National Latino Congreso 2012
May 17-19, 2012

¿Permisos para 'sin papeles'?
Así como en Arizona y Alabama se han promovido legislaciones que restringen derechos a los inmigrantes sin papeles, en California se estará impulsando una iniciativa que otorgaría permiso de trabajo legal a los indocumentados.

Se trata del "Plan California", una iniciativa que ayer se reveló en el Congreso Latino que se llevó a cabo en el Pitzer College de Claremont, con la cual se estaría desafiando a las leyes federales ante la inacción del Congreso y de la Casa Blanca respecto a la reforma migratoria.

WHEREAS payday lending is the practice of using a post-dated check as collateral for a short-term loan. To qualify, borrowers need only personal identification, a checking account, and an income from a job or government benefits; and

WHEREAS America’s working families, many from the Latino community, pay billions of dollars in excessive fees every year, as payday lenders across the nation routinely flip small cash advances into long-term, high-cost loans; and

WHEREAS research shows that the payday lending business model is designed to keep borrowers in debt, not to provide one-time assistance during a time of financial need; and

WHEREAS payday lending stores are disproportionately located in Latino and African American communities; and

WHEREAS predatory payday lending practices cost American families $4.2 billion annually in predatory fees; and

WHEREAS across the nation payday borrowers are paying more in interest, at annual rates of 400 percent, than the amount of the loan they originally borrowed; and

WHEREAS payday loans create a debt trap for borrowers; and

WHEREAS payday lenders still collect 90 percent of their revenue from borrowers who cannot pay off their loans when due, rather than from one-time users dealing with short-term financial emergencies; and

WHEREAS a study by the Center for Responsible Lending shows that only 1% of loans go to borrowers who take out one loan and repay it within the initial period; and

WHEREAS over 99% of borrowers are unable to repay the loan and must assume another loan to repay the first, triggering a cycle of debt; and

WHEREAS over 90% of payday lending revenues are based on fees stripped from trapped borrowers; and

WHEREAS, the typical borrower pays back $793 for a $325 loan; and

WHEREAS state that ban payday lending save their citizens an estimated $1.4 billion in predatory payday lending fees every year; and

WHEREAS many states in the country have already regulated and/or banned payday lending from their communities; and

WHEREAS Latino and African American families have the right to access fair and responsible credit that will alleviate short term cash crunches, not exacerbate the problem;

1. THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED that the organizations represented by delegates of the 2010 National Latino Congreso commit to developing solutions that will help families identify sources of small dollar loans that are responsible and contribute to wealth accumulation not wealth depletion; and

2. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that California state legislators are encouraged to oppose AB 377, a payday industry bill that would further indebt Latino borrowers by raising loan limits and encouraging online payday loan operators to infiltrate CA markets; and

3. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that state legislators are encouraged to introduce legislation that addresses predatory payday lending practices by imposing a 36% interest rate cap; and

4. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Congress should act to introduce legislation to address predatory payday lending practices around the country.