NCVA eREPORTER
- March 28, 2006
The National
Congress of Vietnamese Americans' NCVA eReporter is a regular email
newsletter containing information on
grant/funding
opportunities, events/forums/conferences, available
internships
and news items pertinent to the Vietnamese American and Asian
Pacific American communities.
In this NCVA eReporter:
EVENTS
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
TIPS/RESOURCES
NEWS
******************
EVENTS
ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN COMMUNITY EDUCATION & LEGAL CLINIC FOR
HURRICANE KATRINA LEGAL AID
Sunday,
April 2, 2006 & Monday,
April 3, 2006
10 a.m. ~ 6 p.m.
Do you have a legal question? Would you like to speak with an
attorney?
Attorneys and law students who speak Vietnamese, Chinese,
Korean, and Tagalog will be there to help answer your questions
about:
FEMA and SBA applications ♦ Insurance ♦ Housing ♦ and many other
issues
The
APA Community Education & Legal Clinic will be held
at:
Boat People S.O.S. (at Hong Kong Plaza)
925 Behrman Hwy, Unit 11
Gretna, LA 70056
Sponsoring Organizations:
Asian American Justice Center (AAJC) ♦ Asian Pacific American
Legal Center of Southern California (APALC) ♦ Asian & Pacific
Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) ♦ Boat People S.O.S. ♦
Japanese American Citizens’ League (JACL) ♦ National Alliance of
Vietnamese American Service Agencies (NAVASA) ♦ National Asian
Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) ♦ National Asian
Pacific American Law Students Association (NAPALSA) ♦ National
Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (NCAPACD)
♦ New Orleans Legal Assistance (NOLAC) ♦ Asian Pacific American
Society ♦ Korean American Association ♦ Vietnamese American
Community in Louisiana
♦ The
APA Community Education & Legal Clinic is Free and
Open to the Public ♦
Vietnamese Flyer
(http://www.ncvaonline.org/archive/prj_HurricaneKatrina_APAKatrinaLegalClinicFlyer_vn_040206.pdf)
******************
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
ETA News Release: [03/22/2006]
Contact Name: David James or Mike Volpe
Phone Number:
202-693-4676 or x3984
Release Number: 06-0501-NAT
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ANNOUNCES COMPETITION FOR $4 MILLION IN
FUNDING FOR GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and
Training Administration (ETA)
today announced a $4 million grant competition for faith-based
and community organizations to help hard-to-serve populations
prepare for and succeed in employment opportunities.
"Faith-based and community organizations provide a vital
complement to the employment and training resources available
through local One-Stop Career Centers," said Assistant Secretary
of Labor for Employment and Training Emily Stover DeRocco.
"Organizations that successfully compete for these funds will
provide the extra help that some individuals need to prepare for
and ultimately succeed in the workplace."
Services funded by the grants will focus on individuals who face
significant hurdles to employment, including welfare recipients,
high school dropouts and ex-offenders. Grantees will provide
personalized care and supportive services, such as mentoring or
life skills coaching, to enable individuals to fully utilize the
employment services offered at local One-Stop Career Centers.
"Government can always do better for people in need when we
enlist every willing partner," said Director of the Labor
Department's Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives
Jedd Medefind. "The personal involvement and caring touch of
faith-based and community organizations can often make the
critical difference between sliding back into old habits or
moving forward to new beginnings."
These grants will become part of the Department of Labor's
ongoing effort to partner its existing programs with effective
faith-based and community organizations to better serve the
needy. ETA expects to award between 60 and 70 grants through
this $4 million competition, amounting to four times the funding
given in 2005.
A competitive solicitation for grant applications can be
accessed online through
www.doleta.gov/sga/sga.cfm or
www.grants.gov. The competition for grants will close May 2,
2006. "Frequently Asked Questions" regarding this competitions
will be posted at
www.doleta.gov/usworkforce/documents/misc/fbo-cbo.cfm by
March 29, 2006, and will be updated periodically.
For more information on the Department of Labor's employment and
training programs, please visit
www.doleta.gov.
(http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/eta20060501.htm)
******************
D.C.
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE’S
ONE FUND DRIVE
The D.C. Government Employees’ One Fund Drive is the District
government’s only authorized charitable fundraiser. The Drive
assesses funds annually to benefit non-profit organizations in
the metropolitan Washington Community.
District Government employees are the sole contributors to the
One Fund campaign. The D. C. One Fund Drive is not affiliated
in any way with the Combined Federal Campaign or any other
charitable fund raising entity. Federations that participate in
the campaign are considered recipient organizations just as the
independent organizations that apply directly to the Campaign
are “D.C. One Fund Agencies”. All receive contributions from
the D.C.
One Fund Drive
and must adhere to the procedures and guidelines set forth by
the Campaign.
Organizations must apply each year to be considered candidates
for financial support. Applications are reviewed by the
Eligibility Committee, which is a Subcommittee of the One Fund
Executive Committee. A formal recommendation is submitted by
the committee to the Chair and Executive Committee for final
approval.
Please review the procedures and guidelines carefully. Only
those organizations that meet the criteria should apply for
financial support.
Please check your application for completeness and accuracy
before submission. The D.C. One Fund is not obligated to assist
agencies in curing deficiencies in their applications that may
make them ineligible to become campaign participants. An
incomplete or inaccurate application could result in the denial
of your application.
The D.C. One Fund is not responsible for loss funding that may
result from any agency being deemed ineligible in the D.C. One
Fund as a result of incomplete, inaccurate or late applications,
or as a result of errors made in good faith by the D.C. One Fund
Eligibility Committee during the process of determining
eligibility.
(http://dc.gov/gov/one_fund/directory_2004.shtm)
Application:
(http://www.ncvaonline.org/archive/Grants_DCOneFund_App_2006.doc)
******************
SAFECO COMMUNITY
GRANTS PROGRAM
The Safeco Community Grants Program supports nonprofit
organizations that promote neighborliness by bringing people
together in and around cities where company employees live in
California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois,
Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and
Washington. Safeco funds programs focused on: building an
economic foundation for strong neighborhoods; protecting the
foundation of strong neighborhoods; and helping neighborhoods
flourish and thrive. In all cases, priority is given to programs
serving disadvantaged and diverse populations. The remaining
deadlines in 2006 are May 26, August 11, and October 27.
