Weekly Updates from LPI@RWU
LPI@RWU IN THE NEWS
April 20, 2018
Jim Hummel (Moderator), Ian Donnis (RI Public Radio), Mark Smiley (Former RI GOP Chair) and Gabriela Domenzian (LPI@RWU Director) discuss DACA and legislation in Rhode Island, as well as the Providence Journal’s publishing of an op-ed from a known hate group.
Economic, racial gap persists in R.I. schools
Linda Borg / The Providence Journal
April 20, 2018
“We’re not going to see improvements overnight,” she said. But Gabriela Domenzain, director of the Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University, said there should be a real sense of urgency around these numbers. “Latino students in Rhode have the worst chances of succeeding in the nation, so it comes as no surprise that the achievement gaps are substantial and troubling,” she said. “In order for Rhode Island to succeed, Latino students must succeed, and a concerted effort to close their achievement gaps is necessary and urgent.”
RHODE ISLAND DEVELOPMENTS
National conference in Rhode Island to highlight Latino heritage
Brian Amaral / The Providence Journal
April 19, 2018
Rhode Island will host a national conference on Latino heritage and historical preservation starting April 26, highlighting underrepresented areas of the state’s history. “It’s not that the stories aren’t being told — Latinos are telling these stories to ourselves,” said Gonzaga University history professor Raymond Rast, who will deliver a keynote address on the Encuentro 2018 conference’s last day. “But I think we’re increasingly in a position to tell those stories to other audiences. And we’re excited that those other audience are eager to hear those stories.”
7 Big Bills Facing the RI General Assembly After Recess
GoLocalProv News Team / GoLocalProv
April 17, 2018
Prior to recess, the House approved legislation to continue to allow Dreamers to have Rhode Island driver’s licenses even if their federal DACA protections go away under the Trump Administration.
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Hundreds of immigrant children have been taken from parents at U.S. border
Caitlin Dickerson / New York Times
April 20, 2018
New data reviewed by The New York Times shows that more than 700 children have been taken from adults claiming to be their parents since October, including more than 100 children under the age of 4.
The good and bad news in college attainment trends
Ben Miller / Center for American Progress
April 18, 2018
The census data show that recent Latino success in higher education continues to be the most impressive and under discussed accomplishment in postsecondary policy. From 2007 to 2017, the percentage of young Latinos who earned a college credential rose 9.4 percentage points. That’s the largest change of any racial group reported in the ACS data.
Thousands of immigrants could benefit from Supreme Court ruling, lawyers say
Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post
April 18, 2018
In all, thousands of immigrants could be affected, immigration lawyers say, particularly green-card holders, who are lawful permanent residents on a path to U.S. citizenship. But they say the decision could also aid undocumented immigrants, who, depending on the severity of their crime, may now have a chance to plead their case to stay.
As DACA debate drags on, some DREAMers are moving back to mexico voluntarily
Emily Green / NPR
April 17, 2018
For some undocumented immigrants who come to this country as kids, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, is a dream too hard to hold onto. As the debate over DACA drags on, some are moving back to Mexico voluntarily. From Mexico City, reporter Emily Green brings us this story