Theologians challenge President and Congress
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<p>Theologians challenge President and Congress about protecting safety net programs in debt fight.</p>
National Catholic social justice leaders and theologians across the country are urging President Obama and Congressional leaders to show leadership and moral vision in the face of political pressure to cut spending by slashing safety net programs. JSRI Fellow Alex Mikulich signed on to the July 13, 2011 statement that is available here.
June Jobs Report Dismal
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<p>This article explains how and why unemployment is a concern for people of faith in the context of the June, 2011 unemployment and jobs report and Catholic social thought.</p>
Why unemployment matters to people of faith
The jury is still out
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<p><strong>Criminal chaos or community justice in Orleans Parish?</strong></p>
<p>New Orleans stands at the crossroads of a new opportunity to create a city jail that reflects values of fairness, equality, and justice for all.</p>
<p>This opportunity, partially made possible by the destruction of the old jail wrought by Hurricane Katrina, means the city looks forward to taking full advantage of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) subsidies for the costs of a building a new jail.</p>
<p>Yet the wisdom of this opportunity to achieve values of fairness and equality may be missed, if the people of New Orleans simply allow the city and the sheriff to build a new 5,800 bed jail and reinforce an old, broken, and failed criminal justice system.</p>
<p>New Orleans stands at the crossroads of a new opportunity to create a city jail that reflects values of fairness, equality, and justice for all.</p>
<p>This opportunity, partially made possible by the destruction of the old jail wrought by Hurricane Katrina, means the city looks forward to taking full advantage of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) subsidies for the costs of a building a new jail.</p>
<p>Yet the wisdom of this opportunity to achieve values of fairness and equality may be missed, if the people of New Orleans simply allow the city and the sheriff to build a new 5,800 bed jail and reinforce an old, broken, and failed criminal justice system.</p>
Criminal chaos or community justice in Orleans Parish?
By Alex Mikulich, Ph.D. Research Fellow 1
New Orleans stands at the crossroads of a new opportunity to create a city jail that reflects values of fairness, equality, and justice for all.
Repeal the 14th Amendment?
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<p><strong>New Challenges to citizenship under the 14th Amendment</strong></p>
<p>The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is considered the cornerstone of American civil rights. It ensures due process and equal protection under the law to all persons, and citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States.</p>
<p>The 14th Amendment was enacted after the Civil War in 1868 to repudiate the Dred Scott decision of 1857, which denied citizenship to U.S.-born children of African descent . The passage of the 14th Amendment has been called one of the greatest legacies of the Republican Party. Through it the right of citizenship was taken out of the political realm and provided an objective standard—birth</p>
<p>The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is considered the cornerstone of American civil rights. It ensures due process and equal protection under the law to all persons, and citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States.</p>
<p>The 14th Amendment was enacted after the Civil War in 1868 to repudiate the Dred Scott decision of 1857, which denied citizenship to U.S.-born children of African descent . The passage of the 14th Amendment has been called one of the greatest legacies of the Republican Party. Through it the right of citizenship was taken out of the political realm and provided an objective standard—birth</p>
New challenges to citizenship under the 14th Amendment
Dr. Sue Weishar, Migration Specialist
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is considered the cornerstone of American civil rights. It ensures due process and equal protection under the law to all persons, and citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States:
The view from the states
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<p><strong>What are they saying about the Census and Poverty?</strong></p>
<p>In September, the U.S. Census Bureau released its new figures on poverty from the 2009 American Community Survey. The five states of the Gulf South continue to have millions of people living below “the poverty line.”</p>
<p>In September, the U.S. Census Bureau released its new figures on poverty from the 2009 American Community Survey. The five states of the Gulf South continue to have millions of people living below “the poverty line.”</p>
What are they saying about the Census and Poverty?
By Fred Kammer, SJ, JSRI Director
In September, the U.S. Census Bureau released its new figures on poverty from the 2009 American Community Survey. The five states of the Gulf South continue to have millions of people living below “the poverty line,” as you can see from the table below[1], together with the overall U.S. and regional numbers:
Post-Katrina New Orleans: A Welcoming Community?
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<p>JSRI held a post-Katrina conference, <strong>Post-Katrina New Orleans: A Welcoming Community?</strong>, on September 11 on the main campus of Loyola University New Orleans.</p>
Join us on September 11
Post-Katrina New Orleans:
A Welcoming Community?
