Hugo Balta

In an interview with KRBD radio Thursday, Representative Don Young ( R-Alaska) used the racist smear “wetback” in describing migrant workers his father employed in their California ranch.

Young used the derogatory term  when explaining how automation has taken away jobs.

“My father had a ranch; we used to have 50-60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes,” Young said. “It takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It’s all done by machine.”

Certainly Representative Young’s insensitive slur this week does not help the GOP’s effort to reach out to the Latino community.

- Hugo Balta, President of NAHJ

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) is disappointed by Representative Young’s insensitive remark. NAHJ calls for his immediate apology.

In a statement Young did not apologize, but rather tried to excuse himself by explaining that it came from his time growing up in a different era. He said, “I used a term that was commonly used during my days growing up on a farm in central California (…) I know that this term is not used in the same way nowadays and I meant no disrespect.”

No, Mr. Young, such tactless expressions always had the same “use” and that’s to demean a group of hard working people who are often the target of abuse.

In 1954 (when young was 20 years old), then president Dwight Eisenhower launched Operation Wetback, a shameful initiative to remove (often violently) thousands of undocumented workers – mostly Mexican nationals. In what has been described as a “quasi-military operation”, border patrol agents, along with state and local law enforcement methodically targeted Mexican-Americans.

The result was widespread fear and abuse.

It is estimated that 4,800 people were apprehended on the first day of the military operation.  In the end, The Immigration and Naturalization Service agency (INS) claimed as many as 1,300,000 were deported – many on their own out of fear. There were reports of beatings. Hundreds of families were torn apart. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Following the overwhelming loss in November, The Republican National Committee (RNC) called on the party to present a friendlier face to diverse voters from different racial and ethnic groups. The five-member Growth and Opportunity Project of the RNC stated in its report, “It does not matter what we say about education, jobs or the economy; if Hispanics think we do not want them here, they will close their ears to our advice.”

Certainly Representative Young’s insensitive slur this week does not help the GOP’s effort to reach out to the Latino community.

It is my personal hope that Mr. Young understands how that term fuels racist and discriminatory actions by ignorant people, who feel it (wetback) is acceptable to use because a person in power (a politician) like him uses it.

I invite Representative Young to a conversation in an effort to educate others about how inappropriate and inaccurate this negative term is.

Hugo Balta is the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists

Businesses from the state of Chihuahua were able to generate 5 thousand 133 new jobs during the month of January, according to statistics from the Ministry of Labor.

The report points out that formal jobs reached 698,325 in January, an increase from the December 2012 data, 693,192.

Nationwide, 44,169 new jobs were created also in January, which means that Chihuahua alone contributed with almost 12% of the country’s jobs growth.

Formal jobs in Mexico at the end of January were 16 million 106 thousand 212.

General Motors Co. spokesman Tom Wickham confirmed Tuesday, Feb. 5, in a press statement that employees were notified it would cease operations later this year.

A special arrangement had been reached between the automaker, Delphi and the UAW for GM hourly employees to work at the facility and Delphi provide the management, Wickham said in a written statement.

The GM employees at the site will have recall rights to other facilities owned by the automaker as “openings occur,” he said.

Delphi owns the equipment and manages the facility, which is actually owned by DPH Holdings

EL PASO, Texas – In the weeks leading to Valentine’s Day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s highly trained agriculture specialists ensure that plant diseases and plant pests are detected and stopped from being introduced into the United States where they could cause harm.

At international ports of entry, land borders and mail facilities, CBP agriculture specialists are the front line in the fight against the introduction of harmful insects and diseases into the United States.  El Paso area CBP agriculture specialists performing agriculture exams recorded a total of 53,510 quarantine material interceptions and 4,211 pest interceptions during fiscal year 2012.

At El Paso area ports of entry, the most commonly prohibited flowers and plant materials are chrysanthemums, gladiolas, and choisya (an ornamental filler).  These items are not allowed to enter the U.S. from Mexico because they are known to harbor harmful pests and disease.

