By Angelo Falcón (September 26, 2014)
The current division among Latino leaders in reaction to President Obama’s announced delay in promulgating executive action for deportation relief has reached the point where some immigrant rights advocates are beginning to publicly call out those defending the President’s position as, well, traitors. They are depicted as being bien pensant tools, defending the status quo as captives of the current White House and the Democratic Party. They are, as well, accused of profiting from this loyalty to party with loads of foundation grants, White House salaries and contributions from Democratic Party fat cats. While the focus of this rage has been the White House Domestic Advisor, Cecilia Muñoz, it has now spread to the likes of icons such as Dolores Huertas, Henry Cisneros and Eliseo Medina. And this is occurring during Hispanic Heritage Month, when we would all, usually, be extolling the virtues of these very individuals!
But is there really a division in the ranks? Most political strategists would agree that the ideal situation when seeking public policy change like comprehensive immigration reform; the best approach is to employ an insider-outsider strategy. On the outside you need advocates involved in what Tom Wolfe famously coined as “man mauing the flakcatchers,” while those on the inside feign loyalty to, again staying with Wolfean 1970s terminology, “The Man.” This insider-outsider strategy, while being maximized if it the result of a coordinated effort, does not need this cooperation to be effective. But this all depends on the outcome — real change or continued cooptation — and how it actually plays itself out.
As his Latino critics do all they can to expose and politically shame Obama, calling as well on Latinos either to stay home during the November elections and/or leave the Democratic Party, his supporters are doing all they can to mobilize the Latino electorate. Mi Familia Vota, Voto Latino and others have launched an Hispanic Heritage Month of Action with like 50 other groups mainly using social media; the Latino Victory Project is funneling funds to selected Latino and Latino-friendly candidates; the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project is continuing their grassroots organizing efforts in Texas and California, Presente Action is targeting anti-immigration reform Democrats in four states, and so on. While these are all technically nonpartisan efforts, everybody understands that they are largely mobilizing Democratic voters.
If all this “get out the Latino vote” activity gives you a deep sense of déjà vu, it could be that it is a repeat of what was largely done in 2008 and 2012 (but not in 2010). If these efforts will raise the Latino share of the midterm elections beyond the 8 percent of 2012, what impact will this have on maintaining Democratic control of the Senate? And if the Latino vote already came through for the election and reelection of Obama and the result has been the Administration’s current disconnect with the Latino community, is all this activity perhaps a bit insane? Remember what Einstein once pointed out, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and again but expecting different results.” Is Maria Teresa Kumar of VotoLatino insane?
But this is much too simple. The purpose of all this Latino voter mobilization is more strategic. With the Republicans needing to pick up six seats to control the Senate, the way that Latinos could impact for the Democrats at the polls would be to become strong electoral forces in certain key states. But with Latinos being significant share of the populations of only three of the 13 states that are seen as being in play in some way — Colorado (21 percent), Georgia (9 percent) and North Carolina (9 percent) — they make up an average of less than 4 percent in the other ten. The importance of the Latino vote will be totally depending on how close these races will be.
There is as well the problem of mobilizing Latino voters in an environment where voter suppression laws exist and a generally class-based electoral system predominates, along with declining Latino approval of the President. Depending on whether Latino activists can overcome these barriers or not, this may be the year that Latino leaders finally focus on the need for more basic structural election reforms.
It will be interesting to see what all of this pressure — both positive and negative — will produce from the President and the Democrats after the midterms. If the Democrats maintain control of the Senate (which most pundits think is a longshot), will the President be emboldened and execute aggressive executive action for deportation relief, including pressing for passage of the DREAM Act? Or will he present a watered down version? Janet Murgia of the National Council of La Raza has already set the bottom line that Obama needs to come up with a program that will provide deportation relief to at least 3 million undocumented immigrants or he will have failed to meet his delayed commitment. All this will be occurring under the shadow of memories of the Democrats 1994 gun control defeat and its long-term repercussions for that issue. In the end, if Obama doesn’t come through on this, then what?
If the Republicans gain control of the Senate, even by a small margin, does this provide Obama with an out? Or does this mean that he has nothing really to lose by taking bold executive action on the deportations as he sets up his party for the 2016 Presidential election? Either way, the dynamics of the Presidential race favor a greater receptivity by both parties to some form of comprehensive immigration reform. But this divided government scenario raises the possibility that support for a truly humane immigration reform proposal may have to wait until after 2016, depending which party gains control of both the White House and Congress, or Washington, DC remains a house divided.
While the Latino Obama critics are dismissed by the more “mainstream” or “establishment” Latinos as being unrealistic (“fantasists”) and living in an imagined past of accomplishments, these critics raise important questions. Are too many Latino leaders much too cozy with the White House and the Democratic Party to be effective advocates for a community that is too often taken for granted by these power players? Are they living under the “illusion of inclusion” as they attend White House and Congressional functions, get piecemeal appointments, and attract corporate funding through lobbyists who set their agendas for them?
