21st Century America Project

For years the team at NDN/NPI has been a leader in helping policymakers better understand the changing demographics of the United States. We are excited to announce that we are bringing our demographic and public opinion research together under a single banner: The 21st Century America Project. The project will feature work by Morley Winograd and Mike Hais, NDN/NPI Fellows, authors of the critically acclaimed book Millenial Makeover; Alicia Menendez, our new Senior Advisor, who has extensive experience working in these emergent communities; and other NDN/NPI Fellows and collaborators.

Below, please find some of the highlights of our past work on 21st Century America:

2010 Highlights

A Continued Look at the Changing Coalitions of 21st Century America, Poll and Presentation, by Mike Hais and Morley Winograd

Hispanics Rising 2010

The American Electorate of the 21st Century, Poll and Presentation, by Mike Hais and Morley Winograd

Millennial Makeover, a blog by Mike Hais and Morley Winograd

Data Matters Columns, a blog by Mike Hais

2009 Highlights

The Drop Dobbs Campaign

The Anti Vitter-Bennett Amendment Campaign

The New Constituents: How Latinos Will Shape Congressional Apportionment After the 2010 Census, by Andres Ramirez

NDN Backgrounder: Census 2010, Immigration Status and Reapportionment, by Andres Ramirez

Latino Vote in 2008, by Andres Ramirez

2008 Highlights

End of the Southern Strategy, by Simon Rosenberg

Hispanics Rising II

2007 Highlights

The 50 Year Strategy, by Simon Rosenberg and Peter Leyden in Mother Jones

A list of 1,300 Utah residents, with the words “illegal immigrants” is released

Kirk Johnson of the New York Times, has a story up that is so crazy that it is almost unbelievable.

According to the story which can be read here:

A list of 1,300 Utah residents, with the words “illegal immigrants” marked across the top of each page, has sparked panic among some Hispanics in this state.

The list, which contains details and notation about each person — from home address and telephone number to date of birth and, in the case of pregnant women, their due dates — was sent to law enforcement and media outlets on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for Gov. Gary R. Herbert said Wednesday that in investigation was under way to see if state employees might have been involved.

The letter accompanying the list said that it was from “Concerned Citizens of the United States” and urged immediate deportation proceedings against the people listed as well as publication of their names by the news media. The letter said that more lists and names would be forthcoming and added: “We will be listening and watching.”

Thanks to our friend Melinda Warner at Media Matters, we have obtained a copy of the original letter. It can be read here.

Be sure to check back here for further developments.

Sam Stein: Arizona Violent Crime Down, Except Under Tough Anti-Immigration Sheriff

Sam Stein at the Huffington Post, just wrote a piece on violent crime in Arizona. Using data from America's Voice, Stein shows that crime is down all over Arizona except in Sherriff Joe Arpaio's district. Excerpts are below, full read is here:

The non-profit group America's Voice sent out a chart on Wednesday, documenting the change in violent crime levels in various Arizona police jurisdictions from 2002 through 2009. The numbers tell two interesting stories.

The first is that, by and large, crime is down across the board. In Arizona as a whole, it has dropped 12 percent in the past seven years. But in major Maricopa County cities with their own police forces -- Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and Tempe -- the rate has dropped even faster. (The group measured within Maricopa County because it is the epicenter of the immigration debate. But in Tucson, which is not in the county, there has also been a drop in the crime rate since 2002, according to law enforcement statistics).

And the second:

The more telling number may be the crime statistics for the portion of Maricopa County that is under the purview of controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio. According to data compiled by America's Voice, crime in that area has actually increased 58 percent since 2002.

Arpaio is considered something of a visionary among conservatives with respect to his approach to immigration. Many of his reforms, indeed, have served as a basis for the law that Gov. Jan Brewer tried to implement statewide. But he has clashed with other sheriffs over his methods, with some complaining that such broad anti-immigration policies put an overwhelming burden on law enforcement officials while producing social friction rather than safety.

 

World Cup Soccer Final Set Ratings Record

We at NDN, do alot of work with Hispanic demographics. Soccer is tremendously popular around the world and especially in Latin America, we have been following both the games and the ratings with great interest.

We are happy to note that according to the Associated Press:

World Cup television viewership rose 41 percent over     four years ago for English-language telecastsin the United States, with Spain's 1-0 overtime victory over the Netherlands setting a record for a men's soccer game.

Sunday's game in Johannesburg, which gave the Spanish their first World Cup title, was seen by 15,545,000 viewers on ABC, according to fast national ratings. The previous high was 14,863,000 viewers for the United States' 2-1 overtime loss to Ghana in the second round on June 26.

