MATT SLABY / LUCEO FOR TIME
Reform activists hold signs advocating the passage of the DREAM Act at an event for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Feb. 13, 2012, in Mesa, Arizona.
No one can blame the Latinos feel alone or feel they live in a nation within a nation. Both the Democratic and Republican party have failed in their attempt to understand and connect with us. There are 12 million Hispanic voters looking for a candidate to represent them but so far have not found it.
President Barack Obama broke an important and symbolic campaign promise. And it seems that Republicans are making an extra effort to lose the Hispanic vote. If Republicans can not get at least 33 percent of the Hispanic vote, they will not regain the presidency. Since Ronald Reagan, all the Republican candidates who received more than a third of the Latino vote won their election. And all the polls suggest that Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich could not be close to those figures for November.
(PHOTOS: Being Latino in Arizona)
The Republicans are on track to lose the presidential election because they have rejected all reasonable proposals to solve the problem of illegal immigration. For the first time in a generation, Republicans have a presidential candidate that does not support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Reagan, Bush, father and son, and McCain supported a legalization plan. But the current rejection of the Republicans to even consider immigration reform and the Dream Act for students is the perfect formula for losing the constituency of the fastest growing in America.
Despite this, the immigration issue is not the most important for Latinos, according to polls. They are more concerned about getting a good job, schools for their children and access to doctors and hospitals. But we must recognize that the issue of undocumented immigrants is very, very personal to us. It is a symbol.
If you attack the undocumented, we're attacking everyone. They are our neighbors and co-workers, their children go to school with our children and fight in wars for us, taking jobs nobody else wants, pay taxes and generally make America a better country.
But let's start with the basics.
To begin with do not call them "illegal." No human being is "illegal" and it shows a lot of hypocrisy and double standards. Nobody called "illegal" U.S. companies that hire illegal immigrants. Words matter. We must care for them.
Second, no one believes the speeches of the Republicans of the need to further secure the border with Mexico. The number of illegal immigrants fell from 12 to 11 million according to the Pew Hispanic Center. The towns along the border with Mexico are among the safest in the nation. And the idea of a wall is absurd. What do you want walls for, when as high as four in 10 illegal immigrants arriving by air, overstay their visa?
Third. If your plan is to make the United States as a repressive and inhospitable to immigrants-such as new anti-immigration laws have made Alabama and Arizona, forget about the Latino vote.
The Republicans are missing a historic opportunity to regain the Hispanic vote. Latinos are very disappointed with President Barack Obama because he broke a major campaign promise. "What I can guarantee is that we in the first year will have an immigration bill that I can strongly support," he told me in an interview in Denver on May 28, 2008. But he broke his promise. Latinos called "The promise of Obama." Not kept his word.
Moreover, the Obama administration is responsible for the separation of thousands of Hispanic families whose children are U.S. citizens. Obama has deported more immigrants, more than 1.2 million-than any other president in history. And although lately their immigration policies have focused on deporting criminals, the Safe Communities program has adversely affected many innocent workers who have not committed any crime.
"Latinos," Ronald Reagan said, "are Republicans but still do not know." In fact, Latinos share many things with Republicans: they oppose abortion, are suspicious of governments that abuse their power and have very religious family values and are traditional. The Republicans could have used these similarities to the Latinos - and attack the contradictory Barack Obama's immigration policy, to create a new alliance with Hispanics. But they did not. They threw it all away.
Latinos do no have the political representation that they deserve. We should have at least 15 senators and yet, we only have two. But with a population of more than 50 million, growing at huge rates, we will soon have our own Hispanic president.
It was assumed that 2012 would be a year of hope for Hispanics. Not so. We have to choose between a president who failed us and did not keep his word, and a Republican candidate, whoever he is, that does not understand us.
Jorge Ramos is the host of Noticiero Univision, has won several Emmy awards, and is the author of 11 books, including Earth and All Dying to Cross.
Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2012/02/24/por-que-ningun-partido-habla-nuestro-lenguaje/?iid=sl-article-latest#ixzz1nQ6HYVMx
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5 comments:
de acuerdo totalmente.
totalmente de acuerdo!
de acuerdo totalmente.
He is completely reasonable in his immigration thoughts, but he is portraying Latinos as super conservatives and sort of calls for the Republicans to restore the Latino vote because we are like them (supposedly) just without the same immigration ideals. I disagree with that because even in some "controversial" (not really in 2012) liberal issues such as abortion and contraception in which Latinos are very affected, it is the Democrats who usually tend to advocate for fair options. By calling us similar to Republicans, he is also putting LGBT latinos in the shadow because we (because I am latino and LGBT) are the most left behing when it comes to our rights. I would never sympathize with them. I feel that as a very famous and prestigious journalist, he shouldn't be using his influences to give a general "wrong" idea about us to the rest of the population. Yes, immigration is super important for all of us, for our families and friends. I don't think Obama failed to us, he is just not as powerful as people thought he could (if they knew better how laws are made), all of you know that laws are not just made by him. I am sure he will push immigration reforms forward if given another term. It is understandable that the major commitment he had to ALL Americans was to not let the economy crumble completely, and he focused on that. I am sure of one thing, immigration reforms will only come from the hands of a democrat. Also, any other social issues will be better addressed by democrats as this country's constitution proclaims Religion is separate from the State; otherwise, if you have friends from other non-christian faiths or other sub-cultural groups such as LGBT, then you're a hypocrite.
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