Latest news with #UnidosUS
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
UnidosUS comes to KC for listening session with city, business and community leaders
A group of national Hispanic leaders met in Kansas City this week for a listening session with city legislators and local business leaders. There's a lot for this community to be worried about lately — news stories paint an anxious picture of changing immigration policies. Still, the tone was surprisingly upbeat. When asked what word they would use to describe how they felt Thursday morning at the Mattie Rhodes Cultural Center, words such as 'hopeful,' 'proud' and 'gratitude' were spoken. Only one 'uncertain' surfaced among the rest. Perhaps it's because this is a community that supports and uplifts each other because in these times it feels like that's all you can do. UnidosUS seeks to do more. The nation's largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization has planned several of these listening sessions around the country with the goal of understanding concerns facing local residents. Headed by Kansas City, Kansas, native Janet Murguia, the organization seeks to close gaps and barriers facing Latinos. 'As we hear from our community, as we understand the challenges that our community is facing, it informs us even further with a level of authenticity that will give us strength to advance solutions,' she said. KC wasn't the first stop on this multicity listening tour, but in some ways, it was the most important. The UnidosUS national convention is in Kansas City this year, and Thursday's event was another opportunity to shine a spotlight on Murguia's hometown. After coffee, breakfast and the positive start, Murguia and Unidos/US Senior vice president for policy Eric Rodriguez offered some sober realities: 'To be honest, there's a shifting political landscape right now, and we're facing some tough headwinds. We've made it very clear that we are going to do everything we can to protect and defend our community,' Murguia said. The fears are real. Just this week, Kansas City's migrants, like others around the country, have found ICE officers waiting after court appointments. And in Massachusetts, a student on his way to volleyball practice was arrested by ICE and later released. Murguia and UnidosUS representatives spent two hours meeting with Kansas City leaders. Among the city, community and business representatives were John Fierro, President and CEO of the Mattie Rhodes Center, Kansas City Councilman Crispin Rea, Jaime Guillen, who leads KC's Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Department and Raytown Alderman Theresa Garza, among many others. The Beacons of Change annual conference comes to Kansas City August 5-7.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arellano: Guess who suddenly has a 'TACO' allergy? How a tasty sounding acronym haunts Trump
Guess who suddenly has a "TACO" allergy? President Yuge Taco Salad himself. In the annals of four-letter words and acronyms Donald Trump has long hitched his political fortunes on, the word "taco" may be easy to overlook. There's MAGA, most famously. DOGE, courtesy of Elon Musk. Huge (pronounced yuge, of course). Wall, as in the one he continues to build on the U.S.-Mexico border. 'Love' for himself, 'hate' against all who stand in his way. There's a four-letter term, however, that best sums up Trump's shambolic presidency, one no one would've ever associated with him when he announced his first successful presidential campaign a decade ago. Taco. His first use of the most quintessential of Mexican meals happened on Cinco de Mayo 2016, when Trump posted a portrait of himself grinning in front of a giant taco salad while proclaiming 'I Love Hispanics!' Latino leaders immediately ridiculed his Hispandering, with UnidosUS president Janet Murguia telling the New York Times that it was 'clueless, offensive and self-promoting' while also complaining, 'I don't know that any self-respecting Latino would even acknowledge that a taco bowl is part of our culture.' Read more: Column: From Trump's taco bowl to Amy Klobuchar's Elena, when 'Hispandering' goes wrong I might've been the only Trump critic in the country to defend his decision to promote taco salads. After all, it's a dish invented by a Mexican American family at the old Casa de Fritos stand in Disneyland. But also because the meal can be a beautiful, crunchy thing in the right hands. Besides, I realized what Trump was doing: getting his name in the news, trolling opponents, and having a hell of a good time doing it while welcoming Latinos into his basket of deplorables as he strove for the presidency. Hey, you couldn't blame the guy for trying. Guess what happened? Despite consistently trashing Latinos, Trump increased his share of that electorate in each of his presidential runs and leaned on them last year to capture swing states like Arizona and Nevada. Latino Republican politicians made historic gains across the country in his wake — especially in California, where the number of Latino GOP legislators jumped from four in 2022 to a record nine. The Trump taco salad tweet allowed his campaign to present their billionaire boss to Latinos as just any other Jose Schmo ready to chow down on Mexican food. It used the ridicule thrown at him as proof to other