Friday, November 22, 2024

Census Data Reveals Southwestern States with Large Hispanic Populations Saw the Most Growth

The first set of data from the 2010 Census released yesterday showed that states in the Southwest, home to the majority of Hispanics in the country, experienced some of the highest population growth and gained congressional seats. The total population in the US as of April 1, 2010, is 308,745,538.  The rate of growth in […]

Lawmaker in Texas Wants Police to Question Citizenship of Everyone Detained

A Republican Texas state representative is expected to file a bill on Tuesday that would require police officers to question the citizenship status of every person they detain. “They would ask everybody the same question,” Rep. Leo Berman said. Berman says his version of Arizona’s controversial anti-immigrant bill will take “out the officer’s discretion.”  Under […]

Documentary Examines Discrimination Against Mex.-Amer. Veteran in Texas Town

A new PBS documentary brings to the national spotlight, the story of a Mexican-American World War II veteran and the struggles against racism and discrimination in a small Texas town that his family encountered when they tried to bury the fallen soldier. What ensued lay the grown-work for Latino involvement in the burgeoning civil rights […]

Texas GOP Vows “Crackdown” on Illegal Immigration

The consequences of last Tuesday’s Republican victories are being felt not only on the national stage but on the state level as well. In Texas, 22 Democrats lost their state seats giving Republicans an overwhelming majority.  The first item on their agenda, the new lawmakers announced, is the “toughest possible crackdown on illegal immigration.”  Quoted […]

Latino Entrepreneur Creates New Micro Lending Company

While the current economic crisis is making it harder for many Americans to get loans, a sizeable and growing segment of the Latino community has never had access to traditional financial and banking services.  This need is providing a business opportunity for one young Latino entrepreneur. James Gutierrez is the founder of Progreso Financiero, a micro-lending […]

Mid-Term Election Results and the Latino Vote

Tuesday night’s results definitely told a tale that involved the Hispanic vote.  On Tuesday, we laid out what were going to be the likely elections most influenced by Latino voters across the country.  Countless predictions came true about a Republican wave sweeping Congress while Democrats managed to hold on to control of Senate.  Nevada “Did […]

Election Day: 2010 Midterm Elections and the Latino Vote

For the past several months La Plaza has been closely following the developments and attention surrounding the Latino vote in what will go down in history as the most expensive midterm elections to date.  We have covered everything from the earnest efforts of several civic groups to turn out this voting bloc on Election Day […]

Poll Shows More than Half of Texans Support Arizona-like Law

A new poll for the state’s five largest newspapers shows that over half the voters in Texas support an Arizona-like law with the issue deeply dividing them along racial and party lines. A total of 53 percent of respondents said they would support such a law, but that number is down from previous polls on […]

Linda Chavez-Thompson “What it means when the last bookstore closes…”

Laredo, Texas, with a population of 250,000 now has the distinction of being the largest city in the nation without a bookstore.  B. Dalton’s bookstore shut its doors for good on January 16th. Put another tombstone in the predominantly Hispanic south side of San Antonio now that Waldenbooks has left, leaving no bookstore for miles. […]

Traces of Racism in the Afterglow of a Texas Primary

The electoral defeat of the highest-ranking Hispanic Republican in Texas has triggered widespread speculation that race is still a significant obstacle in Texas politics, particularly among the Right.  Victor Carrillo, the incumbent Railroad Commissioner, was handed an unexpected and lopsided defeat by a relatively unknown, under-funded challenger in the recent GOP primary. After the election, […]