(http://www.safeco.com/in_the_community/corporate_giving/default.asp)
******************
UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS
AND
DUPONT: LEAD-SAFE FOR
KIDS’ SAKE GRANT
Cities United for Science Progress (CUSP), a partnership between
The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM)
and DuPont, invites your city to “Think Big” and apply for the
2006 “Lead-Safe for Kids’ Sake” grant program. The “Lead-Safe
for Kids’ Sake” grant recognizes cities with the most
outstanding lead-safe strategies implemented through programs,
public policy, education, or joint efforts with local
stakeholders. For the most outstanding lead-safe strategy, one
city will receive the $175,000 Award of Excellence, and two
cities $100,000 Awards of Distinction for lead-safe best
practices. Of special interest are innovative and replicable
lead-safe strategies and practices that will leverage the
winning resources. Applicant cities must be members of The
United States Conference of Mayors. The application deadline is
April 21, 2006.
(http://www.usmayors.org/cusp)
******************
LOWE’S CHARITABLE
AND
EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION FUNDS COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT
The Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation is dedicated to
improving the communities the company serves through support of
K-12 public education, community improvement projects and home
safety initiatives. The Foundation also provides Vocational
Trade School Scholarships to eligible students through selected
community colleges and technical schools, as well as grants to
K-12 schools through the Outdoor Classroom Grant Program.
Applications are accepted at any time (except for the
scholarship program), and must be submitted online.
(http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=frameSet&url=apps.bridgetree.com/funding/default.asp)
******************
MAZON: A JEWISH
RESPONSE TO HUNGER
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger is a national, nonprofit
agency that allocates donations from the Jewish community to
nonprofit organizations providing food, help and hope to hungry
people of all faiths and backgrounds. Grants are awarded
principally in the United States, though support is also
provided for vital hunger-relief efforts in Israel and
impoverished countries around the world. Some MAZON grants
provide assistance to food programs serving hungry people, but
the largest grants support organizations whose efforts go beyond
the immediate provision of food. These include organizations
working for longer-term solutions to hunger, those working to
improve the effectiveness of government food assistance
programs, and those providing training to increase the
self-reliance of low-income people. Letters of inquiry are due
May 15 and November 15, annually.
(http://www.mazon.org)
******************
BRAITMAYER FOUNDATION GRANTS FOCUS ON K-12 EDUCATION
The Braitmayer Foundation supports organizations and programs
throughout the United States that enhance the education of K-12
children. Of particular interest are curricular and school
reform initiatives, and the preparation of and professional
development opportunities for teachers, particularly those that
encourage people of high ability and diverse background to enter
and remain in K-12 teaching. The Foundation welcomes requests
for seed grants, challenge grants, or matching grants. The next
application deadline is June 1, 2006.
(http://www.braitmayerfoundation.org)
******************
4-H
AND
COMMUNITY ATV SAFETY PROGRAM
The 4-H and Community ATV Safety Program, administered by the
National 4-H Council, provides grants to create or enhance local
or state ATV safety projects which provide opportunities for
young people and adults to take action on the issue of ATV
safety. Youth are expected to lead in the design of the project,
the application writing process, the implementation, and the
evaluation of funded projects. Adults are expected to work with
youth providing guidance and support. Grants are offered only to
4-H/Extension programs in the United States and its territories.
However, community youth groups may contact their local
Cooperative Extension office in order to become project
collaborators. The application deadline is April 17, 2006.
(http://www.atv-youth.org/grants.aspx)
******************
PACIFIC
GAS
AND
ELECTRIC COMPANY OFFERS GRANTS TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN NORTHERN
AND
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
Pacific Gas and Electric Company has announced that it will
provide $1.7 million in 2006 to promote and expand learning
around solar power in California public schools through the
company's Solar Schools Program.
The 2006 Solar Schools Program will assist public schools
serving low-income students and communities of color with solar
energy systems, specialized solar science curricula, training
for teachers, and cash grants for innovative science projects.
Teachers and administrators from eligible schools within PG&E's
service area in northern and central California may apply for
grants to support their involvement in the following areas:
1) Installation of a $20,000 solar photovoltaic system for the
school's educational use. Up to thirty schools will receive the
donation and free installation of a new 1.3 kilowatt
photovoltaic system that converts sunlight into electric power.
The package includes an online monitoring tool and
grade-specific curriculum materials.
2) Solar-based curriculum training package. Over six hundred
teachers will be selected to attend science curriculum training
seminars and receive specialized classroom materials.
3) "Bright Ideas" grants. PG&E will award up to $200,000 in
amounts of $2,500 and $5,000 to schools for innovative solar
science projects.
Schools are welcome to apply for both a solar installation grant
and a "Bright Ideas" grant. Teachers associated with either
program element will be invited to attend training workshops.
(http://www.pge.com/about_us/community/solar_schools/index.html)
******************
BANK OF AMERICA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION OPENS APPLICATION PERIOD
FOR NEIGHBORHOOD EXCELLENCE INITIATIVE
The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is accepting
applications for its Neighborhood Excellence Initiative, a
program designed to recognize, nurture, and reward
organizations, local heroes, and student leaders helping to
rebuild and revitalize communities in thirty-eight of the bank's
major markets across the United States.
Working with community partners, Bank of America developed the
Neighborhood Excellence Initiative to provide the thirty-eight
participating markets with support through three programs:
Neighborhood Builders — Provides $200,000 in general operating
support and leadership training over two years to two nonprofit
organizations working to create vibrant neighborhoods. Funding
for operational support is $100,000 annually over two years.
Recipients will be invited to send a senior executive and one
emerging leader to participate in a specially designed
leadership development program. Any 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization operating in an applicable Bank of America
community fitting the eligibility guidelines can submit an
application. The applicant organization must be based in and
serve communities in the select markets to be eligible to apply.
Local Heroes — Recognizes five community heroes and allows them
to direct a $5,000 contribution to the nonprofit of their
choice. Outstanding community leaders selected as Local Heroes
will be recognized at a public ceremony. Successful nominations
will demonstrate how a nominee has made a special and
significant impact on individuals, families, or the community at
large; inspired others to community service; or been a catalyst
for new visions, understanding, and change in a community.
Self-nomination is encouraged.
Student Leaders — Recognizes five exemplary students who are
committed to making a difference with a paid summer internship
and an assigned mentor from Bank of America. Students currently
in their junior or senior year of high school are eligible to
apply. Applicants must be able to participate in an eight-week
paid internship during the summer of 2006 with a designated
local community organization. In addition, selected student
leaders will participate in a mentorship program with local Bank
of America executives during 2006.
