1976 ~ 32 years of service ~ 2008 - university of arizona · elindependiente 1976 ~ 32 years of...

May 8 / 8 mayo 2008Free/gratis South Tucson’s Bilingual Newspaper

1976 ~ 32 Years of Service ~ 2008EL

INDEPENDIENTENogales Shelter BusyWith ReturneesTens of thousands passthrough Juan Bosco Shelter.

SPECIAL SECTION:SANCTIONS

IMPACT

Services Availablefor MigrantsMexican Consulate, non-profitorganizations offer help.

Manager lives a lieSome migrants have to hideillegal status from employer.

...see page 4

...see page 4, 5 and 7

...see page 7

Chicano Reporter Honored

By Christina Foglia

Mexican-American journalist RubenSalazar was honored on April 22with the release of a new 42-centstamp commemorating his life’swork.

The U.S. Postal Service hasreleased a new series of stampsdedicated to journalists.

Salazar was a Los AngelesTimes journalist in the 1950s and‘60s who was killed by a U.S. sher-iff’s deputy while covering aprotest in L.A. on Aug. 29, 1970.

He is best remembered for cov-ering the Mexican-American com-munity at a time when many facedsocial inequality, economic depri-vation and police oppression.

Roberto Rodriguez, a researchassociate at the University ofArizona’s Mexican-AmericanStudies program, recently wrotethat “the issuance of a U.S. postalstamp is a fitting tribute, yet, astamp is not large enough to con-vey his life’s work, nor the impactthat his death has had upon anentire generation.”

“He was very active in defenseof his community,” Rodriguezsays. “In journalism, that’s some-times frowned upon because you’renot supposed to take a position.But how can people be objective inthe sense of pretending thingsaren’t happening?”

Many of the issues Salazarfocused on as a journalist are stilltalked about today, but he was writ-

ing about social equality in the late1950s, Rodriguez says. “He wasway before his time.”

Salazar left the Times to reportfor Channel 34, a Spanish-lan-guage television station, becausehe felt that what he wrote aboutneeded to reach Spanish speakers,Rodriguez says.

While covering a protest in EastL.A., Salazar was struck in thehead and killed by a nine-inch teargas projectile fired by police. Noone was ever convicted for hisdeath, Rodriguez says.

“People didn’t feel that he diedon accident,” Rodriguez says.

The new stamp is available inall U.S. Postal Service officesand in some stamp vendingmachines.

Olga Briseño, director of the Media, Democracy and Policy Institute, left, stands with Lisa Salazar Johnson, right, atthe unveiling of the new stamp honoring Ruben Salazar, a Los Angeles Times reporter killed by police while coveringa protest in 1970.

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By Amelia Quiroga

Sunnyside Unified School Districtseniors recently took requiredAIMS tests, but those who don’tpass will be banking on a plan thatallows students to adjust theirAIMS scores with class credithours.

Although the original 2006-07augmentation plan timeline expiredon Dec. 31, the expectation is thatit will be reinstated in time forgraduation.

Since 2006, Arizona studentswho haven’t passed the AIMS testsby 12th grade have been able to usetheir course grades to augmenttheir test scores. Scores could beadjusted upward based on the gradereceived for the course work inareas corresponding to AIMS sub-jects. But as of Jan. 1, that measurehad been repealed, causing the stateto reconsider permanently reinstat-ing it.

The state Board of Educationsubmitted an emergency measureto the House to reinstate AIMSaugmentation because the ArizonaDepartment of Education predictedthat 4,000 to 5,000 studentsstatewide would not meet theAIMS requirement to graduate.

“There will be about 5,000 stu-dents who won’t graduate,” saidAlex Duran, the district director ofresearch, assessment and evalua-tion. “I don’t think the state isready to handle that.”

Graduation is determined bytwo requirements: completingcourse work with passing gradesand passing AIMS. “Now that [the state] is discover-

ing that 5,000 students won’t grad-uate across the state,” said Duran,“they’re having to rethink this.”

Without the AIMS augmenta-tion available, the state allows dis-tricts to provide students withsome form of high school comple-tion certificate. Sunnyside districtapproved a “Certificate ofCompletion” to provide to studentswho don’t meet the AIMS require-ment but do meet the courseworkrequirement. Although the certifi-cate is not equivalent to a highschool diploma or GED, it permitsthe student to participate in gradua-tion ceremonies.

However, Duran expects thataugmentation will be reinstatedmaking the “Certificate ofCompletion” void. May 20 is theearliest date of the district’s highschool graduation.

5,000SeniorsMay NotGraduate

By Claire Landowski

For many low-income families,buying a house is a dream thatremains out of reach. For others, itis a dream that has turned into anightmare. The evidence is spreadacross Tucson’s residential streets:foreclosure signs litter neighbor-hoods from Oro Valley to Vail.

The cause isn’t just the slowhousing market. Subprime loansand predatory lending practiceshave caused more of the foreclo-sures in Tucson than other market-driven factors, says B.C. Robinson,a housing counselor at TucsonUrban League.

Arizona posts the nation’s third-highest foreclosure rate, andTucson ranks 54th among metroareas nationwide. Currently, thecity lists 594 foreclosures. PimaCounty reported 601 foreclosuresduring the month of February orone for ever 677 households,according to www.realtytrac.com,a website that tracks real estate

trends nationwide. “A lender will qualify (a family)

for more than they can afford,”Robinson says. “A mortgage shouldbe no more than 30 percent of a fam-ily’s income.”

Maggie Amado-Tellez, housingdirector at Chicanos por la Causa,says that subprime lenders oftentarget low-income families, espe-cially Chicanos and Hispanics, byoffering less rigorous criteria forloans so that applicants can qualifyat higher rates.

She says homeowners becomestuck in large mortgages with highinterest rates when they shouldn’thave purchased a home in the firstplace, because they didn’t have suf-ficient income to handle a tradi-tional mortgage.

“Huge percentages of peoples’income is going to the home pay-ment, so there’s less discretionaryincome,” she says. “Then life hap-pens. Someone gets sick or you geta divorce. Where does the foodcome from?”

But Amado-Tellez is quick toadd that it’s not just lenders toblame for the high rate of mortgagedefaults.

“It’s not just the loans. Whotook these people to subprimelenders?” she says. “Less than 1percent of people who are default-ing now are clients of (financial)counselors. Realtors steer a lot ofpeople to subprime lenders.”

When first-time buyers arelooking for a home, they spend alot of time with their real estateagent, who becomes the personthey trust in the home-buyingprocess, Amado-Tellez says. Andwith a depressed housing market,agents are more eager to sell prop-erty than make sure their client is inan affordable home.

“They steer them away fromknowledge is power,” Amado-Tellez says.

Both Chicanos por la Causaand Tucson Urban League, alongwith Primavera Foundation and

American Dream Dies with Predatory Lending Help for Homeowners and

Potential Homeowners

Primavera Foundation702 S. Sixth Ave. Financial counseling, pre-pur-chase services, federal grantapplication assistance.Contact Danny Mendez882-5383 or 623-5111

Tucson Urban League2305 S. Park Ave. Financial counseling, pre-pur-chase services, help with clos-ing process, federal grantapplication assistance. Contact B.C. Robinson791-9522

Chicanos por la Causa200 N. Stone Ave. Financial counseling, pre-pur-chase counseling, federalgrant application assistance,foreclosure help services.882-0018.‘Lending’/see page 6

Visit El Independienteonline at:

www.journalism.arizona.edu

We are going on Summerbreak and the NEXT issue will

be out in late September.

Page / Página 2 May 8 / 8 de mayo 2008EL INDEPENDIENTE

El Independiente encourages letters from all its readers,but reserves the right to edit correspondence

for grammar, style, clarity and length.

