Diversity in Brief - June 7 Edition
Mitt Romney announces members of his campaign's Hispanic Outreach Team; Los Angeles County may get its first African-American district attorney; and more.
Romney Names Leaders of Hispanic Outreach Team
Mitt Romney announced the leaders of his Hispanic outreach team on Tuesday. The committee, called "Juntos Con Romney," will be led by Carlos Gutierrez, the former secretary of Commerce; Puerto Rican former Attorney General Jose Fuentes; and Hector Barreto, the former administrator of the Small Business Administration.
In the announcement posted to the campaign's website, committee members hammered President Obama's policies that they say have hurt the economy and negatively affected Latinos.
Read more here.
Immigrant Dies in ICE Custody
Juan Pablo Flores-Segura, a 31-year-old man from Mexico, died in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday, according to an ICE news release.
Flores-Segura fainted on May 29 hours after he was taken into custody. Doctors determined he suffered from a brain hemorrhage and declared him brain-dead several days later.
Flores-Segura was arrested on battery charges on May 22. He was held at the San Bernardino County Jail in California, until he was turned over to ICE. He fainted less than four hours after being transferred.
He is the eighth person to die in ICE custody this year.
Read more here.
Obama in West for Fundraiser With Gay Supporters
The president attend the annual fundraising dinner for the LGBT Leadership Council, The Los Angeles Times reported. The council, founded by Obama in 2007 for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender supporters, moved the gala to a larger venue after demand for tickets spiked.
About 600 people paid at least $1,250 each to attend the gala, which was
held Wednesday at the home of Glee creator Ryan Murphy with comedian Ellen DeGenerses serving as emcee.
Florida Group Gets Grant to Prevent Dropouts Among Undocumented
A student-led project to help undocumented students access higher education won a $5,000 grant and technical support from Mobilize.org, The Miami Herald reports. Students from Miami-Dade College's InterAmerican Campus designed the project, titled "High School Community Outreach."
The program will teach immigrant high school students in Miami-Dade County about their educational options beyond high school and will help immigrant students plan to go to college using social media and community organizing.
Read more here.
L.A. County May Get First African-American District Attorney
Veteran Los Angeles County prosecutor Jackie Lacey is in the lead to become the county's first African American and first female district attorney, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.
Lacey in Tuesday's election edged out the early favorite, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, for a spot in a runoff in November. She is among three women of color seeking key roles in California's justice system.
Read more here.
Long Break in Immigration Sweeps in Maricopa County
The eight-month break in immigration sweeps in Maricopa County, Ariz., has nothing to do with the two federal lawsuits that accuse the county sheriff of discriminating against Latinos, the Associated Press reports.
During the sweeps, as many as 200 deputies and volunteer posse members gather in zones and make traffic stops and arrests. The zones are sometimes in areas with a large Hispanic population. Nearly 60 percent of the approximately 1,500 people arrested in the 20 sweeps launched since 2008 were illegal immigrants.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio denies that the lawsuits have affected his enforcement policies.
"I am not backing down regardless of them taking me to court," he told AP. "I am still enforcing immigration laws. They are being arrested and are going to jail."
Read more here.
Hispanic Voters: A CNN Snapshot
CNN released statistics on America's more than 50 million Latino residents on Monday.
Read more here.