(http://www.bankofamerica.com/foundation/index.cfm?template=fd_neighborexcell)
******************
FOSTER’S ANNOUNCES
NEW
COMMUNITY GRANTS PROGRAM
Foster’s, a beverage company based in Melbourne, Australia, has
announced a new initiative of the Foster’s in the Community
Program. The Foster’s Community Grants Program will award grants
to community-building projects in the fields of wellness,
culture, and the environment. Applications are open to charities
and not-for-profit organizations in Australia and the United
States.
Foster's defines "wellness" as both physical and mental health;
"culture" as artistic, sporting, and educational activities; and
"environment" as all aspects of the natural environment. The
program is designed to support specific projects and programs
rather than ongoing administrative costs and is designed to
complement the grassroots, local nature of the other elements of
Fosters’ community engagement activity. Grant proposals will be
assessed principally on the quality of the community benefit
they would deliver. Only registered not-for-profit organizations
are eligible for funding.
Foster’s Community Grants will conduct two funding rounds per
year. In 2006 these will be as follows: Round 1 — March 1 to
April 28, 2006; and Round 2 — August 1 to September 29, 2006.
The online application form will be live and available during
these dates.
(http://www.fosterscommunitygrants.com)
******************
JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
SCHOLARSHIPS FOR VIETNAMESE, CAMBODIAN, KHMER, LAOTIAN, OR OTHER
SOUTHEAST ASIAN AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS CONTINUING THEIR
EDUCATION THIS YEAR
Are you planning to attend an accredited college, training
program, or vocational school starting next year (University,
Cosmetology school, Vocational school, Community College)?
Scholarships ranging from $500 to $2000 will be awarded to
Southeast Asian Americans from areas in Louisiana, Mississippi,
or Alabama who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina. Students
must be planning to enter a two-year or four-year accredited
program (university, community college, cosmetology, mechanic,
or vocational school) beginning in Summer or Fall 2006.
Eligible students may be American-born of Southeast Asian
ancestry, immigrants from Southeast Asia, or children of
refugees from Southeast Asia.
The Nisei Student Relocation Commemorative Fund (www.nsrcfund.org)
was formed by former Japanese American internees to benefit
Southeast Asian American students who want to continue their
education after high school.
Applications are available at:
http://asu.edu/clas/apas/pdf/nsrcfscholarshippacket.pdf
Completed applications must be postmarked by
April 7, 2006 and include:
1. Completed application form
2. Essay
3. Transcript (official, unofficial, or letter explaining it is
not available, with actual school district phone number)
4. Evidence that student lived in area affected by Hurricane
Katrina in LA, MS, or AL. (Either a FEMA letter to applicant’s
family or letter from an agency attesting to status.)
5. Two letters of reference, with at least one from a community
leader (clergy, teacher, etc).
Contact information:
NSRCF
c/o Asian Pacific American Studies
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Arizona State University
PO Box 874401
Tempe, AZ 85287-4401
480-965-9711
apas@asu.edu
http://asu.edu/clas/apas/pdf/nsrcfscholarshippacket.pdf
The application deadline is April 7.
(http://asu.edu/clas/apas/pdf/nsrcfscholarshippacket.pdf)
******************
TIPS/RESOURCES
ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION: CONNECTINC.’S
WORK CENTRAL –
FREE CD-ROM ADDRESSES RURAL SUPPORT SERVICES
A new CD-ROM from the Annie E. Casey Foundation enables
policymakers, community leaders, and organizations that work
with low-income families to pay a virtual visit to Connectinc.’s
Work Central in Battleboro, NC. There they can learn about
Connectinc.'s innovative approach to reach residents in rural
communities. Founded on the idea that there is a human side to
economic growth that occurs one person and one family at a time,
Connectinc.'s Work Central uses call-center technology and
trained counselors to connect rural families to a network of
support services.
(http://www.aecf.org/publications/browse.php?filter=22)
******************
MANAGEMENT: FOUR TRAITS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS
Having a good leader for a good organization is the hope of
every nonprofit, one with which many have had a great deal of
luck and others less so.
In their book Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations, Barry Dym
and Harry Hutson maintain that even if a leader and an
organization have their good qualities, the important factor is
an alignment between leader and organization, a good fit of
characteristics.
The four major qualities of a leader are:
* Character and style. For example, an organization that grew
around a passionate and charismatic founder may have difficulty
fitting in a cool, analytic person.
* Personal values. The leader's values must fit with those of
the organization, not simply in its mission but also in its
operating style and methods.
* Individual skills. If growth and fundraising are important,
networking and public speaking skills are needed.
* Personal objectives. Whatever the individual leader's
objectives are, they must be possible within the organization.
The characteristics of an organization are:
* Organizational type. Organizations can be said to have
character, meaning the structure and culture that shape its
activities.
* Organizational culture. This means the values an norms, made
manifest in patterns of behavior, that distinguish it from other
social groupings
* Organizational resources. Both leadership qualities and
organizational qualities will be affected by the resources
available to an organization.
* Organizational mission and strategy. Objectives and the ways
of achieving them must be in sync for an organization and its
leader.
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/tips/management.html)
******************
19 IDEAS
FOR YOUR MONTHLY GIVING PROGRAM
The old message was a new-age one, brimming with words like,
“technology,” “automatic,” and “electronic.” It focused on the
“EZ” nature of the transaction, attempting to appeal to the
sensible side of donors. These days, as nonprofits’
organizational constraints tighten, charities are replacing
sensible with sensibility, and injecting emotion into their
monthly giving appeals.
Bob Wesolowski, president and founder of Caring Habits, Inc., a
New York City-based third party processor of nonprofits’ monthly
donation programs, spoke about this change in messaging at the
2006 Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation
Conference in Washington, D.C. According to Wesolowski,
“Organizations generally don’t make the same commitment to
monthly giving that they do to, for example, planned giving.”
Monthly giving donors have the potential to be more valuable in
the long-term. Annual donors, said Wesolowski, typically
contribute only about two years before they lapse, and during
this brief period they may donate $25 to $100 per year. Monthly
donors, on the other hand, contribute for an average of seven to
12 years, and their monthly gifts range from $10 to $50 with
some as high as $200 to $400, he said.
Wesolowski added that 23 percent of planned giving comes from
monthly donors. He recommended organizations move toward
tailoring their monthly giving messaging to appeal to their
donors’ sensibilities. Monthly giving programs that had names
such as EZ Gift, Autocharge and ElectroCheck are being replaced
by more successful ones with names like Mission Direct,
Innkeepers Club, Partners for Life. And organizations are
trading straightforward messaging that emphasizes the quick and
easy nature of the transaction, to one that highlights a more
personal connection between the donor and the organization.
