On the Price of Intolerance [originally written in 1999]

[Dear Readers:  my business partner Jaime Kuklinski sent me a very painful powerpoint reminding us about the horrors of the Holocaust; having just visited the Holocaust Museum in D.C. several weeks ago, the topic is fresh on my mind during this time of great change in our country.  I am re...

Jose E. Latour Nov 13, 2008

There IS No Such Thing as a “Latino Voter”

If I read one more article analyzing the election results in terms of "Latino Voters"...I'm going to probably finish reading it anyway.  That's because as silly as this hyperinterpretation of what this election has meant to the country, it is still pretty cool to read about ...

Jose E. Latour Nov 12, 2008

How Free Trade Reform Can Solve the Problem of Illegal Immigration from Mexico: A Modest Proposal

I will begin by stating that as I pleased as I was withmyself for concocting this inspired if long-winded title, I now regret mydecision.  The title might be appropriatefor, say,  a white paper…but not for whatI have to say today.  But I can’t thinkof anything more terse or pithy....

Jose E. Latour Nov 12, 2008

The Way of the Peaceful Warrior

I am in Mexico,a little less news-connected than when I’m home, but I’ve read enough in thepast 24 hours to see that those very pundits who were dead wrong over how thiselection would pan out are back  at it.  The theme this time is “he’s not tested”, and Biden’s honest remarksthat th...

Jose E. Latour Nov 07, 2008

Palin Goes Home

[My readers:  I have edited this original article considerably because after reading it the day after I wrote it, I realized that some of my comments were sarcastic and gloating, and that is not how I wish to express myself.  I have modified the article so that it still expresses my opinio...

Jose E. Latour Nov 05, 2008

Margarita Latour Votes for Change

[I will begin by telling you that I asked for her permission before writing this article, and my mother obliged.]My mother came to the United States in 1966, via the Cuban Adjustment Act.  She, my father, my Asturian nanny (today 81 and more ornery than ever) and I arrived in the dead of the night a...

Jose E. Latour Nov 03, 2008

One Last Immigration Fiasco from the Bush Administration

Well, just when I thought the extraordinary missteps and bungled results of the Bush administration's catastrophic failure to grasp even the basic fundamentals of migratory policy were near their end, he did it again:  amidst much pomp and circumstance in the Rose Garden yesterday, and utt...

Jose E. Latour Oct 18, 2008

So where have I been…?

Well, I must say that it was a bit flattering to come back to a handful of messages asking why I've been silent for the past six weeks.  The answer: I was wrapping up business in various other countries and was out of the U.S. for almost two months...but I'm back and so is the blog.We...

Jose E. Latour Sep 03, 2008

Manager Pleads Guilty Plea in Agri-Processor ICE Raid Case

The Associated Press reported on August 28 that Martin De La Rosa-Loera, a supervisor at the Agri-Processors meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, has pled guilty to “aiding and abetting the harboring of illegal immigrants”.  The charges stem from a massive immigration raid on the company in Ma...

Jose E. Latour Sep 03, 2008

Arizona Employers: E-Verify…WHAT’S E-VERIFY???

Well, despite two phone calls from reputable Chamber of Commerce folks in key Arizona cities, I resisted the urge to report on their stories of employers "playing ostrich" and simply ignoring the new mandate on electronic verification of new hires.  I verified the two opinions with a ...

Jose E. Latour Jun 17, 2008