HOW ARE HISPANICS BEING IMPACTED BY THE ECONOMIC CRISIS?

While the current economic crisis seems to have had a huge economic impact in other parts of the country; the Lubbock area economy has remained fairly stable.

What is impossible to know is just how the Lubbock Hispanic/Latino community has been affected since economic surveys usually do not differentiate between ethnic groups and the local mainstream media rarely reports these types of stories.

One of the areas of concerns for many national civil rights organizations which monitor these types of situations and which advocate for Hispanics/Latinos is jus how the new legislation passed by Congress will impact the Hispanic community. And at least one civil rights organization which advocates for this ethnic group wants to make sure the Latino community is taken into consideration during this economic bailout period.

This past week; the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF) began to work closely with members of Congress; with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and other civil rights organizations in an effort to voice their input on the recently passed legislation.

The organization has concluded that the final bill passed by Congress “provides minimal protections for Latino homeowners”.

According to a press release issued by the national office; the organization believes that the impact being felt by the Hispanic community has been underreported but has been “strongly felt”.

The organization says that beyond the issues they have outlined as being important including immigration, education, and voting rights, “it was important for MALDEF to work with others in the civil rights community and urge Congressional leaders to address the needs of working families and homeowners”.

Earlier this year the PEW Hispanic Center reported that Latino unemployment rose from 4.7% in the first quarter of 2007 to 6.5% in ...