UA Journalism P.O. Box 210158BTucson, AZ 85721Phone: 621-3618

[email protected]

AdviserMaggy Zanger

Graphics and Layout AdviserJohn deDios

South Tucson’s Bilingual Newspaper

News EditorClaire Landowski

Spanish EditorLorena Barraza

Gaby Renteria-Poepsel

Design Chief Jason Redmond

Photo EditorTyler Smith

News Room ManagerKate Mater

Copy ChiefEric Schwartz

Copy EditorsLaura HassettClaire Rodin

PhotographersGarrick Akridge

Alan FullmerLaura Hassett

Tyler SmithRoxana Vasquez

DesignGarrick Akridge

Ruth Blake

ReportersLorena Barraza

Ian CrossLuke Davis

Christina FogliaLaura Hassett

Gaby Renteria-PoepselClaire Rodin

Mark RodriguezTyler Smith

Amelia Quiroga

TranslatorsIsabel Corres

Gemma FigueroaAlexandra HodgesAlejandra Torres

Translation and Interpretation

Department

of Spanish and Portugeuese

ELINDEPENDIENTE

By Luke Davis

The Sunnyside Blue Devils soft-ball team might not be as evil astheir mascot's name implies, butyou'd be hard pressed to findanother team in the 5A divisionwho doesn't think so.

The Blue Devils, last year's 5ADivision II champions, are on paceto tear up the state softball play-offs again.

Sunnyside is 17-1 in the regularseason, and entered the state tour-nament third in the Division IIpower rankings.

Their only loss during the regu-lar season is to Sierra Vista BuenaHigh School, currently third inDivision I.

The state softball tournamentbegan April 26, with Sunnysideadvancing to the second round of

contests by prevailing overPhoenix-area Barry GoldwaterHigh School.

The Blue Devils next victim:Anthem's Boulder Creek HighSchool.

It only took Sunnyside fiveinnings to defeat the Jaguars 13-1,propelling them to the semifinals ofthe tournament.

The Blue Devils' loss May 5 toPeoria Sunrise Mountain put theminto the loser’s bracket of the dou-ble elimination tournament, butSunnyside next won itself a shotat redemption with a victory overPhoenix Pinnacle High School.Their prize was a rematch withSunrise Mountain on May 7.

A win gives them a title shotagainst teams they beat during theseason: Ironwood Ridge orScottsdale Horizon.

Sunnyside Softball Swinging for Repeat at State Tourney

Sunnyside softball team rallies before their final game of the regular season at Hillenbrand Stadium on the Universityof Arizona campus.

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By Luke Davis

How quickly we all forget. With nearly 20 percent of the

major league baseball regular sea-son over, Tucson baseball fans arecheering their teams, in themoment forgetting that soon thoseflickering images on a screen maybe the only way to see them.

Tucson's spring training is indanger of extinction, and the confu-sion as to why was a topic of greatdiscussion around the bars andwater coolers of the city during thepreseason, but the passage of timeand the excitement of the regularseason left the curious with noanswers.

For those still left wanting, fearnot. The answers to the four mostasked questions about spring train-ing's status and how it got that wayare in the following paragraphs.So let's step up to the plate andknock these out of the park.

Question #1: How is it that wewill go from three teams to noteams?

El Indie Answer: Currently, threemajor league teams call Tucsonhome. Most will know that theseare the Colorado Rockies, who playat Hi Corbett Field (built in 1937and run by the City of Tucson), andthe Chicago White Sox andArizona Diamondbacks, who playat Tucson Electric Park (built in1998 and run by Pima County).

What most may not know is thatthese teams are contracted withlocal government in a sort ofpolygamist marriage. The WhiteSox, already jointly building aGlendale, Ariz. –based spring train-ing facility with the Dodgers, andplanning to exit the city in 2009,cannot leave Tucson without find-ing another major league squad totake their place.

Pima County has stated numer-ous times that it will hold the WhiteSox to the contract, which expiresin 2013, but it is unclear as to howthey will do so.

If the White Sox leave, the tworemaining teams are contractuallyenabled to explore other options aswell.

The Diamondbacks have statedthat they are likely to leave if theWhite Sox do so, and the GilaRiver Indian Community nearChandler has put forth a tentativeproposal offering new facilities andincentives.

The Rockies have been in talkswith the city of Goodyear (aPhoenix suburb), but haveexpressed their desire to remain in

Tucson, with the caveat that thecity fund renovations and improve-ments that could range from $10million to $20 million.

The Rockies situation is particu-larly difficult from a financialstandpoint for the city of Tucson.The city is $70 million in the redfrom over the last three years. Thecity council has made it clear thatthey want to keep the Rockies, butdo not know where the money willcome from.

Question #2: How much doesTucson make from spring train-ing anyway?

El Indie Answer: The answer is alot. An economic impact studydone by the Cactus League (thebody that governs Arizona springtraining) estimated that in themonth-long 2007 season, springtraining brought in nearly $31 mil-lion to the Tucson area. This moneycomes from a variety of sources,including direct-from-baseballfunds like beverage and ticketsales, and peripheral monies likehotel taxes, restaurant sales and carrentals.

Spring training is the second-largest non-governmental moneysource for Tucson after the TucsonGem and Mineral Show.

Question #3: Why is there nosports authority here like the onein Maricopa County to help thecity keep teams?

El Indie Answer: This is one of themain questions heard repeatedly.The answer is rather complicated,and actually is right now in a stateof flux.

First, as to what a sports author-ity is, Tucson only has to look atthe northern neighbor that is in theprocess of scooping up its baseballteams like so many ground balls hitto a shortstop.

Maricopa County's ArizonaSports and Tourism Authority(AZSTA) is a corporate and politi-cal body that knits together com-munities throughout the county andcan allocate funds obtained fromall of them through taxes toimprovements in or new construc-tion on sports facilities and othertourism-enhancing endeavors.

Currently, this authority hasallocated $68.3 million to CactusLeague spring training facilitiesaround the county in Phoenix,Scottsdale, Tempe and Surprise.

This authority is an unusuallycooperative effort, as municipali-ties tend to bicker and disagree onwho should be given money.

Which is exactly why Tucsondoes not have such a body.

The Pima County Board ofSupervisors has recently approvedan interim sports and tourismauthority until a voter-approvedsystem can be established.

“Spring training baseball is oneof the economic development driv-ers that helps the community reachits full potential,” CountyAdministrator Chuck Huckelberrysaid in early March.

The catch? The City of Tucson and the city

council have repeatedly stated theirreluctance to give up any power ortaxes in this area to the county, andaccording to the 2000 census, about58 percent of Pima County's popu-lation resides in the city limits.

Another roadblock: The AZSTAutilizes hotel and rental car taxes tofund a large portion of its activities,but Pima County already leviesthese taxes, which are still payingoff the $38 million debt incurred inthe early 1990s when the countylured the newly- formed Rockieshere to replace the ClevelandIndians.

The county has indicated thatthey will leave it up to voters todetermine what type of tax will beadopted.

Question 4: Is it too late?

El Indie Answers: Again, there isno concrete answer here.

The White Sox are outta here.They will be gone soon, contract orno, and there is no saving this one.

The Diamondbacks might stayif Tucson or Pima County can lureanother team to the area, but the sit-uation here is so unstable that noother team has seriously considereda move.

All indicators from the Rockiespoint to a continued Tucson resi-dency if their required renovationsand improvements are made.

However this is contingent onthe city finding the money to do so,and that is not currently lookinglike a strong possibility due tobudget deficits.

So there you have it. The future does not look partic-

ularly promising for those inTucson wishing to sip watery beer,get a sunburn, and listen to thecrack of a wooden bat connectingwith a rawhide ball.

Oh yes, and with theSidewinders leaving for Reno in2009, Tucson could be completelywithout any major league affilia-tions in as little as three years.

But that, as they say, is a wholeother ballgame.

Spring Training: Out at Home?By Claire Rodin

A bill funding English instructionin Arizona schools will become lawwithout Gov. Janet Napolitano’ssignature.

The Senate Bill 1096 appropri-ates $40 million to fund EnglishLanguage Learners programs andhelp prevent millions in court fines.

“Senate Bill 1096 is far from aperfect solution to Arizona’s needfor adequate English languagelearner instruction,” Napolitanosaid in a press release.

The governor, however still

believes that the legislature willhave a lot of work ahead of themconcerning English-Languageinstruction. Napolitano explainedthat there are more court’s sanc-tions orders that still need to beconsidered and would remove thetwo-year limit on funding.

In the governor’s letter she urgedlegislature to consider the thoughtsof “front-line educators,” many ofwhom disagree with the sufficiencyof the $40 million amount.Napolitano argued that funding for agenuinely effective program wouldbe closer to $300 million.

ELL Funding Becomes Law

Page / Página 3May 8 / 8 de mayo 2008 EL INDEPENDIENTE

By Mark Rodriguez

The Viva Performing Arts Centermakes an about-face this summerafter sponsoring the Spark theFloor hip-hop festival in April.

