ALIPAC NOTE: If Congressman Luis Gutierrez is Moses to illegal aliens, perhaps he part the Rio Grande and lead them the hell out of America?

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'Moses of the Latinos' calls out for change

U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez visits Charlotte, draws cheers and pleas for immigration reform.

By Franco Ordoñez
Thursday, Apr. 21, 2011
Charlotte Observer



Rep. Mel Watt of Charlotte, left, visits with Gutierrez in Charlotte Wednesday. "The system is not working, and we need to change it," Gutierrez told the crowd.



Roughly 1,000 Latinos and immigrants packed into a church near uptown on Wednesday to hear from the Illinois congressman one supporter calls "Moses of the Latinos."

People clapped and cheered as U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez entered the church.

Later, a chant arose: "Si se puede. Si se puede. Yes we can. Yes we can."

Gutierrez listened as people told stories of families broken up by deportation. When the immigration-reform leader took the stage, he urged the crowd to play an active role in seeking change.

"The system is not working, and we need to change it," he said.

He also called on President Barack Obama to stop deportations of innocent people.

"Mr. President ... Here in Charlotte we've heard testimony from people who are not criminals. From moms and dads of U.S.-born children. Deport the criminals, and let good, hard working people stay."

Gutierrez, a Democrat, was in Charlotte as part of a 20-city tour to draw attention to deportations and their impact on immigrant families.

Reform advocates staged several events Wednesday to coincide with Gutierrez's visit: An afternoon protest outside the Mecklenburg jail, a reception for Latino leaders at the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, and the evening rally at St. Paul Baptist Church in the Belmont neighborhood.

Maudia Melendez, who heads Charlotte's Jesus Ministry, said Gutierrez is the face of immigration reform.

"I call him the Moses of the Latinos because, as you see, he goes to the government continuously to ask, 'Let my people go. Let the people stop suffering.'"

Gutierrez told the Observer he doubts comprehensive immigration reform can be passed by such a divided Congress. But he said there are things Obama can do without congressional approval that bring relief for immigrants now.

He said at the chamber reception he's urging Obama to use his authority to act independently and stop deportations of some groups of illegal immigrants, including undocumented students and the parents of children who are U.S. citizens.

"When the president of the United States decided there was possibly going to be an act of genocide in Libya, he bombed Gadhafi's forces," he said. "He didn't call anyone in Charlotte or Chicago. He didn't call the Congress of the United States. ... He used his discretion."

At the evening rally, Victor Reyes wept as he told the crowd that his wife, Silvia, from El Salvador, was ordered to leave the country in January 2009. He says he's now alone, struggling to raise their five U.S.-born children, ages 8 to 12.

"It's hard to explain to these children why their mother is not with them, why she has been away for so long. And it is hard for me to raise them on my own," he said.

An estimated 11.2 million illegal immigrants live in the United States, including 325,000 in North Carolina, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

Gutierrez chose Charlotte as part of his "Campaign for American Children and Families" tour because of the rapidly growing immigrant population, as well as its selection as host for the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

An immigration reform bill is unlikely to pass this year, according to Republicans who say they won't support anything that hints at amnesty for illegal immigrants.

William Gheen heads the N.C.-based Americans for Legal Immigration PAC, which advocates for stronger immigration enforcement. He said it's clear the vast majority of people do not want to provide a path to citizenship for those who have come to the United States illegally.

"And for Gutierrez to succeed with his plans, he has to overthrow the will of the American majority," Gheen told the Observer Wednesday. "It's like having your house broken into and popping up and saying you need to do more for the people who did it."

Some 678,000 Hispanics reside in North Carolina, yet they represent only about 2percent of eligible voters. German De Castro, co-chair of the Hispanic Voter Coalition in Charlotte, said Hispanics are one of the fastest-growing voter groups, with an estimated 120,000 Latinos eligible to be registered.

Ruben Campillo, advocacy director for the Latin American Coalition, which hosted the rally, said Gutierrez's visit shows the importance of Charlotte and North Carolina in the national debate, and how Latinos can play a role in a critical swing state.

Wednesday afternoon, reform advocates demonstrated outside the Mecklenburg jail, protesting the county's 287g program that targets arrestees who are in the country illegally for deportation.

Viridiana Martinez, 24, expressed the frustration of many illegal immigrants who say they're tired of the political rhetoric without seeing real reform. Martinez, who was one of seven undocumented students arrested this month in a Georgia protest, urged illegal immigrants to come out from the shadows and advocate for themselves, instead of waiting on politicians to speak.

"We don't have to be at their mercy and wait for them to make the first move," she told the Observer. "The courage is in us, the directly affected. We need to demand the changes so that we're not living in fear and we can go to school."

The Associated Press contributed.

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