Ultimately, are the Latino Obama critics and loyalists really divided or are they, whether consciously or not, doing an insider-outsider dance? Another possibility is that the tension between these two forces will not abate and will ultimately generate some new thinking about more effective long-term strategies for Latino community empowerment. If not, the sad reality is that the short-term will be decided by those outside of the Latino community, unless we stop doing the same thing over and again but expecting different results. Otherwise, the worst case scenario is continued division and marginalization.
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The Latino Political House is Divided: Which Side Are You On – Immigrant Families or the Democratic Party?
Due to Obama’s betrayal and the Democratic Party’s desperate gamble to protect control of the Senate, Latino voters are now at a crucial crossroad…
By Carlos Arango (Chicago), Juan José Bocanegra (Seattle), Armando Vazquez-Ramos (Long Beach), and Nativo Vigil Lopez (Los Ángeles) for the National Coordinating Committee 2014 for Fair and Humane Immigration Reform
September 22, 2014
Those concerned with immigration reform, deportations, family separations, and unaccompanied minors surrendering at the southern border, are caught in a transfixed credibility debate about President Obama’s announcement to delay any decision to exercise executive action of administrative relief for the estimated 11 million undocumented migrants currently in the country.
After committing publicly at a White House press conference to make a decision by the end of the summer, Obama announced in early September that he would wait until after the midterm elections to decide what action to take. There is nothing conclusive indicating that any relief granted would be sweeping, bold, and inclusive – in any case. Everything about Obama’s trajectory tells us that it would be cautious, limited, and conflictive.
Immigrant rights activists have harshly criticized the president for one more broken promise. Republicans have denounced him as an opportunist for delaying his decision on electoral grounds and being an imperial executive usurping the legislative role of congress. Vulnerable Democratic Senators in tight competitive races and the Democratic Party leadership, fearful of a white voter backlash, gave off a big sigh of relief. And, administration insider and outsider apologists immediately lined up to defend their patron.
Sadly, Dolores Huerta is only the latest to try and pull Obama’s chestnuts out of the fire with her recent quote from a VOXXI.COM interview, “We have to look at the big picture and don’t get caught up in saying we want it now.” “…we are a community that can wait.” And, “we have to have faith in our president…” How ironic that she expresses no anger at the 70,000 to 100,000 more deportations Obama’s delay will provoke. Multi-millionaire Henry Cisneros, former Secretary of HUD under President Clinton, has repeatedly railed against immigrant advocates for demanding of the president “not one more deportation.” Disgraced and separated vice president of the Service Employees International Union, Eliseo Medina, has probably been the most protective of Obama at every turn. And, Cecilia Muñoz, Director of Domestic Policy Council, and Assistant to President Obama, has been the White House’s pit-bull in silencing critics of the deportation machine.
On the whole, Obama’s Latino defenders all have a financial stake in his regime. They are all recipients of largesse either from the administration directly or through his party or allied private foundations. They belong to the corrupt patronage system and have gladly accepted their proverbial role as house peons who run to save the master’s burning house faster than the master himself. The most immoral observation about their behavior is the lack of transparency about their personal moneyed interests and positions as they implicitly defend massive deportations of historic dimension.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus for its part was incensed at its junior role in the jockeying for the president’s attention and shunted aside in deference to the conservative Democratic Senators. Almost two weeks to the day it finally issued a letter to the president calling on him to comply with his new promise, but refused to hold him to a date certain, and omitted to articulate any possible consequences for not acting before the year’s end. Muñoz met with the members prior to the letter’s release in an effort to placate them and caution against any overreach in their demands on her boss. Caucus members are feeling the heat from the streets by immigrant organizations in their respective districts and are deathly fearful of a lower than normal voter turnout for the elections.
There is a growing movement towards political independence away from both Democrats and Republicans, especially among younger voters and advocates. This is positive outcome of the controversy.
The demand for executive action by the president was not the product of mainstream funded groups, but of independent grassroots base organizations fed up with the legislative impositions emanating out of Washington D.C. Executive action became a necessity due to the impossibility of passing fair and humane immigration reform in the face of two million deportations and family separations, and 700,000 American minors exiled in Mexico with their deported Mexican parents. S.744, the bipartisan “comprehensive immigration reform” passed by the Senate last year, was nothing but a sop to big business and border enforcement xenophobes, and was light on equitable legalization for immigrants.
The National Coordinating Committee for Fair and Humane Immigration Reform 2014, in alignment with a growing independent movement of DREAMer and migrant-led organizations, advocates for immediate administrative relief and not waiting until after the midterms, unless the president suspends deportations for the duration of the delay. Migrant families should not pay the horribly high price for the party’s election anxieties. The relief must be sweeping and bold, and include all migrants contributing to the economic recovery of the country.