In August, the dance studio willbe showcased at the HispanicPerforming Arts Conference,which will be held Aug. 2 atCentennial Hall.

The show is one of the largestorganized by the performing artscenter and celebrates Arizona’sHispanic culture with dance andmusic.

The Viva Performing ArtsCenter, 4562 S. Park Ave., holdsclasses to prepare for the confer-ence, and dancers will also have theopportunity to participate in work-shops leading up to the conference,from July 30 to Aug. 1.

Workshops will be offered infolklorico, flamenco, salsa, hip-hop, tejano and mariachi styles,says Julie Gallego, who directs theViva Performing Arts Center.

She says that the Viva studio isthe only dance studio in the southTucson area that offers ballet class-es.

Dance classes are currently insession but new students can regis-ter and join in with a $20 annualregistration fee for one student,plus a monthly fee based on thenumber of classes taken.

For more information on specif-ic classes and times, auditions orfees, visit vivaazworkshops.com orcall 544-9543.

Viva DanceOffers Classes,Hip-hop to Salsato Folklórico

Spark the Floor

By Christina Foglia

The South Tucson PoliceDepartment is re-applying for afederal grant that would help thedepartment make technologicalupgrades.

The U.S. Department of JusticeAssistance Grant (JAG) is a tech-nology grant that is renewable forfive years, says Kevin Trick, infor-mation technology specialist withthe STPD.

The annual amount is about$15,000, Trick says.

The first year it was used toupgrade recording capabilities on911 calls, Trick says. This pastyear it was used to get the policedepartment its own server and pro-vide power back-up for computersin case the electricity goes out.

Lieutenant Richard Garcia saysthe money this year will likely be

put toward a server upgrade.“We’re still trying to pull

together other funding to make afull server upgrade,” Trick says.

The grant would not cover thefull cost of upgrading the server,so the department would have todip into its anti-racketeeringfund, which includes moneyseized from drugs and reclaimedhomes.

“And instead of us having to goto the Pima County Courthouse toput together a photo line-up (of sus-pects), we’ll have access to criminallaw enforcement photos in theoffice and in the field,” Garcia says.

The upgraded system willmake detective work far easier forthe department, Garcia says, as itwould allow them to pull up iden-tification of suspects and formerfelons much more quickly thanthe current system.

Tech Grant May Help STPD

By Mark Rodriguez

A young south side dancer hasbeen given the opportunity to joinUp With People, an organizationthat stages musical performancesaround the world as participantsgain insight and education aboutdifferent countries and cultures.

Bianca Martinez, 22, a speech,language and hearing senior at theUniversity of Arizona, has beenaccepted for a six-month tourbeginning July 11, and is seekingfinancial support.

The Pueblo High School gradu-ate has danced with Tucson hip-hop crews including Ixora andBlackout, and has worked withViva dance. She says she is excitedabout the opportunity to travel todifferent countries and learn aboutother cultures.

But she is nervous about rais-ing the money needed to join thetour.

She needs to pay $14,000 tojoin Up With People and tocover lodging, meals and airfarefor the tour. She has raised someof the money but needs nearly$8,000 more.

To fundraise, she will hold hip-hop dance workshops in Nogales,Ariz., on June 14. She will acceptdonations for the workshops,which are for children as young asseven to teenagers.

In addition, Martinez would liketo stage a fundraising dance con-cert and is looking for a donatedvenue. Local businesses can helpwith a tax-deductible donation.

Anyone interested in sponsor-ing Martinez or helping her outwith a donation can contact her byemail at [email protected].

By Laura Hassett

For seniors wishing to live in acomfortable and affordable home,there are still occupancies at theBlanche Johnson Courtyards, asubsidized rental community inSouth Tucson.

The Metropolitan Housing Corp.and the Tucson Urban Leaguereceived a federal grant to build the68-unit apartment complex, west ofthe Quincie Douglas NeighborhoodCenter on East 36th Street andSouth Kino Parkway. Seniors 62and older can apply to live in one ofthe units, says MetropolitanHousing Corp.’s Executive Director,Yvonne Romero-Harris.

“We are gladly accepting appli-cations,” Romero-Harris says.

“Any newcomers are welcome.”For eligibility, a single person

applying must have a maximum of$19,250 yearly income and for acouple, $22,000 yearly income orless. The rent is based upon incomeand is 30 percent of the totalincome for each person or coupleRomero-Harris says.

Romero-Harris says that theapartments are in a great locationfor seniors and have a computerlab, laundry facilities and a com-munity kitchen if tenants wish tohold gatherings or parties.

“It’s a beautiful complex,”Romero-Harris says.

To apply or for more eligibilityinformation, call 241-6886 or visitArtCulture Partnership, 951 E. 35thStreet.

Room Available for Seniorsat Blanche Johnson Courtyard

By Lorena Barraza

Because of the slowing economy,small businesses in Tucson are notfeeling negative impacts of the newArizona employer sanctions lawthat went into effect in January.

“This is sort of like a perfectstorm,” says Maricela Solis deKester, president of the TucsonChamber of Commerce. “Withthe harsh economy and housingmarket, places are seeing adecline in business and not need-ing to hire new employees, whichis why they’re not feeling theimpact of the law since it is happeningall at once.”

Because of this, Solis deKester says the Tucson Chamberof Commerce has not heard anycomplaints or any sort of feed-back on the law from any oftheir members.

The new Arizona sanction lawstates that businesses must verifyemployees’ right-to-work documents

such as a visa. If the documents arefalsified or forged the companymust fire the employee or the busi-ness will face heavy fines.

Many small businesses in SouthTucson are family owned and oper-ated, and often don’t hire manyemployees. But other businesses inSouth Tucson and all of Arizonamust incorporate E-Verify – thesystem in which the documentsare verified.

The restaurant business isenduring the worst effects of thefalling economy and the law onundocumented workers.

Sherri Gillespie, MarketingManager for the Arizona Restaurantand Hospitality Association, seesthe strain that the new law and theeconomy are placing on the restau-rant industry and its effects on thejob market.

“We have seen that with this lawin affect, employees are going else-where for employment. Some aregoing back to Mexico or to other

states. Arizona is not as business-friendly as it once was,” Gillespiesays. “Many restaurants are raisingtheir prices or closing their doors.”

Abelardo Frisby, the generalmanager at Las Cazuelitas, aMexican restaurant chain in Tucson,has experienced the effect of the lawon undocumented workers first hand.

“Since the law went into affectI have turned five people down dueto illegal documents,” Frisby says.“I hired two workers and whentheir information didn’t match upin the E-Verify system, I askedthem to bring in proper documents.After that, I never saw them again– they never came back.”

But with the bad economy,Frisby doesn’t need to replace them.

“Business is slow, so losingthose employees didn’t really hurtus, but we lost some very hardworkers,” he says. “You won’t getany U.S. citizen to come and do a$6.90 an hour job, when they canget that through unemployment.”

Economy, not SanctionsHurting Small Business

Sixth and Stone Avenues are both now two-way streets south of BroadwayBoulevard.

Local Latina Dancer Taggedfor Up With People Tour

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More than 25 acts performed at Spark the Floor on April 19,which celebrated 35 years of hip-hop culture.

Upcomingcommunity events can be submitted

to El Independiente at [email protected]

The next issue of ElIndependiente will be

published in September.

Sixth Avenue Facelift

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Photos by Tyler Smith

By Gaby Renteria-Poepsel

Five months after the LegalArizona Workers Law—alsoknown as the employer sanc-

tions law—went into effect, the fullimpact of the regulation is notknown, but concerns grow aboutpossible abuses that undocumentedimmigrant workers may endurefrom employers trying to protectthemselves from being sanctioned.

In an effort to document theseabuses, local organizations are reach-ing out to immigrant communities.

The American Friends ServiceCommittee (AFSC), in collabora-tion with the Southwest Institutefor Research on Women (SIROW),has been documenting complaintsand employer abuses since beforethe law went into effect on Jan. 1,said Nina Rabin, director of BorderResearch at SIROW and projectdirector for the Tucson WomenWorkers’ Project.

The project works with localsocial services and immigrantsrights organizations like SouthernArizona Legal Aid and BorderAction Network, to inform thecommunity about ways to docu-ment the problems with the law,Rabin said.

