Chasing the Latino vote

Imagine that you and the family come home from a movie one evening to find that someone has broken into your home. In fact, the "breakee" is sitting at your dining table and has helped himself to a generous portion of the leftover roast and mashed potatoes you had for dinner. Not only that, he is wearing your bathrobe and slippers and is watching a pay-for-view program on the family TV.

He doesn't appear armed but here is this uninvited stranger in your house. He is making himself at home and he is not willing to leave. Do you a) call the police, or b) ask him what he would like for dessert, give him one of your kids' rooms and provide for his every need for the rest of his life.

The new mayor of Los Angeles, James K. Hahn, believes that your only option should be the latter, make him welcome and provide for his every need. That is his solution and the solution of so many other politicians now chasing the Latino vote.

In his last debate with rival Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa, Hahn was asked a question about his policy on immigration issues. Hahn said that he thinks that our immigration laws should be enforced at the border, but once inside the country, he feels that we have no choice but to provide for those who come here.

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To illustrate the problem, take that down to a personal level: Breaking and entering would remain a crime, but once an individual is inside your house, he is home free and has a claim on your home and your assets. From that moment forward, you have to provide for this man and his family for the rest of their natural lives. You must give them a room or two or three in your house. You must give them nutritious meals, provide clothes and medical care and take their kids to and from school.

If, while you are way, more families break into your home, the same thing applies. You must squeeze your family into one room, if necessary, take a second or third job to make ends meet and provide the food, clothing, medical care and education for all these uninvited guests. That, in effect, is what politicians like Hahn and Villaraigosa want the taxpayers of California and of the United States to do.

It makes no sense. Yet, as the Latino share of the electorate increases, more and more politicians are willing to put "we the taxpayers" in this precarious position in order to obtain their votes. They think pandering to those who come here illegally is necessary in order to win the votes of Latinos who play by the rules.

To his credit, President George W. Bush continues to make reaching out and building bridges to the Latino community a priority but where does he stand on this issue? He was against Proposition 187, a ballot initiative passed by 59 percent of Californians that would have cut off services to those who sneak into the country. President Bush says that illegal immigration needs to be stopped. However, in the same breath, he tells us, "Family values don't end at the Rio Grande." What does that mean?

In the run-off for mayor of Los Angeles, with Villaraigosa as far to the left as a politician could be, Hahn had nothing to lose by taking this position on illegal immigration. Conservatives voted for him because they had nowhere else to go. Did his strategy work? Hahn managed to pull in 18 percent of the Latino vote, but it did not affect the final outcome. More likely than not, these Latinos did not vote for Hahn because of his position on illegal aliens. In fact, almost a third of the Latino community voted for Prop 187. More Latinos voted for Prop 187 than voted for George W. Bush in the presidential election.

Prop 187 had been demagogued to the point that it has become a bloody shirt that stands for anti-immigrant. However, when the 187 campaign began, it had 48 percent in the Latino community and for good reason: Latinos who play by the rules have worked hard and want their shot at the American dream. Many second and third-generation Latinos already have obtained it and they want their children to have the same opportunities they have had. They don't want them taxed to the breaking point.

Latinos support laws that are tough on crime, encourage hard work, marriage and strong family values. In short, they are natural allies for the Republican Party, but most are registered Democrats. David Ray of the Federation for American Immigration Reform believes that Republicans who pander to those who come here illegally are on the wrong track. "Republicans can never out-offer Democrats," he said.

Ray decries the trend to make it easy for illegal aliens to obtain driver's licenses. Last month, Tennessee passed a law that allows people to obtain driver's licenses without a Social Security number. The state of Texas just did the same thing. Now, before dawn in Tennessee immigrants are forming lines outside of driver testing centers to take advantage of this new opportunity. Ray explained, "Because of the Motor Voter law, those who apply for driver's licenses are given an opportunity to register to vote. He believes that mass immigration will result in destruction of the Republican Party.

This effort to make it easy for illegals to obtain driver's licenses is being pushed as a public safety issue. Proponents say, "They are going to drive anyway so you want to make sure they are qualified." So far, California has not succumbed to this pressure.

Although the Republicans did not have a candidate in the L.A. mayoral runoff, Jim Camp, the Political Director for the California Republican Party, sees the defeat of Villaraigosa as a victory for conservatives because many threw their support behind Hahn.

Camp sees Latinos as natural allies and is busy with a campaign to win more to his party without pandering to those who skirt our laws. "We are registering new citizens to vote at the swearing-in ceremonies. Currently, immigrants are paying on average $75 to attend classes on how to become citizens. By the end of summer, we will be giving those classes free-of-charge." On Oct. 6, the Republican Party of California will host a Hispanic Summit with prominent Latino leaders like White House Counsel Alberto R. Gonzales, Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-Texas, and Rosario Marin, the former mayor of Huntington Park, Calif., who was tapped by President Bush to be U.S. Treasurer.

Camp sees Marin as one of a new generation of Latino Republican leaders in his state. He points to the elections of Robert Pacheco, Rod Pacheco, Charlene Zettel and Abel Maldonado to the California Assembly as evidence that the party is gaining ground in this important area.

The battle for the Latino vote is expected to intensify in the coming years. According to an August 1999 report of the Census Bureau, there were about 55 million people in the United States who are classified as "immigrant stock" in 1997. That is a term that refers to immigrants and their children born here after their arrival. That means that one in five U.S. residents now fall into that category and the majority are from Latin American countries.

In February 2001, researchers at Northeastern University released a finding that our illegal alien population may have grown to as many as 11 million. The research pointed to illegal immigration as the only plausible explanation for the unexpectedly large number of residents in the country found in the 2000 Census and the discrepancy between payroll data and employment data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If that Northeastern study is correct, that means that the number of immigrants now in this country illegally is equal to the entire population of the state of Ohio.

We are a nation of immigrants. Our immigration policy can be used to strengthen this country or tear it down. We should encourage those who represent us to help those who come here from other countries and play by the rules.

However, we must pay closer attention to the immigration issue in the primaries so that we are not left with the no-win situation the voters in California faced in the runoff for mayor of Los Angeles. We must weed out those candidates who pander to those who break the law and then demand services.