An additional 8,821,000 million viewers watched Spanish-language coverage Sunday on Univision, according to Nielsen Media Research, bringing the total to nearly 24.4 million.

ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 averaged a 2.1 rating, 2,288,000 households and 3,261,000 viewers for the 64 World Cup games. The rating was up 31 percent from a 1.6 four years ago, while households increased 32 percent from 1,735,000 and viewers rose from 2,316,000.

The full story can be read here.

The success of the World Cup in the United States is another indicator of the growing power of the Hispanic power in the united states.

For more on the burgeoning growth of the Hispanic population please read Hispanic Rising 2010.

Immigration News Round Up

A lot of immigration news this week, enjoy:

Washington Post - Headless bodies and other immigration tall tales in Arizona - Dana Milbank

The Arizona governor, seemingly determined to repel every last tourist dollar from her pariah state, has sounded a new alarm about border violence. "Our law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded," she announced on local television.

But those in fear of losing parts north of the neckline can relax. There's not a follicle of evidence to support Brewer's claim.

The Arizona Guardian Web site checked with medical examiners in Arizona's border counties and the coroners said they had never seen an immigration-related beheading. I called and e-mailed Brewer's press office requesting documentation of decapitation; no reply.

Two months ago, the Arizona Republic published an exhaustive report that found that, according to statistics from the FBI and Arizona police agencies, crime in Arizona border towns has been "essentially flat for the past decade." For example, "In 2000, there were 23 rapes, robberies and murders in Nogales, Ariz. Last year, despite nearly a decade of population growth, there were 19 such crimes." The Pima County sheriff reported that "the border has never been more secure."

Arizona Republic - Violence is not up on Arizona border despite Mexican drug war- Dennis Wagner

FBI Uniform Crime Reports and statistics provided by police agencies, in fact, show that the crime rates in Nogales, Douglas, Yuma and other Arizona border towns have remained essentially flat for the past decade, even as drug-related violence has spiraled out of control on the other side of the international line. Statewide, rates of violent crime also are down.

Los Angeles Times - Opinion - What do they really think about immigration? Don't ask

NPR - GOP Faces Internal Divide On Changes To Immigration - Mara Liasson

Some prominent conservatives are speaking out in favor of the kind of comprehensive immigration bill that many Republicans oppose — one that would include border security and then a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

As a leading evangelical conservative, Richard Land's credentials are impeccable. He heads the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention, and from that influential perch he's been urging his fellow conservatives to rethink their opposition to the immigration overhaul.

Colbert Report - Arturo Rodriguez President of UFW

The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Arturo Rodriguez
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News

>

Arizona Daily Star - Tucson firms oppose SB 1070 - Kimberly Matas

Nearly 90 Tucson business owners are showing their resistance to SB 1070 - the immigration law set to take effect July 29 - through a new "We Mean Business" campaign.

Participating business owners demonstrate their opposition to the new law with "We Mean Business" signs in the windows of their establishments. Many of the owners agree there is a need for immigration reform; however they do not think the new law is the most effective approach.

NY Daily News - Activists outside MLB offices urge Bud Selig to take stand, move 2011 All-Star Game from Arizona - Michael O'Keeffe

Arizona Daily Star - Fight SB 1070, artists urged - Rhonda Bodfield 

A group of artists, backed by U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, unveiled a new coalition to fight Arizona's new immigration law Thursday, offering an alternative for acts that might otherwise cancel performances in protest.

Grijalva, who called for a limited boycott to pressure the state to reconsider the law, said artists have historically been at the forefront of social change through words and images.

Arizona Republic - Fund tied to SB 1070 nears $500,000 Donations pour in to Brewer's legal-defense repository from across U.S. - Ginger Rough

Residents throughout the United States have contributed nearly half a million dollars to a legal-defense fund set up by Gov. Jan Brewer to help fight lawsuits related to Senate Bill 1070.

As of Thursday, the fund had a nearly $500,000 balance - the result of thousands of contributions from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The bulk of the money, more than $330,000 of it, has rolled in this week, in the days following the federal government's decision to sue Arizona over the new immigration law.

The Daily Show - Arizona 911 -

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Latino 911!
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

No A La Ley De Arizona - Meg Whitman

Republican California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has provided evidence that at least one GOP candidate understands the value of the Hispanic vote.