“Right now we are just trying toencourage people to come forwardto let us know what is happening tothem as a result of the law,” she said.

Rabin said it is very likely thatthe law is forcing some workers

into illegal employment or intoindependent contractor-type posi-tions, where they wouldn’t be cov-ered by the law, and are vulnerableto abuse.

The project offers confidentialadvice and counseling on work-place rights to low-wage womenworkers who attend the project’sclinics.

Last year, Rabin and her staffnoticed that some employers werestarting to “clean house,” she said.Some employees received lettersfrom employers warning themabout the need to obtain new docu-ments to prove they were workinghere legally.

“I know there was a pretty largelay-off of at least 15 workers thatcontacted us who were all laid offat once in mid-to-late January afterthe law went into effect,” she said.

Rabin said that so far the organ-ization has become involved direct-ly in only 12 cases related to theemployer sanctions law.

However, the legal clinicreceives phone calls from peoplewith questions regarding the law orissues related to it, Rabin said. Themost common issue revolvedaround employers asking long-termemployees to provide new docu-ments to prove their identity.

“That really gets to the heart ofthe really ambiguous and problem-atic aspects of the law, which is thatit’s not clear,” Rabin said.

Many employers are checking

on the legal status of current andprospective workers, even thoughthe employer sanctions lawrequires that they check the statusof only new employees within thefirst three days of hire, Rabin said.

“One of the few hopeful thingsthat we can offer is monitoring anddocumenting what’s happening to atleast take stock of how much areemployers really being forced into asituation where they are acting inviolation of federal laws by trying tocomply with state law,” Rabin said.

Maria Mendoza, a third yearlaw student and volunteer at theclinic, said that she is seeing otherproblematic effects since the lawhas been in place that qualify asdiscrimination.

“I spoke with somebody whosuggested they were starting tohave employers ask them for docu-mentation before they were evengoing through an interview or hir-ing process,” Mendoza said.

Jonny Taylor, another law stu-dent helping in the project, hasobserved similar problems.

“I’ve dealt with one or twocases where the employer receiveda social security “no match letter,and then, under some suspicion that[the employees] are undocumentedworkers, terminate them eventhought [the employers] are notreally supposed to do that.”

Although the Arizona law doesnot specifically deal withunmatched social security num-

bers, it has all become entangled,Rabin said. The “no-match” lettersare not supposed to be grounds forfiring workers, she said.

Sebastian Quinac, coordinatorfor the Immigration and BorderProgram at AFSC, said his officehas also seen an increase of abusesof day laborers. While they aretemporary workers, some employ-ers take advantage of the currentsituation to commit abuses, such asnot paying them wages.

The situation has been frustrat-ing for the clinic because the law isambiguous, which makes it diffi-cult to do much legally for anundocumented worker who hasbeen asked to provide new docu-

ments, Rabin said. The clinic can help undocu-

mented workers who have beenfired or did not get the wages theywere due before they were termi-nated, but they can’t legally helpthem get their jobs back, Rabinsaid. They can also help when thefederal E-Verify system is not usedas it should be, she said.

“I know there’s many, manymore workers being affected thanwe’ve heard from,” she said.

Once Rabin and her team col-lect more data, they hope it can beused to evaluate whether the lawshould continue to be in effect andwhat can be done to try toimprove it.


By Lorena Barraza

Luis Rodriguez has been aresponsible and reliableworker with the same com-

pany for nearly five years. He waspromoted to manager three yearsago and often works long, gruelinghours. Rodriguez supervises a staffof nearly 120 and handles varioustasks such as taking care of cus-tomer service issues, handling mer-chandising, setting up displays,managing inventory and writingreports. But Rodriguez isn’t theemployee his boss thinks he is, andhe’s not like the staff he supervises.Rodriguez has a secret.

Like millions of other workersin the United States, he is not inthis country legally.

This makes a recent addition tohis responsibilities a bit painful.Since Arizona’s employer sanc-tions law went into effect inJanuary, he has had to fire severalof his employees because he couldnot verify that they were workinglegally.

Arizona workers must nowprovide proper documentation totheir employers to prove they canlegally work in the United States.Those documents must be con-firmed with the federal govern-ment’s E-Verify system whichchecks whether the worker is eli-gible for employment. (See story,page 7.)

“Since the law went into effect,I have had to lay off at least eightemployees,” says Rodriguez,whose name has been changed forthe purpose of this article. “Theywere all hard working employeestoo. People who are here withoutpapers work hard, like burros, theydo what they came here to do —work.”

Work is also why Rodriguez lefthis struggling business in Mexicoand came to the United States sixyears ago. He owned a cell phonestore for the franchise Telcel.

“My business was going down-hill in Mexico, the economy wasgetting worse and there was toomuch competition,” he says.

Rodriguez’s cousin in Tucsonoffered to give him a place to stayfor a few months while he foundwork and got on his feet. So inFebruary 2002, Rodriguez and hiswife made their move. Theycrossed legally with visas, but bothnow work under false documents.

Through friends, Rodriguezheard of people who made falsedocuments. All he had to do wasgive them a picture and $120.

“I gave my friend the pictureand the money and within a coupleof weeks I had the documents,”Rodriguez says. “I never met theguy that did it. They never showtheir face.”

Rodriguez then got a job at agrocery store but was let go after ayear and a half when a letter camein the mail saying that his SocialSecurity number didn’t match hisname.

Two weeks later Rodriguez washired at his current job. He paystaxes and uses his real name withthe IRS, but a false Social Securitynumber. So far, the discrepancyhasn’t been discovered.

During his first few months atthe new job, he was promoted toassistant manager and then to man-ager three years ago, earning ahigher salary. “As you move up theladder, you make more money andyour cost of living becomes higher,making the fall much harder,”Rodriguez says.

Since the employer sanctions

law went into effect, Rodriguez hashad to fire his employees, but alsohad to turn people down for jobsbecause they didn’t have properdocuments.

“I can now spot false docu-ments just by looking at them,” hesays. “I don’t need to run themthrough the system to know theyaren’t real.”

But it leaves him with an uneasyfeeling. “Each time I let someonego or turn someone away, I realizethat I could be in their shoes at anymoment. It’s very stressful being inmy situation. I am always stressedknowing that I may have to go backat anytime,” he says.

His employer doesn’t know heis illegal, therefore he cannot askthat the company sponsor him.“While no laws are being made thathelp immigrants and no amnesty isto come, there’s nothing that I cando,” he says. “I can’t put myself atrisk. I have a mortgage to pay forand a car payment as well as a fam-

ily to support.”No one knows how many

undocumented workers likeRodriguez live with the same stressand uncertainty. The Pew HispanicCenter, a nonpartisan researchorganization in Washington D.C.,estimated in 2005 that 260,000 to292,500 unauthorized workers arein Arizona, about 10 percent of thestate’s workforce.

Rodriguez lives daily with thefear that he may lose his job likethe employees he has had to letgo.“If I lose my job, I won’t be ableto find another one and will have togo back,” he says. “With the newlaw, as soon as your informationgets rejected you can’t go any-where else.”

If his secret is revealed and hislegal status becomes known, thereare few choices. “I know a lot ofpeople are going back,” Rodriguezsays. “They just pack up theirthings and leave. I know that couldbe me any day.”

Law has WorkersLiving in Limbo

Local Program Documents Law’s Impact, Abuses

“People who are here without papers work hard, like burros,” says Luis Rodriguez, who found work usingfalse documents. He fears deportation if his illegal status is discovered.

Employer Sanctions After Five Months:

By Lorena Barraza

The Arizona legislature passed abill on April 28 clarifying theemployer sanctions law that wentinto effect this year.

Under HB-2745, employers arerequired to make sure that onlyemployees hired after January 1,2008 are legally documented work-ers.

Employers will not face licensesuspension or fines if they hiredundocumented workers before thelaw was implemented.

Employers who knowingly hireundocumented workers afterJanuary 1 will face fines and a pos-sible suspension of their businesslicenses. Employers with a secondviolation will have their licenserevoked. Prosecutors are stillallowed to follow anonymous tips.

Arizona Legislators Alter Sanctions Law

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Nina Rabin, left, and Sebastian Quinac, track problems migrants and othershave expereinced since the employers sanction law went into effect.



