Latino Leaders Convene First National Latino Congress in a Generation

by Aaron Glantz

SAN FRANCISCO. Thousands of Latino community leaders from across the country convened in Los Angeles Wednesday for what organizers say is the first massive gathering of Latino community leaders, organizations, and elected officials since 1977.

"The Latino Congresso is deigned to do something that the Congress in Washington is not doing—paying attention to issues of importance to the Latino community," explained John Trasvina, who heads up the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).

Organizers say 2,000 people will participate in the four-day gathering, which is co-hosted by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The goal is to come away with a unified program on immigration, labor rights, health care, the environment, and even foreign policy.

Equally important, organizers say, is to maintain momentum gained in May, when millions rallied around the country to protest a harsh immigration measure, which had been passed by the House of Representatives.

The demonstrations forced Congress to shelve the proposal, HR 4437, which would have made it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant in the United States or to help those who remain in the United States illegally. It would have also required churches and non-profit organizations to require proof of legal status before providing charity and would have mandated construction of a giant fence along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Having killed that measure, leaders in the Latino community are hoping to gather enough momentum to push forward a proposal they see as immigrant-friendly.

"We want Congress to be more practical in dealing with the immigration issues. We want to deal with these issues as a whole," Arizona State legislator Steve Gallardo told OneWorld. "Controlling the border is important but it’s just one piece of the puzzle."

What immigrant groups want most, Gallardo said, is a legal path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

"The fact is our job market is dependant on undocumented workers," he argued. "Agriculture would just falter if the undocumented were not there. Look at the housing market. The State of Arizona had a $1 billion surplus and that was due to the housing market. Who do you think builds that housing? Undocumented immigrants."

Gallardo is part of a growing number of Latino officials elected nationally as the ethnic group grows in population and a higher percentage become citizens. Three Latinos currently serve in the U.S. Senate—the highest number in history. Twenty-three serve in the House of Representatives. There are 232 Latino state law-makers—almost double a decade ago.

But Gallardo said that rise in representation is creating a backlash. In 2004, the State of Arizona passed Proposition 200, which barred all state services for undocumented immigrants. New measures have been introduced every year since. This fall, Arizona voters will consider a proposition forbidding judges to grant bail to the undocumented.

The trend has hardly been limited to Arizona. In California, Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger ousted incumbent Democrat Gray Davis pledging to revoke driving license privileges for undocumented immigrants.

"What you’re seeing now is a reaction by the entire country for some kind of immigration reform," Gallardo said.

In such an environment, Latino organizers are looking toward this week’s Congress in Los Angeles, which will conclude Sunday with a get-out-the-vote training, as a way to put forward a united front.

"This Congress comes at a time when the Latino community is mobilized," said Angela Sanbrano, head of the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC). "We not only need to march. We also need to develop policies and strategies that show that our marches have impact on policies at all levels of government."

http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/138995/1/4536