I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Another prominent Latino has joined the Obama administration.
John Trasviña, the outgoing president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, known as MALDEF, is the president’s pick to be the next assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to a press release sent out today by the National Council of La Raza, or NCLR, Trasviña is described as “a talented attorney and committed advocate who will be in the right place at the right time.”
According to another press release from another Latino civil rights organization — the venerable League of United Latin American Citizens — Trasviña’s new job is especially critical today.
Given the huge challenges with the current housing market, it is important to have someone of this high caliber at HUD to enforce non-discrimination laws to protect all Americans.
A factoid spelled out by NCLR explains why such enforcement of nondiscrimination laws is so important: Latinos are twice as likely as non-Latino whites to end up with a subprime loan and are more susceptible to home foreclosure.
Trasviña is a veteran of the Clinton administration, where he served as special counsel. He also led the only federal government office for immigrant workplace rights and was the highest-ranking Latino attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice.
To get an insider perspective on the pick, I e-mailed University of Houston law professor Michael Olivas — a member of the MALDEF board — for his reaction to the news. He responded by first noting the MALDEF history they share:
I chaired the Board Committee that hired JT to become the MALDEF President, and I have watched him grow in grace and wisdom. While he is leaving to assume an important civil rights program position, we will be sorry to see him leave MALDEF.
But Olivas did offer one note of caution, describing the Trasviña appointment this way: “Our institutional loss is the country’s gain.” Elaborating on that point, he continued:
These are difficult times for civil rights organizations — many people have taken the rise of President Obama as evidence that all the battles have been won. This is far from the truth. In fact, due to poor markets and lack of financial support for the unpopular tasks that MALDEF has chosen, our traditional supporters have declined in financial support — at a time when Latinos have more work to do than ever before.
Olivas, also a Santa Fe native, ended his response by emphasizing that MALDEF will continue to advance Latino civil rights.
We will redouble our efforts to find continuing organizational leadership and to continue our important mission.