Most of them carry back-packs on their shoulders.At the entrance there is a

desk, where Gilda Loureiro keepsrecord of the migrants for the night.On the walls, there are a number ofstories in Spanish about themigrants who die crossing thedesert. Signs of bright green paperreflect the number of migrants theshelter has received in the last threeyears. Last year’s number ofmigrants reached 27,070, up fromabout 19,250 the year before.

Before Arizona’s employersanctions law went into effect inJanuary, there was much specula-tion about how many migrantsmight leave Arizona to return toMexico, and the pressures theirdeparture might place on bordercities like Nogales, Sonora.

People involved in immigrationissues agree on one thing: the num-ber of migrants returning toNogales, Sonora, has increased.Some are self-deporting and someare deported by the U.S. BorderPatrol; however, there are no spe-cific statistics comparing howmany of the deported are caughtwhile trying to cross versus howmany are leaving because of thesanctions law.

The Albergue Juan Bosco, ashelter in Nogales, Sonora is locat-ed at the top of a steep street, andfrom its steps one can see the sunset over the city. The white househas concrete steps at the entrance,and a small sign above it has thename in red letters. The shelteroffers food and rest to deportedmigrants, who sit on the dirt andgravel parking lot outside the build-ing while waiting for the doors toopen. The shelter has been in oper-ation for 26 years, and for the lastthree it has received some helpfrom local and state governments.

There has been a 40 percentincrease in the number of migrantsthey have served this year com-pared to 2007, according toFrancisco Loureiro Herrera, who isin charge of the shelter. He isGilda’s husband.

Loureiro Herrera said thatdespite the increase in number ofmigrants, repatriation is occurringin an orderly fashion.

“We joined other organizationsthat work for the benefit ofmigrants, and we’ve tried to have aprocess in place to avoid any prob-lems,” he said.

Currently, the U.S. Border PatrolTucson Sector sends back to Mexicoan average of 1,000 people a day,according to Mario Escalante,spokesman for the Tucson Sector.This number includes deportees andthose who have been granted volun-tary departure.

Grupo Beta, the Mexican equiv-alent of BORSTAR, the BorderPatrol’s rescue team, has providedfor the return of 874 migrants totheir homes this year in only the firsttwo months, compared to 700 in allof 2007, according to LeopoldoSantos Ramírez, a professor atColegio de Sonora in Hermosillo,speaking to legislators in Sonora.

At the same time, the Direcciónde Atención al MigranteInternacional (InternationalMigrant Services), headquarteredin Hermosillo, reports as many as2,000 immigrants deported everyday just through the Mariposacheckpoint in Nogales, which is abranch office that reports to theheadquarters. It is unclear howmany of those were detained and

deported while trying to cross andhow many were deported as aresult of the sanctions law after liv-ing for some time in Arizona.

Every night deportees arrive atthe shelter from the Nogales check-points. Loureiro Herrera said theBorder Patrol is often leavingmigrants at the Mariposa check-point with just enough time toreach the shelter before it closes at3 a.m. Migrants learn about theshelter from workers at theDirección de Atención al MigranteInternacional in Nogales.

As they come into the shelter,migrants are asked to give basicinformation like their name, ageand place of origin. This informa-tion is later given to governmentofficials who use it as a way tokeep track of the Mexican stateswith the most emigrants, saidLoureiro Herrera.

The shelter has a room withbunk beds for the men and anotherone for the women, a room withtables for migrants to have a meal,a kitchen, and a little chapel wheresome sleep on busy nights.

They are allowed to stay in theshelter for up to three days.

“We give them the opportunityto think about what they want todo. Some go back to their place oforigin, some get a job or stay herein Nogales,” Loureiro Herrera said.

Teresa and Daniel are two of themany deportees recently staying atthe shelter whose economic situa-tion has forced them north to theUnited States. The married couplewas caught and deported in theirfirst attempt to cross the desert toArizona. Physically and emotional-ly exhausted, they too had to makea decision whether to stay inNogales, return home or try again

to cross the border into Arizona.The couple left their native land inthe Mexican state of Chiapas towork and get out of debt.

“We want to save money to payour debt and maybe build a littlehouse,” Daniel said.

“We heard from other peoplethat there are jobs [in the U.S.].We’ll do whatever,” Teresa said.“The important thing is to earnsome money.”

Despite the risk in crossing thedesert, returning to their three chil-dren in Chiapas was not an option,Teresa said.

“One would like to go back [toChiapas], but one has to take the risk

to get [to the U.S.],” she said. “Theneed is what makes one cross.”

For migrants who want to returnto their home in Mexico, the sheltersometimes provides bus tickets, butbecause of the high cost they aregiven exclusively to families orthose who are injured, LoureiroHerrera said.

There are, therefore, a goodnumber who stay in the streets andgo unaccounted for. This is whatsome call a “floating population.”

Santos Ramírez said researchabout this population is necessaryin order to understand the socialeffects of Arizona’s new law.

“We only have impressions,” he

said. “We need a studyabout the way these popula-tions survive.”

Loureiro Herrera sharesthe same concerns and saidorganizations are trying tofind a way to keep the num-ber of “floating” migrantsdown. One way is to findjobs for those returning toMexico.

The shelter tries to matchmigrants to local jobs. Theyfrequently receive requestsfor workers from businesseslike nurseries in Sonora, he

said. The high turnover of

migrant workers is convenientfor the companies because the

workers do not stay long enough toget benefits, he said.

“People take these jobs whilethey save to pay the [coyote] andthen leave,” he said.

Loureiro Herrera said there hasbeen a lot of speculation in Nogalesabout having an avalanche ofmigrants who will create problemsin the city, but he does not believethis will happen.

“All the migrant wants is food,and as long as there are placeswhere they can get it there is noreason to fear that they will bedelinquents,” he said.

He remains optimistic about thefuture, but acknowledges that more

shelters are needed. “The most peo-ple we’ve had this year is 160 peo-ple in one day,” he said. “We can’treceive so many people every day.We would need a super shelter.”

Loureiro Herrera says he knowsa solution to the immigration prob-lem won’t come soon. He says hisrecords show that more and moreyoung people are deciding to cross,and hopes Mexico will start look-ing into ways to maintain its work-force.

“I see that most migrants arefrom 18 to 56 years of age,” saidLoureiro Herrera. “If the immigra-tion continues like now, I thinksoon Mexico will be a country ofold people.”

More Deportees Make Their Way to Sonoran Shelter

To HelpThe Albergue Juan Boscoshelter is always in need ofdonations such as trashbags, cleaning supplies andpersonal hygiene items.What they need the mostare socks in all sizes.

To donate, call GildaLoureiro at 011-52-631-313-6833, at the shelter inNogales, Sonora.

An undocumented migrant sits at the entrance of the Juan Bosco shel-ter in Nogales, Sonora. The manager at the shelter says he has seen anincrease in the number of migrants in the current year.

Impact is Uncertainty, Confusion, Fear

Manager Juan Francisco Loureiro Herrera collects information from migrants as theyarrive at the shelter from the Nogales checkpoints. Since the implementation ofArizona’s employer sanctions law, there has been much speculation about the num-ber of migrants returning to Mexico.

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Nov. Ballot InitiativeWould Ban PaydayLoans in Arizona

By Ian Cross

South Tucson’s community soupkitchen, Casa Maria, received anenvironmentally-sound facelift fromaspiring Eagle Scout MatthewDavid, who worked for severalmonths to install rain gutters and bar-rels for water harvesting, planted cit-rus trees and revamped the garden.

“I had volunteered at the soupkitchen in the past,” says David, a 17-year-old senior at Catalina FoothillsHigh School. “I like Casa Maria.They’re not as bureaucratic as mostother community service places.”

David and several other volun-teers installed a series of rain guttersin the front of the house becausemonsoon rains often flood the frontdoor. The gutters also channel therain to two large rain barrels thatwill now collect the water. Thestored rainwater can then be used toirrigate the trees and garden sur-rounding the soup kitchen.

David and his fellow volunteersplanted two lime trees and anorange tree, fixed the fence aroundthe garden and pulled weeds fromaround the kitchen.

David says that it took him and

the other volunteers about 250hours of work to complete therenovations.

“It took me three and a halfmonths of pretty much straightwork,” he says. “I spent a lot ofweekends on it.”

In addition to help from hisfriends and family, David says thata number of fellow scouts andscout leaders pitched in.

