Voter Mobilization in November!

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada spoke out about the impact of voter registration in the Latino community in Virginia in the recent Congressional elections, to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Tejada said, "We are more encouraged from the results we had in the last elections. In some areas, Hispanics voted against candidates who opposed illegal immigration. Instead, they voted for many moderate Democrats who supportcomprehensive immigration changes Hispanic voters also largely voted against candidates who support construction of a fence at the Mexican border and mass deportation. If you propose anti-immigrant legislation at the national, local and state level, you will pay the consequences."

The article also noted that exit polls nationwide showed about 70 percent of Latinos voted Democrat. In Virginia, 17,653 immigrants became citizens, ranking it eighth in the nation in the number of naturalized citizens in 2005.

Gang Prevention in Arlington

"The Justice Department has given a $172,000 grant to three Arlington nonprofit organizations to continue funding a series of programs that aim to keep students out of gangs," according to The Connection and The Examiner. The initiatives were sponsored by Congressman Jim Moran and are to be administered by the Hispanic Committee of Virginia and run by Barrios Unidos and the Greenbrier Learning Center.

Arlington County Board Member J. Walter Tejada led the 'Attention to Prevention' press conference on December 4 and was joined by Congressman Moran and the leaders of the three nonprofits. Tejada said that for there to be success in this effort, "there has to be a whole community involvement," according to The Connection.

The photo shows Walter with Barrios Unidos' Kevin Sanchez who mentors Arlington middle and high school students. (Photo: Seth Rosen/The Connection.)