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January 2001
January 12th
- Last Tuesday, Linda Chavez asked president-elect George W. Bush to withdraw her nomination as Secretary of Labor. Chavez, the controversial columnist and former Reagan administration official, announced her decision after it became known that for two years she had taken in and given money to an undocumented immigrant. Though Chavez insists she had acted out of compassion and not as an employer, her ability to apply and uphold the law was immediately questioned. In this report, Guadalupe Carrasco elaborates on Linda Chavez's failed nomination and the questions this case brings up about the way immigration affairs might be dealt with under a George W. Bush administration.
- With a growing number of immigrants dying trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, human rights advocates in San Diego and Tijuana this week called for a zero-tolerance policy on such deaths. Attorney Claudia Smith, director of the Border Project Foundation of California Rural Legal Aid, announced some recent data that brings to light the high cost in human lives of the current border policies. Maria Eraņa has the details.
- In Los Angeles, Ubaldo Martinez, a prostate cancer survivor, is on a personal crusade among his relatives, colleagues, and neighbors over forty years of age. His mission is to convince them to take an early detection test, since a late detection of this cancer is fatal in most cases. Our correspondent Ruben Tapia reports.
January 19th
- Bert Corona, tireless organizer and defender of undocumented workers, is recognized as one of the most important leaders in the struggle by Mexicans for labor and human rights. He was a founding member of such immigrant-empowering organizations as the National Council of La Raza, the Mexican-American Political Association (MAPA), and Hermandad Mexicana (Mexican Brotherhood), of which he was co-director until his death in Los Angeles last Monday. In this 1995 interview for Noticiero Latino, Bert Corona recalls the harsh conditions in which Mexicans lived when they first began organizing to fight for their rights.
- This week, the U.S. Senate held confirmation hearings for various nominees for President-elect George W. Bush's cabinet. The most contentious hearing has been that of John Ashcroft, nominated by Bush for the post of Attorney General. The Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) is among the diverse national organizations that have questioned Ashcroft's record. Attorney Beatriz Lopez explains why.
- More than 500 thousand California residents were affected by this week's rolling blackouts, a measure taken in the face of the state's current energy woes. From Sacramento, our contributor Armando Botello comments on this and other measures being taken by Gov. Gray Davis and other legislators to alleviate this crisis.
January 26th
- Last Saturday, George W. Bush was sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States in a grand ceremony, followed by various inaugural balls. However, the inauguration of the nation's new commander-in-chief also drew many protests out in the streets. Our correspondent in Washington, Patricia Guadalupe, reports on this controversial inauguration and on the first Latin American issues that will be addressed by the Bush administration.
- Bert Corona, one of the greatest defenders and advocates of immigrant civil rights, was laid to rest last Sunday. A day earlier, hundreds of people took part in a march in Los Angeles to pay homage to Corona's contributions to the development of Latino political power. Ruben Tapia, our correspondent in Los Angeles, gathered some testimonials from participants about the importance of Bert Corona's legacy.
- International aid has begun to arrive in El Salvador, after the recent earthquake that left more than 800 people dead and thousands of others without homes. However, most of those affected have yet to receive any of that aid. Representative Shaffick Handal, of the El Salvador's Partido Frente Farabundo Marti, was in Los Angeles a few days ago to personally report on the magnitude of the disaster his country is living through. Maria Eraņa has the details.