SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Dominican immigrants face police brutality, discrimination and other rights abuses on a daily basis in Puerto Rico, a Dominican diplomat said Sunday on the island, where many migrants come seeking jobs or a path to the U.S. mainland.
The number of abuses has risen as more migrants cross the 80-mile (30-kilometer) strait from the Dominican Republic to the more affluent U.S. territory, Dominican Vice Consul Franklin Grullon told The Associated Press.
"I don't believe it's the policy of government institutions, but it could be that some of the officers have something against immigrants," said Grullon, who plans to take his concerns to Puerto Rico's attorney general.
Fifteen recent cases of police beating Dominican migrants were outlined in a report the consulate submitted to Puerto Rico's Senate this month.
Police detained victims on the street and took them to federal authorities for deportation, even though they are not tasked with enforcing immigration laws, Grullon said.
The Puerto Rican Police Department insists it tolerates no abuse. Spokesman Stephen Alvarez said Dominican community groups have publicized similar complaints in the past without providing evidence.
Still, nine island police officers have been indicted since July on unrelated abuse charges, including allegedly beating suspects, and more than a dozen have been accused of planting drugs on low-income residents they then arrested.
On Saturday, dozens of people marched through colonial Old San Juan in a protest organized by a Dominican rights group to denounce police brutality.
Jose Rodriguez, a spokesman for the group, accused police of illegally raiding poor neighborhoods across the capital in search of undocumented migrants.
Puerto Rico's Dominican population has grown dramatically to more than 80,000, and is now the largest foreign-born group on the island of 4 million.
New arrivals work low-paying jobs in construction, coffee-picking and domestic service or use Puerto Rico as a stepping stone to the U.S. mainland.
Still, migration has slowed in recent years with the island's economy, while the Dominican Republic has recovered from a banking crisis that drove many into poverty.
Showing posts with label puerto rico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label puerto rico. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
WOW!! 2 million turn out for Puerto Rican Day Parade
An estimated 2 million people braved the hottest day to date this year -- the high in Manhattan reached 93 -- to be part of the 51st annual celebration. T
he morning shade that offered a reprieve from the humid heat gave way as the sun took up its overhead position. Marching with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine sweated through his white button-down shirt and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wiped his brow often with a handkerchief.
Participants sported their pride in colorful ways -- from painting their faces to waving the striped flag bearing a lone star. Spectators came prepared with coolers filled with beverages, food, umbrellas, hand-held fans and spray bottles to get some reprieve from the sun, which sat directly overhead by midday as the parade was just reaching its peak.
Ariel Rodriguez, 40, of Newark, got up at 5 a.m. to make sure his wife, four children and 10 grandchildren had a front-row spot. "We are proud of our country," said Rodriguez, wearing a basketball jersey emblazoned with the country's flag. "We love Puerto Rico."
Their navy blue dress uniforms didn't keep city department of corrections officers Richie Cardona, 45, and Alex Parrilla, 34, both of the Bronx, from letting loose. They stopped along the route to dance with the crowd, Cardona shaking maracas while Parrilla beat on a cow bell.
click in screen to play or click play buttn
Friday, May 30, 2008
BILL CLINTON'S ENEMIES LIST: INCLUDES THE MEDIA. AND MOVEON.ORG. BUT WAIT DIDN'T HE FOUNDED MOVEON.ORG?
With Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign on the verge of defeat, Bill Clinton has been placing blame on enemies including a brazenly biased media that tried to suppress blue-collar votes, a powerful anti-war group that endorsed rival Barack Obama and weak-willed party leaders unable to stand up to either of these nefarious forces.
Pieced together from the former president's public remarks at his wife's campaign events and a private conversation last week with top donors to her campaign, the theory goes something like this: After Hillary recovered from a string of losses to rival Barack Obama with March 4 wins in Texas and Ohio, powerful forces conspired to pressure the superdelegates who will decide the nomination to back Obama by discouraging her supporters from voting and trying to hide evidence proving she would fare better than Obama against presumptive GOP nominee John McCain
Read Entire Article here
Pieced together from the former president's public remarks at his wife's campaign events and a private conversation last week with top donors to her campaign, the theory goes something like this: After Hillary recovered from a string of losses to rival Barack Obama with March 4 wins in Texas and Ohio, powerful forces conspired to pressure the superdelegates who will decide the nomination to back Obama by discouraging her supporters from voting and trying to hide evidence proving she would fare better than Obama against presumptive GOP nominee John McCain
Read Entire Article here
Podemos Con Obama (latin love for Obama) Si Se Puede
Inspired by his previous work with will.i.am on the viral web video “We Are The Ones,” acclaimed music producer Andres Levin has united many leading figures of the Latin music and film community in an all Spanish language video of support for Barack Obama. Unveiled today (May 29th) in advance of the presidential primary vote this Sunday in Puerto Rico, Podemos con Obama finds over twenty influential Latin cultural figures joining together in a display of confidence that Senator Obama is the best candidate to handle pressing issues facing both the Hispanic community and the country as a whole.
Citing Obama’s positions on education, immigration, health care and more, as well as the messages of hope, change and peace he conveys, the “Podemos con Obama” video sees the participation of: Alejandro Sanz, Don Omar, Paulina Rubio, John Leguizamo, Kate del Castillo, Jessica Alba, George Lopez, Voltio, Lin Manuel Miranda (current double TONY Nominee for In The Heights), Andres Levin and his Yerba Buena band-mates CuCu Diamantes & Pedro Martinez, Luis Guzman, Lila Downs, Frankie Needles, Huey Dunbar, Carlos Marin (Il Divo) and family, Sabina Sciubba and Didi Gutman of Brazilian Girls, Nydia Caro, Ivonne Caro Caro, Carola Gonzalez, Viva Nativa and Jose Alberti
TALENTS
Alejandro Sanz
Paulina Rubio
John Leguizamo
Jessica Alba
Kate del Castillo
Cucu Diamantes (Yerba Buena)
Pedro Martinez (Yerba Buena)
Andres Levin (Yerba Buena)
George Lopez
Luis Guzman
Don Omar
Voltio
Lila Downs
Lin Manuel Miranda
Frankie Needles
Huey Dunbar
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