From a comparison across several types of charities’ (i.e.
relief, food bank, environmental, activist) revised monthly
giving programs, Wesolowski concluded promising results overall.
Participation rates ranged from two percent to 18 percent of an
organization’s active donors. The average upgrade for new
participants, he said, ranged from 50 percent to 100 percent,
with a ten-year average of 85 percent. He expects a 96 percent
annual retention rate, along with a 99.9 percent fulfillment for
bank transfers and a 90 percent to 95 percent fulfillment for
monthly donations via credit cards.
Before launching a monthly giving program, Wesolowski
recommended that an organization consider the differences
between funds transfers and credit cards. Funds transfer, he
said, provides several advantages, including higher fulfillment,
higher retention, lower processing costs and less administrative
follow-up. But, added Wesolowski, credit card donors often give
10 percent to 15 percent more.
Wesolowski also recommended the following:
* Make a strong commitment to the monthly giving program
* Name the program to build brand identity
* Upgrade donors annually
* Consider the use of special appeals
* Always include a soft ask for a one-time contribution in every
appeal
Monthly giving programs are one of the best ways to reduce donor
attrition and upgrade a donor’s giving level, agreed Harvey
McKinnon, president of Harvey McKinnon Associates, a marketing
and fundraising company in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. McKinnon,
who specializes in monthly giving programs, predicted that in
the coming years charities will look to their monthly giving
programs to increase their incomes.
McKinnon recommended a charity ask the following prior to
starting a monthly giving program:
1. Is the maximization of long-term income one of your
organizational goals?
2. What method(s) will you use to recruit monthly donors (e.g.
mail, phone, face-to-face, volunteers, special events,
television)?
3. Are you going to give donors the option of making a single
gift instead of a monthly commitment (i.e. the soft ask)?
4. What is your marketing proposition? What will you offer the
prospective donor?
5. What list segments of your donor file will you approach to
invite to join your club?
6. Is there a staff person/volunteer who can run this program?
7. Do you have the ability to manage a pledge program with your
current software, or can you afford the software required?
8. Do you have a commitment to continue the program once it’s
started?
9. Do you have a compelling reason for why donor’s should join
the program?
10. Do you have committed donors who’d join the program if given
the opportunity?
11. Have you done the financial calculations to determine the
long- and short-term potential net income from a monthly giving
program?
12. Do you have the staff to create and direct the program, or
will you outsource? What are the costs of outsourcing?
13. Will you offer monthly reminders? If so, will you do it
in-house?
14. Will you offer a credit card payment option?
15. Will you offer the option of Electronic Funds Transfer?
16. What benefits will you give donors?
17. Is there organizational support for the program?
18. What resources do you have to devote to the program:
financial, technical, human?
19. Do similar organizations have monthly giving clubs? Have you
researched their programs and promotions?
(http://www.nptimes.com/enews/Mar06/news-032706_1.html)
******************
NEWS
March 10, 2006
VOTING RIGHTS ISSUES
PROBED
By NATALIA MUÑOZ
nmunoz@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - Springfield is being investigated by the U.S.
Department of Justice for possible violations of the Voting
Rights Act, the department has confirmed.
Springfield follows in the footsteps of Boston, Lawrence and
Lowell, which have seen justice department involvement in voting
rights issues. All four have large Latino populations, and
Lowell also has a large Asian population.
The attorney in Springfield City Hall who is addressing the
issues being probed by the justice department could not be
reached for comment yesterday.
Last year, the justice department asked Massachusetts Voter
Education Network, a nonpartisan voting rights organization, to
share information it had collected on Election Day 2004 in 232
poll sites in 11 cities, including Holyoke, Springfield,
Lawrence and Lowell.
Among the findings from the exit poll surveys statewide were:
Nearly one in 10 eligible voters could not vote on his or her
first attempt; whether they tried again was not known
The training of poll workers is inadequate - many do not know
the rules
Voters who speak limited English were helped at some polls, but
not others
In Springfield, where 2,652 voters were surveyed in Wards 1, 2
and 4, some of the issues voiced were a lack of translators, no
information regarding their right to a provisional ballot and
rudeness by a few poll workers.
In Ward 1A in the North End of the city, for example, 50 of the
620 voters were told they were ineligible to vote when, in fact,
they were able to prove they were eligible. Among the IDs that
are acceptable for proof of name and address are current utility
bills and a bank statement. A government-issued photo ID is not
required, but can be presented as well.
In addition to the investigation, Springfield is being sued in
federal court by organizations and individuals who state that
because all the city councilors and School Committee members are
elected at-large, the boards are predominantly white while the
population is more than half Asian, black and Latino. The
lawsuit, filed last April, states that the current at-large
system dilutes the voting strength of black and Hispanic voters
and denies them the opportunity to participate in the political
process. Ward representation is sought.
Among those interviewed by justice department attorneys here
about three weeks ago was Gumersindo Gómez, executive director
of the Springfield Bilingual Veterans Outreach Center and one of
the plaintiffs in the ward representation lawsuit.
Gómez said that the city needs bilingual poll workers in all
eight wards, not just in Ward 1, the North End, which is
predominantly Latino. About 5,000 of the city's 40,000 or so
Latinos live there.
According to the law, in a community where more than 10,000
voting-age residents speak a language other than English,
notices, forms, instructions, assistance or other materials of
information relating to the electoral process must be provided
in that language.
Next year, several provisions of the act will come up for
reauthorization by Congress. Among the provisions that will be
voted on is one that calls for bilingual ballots.
Gómez said poll workers need in-depth training. When they don't
know the details of the act, that translates to people not
voting, he said.
"I've said this before - there is an effort to keep Latinos from
showing the true force we have at the polls," said Gómez, who
volunteers as a poll supervisor during elections. "I had to go
with state Rep. (Cheryl) Rivera to get training in English and
Spanish in my neighborhood."
Juan Martínez, executive director of the Massachusetts Voter
Education Network, said the spate of inquiries is cause for
concern.
"I don't think we'd have the Department of Justice investigating
our cities if the secretary of state was doing a good job," said
Martínez.
State of State William F. Galvin said he wasn't aware of any
federal inquiry into Springfield other than the ward
representation lawsuit.
He said that his office has been on the vanguard of voting
rights and termed criticism of his office as politically
motivated. He said he was involved with the justice department
in voting rights issues in Lowell, Lawrence and Boston.
Galvin said he called the Justice Department to Lowell in 2004
when voting rights problems arose there. His office intervened
when election commissioners proved unable to carry out some of
their duties, such as providing provisional ballots, he said.
