Thread: First national meeting of Latino commissioners begins in KC

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 353537.htm

Posted on Wed, Dec. 07, 2005

First national meeting of Latino commissioners begins in KC

GARANCE BURKE

Associated Press


KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Officials who are responsible for promoting the rights and welfare of Hispanics gathered in this Midwestern city Wednesday to devise a state-by-state approach to the major domestic policy issue of the day, immigration.

The first-ever national meeting of Hispanic and Latino American Affairs State Commissions, organized by an appointee of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, brings together seasoned politicians for a three-day summit that will conclude Friday.

While Hispanics are the largest minority in the country, according to U.S. Census data, commissioners say they lack opportunities to coordinate efforts in dealing with issues ranging from language access in schools to the management of day labor centers.

"We are all facing basically the same fundamental problems that trickle down as a result of national immigration policies," said Kansas Hispanic Affairs Commissioner Elias Garcia, who called the meeting. "We're the thermometer to see where the hotspots and the trouble spots are, and we can't keep reinventing the wheel. We need to learn from each others' policies."

While Texas and New York both sent delegates, most of the commissioners came from states that are not traditionally thought of as having large Latino communities, such as Idaho and Mississippi.

In Nebraska, for instance, the Hispanic population has grown by 225 percent since 1990, according to census figures.

"The demographics are everything now. In the next 20 years we are going to be at least a fourth of Nebraska," said Olga Kanne, Nebraska vice chairwoman of the Mexican-American Commission, who drove through a snow storm to attend the summit Wednesday.

Kanne said few rural Nebraskan towns understand the economic issues that are driving the new wave of migration to her state, nor are they prepared to take on the challenges that come with accommodating an emerging immigrant population.

None of the commissioners is directly responsible for crafting immigration policy - that's handled on a federal level - but they often end up finding solutions for people who entered the country illegally.

In states like California, Florida and Texas, Latino legislative caucuses promote bills that address whether to issue drivers' licenses or in-state tuition to immigrants. But in Nebraska, advocating for Latino affairs can be a challenge, Kanne said.

So rather than simply watching as immigration policy unfolds in a piecemeal fashion, state by state, Garcia said he called the meeting to give policy-makers an opportunity to share strategies.

"Sometimes it's in the states that you don't think about that you have the opportunity to implement creative, cutting-edge initiatives that help Hispanics in those communities," he said.

Yet what is considered cutting-edge immigration policy in one state may become a major campaign issue in another.

"Most of the challenges in immigration policy are not administrative. Most of the challenges are political," said Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank that favors tighter restrictions on immigration.

Garcia said one of the conference's main goals is to organize a national organization to represent Hispanic affairs commissioners on a national level. While President Bush has appointed the most Latino officials of any presidential administration, there is no national advisory office that coordinates policy for Hispanics at the federal level, said Allen Abney, a spokesman for the White House.

That leaves much of the ground-level decision-making to the state commissions, many of which are political appointees of the governor.

In Missouri, for instance, Gov. Matt Blunt on Wednesday narrowed the role of the state's Hispanic commission to focus more directly on business issues.

"We need to make these independent organizations that are there to serve the state across administrations, to make sure there is consistency in providing that support," said Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, a nonprofit civil rights and advocacy organization for Latinos. "As someone who grew up in Kansas City, I know we have Hispanic populations all over this country, and increasingly in areas you wouldn't expect."

Wonder when First national meeting of caucasian commissioners begins?