Joe Garofoli of the San Francisco Chronicle, has a story up today highlighting Whitman's Hispanic outreach campaign. He notes:

The billboard, spotted on Highway 99 about 2 miles north of Earlimart in Tulare County, says:

"NO a la Proposicion 187 y NO a la Ley de Arizona -- Meg Whitman."

Thomas Holyoke, an associate professor of political science at California State University-Fresno, told us that according to Wednesday's Field Poll, Whitman's outreach is paying early dividends.

It appears to have helped, Holyoke said, that Whitman said she would have opposed Arizona controversial new immigration law. She said that even as GOP primary rival Steve Poizner was veering hard right on immigration.

Read the full story here, and check out a screen grab of a billboard that Whitman's campaign has put up in California.

Quotes From Arizona Law Makers on Federal Law Suit

The Az Daily Sun has a great compilation of Arizona politico's reaction to the federal law suit against SB1070.

The full article can be read here, and the quotes are below

Following are Arizona reactions the Federal Law Suit:

"This lawsuit is a sideshow, distracting us from the real task at hand. A court battle between the federal government and Arizona will not move us closer to securing the border or fixing America's broken immigration system. The legal fights and boycotts are drawing focus and attention away from what has to be a policy driven, substantive debate."

-- U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick D

"It's just so outrageous. it's just an absolute insult to the rule of law."

-- Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, the legislation's chief sponsor

"The American people must wonder whether the Obama administration is really committed to securing the border when it sues a state that is simply trying to protect its people by enforcing immigration law. The Obama administration has not done everything it can do to protect the people of Arizona from the violence and crime illegal immigration brings to our state. Until it does, the federal government should not be suing Arizona on the grounds that immigration enforcement is solely a federal responsibility."

-- Sens. John McCain (R) and Jon Kyl (R)

"Federal lawyers arguing with state lawyers will do nothing to strengthen border security or to fix our broken immigration laws. The supreme irony of the lawsuit is its premise that SB1070 intrudes on the federal government's responsibility to enforce immigration laws. Had the federal government taken that responsibility seriously in the past, neither today's lawsuit nor the state law that prompted it would be necessary."

-- U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D)

"The lawsuit is prudent and necessary. Prudent because you have to defend the constitutional prerogatives of all of us, including the federal government. And necessary because you have to test this law. And even the most ardent supporter, whether it's Jan Brewer or Russell Pearce, I hope after they took an oath of office to defend the constitution, would want to make sure they're defending and implementing the law that passes constitutional muster."

-- U.S. Rep Raul Grijalva (D)

"As a direct result of failed and inconsistent federal enforcement, Arizona is under attack from violent Mexican drug and immigrant smuggling cartels. Now, Arizona is under attack in federal court from President Obama and his Department of Justice."

-- Gov. Jan Brewer (R)

"Rather than challenging the Arizona law, the Obama administration's time would be much better spent working with Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform that would address the nation's underlying immigration problems. Arizona's new law will likely spawn a patchwork of new immigration laws around the country. This isn't an optimal approach. However, the response cannot be a patchwork of federal challenges. It needs to be comprehensive immigration reform.

-- U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake (R)

"What we need are solutions, not lawsuits. Until we get real solutions, more states will turn to band aid remedies to address this very important issue. It is disappointing to see the federal government choosing to intervene in a state statute instead of working with Arizona to create sustainable solutions to the illegal immigration issue that our state and country so desperately need."

-- Attorney General Terry Goddard (D)

"The administration's lawsuit is a cannon shot across the bow of other states that may be tempted to follow Arizona's misguided approach,"

-- Lucas Guttentag, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union

"Arizona's demagogue leaders have scapegoated immigrants, subordinated Latinos' civil rights, and fallen down a slippery slope. They have received a free pass for too long in part because they have engaged in persecution of a class of people they have tried to dehumanize and deem 'illegal.'"

-- Pablo Alvarado, director of National Day Labor Organizing Network

"The Obama administration has demonstrated that it will, following in the footsteps of its strongest predecessors, take action to preserve our longstanding constitutional plan, which has fostered our development into the great nation that we have long been. Gov. Jan Brewer cannot be permitted to pervert federal policy priorities and obstruct national progress all in the name of political pandering."

-- Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund

"I welcome the filing of the federal lawsuit which is designed to get a quick answer from the court on this issue. No one can deny that Arizona has borne a particular burden caused by the slowness of federal authorities, including Congress, to address this issue. Nevertheless, I believe the quickest way to get the preemption issue resolved is by the federal lawsuit."