Provisional ballots can be used by voters on Election Day if
their names are not on the voters list.
He said the problem in Lawrence centered on 15,000 letters sent
to residents telling them they were on the inactive voters list.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Boston last
summer, stating, among other things, violations of the rights of
residents of Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese descent by refusing
to permit those with language limitations to be assisted by a
person of their choice. The city is under a consent decree in
which elections will be monitored until 2008.
(http://www.masslive.com/news/topstories/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1141980050303230.xml&coll=1&thispage=1)
******************
March 23, 2006
Pham says verdict restores name
DISPUTE OVER VIETNAMESE
FLAG
PROMPTS $700,000 AWARD TO BUSINESS OWNER
By Shannon Prather
Pioneer Press
A dispute over the lowering of the South Vietnamese flag atop
St. Paul's Vietnam Center led to a jury award on Wednesday of
nearly $700,000 to a man who said his name was smeared during a
torrent of protests over the incident.
A Ramsey County jury ordered seven members of the Vietnamese
community to pay St. Paul businessman Tuan Pham $693,000 in
damages for destroying his reputation and ruining his
University Avenue business.
The panel returned the verdict after deliberating for nearly 12
hours over three days. Pham sued more than 50 people for
defamation after he was involved in briefly lowering the flag in
December 2003. All but seven defendants settled or had been
dismissed from the case.
Pham, a devout Catholic, said he was merely the driver for a
Vietnamese priest visiting St. Paul. The priest wanted to avoid
taking sides in political divisions lingering from the Vietnam
War, prompting him to ask that the flag of the former country of
South Vietnam be lowered during his visit to the center.
But the incident ignited outrage among many Vietnamese
immigrants, many of whom fought for the South Vietnamese army.
Protesters labeled Pham a communist, even though he, too, fought
for South Vietnamese forces. Protesters targeted Pham's Capital
Market, which eventually closed.
Pham said Wednesday the verdict restores his name.
"I feel completely released from two years of suffering," said
Pham, 70.
Pham's attorney, Darrin Rosha, argued that his client was caught
in the crossfire between two groups jostling for control of
Vietnamese community groups.
"This sends a message. People have to respect others' rights as
well as exercising their own," Rosha said.
But the defendants said the verdict is a blow for the First
Amendment and vowed to appeal.
"If we get punished like this, that means people cannot practice
freedom of speech," said defendant Linda Vu, who was ordered to
pay about $150,000. "It's not good for the country. The enemy
lives among us."
Throughout the trial, the defendants said the case was about
disrespect for the flag that represented their fallen republic.
Several defendants told jurors how they had fought along side
Americans in the Vietnam War and had watched family members die
for what it stood for. They argued they had a right to protest,
boycott and speak their minds about Pham's acts.
In January 2004, defendant Thang Dinh Le wrote a letter to U.S.
Sen. Norm Coleman and President Bush demanding that Pham be
removed from the Vietnamese Educational Foundation, an advisory
board appointed by the president. The letter, which was signed
by more than 50 people, detailed the flag incident and attacked
Pham's character.
Le was ordered to pay $159,990, the most of all seven
defendants.
Shannon Prather can be reached at
sprather@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5452
(http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/14163413.htm)
******************
For Immediate Release
March 23, 2006
Contact: Malou Gemeniano
Email: Aalinkquest@yahoo.com
AN ASIAN AMERICAN YOUTH LEADERSHIP SEMINAR TO BE HELD ON APRIL
9, 2006
Fairfax, VA – Two organizations, CandleLights & Echoes and
AASuccess, will be hosting an Asian American Youth Leadership
seminar on
April 9, 2006
from
4:00 pm to
8:30 pm, at the Diamond Cultural & Entertainment Center in Falls
Church, VA. Asian American college and high school students are
invited to attend the seminar to explore ideas about how they
can develop leadership skills, better utilize available
resources and thus serve their communities more effectively.
The seminar will begin with a panel discussion on 1) leadership
skills and networking opportunities to encourage the continued
success of the Asian American community, and 2) strategies to
provide students the necessary tools and resources to broaden
their horizons.
The panel discussion will conclude with a talk from Mr. Todd
Howland, Director of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human
Rights. A light buffet dinner and networking time will follow
thereafter for students to meet with local community service
representatives and other fellow students. The event will close
out with entertainment and live music provided by local cultural
entertainment troupes.
The seminar is free for high school students with a parental
consent form. Registration fee for college students, with ID,
is $10/person. Tickets for adults are available on a limited
basis at $35/person.
To register online for the event, go to
http://AASuccess.org. The registration deadline is
April 2, 2006.
Seatings are limited so interested participants should register
early.
The event is endorsed by the International Committee for Freedom
- TCQTYT CTNB and VATV.
For more information on the seminar, please contact Dave Nguyen
at
(703)
864-6558 or Thieu Do at
(571)
217-6650.
CandleLights & Echoes is comprised of a group of Vietnamese
American professionals who volunteer to help organize the Asian
American Youth Leadership Seminar on April 9, 2006
AASuccess is a newly formed volunteer organization with a
mission to provide young Asian American students leadership
development and networking opportunities to become active
community leaders in the areas of education and health.
The International Committee for Freedom (http://www.caotraonhanban.org)
- TCQTYTCTNB - is an organization which supports the non-violent
movement for human rights in Vietnam.
VATV (http://www.vatv.org)
is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) Organization (DUNS # 17-194-16-07).
VATV produces the Washington Vietnamese TV Magazine which
provides full coverage news on community activities and
highlights the accomplishments and contributions of Vietnamese
Americans in the US.
(http://www.AASuccess.org)
******************
March 23, 2006
TO
ALL
THE GIRLS I’VE REJECTED
By Jennifer Delahunty Britz
New York Times
Gambier, Ohio
A FEW days ago I watched my daughter Madalyn open a thin
envelope from one of the five colleges to which she had applied.
"Why?" was what she was obviously asking herself as she handed
me the letter saying she was waitlisted.
Why, indeed? She had taken the toughest courses in her high
school and had done well, sat through several Saturday mornings
taking SAT's and the like, participated in the requisite number
of extracurricular activities, written a heartfelt and
well-phrased essay and even taken the extra step of touring the
campus.
She had not, however, been named a National Merit finalist, dug
a well for a village in Africa, or climbed to the top of Mount
Rainier. She is a smart, well-meaning, hard-working teenage
girl, but in this day and age of swollen applicant pools that
are decidedly female, that wasn't enough. The fat acceptance
envelope is simply more elusive for today's accomplished young
women.
