|
|
 |
Latino Orgs, Media Concerned Bush "Sabotaging" Immigration Reform
News Analysis
By Elena Shore, Pacific News Service
Latinos can see through the White House's sunny rhetoric to its
anti-immigrant actions, advocates and Spanish-language commentators say.
July 21, 2004 - Two weeks ago, as President Bush declared that "el
sueño americano es para todos" (the American Dream is for everyone) in a
satellite speech to the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC),
the White House was working behind the scenes to sabotage any
immigration reform bill from coming to a vote in Congress.
According to reports from the Wall Street Journal and statements
by Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), the White House asked Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist to prevent the immigration bill AgJOBS from being
voted on in the Senate. The bill, sponsored by Craig, would have
provided a pathway to legal status for up to 500,000 agricultural
workers. It had wide bipartisan support from the agricultural industry
and from unions, and was backed by 63 out of 90 senators, including 26
Republicans.
But if the Republican leadership thinks they can gain Latino votes by
praising immigrants publicly, even as they work privately to pull the
plug on any immigration reforms, they are underestimating the savviness
of Latino voters, says Maria Echaveste, President of the Nueva Vista
Group.
"Latino voters and immigrant voters are not easily fooled," she said in
a National Immigration Forum held on Friday.
In fact, Latinos have been following the progress of immigration reform
bills AgJOBS (the Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits and Security
Act of 2003) and the DREAM Act (the Development, Relief, and Education
for Alien Minors Act) on the front pages of Spanish-language newspapers
and on Spanish TV and radio stations. They have also tracked the lack of
progress of the much-publicized immigration reform bill proposed by
President Bush in January.
Latino voters can see through the political rhetoric, according to a
poll conducted after Bush announced his proposal early this year. The
poll, conducted by Bendixen and Associates and released by NCM, found
that a majority of Latinos (63 percent) said it was a valid criticism
that President Bush does not care about immigrants and that his plan is
only aimed at getting Latino voters to support him in the 2004 election.
Latino voters continue to feel ignored by political candidates. In a
Zogby Poll released on June 23 of this year by the National Council of
La Raza, 60 percent of Latino registered voters said the political
candidates are ignoring the issues most important to the Latino
community.
According to the poll, there is strong agreement across all Latino
subgroups that undocumented immigrants that have lived, worked, and paid
taxes in the United States should be provided a path to U.S.
citizenship.
Whether the White House's attempts to block immigration reform could
produce a backlash against Bush among Latino voters remains to be seen.
But it wouldn't be the first time, says Cecilia Muñoz, Vice President of
the National Council of La Raza. "When immigration heats up as an issue
and there is anti-immigrant rhetoric, regardless of party affiliation,
ethnic and immigrant voters get angry and vote. In the past this has
been an issue that motivated people to turn out and vote."
"The White House has yet again broken its promise to Latinos," adds
Echaveste. "The Republican leadership and the Bush White House are in
danger of finally having people across the country understand that."
Despite Bush's pro-immigrant rhetoric, Eliseo Medina, vice president of
Service Employees International Union in Los Angeles, says Latinos have
seen raids in their communities, a climate of fear among immigrants,
deportations to Mexico and the blocking of immigration reform bills.
"If the Bush campaign wants to win Latino and immigrant votes," Medina
said, "I would suggest they save the millions of dollars on advertising
and instead enact immigration reform."
"Of course," writes Pilar Marrero in a July 19 editorial in La
Opinión, "it is much easier to give grandiose speeches about how
great immigrants are, and then not do anything to bring the majority of
the country towards an understanding of the complex problem of
immigration. That would mean exercising leadership."
Other Recent Readings of Interest
PNS contributor Elena Shore (eshore@pacificnews.org)
works for NCM, an association of over 600 print, broadcast and online
ethnic media organizations founded in 1996 by PNS and members of ethnic
media. |
