Tejada Links Hispanics To Democratic Victories

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada spoke on Hispanic turnout in this week's elections, according to the Washington Post. "This election marked a political awakening among immigrants who are just starting to vote. Democratic Latino activists, for example, mounted major voter registration drives that they said paid off. "We are pleased with what we saw," said Democrat Walter Tejada, Arlington's first Latino County Board member, who led get-out-the-vote efforts in his county, Alexandria and Fairfax.

Fairfax, Washington's largest suburb went solidly blue, choosing Democrat John F. Kerry over Bush by 32,668 votes, the first time it did so in 40 years.

Tejada and CAFTA

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada's opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, was noted in the Washington Post. (The agreement is awaiting congressional ratification.) Tejada, a Salvadoran-born U.S. citizen, asked "Is this something that will benefit the neediest of the neediest in El Salvador? Those who will support CAFTA really want to be able to answer to the [Salvadoran] community."

The article also noted that Tejada met with Antonio Saca, the president of El Salvador, who inaugurated the second annual meeting of representatives of Salvadorans who live abroad at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Salvadorans are the biggest immigrant group in the Washington area, with more than 104,000 people.

Tejada Leads 'Civic Activists'

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada's leadership in the Community Role Models Program was profiled in The Connection in an article titled, 'Next Wave of Civic Activists.' The program's first organized event was a forum held at the Arlington Central Public Library last Wednesday to give young adults the chance to learn about volunteer opportunities in Arlington. More than 10 volunteer organizations were on hand to take new recruits.

Said Tejada, "I've always felt we have lots of talented young adults in Arlington that simply have not been asked to participate in civic life, and there are a lot opportunities in Arlington. We talk a lot about being diverse. Well, diversity is not just race, it is also age and interest. We have many young adults that go to Washington for volunteer work and internships, yet there are many other opportunities we can offer them right here."

According to Tejada, "Mentoring is a large focus of the program. One of the goals is to create a pool of mentors who can help our youth. I want our young adults to come up with their ideas and their own ways of doing things so the programs really have a life of their own."

School Board member Libby Garvey added, "This is exactly what we need to be doing more of here in Arlington, connecting young people with the community. Students identify more and in a different way with young adults than, say, volunteers who are older. It's a good way to get young people back into the community."

Among the organizations at the forum were the Argus House, a group home for young boys, the Arlington Community Action Program, Arlington Kiwanis Soccer and the Girl Scouts. Representatives from the Reading Connection, a literacy outreach program for children living in shelters and Arlington Refugee Services also attended to sign on tutors and volunteers for other work.

Tejada on Latino/Jewish Collaboration

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada participated on a panel on Latino and Jewish Participation at the Democratic National Committee according to the American Jewish Committee. The panel discussion was entitled 'Public Policy Concerns of the Latino and Jewish Communities' and held on July 27. In addition to Tejada, it featured presentations by Congressman Howard Berman (CA); Congressman Ciro Rodriguez (TX), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; Richard Foltin, Legislative Director of the AJC; Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

Earlier: Tejada on Latino/Jewish Collaboration (August 8, 2000)

Tejada Responds to HB 570 (cont.)

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada responded to a new Virginia state law that allows local police to detain some illegal immigrants, according to the Washington Post. Tejada declared that "This is the kind of law that makes a vulnerable community even more vulnerable. Immigrant communities are already reluctant to contact the police if they are victims of a crime or a witness to a crime. Now it will make the communities even more hesitant."

The paper noted that Tejada has been holding forums to educate Latinos on the law. The law, House Bill 570, "provides that all law-enforcement officers have the authority to enforce immigration laws and that a law-enforcement officer may, in the course of acting upon reasonable suspicion that an individual has committed or is committing a crime, arrest the individual without a warrant upon receiving confirmation from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs."

Tejada Responds to HB 570

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada spoke out against House Bill 570, according to the Washington Post and in the Associated Press. Joining a press conference with the Virginia Alliance for Sensible Community Police Efforts, Tejada said that "we are in favor of stopping terrorism, gang activity and drug trafficking, but what this law will do is make a vulnerable community" even more vulnerable." He also stated that misinformation about the law has caused fear among immigrants. A possible consequence, he said, is that immigrants "will not report crime."

The Virginia Alliance is "a coalition of advocates and community leaders [who] encouraged immigrants to continue to cooperate with local police departments on criminal investigations despite a new Virginia law allowing them to detain some illegal immigrants without a warrant." The Washington Post reported that "the law, which will take effect July 1, allows police to arrest and hold illegal immigrants who return to this country after being convicted of felonies and deported. Police will be able to hold suspects as long as 72 hours without bond while waiting for federal immigration agents to pick them up."

Tejada and Community Role Models

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada's efforts in the Community Role Models program was highlighted in The Connection. The program is organized by the county’s Volunteer Office to attract young, working adults who might be interested in volunteering, with a special focus on finding volunteers for youth services, environmental and community development programs. Last week, "county staffers and current volunteers gathered with 100 young adults at Whitlow’s on Wilson to celebrate the kickoff of Community Role Models, and to attract young volunteers to the program."

Sara Girovasi-Marron, a member of the Community Role Models task force organizing the program, said that the central idea is “to get people in their 20s and 30s involved … a lot of them may not be involved in civic life, and may not know how. Finding younger volunteers can help local programs. But the process can also let young adults know that they play a role in the community.”

Tejada worked with staffers and young working adults to form the Community Role Models task force and plan for the program last week. In addition, Tejada named the program and last week declared that “this county-wide program will tap into the one-third of Arlington’s population who may not otherwise be engaged in our civic life and seek to connect this valuable resource with youngsters who could benefit from a caring adult in their lives.”

Tejada Spearheads 'Public Defender' Office

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada was featured in an article on Arlington's need for a public defender's office in the Washington Post. Arlington and Prince William counties are the two jurisdictions in Northern Virginia without a public defender's office. The Post said that Tejada is "spearheading the effort" and that "officials in Arlington County will ask the state legislature this month to pass a law authorizing a public defender's office in the county, saying that Arlington's low-income and minority residents are often ill-served by court-appointed counsel.

Tejada said that "an increase in criminal cases in the county of 193,000 has overloaded Arlington's 30 or so court-appointed attorneys. A public defender's office with full-time attorneys on staff would be better equipped to handle indigent clients." He declared, "We do have a crisis" and noted that there is "broad community support" among minority and church groups for the measure. "The workload has increased substantially, and often private attorneys don't have the bilingual staff or resources to adequately represent these clients."

State Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple (D-Arlington), who will be co-sponsoring the legislation, said: "I think we have a pretty good case for it. The other Northern Virginia jurisdictions have public defenders, and that's the strength of our request."