Absent such action, we recommend that Latino voters not support any Democratic or Republican candidate in the midterms that does not support an immediate end to deportations and relief, particularly in the five to nine toss-up Senate races of most concern to Democratic Party leaders. It is time to register as independent, and those already registered to re-register accordingly, forge an independent political electorate among Latino communities nationally, and make both parties work for our vote by every day addressing our problematic needs and interests as the largest non-white and fastest growing constituency in America.
We stand on the side of the millions of deportees and their families, and the millions more who still hold out hope for presidential action. Let the apologists be defined on the side of the deportation apparatus, while migrants judge their role in history.
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The National Coordinating Committee 2014 for Fair and Humane Immigration Reform is an independent binational network of migrant worker and family grassroots organizations and coalitions that struggle for immigration reform according to the needs of our families in California, Texas, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, New York, Georgia, Florida and Mexico. For further information, contact Nativo Vigil Lopez at nativolopez@gmail.com.
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Campaign to Promote Ethnic Studies Summit
HOSTED BY THE CALIFORNIA-MEXICO STUDIES CENTER
& CSU SAN BERNARDINO L.E.A.D. PROGRAM
Saturday, October 18, 2014 ~ 9am-5pm
CSULB Anatol Conference Center (University Library)
1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90840 ~
PROGRAM
PURPOSE: A conference for advocates committed to promote ethnic studies at all levels of the educational system, to discuss the state of Ethnic Studies in California, Arizona and Texas, and present new models that enhance Ethnic Studies in K-12, based on local-control school board policies and partnerships between schools with colleges and universities.
Objectives of the Campaign to Promote Ethnic Studies in K-12:
1. Promote students’ positive academic achievement and H.S. completion;
2. Promote students’ respect and awareness of the history and culture of diverse Americans;
3. Promote the value of a college going culture; and
4. Prepare students to participate and contribute to the local and global economy.
Program outline:
9 am Welcome and introductions, Armando Vazquez-Ramos and Enrique Murillo
9:15am Local Ethnic Studies School Board Policies and College-credit course Models
The El Rancho USD Ethnic Studies Policy requirement Model
– Dr. Aurora Villon, El Rancho USD Board President
– Jose Lara, El Rancho USD Board Vice President
– Martin Galindo, El Rancho USD Superintendent
CSULB college credit classes at Carson H.S. and El Rancho H.S. Model
– Prof. Armando Vazquez-Ramos, CSULB Chicano & Latino Studies Dpt.
– Veronica Jimenez, Director of Operations, Carson Boys & Girls Club
– Michelle Gomez, College Bound Coordinator, Carson Boys & Girls Club
10am The Struggle for Mexican American Studies in Arizona and Texas
– Manuel Hernandez, Arizona State University Professor
– Sean Arce, Tucson USD Mexican American Studies Program Founder
– Roberto Rodriguez, University of Arizona Professor
11am GUEST SPEAKER: Bennett Kayser, LAUSD School Board Member
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS ROUND TABLE PRESENTATIONS: Community-based initiatives and commitments to support the CPES
- ETHNIC STUDIES NOW COALITION
- RAZA STUDIES CONFERENCE- PLAN DE LOS ANGELES
- CARSON BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
- HEART OF LOS ANGELES (HoLA)
- FAMILIES IN SCHOOLS
- ASIAN AMERICANS ADVANCING JUSTICE-L.A.
- STUDENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL REFORM (SFER) AND MECHA
- LONG BEACH CENTRO C.H.A.
- PUENTE Program
- THE MEXICAN CULTURAL INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES
- E.L.A. NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL
- HERITAGE FOR AMERICA
- Hermandad Mexicana/Mexican American Political Association (MAPA)
- City of L.A. and L.A. County American Indian Commissions
- League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)
- Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE)
- National Association of Chicano/a Studies (NACCS)
12noon Lunch Break and networking session
12:30pm KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
- Rudy Acuña, CSU Northridge Chicano/a Studies Department Founder and Professor Emeritus
- Maulana Karenga, CSULB Africana Studies Department Professor & Chair
1:30pm WORKING GROUPS STRATEGY BREAK-OUT SESSIONS
- Students for the Campaign to Promote Ethnic Studies (CPES)
- Ethnic Studies Teaching Credential & Curriculum Development
- School Board Ethnic Studies resolutions and local-control empowerment
- Community Organizations’ initiatives in support of the CPES movement
- CSU, UC, Private and Community College Ethnic Studies faculty
3pm WORKING GROUPS REPORTING AND RECOMMENDATIONS
4pm GENERAL DISCUSSION AND FOLLOW-UP PLAN
5pm Despedida
or call Prof. Armando Vazquez-Ramos at:
(562) 972-0986; and to register go to:
