National Latino Congreso

National Latino Congreso 2012
May 17-19, 2012




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¿Permisos para 'sin papeles'?
Así como en Arizona y Alabama se han promovido legislaciones que restringen derechos a los inmigrantes sin papeles, en California se estará impulsando una iniciativa que otorgaría permiso de trabajo legal a los indocumentados.

Se trata del "Plan California", una iniciativa que ayer se reveló en el Congreso Latino que se llevó a cabo en el Pitzer College de Claremont, con la cual se estaría desafiando a las leyes federales ante la inacción del Congreso y de la Casa Blanca respecto a la reforma migratoria.

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2011 California Latino Congreso

Conveners

The 2011 National Latino Congreso is convened by the following:

  • Hermandad Mexicana
  • The Latina/Latino Roundtable
  • Central American Resource Center/Centro De Recursos Centroamericanos (Carecen)
  • National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC) nalacc.org
  • Consejo de Federaciones Mexicanas en Norteamérica (COFEM)
  • Anahuak Sports Association (AYSA)
  • William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI) wcvi.org
  • Community Union
  • Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) mapa-ca.org

ENDORSERS

2011 Organizational Endorsers
  • abelgmos.org
  • Anahuak Youth Sports Association
  • Bread for the World
  • Carlos Montes
  • Committee in Solidary with The People of El Salvador (CISPES)
  • Community Union, Inc.
  • Comunidad Salvadoreña La Placita
  • Danzantes del Sol
  • El Centro del Pueblo
  • Famailies Against Solitary Confinement
  • Families to Amend California's Three Strikes - FACTS
  • FRHLA-D19
  • Get Out The Jail Vote/Proyecto Common Touch
  • Green Stage Alliance/Stage of the Arts, Inc.
  • Guatemala Education Action Project (GEAP)
  • Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana
  • International Truck Drivers Association
  • labelgmos.org
  • Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. - Lambda Zeta Alumni Chapter
  • Latino Democrats of the San Fernando Valley
  • MAPA San Diego
  • Maynard Consulting Services, Inc.
  • Mundo Maya Foundation
  • Piñata Productions
  • Pomona College
  • Repsect Respeto
  • Salvadoran American National Association (SANA)
  • School of the Americas Watch - Los Angeles
  • Southern California Immigration Coalition (SCIC)
  • The City Project
  • The Journal On Latino Americans
  • Union del Barrio
2011 Elected Official Endorsers
  • Andrea Quintero - City of El Monte
  • Angie Reyes English - City of Hawthorne, Councilwoman
  • Leticia Garcia - Fontana Unified Board of Education
  • Norma Macias- El Monte City Council
  • Paul Solano - Bassett Unified School District
  • Phil Reyes - Duarte City Council
  • Rene Aguilera - Roseville City School District Board Trustee
  • Steve Gallardo - Arizona State Senator - District 13
  • Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez - Azusa USD
2011 Individual Endorsers
  • Alan Fiszman
  • Armando Cepeda
  • Carlos Montes
  • Javier Rodriguez
  • John Barron
  • Jose Lara
  • Noemi Munoz
  • Tommy Escarcega

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California Latinos Launch 2012 Organizing Campaign

Goal: Mobilize Massive Latino Vote for Key Opportunities, Initiatives in 2012

(Los Angeles, October 31, 2011) Delegates representing scores of Latino organizations across California agreed to set up Congreso Campaign Committees to massively mobilize the Latino vote and support several initiatives that would provide California status to immigrants, reform local government, label genetically modified foods, and reform the three strikes law.

“Our goal is for California to show the way forward for Latino empowerment and fairness for immigrants. Towards that end the Congreso coalition will register and turnout massive numbers of voters and gather more than half a million signatures for the initiatives we support. The organizing follow up to Saturday’s convention starts immediately,” said Antonio Gonzalez, President, William C. Velasquez Institute.

“Now numbering over 50 million, Latinos will play an unprecedented role in the 2012 elections. The community will again organize to ensure their voices are heard and needs are met. California will be poised to lead the way in establishing common sense reforms that help integrate hard working Latino families and immigrants into our society. It is critically important that our community’s support is not taken for granted yet again,” said Arturo Carmona, Executive Director, Council of Mexican Federations.

California Forward, one of the Congreso’s principle sponsors, applauded the group’s efforts to alleviate the crisis impacting Latino families in California.

