sharon Pratt, and James Carr. 


On January 22 I spoke at a Capitol Hill briefing entitled “A Compact for Home Opportunity: What America Can Do to Stop Foreclosures, Restore Communities, and Fulfill the American Dream.” Sponsored by The Opportunity Agenda, the National Council of La Raza, and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the forum brought together experts from the Home for Good Campaign with congressional staffers working on national housing and economic policy issues. The other speakers and I addressed a very full room. Here’s what I said:


Lost In Translation

Submitted by The Opportunity... on Fri, 01/18/2013 - 2:28pm
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A gathering of the North Charleston community to inform them of the latest changes in South Carolina's immigration policy. Photo courtesy of Lydia Cotton

By Lydia Cotton

As a liason to South Carolina’s North Charleston Hispanic community, I assess the needs of the community and do my best to provide resources to meet those needs. One of the dominant questions is about access. Being lost in translation is a consistent issue that comes up in Hispanic homes in my area. Often, I ask these families why communication is such a problem. The answer usually is, “Miss Lydia, they [agencies, government, organizations, churches, businesses] do not understand what I’m saying. They don’t understand my situation.” These are communities that function in Spanish and are doing their best to learn English. The waiting list for English classes is sometimes long and they are not always accessible to those that need them most.


Watch Your Mouth! Ten Phrases that Progressives Should Retire in 2013

Submitted by Alan Jenkins on Tue, 01/08/2013 - 1:01pm
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Watching our mouths should be this year's top resolution

Along with the usual New Year’s resolutions about exercising, getting more sleep, and being more patient with the kids, progressives should add better communications to their list. We have an historic opportunity to frame the public debate this year in terms of social justice, human rights, and opportunity for all. But that requires being smarter and more deliberate in the way we talk about the nation’s priorities and future. At the very least, we need to stop using certain words and phrases that erode support for progressive values and policies. Here’s my list. I’ll ask for yours at the end of this post.


DeMarco Must Go

Submitted by Alan Jenkins on Wed, 12/19/2012 - 12:40pm
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Edward DeMarco (above) at a lecture at Vanderbilt University 

This article appeared originally at ourfuture.org

It’s time for President Obama to fire and quickly replace the Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Edward DeMarco, with a Director who will uphold the Agency’s mission to “support housing finance and affordable housing, and support a stable and liquid mortgage market.” DeMarco, a holdover from the Bush administration, is interim head of the FHFA, which currently oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.


Making The Invisible Visible

Submitted by Chuy Sanchez on Mon, 12/17/2012 - 1:00am
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Photo courtesy of Julio Salgado 

Download Press Release 

“The immigrant youth movement is on point. There’s a commitment for LGBT folks to be represented at every level of our movement,” says Project Coordinator of the Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project (QUIP), a project of the United We Dream Network based in California, Jorge Gutierrez. He speaks of creating a platform where LGBT families are included within the larger immigration policy reform discourse and the need to uplift the stories of undocumented LGBT immigrants in addition to same sex couples where one is a citizen and other is not (also known as bi-national couples) which have received some mainstream media attention.


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