2012

We’ve got just one simple, but critical action for you to take today:

Join our new Facebook campaign “STOP the Violence in Mexico” and help us grow the movement for justice and human rights in Mexico.  In communities across the United States, there are concerned people like you who are passionate about human rights. But unlike you, a lot of them haven’t heard about what’s been going on in Mexico or don't know how to turn their passion into action; action that can make a huge difference in real people’s lives.

Are the Florida Straits getting smaller, or are more bridges being built?

In mid-January of 2011, President Obama eased travel restrictions for ordinary U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba through organizations holding "people-to-people" licenses, granted by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). He also granted general licenses (no pre-authorization required) for religious organizations and educational institutions. While this is substantial progress, our work is far from over.

Today, March 1st, marks the 30th anniversary of Cuba’s placement on the State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.  In 1982 Cuba was added to this list because, according to the Congressional Research Services 2005 report, “At the time, numerous U.S. government reports and statements under the Reagan Administration alleged Cuba’s ties to international terrorism and its support for terrorist groups in Latin America.” The report goes on to recall Cuba’s involvement in supporting revolutionary movements in Africa and other Latin American countries. In “1992 Fidel Castro stressed that his country’s support for insurgents abroad was a thing of the past,” mainly due to the fall of the Soviet Union and subsequent loss of resources following the fall. 

*Spoiler alert! Details of Demián Bichir’s Oscar-nominated performance in A Better Life exposed here!

Bummed all the hype surrounding the Oscars is over? Hopefully the annual awards show opened your eyes to some fantastic films. One that I would personally urge you to see is A Better Life.

Mexican actor Demián Bichir was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in this timely film about immigration. Bichir plays Carlos Galindo, an honest, hardworking gardener and undocumented Mexican immigrant living in East Los Angeles with his teenage son. The struggles Carlos faces as a single father are exacerbated by his undocumented status and the gangs that are constantly trying to recruit his son, Luis.