KVEA Channel 52’s evening news anchor Dunia Elvir is one of a handful of Latina journalists who figure prominently in “¡De última hora! Latina…
Patricia Guadalupe
So many people in the U.S., including Latinos, are uninformed about Puerto Rico. I’m not an immigrant, and by the way, neither is Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor even though several elected officials called her that during her nomination hearings. Countless times I have been asked by people who should know better what kind of money is used on the island (yeah, the U.S. dollar), do they need a passport to travel there (um, no), and how is that I speak English so well.
There are 10 congressional districts with significant Latino populations and are considered the 10 biggest elections in the country – three of them are in California and happen to be in districts not only with a large Latino presence, but in districts won by Republicans on the congressional side and by Joe Biden on the presidential side. All three are part of 18 congressional districts nationwide that voted for Biden in 2020 while being won or held by a Republican in Congress.
A recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that students of color are less likely to have paid internships. Researchers surveyed more than 22,000 students from 470 colleges and universities in their Student Survey Report and found that just 10% of all graduating Latino seniors have had internships, compared to 71% of non-Hispanic white students. The study also found that less than Latinos account for less than 8% of students in paid internships. While more than 90% of internships in the U.S. House and Senate are paid, just 10% of Assembly offices in Sacramento pay their interns, and none do in the state Senate.
Tony Tijerino is President and CEO of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. He is a native of Nicaragua and a graduate of the University of Maryland. Tijerino’s experience includes stints at the public relations giant Burson Marsteller, and at Nike and the Fannie Mae Foundation. He’s been showered with numerous honors and awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National PTA, and recognition from Hispanics in Philanthropy and the MALDEF Award for Human Rights. Tijerino is also a recipient of the Ohtli Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Mexican government to an individual. He’s also worked on immigration issues and was recognized by FWD.US for his work with migrant families on the border.
The high court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina wipes away decades of SCOTUS precedence upheld even by justices named by Republican presidents. According to a recent report in The Quarterly Journal of Economics, ending affirmative action in admissions to the flagship University of California system “caused underrepresented minority (URM) freshman applicants to cascade to lower-quality colleges” and that a greater number ending up leaving higher education without completing their degree. According to the most recent data, while 53% of high school graduates in California are Latino, just 22% were enrolled in the UC system in 2020.
DeSantis recently signed legislation that among other things places criminal penalties on anyone who transports an undocumented person across state lines, requires employers with 25 or more workers to verify their immigration status, and demands hospitals who accept Medicaid ask immigration status to patients and report the data. It also repeals a law that allows some undocumented immigrants to obtain a license to practice law in the state. Barring any potential court action, the DeSantis legislation goes into effect on July 1.
Some undocumented workers in South Florida are not showing up for work or leaving job sites because of the law.
Almost 70% of Latino student borrowers have current debt, says a report by the Education Data Initiative. The same report says that Latino borrowers were “the most likely” of any race or ethnic group to delay marriage and children because of student loan debt, and are the second-most likely (after Black Americans) to borrow high amounts from private lenders – close to 70% of Latino students who borrow from private lenders take out loans of $40,000 or more.