“It was pretty fun,” says AlexUriarte, a friend who helped withmost of the project. “I alreadyknow a lot about this stuff becauseI work in construction. Also, I likehelping people.”

David recommends everyonedonates some time and elbowgrease to a community effort.

“Everybody should help out justa little bit,” he says, “Everybodyhas at least a little time that theycan give back to their community.”

Patrons and organizers at thesoup kitchen were impressed byDavid’s efforts and welcomedthe additions. Casa Maria work-er Brian Flagg offered highpraise for David’s work. “As faras I’m concerned, he did onehell of a job.”

Student Helps Casa Maria Go Green

Matthew David, back left, and his brother Brandon, front left, finish planting a lime tree at Casa Maria while twoyoungsters help out. Matthew David also installed rain gutters and a water harvesting system at the soup kitchen.

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By Tyler Smith

Two parties opposing payday loansare collecting signatures forNovember ballot initiatives. Bothgroups want to change how loans aregiven, but differ in their approaches.

Payday loans are given in two-week time frames, usually withan average fee of $15 per $100borrowed. With the fees involved,borrowers are often paying triple-digit annual percentage rates, andfalling into a cycle of debt thatthey are unable to get out of.

There are groups in Tucsonfighting against payday lenders tohelp ensure the security and protec-tion of those who are borrowing.

State Rep. Marian McClure, R-Tucson, who is the chairperson forthe stop payday loans committee,has been collecting signatures andspeaking on behalf of bill I-09-2008 to get her opposition of pay-day lending on the ballot This ini-tiative would make payday-typelending a felony and would closethe doors to all payday loan shops.

“Right now when you map outthe location of lenders in commu-nities you see they are hitting low-income neighborhoods and elderlycommunities,” says Kelly Griffith,a representative of www.stoppay-daypredators.com, a supportinggroup of McClure’s efforts to ridArizona of pay-day loans.

“South Tucson has more paydayloans per person capita than anyplace in Tucson, maybe evenArizona,” Griffith says.

Payday lenders negativelyimpact smaller and lower-incomecommunities because they arenational companies and the feespaid by borrowers never return tothe community the way it would ifthe money were going to a localbusiness.

“Say for instances a communi-ty or neighborhood the size ofSouth Tucson gets $8 million toinvest back into the community.Now imagine that that same [city]is also paying $20 million a yearin fees to payday loans. It’s a ter-rible cycle,” says Griffith. The

$12 million difference goes to thenational corporation, not into thepockets of local business owners.If the money stayed in SouthTucson, it would eventually beinvested back to the local economy.

Another group, Reform AZPayday Loans, do not want tomake payday loans illegal but dowant to reform the policy underwhich they are lent. They proposereducing interest rates on loans toprotect borrowers from fallingprey to high-interest rate loansthey cannot afford to pay back.

Griffith, however, believesthat just cutting back interestrates will not improve the situa-tion.

“They want you to believethey are doing good in the com-munity and helping out peoplewho don’t have funds at thetime,” she says. “They (reformsupporters) call it a life pre-servers and it’s not. It’s ananchor, and by lowering the inter-est rate from 15 percent to 12, inthe end, people are still payingtriple digit APR’s.”

The average payday borrowerneeds to renew the initial loaneight times before it can be paidoff. That means that an initialloan of $325 could actually costnearly $800 to pay back, afterextension fees and renewals,according to the Center forResponsible Lending

Shirley Smalley of the Societyof St. Vincent De Paul says thatthe lending may as well be called“legal loan sharking.”

Smalley is the president of theorganization for St. BernadetteChurch and spends most of her timehelping people with financial woes.

“I get calls all the time frompeople caught in this cycle and, inturn, mortgages can’t be paid, carpayments get left untouched andbasic necessities get neglected allbecause of the fine print,” she says.

“It’s going to take everyone inthe community to get this bill evenon the ballot,” explains Griffith,“It’s time to stop preying on thosewho need our help the most.”

Family Housing Resources, offerhousing assistance, includingprepurchasing help, federalgrants to offset costs, financialcounseling, and help with closingcosts and procedures.

Chicanos por la Causa alsooffers assistance to homeownersalready facing foreclosure, andAmado-Tellez says that program iscurrently overwhelmed with clients.

At the Tucson Urban League,

potential homebuyers are requiredto complete a budgeting program.Though the class may seemtedious, Robinson offers proof ofthe success of the organization’shousing programs, which havebeen around since 1995. “We’vehad hundreds of homeowners, andno one has ever foreclosed,” hesays.

For families looking to buy ahome, Amado-Tellez encouragestaking advantage of the services ofone of Tucson’s non-profit organiza-

tions. Qualified homebuyers mayalso apply for federal grants, whichare often offered as long-term, no-interest loans, and financial coun-selors can help buyers avoid the pit-falls of the housing market. Aboveall, Amado-Tellez advises potentialhomebuyers to be cautious.

“Look for the money,” she says.“Who has a vested interest? Trustthem less. As Latinos, we need todevelop a stronger sense of selfand not be embarrassed to askquestions.”

By Ian Cross

The mysterious disappearance ofhoneybees nationwide may not be aconcern for many Americans, butlocal bee experts and one southside business owner want to gener-ate more buzz on the issue.

The declining bee population isbeing blamed on Colony CollapseDisorder, although there are dis-agreements as to what this actuallymeans. Experts have several theo-ries on what may have caused anestimated 25 percent decline in thebee population.

Roy Wilson, the owner ofSouthwest Bee Supply, says thatwe must save the bees we have inArizona, rather than exterminatethem.

“A lot of people want themdead,” Wilson says. “I don’t dothat, I’m not a bee killer.”

Instead, Wilson and his employeesremove the hive or swarm and recolo-nize the bees, then use the hive tomake raw honey, candles, soap andother products sold at Southwest BeeSupply, 844 S. 6th Ave.

“My goal is to supply all thehoney for the store,” Wilson says.He will need 500 to1,000 coloniesto do that and now has 40 to 50.

Wilson isn’t the only Tucsonanworking to save the bees.Researchers at the Carl HaydenBee Research Center, 2000 E.Allan Rd., are as busy as you-know-what, focusing on honeybeenutrition.

Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman’s re-search there has led her to believethat there is a combination of fac-tors causing Colony CollapseDisorder.

“We still have parasitic mites,

they could be transferring a virus,”she says. “When they parasitize bees,they transfer virus among them.”

Nosema, a new disease that tar-gets the bee’s digestive system,could also be a contributor to beedeath, she says.

Another theory is that the stressof being transported from crop tocrop is harming the bees.

But the focus at the researchcenter is to remove the nutritionalstress that could be setting up theColony Collapse Disorder, saysDeGrandi-Hoffman.

Africanized bees, so called killerbees, were first detected in Arizonain 1993. They were originallybrought to the Americas via Brazilbut the invasive traits of theAfricanized bees have led to highlydefensive, difficult-to-manage hivesaround the country, DeGrandi-

Hoffman says.African bees can interbreed

with typical European honeybees,and with each new generation, thecolony takes on more of theAfricanized traits, she says.

Africanized colonies of beescan be converted into useful,honey-producing colonies, but peo-ple often call an exterminator whena hive is discovered on their prop-erty, Wilson says.

“Exterminators will tell you thatthey’re dangerous, they can killyou or attack somebody,” Wilsonsays. But his company can safelyremove and use Africanizedcolonies through a process called“re-queening,” Wilson says.

The process begins by killingthe Africanized queen and remov-ing all of the queen cells in thehive. A frame filled with the eggsand broods of European bees isplaced in the box containing thehive, and eventually a part-European, part-Africanized queenappears.

The new bees born after thisprocess are “hardier and easier tohandle,” according to Wilson.Many beekeepers in Arizona usecrossbred bees, he says.

DeGrandi-Hoffman points outthat “[Africanized] bees also havesome positive traits: they’re vigor-ous, build fast and you don’t see thedisease expression in them.”

Wilson says that with thedeclining bee population, everyhive, even an Africanized one, isvaluable.

“Even though they'reAfricanized bees that we have outhere, we're going to need them,” hesays. “If we're killing them off, it'sgoing to make it harder on us.”

‘Lending’ Continued from page 1

Roy Wilson’s company, SouthwestBee Supply, produces honey fromrecolonized Africanized bees andstandard honeybees.

