News and notes: The ohio commission on hispanic/latino affairs

Policy Articles Brief
OHIO

Legislators, Judges Offer Plan to Stem Growth in Prison Population
Ohio legislative and judicial officials unveiled a plan to avert projected growth in the state’s already crowded in prison system and save at least 62 million in corrections spending over the next four years. Currently Ohio’s prison population of 50,987 is at 133% of the state’s rated capacity, while crowding is expected to reach 140% by 2015. In legislation sponsored by Senator Bill Seitz and Senator Shirley Smith, policies would “hold offenders accountable in more meaningful ways; make smarter, more effective use of community corrections programs; and strengthen probation supervision.” Gongwer News Service, Inc. 2.2.2011 

Kasich Names First Minority Member to Cabinet; Colbert to Lead ODJFS
Gov. John Kasich added some diversity to his cabinet with the announcement of Michael Colbert, an African-American, as the director or Depart of Job and Family Services. Mr. Colbert was previously the group’s interim director since last month and is the first minority named to Kasich’s cabinet. He has served as the chief financial officer for the Strickland Administration and has fifteen years prior government experience with the State Auditor’s Office.  Gongwer News Service, Inc. 2.2.2011 

Protecting Pay: Minimum Wage Claims in Ohio
Policy Matter Ohio examined all of the minimum wage cases filed between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009 within the state of Ohio. The 940 complaints were filed in 73 of the state’s 88 counties and most were resolved in favor of the worker. The largest number of complaints came in the accommodations and food service industry, including restaurants.  Policy Matters Ohio. 2.3.2011 

AROUND THE UNITED STATES

Immigration

Report: Immigration Law Not Enforced Consistently
According to a study by the Migration Policy Institute, some local law enforcement agencies, particularly in the Southeast, are turning over illegal immigrants who commit even minor offenses, while other are focused solely on deporting more violent criminals. The institute said that conflicting messages from the U.S. government and local political pressure is responsible for the discrepancy. The study, which examined a program that allowed local agencies to actively participate in federal law, found that several agencies in North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina were turning over every illegal immigrant taken in to custody. This severity stems from the fact that the four states were in the top six in terms of growth rates of foreign-born populations from 1990 to 2009. Among the sites studies, only Los Angeles was unique, as officials there don’t check immigration status until someone is convicted of a crime. This approach was denoted by Jerry Gonzales, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, as “a professional approach towards public safety and law enforcement.” Associated Press. 1.31.2011.  

Unauthorized Immigrant Population: National and State Trends, 2010
As of March 2010, 11.2 million unauthorized immigrants were living in the United States, which was virtually unchanged from a year earlier. As released in a report from the Pew Hispanic Center, this stability in 2010 follows a two-year decline form the peak of 12 million in 2007 to 11.1 million in 2009. The number of unauthorized immigrants in the nation’s workforce, 8 million, and the number of children born to at least one unauthorized-immigrant parent in 2009, 350,000, also remained unchanged from the previous year. The Center also claims that unauthorized immigrants make up 3.7% of the nation’s population and 5.2% of its workforce. The decline in the population of unauthorized immigrants from its peak in 2007 appears due mainly to a decrease in the number from Mexico, which accounts for 58% of all unauthorized immigrants.  Pew Research Center. 2.1.2011

Illegal-Immigration Enforcement Program Takes a Toll on U.S. Hispanic Population, Report Says
A program that deputizes local police officers to enforce immigration laws sent the Hispanic population plummeting in many places across the United States according to a report released by the Migration Policy Institute. The study focused on seven places-including the counties of Prince William and frederick- that have adopted the federal 287 (g) program, which is currently used by 70 state and local law enforcement agencies in 25 states. In some cases, such as the 61% drop in Frederick County, the initial decrease was steep. Under the $68 million program, local police officers are trained to determine the immigration status of people they arrest and flag those found to be in the country illegally to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Although ICE has said it prioritizes deportation of people with serious criminal backgrounds, some of the jurisdictions participating in the program seek to remove as many undocumented immigrants as possible, regardless of their criminal background, the study found. Frederick was among them, the institute found. In fiscal 2010, the county detained 198 undocumented immigrants through the 287 (g) program, and 120 were traffic offenders. Although they denied that the county is trying to deport as many illegal immigrants as possible, Franklin County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins claimed that undocumented traffic violators are potential threats.  The Washington Post. 2.1.201

Human Trafficking  
Human Trafficking is Hard to Prove, Hard to Stop
Although authorities know that thousands of men, women, and children are trafficked in Texas, proving it in a court of law is difficult. Investigators say that victims of trafficking are compelled into involuntary servitude, captivity, or prostitution. Sean McElroy of Homeland Security claims “they may be victims of trafficking that do not even know it.” Initially victims are identified as illegal immigration cases until interviews demonstrate that they entered the U.S. against their will. Beginning this year, state law requires newly sworn officials to take a course in human trafficking, which would provide them with the knowledge to stop human trafficking rings that pass through Texas. Also, Texas Rep. Todd Hunter wants to create a shared statewide database that would store information related to human trafficking arrests and convictions, while illustrating demographic patterns.  Houston Chronicle. 1.31.2011 

