State and federal officials are investigating a letter received by some Southern California Hispanics that says it is a crime for immigrants to vote and tells them they could be jailed or deported if they go to the polls next month.
It’s a very malicious and degrading letter. It’s to pull Latinos down and make them afraid, said Benny Diaz, who is running for the City Council in Garden Grove. He said his wife and five other people he knows had received the letter.
The letter, written in Spanish, tells recipients: You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time.
The truth is that immigrants who become naturalized citizens can legally register to vote.
In a letter Tuesday to state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called the letters ****** and despicable, and argued that the perpetrators should be tried for a **** crime.
http://www.dailynews.com/glendale/ci_4508256
LANGSTON
for the mass deportations in the 1930’s they wanted reparations
this legal suit was back in 2003
last i heard of this was this in 2005
MEXICAN REPARATIONS - Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Garden Grove, is making another attempt to make amends for the deportation of about 400,000 California Hispanics - mostly U.S. citizens or legal immigrants - to Mexico in the 1930s and 1940s. His bill, which would set up a fund to pay reparations to surviving deportees, is also on the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s agenda. Schwarzenegger vetoed bills last year that would have created a two-year window for deportees or their heirs to file claims for damages and would have set up a commission to recommend ways to redress the deportations.
we are being sued left and right by these people all the while they dont want to be Americans they are killing the working class driving with no insurance . they can pic and choose laws to what they want and they are using our court systems to sue us.
HOLLOMAN
i live in garden grove . and i want a real job. and idk what places are willing to hire a 15 year old. and if they are willign to what do i need to do. i hear i need a work permit.. but im not sure how to get that…um if you think anything else will help me with this then tell me please.
BRONK
Four months ago, Gwen Gampon wired $1,030 to her brother from a Western Union Co. outlet in Anaheim during a family emergency.
In Hawaii, her brother, who is unemployed and doesn’t have a checking account, ended up with just $950 — after the money-transfer company deducted a $79.99 fee for the immediate transaction.
Western Union is seen as a lifeline, said Gampon, a refinery worker from Garden Grove. That lifeline, however, has an ugly side that preys on those that are already in financial need.
Sending money to less-affluent relatives is an age-old practice that grows more popular every year because of robust immigration and improved technology. In Southern California, Latinos have long depended on electronic transfers to send money for food, medical care and education to their families back home.
Now, 158 immigrant advocacy groups from around the country are accusing Western Union, the largest U.S. money-transfer company, of charging exorbitant fees while failing to adequately reinvest in immigrant communities. In Los Angeles on Monday, the groups launched a nationwide boycott of Western Union, demanding that the Englewood, Colo.-based money-transfer giant lower its fees and put some of its profit back into the communities that use its services.
Today, we ask consumers to use other money-transfer services, said Francis Calpotura, executive director of the Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action, during Monday’s news conference and protest march. We understand that this might cause some inconvenience in the beginning, but this is the only way we can deliver a powerful message to Western Union.
In response to the complaints, Western Union said its rates were in line with similar money-wiring services, such as Minneapolis-based MoneyGram International Inc.
We’re proud to provide fast and reliable trusted services at competitive prices, spokesman Daniel Diaz said. If you look at the marketplace, consumers today have choices — more so than they ever did before.
The dispute underscores the growing demand for affordable and fast money transfers. The World Bank estimated that in 2005, poor nations received more than $250 billion in receipts from international workers, more than all foreign aid combined.
Western Union, which handled 147 million consumer-to-consumer money transfers last year, said it controlled 17.4% of the global remittance market. Transaction fees vary depending on the amount sent, its destination and how quickly the funds are disbursed. To instantly wire $1,000 or less to Mexico City, for example, Western Union charges a transaction fee of $14.99, a company spokesman said.
But customers, many working low-wage jobs, said the fees were too high. The groups didn’t specify what they considered a fair fee, but cited a World Bank report saying that Western Union could cut its fees by a third and still generate profit comparable to its rivals.
PIASECKI