-- Pinal County Attorney James Walsh

"We are already seeing and hearing immigrant and Latino families who are afraid to call on law enforcement. This fear frays the relationship between law enforcement and communities and makes their jobs more difficult."

-- Jennifer Allen, executive director, Border Action Network

"The concerted scapegoating of immigrants by some Arizona Republicans has poisoned our political environment, endangered our community, moved our nation further away from needed immigration reform, and above all, it has imperiled the civil rights of all Arizonans. Thankfully, the courts will have the last word."

-- Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox

"The federal government has failed to protect the people of Arizona from illegal aliens, so the state government, quite sensibly, moved to fill the void. This lawsuit should fail because it is based on the absurd assertion that Arizona should be punished for enforcing federal immigration laws which our current president and current attorney general have no interest in enforcing."

-- Former congressman and current U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth

"Instead of sending a sufficient number of National Guard troops and financial resources to secure the border, President Obama is sending lawyers."

-- Republican gubernatorial hopeful Buz Mills.

DOJ Sues Arizona over SB1070 News Roundup

The Department of Justice has officially filed suit against Arizona's SB1070 immigration law yesterday. I have compiled much of the reaction to the federal lawsuit here. Peruse at your leisure.

AP - Bob Christie - Feds vs. State Again in Suit Against Arizona Law - Link

The federal lawsuit against Arizona's tough new immigration law focuses heavily on a question that has been in the spotlight repeatedly the past decade and dates to the Founding Fathers: The right of the government to keep states from enacting laws that usurp federal authority.

The lawsuit filed in Phoenix federal court on Tuesday sidestepped concerns about the potential for racial profiling and civil rights violations most often raised by immigration advocates. Experts said those are weaker arguments that don't belong in a legal challenge brought by the White House to get the measure struck down.

USA Today - Editorial - Our View on Immigration: Suing Arizona Hurts Chances For Immigration Overhaul - Link

The irony in the Justice Department's lawsuit to block Arizona's obnoxious new immigration law is that neither the suit nor the law would be necessary if Washington had done its job enforcing federal immigration laws in the first place.

New York Times - Justice Dept. Sues Arizona Over Its Immigration Law - Link

CNN-John King - Immigration Law Heats Up - Link <

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New York Times - Arizona Law Causes Split For Governors Sharing Border - Link

For nearly 30 years, the governors of the states that line both sides of the United States-Mexico border have gathered to celebrate border bonhomie. They issue proclamations and pledges to work together, air grievances and concerns behind closed doors and pose for the cameras in symbolic showings of cooperation.

......Ms. Brewer happens by rotation to be the chairwoman and host of this year’s conference, scheduled for September at a resort in Phoenix. But after all six Mexican border governors wrote to her to say they intended to boycott the gathering to protest the new law, Ms. Brewer sent a letter of her own last week to the governors on both sides of the border saying she was canceling the whole conference.....

.....The Mexican governors had written that they would not step foot in Arizona because they considered the law, which Ms. Brewer signed in April and continues to promote, to be “based on ethnic and cultural prejudice contrary to fundamental rights.”

Washington Post - Chris Cillizza - The Fix - Immigration Emerging as a 2010 Issue - Link

Democratic strategists see the Arizona law as a key moment in the ongoing battle to win the loyalty of Hispanic voters. They believe that it will have a similar chilling effect for Republicans with Latinos as the passage of California's Proposition 187 did in the 1990s.

Republicans, on the other hand, believe that Democrats are badly out of step with the American people on the immigration issue. They cite the Obama administration's aggressive approach to fighting the Arizona law is yet more evidence of that out-of-touchness.

In that vein, nearly two dozen House Republicans sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday describing the legal challenge as the "height of irresponsibility and arrogance."

Arizona Republic - EJ Montini - Federal Lawsuit Against SB1070 Will Resolve Nothing - Link

So far, the only people benefitting from the hoopla over the law are the political candidates who are stumbling over themselves in order to look tough on immigration and border security. Already members of Arizona's delegation are rushing out statements, most of which condemn the very institution -- Congress -- where they work. And we're supposed to reelect them?

Many of these people have been in office for some time, decades even, and have done… nothing.

So, what we have are people who have done nothing arguing over lawsuits that do nothing concerning a law that, so far, has done… nothing.

Welcome to America.

KGUN 9 News - David Rush - Gov. Brewer Reacts to Federal Lawsuit Over SB1070 - Link

Governor Jan Brewer called the federal government's lawsuit over Arizona's new immigration law, "wrong." In a statement released today, the Governor said, "it is wrong that our own federal government is suing the people of Arizona for helping to enforce federal immigration law."