Federal Task Force Organizes Against Human Trafficking
The U.S. State Department is pledging to be more aggressive in combating human trafficking. The State Department plans to join with other federal agencies in a task force to investigate and prosecute cases of forced prostitution and labor. During a State Department meeting this week, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton called for “ending the practice of punishing victims of human trafficking.” For the first time this year, the United States will be included as one of the countries that has failed to prevent acts of slavery, as the problem lies in most southern states, with South Florida identified to be the U.S. hub of organized crime that includes slavery and human trafficking. This news comes as the State Department prepares its 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report, which guides prosecutions and U.S. policies toward countries that allow human trafficking by ranking them in a four-tier system.  All Headline News. 2.2.2011 

Human Trafficking Cases Database
The Human Trafficking Clinical Program led by Bridget Carr at the University of Michigan  Law School made available a human trafficking database to search part and current cases. There is also an option to search past and present cases to the database. The database can be found at: http://www.law.umich.edu/clinical/HuTrafficCases/Pages/searchdatabase.aspx. The University of Michigan Law School. 2.3.2011 

Education  
Some English Learners are Lagging Behind
In Mountain View Schools, a growing number of elementary and middle school students learning to speak English, is lagging. This number is comprised mostly of the area’s low-income Spanish speaking Latino families. Recent data acknowledged that there was a definite correlation between Latino students and low English proficiency, but attributed the gap to socioeconomic factors. Scores from the California English Language Development Test show that 23% of English-learning Hispanics were at the beginner level as opposed to 30% of white English learners. The low scores concerned schools officials, as Hispanics make up about 30% of the Mountain view Student Body. The district is working to reach less affluent families and make it easier for parents to engage with teachers and administration by providing translators.  Mountain View Voice. 1.31.2011 

Civil Rights 
MALDEF Wins Ninth Circuit Decision Upholding Verdict Against Arizona Vigilante for Attack on Immigrants
In the Ninth Ciruit’s ruling on Vicente v. Barnett, they upheld an Arizona jury verdict against a vigilante rancher operating along the Arizona-Mexico border. The circuit affirmed the jury’s decision that the vigilante was liable for assaulting a group of immigrants he found on public land and he must pay approximately $87,000 in damages. They also ruled that the rancher, Roger Barnett, was not entitled to claim self-defense because he openly admitted that none of the migrants he assaulted had threatened him. Prior to Barnett’s attack. the plaintiff’s had been resting on the ground in Douglas, Arizona. Barnett, armed with a gun and a dog held the group captive, threatening that his dog would attack and he would shoot anyone who tried to leave. David Hinojosa, the MALDEF attorney in the case, commented that this ruling sends a strong message to that vigilantes will not be tolerated in Arizona.  The MALDEFian. 2.4.2011 

Latino Health Issues
Hispanic Health Issues at a Glance
The Center for American Progress’s new fact sheet, Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity, spells out health issues facing the nation’s minority groups.  Hispanic chronic health conditions include:   .    10% of Hispanics of all ages report they are in fair or poor health.     .    About 40% of Latinos age 20 and older were obese in 2008.     .    14% of Hispanics have been diagnosed with diabetes compared with 8% of whites.     .    Hispanic women contract cervical cancer at twice the rate of white women.     .    One in five Hispanics report not seeking medical care due to language barriers. Hispanic health care coverage statistics include:     .    68% of Hispanics had health insurance coverage in 2009 compared to 88% of whites.     .    35% of non-elderly uninsured Hispanics report having chronic health conditions.    .    Close to a third of Hispanics lack a usual source of health care and 46% of uninsured Hispanics who report having chronic health conditions lack regular care. Salud Today. 2.2.2011 

Business 
Hispanic Entrepreneur Enjoys Success with Green Business
Hispanic Ernesto Gutierrez is the founder of a company that offers environmental remediation, logistics, engineering compliance and construction services. Recently, due to the government’s promotion of environmental friendly businesses, Gutierrez is enjoying a great deal of success. His firm, Allied Industries Inc., has experienced impressive growth in recent years in spite of the recession. Gutierrez, who only has a high school diploma, got his start twenty years ago painting houses for $5 an hour. Since then his financial fortunes have changed dramatically as his company’s annual revenue is projected to reach $55 million in the 2011 fiscal year. The success also has been recognized by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which awarded Gutierrez its Hispanic Business Elite Award last year.  Fox News Latino. 2.2.2011

Legislative Bill Tracking For 129th General Assembly
To access the full bill text, please visit the following site and type in the bill number: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/search.cfm