“Latinos are trapped in a ‘vicious cycle’ – high school dropout rates are leading to lower employment opportunities, no health insurance, high poverty rates, and high crime rates,” said Richard Raya, California Forward’s Director of Policy. “We believe better education leads to better jobs, which leads to a healthier population, less crime, and ultimately, less pressure on government budgets. We call that the Virtuous Cycle and it’s what we hope to work with Congreso delegates to develop,” Raya concluded.

Deliberating at the first California Latino Congreso, the delegates agreed to prioritize working in areas where Latino communities will have an opportunity to elect their candidates to state or federal offices, including:

  • San Gabriel Valley
  • Inland Empire
  • San Diego County
  • South LA
  • San Fernando Valley
  • Salinas Valley
  • San Joaquin Valley

“The California Latino Congreso, in unifying hundreds of leaders from throughout the state, has laid the foundation for a common action plan that will energize thousands in advancing immigrant rights, job creation, and quality of life initiatives. In a time when historically excluded communities have the potential of being further excluded from the political process, the California Latino Congreso has come up with a progressive agenda and proactive strategy of advocacy, voter registration, and mobilization that will serve as a model of transformational change throughout the country,” said Dr. Jose Calderon, President of the Latina/Latino Roundtable of the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.

Delegates from across the state were especially interested in the “California Plan” which would grant temporary status for certain immigrant taxpayers, and follows a recent string of pro-immigrant and other progressive legislative victories in Sacramento.

“The California plan is a win-win initiative. California’s undocumented immigrants will pay more than 2.7 billion in state and local taxes and at the same time it would integrate undocumented immigrants in a positive way into the social fabric of the state improving the quality of life of all Californians,” said Martha Arevalo, President of the CARECEN Board of Directors.

The two day event took place from 6pm on Oct 28 through the evening of Oct 29 at Pitzer College in Claremont, California. The Congreso Conveners included: National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, Council of Mexican Federations, Latina/Latino Roundtable, Greenlining Institute, Mexican American Political Association, Anahuak Youth Sports Association, Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, Central American Resource Center, Community Union, and William C. Velasquez Institute. California Forward helped sponsor the Congreso as well.





Latino Leaders Unveil California Empowerment Agenda for 2012

Focus includes empowering a million Latino voters in key elections, supporting ballot measures that give legal status to immigrant taxpayers, reform government, reform the 3 strikes law, and many others

(Los Angeles, October 29, 2011) Latinos have much to gain by massively voting due to important ballot initiatives and electoral opportunities at the federal, state, and local levels said more than 250 Latino organizations from communities across California gathered at the Latino Congreso. Latinos will be very important in the elections even though California will not be a Presidential swing state.

"It is evident that California must take matters into their own hands, as a state, on issues like our immigrant population and job creation, and therefore keeping our constituencies informed, and providing relevancy to the issues is crucial, making this California Congreso imperative to the future of California," says Larry Ortega, President of Community Union, Inc.

Hearing presentations from elected officials, ballot measure sponsors, and electoral analysts, community leaders pledged to organize grassroots committees throughout the state to do massive signature gathering, and advocacy for measures they supported, as well as voter registration and mobilization, especially in areas where the Latino vote is decisive.

“The Latino Congreso action plan will harness the desire for change and fair representation for Latinos as a positive force energizing the Latino vote. The California Empowerment Agenda for 2012 adopted at the California Latino Congreso will position the State as leading the progressive agenda in the entire country. We are very excited about that” Angela Sanbrano, President of NALACC

Delegates from across the state were especially interested in the “California Plan” which would grant temporary legal status for certain immigrant taxpayers, as well as reports that numerous communities will have an opportunity to elect their candidate of choice for the first time at the state and federal legislative levels.

"California is no longer what it was in 1994, the worst anti-immigrant period of recent memory. The California Latino Congreso will soon demonstrate that the state can be the diametrical opposite of Arizona, and hopefully set a new trend nationally in terms of attitudes and actions towards its new immigrant residents. This is the significance of this Congreso," declared Nativo Lopez, National President of MAPA and the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana

The Congreso lauded Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, and Speaker John Perez for the efforts to reduce sentencing disparities, promote immigrant rights, and maintain state services to the underserved.

The two day event took place from 6pm on Oct 28 through the evening of Oct 29 and concluded with a pledge to start organizing around the state immediately. The Congreso Conveners included: National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities, Council of Mexican Federations, Latina/Latino Roundtable, Greenlining Institute, Mexican American Political Association, Anahuak Youth Sports Association, Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, Central American Resource Center, Community Union, and William C. Velasquez Institute. California Forward helped sponsor the Congreso as well. See latinocongreso.org for the full list of speakers.