The News

Virginia allows officials to prohibit civil services to undocumented immigrants

Va. County Passes Law Targeting Illegal Immigrants. Targeting is an understatement.
A county in Virginia has passed one of the most aggressive measures targeting illegal immigrants. The Board of Supervisors in Prince William County, outside Washington, D.C., says police will be able to ask about immigration status and county officials will be able to deny services to undocumented persons, ranging from non-emergency medical care to public parks, to libraries. They say they feel compelled to do something in the wake of Congress’s failure to overhaul immigration law. Opponents call the measure racist.—NPR

The Working Poor and College Access. Why most college should be free.
Despite the fact that the working poor who take college courses think of themselves as students first and employees second, their work place commitments, financial stressors and familial obligations pose particular challenges to full-time attendance and degree completion, as detailed in a new report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy.—Inside Higher Ed

Road to New Life After Katrina Is Closed to Many. The Times doesn’t say ‘race,’ but its clear
As of late May, however, there were still more than 30,000 families displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita spread across the country in apartments paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and another 13,000 families, down from a peak of nearly 18,000, marooned in trailer or mobile home parks, where hunger is so prevalent that lines form when the truck from the food bank appears.—NYTimes

Environmental Racism Study Finds Levels Of Inequality Defy Simple Explanation. One (narrow) view.
“The results may surprise people who think that environmental racial inequality is due solely to poverty and residential segregation,” said Downey, a sociologist. “Instead, it seems likely that the role these factors play in shaping environmental inequality is highly contingent on local conditions.”—Science Daily

Sick Toddler’s Parents Face Deportation. Oh the humanity
Victor and Maria Roa hope their daughter’s life gets easier after delicate surgery Thursday to expand her constricted artery. But they aren’t sure what will happen to her two weeks later, when the couple is under orders to report to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with their bags packed for a one-way trip to Mexico.—Associated Press.

Candidates lost in Chinese translation. The greater the challenge…
Boston’s 2008 presidential primary ballot could read like a bad Chinese menu. There might be “Sticky Rice” in column A, “Virtue Soup” in column B and, in column C, “Upset Stomach.” Those could be choices facing some voters if the names of Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and Hillary Rodham Clinton were converted into Chinese characters, according to Massachusetts’ top election official. And that gives Secretary of State William Galvin heartburn. —USA Today

U.S.-born Latinos not as healthy as immigrants. And the award for most invisible racial analysis goes to…
Hispanics born and raised in the United States may be in poorer health than new immigrants — with higher rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.—Reuters.

‘Gay forum’ to feature Clinton, Obama. This is exciting.
The Los Angeles forum will be televised on Logo and streamed on its website and will focus on “issues of importance to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community,” according to an HRC press release. Panelists asking the questions will be HRC President Joe Solmonese and singer and advocate Melissa Etheridge, who is a lesbian. Currently, Clinton and Obama are the only confirmed candidates, although their participation surely will lead others to follow.—Baptist Press.

Posted at 8:10 AM, Jul 12, 2007 in News | Permalink | View Comments