I know this well. At my own college these days, we have three
applicants for every one we can admit. Just three years ago, it
was two to one. Though Kenyon was a men's college until 1969,
more than 55 percent of our applicants are female, a proportion
that is steadily increasing. My staff and I carefully read these
young women's essays about their passion for poetry, their
desire to discover vaccines and their conviction that they can
make the world a better place.
I was once one of those girls applying to college, but that was
30 years ago, when applying to college was only a tad more
difficult than signing up for a membership at the Y. Today, it's
a complicated and prolonged dance that begins early, and for
young women, there is little margin for error: A grade of C in
Algebra II/Trig? Off to the waitlist you go.
Rest assured that admissions officers are not cavalier in making
their decisions. Last week, the 10 officers at my college sat
around a table, 12 hours every day, deliberating the
applications of hundreds of talented young men and women. While
gulping down coffee and poring over statistics, we heard about a
young woman from Kentucky we were not yet ready to admit
outright. She was the leader/president/editor/captain/lead
actress in every activity in her school. She had taken six
advanced placement courses and had been selected for a
prestigious state leadership program. In her free time, this
whirlwind of achievement had accumulated more than 300 hours of
community service in four different organizations.
Few of us sitting around the table were as talented and as
directed at age 17 as this young woman. Unfortunately, her test
scores and grade point average placed her in the middle of our
pool. We had to have a debate before we decided to swallow the
middling scores and write "admit" next to her name.
Had she been a male applicant, there would have been little, if
any, hesitation to admit. The reality is that because young men
are rarer, they're more valued applicants. Today, two-thirds of
colleges and universities report that they get more female than
male applicants, and more than 56 percent of undergraduates
nationwide are women. Demographers predict that by 2009, only 42
percent of all baccalaureate degrees awarded in the United
States will be given to men.
We have told today's young women that the world is their oyster;
the problem is, so many of them believed us that the standards
for admission to today's most selective colleges are stiffer for
women than men. How's that for an unintended consequence of the
women's liberation movement?
The elephant that looms large in the middle of the room is the
importance of gender balance. Should it trump the qualifications
of talented young female applicants? At those colleges that have
reached what the experts call a "tipping point," where 60
percent or more of their enrolled students are female, you'll
hear a hint of desperation in the voices of admissions officers.
Beyond the availability of dance partners for the winter formal,
gender balance matters in ways both large and small on a
residential college campus. Once you become decidedly female in
enrollment, fewer males and, as it turns out, fewer females find
your campus attractive.
What are the consequences of young men discovering that even if
they do less, they have more options? And what messages are we
sending young women that they must, nearly 25 years after the
defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment, be even more accomplished
than men to gain admission to the nation's top colleges? These
are questions that admissions officers like me grapple with.
In the meantime, I'm sending out waitlist and rejection letters
for nearly 3,000 students. Unfortunately, a majority of them
will be female, young women just like my daughter. I will linger
over letters, remembering individual students I've met, essays I
loved, accomplishments I've admired. I know all too well that
parents will ache when their talented daughters read the letters
and will feel a bolt of anger at the college admissions officers
who didn't recognize how special their daughters are.
Yes, of course, these talented young women will all find fine
places to attend college — Maddie has four acceptance letters in
hand — but it doesn't dilute the disappointment they will feel
when they receive a rejection or waitlist offer.
I admire the brilliant successes of our daughters. To parents
and the students getting thin envelopes, I apologize for the
demographic realities.
Jennifer Delahunty Britz is the dean of admissions and financial
aid at Kenyon College.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/opinion/23britz.html?ex=1144040400&en=13f058e284d3cec8&ei=5070&emc=eta1)
******************
March 23, 2006
DOCUMENTARY
SENDS WARNING TO CONGRESS
BY Walter Cronkite
When young Anh Duong fled war-torn Saigon in 1973, she never
imagined she'd grow up one day to make bombs for the U.S.
military. She was just a child whose passage to safety in the
United States she credits to ''a thirst for freedom'' and ``the
sacrifice of other people.''
In the important new documentary film Why We Fight, Duong's
remarkable saga is told alongside the stories of a number of
everyday people working for America's defense. From a wide-eyed
young recruit to the pilots who launched the opening strike of
Operation Iraqi Freedom to a New York policeman who lost his son
on 9/11, the film is a scrapbook of the American family at a
time of war, trapped in a tragedy of history repeating.
Today, Duong is an explosives expert employed at the Naval
Surface Warfare Station at Indian Head, Md. Credited with the
development of a powerful bunker-buster used in Afghanistan and
Iraq, she proudly recounts her rise from refugee to ``defense
technician.''
''I do remember the desperation,'' Duong recalls, the obvious
sunshine in her nature battling the anguish of memories.
``A lot of South Vietnamese felt that the Americans had left
them to fend for themselves. That in the end, America
deliberately withdrew all the support.''
Though the pain of betrayal is not lost on her, there is an
irony in her path from war victim to war professional. Though
Duong's tale is a stirring immigrant success story, watching the
movie's scenes of Saigon's fall at a time when we are facing the
withdrawal question in Iraq gave me a profound sense of déja vu.
Not unlike the Vietnam quagmire on which I reported in 1968, we
are today presented with the Iraq quagmire. The threat of world
communism has been replaced by international terror as a pretext
for another misbegotten and mismanaged war, but the falsehoods,
broken promises and withering national faith are too familiar.
Now, as then, with each further escalation, we come closer to
the brink of cosmic disaster. A recent poll revealed that
three-fourths of U.S. troops serving in Iraq want full
withdrawal, one-fourth immediately. Despite the executive's
stubborn optimism, two-thirds of the public now favor
withdrawal.
Yet in Congress, such voices are the minority.
In my February 1968 broadcast, I called the position of Vietnam
a stalemate.
I'm not sure ''stalemate'' fits the U.S. military's loose
footing in the sands of Iraq, but the need to cut losses does.
In the wake of the Golden Mosque bombing in Samarra, Shiites and
Sunnis now clash across the region. Our men and women in uniform
face the task of trying to stave off a civil war when their very
presence as an occupying force more often than not fuels the
violence and represents an obstacle to Shiite and Sunni
reconciliation.
As I stated in relation to Vietnam, the only rational way out is
to proceed not as victors but as an honorable people who tried
to defend democracy the best they could. Recently, I suggested
that in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina there was
an opportunity to withdraw from Iraq and still maintain our
sense of honor. We had an urgent need to redirect our resources
to the aid of our communities and people stricken by the
devastation of the great storm. Almost no one on Capitol Hill
was listening.
