Political Quick Hits: April 30th Edition

Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:

• Last Tuesday, Mitt Romney swept all five GOP presidential primaries held in Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Mitt Romney’s focus has now shifted toward the general election. In his victory speech on Tuesday, Romney said, “a better America starts tonight.” President Obama’s campaign also announced this week that the president will officially kick off the re-election campaign on May 5.  (CNN)

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Justin Burkhardt

Precious Knowledge: From Arizona to Milwaukee

Almost two years ago, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, signed the ‘papers please’ bill into law. Millions waited for President Obama to address national immigration policy, but nothing changed. The bill has continued to be challenged and will make its Supreme Court appearance this summer.

Something else happened soon after the immigration bill was passed. Another less visible, but equally destructive bill, was passed in the Arizona senate. House Bill 2281, known as the Ethnic Studies Ban, was targeted at a series of Chicano and Mexican-American classes in the Tucson School district. A fierce battle ensued with students and educators on one side, and the Arizona state government on the other.

You may not have heard anything about the months of protest, but one woman, Eren McGinnis, not only paid attention but filmed for an entire year in a high school. Through her documentary film, Precious Knowledge, we enter into the world of the forbidden class. In this film we get to see first-hand what all the fuss was about. It turns out that predominately Mexican and Latino schools discovered that by having Latino teachers, teaching students their history, arts, and culture improved the students grades, test scores, and confidence. When the high school seniors learned that they may lose the classes, they organized protests and publicly resisted the state’s attempt to eliminate their classes.

Hit the jump to watch the powerful trailer:

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Ife

A 15-year-old Georgia Girl’s Nightmare

Lidiane Carmo woke up in a Florida hospital bed with IVs in her frail arm and did not remember how or why she got there. Shortly after, Carmo learned that she was the only survivor of a tragic car accident that claimed the lives of several other passengers, including both of her parents and only sister.  She was returning home from a three-day church-related conference in Florida when her vehicle (a church van) was impacted in a multiple-car collision that was caused by a thick fog of smoke.

The devastating news was accompanied with a surprising discovery: she is undocumented and therefore not a legal citizen of the United States. Earlier this week, it was reported by many news outlets that she was at risk of being deported back to Brazil after being released from the Florida hospital. Brazil is a place that Carmo has not been to for more than 12 years.

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Lashunda

Missing Dallas Teen Mistakenly Deported to Colombia

Dallas teen Jakadrien had been missing since 2010 when her grandmother, Lorene Turner, found her on Facebook. According to Dallas News 8,  Lorene then contacted the Dallas Police who located her granddaughter – in Colombia.

Jakadrien had been mistakenly deported to Colombia in April of 2011, by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

How does this happen?

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April

New Obama Policy to Reduce Deportation of Young Immigrants

An announcement was made by the Obama administration on August 18th of a suspension of deportation proceedings regarding illegal immigrants who pose no threat to public safety. This new policy would assist people who entered the United States as young children, with their parents or guardians. This policy has been implemented on the basis that children should not have to serve repercussions or consequences due to the decisions that their parents made.

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April