Orlando Gil
Latinos... “Low Hanging Fruit” For Animal Rights Activists?
When you look at efforts from just about every industry in the United States trying to tap into the emerging Latino market, one has to wonder when Animal Rights Activists will follow suit.
Companies are investing millions of dollars trying to reach this segment of the population. With some estimates putting Latino purchasing power at more than a trillion dollars, it just makes sense that companies would invest money and resources in this growing demographic.
Latinos are the largest and youngest minority group in the United States. According to data from the Pew Hispanic Center, by 2020, about 25% of all US children will be Latino. By 2025, 1 out of every two persons entering the workforce will also be Latino. The implications of these demographic changes will certainly influence how companies will conduct business in the very near future.
A study done at the Social Work Department of the University of New Hampshire by Jerry D. Marx in 2008 indicated that Latinos were eight times more likely to donate to human service organizations when using payroll deduction. In addition, Latinos who were solicited for donations over the phone were twice as likely to donate to educational organizations as Latino donors not solicited by phone. This could mean an opportunity for organizations funded by private donations to sustain their activist agendas.
What has been done by leading animal rights organizations to reach out to this market? Not a lot as far as I can tell. The HSUS does have a publication in Spanish available at one of their websites – “Spanish 101 for Staff at Animal Shelters”, but other than that, not much else I could find.
However, back in 2008, PETA (which is funded by HSUS according to an IRS disclosure on their website) made unsuccessful attempts to buy ads from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency to be placed at each of the nine southwest border sectors, apparently without success. Nonetheless, it seems they are aware of this population segment to market their messages. If ads had been approved, then those considering entry into the United States would have read this message: "If the border patrol doesn't get you, the chicken and burgers will. Go vegan" (or, in Spanish, "Si no te agarra la migra, te atraparán el pollo y las hamburguesas. Sé vegano").
Then, just recently, PETA again proposed to help the U.S. Custom and Border Protection agency secure the border by providing funds if they were allowed to hang their "Say No to Pot (Roast)" signs on the border.
Are Latinos a ground-floor opportunity for Animal Rights Activists? Time will only tell, but as someone might say, those who get there first, may get the first pickings!
I thank you for reading, and for your comments.
Orlando Gil TCTS LLC
Training Connections-Translation Services
“Helping Bridge the Gap with the Latino Workforce in the Ag & Food Industries”
translat@mtcnet.net
Arizona, Here We Come...NOT!
Friday, April 23, 2010 was a day that will be remembered by many. On this day, Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, signed into law bill SB 1070 – “Immigration; Law Enforcement; Safe Neighborhoods”.
While the controversial law (which goes into effect sometime this summer) is written to require that lawful contact be made, law enforcement officers might stop any person with reasonable suspicion of being illegal and ask about their immigration status. If the person cannot produce documentation that would validate their legal status, they would be arrested.
Some are concerned that the Arizona law promotes racial profiling and division in communities. Others feel this was a necessary step to control the immigration problem in the state. Arizona, with an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants has the busiest stretch of illegal crossings in the country.
The Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, Alessandra Soler Meetze, commented: "By signing this bill into law, Brewer has just authorized violating the rights of millions of people living and working here. She has just given every police agency in Arizona a mandate to harass anyone who looks or sounds foreign, while doing nothing to address the real problems we're facing."
President Obama has asked the Justice Department to investigate possible civil rights implications as he felt the law threatens to "undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe…"
At the signing of the law, Governor Brewer, acknowledging the law being highly controversial, stated, “We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act”.
There is talk now in Washington to make immigration reform a priority both in the Senate and in the House.
Will Immigration Reform still happen this year? It might… One thing is for sure though; this debate will most probably continue to bring the best and the worst out in each of us.
No matter what happens, our summer vacation plans may not include Arizona this year… You know, I wouldn’t want to be stopped “while driving brown…”
I thank you for reading, and for your comments.
Orlando Gil
TCTS
Training Connections-Translation Services
“Helping Bridge the Gap with The Latino Workforce in the Agricultural Industry”
translat@mtcnet.net
While the controversial law (which goes into effect sometime this summer) is written to require that lawful contact be made, law enforcement officers might stop any person with reasonable suspicion of being illegal and ask about their immigration status. If the person cannot produce documentation that would validate their legal status, they would be arrested.
Some are concerned that the Arizona law promotes racial profiling and division in communities. Others feel this was a necessary step to control the immigration problem in the state. Arizona, with an estimated 460,000 illegal immigrants has the busiest stretch of illegal crossings in the country.
The Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, Alessandra Soler Meetze, commented: "By signing this bill into law, Brewer has just authorized violating the rights of millions of people living and working here. She has just given every police agency in Arizona a mandate to harass anyone who looks or sounds foreign, while doing nothing to address the real problems we're facing."
President Obama has asked the Justice Department to investigate possible civil rights implications as he felt the law threatens to "undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and their communities that is so crucial to keeping us safe…"
At the signing of the law, Governor Brewer, acknowledging the law being highly controversial, stated, “We in Arizona have been more than patient waiting for Washington to act”.
There is talk now in Washington to make immigration reform a priority both in the Senate and in the House.
Will Immigration Reform still happen this year? It might… One thing is for sure though; this debate will most probably continue to bring the best and the worst out in each of us.
No matter what happens, our summer vacation plans may not include Arizona this year… You know, I wouldn’t want to be stopped “while driving brown…”
I thank you for reading, and for your comments.