Why We Fight should be required viewing for Americans but even
more for those on Capitol Hill. The film sends a chilling
warning that should not be ignored by Congress and our executive
branch.
Walter Cronkite is a former anchorman for CBS News.
(http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/14164005.htm)
******************
March 25, 2006
DIABETES ON THE
RISE AMONG ASIANS
Josie Cabiglio
Nguoi Viet
Medical professionals working with Asians are becoming alarmed
by the greater numbers of patients they see suffering from
diabetes.
Nearly 7 percent of Americans, or about 21 million, have
diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. But in Asia, where the illness is spreading rapidly,
the World Health Organization and the International Diabetes
Federation predict that the number of diabetics across the
continent may increase to 160 million by 2025.
The growth of diabetes among Asians is so noteworthy that the
Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, working closely with the
Harvard Medical School, has what it calls the Asian Diabetes
Initiative, targeted at improving awareness and management of
diabetes in Asian Americans.
What is diabetes?
Type 2, the most common form of diabetes, is a lifelong disease
marked by high levels of sugar in the blood. It occurs when the
body does not respond correctly to insulin, a hormone released
by the pancreas.
How common is diabetes?
The disease is expected to affect at least 350 million people
worldwide by the year 2030, which is double the current number
of diagnosed cases, according to WHO statistics. Studies show
that roughly half of the more than 300 million individuals with
diabetes in the year 2025 will be of Asian descent.
What are the complications of diabetes?
Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death and disability in
the United States, costing more than $98 billion each year. It
is the fifth-leading cause of death in Asian Americans between
the ages of 45 and 64.
Formerly called adult-onset diabetes, Type 2 can go undetected
for years while it wreaks havoc on the body in its uncontrolled
state, resulting in serious and sometimes potentially
life-threatening complications that include heart disease,
strokes, nerve damage, kidney failure, blindness, limb
amputations and sexual dysfunction.
What is the profile of an Asian who gets diabetes?
Results from what little research does exist on Asians and
diabetes — studies conducted on Chinese populations — can be
extrapolated to those of Vietnamese and other Asian backgrounds,
said Dr. William Hsu, an endocrinologist and co-director of the
Joslin Diabetes Center’s Asian American Diabetes Initiative,
whose purpose is to enhance the quality of life and health
outcomes for Asian Americans living with diabetes through
research, education, outreach and improved diabetes treatment
outcomes.
The studies of residents from industrialized Hong Kong and in
rural parts of mainland China show that 10 percent of Hong
Kong’s population has diabetes while only 1 to 2 percent of the
population in rural areas of the country is affected, Hsu said.
“In Viet Nam, Type 2 diabetes is low because it is still not an
industrial nation. Lifestyle changes are part of the cause,” he
said.
Traditionally, residents of Viet Nam and other Southeast Asian
countries have been mainly agrarian workers whose levels of
occupational physical activity have been high, but with more
people working in urban-based industrialized jobs, an inevitable
decline in physical activity follows, he said. Diets also have
changed greatly and decreased in their overall healthful
quality.
How does weight relate to diabetes?
A decrease in physical activity and a change in dietary habits
can cause numerous problems, starting with weight gain, Hsu
said. “In the Caucasian population, diabetes is related to
weight gain. At first glance, it doesn’t seem to be the same for
Asians. They (think that they) don’t gain weight. I challenge
that.
“Even if they gain a little bit of weight, they are at risk (for
diabetes). It’s probably because most of the weight gain occurs
in the belly. They don’t have large hips or thighs. Weight
around the belly - or central obesity — seems to be the worst
kind of fat to have. Asians who gain weight around their bellies
are at risk for heart disease, diabetes, all the bad stuff. They
are overweight, but they are not 200 or 300 pounds. They look
lean but have diabetes.”
Part of the reason for the extra weight gain is because
“immigrants want their children to do well, and they are growing
bigger and taller than their parents, who consider this to be
good, but they are heavier” than they should be, Hsu noted.
In the general population, one-third of individuals, both young
and old, have diabetes and don’t know it, he said. “In the Asian
population, this number is probably higher because there are
access-of-care issues,” he said.
How do language barriers affect health?
“We’ve found linguistic issues for the Chinese, and linguistic
barriers exist for the Vietnamese, as well,” Hsu said. Studies
of Chinese Americans show that those who want to speak English
with their doctors “gain more knowledge better than those who
don’t speak English, even with the same care. (Those who did not
speak English) seemed to have less knowledge of how to manage
their diabetes — and generally had a trend toward poor blood
glucose control — compared with Asian American immigrants who
preferred to speak English.”
Bilingual materials in Vietnamese and other languages are
desperately needed, as are doctors who either are of the various
cultural backgrounds or who understand them well, he said. “We
need to fill the knowledge gap. The lack of medical resources
(for Asian immigrants) is very bad,” he said.
Is Type 2 diabetes preventable among Asians?
Yes. According to WHO studies, up to 90 percent of Type 2
diabetes cases could be avoided through lifestyle changes. The
Diabetes Prevention Program, a research study sponsored by the
National Institutes of Health, showed that by increasing their
physical activity, eating a healthier diet and losing between 10
and 15 pounds, 58 percent of participants at high-risk for
diabetes were able to prevent the onset of the disease.
While most studies reflect the general population, the advice on
how to prevent diabetes is applicable to Vietnamese Americans,
Hsu said, stressing the importance for Vietnamese and other
immigrants and their children to get more involved in their own
health care.
Children of immigrants “have to know that this will be one of
the major epidemics to hit their lives. It already is an
epidemic. They will not be immune to diabetes,” he said. “They
need to be in this fight. We need Vietnamese doctors,
dieticians, politicians to move political agendas and we need
marketers to help us raise awareness,” Hsu said.
How can Asians help the fight against diabetes?
Vietnamese Americans and members of other Asian backgrounds
“need to get involved, take charge of their health and lobby for
more research funding,” he said, adding that this is part of the
goal behind Joslin’s work. Increased participation means getting
annual screenings for diabetes. It also means working with
legislators — or better yet, becoming legislators themselves —
to get more funding for research involving Asians and health
problems such as diabetes, he said.
“I really want to call to the attention of Vietnamese to take
action of their own health and to act socially responsible. No
one is going to advocate for them. If they do not advocate for
themselves, they will get lost in the vast sea of voices out
there.”