Brewer called Arizona's immigration law "reasonable" and "constitutional" and mirrors the same federal law that has been on the books for decades. "Arizona's law is designed to complement, not supplant, enforcement of federal immigration laws," said Brewer.

The Governor did applaud the Obama administration for not pursuing claims SB1070 will result in racial profiling. "I am pleased that President Obama and the Department of Justice did not pursue the baseless claims of illegal racial profiling in the lawsuit," Brewer said.

Tomorrow's Event w/ Mike Hais and Morley Winograd on the Changing Coalitions of 21st Century America

Tomorrow at noon at NDN , we'll be revealing the findings of a 2,500 person sample market-research study on the new political coalitions of 21st Century America.  This study is the second in a three-part series.  If you missed the first study, released back in March, be sure to read it here.  Many of the most interesting findings (I've had a sneak-peak!) are even more interesting in the context of the continuum from the last release.  Also be sure to read Simon's last blog post - it really sets the stage for what's to come.

Presenting the findings and offering analysis are our NDN Fellows and acclaimed authors of Millennial Makeover, Mike Hais and Morley Winograd.  For those of you who follow Mike's blog Data Matters, or Mike and Morley's joint blog, Millennial Makeover, this is an excellent opportunity to meet them in person and watch them talk through the refreshing, prescient analysis they've become known for.  There will also be an opportunity for Q&A so be sure to RSVP

As a member of the 21st Century America Project team, I am thrilled by the amount we've been able to do in such a short time.  Building on NDN's legacy of conducting and sharing excellent public opinion and demographic research, in the last few months we've taken a look at the changing Latino demographic landscape and the changing political landscape. And along the way, opinion-makers have been taking notice.

I hope you'll join us tomorrow. 

Unpublished
n/a

People Love the DREAM Act

People love the Dream Act...

If you work in any capacity on Immigration issues, this simple fact is inescapable. It is hard to dislike legislation that gives children an opportunity to seek a higher education.

Education, as the great equalizer, is a notion deeply tied to the American ideal of equity. The idea that anyone, no matter what their social class, can come to this country work hard, get an education and rise above their economic class is a powerful American narrative.

For the reasons mentioned above The DREAM Act remains very popular to both political parties. Senators Richard Durbin (D)  and Richard Lugar (R) have co-sponsored legislation in the Senate.  

Below is an excerpt from a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors  (DREAM) Act of 2009.

Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2009 or the DREAM Act of 2009 - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to repeal the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence unless a U.S. national is similarly eligible without regard to such state residence.

Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to cancel the removal of, and adjust to conditional permanent resident status, an alien who:

(1) entered the United States before his or her 16th birthday and has been present in the United States for at least five years immediately preceding enactment of this Act;

(2) is a person of good moral character;

(3) is not inadmissible or deportable under specified grounds of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(4) at the time of application, has been admitted to an institution of higher education or has earned a high school or equivalent diploma;

(5) from the age of 16 and older, has never been under a final order of exclusion, deportation, or removal; and

(6) was under age 35 on the date of this Act's enactment.

Sets forth the conditions for conditional permanent resident status, including:

(1) termination of status for violation of this Act; and

(2) removal of conditional status to permanent status.

Authorizes an alien who has satisfied the appropriate requirements prior to enactment of this Act to petition the Secretary for conditional permanent resident status.

Provides for:

(1) exclusive jurisdiction

(2) penalties for false application statements

(3) confidentiality

(4) fee prohibitions

(5) higher education assistance

(6) a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report respecting the number of aliens adjusted under this Act.

Now to decode some of the jargon in this very dry, very wonky legispeak.

The bulk of what this legislation does is undo some of the terrible policies passed in the 1996 Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA). 

It is somewhat amazing, in the current climate of enforcement and continued hysteria over all things Immigration, that before IIRIRA was enacted, your immigration status was not an impediment when applying to college.

This legislation also provides undocumented immigrants the ability to apply for  conditional permanent residency (under a list of caveats listed above) which would then give them the opportunity to go to college.

If you want to get really wonky, you can look up the definition of what a permanent resident is over at the Department of Homeland Security website here.

The rest I think speaks for itself. Read the whole thing  here and make sure to follow the Trail of Dreams, which follows a group of undocumented immigrants on their journey from Miami, FL to Washington D.C. to share their stories, "so that everyday Americans understand what it’s like for the millions of young immigrants like us, unable to fully participate in society."

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