Mexican Workers in the US

["Julio Huato" <juliohuato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yesterday's leaky pieces in the Washington Post and in the New York Times 
unleashed political hell.  The anti-immigration 'conservatives' are 
organized, vociferous, have resources, and lobby hard.  There's very little 
real political effort supporting the struggle of undocumented workers IN the 
US for regularization.  The little there is, of course, is to be commended 
and encouraged.

A friend of mine once told me that the closest thing to a real Communist 
Party in the US, from the point of view of the Mexican undocumented workers, 
is an nonprofit organization called Catholic Charities.  I'm very critical 
of the role of the Catholic Church and its organizations in Mexico, and know 
little of their role in the US, but, if they are supporting undocumented 
workers in the US and are vocal about the demand for status regularization, 
I praise their work without reservation.

Today's Proceso (a Mexican weekly that provides updates on the net) reports 
that the White House has backed down significantly, but Bush seems to insist 
on keeping green cards on the table.  We'll see...

Here's from the WP today:

Amnesty Proposal Is Huge Gamble for Bush
President Could Be Rewarded With Hispanic Vote but Risks Angering GOP's 
Conservative Wing

By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 17, 2001; Page A02

A proposal to grant amnesty to as many as 3 million illegal Mexican 
immigrants represents a major political gamble for President Bush, who could 
reap rewards from Hispanic voters on Election Day but touch off a bruising 
intraparty fight by angering the GOP's conservative wing.

An interdepartmental group formed by the White House to suggest reforms of 
immigration policy is expected to include the option of granting legal 
residency to undocumented Mexican immigrants who have been working in the 
United States. The report raises the possibility of the illegal immigrants 
ultimately becoming citizens.

Such a move would be warmly received not only by Mexican immigrants but also 
by some business and labor groups eager to tap a large pool of new workers. 
But it already has been condemned by conservatives in Bush's own party, who 
view it as rewarding people who have broken the law.

Some of Bush's closest political advisers are strong proponents of trying to 
wrest Hispanic voters from Democrats. Matthew Dowd, who oversaw polling for 
the Bush campaign, argued that if Bush does nothing to improve his margin 
among Hispanic voters, who backed former vice president Al Gore, 65 percent 
to 35 percent, Bush will lose in 2004 because of the steadily rising number 
of Latino voters in the United States.

Dowd said the immigration proposal would not guarantee a large increase in 
Hispanic support but would be a "door opener," a move that would help dispel 
the GOP's anti-immigrant image.

Georgia-based GOP pollster Whit Ayres supported the proposal more strongly. 
Bush, Ayres said, won half the southern Hispanic vote in 2000, and "he 
clearly has the potential to win two-thirds in 2004. Nationally, he could 
bump up from one-third to half of the Hispanic vote, given the fundamental 
values of so many Hispanic families, with their emphasis on work and family 
structure."

But those scenarios were flatly rejected by Dan Stein, executive director of 
the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

"Bush may end up selling out the party," Stein said. "Recently naturalized 
Mexican immigrants will never vote Republican in large numbers. The 
Democrats' core message will always be appealing to this bloc. Immigration 
is not going to save the Republican Party, immigration is going to kill the 
Republican Party."

Stein was particularly critical of Bush's chief political architect, Karl 
Rove, a leading advocate of aggressively seeking to build Hispanic support. 
Rove pushed for Bush's decision to end Navy bombing exercises on the Puerto 
Rican island of Vieques.

"Karl Rove is wrong. He is simply wrong about this kind of political 
calculus," Stein said.

Bush won substantially more Hispanic support than 1996 Republican 
presidential nominee Robert J. Dole. In his successful 1998 race for 
reelection as governor of Texas, Bush captured just under 50 percent of the 
Hispanic vote, an exceptionally high share for a Republican.

But the amnesty proposal -- authored by a group headed by Secretary of State 
Colin L. Powell, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, Mexican Foreign Minister 
Jorge G. Castaneda and Interior Minister Santiago Creel -- is certain to 
meet resistance from conservatives. Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) yesterday told 
the Associated Press in Houston that the idea is "very bad policy" that 
"rewards lawlessness."

Added Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), chairman of the Congressional Immigration 
Reform Caucus: "This is a kick in the teeth to the thousands of individuals 
across the world who are legally attempting to enter the United States."

Immigrants from other nations, who would not benefit from the proposal, also 
voiced discontent.

"The criteria should not be based on nationality," said Cecilia Munoz, vice 
president of the National Council of La Raza, which was meeting in 
Milwaukee. "The criteria should be if you're working, paying taxes, 
contributing, then legalization should be extended."

"Immigration law is supposed to be for everybody," said Samedi Florvil of 
the Haitian Refugee Center in Miami.

But Republican Sens. Sam Brownback (Kan.) and Chuck Hagel (Neb.) strongly 
endorsed the proposal, contending that Congress would support it.

"When this president leads on an issue of such international importance, his 
party will follow. In the context of an historic international agreement 
with Mexico, you can be certain that President Bush will receive broad 
support among members of his party and, with the proper elements in such an 
agreement, among Democrats as well," the pair said in a joint statement.

A similar, but more modest proposal aimed primarily at agricultural workers 
and spearheaded by Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.) failed to win final 
approval last year in part because some agribusiness leaders opposed some 
protections for workers included in the legislation.

Independent and partisan analysts have contended that Hispanic support for 
the GOP suffered long-term damage when former California governor Pete 
Wilson (R) led the campaign for California's Proposition 187 in 1994. The 
measure, approved by voters, cut off some state benefits to illegal 
immigrants.

"It [187] was very bad timing if you look at the demographics of the state," 
said University of California at San Diego political scientist Gary 
Jacobson. "It was deeply offensive to Mexican Americans" and was promoted by 
an "inflammatory" ad campaign.

An analysis by Bernd Schwieren, a GOP political consultant in California, 
shows that minority support for Republicans declined substantially in the 
state after the passage of Proposition 187. The average Hispanic vote for 
Republican candidates fell from 30.7 percent between 1988 and 1994 to 22.8 
percent from 1996 to 2000. The Asian American vote fell from 46 percent to 
39.2 percent, and the black vote from 14.1 percent to 10.6 percent.

Staff writer Cheryl W. Thompson contributed to this report.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company
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