CBP El Paso agriculture specialists ranked number seven nationally in number of pest intercepts in imported cut flowers with 34 incidents recorded during fiscal year 2012.

Individuals purchasing floral arrangements in Mexico for transport to the U.S. should advise their florist so prohibited plant species will not be used in the arrangement.

CBP processed approximately 842.2 million cut flower stems during the 2012 Valentine’s season from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, compared to 802.5 million stems processed during the 2011 season — an increase of 4.9% percent. Most of the cut flower shipments are imported from South America, primarily Colombia, with 536.1 million stems or 67 percent, followed by Ecuador with 194 million stems or 23 percent.

Miami ranks first among U.S. ports of entry for shipments of cut flower imports, followed by Los Angeles. The quantity of imported cut flowers processed by both ports during the 2012 Valentine’s season increased 5.7% compared to 2011 season.

17-Jan-2013.- More Than 50 Cars Debut at the North American International Auto Show, Including the Most Anticipated Reveal, the All New 7th Generation Chevy Corvette

Car manufacturers from all around the world are revving up their engines and kicking off the New Year at the 2013 North American International Auto Show. Also known as the Detroit Auto Show, it has something for everyone, from newly unveiled cars, to the craziest concept cars.

Here to help navigate the show is Auto Expert James Bell. He shares insider details regarding what is sure to be the star, the Chevy Corvette, the beginning of the seventh generation of America’s sports car.

According to James, it also looks like this will be a big year for trucks. Ford and Ram recently released all new models, and the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra mark GM’s first foray into new trucks since 2007.

Available content includes soundbites from James Bell, and B-roll.

Railroad Facts contains more than 80 pages of facts and statistics for 2011, as well as historical data on critical aspects of railroad business, including: finance, operations, plant and equipment, employment and compensation, fuel consumption and costs.  Railroad Facts contains a profile of each Class I railroad, Amtrak, the two major Canadian railroads, and the two largest Mexican railways. The publication also features a “Year in Review” and “Preview of 2012” as well as designated sections for advertisements.

Copies of the publication are available for purchase by non-AAR members for $20.00 with discounts applied for purchases of two or more copies.  The cost for AAR members is $5.00 per copy. Additional shipping and handling charges apply for each order.  To purchase Railroad Facts, visit the AAR web site at www.aar.org, and go to Statistics & Publications – Publications – Online catalog. A digital version of Railroad Facts is also available.

One cannot credibly make the case that President Obama is a president incapable of doing big things. After all, he staked his first term on passing a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system. He got it done, and he won reelection.

So it’s almost baffling that his administration, in light of achieving something so momentous, has been unable to get a Senate-confirmed Customs and Border Protection commissioner in place.

Don’t get me wrong: getting nominees through the tough confirmation process has never been a slam-dunk. (You might recall Bill Clinton’s well documented first-term struggles to get an attorney general in place.)

But CBP commissioner is a post well under-the-radar for most Americans, rarely sparking much public debate. That doesn’t mean, though, that the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee can be easily charmed, as the president found out with his nomination of Alan Bersin back in 2009.

After the president’s first choice for commissioner saw his recess appointment end without a Senate vote, he couldn’t have done better than in the naming of David Aguilar to take over as the acting CBP commissioner.

Aguilar has an almost perfect résumé for the job. A former national chief of the Border Patrol, he knows the issue of border security better than anyone, but he has never sought to make trade facilitation take a backseat to security. His desire to engage the whole of the trade community, from the manufacturing point of origin to shipping to destination, in shaping a business-friendly customs environment has been just what the doctor ordered during a time when an enforcement-only approach could have been devastating to businesses struggling in a soft economy.

But with the president now scoping out his second term, chatter in Washington has turned to who the president will tap to make another attempt at getting through the confirmation process to helm CBP.

But it’s not just President Obama who’s mulling a new customs head. New Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto will also soon appoint a new head of that country’s chief trade-processing agency, Aduanas.

Peña Nieto, fresh off a trip to Washington, D.C. where he visited with President Obama and lawmakers, including border-district Representatives Henry Cuellar and Rubén Hinojosa, and who visited in Ottawa with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, indicated that border issues and trade enhancement will be priority issues for his administration.

