En Resumen: Latinx news to end your week
By Alejandra Marquez Janse
We know how hard it can be to keep up with the news sometimes so we’ve rounded up some headlines of this week related to the Latinx community.
As always, we love hearing from you so send us a message here telling us what else you’re reading about.
Here’s what happened this week:
Searching for parents of immigrant children
Court-appointed lawyers are struggling to find the parents of 545 children who were separated at the southern border between 2017 and 2018.
“Children from that period are difficult to find because the government had inadequate tracking systems. Volunteers have searched for them and their parents by going door-to-door in Guatemala and Honduras,” says the Associated Press.
On Thursday, a judge instructed attorneys to continue searching for the parents. In the meantime, the children have been placed with sponsors, like family members, while “proceeding with their own immigration cases,” according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
2. The Supreme Court will hear census case
This year we’re counting more than just votes. We’re also counting the number of people living in the U.S. to allocate seats in the House of Representatives. But does that count include unauthorized immigrants?
On Oct. 16, the Supreme Court agreed to do a “speedy review” of Trump’s attempts to exclude undocumented immigrants from being counted. According to NPR, this comes after a lower court blocked the President’s attempt and called a presidential memo with the change “unlawful” last month.
The Court will hear arguments on Nov. 30.
3. Hispanic voters break a record in Florida
The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington D.C., analyzed voter registration data from Florida and found that approximately 2.5 million Latinos are registered to vote in the upcoming election.
The number makes up a record 17% of the state’s registered voters, an increase of one percent from 2016.
4. Take a break: start the weekend con calma
The Billboard Latin Music Awards took place Wednesday night in Florida, with Bad Bunny winning artist of the year among other awards, and Daddy Yankee taking home six awards for the song “Con Calma”.
Another highlight about DY, from the Associated Press: The reggaeton star dedicated the first of his awards to those who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19.
And, you can watch all the performances here.
Here’s more:
The pandemic is driving Latinas to vote
Unemployment among Latinas was at 11% in September, according to USA Today and The 19th. While this is a drop from the 20.2% of this Spring, many Latinas work in some of the industries that have struggled the most during the pandemic, like hospitality and retail. They are also likely to be the ones who stay home to take care of the family and children.
This economic toll, paired with the health impact of the pandemic, has shifted their political priorities and inspired them to vote.
COVID-19 highlights decades of racism and discrimination
One particular California county has been hard-hit by the pandemic, and it happens to be mostly Hispanic. But these people’s suffering didn’t start with the virus, nor has it been only in that county. This USA Today article explains how decades without basic rights have led to several health problems and deaths among Latino farmworkers.
“Farmworkers here pull from the ground the lettuce and broccoli that end up on dinner plates across America. This work often means low wages, poor nutrition and scant access to health care – factors that put them in the crosshairs of the coronavirus.”
