“without a warrant, to arrest a person if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the U.S.”

To do this legislation justice, you really need to read all of the verbiage (SB 1070 Fact Sheet).  There are things in there that do need to be addressed such as the hiring (exploitation) as well as the smuggling of illegals.  It is absolutely wrong for criminals (coyotes) to charge exorbitant amounts of money to hard working people for the slim chance of crossing into this country.  It is even worse for employers to hire illegals for a wage lower than anybody else would be willing to accept. Why is it okay for this exploitation to exist?

I think that, unless you have your head under a rock, we can admit that we need to revamp the immigration AND the citizenship processes.  However, this legislation is going about it completely the wrong way.  The language is just too vague.  Let me offer an example.

Under the first enforcement provision, it says that SB 1070 “requires a reasonable attempt to be made to determine the immigration status of a person during any legitimate contact made by an official or agency…if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S.”  I’d like to know what the hell this means? Does this mean that everybody will be required to carry their birth certificate? What is enough to remove this “reasonable suspicion?”

I’m sure that there are some smart legislators in Arizona.  If they’re smart, they’re really going to consider doing something different to accomplish their goals, which is to start addressing immigration issues.  Nothing good will come out of this legislation.  I watched the news tonight, as I thought long and hard about what to write for this piece.  There is serious talk about boycotting Arizona.  Truth be told, after I heard about SB 1070 being passed, it gave me practically no reason to return to Arizona.  I’ve never felt like I would ever have to carry documents to prove that I was born here.  It’s bad enough that people like me have travel issues and don’t know why (Not So Random Searches).  We don’t need this.  We need a law that clearly and justly addresses the issues that, truthfully, have been very poorly addressed if at all.

Author: José A. Rodríguez

“without a warrant, to arrest a person if the officer has probable cause to believe that the person has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the U.S.”

To do this legislation justice, you really need to read all of the verbiage (SB 1070 Fact Sheet).  There are things in there that do need to be addressed such as the hiring (exploitation) as well as the smuggling of illegals.  It is absolutely wrong for criminals (coyotes) to charge exorbitant amounts of money to hard working people for the slim chance of crossing into this country.  It is even worse for employers to hire illegals for a wage lower than anybody else would be willing to accept. Why is it okay for this exploitation to exist?

I think that, unless you have your head under a rock, we can admit that we need to revamp the immigration AND the citizenship processes.  However, this legislation is going about it completely the wrong way.  The language is just too vague.  Let me offer an example.

Under the first enforcement provision, it says that SB 1070 “requires a reasonable attempt to be made to determine the immigration status of a person during any legitimate contact made by an official or agency…if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S.”  I’d like to know what the hell this means? Does this mean that everybody will be required to carry their birth certificate? What is enough to remove this “reasonable suspicion?”

I’m sure that there are some smart legislators in Arizona.  If they’re smart, they’re really going to consider doing something different to accomplish their goals, which is to start addressing immigration issues.  Nothing good will come out of this legislation.  I watched the news tonight, as I thought long and hard about what to write for this piece.  There is serious talk about boycotting Arizona.  Truth be told, after I heard about SB 1070 being passed, it gave me practically no reason to return to Arizona.  I’ve never felt like I would ever have to carry documents to prove that I was born here.  It’s bad enough that people like me have travel issues and don’t know why (Not So Random Searches).  We don’t need this.  We need a law that clearly and justly addresses the issues that, truthfully, have been very poorly addressed if at all.

Author: José A. Rodríguez

Let me take you back. I used to be one of those girls that would lay out all summer long trying to achieve a rich, dark tan. I would normally start out with a couple burns that would slowly turn tan. You know, I had to work on my base color. There was also a period when I would use tanning beds in the winter and spring to try and maintain my tan. Yes, I am Hispanic but I am fair-skinned without the dark complexion. I had always longed for the darker skin that so many of my family members had.

I had finally reached a point in the last few years where I grew comfortable with my fair skin. I became more cautious and wore sunscreen when outside. I was more careful about how long I stayed in the sun. I guess that it was the combination of finally being comfortable with my skin and the statistics on skin cancer that really hit me.

So, this brings me back to the doctor’s office. I was 30 years old. Wasn’t that too young to get skin cancer? I always thought of skin cancer occurring in older individuals. You know, the ones you see while on vacation in Florida or Arizona that have leathery skin and look like lizards. I didn’t have leathery, lizard skin. How come I was the one who could possibly have skin cancer? My name was called and I went into the office. The doctor told me that I did not have skin cancer and I breathed a sigh of relief. He told me to be careful in the sun and to always wear sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 15. Why am I sharing all of this with you if I ended up not having skin cancer? I am sharing this with you because next time I might not be so lucky. Next time, you might know somebody with a similar story who does end up walking out with a skin cancer diagnosis.

It does not matter how light or dark your skin is. Everyone is at risk of getting skin cancer. Latinos are at special risk since many of us do have dark skin. We think….”I don’t need sunscreen. I will be fine.” My boyfriend says that all of the time. Unfortunately, when Latinos are diagnosed with the disease, it is often in the deadliest form: melanoma. This is because it goes untreated for so long.

The moral of this story is to protect yourself from the sun. Wear sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 15 or 50 if you are fair like me. Be sure to re-apply it throughout the day. Wear sunglasses and a hat for extra protection. Parents-be sure to instill these early habits in your children. This way when they get older proper skin care will be part of the routine.

For more information on skin cancer, visit: www.cancer.org

Lastly, to all of my fair skinned Latinos out there…….be happy with your light skin! Embrace it! Love it!

Author: Gabriella Muñoz

Photo: Renée Gonyeau

The first one was at Detroit Metro Airport.  While not entirely happy, the inspection could have been much more embarrassing.  For all the hassle of “screening” me, the TSA agent didn’t do much more than ask me questions to establish which bag was mine. He patted me down and, then, proceeded to swab my shoes, jacket and bags.  The agent ran the pieces of cloth through a machine, which showed that I was carrying nothing more than a few books and notebooks.  Once cleared, I was off to my gate to wait for my plane.