If Presidents Obama and Peña Nieto were sharing notes on what their want ad for new customs directors should say, I’d recommend that border experience be at the top of the list.

Though the David Aguilars of the world don’t come along too often, both presidents should seek out individuals who can easily grasp the unique nature of the border regions, their challenges and their opportunities.

Both presidents can help advance their countries’ economic and security interests by stressing to their appointees that failure to engage in constant inter-agency communication with their respective counterparts at CBP, Aduanas and the Canadian Border Services Agency is not an option. Silos won’t do anything to promote the collaboration across borders that is so desperately needed to help do away with redundant processes that do little more than slow down the flow of legitimate trade and travel across our shared borders.

To that end, the new customs heads should seek ways to encourage increased participation in the alphabet soup of trusted shipper programs like C-TPAT (U.S. CBP’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism), PIP (Canada’s Partners in Protection) and  NEEC (Mexico’s Nuevo Esquema de Empresas Certificadas, or New Scheme for Certified Companies) to help deliver expedited service to participating companies at the ports of entry. Mutual recognition of each of the NAFTA partners’ programs will help to boost participation and cut down redundancies, all with an eye toward learning more about companies’ supply chains to aid inspection agencies’ ability to know exactly what is coming through the ports, process that trade quickly, and to so while protecting companies’ proprietary information.

The trade community needs the presidents to name border champions, individuals willing to make our borders areas of bold innovation on items like clearing cargo for entry to its country of destination from its country of origin, public-private partnerships to improve infrastructure and boost staffing levels, and shared facilities. A commitment to improved ports of entry results in an immediate return on investment as those cars, trucks and pedestrians waiting in line can more quickly enter into commerce and economic activity.

Whoever takes over these important positions will likely face questions over their qualifications to tackle border security challenges, and rightly so. But here’s hoping that they also make clear their commitment to grow jobs and increase North American competitiveness by working together to make the NAFTA borders both highly secure and highly efficient.

Nelson Balido is the president of the Border Trade Alliance

Valle Berak  S.A. es  una empresa destinada a ayudar a la comunidad juarense, que quiere darle  empleo a las  personas  que son rechazadas por la sociedad, como personas rehabilitadas, sexo servidoras, graffiteros, que a veces tienen tanto talento y no se aprovecha porque son excluidos de la sociedad  explicó una  de las fundadoras, Adriana Guerra.

Mencionó que su trabajo consiste en elaborar vajillas hechas a mano con estilos únicos, moldes elaborados por ellos mismos, y cuentan con la línea pintada que ha participado en exposiciones en galerías de Washington, Santa fe.

La empresa tiene cinco años en el mercado, y estuvo presente  en el  Encuentro de Proveedores- Restaurantes ofreciendo su producto a Hoteles, Restaurantes, Negocios que le quieran imprimir un toque único y especial a su negocio , uniendonos a la causa de levantar  a ciudad Juárez  agregó.

Humberto Guzmán Caballero, ejecutivo de Inbursa durante el encuentro proveedores-restaurantes

Aprovechando que estaban reunidos proveedores y compradores de restaurantes, Grupo Inbursa les dio a conocer los beneficios de contar con Terminales Punto de Venta para aceptar pagos con tarjetas de crédito y débito, dijo Humberto Guzmán Caballero ejecutivo de la institución financiera.

“Estamos apoyando a la industria restaurantera brindándoles 4 meses gratis por el uso de una Terminal Punto de Venta para tarjetas de crédito y débito”, abrió Guzmán.

Las terminales tienen un costo de 150 pesos mensuales en equipo sencillo y tienen la capacidad de atraer clientes que se manejan con pura tarjeta de crédito.

Los negocios tienen más posibilidad de incrementar  su clientela al aceptar tarjeta y el usuario tiene la posibilidad de  contar con comprobantes de gastos.

Explicó que hay comisiones que se aplican a los usuarios de las terminales, pero el beneficio que se les regresa supera por mucho lo que pudieran pagar por ese servicio.