The Age of ‘Crimmigration’

Staff / Truthdig Feb 25, 2009 A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center reports that Latinos now constitute the largest single ethnic group in the U.S. federal prison system. The rising arrest and detention levels are driven largely by changes in immigration law that criminalize undocumented immigration, with nearly half of all Latino offenders jailed on immigration-related "crimes." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

And Commerce Secretary Goes to …

Staff / Truthdig Dec 3, 2008 Bearded political renaissance man and current governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson was picked Wednesday morning to be Barack Obama's secretary of commerce. The unsurprising move makes Richardson the latest politician drafted by Team Obama, who point to Richardson's experience at the U.N., as governor, and as energy secretary. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Catholics Can’t Vote for Obama?

By Will Evans, Center for Investigative Reporting Nov 3, 2008 In a last-ditch attempt to derail Latino support for Obama, an anti-abortion crusader and an activist against illegal immigration have teamed up to send a retired Texas bishop's message to nearly 3 million Latino voters by e-mail and to even more by radio. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Los Actores de ‘Ugly Betty’ Se Oponen a la Prop. 8

Staff / Truthdig Oct 29, 2008 If you can read this headline, you might be part of the audience that this No on Prop. 8 ad is targeting, with a little help from three key "Ugly Betty" cast members. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

ICE Raid Arrest Numbers Rise

Staff / Truthdig Aug 27, 2008 ICE raids -- federal officials who bust into rural factory towns to arrest suspected "illegal immigrants" -- continued this week in Laurel, Miss. The town of about 18,000 saw federal officials revise the number of people arrested in the raid to 595. It remained unknown whether the majority of detainees would serve jail time or be immediately deported. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

McCain Grilled on Immigration

Staff / Truthdig Jul 15, 2008 Following an appearance by Barack Obama the day before, Sen. John McCain faced some tough questions about his stance on immigration Monday at a meeting with members of the National Council of La Raza in San Diego, where he denied Obama's claim that he had changed his tune on the immigration issue to please his Republican base. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bienvenido, Soy John McCain

Staff / Truthdig May 6, 2008 Whether it's just window dressing or the opening salvo of a serious effort to court the Latino vote, John McCain has launched a Spanish-language Web site. While McCain was once a champion of immigration reform, he did a substantial bit of pandering during the Republicans-only leg of the campaign. In fact, he even said at one point that he wouldn't vote for his own immigration bill. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Richardson Backs Obama

Staff / Truthdig Mar 21, 2008 New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who gave up his own run at the nomination in January, is endorsing Barack Obama. The nod from the country's only Latino governor comes at a point in the campaign when the Hispanic vote will be less of a factor. Updated. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Looking Beyond the ‘Racial Divide’

Bill Boyarsky / Truthdig Mar 18, 2008 Sen. Barack Obama's latest, and possibly greatest, challenge is to overcome a simplistic view that the United States is hopelessly split by a racial divide that could badly damage his candidacy. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Momentum vs. Toughing It Out

Staff / Truthdig Feb 11, 2008 With a win in the Maine caucuses, Barack Obama has scored four lopsided victories in a row and the map favors him for weeks to come. Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, responded to her troubles by replacing her campaign manager. Clinton now has to hold back Obama's momentum long enough to win the big states weeks from now, a strategy that did not help Rudy Guiliani. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

The Price of Antagonizing Latinos

E.J. Dionne Jr. / Truthdig Dec 11, 2007 With respect to Latino voters, politicians find themselves between a surge and a backlash. While popular anti-immigrant rhetoric could help Republicans take back House seats, it could well cost them the presidency. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

¿Cómo Se Dice? ¿Cómo Se Llama? ¡Obama! ¡Obama!

Staff / Truthdig Jun 4, 2007 Latino supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama are attempting to fill what they see as a "void in media outreach" to voters from their communities by creating the site "Amigos de Obama," where supporters can blog, coordinate events and even download a ringtone and special reggaeton tribute to the "skinny dude with the funny name." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )