Articles about immigration
The Daily Show Celebrates Cinco de Mayo in Dallas
Last night’s Daily Show aired a segment filmed during Sunday’s immigration march in downtown Dallas. Thousands had gathered to call for the legalization of some of the millions of people who are in the United States unlawfully.
Correspondent Jessica Williams came here to see how we celebrate “that most American of holidays,” Cinco de Mayo. The differences she found between the events at Cathedral Guadalupe and Dallas City Hall and a party in a bar in the West End are striking.
She concluded that we need immigrants in America because “They do the jobs we don’t want to do: staying sober and being politically engaged.”
Musician Nadia Sirota and Artist Tania Bruguera Awarded 2013 Meadows Prize
Two new (temporary) local artists: musician Nadia Sirota and artist Tania Bruguera
Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts announced the two winners of its annual Meadows Prize today. Nadia Sirota is a musician and a founder member of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, and her 2009 debut album was a New York Times album of the year; Tania Bruguera is a Cuban-born artist whose work was featured in Documenta 11.
So why is this award a big deal? Well, recipients of the Meadows Prize receive a $25,000 grant and participate in artistic residencies at the Meadows School. But what makes the prize both unique and efficacious is the extent to which past winners have led projects while at SMU that have had a wider impact on the Dallas community. For example, the art group Creative Time completed a (somewhat controversial) report of the state of Dallas’ art scene. Playwright Will Power’s time at SMU has now evolved into an extended residency with the Dallas Theater Center. What can we expect form this year’s winners? Hint: Think West Dallas. Jump for my thoughts and the full release:
Romney Campaign Manager: ‘I Believe We Probably Could Have Just Beaten Perry With the Social Security Hit.’
One of the biggest strikes against Mitt Romney during the general election was that since he had to skew so far to the right during the Republican primary race it was nearly impossible to brand himself otherwise during the general election. Nowhere was this more evident than immigration. Okay, maybe taxes, health care, and lots of other things, too, but still: immigration.
From Slate’s campaign wrap-up:
Romney campaign manager [Matt] Rhoades said he regretted that Romney had moved so far to the right on immigration during the primaries in order to out-flank Texas Gov. Rick Perry. “In retrospect,” Rhoades said, “I believe we probably could have just beaten Perry with the Social Security hit.”
It wasn’t clear exactly what Rhoades regretted. It might have been simply that he wishes he’d anticipated Perry’s quick implosion. Why have Romney risk doing anything that might hurt him later if the target of the attack was going to collapse so spectacularly anyway? It didn’t seem that Rhoades regretted Romney’s policy positions per se.
This kind of post-coital tristesse is always fun because it reminds us people thought Rick Perry could become the president.
Leading Off (8/13/12)
Aerial Mosquito Spraying Begins This Week: Nine people have died and nearly 200 people have contracted West Nile Virus this year, and so to combat the spread of the mosquito-transmitted disease, Dallas will begin dropping pesticides from the sky, the first time the county has conducted aerial spraying since 1966. But the seriously-bearded  Dr. Gene Helmick-Richardson says the spraying will only create a “super bug.”
North Texas A Center For Human Trafficking: This story (pay wall) contains harrowing details about the night in which a 20-year-old Arlington woman was abducted and forced into prostitution in late July, but perhaps more disturbing are the statistics from the National Human Trafficking Resource Center that indicate that the problem of human trafficking and forced prostitution is getting worse in North Texas.
Domingo Garcia Putting Roots Down In Fort Worth: The lawyer and politician lost to Fort Worth resident Marc Veasey in the Democratic primary for the Texas 33rd Congressional District, but the Star-Telegram reports that Garcia will be opening an office in Fort Worth and helping to register Hispanic voters, prompting speculation that he will throw his hat back in the ring 2014.
Leading Off (1/9/11)
City Manager: ‘Time To Deal With Flood Control’: This one is behind the paywall, but in short, City Manager Mary Suhm is preaching to the council about how Dallas is desperately in need of a major flood control overhaul. The central project proposed is a $302 million drainage tunnel. But the pump stations on the Trinity River levees also need to be reconstructed, and there are additional repairs and improvements that have been left undone for years. In all, Suhm estimates the total bill for flood control measures will be around $1 billion, and 40 percent of this year’s bond program may be allocated toward flood control projects.
Deported Dallas Teen Back With Family: The Oak Cliff teen who was mistakenly deported to Colombia was back with her mother and grandmother late Friday night and spent all day Saturday with them at an undisclosed location. Reports indicate that the girl, Jakadrien Turner, 15, was adjusting well to life in Colombia, finding a boyfriend, friends, and allegedly coming home pregnant.
Texas Drought Has Killed Estimated 500 Million Trees: That via The Texas Forest Service which believes that after the driest year on record and the second hottest, 10 percent of the state’s trees have died.
Leading Off (10/31/11)
Can Water Recycling Make Fracking Less Wasteful? Texas in the midst of one of the worst droughts in state history, which is having a lasting effect on Texas trees. But natural gas fracking pushes on, a process which uses up to 2 or 3 million gallons of water per new well. Now companies are trying to figure out how to recycle that water, and they are having some success.
Life Just Got Scarier for Mexican Burros: If you’re traveling out west be sure to shoot a burro. That’s because state officials don’t like all the donkeys that are crossing the border from Mexico illegally, prompting park rangers in Big Bend to shoot and kill 130 of an estimated 300 burros to date. Defenders of the beasts of burden blame the plentiful shrubs and other forage-able foods on the United States side of the boarder which offer incentive for the opportunity-starved Mexican donkeys to take their lives into their hands and make the dangerous trek to America.
Jerry Jones Is Insane: I wasn’t going to post about sports. The last five days have been too traumatic for local sports fans. It’s time to turn our attention to other things for a little while. But then, there is this brief piece by David Moore in which Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says that “There is absolutely no alarm in me” after last night’s rout in Philadelphia. “This is not about re-inventing everything we do,” Jones continues. “This is about being disappointed about not winning this football game.” Okay, Jerry. Whatever you say.
Job Growth in Texas Goes Mostly to Immigrants
According to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies of data from the Census Bureau, population growth in Texas from 2007-2010 came primarily from native-born citizens. But 40 percent of new jobs created went to illegal immigrants. To make matters worse, another 41 percent of new jobs went to legal immigrants. For those keeping score at home, that’s 81 percent.
I don’t know the Center for Immigration Studies. I haven’t studied the report. And I’m not an opponent of immigration. But if this is true, Rick Perry can kiss his presidential hopes goodbye.
By the way, for a measured and thoughtful analysis of how to control illegal immigration and improve native-born, middle-class jobs, read Palo Alto entrepreneur Ron Unz’s provocative article in this month’s American Conservative. Warning: it’s long, it’s serious, and it’s not what you would expect.
The Guanajuato Connection: How It Began
Peter refers to a News story about the strong ties between Mexican immigrants to Dallas and the tiny Mexican state of Guanajuato. In 1994, Hector Cantu explored for D Magazine how it started and why it is so strong.
Leading Off (9/19/11)
What a 1976 Trial Tells Us About John Wiley Price: The latest investigative brouhaha surrounding County Commissioner John Wiley Price isn’t the first time the politician has been backed into a legal corner. But what does an acquittal in 1976 tell us about how Price will handle the latest trouble? In short, don’t expect him to be eager to cooperate with the prosecution.
North Texas Economy Strengthens Guanajuato Ties: Most urban areas in the United States tend to draw migrants from specific regions of Mexico, and in the case of Dallas, it is the mountainous Guanajuato (which is one reason why someone needs to launch a new MLS team, Club León USA, and stick them in the Cotton Bowl, but that’s besides the point). In the current economy, in which the North Texas economy is outpacing other parts of the country, the labor-pool network remains entrenched and stronger than ever (sub req).
Bush Raises More Than $300 Million for Library: George W. Bush still has some serious fundraising swagger.
Dallas Is a Job-Creating Machine
Ryan Avent looks at Perry’s “Texas Miracle” and finds that it is a product of our four major cities. Dallas was second to New York in creating jobs in the last year. Dallas and Houston alone accounted for 10 percent of all new jobs in the U.S. One reason is energy, of course. Another reason is our tight government regulation of home financing (yes, government regulation!). But the third is our availability of housing and our openness to newcomers, wherever they come from:
Yet the big secret to success is Texan cities’ willingness to capitalize on their advantages through an extraordinary openness to growth. Relative friendliness to immigration is one source of strength. Between them, Dallas and Houston welcomed over 600,000 new residents from abroad over the past decade. That welcoming spirit extends to other Americans attracted by low housing costs.
That may explain Dallas, Ryan, but what about New York, which beat even Dallas in job creation? Top cities for job growth after the break.Â
Dallas County Property Tax Valuations Down …
… and Farmers Branch has the biggest decline – 3.6 percent, mostly on residential valuations. Overall, the county is down about 1.7 percent this year, which is actually good news, since the county based its 2012 budget on a drop of more than 4 percent.
But back to that Farmers Branch decline. A FrontBurnervian messaged to ask how this jibed with former Mayor Tim O’Hare’s premise that the town needed more stringent ordinances to combat illegal immigration, because an influx of undocumented aliens was driving property prices down. Was his theory incorrect, or is the fact that the ordinances are still tied up in court to blame, and O’Hare is just remarkably prescient?
Dewhurst Immigration Solution All Wet, Intern Says
Intern James Bright attended today’s talk by Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst at D World Headquarters. And he has a bone or two to pick with the lieutenant governor on illegal immigration:
David Dewhurst stopped by D’s office today to let us know about his perfect plan to solve any and all immigration problems: increase border patrol. Well, since this idea has been put out there pretty much forever, and virtually every opinion writer in the nation has given their two cents on the idea, I figured why not throw my thoughts into the mix.
According to Dewhurst, there are approximately 7,000 miles of border and roughly 19,000 current border patrol agents protecting our land. He says that tripling the number of security personal will effectively solve the issues of illegal immigrants, drug traffickers, and people with passports from “terrorist countries” like Libya and Syria coming into the United States.
Should Texas Launch Its Own Guest-Worker Program?
Makes sense to me. Congress has failed utterly in reforming our antiquated immigration laws. So why shouldn’t Texas protect businesses and immigrant workers with a program of its own?
Texas to Mexico: Give Us Your Juice
We don’t want their immigrants (some of us don’t, anyway), but when the weather turns bad, we will take their electricity.
Austin, Dallas Jump Ahead in Attracting Young
In the middle of the past decade, hot housing markets like Riverside, California and Phoenix attacted young adults (age 24-35). Now the moving vans are headed toward Austin and Dallas. Jump for the chart from the Brookings Institution report.
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