(http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=2f7a61c791087a1d38c3e1313c9fbe51)
******************
March 26, 2006
MONTAGNARD REFUGEE ASPIRES TO SUCCEED IN AMERICA
By Tina Firesheets
Staff Writer
GREENSBORO -- To achieve success, Tony Nie gave up his job,
hobbies and even contact with his family.
He focuses most of his attention these days on just one thing:
his education.
Nie, a Montagnard refugee who moved from Vietnam to Greensboro
in 2001, earned his GED last year. He now attends GTCC and wants
to earn a business degree at a university. He aspires eventually
to become a business owner.
The 23-year-old quit a well-paying job at VF Corporation because
it became hard to juggle both work and school: "I used to put my
job first and not my school, and my school (work) suffered."
Nie, who also studied martial arts and dabbled in bodybuilding,
gave up those interests as well. He makes these sacrifices so
that he can devote most of his time -- 12 to 15 hours a day --
to his studies.
He doesn't get many opportunities to call his parents in Vietnam
because of the expense. Nie also says his calls home mentally
distract him because of his family's situation there. The oldest
of six children, Nie didn't go to school in Vietnam, instead
opting to work so that his siblings could. His chance for a
better life came when, at 18, he accompanied his grandfather to
the United States.
Nie's grandfather, a Montagnard soldier who fought alongside the
Americans during the Vietnam War, arrived in Greensboro with Nie
and a cousin to join an established Montagnard community.
Immigration officials switched Nie and his cousin's ages on
their documents, so Nie, whose paperwork lists his current age
as 28, missed the chance to attend school. His cousin attended
high school in Greensboro briefly, before dropping out.
"I get so mad when I think about it," Nie said. "I tell him,
'Man, you used my age for nothing.' "
Nie worked in factories when he first came to Greensboro, but he
found the work monotonous. Then he worked at Outback Steakhouse,
where he said his English improved greatly.
When he's not studying at GTCC, Nie, who often dons a sport coat
and tie, likes to talk to business professionals about their
jobs. "I just love the office environment and working downtown,"
he said. "Sometimes I just walk from building to building and
ask people what they do."
He also likes to watch Korean movies -- with Vietnamese
subtitles -- because many of them depict young professionals in
office environments.
In Nie's hometown in rural Vietnam, most young people worked on
farms. He used to peddle items to earn a little cash. It's
harder to earn money in the United States, Nie said, but the
trade-off is that he now has more opportunities to further his
education.
"I try my best to learn because I want to make (more) money," he
said.
Contact Tina Firesheets at 373-3498 or
tfiresheets@news-record.com
(http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060326/NEWSREC010101/603260306)
******************
March 27, 2006
FEC EXEMPTS POLITICAL BLOGS FROM ONLINE AD REGULATIONS
Under a court order to apply campaign finance rules to the
Internet, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) voted
unanimously today to regulate online paid advertising. But the
commission exempted individual online speech, including blogs,
to avoid choking off grass-roots democratic activity on the Web.
The FEC decision came as the House prepares to vote later this
week on a bill sponsored by Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, that
would exempt all online communications, including advertising,
from the sweeping 2002 campaign finance law.
The new FEC regulations are an attempt to find a middle ground
in the debate over whether the 2002 campaign finance law should
apply to the Internet. Free speech advocates, many Republicans
and others argue that ordinary citizens could run afoul of the
law simply by publishing their political views on the Internet,
forwarding campaign e-mails or linking to a candidate’s Web
site. But campaign finance watchdogs say that exempting all
online activity would open new loopholes in restrictions on
campaign spending and contributions.
(http://www.cq.com)
******************
March 28, 2006
Press Release
Legal Immigrants Strongly Oppose Congressional Immigration
Proposals
FINDINGS OF NATIONAL MULTILINGUAL POLL OF LEGAL IMMIGRANTS
RELEASED
CONTACT:
Brahmani Houston, NAM
415-503-4170,
bhouston@newamericamedia.org
WASHINGTON, DC — A majority of legal immigrants - numbering 26
million Americans - are strongly against new Congressional
proposals, including measures passed by the House of
Representatives last December, to restrict illegal immigration
according to a poll released today. Solid majorities of legal
immigrants from Latin America, Africa and Asia oppose current
proposals and legislation that include criminalizing and
deporting the undocumented, building a wall along major sections
of the Mexican border, and prosecuting advocacy and religious
groups that help illegal immigrants.
"This poll is significant because it takes the temperature of
those closest to the current immigration debate," said Wade
Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on
Civil Rights, a co-sponsor of the poll. "The survey results are
striking and reinforce the call for responsible immigration
reform worthy of a nation built by immigrants."
Legal immigrants also expressed alarm over the tone and
substance of the debate about immigration policy in Congress and
the national media. Two-thirds of them believe that an
"anti-immigrant" sentiment is growing in the United States and
many report that it has affected their families negatively. A
large majority believe that this sentiment is fueled by racism
against immigrants from Latin America and Asia.
These are key findings of a poll of 800 legal immigrants, from
43 different countries, conducted in nine different languages
(English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese,
Tagalog, Hindi, and Haitian Creole) and in 47 states. The poll
was conducted by Bendixen & Associates for New America Media, a
national association of ethnic news outlets.
"The poll results remind me of similar findings in California in
1994 when immigrants from Latin America complained about racism,
discrimination and disrespect against them and their families
because of the xenophobic message of the supporters of
Proposition 187," says pollster Sergio Bendixen.
"The poll gives immigrants the first chance to participate in
the debate rather than be targets of the debate," says Sandy
Close, Executive Director of New America Media. "The country's
top dozen ethnic media dailies -- along with the major
in-language broadcast network -- published the results
simultaneously on Monday, Mar. 27 in a coordinated effort to
ensure that these key voices are part of the national
discourse."
"The need for fair and comprehensive immigration reform is too
important for the debate in Washington to be conducted based on
misinformation and prejudices," said Dan Restrepo, senior policy
advisor at the Center for American Progress, a co-sponsor of the
poll. "It is essential that policymakers understand the true
views of our immigrant communities and this poll is a leap
forward in that regard."
(http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=48fecd437075d3484c341efeeaf67f83)
******************
About NCVA
Founded in 1986, the National Congress of Vietnamese
Americans is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community advocacy
organization working to advance the cause of Vietnamese
Americans in a plural but united America – e pluribus unum –
by participating actively and fully as civic minded citizens
engaged in the areas of education, culture and civil
liberties.
Copyright material is distributed without profit or payment for
research and educational purposes only, in accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. section 107
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