President Obama

Yesterday President Obama concluded the Summit of the Americas with a cautious optimism acknowledging some of Latin America's criticisms of the US. Many are wondering what will happen next especially in regards to relations with Cuba and Venezuela.

Yesterday, President Obama visited Mexico and pledged to continue assisting with the drug war. However, Obama did not commit to renewing the assault weapons ban, which is something that he had pledged to do during his campaign, in his meeting with Mexican President Calderon.

Today President Obama is going to announce that he will lift some of the travel restrictions that Cuban Americans face in visiting the island, in addition to relaxing some of the rules about what they can send back to their homeland as well.

The trade embargo will remain in place for the time being, but this move by President Obama is a first step in creating more open relations with Cuba.

While I have remain somewhat skeptical about pushing immigration reform this year, along with other liberal pundits such as Ezra Klein, the NY Times today is reporting that President Obama will start the immigration reform debate this year.

Last night President Obama addressed viewers of Univision's "Premio Lo Nuestro." He even threw in a few sentences in Spanish and closed out with a "Sí, se puede!"

As I mentioned yesterday, President Obama met with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) for the first time as president yesterday before heading west to California. He signaled to the group that he was willing to tackle comprehensive immigration reform (CIR).

Before heading out to California today, President Obama will be meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). This will be the first face to face meeting that the CHC has had with Obama since he became president, and immigration reform will likely be the hot topic of discussion.

One issue that some are wondering about with the election of President Barack Obama has to do with integration. If you drive around the U.S., you will notice that our major cities and suburbs are still heavily segregated. You especially see the level of segregation in public schools in the inner city.

Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed an order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay within a year. Many feel that this step is a positive one in restoring our nation's image, as this detention facility has been associated with torture and the indefinite detainment of terror suspects.

By Maria Elena Fernandez

The crazy thing is that the inauguration itself is mostly a blur. I do remember, however, that when Obama was being sworn in, tears flowed down my cheeks as I watched the jumbo screen from the back of the mall. Little did I know, the meaning behind my inaugural experience wouldn't reveal itself until the day after.