CHANNEL: Brazilian

Laws should be enforced for immigrants who commit crimes, but the new partnership between Danbury, Conn., police and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is not the answer, says Celia Bacelar, publisher of the Tribuna. (**EM PORTUGUES**)

Nayahra Resende, a senior in high school, is sending school supplies to poor students in Brazil, as part of her class project.

Brazilians in Eastern Massachusetts are becoming regular blood donors. Their turnout at blood drives has been the goal of at least one Brazilian, who was determined to disprove a rumor that her peers were bringing diseases into the state, reports NEWz.

Danbury police participation with ICE would do great harm, says Celia Bacelar, publisher of a Portuguese- and English-language newspaper in Conn. And can police really tell by looking if you're from Ireland, Brazil or the Bronx? (In Portuguese and English)

Ve Y Vota (It's Time, Go Vote), a new nationwide campaign, seeks to mobilize immigrants to vote. Juan Vega, of Centro Latino de Chelsea, talks about the campaign and the progress and challenges of Latino enfranchisement.

Politicians, policy makers and the public in general have misformed perceptions about immigrants, says Vega, a former city councilor in Chesea, Mass.

One way to change mispercpetions is by getting people to vote, as Ve Y Vota intends to do.

Some 500 immigrants waited at Fuller Middle School in Framingham, Mass., on Jan. 24, hoping to be one of 165 winners for free English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, reports NEWz's Eduardo A. de Oliveira.

The "People Empowering People" program of Danbury Children First graduated 23 Latino parents who learned valuable leadership skills, reports the Tribuna newspaper. (**EM PORTUGUES**)

A business coalition was formed in Danbury, Conn., to protest the city's new partnership between its police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The group placed a TV ad on CNN, reports the Tribuna newspaper, based in Danbury. (**EM PORTUGUES**)

Alvaro Lima, director of research for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, is the co-author of a newly-released report, "Brazilians in the U.S. and Massachusetts: A Demographic and Economic Profile."

A new online college program of Colégio Oswaldo Cruz, in Brazil, is giving hope to Portuguese-literate persons in New England who want to get their degrees without commuting to classrooms. (**EM PORTUGUES**)