News Releases

NCLR Applauds Department of Health and Human Services Action Plan to Address Growing Gaps in Health

April 13, 2011
NCLR (National Council of La Raza) enthusiastically supports the action plan released today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which aims to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care for minority populations. NCLR applauds HHS for its proactive efforts to address these health challenges and would like to specifically recognize Dr. Garth Graham, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, who has worked tirelessly to integrate an agenda that eliminates racial and ethnic disparities into the plans of HHS. NCLR also praises the essential leadership of Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, in creating accountability across all key health agencies to address the growing gaps in health care for minorities.
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NCLR Hails Ninth-Circuit Decision on Arizona’s Racial Profiling Law

April 11, 2011
NCLR (National Council of La Raza) hailed today’s ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the preliminary injunction made by a U.S. federal circuit court against a controversial law in Arizona. The law, SB 1070, has been broadly condemned by national civil rights leaders for legitimizing and legalizing racial profiling and has set off protests and boycotts throughout the country.
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NCLR Asks Congress to Pledge to Respect the Latino Community

April 08, 2011
The release of the 2010 U.S. Census numbers shows that the Latino community in the United States now accounts for one out of six Americans and is becoming a stronger force politically and economically. However, many still blame Hispanics for several of the country’s woes, targeting them with vicious and inaccurate attacks. To combat these injustices, NCLR (National Council of La Raza) is asking all members of Congress to pledge to respect the Latino community
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Transportation Sector Promising for Latino Employment Outlook

April 01, 2011
Latinos are contributing to and benefiting from job growth in the transportation sector, according to a monthly employment report released today by NCLR (National Council of La Raza). The report calls for the renewal of federal funding for transportation projects, with targeted investments in worker training programs to improve opportunities for low-wage and limited-English-proficient workers.
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NCLR Urges Congress to Eliminate HAMP and Redirect Efforts to Effective Foreclosure Solutions

March 29, 2011
In the midst of the devastating foreclosure crisis, families across the country continue to lose their homes at record rates with no end in sight. NCLR (National Council of La Raza) is asking lawmakers to take aggressive action to prevent the further deterioration of the U.S. economy and ensure that the billions of dollars in resources intended to resolve the foreclosure crisis reach American homeowners.
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Kansas Joins Arizona, Virginia, and Other States in Rebuffing Extreme Anti-Immigrant Legislation

March 25, 2011
NCLR (National Council of La Raza) hailed a vote yesterday in the Republican-led Kansas House of Representatives that dealt an overwhelming, bipartisan blow to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s efforts to enact legislation that would have legalized and legitimized racial profiling in the state. The 40-84 vote against the bill mirrored recent rejections of extreme anti-immigrant measures in other states such as in Arizona, the birthplace of such legislation, where the state Senate defeated a host of extreme proposals last week.
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NCLR Applauds Recent Defeat of Five Anti-Immigrant Bills in Arizona

March 18, 2011
We applaud the bipartisan rejection of five anti-immigrant bills that came before the Arizona State Senate yesterday. Hopefully this signals a new day in Arizona where reasonable voices come together to solve problems rather than scapegoat the most vulnerable segment of their population.
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NCLR Announces Fifth Annual NCLR–Best Buy Emerging Latino Leaders Scholarship Program

March 16, 2011
The Best Buy Children’s Foundation and NCLR (National Council of La Raza) proudly announce the launch of the fifth annual NCLR–Best Buy Emerging Latino Leaders Scholarship Program. The scholarship will award a total of $25,000 to four graduating Hispanic high school seniors throughout the United States. The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 15 and winners will be announced in May 2011.
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Peck’s Remarks on Immigrants and Feral Hogs Offensive to Kansas, Offensive to America

March 16, 2011
NCLR today condemned a remark made by Kansas State Representative Virgil Peck (R) in which he suggested that the same helicopters used to hunt feral pigs be used to hunt undocumented immigrants. Peck stated, “It looks like to me if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works, maybe we have found a [solution] to our illegal immigration problem.” The remark was made at a hearing of the Kansas House Appropriations Committee on Monday.
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Poverty, Birth Complications, Family Problems Affect Well-Being of Children and Youth in Puerto Rico