supporters that elites hated people like them. Trump must have at least felt confident the taco salad gambit from yesteryear worked because he reposted the image on social media this Cinco de Mayo, adding the line 'This was so wonderful, 9 years ago today!' It's not exactly live by the taco, die by the taco. (Come on, why would such a tasty force of good want to hurt anyone)? But Trump is suddenly perturbed by the mere mention of TACO. That's an acronym mentioned in a Financial Times newsletter earlier this month that means Trump Always Chickens Out. The insult is in reference to the growing belief in Wall Street that people who invest in stocks should keep in mind that the president talks tough on tariffs but never follows through because he folds under pressure like the Clippers. Or a taco, come to think of it. Trump raged when CNBC reporter Megan Cassella asked him about TACO at a White House press conference this week. 'Don't ever say what you said,' the commander in chief snarled before boasting about how he wasn't a chicken and was actually a tough guy. 'That's a nasty question.' No other reporter followed up with TACO questions, because the rest of the internet did. Images of Trump in everything from taco suits to taco crowns to carnivorous tacos swallowing Trump whole have bloomed ever since. News outlets are spreading Trump's out-of-proportion response to something he could've just laughed off, while "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" just aired a parody song to the tune of "Macho Man" titled — what else? — "Taco Man." The TACO coinage is perfect: snappy, easily understandable, truthful and seems Trump-proof. The master of appropriating insults just can't do anything to make TACO his — Trump Always Cares Outstandingly just doesn't have the same ring. It's also a reminder that Trump's anti-Latino agenda so far in his administration makes a predictable mockery of his taco salad boast and related Hispandering. Read more: Hiltzik: Explaining the newest Wall Street craze — the 'TACO' trade In just over four months, Trump and his lackeys have tried to deport as many Latino immigrants — legal and illegal — as possible and has threatened Mexico — one of this country's vital trading partners — with a 25% tariff. He has signed executive orders declaring English the official language of the United States and seeking to bring back penalties against truck drivers who supposedly don't speak English well enough at a time when immigrants make up about 18% of the troquero force and Latinos are a big chunk of it. Meanwhile, the economy — the main reason why so many Latinos went for Trump in 2024 in the first place — hasn't improved since the Biden administration and always seems one Trump speech away from getting even wobblier. As for Latinos, there are some signs Trump's early presidency has done him no great favors with them. An April survey by the Pew Research Center — considered the proverbial gold standard when it comes to objectively gauging how Latinos feel about issues — found 27% of them approve of how he's doing as president, down from 36% back in February. Trump was always an imperfect champion of the taco's winning potential, and not because the fish tacos at his Trump Grill come with French fries (labeled "Idaho" on the menu) and the taco salad currently costs a ghastly $25. He never really understood that a successful taco must appeal to everyone, never shatter or rip apart under pressure and can never take itself seriously like a burrito or a snooty mole. The president needs to move on from his taco dalliance and pay attention to another four-letter word, one more and more Americans utter after every pendejo move Trump and his flunkies commit: Help. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Guess who suddenly has a ‘TACO' allergy? How a tasty sounding acronym haunts Trump
Guess who suddenly has a 'TACO' allergy? President Yuge Taco Salad himself. In the annals of four-letter words and acronyms Donald Trump has long hitched his political fortunes on, the word 'taco' may be easy to overlook. There's MAGA, most famously. DOGE, courtesy of Elon Musk. Huge (pronounced yuge, of course). Wall, as in the one he continues to build on the U.S.-Mexico border. 'Love' for himself, 'hate' against all who stand in his way. There's a four-letter term, however, that best sums up Trump's shambolic presidency, one no one would've ever associated with him when he announced his first successful presidential campaign a decade ago. Taco. His first use of the most quintessential of Mexican meals happened on Cinco de Mayo 2016, when Trump posted a portrait of himself grinning in front of a giant taco salad while proclaiming 'I Love Hispanics!' Latino leaders immediately ridiculed his Hispandering, with UnidosUS president Janet Murguia telling the New York Times that it was 'clueless, offensive and self-promoting' while also complaining, 'I don't know that any self-respecting Latino would even acknowledge that a taco bowl is part of our culture.' I might've been the only Trump critic in the country to defend his decision to promote taco salads. After all, it's a dish invented by a Mexican American family at the old Casa de Fritos stand in Disneyland. But also because the meal can be a beautiful, crunchy thing in the right hands. Besides, I realized what Trump was doing: getting his name in the news, trolling opponents, and having a hell of a good time doing it while welcoming Latinos into his basket of deplorables as he strove for the presidency. Hey, you couldn't blame the guy for trying. Guess what happened? Despite consistently trashing Latinos, Trump increased his share of that electorate in each of his presidential runs and leaned on them last year to capture swing states like Arizona and Nevada. Latino Republican politicians made historic gains across the country in his wake — especially in California, where the number of Latino GOP legislators jumped from four in 2022 to a record nine. The Trump taco salad tweet allowed his campaign to present their billionaire boss to Latinos as just any other Jose Schmo ready to chow down on Mexican food. It used the ridicule thrown at him as proof to other supporters that elites hated people like them. Trump must have at least felt confident the taco salad gambit from yesteryear worked because he reposted the image on social media this Cinco de Mayo, adding the line 'This was so wonderful, 9 years ago today!' It's not exactly live by the taco, die by the taco. (Come on, why would such a tasty force of good want to hurt anyone)? But Trump is suddenly perturbed by the mere mention of TACO. That's an acronym mentioned in a Financial Times newsletter earlier this month that means Trump Always Chickens Out. The insult is in reference to the growing belief in Wall Street that people who invest in stocks should keep in mind that the president talks tough on tariffs but never follows through because he folds under pressure like the Clippers. Or a taco, come to think of it. Trump raged when CNBC reporter Megan Cassella asked him about TACO at a White House press conference this week. 'Don't ever say what you said,' the commander in chief snarled before boasting about how he wasn't a chicken and was actually a tough guy. 'That's a nasty question.' No other reporter followed up with TACO questions, because the rest of the internet did. Images of Trump in everything from taco suits to taco crowns to carnivorous tacos swallowing Trump whole have bloomed ever since. News outlets are spreading Trump's out-of-proportion response to something he could've just laughed off, while 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' just aired a parody song to the tune of 'Macho Man' titled — what else? — 'Taco Man.' The TACO coinage is perfect: snappy, easily understandable, truthful and seems Trump-proof. The master of appropriating insults just can't do anything to make TACO his — Trump Always Cares Outstandingly just doesn't have the same ring. It's also a reminder that Trump's anti-Latino agenda so far in his administration makes a predictable mockery of his taco salad boast and related Hispandering. In just over four months, Trump and his lackeys have tried to deport as many Latino immigrants — legal and illegal — as possible and has threatened Mexico — one of this country's vital trading partners — with a 25% tariff. He has signed executive orders declaring English the official language of the United States and seeking to bring back penalties against truck drivers who supposedly don't speak English well enough at a time when immigrants make up about 18% of the troquero force and Latinos are a big chunk of it. Meanwhile, the economy — the main reason why so many Latinos went for Trump in 2024 in the first place — hasn't improved since the Biden administration and always seems one Trump speech away from getting even wobblier. As for Latinos, there are some signs Trump's early presidency has done him no great favors with them. An April survey by the Pew Research Center — considered the proverbial gold standard when it comes to objectively gauging how Latinos feel about issues — found 27% of them approve of how he's doing as president, down from 36% back in February. Trump was always an imperfect champion of the taco's winning potential, and not because the fish tacos at his Trump Grill come with French fries (labeled 'Idaho' on the menu) and the taco salad currently costs a ghastly $25. He never really understood that a successful taco must appeal to everyone, never shatter or rip apart under pressure and can never take itself seriously like a burrito or a snooty mole. The president needs to move on from his taco dalliance and pay attention to another four-letter word, one more and more Americans utter after every pendejo move Trump and his flunkies commit: Help.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Florida Non-profit lobbying for fix to 'failing' call center for SNAP and Medicaid applicants