Saturday, September 11, 2010
9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Audubon Room – Danna Center
A conference sponsored by the Jesuit Social Research Institute and the Center for the Study of New Orleans, made possible by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
New Report Examines Immigrants in the Workforce
Blurb
<p><strong>Congressional Budget Office highlights changes in the U.S. workforce</strong></p>
<p>A major finding from a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is that foreign-born workers constitute a substantial and growing proportion of the U.S. labor force—that is people with a job or looking for one. In 2009 one in seven members of the labor force was foreign-born, compared to one in ten in 2004. Nevertheless, the rate of growth of the U.S. foreign-born labor force was much higher between 1994 and 2004—with an average increase of 5.2 percent a year—than the 2.2 percent annual average increase in immigrant workers in the labor force between 2004 and 2009. As a share of the total U.S. labor force, the foreign-born labor force grew from 10 percent in 1994 to 14.5 percent in 2004 to 15.5 percent in 2009. (The CBO report does not distinguish documented from undocumented immigrant workers in its figures.)</p>
<p>A major finding from a new report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is that foreign-born workers constitute a substantial and growing proportion of the U.S. labor force—that is people with a job or looking for one. In 2009 one in seven members of the labor force was foreign-born, compared to one in ten in 2004. Nevertheless, the rate of growth of the U.S. foreign-born labor force was much higher between 1994 and 2004—with an average increase of 5.2 percent a year—than the 2.2 percent annual average increase in immigrant workers in the labor force between 2004 and 2009. As a share of the total U.S. labor force, the foreign-born labor force grew from 10 percent in 1994 to 14.5 percent in 2004 to 15.5 percent in 2009. (The CBO report does not distinguish documented from undocumented immigrant workers in its figures.)</p>
Congressional Budget Office highlights changes in the U.S. workforce
by Dr. Susan Weishar, Ph.D.
Immigrant imprisonment
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<p><strong>The moral and legal challenges of U.S. detention</strong></p>
<p>Every day there are over 32,000 immigrants and refugees held in detention facilities across the country. It is a heart-wrenching experience to look into the eyes of these detainees. Their eyes speak volumes of their wretched state of being while locked up behind barbed wire fences. They are fearful, humiliated, confused, and desperate. Within the legal system immigrant and refugee detainees are commonly denied due process, and the majority of them cannot afford legal representation. They rarely understand the detention process and have little knowledge of how the judicial system works or what their rights are. While they do understand that they are unwanted in the U.S., they do not comprehend why they need to be locked up--for months and in some cases for years--like common criminals. The majority of immigrants detained today are victims of a severely broken immigration system.</p>
<p>Every day there are over 32,000 immigrants and refugees held in detention facilities across the country. It is a heart-wrenching experience to look into the eyes of these detainees. Their eyes speak volumes of their wretched state of being while locked up behind barbed wire fences. They are fearful, humiliated, confused, and desperate. Within the legal system immigrant and refugee detainees are commonly denied due process, and the majority of them cannot afford legal representation. They rarely understand the detention process and have little knowledge of how the judicial system works or what their rights are. While they do understand that they are unwanted in the U.S., they do not comprehend why they need to be locked up--for months and in some cases for years--like common criminals. The majority of immigrants detained today are victims of a severely broken immigration system.</p>
The moral and legal challenges of U.S. detention
by Anna Alicia Chavez, JSRI Migration Specialist
Neighborhoods and boys of color
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<p>A new report finds that neighborhoods are a major influence on the health of boys and young men of color. The study, “Healthy Communities Matter: The Importance of Place to the Health of Boys,” was funded by the California Endowment, includes contributions from the Drexel University School of Public Health, the Drexel Department of Emergency Medicine, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute of Harvard Law School, PolicyLInk, and the RAND Corporation.</p>
<p>While it may seem obvious, if you grow up in a neighborhood with a good school, where it is safe, where you can walk and play outside, where you can have a regular doctor, and where you have access to good food, you are more likely to live a long and healthy life. Conversely, if you grow up in a neighborhood where it is not safe, where schools are failing, where you do not have a place to go if you are sick or a grocery store with fresh food, then you are more likely to live a shorter life, earn less money, to be a victimizer or victim of violence, and to be far less healthy emotionally and physically.</p>
<p>While it may seem obvious, if you grow up in a neighborhood with a good school, where it is safe, where you can walk and play outside, where you can have a regular doctor, and where you have access to good food, you are more likely to live a long and healthy life. Conversely, if you grow up in a neighborhood where it is not safe, where schools are failing, where you do not have a place to go if you are sick or a grocery store with fresh food, then you are more likely to live a shorter life, earn less money, to be a victimizer or victim of violence, and to be far less healthy emotionally and physically.</p>
by Alex Mikulich, Ph.D.
Increasing U.S. and Gulf South hunger reflected in new reports
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<p><strong>Children’s hunger is focus of Congressional bills</strong></p>
<p>In a July 1st release, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) reported that, “More Than 40.4 Million Americans Participated in SNAP/Food Stamps in April 2010.” This is the latest set of available numbers and the report includes comparison figures for each state going back five years to April of 2005. Five years ago, 25,321,690 U.S. residents used food stamps (now named the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—SNAP). That number has increased 59.4% to 40,373,357 residents in need of food aid today!</p>
<p>In a July 1st release, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) reported that, “More Than 40.4 Million Americans Participated in SNAP/Food Stamps in April 2010.” This is the latest set of available numbers and the report includes comparison figures for each state going back five years to April of 2005. Five years ago, 25,321,690 U.S. residents used food stamps (now named the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—SNAP). That number has increased 59.4% to 40,373,357 residents in need of food aid today!</p>
Children’s hunger is focus of Congressional bills
By Fred Kammer, SJ