Orlando Gil
TCTS
Training Connections-Translation Services
“Helping Bridge the Gap with The Latino Workforce in the Agricultural Industry”
translat@mtcnet.net
The 2010 Census – Helping Your Community by Helping Latinos Be Counted …
The 2010 Census – Helping Your Community by Helping Latinos Be Counted …
I just received a letter from Robert Groves, Director for the U.S. Census Bureau. The letter was to let me know my census form was on its way and that the results from the 2010 Census will be used to help each community get its fair share of government funding for highways, schools, health facilities, and many other programs (estimated in 400 billion dollars of government funds).
Census results would also determine how many seats each state is to have in the House of Representatives. My response was important, as it has been the response of every citizen and non-citizen since 1790 when it was first mandated by the Constitution. Yes, the Census is supposed to count every person living in the U.S.
At the bottom of the letter, there were instructions for websites in five other languages on how to get help in filling out the census form when it arrived if your native language were not English. Since I have a computer and can read the English instructions, I followed the drop-down menu of 58 different languages until I found Spanish…
Impressive… a well translated site that is easy to follow with lots of information. I only wondered how many Latinos do have access to a computer. Especially, Latinos working in Agricultural related industries where the significant majority has a limited education, much less a computer. Granted, some do have computers and are definitely following in the trend of Latinos becoming a strong presence in online communities, but in general, this segment of the population would probably get this information by other means. Only residents in cities with a high concentration of Latinos would get bilingual Census forms sent to them.
In an article published by Hispanic Business Magazine in January 2010 - “Census Budget Bigger than Ever, but Officials Predict a Miscount”, the Census Bureau reports the 2000 count missed 1 percent of the population.
Kenneth Prewitt, Head of the U.S. Census estimates the miscount to be bigger than that and predicts the 2010 Census count will miss even more people. According to Mr. Prewitt, this is largely due to the skyrocketing immigrant population, which shot up from 8 million in 2000 to an estimated 12 million in 2008. “That’s a hard population to count”, he said. “They have every reason to be suspicious of the government with the raids and so forth”.
To add to the challenge of an accurate count, a national coalition of Latino evangelical clergy members has been sending out the message to boycott the Census if congress does not pass an immigration reform very soon. They are telling Latinos to not respond to the questionnaire, to not be counted.
What can we do to help in making sure everyone in our communities is counted?
Spread the word about the 2010 Census. Tell your Latino employees about their right to privacy and how important their response is. Tell them that it is safe to fill out the form and that it is important to be counted.
Tell them to tell their friends about the 2010 Census. It is important to all of us.
Let us spread the word and help our communities by helping Latinos be counted in the 2010 Census!
For more information about the 2010 Census go to www.2010.Census.gov
I thank you for reading and for your comments.
Orlando Gil
TCTS
Training Connections-Translation Services
“Helping Bridge the Gap with The Latino Workforce in the Agricultural Industry”
translat@mtcnet.net
I just received a letter from Robert Groves, Director for the U.S. Census Bureau. The letter was to let me know my census form was on its way and that the results from the 2010 Census will be used to help each community get its fair share of government funding for highways, schools, health facilities, and many other programs (estimated in 400 billion dollars of government funds).
Census results would also determine how many seats each state is to have in the House of Representatives. My response was important, as it has been the response of every citizen and non-citizen since 1790 when it was first mandated by the Constitution. Yes, the Census is supposed to count every person living in the U.S.
At the bottom of the letter, there were instructions for websites in five other languages on how to get help in filling out the census form when it arrived if your native language were not English. Since I have a computer and can read the English instructions, I followed the drop-down menu of 58 different languages until I found Spanish…
Impressive… a well translated site that is easy to follow with lots of information. I only wondered how many Latinos do have access to a computer. Especially, Latinos working in Agricultural related industries where the significant majority has a limited education, much less a computer. Granted, some do have computers and are definitely following in the trend of Latinos becoming a strong presence in online communities, but in general, this segment of the population would probably get this information by other means. Only residents in cities with a high concentration of Latinos would get bilingual Census forms sent to them.
In an article published by Hispanic Business Magazine in January 2010 - “Census Budget Bigger than Ever, but Officials Predict a Miscount”, the Census Bureau reports the 2000 count missed 1 percent of the population.
Kenneth Prewitt, Head of the U.S. Census estimates the miscount to be bigger than that and predicts the 2010 Census count will miss even more people. According to Mr. Prewitt, this is largely due to the skyrocketing immigrant population, which shot up from 8 million in 2000 to an estimated 12 million in 2008. “That’s a hard population to count”, he said. “They have every reason to be suspicious of the government with the raids and so forth”.
To add to the challenge of an accurate count, a national coalition of Latino evangelical clergy members has been sending out the message to boycott the Census if congress does not pass an immigration reform very soon. They are telling Latinos to not respond to the questionnaire, to not be counted.
What can we do to help in making sure everyone in our communities is counted?
Spread the word about the 2010 Census. Tell your Latino employees about their right to privacy and how important their response is. Tell them that it is safe to fill out the form and that it is important to be counted.
Tell them to tell their friends about the 2010 Census. It is important to all of us.
Let us spread the word and help our communities by helping Latinos be counted in the 2010 Census!
For more information about the 2010 Census go to www.2010.Census.gov
I thank you for reading and for your comments.
Orlando Gil
TCTS
Training Connections-Translation Services
“Helping Bridge the Gap with The Latino Workforce in the Agricultural Industry”
translat@mtcnet.net