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Bee Aware: Extermination Not Best Option

South Side Hard Hit in Nationwide Mortgage Crisis



While anecdotes of empty apart-ment complexes and large numbersof people moving out of the state orgoing back to Mexico continue tocirculate in Arizona, the MexicanConsulate in Tucson has not yetseen dramatic changes in directresponse to the state’s employersanctions law, which fines busi-nesses for hiring undocumentedworkers.

However, the consulate is awareof situations that some immigrantsmay be facing, said AlejandroRamos Cardoso, spokesman for theMexican Consulatein Tucson.

“ H u s b a n d smight be staying towork while theirwives and childrenare going back toMexico,” RamosCardoso said. “Wealso know of caseswhere whole fami-lies have moved toa different state inthe country ordecided to return toMexico.”

Going back toMexico can repre-sent a challengewhen people are notaware of the documentation theywill need for their repatriation,which is why being prepared isimportant, said Ramos Cardoso.

“Our responsibility is toinform people how to be betterprepared in those situations,” hesaid.

There are three services to ben-efit people moving out of the coun-

try because of the new laws, hesaid.

Returning Mexican citizens,who can prove they have lived inthe United States for two years, canparticipate in a program called“Menaje de Casa.” Returningmigrants must pay customs fees,but they can avoid paying fullimport taxes on all their goods andinstead pay a one-time fee of $95 tothe federal government.

“This is a right that all Mexicanshave as long as they have proof ofresidence,” he said.

Mexican residents in Arizonamight consider registering their

children born in theU.S. as Mexican, toavoid any problemswhen returning toMexico, saidRamos Cardoso.Since 1998, doublenationality isallowed if at leastone parent was bornin Mexico, he said.

Also, in orderfor children to beable to continue tostudy in Mexico,people have to fillout a form to trans-fer their studieshere in the U.S. Theprocess, called

“Continuación de Estudios,” ismade in collaboration with theSecretary of Public Education inMexico. The process is free and theonly requirement is to present areport card for the last grade thestudent attended.

These services are availablethroughout the year Mondaythrough Friday at their five differ-

ent consulates in Arizona, andthrough their mobile office whichgoes to different communitiesevery month within Pima and Pinalcounties. In the past, the office hasbeen to Eloy, Coolidge and CasaGrande offering the same servicesas their permanent locations, saidRamos Cardoso. Also, the officeopens every other Saturday forpeople who can’t go to the con-sulate on work days.

Additionally, the MexicanConsulate is working with otherlocal organizations to have more

events to inform the communityabout the new laws in Arizona, saidRamos Cardoso.

So far, he said, the consulatehas not learned of any case ofemployees fired directly as a con-sequence of the employer sanc-tions law.

“If anyone is fired because ofthis law, they are welcome tocome to the consulate so that wecan analyze their case to deter-mine if there was wrongdoing,”he said. “Our doors are alwaysopen to anyone.”

Mexican Consulate Assists MigrantsReturning Home

Por Mark RodríguezTraducido por Isabel Corres

El Centro de Artes Escénicas Viva(Viva Performing Arts Center)ofrece clases de danza en folklóri-co, hip-hop, zumba, flamenco yballet a adultos y niños mayores decuatro años.

El estudio de danza Viva, ubi-cado en el 4562 de la S. Park Ave.,también tiene clases depreparación para Viva Arizona. ElCongreso Hispano de ArtesEscénicas (Hispanic PerformanceArts Conference) se presentará enel Centenial Hall de laUniversidad de Arizona el próxi-mo 2 de agosto.

Este espectáculo es uno de loseventos más grandes organizadospor el centro de artes escénicas ycelebra la cultura hispana deArizona con baile y música. Losbailarines también tendrán la opor-tunidad de participar en diferentestalleres durante el congreso, del 30de julio al 1 de agosto. Habrátalleres sobre los siguientes estilos:folklórico, flamenco, salsa, hip-hop, tejano y mariachi, dice JulieGallego, directora del Centro deArtes Escénicas Viva.

La señora Gallego indicó queel estudio de Viva es el únicoestudio de danza en el área del surde Tucsón que ofrece clases deballet.

Ahora ya se están dando lasclases de danza pero los estudiantesnuevos todavía pueden matricu-larse y participar pagando unainscripción anual de $20 más unamensualidad basada en el númerode clases que estén llevando.

Para más información sobre lasclases y los horarios, audiciones yhonorarios, visite la páginawww.vivaazworkshops.com, ollame al número 544-9543.

De hip-hop a flamenco, Vivaofrece variedad

Mexican Consulate in Tucson at 53 South Stone Ave. offers as variety of serv-ices for Mexican nationals.

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By Brian White

Jose Contreras was excited about his new job.Good pay, nice benefits. Everything lookedpromising until he got a call back from thehuman resource department.

“I got what they called a ‘tentative non-con-firmation,’” Contreras says. He was told hecouldn’t be hired. “I was pissed, actually. I justcouldn’t believe what was happening.”

Contreras was born and raised in Tucson,there was no doubt he was legally allowed towork.

The company was using the E-Verify system– a database that tells employers whether some-one is eligible to work in the UnitedStates–which was mandated by Arizona law Jan.1.

A “tentative non-confirmation,” is not a con-clusive result, but rather, an indication of a dis-crepancy with records.

E-Verify started as a pilot program launchedby the Department of Homeland Security sevenyears ago. The current system uses databasesfrom both DHS and the Social SecurityAdministration.

Among other things, the system compares aperson’s Social Security or visa numbers to listsof those ineligible to work.

The human resource representative tried tocomfort Contreras. She told him “tentative con-firmations” were fairly common and gave himdetails about how to correct the situation.

The company gave him a week to straightenthings out with Social Security.

As expected, Contreras says, the discrepancyreflected a bureaucratic error.

“It’s sort of scary how one mistake can puta whole person’s future at risk,” he says. The

company did another check, this time with amore positive result – confirmed. He got thejob.

Turns out the problem was with his lastname.

In Hispanic culture, he says, it’s common forpeople to have two last names. In his case, he’sofficially known as Jose Marcos Contreras. TheSocial Security Administration switched Marcosand Contreras around, which resulted in the dis-crepancy.

Michele Waslin, spokeswoman for theImmigration Policy Center, says these thingshappen more often than people might think.

“Errors are commonplace within the SSA,”she says. “In fact, there’s about a 4.1 percenterror rate in the SSA database alone.”

That works out to 12.7 million discrepanciesjust with native-born U.S. citizens, according tothe Immigration Policy Center. They estimatethe SSA database has 17.8 million discrepanciestotal.

“It’s a system that’s rife with problems,”Waslin says. “It’s not fair for Americans and willonly burden already overloaded agencies downfurther.”

Right now, Arizona, California andMinnesota are the only states making participa-tion in the E-Verify system mandatory, she says.Several other states are providing incentives butstopping short of requiring the use of the data-base.

Washington lawmakers are pushing forwarda national form of a mandatory E-Verify law.

Dubbed the Schuler-Tancredo “SAVE Act”(HR 4088), the bill forces all employers to reg-ister for the verification system or face penalty,including revocation of business license.

That frightens Waslin, who says such a

national law would mark the beginning of badthings to come.

“If this project becomes mandatory through-out the country, for the first time in the historyof this nation every citizen would have to askthe government for permission to work,” shesays.

Beyond asking for permission, Waslin pre-dicts Social Security, an already swampedgovernment agency, will become completelydebilitated from the amount of work that’scomes with making such a verification lawnational.

There are about 7 million employers in theUnited States and currently 55,000 are using E-Verify. If a national law passed requiring allemployers to use the service, it would representa 13,000 percent increase in the number ofusers.

“That’s about 6,500 employers a day,”Waslin says.

Waslin points out that right now the averageperson waits 499 days – well over a year – for adisability claim decision from Social Securityand 50 percent of calls to administration officesreceive busy signals.

In addition, there have been cases of employ-ers abusing or otherwise misusing the E-Verifysystem, Waslin says.

The E-Verify law states that employers onlyuse the database after someone has been hired,but the Immigration Policy Center says 47 per-cent of those hiring new workers check appli-cants before a job is offered.

Twenty-two percent of employers restrictedwork assignments based on tentative non-cofir-mations, according the Waslin.

“There’s just too many things that are wrongfor this system for it to be viable.”

