Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez (D-N. Mex) discusses the upcoming election and issues relating to American Hispanics. Chavez discusses the likelihood of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) will win Illinois in the November Presidential Election and what areas Obama needs to focus on. Chavez also discusses the problem of illegal immigration and possible solutions.
By Joel Ebert
A crowd of roughly sixty people gathered in Congress Park for a rally supporting the Minuteman Civil Defense Corp. Among the key speakers at the event were Minuteman President Chris Simcox, Alan Keys, Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), and Constitutional Party Presidential nominee Chuck Baldwin.
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corp. consists of American citizens who patrol the U.S.-Mexico border in order to assist in the prevention of illegal immigration. Simcox organized the event to bring together Presidential candidates who have promised to adhere to the Minutemen’s agenda. He said the event was organized to challenge both Barack Obama and John McCain on their immigration policies.
“We need to show the rest of the world that you are not going to tread on us,” Simcox said. “We are going to use our military assets and we are going to secure our borders to maintain our national security and protect public safety,” he continued. The gathering was interrupted by a group of eight protesters opposing the Minutemen with a megaphone. Chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, racist Minutemen have got to go”, the protesters stirred the feelings of the Minuteman crowd.
The protesters waved klan hoods and taunted the Minutemen by declaring, “The US government is illegitimate.” The crowd responded with laughs and annoyed looks. “Its a shame to waste a good public school education,” Simcox said, referring to the teenage protesters.
At a press conference held by the Center for Immigration Studies, Director of Research at the center, Steven Camarota, describes the contents of his new report declaring a 1.3 million percent decline in illegal immigration over the past few months. (0:29)
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) along with the Democratic National Committee held a press conference this afternoon to discuss an unprecedented commitment by Obama’s presidential campaign to engage Hispanic voters. He and the Democratic National Party together will donate $20 million for outreach to Hispanic and Latino voters in key states.
Cuauhtemoc “Temo” Figueroa, national director for Latino Voter Contact for Obama’s presidential campaign said that the money will be spread throughout all 50 states, with special emphasis on key Latino battleground regions including Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida. Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) said that the money will be used in specific states with the intention of influencing Latinos in surrounding states. He gave the example of spending heavily in New York in order to influence voters in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Serrano said that the money will be used for television advertisements, online campaigns and to hire a staff of unprecedented numbers to motivate Latino voters. Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said that even though polls have shown tremendous support for Obama from the Latino community, this contribution will ensure that support continues to grow.
Obama speaking today at the League of United Latin American Citizens on immigrants. He said that Americans have nothing to fear from new comers, because they come in the hopes that in America you can make it if you try. (0:28)
Obama calls for a comprehensive immigration policy reform at the League of United Latin American Citizens conference. Obama says that he will do it on his first term as president of the United States. (0:43)
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) spoke today at the League of United Latin American Citizens about the founding of LULAC. He said that American’s have a fundamental belief that American’s rise and fall together, so they need to work together in orders to succeed. (0:36)
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) spoke today at the League of United Latin American Citizens about the changes he would make in his first year as president, calling comprehensive immigration and health care reform his top priorities.
Obama said that the United States cannot afford the Bush economic policies that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will be following, but need to give tax breaks to ordinary working Americans, not outsource American jobs, solve the housing crisis and invest in infrastructure that will create jobs and make the U.S. competitive for the future in a global market.
America doesn’t need a government that will solve all their problems. Obama said that Latinos embody the spirit of the American dream and that America has nothing to fear from new comers because America was always a land of immigrants. Obama stressed the need to treat immigrants and new citizens equally so as not to create “two classes of citizens.”
Obama praised Latin Americans for their hard work and desire to live the American dream. He urged Latinos to register to vote and to become active in government at a grassroots level, so that the people will create a comprehensive government that works for all Americans, “a government that represents all not some.” Sen. Obama also spoke on how McCain changed views on immigration reform, creating a comprehensive plan but then failed to vote for it. America needs a president who is not going to walk away from comprehensive reforms if it becomes unpopular, Obama said, and that is his top priority in the first year of his presidency.
Small business owners gathered at the 2008 National Small Business Summit held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Guest speaker William D. Novelli, Chief Executive Officer of American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) doled out alarming statistics saying that only a fifth of American workers have a defined pension plan and only half of all Americans have money in their retirement fund. Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, the woman who is recognized as the first of 78 million baby boomers, just received her Social Security retirement benefit. (more…)
Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, compares the economic effects of immigration to growth in the south due to slavery. Krikorian says that the expansion of slavery improved the quality of life for native born Americans in the south, and parallels can be drawn to current immigration issues. (0:41)