A local nonprofit is trying to get the state to fix glitches with an online system that's cost people their healthcare and SNAP benefits. Channel 9 has spent more than a year digging into these problems, but the Florida Department of Children and Families has consistently blamed users for the trouble they've had uploading documents, completing required interviews, and getting benefits. However, in April, Channel 9 uncovered records showing the agency has known about problems all along. Jared Nordlund told Channel 9 he stumbled on a 9 Investigates' report on the issues his non-profit has been investigating as well. Nordlund is the Florida State Director for UnidosUS, a non-profit that serves as the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, that in part focuses on health equity. Just weeks after the new my access portal for Snap and Medicaid applicants launched, his organization conducted dozens of test calls and discovered 8 in ten calls to the state's applicant hotline would disconnect before callers got through to a live agent. 'The state will say that the website or the call center has like a 99% uptime … but the actual functionality was breaking down,' said Nordlund. Nordlund told Channel 9 UnidosUS brought their reports to state lawmakers, who budgeted over 12 million to improve the call center last year. According to Nordlund, UnidosUS made 348 new test calls to the Medicaid line between September and February 2025. The non-profit found the disconnect rate dropped from 80 percent to just five percent for English speakers. However, according to their report, 45% of the Spanish language calls were still disconnected before reaching an agent, which is approximately nine times the rate for English speakers. According to the non-profit, 'These failures disproportionately impact low-income, rural and immigrant communities, where internet access is limited.' UnidosUS is now lobbying for additional money in this year's budget to fix the call center for Spanish language speakers. They are also advocating for fixes to the online glitches. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Int'l Business Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Democrats Shift Focus Away From Immigration And To The Economy To Capitalize Trump's Plunge With Latinos
Throughout the 2024 general election cycle, countless polls showed that Latinos' no. 1 priority was the economy and pocketbook issues, not immigration. Now, as the latter continues to be a controversial issue, with the Trump administration taking steps to crack down immigration, Democrats are catching up, trying to court Latinos through their economic plans and goals. A September Pew Research Center poll showed that 85% of Latino voters viewed the economy as the most important issue of the 2024 presidential election, followed by health care (71%), violent crime (62%), gun policy (62%), and immigration (59%). Another November poll from UnidosUS showed 52% of respondents ranked inflation and cost of living as the most important issue of the elections, followed by jobs and the economy (36%), housing costs and affordability (27%) and health care costs (25%). Donald Trump's victory, who as a candidate promised economic prosperity and a severe crackdown on immigration, helped solidify this view, bringing a record-number of Latinos to the polls last fall. Because of this, liberal strategists, organizers and some politicians are urging Democrats to increasingly focus on the economy in this year's elections, rather than on immigration, a new report from The Associated Press explains. They argue that concrete plans on the economy can translate better across nationalities and cultures, unlike more controversial issues like immigration. "Where we fell short was failing to fully appreciate the bread-and-butter economic issues that were driving them," said Tom Perez, a former Democratic National Committee chair who advised President Joe Biden. He is now co-chair of the American Bridge 21st Century, a group that does opposition research on Republicans. "Many folks felt like we were too focused on identity politics and not focused enough on the cost of eggs, the cost of gas, the cost of living." Likewise, Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist who mobilized Latinos for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential bid in 2020 and for U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego last year, as well as started a super PAC to reach out to Latinos in key races, told the AP that Democrats "mess up by bringing a policy book to a boxing match." "It's about three things: affordability, affordability, affordability," he said. "Affordability is the only thing that they care about because that's what's hitting them in the face every day." The pivoted strategy will come to the center stage during New Jersey's primary for governor . The race is crowded among Democrats with different track records and points of view, including congressman Josh Gottheimer, Newark mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop, congresswoman Mikie Sherrill and former state Senate president Steve Sweeney. Most notably, Sherrill has molded her campaign to focus on her military service while also arguing how she will stand up to Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk. One of her ads promises she will "drive down costs from health care to housing." On the other hand, Baraka has gained national attention for his pro-immigration activism, recently being arrested for protesting against U.S. immigration authorities' plans to open a detention facility in his city. A new strategy could work for Democrats at this time, as the president is seeing collapsing approval ratings among Latinos. A May AP-NORC poll found that 38% of Hispanic adults approve of Trump's handling of the economy, which is roughly in line with U.S. adults overall. Originally published on Latin Times Elections Donald trump Immigration New Jersey