Glitches Persist with E-Verify System

Employer Sanctions Lead to Uncertainty, FearServicios para losafectados por la ley de sanciones

Reunión del Proyecto de MujeresTrabajadoras de Tucsón Los miércoles de 6 a 8 p.m.181 S. Tucson Blvd., salón 110.Si desea más información sobre elproyecto y la ley de sanciones aempleadores llame al número621-7331 o al 623-9141

Para denunciar abusos: Red deAcción Fronteriza: 623-9141.Coalición de Derechos Humanos:770-1373. Oficina de ConsejeríaEspecial sobre las PrácticasInjustas de Empleo Relacionadascon Inmigración (OSC): 1-800-255-7688.

Consulado Mexicano553 S. Stone Ave.De lunes a viernes de 8 a.m. a5 p.m. Teléfono: 882-5595 ó 882-5596. [email protected] la gente que quiere regresara México, la oficina provee estosservicios: Menaje de casaDeclaratorias de nacionalidadmexicana por nacimientoContinuación de estudios

El Consulado Móvil está en unlugar diferente cada mes. Próximo lugar: 17 de mayo–Condado de Pinal9 a.m. a 2 p.m.

Jornada Sabatina – Una vez almes, la oficina abre en sábado.Próximo sábado: 14 de junio Oficina de Tucsón 9 a.m. a 2 p.m.

If anyone is firedbecause of this law,they are welcometo come to the con-sulate so that wecan analyze theircase to determine ifthere was wrong-doing.

-Alejandro Ramos Cardoso,spokesman for the Mexican

Consulate in Tucson


QUÉ PASA?

?

KIDCO May 27 to July 25Kidco summer program isoffered for children ages 5 to 12by Tucson Parks and Recreation. The program runs from Mondaythrough Friday, and all partici-pating center locations will havemorning and afternoon sessions7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 12:30 to6 p.m. Participants may registerfor one or both sessions. There isa nonrefundable registration feeof $75.

Participating Locations:Cherry Avenue 791-4497Freedom Center 791-4969Fred Archer 791-4355Ormsby Center 791-4011Quincie Douglas 791-2507El Pueblo Center 791-5155Santa Rosa 791-4589

Tucson Parks andRecreation

May 27 to August 8Summer Youth Camps for ages 5to 12 run Monday through Friday,7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sessions willbe held at Randolph and UdallParks and will include sports, artsand crafts, movies, swimming,and cooking. For more informa-tion, call 791-4873.

Kino Summer CampMay 27 to August 15 This day camp, for ages 6 to 12,includes structured daily activitiesranging from academics to athleticsand runs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thecost is $75 per week. For moreinformation call 740-4655 or [email protected].

“Oso Fuerte”June 1 to August 17Live theatre workshops will beheld Sundays at 1 p.m. The costranges from $5 to $8. For moreinformation, call 327-4242 or visitwww.livetheatreworkshop.org

In-Betweener’s ClubMay 27 to July 25Recreation program for youth ages11 to 14, Monday through Friday.The program focuses on life skills,social interaction, educationalenhancements, field trips, cookingand fun. The program is free toTucson residents and includes a$25 non-refundable charge for non-city residents. For more informa-tion, contact the nearest center:

Apollo Middle School 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday throughFriday

Archer Center7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondaythrough Friday

Cherry Avenue Center7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondaythrough Friday

El Pueblo Regional Center7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondaythrough Friday

Quincie Douglas Center 7:30 a.m.to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday

Art Express Inc.

May 28 to June 27High School Musical Theatre forgrades 9 to 12, Monday throughFriday, 1p.m. to 5 p.m.Participants will study and pro-duce a well-known musical.Auditions will be held during thefirst three days of class.

June 2 to June 27Junior Musical Theatre for grades5 to 8, Monday through Friday, 1 to5 p.m. Participants will study theproduction of an age-appropriatemusical. The session costs $250.

June 2 to June 27Fine Arts Youth Academy forgrades 4 to 8. Monday throughFriday, 8 a.m. to noon. Participantswill receive instruction in band,orchestra, percussion, guitar,drama, dance, visual arts, cartoon-ing, mariachi, folkorico and hip-hop. The session costs $225. Formore information call 319-0400 orgo to www.arts-express.org

15th annual Tour forTucson’s Children

July 4A 27-mile challenge starts at 6a.m., the three-mile run/walk startsat 6:05 a.m., the ten-mile familybike ride starts at 6:45 a.m., thesix-mile family ride starts at 6:45a.m. and the half-mile kid’s rideand other activities start at 7:30a.m. All proceeds benefit Tour forTucson’s Children Program Fund.For packet pick-up and additionalinformation call ParksAdministration at 791-4969.

Viva Performing Arts June 2 to August 7Viva Performing Arts CenterDance Camp for ages 4 to 14.Dance workshops, starting at $50,include: jazz, ballet, hip-hop, folko-rico, flamenco, and tap. Tuesdayand Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. Formore information call 544-9543 orvisit www.vivaperformingarts.com

July 30 to August 3The Hispanic Performing ArtsConference for ages 5 to adult willbe hosted by the University ofArizona School of Music atCentennial Hall from 9 a.m. to 8p.m. on Aug. 3. Music and dance workshops, start-ing at $65, include: flamenco,salsa, folkorico, hip-hop, mariachi,classical guitar and voice.

Mud Puddle Party August 2Come out and play in the mud!This free event is for the entirefamily and will be held Saturdayfrom 8 a.m. to noon at Reid Park.The event will feature a pig pen,mud volleyball, a toddler mud pit, ajunior mud obstacle course and abig-kid mud obstacle course.Participants are required to wear anold t-shirt, shorts and old sneakers.For more information call 791-5787.

Leadership ProgramTeens ages 13 to 17 can have a funsummer while gaining valuablework experience by volunteeringfor the Parks and RecreationDepartment. A limited number ofteens are assigned to neighborhoodcenters, KIDCO sites and swim-ming pools city-wide. Participantsmust attend a mandatory orienta-tion to be eligible to be placed as avolunteer andJunior lifeguards must have com-pleted the junior lifeguard trainingcourse held in April. For informa-tion call the volunteer coordinatorat 791-5909, ext. 125 and for juniorlifeguards call 791-5352.

Free Guitar Classes

The 17th Street Market offers a

free guitar class to childrenages 6 to 12 every Thursdayfrom 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. For infor-mation call 624-8821.

Neighborhood CenterActivities for Children

Fred ArcherSummer pool hours:Monday through Friday, 11a.m. to1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.Saturday and Sunday, noon to 4p.m.

El Pueblo

Summer Pool hours: Mondaythrough Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.,and 4p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday andSunday, noon to 4 p.m.

Busy Bodies Preschool programfor ages 3 to 5. Tuesday andThuday, 9 a.m. to noon.Registration and fee are required.

Schoolz Out Camp for ages 5 to 11. Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m.to 6 p.m. Cost is $2 per day, perchild. Call center for dates and reg-istration.

Freedom Recereation CenterKid Kreation for ages 3 to 5.Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m.to noon. Activities include: ABCs,123s, social interaction and motordevelopment.

Free teen program for ages 11 to 17offered Tuesday and Thursday from3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Participants canenjoy sports, exercise, volunteering,games and music. Contact center formore information.

Martial arts and resilliency skills forages 6 to 16. Traditional MartialArts training and mentoring isoffered every Tuesday andThursday from 2 to 4 p.m.

Quincie Douglas Summer Pool Hours: Mondaythrough Friday from 10 a.m. to 7p.m., Saturday and Sunday fromnoon to 4 p.m.

Kid Kreation for children ages 3to 5. Educational and social activ-ities are offered two mornings aweek.

Schoolz Out camps for childrenages 5 to 11, weekdays from 7:30a.m. to 6 p.m. during the summerbreak.

Santa Rosa Schoolz Out Camps will be heldduring summer break, Mondaythrough Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6p.m.

Double Digits Teen Club for ages10 to 12 will meet Tuesday andThursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.Activities include sport competi-tions, cooking, crafts, trips, spe-cial events and community serviceprojects. Free to facility passholders.

SUMMER FUN FOR KIDS

Magic Carpet Golf, 6125 E. Speedway Blvd.,reopened for One Last Round, Saturday, April 26.The party allowed guests to play at the minituregolf course for the last time. The proceeds will beused for future renovations at Valley of the Moon.

Photos by Laura Hassett

By Lorena Barraza