March 15, 2011
The 2010 KIDS COUNT – Puerto Rico Data Book, released today by NCLR, illustrates a troubling statistical portrait of children and youth in Puerto Rico through an examination of the conditions for children in each of the island’s 78 municipios. At a press briefing held today at United Way of Puerto Rico, demographic experts from NCLR and the University of Puerto Rico Graduate School of Public Health explained their mounting concerns for the well-being of children throughout the island and their prospects for the future.
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CONGRESS ASKED TO PLEDGE TO RESPECT THE LATINO COMMUNITY

March 14, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC—Recent U.S. Census numbers show that the Latino community in the United States is growing and becoming an ever stronger force politically and economically throughout the country. However, many still blame Hispanics for several of the country’s woes, targeting them with vicious and inaccurate attacks. To combat these injustices, NCLR (National Council of La Raza) is asking all members of Congress to pledge to respect the Latino community
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NCLR Releases Data Book to Highlight Status of Children in Puerto Rico

March 09, 2011
On Tuesday, March 15, NCLR will hold a briefing to release a new book about how children in Puerto Rico’s 78 municipios are faring in areas such as poverty, health and education. A panel of experts will analyze local data from the 2010 KIDS COUNT – Puerto Rico Data Book to determine how factors such as family structure and low birth weight can affect children in Puerto Rico and their prospects for the future
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Seven Organizations join NCLR’s Affiliate Network

March 08, 2011
Seven new Affiliate members—El Colegio Charter School, Ibero-American Action League Inc., Identity Inc., Latin American Montessori Bilingual (LAMB) Public Charter School, Latinos Progresando, Migrant Health Promotion and Scholars to Leaders Academy—have recently joined the NCLR (National Council of La Raza) Affiliate Network. With these new additions, NCLR now has 271 influential organizations across the United States as Affiliate members.
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NCLR Announces Recipients of 2011 Capital Awards

March 08, 2011
Representatives Barney Frank (D–MA) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R–FL) as well as Grammy Award–winning band Ozomatli have been chosen as this year’s awardees at the NCLR Capital Awards. The Capital Awards gala is the only Hispanic event specifically dedicated to honoring members of Congress from both sides of the aisle who have shown a consistent commitment to promoting legislation and public policies that benefit Hispanic Americans in their districts and throughout the country.
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Good Jobs Still Scarce Despite Growth in Industries with Strong Latino Representation

March 07, 2011
NCLR (National Council of La Raza) today released an analysis of Latino employment trends showing that significant job growth is occurring in industries with strong Latino representation. However, other indicators point to a lack of job security among Latino workers, which may reflect the low quality of newly created jobs and their concerns about lack of preparedness.
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NCLR Receives Top Rating for Strong Financial Management

February 18, 2011
NCLR (National Council of La Raza) is pleased to announce that it has received a four-star rating for sound fiscal management from Charity Navigator, an independent organization that evaluates how efficiently charities use their financial resources. For the third year in a row, NCLR earned the top rating for its ability to manage and build finances to support its mission of improving opportunities for Hispanic Americans. NCLR, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, is among only 13 percent of charities rated by Charity Navigator for exceptional fiscal responsibility for the past three years.
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President’s Budget Takes Steps to Invest in America’s Future, Reduce the Deficit

February 16, 2011
Yesterday, President Obama released his budget for fiscal year 2012. The President’s budget begins a process on Capitol Hill that NCLR (National Council of La Raza) hopes will be a serious and thoughtful approach to dealing with our budget deficits today, while maintaining our nation’s competitiveness in the future.
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NCLR Congratulates Beatriz Otero, New Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services

February 15, 2011
NCLR applauds District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray for his appointment of Beatriz “BB” Otero as the city’s new Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. Ms. Otero, a long-time leader in the Latino community, is the founder and chief executive of CentroNía, a multicultural learning center in Columbia Heights and an active member of NCLR’s Affiliate Network.
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Civil Rights Statement on the Administration’s Report on Reforming the U.S. Housing Finance Market

February 11, 2011
The following is a joint statement from civil rights organizations on the Obama administration’s report on reforming the nation’s housing finance market. Organizations issuing the statement include NCLR, National Fair Housing Alliance, Center for Responsible Lending, The Opportunity Agenda, NAACP, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Urban League, National People’s Action, the Kirwan Institute, Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, PolicyLink and Poverty & Race Research Action Council.
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President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative Holds Promise for Latino Workers, Says NCLR

February 08, 2011
President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings has the potential to create significant new job opportunities for many Latino workers, according to NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States.
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