Politicians are eyeing the senate seat of Dianne Feinstein. Could California see two Latinos in the U.S. Senate? One name floating around is former Los Angeles congressman and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. While he hasn’t commented about it – and wouldn’t as a sitting Cabinet secretary anyway – Becerra is on a hypothetical short list that includes former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, among others.
Author Archives: Patricia Guadalupe
Raised in Puerto Rico, Patricia Guadalupe is a bilingual multimedia journalist based in Washington, D.C., covering the capital for both English and Spanish-language media outlets. She is also an adjunct professor in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C., and with the Washington bureau of the South Florida Media Network at Florida International University. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and has a Master’s from the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University.
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: Biden Administration must do more on immigration
Biden has not done enough on immigration. The Biden administration promised to get rid of the Trump-era Title 42, a presidential executive order that allows U.S. immigration officials to turn away migrants at the U.S. borders without a hearing. Immigrant advocates called the program a clear slam at immigrants, and while the current administration says it wants to see it end as it wends its way through the courts, the Biden White House has proposed to deal with an influx of immigrants by allowing a certain number of migrants each month – 30,000 – from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela on “parole” if they pass a background check and if they have financial sponsors here in the states. The White House has not said why migrants from those particular countries would be allowed in and others left out.
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: Congress wraps with no action on farm workers or DACA
The massive $1.7 trillion – trillion with a T – bill of which the farmworkers and DREAMers legislation would have been a part of includes a funding boost for the U.S. Border Patrol, which is in line to hire several hundred new agents for what the agency says is an expected influx at the U.S.-Mexico border if Title 42 ends.
Posted inOpinion
COMMENTARY: CA Congressman Pete Aguilar elected Democratic Caucus Chair
Pete Aguilar moves up from the vice chair position to become the third-most powerful Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives. “It’s not lost on me what my election means for my community, for the Latino community,” Aguilar said last week at a gathering of House Democrats. “Being a kid from San Bernardino, having an opportunity to guide this caucus is a great responsibility and I don’t take it lightly.”
Posted inOpinion
COLUMN: Latinos gain in Congress
With the midterm gains in Latino seats by Democrats and Republicans, for the first time Latinos are expected to make up more than 10% of the members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Posted inPolitics
COMMENTARY: Will Latinos win in California Congressional races?
What’s at stake for California Latinos running for Congress.
Posted inJustice
COMMENTARY: Again, Latinos wait in wings for TPS renewal
Many pressing issues will be sidelined as the United States makes Russian leader Vladimir Putin a priority. But right now, immigration policy is a pot boiling over, and what is happening in Ukraine directly affects everything.