Thread: Latino lawmakers, led by Baca, meet with Bush

Latino lawmakers, led by Baca, meet with Bush on immigration
By George Watson
The Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA), April 26, 2007
http://www.dailybulletin.com/search/ci_5752507

Rep. Joe Baca led a bipartisan group of Latino lawmakers Wednesday to meet with President Bush to seek his support on immigration reform.

Bush, who himself has advocated comprehensive reform, praised the group of 17 Democrats and five Republicans for their efforts, said Baca, D-San Bernardino.

'The president said he would work hard with us to try and get the Republicans to support the legislation,' Baca said by telephone after the meeting. 'He seemed sincere.'

It was a historic meeting - both for Latino lawmakers and Baca himself - and one that lasted for 75 minutes in the Eisenhower Room at the White House.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus arranged for the meeting with Bush, bringing together Republican and Democratic lawmakers since they split in 1993 over political ideologies. Included in Wednesday's meeting were two senators: Mel Martinez, R-Fla., and Bob Menendez, D-N.J.

Late last fall, Baca was elected chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which until that split 14 years ago had been a bipartisan organization but now is filled only with Democrats.

Latino lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, along with other members of Congress in support of immigration reform, want to push a package through before 2008. Many fear that it would be derailed by becoming a political issue in the 2008 presidential election, bogging down for years any chance at reform.

Baca and several other Latino lawmakers are cosponsors of H.R. 1645, an immigration bill authored by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., and Rep. Jeff Flake, a fiscally conservative Republican from Arizona.

The multifaceted bill, dubbed STRIVE, for Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act, includes a plan that would let the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States apply for conditional immigrant status. More Border Patrol agents would be added through the legislation, and it could enable future foreign workers to come onto the nation's soil and fill jobs Americans won't take.

Bush supports allowing illegal immigrants to work legally in the United States. For them to become permanent legal residents, he also wants a variety of requirements, such as learning English.

Here you have it, folks!! Please share this truth with all that you know...

It was a historic meeting - both for Latino lawmakers and Baca himself - and one that lasted for 75 minutes in the Eisenhower Room at the White House.

RACISM in our government and in our administration

As everyone can see with their own eyes........this is NOT about America nor Americans...........IT'S ABOUT RACE in their very own words!!!!

Please get the word out to everyone in Congress - both the house & senate. WE KNOW THE TRUTH

Such a bunch of idiots these fools are.

You're absolutely 100% correct, 2ndamendsis! All the Hispanic membership in Congress is concerned with is giving criminal aliens amnesty and other benefits. They have no concern for the cost to American tax payers or border security! The fact that every Hispanic Republican is on records as wanting comprehensive immigration reform (amnesty) proves your point because the majority of Republicans do not support amnesty for illegals.

They're all followers of the La Raza creed, ”All for the race, nothing for anyone outside the race.”

Even Bill Richards admitted that he is for Alberto staying simply because he's latin. This racist attitude is not becoming of a unified nation. Here we go again...By the latin, for the latin, nothing but the latin..a perfect definition of LA RAZA

I know for a fact that Baca is a hard core racist. What would happen if a group of WHITE congressman met with Bush on matters pertaining to illegal immigration. The crap would hit the fan in a nano-second.

Wow...we thought we have had corruption? Just imagine in a few years if these ?????? were allowed to get their amnesty through!! What are we going to have with racist men like this in our congress or the White House!

La Raza men/women in our government!!! This sickens me!!

I don't see this as an hispanic / white thing.

I see this as an hispanic / AMERICAN issue!!!

AMERICANS, my sisters and brothers, come in every color and nationality of the rainbow!

Please let's all keep this in mind as we walk thru this difficult RACIST problem that the hispanics have attempted to foist upon America.

The hispanic RACISTS in both the country and within Congress are about to come head to head with Americans, their solid values and strong belief system.

Survey reviews Hispanic hiring

INLAND: Rep. Joe Baca Sr. leads task force to ensure corporate America reflects its communities.

11:45 PM PDT on Wednesday, September 14, 2005

By CLAIRE VITUCCI / Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - A Congressional Hispanic Caucus task force headed by Inland Rep. Joe Baca Sr. has launched a survey into the nation's largest companies to find out if they employ Hispanics from the boardroom down to the mailroom.

"Part of our responsibility is to make sure that we look at corporate America, that its face looks like the way America looks like," Baca, D-Rialto, told reporters Wednesday. "As we see the diversity and the changes throughout our country, you see more Latinos and Latinas in our community. And we'd like to see corporate America be reflective of that community."

The survey, requested by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' Corporate America Task Force, was sent out last month. It seeks responses from the Fortune 100 U.S. companies, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Verizon Communications Inc., Exxon-Mobil Corp., and General Motors Corp.

The survey is expected to evaluate Hispanic representation on corporate boards and among management; review employment and promotion practices; measure procurement between corporations and Hispanic-owned businesses; and look at whether these corporations are giving to Hispanic-related philanthropic efforts.

On Wednesday, Baca released preliminary results of the survey. So far, 30 companies have responded. Of those, 67 percent of their corporate boards contain at least one Hispanic member. One company's board is 30 percent Hispanic and half of the companies have at least one Hispanic among their top executive officers.

Baca's staff members declined to release the names of the companies, citing confidentially agreements.

In the Inland area, Maurice Calderon has been a senior vice president at Arrowhead Credit Union for the past decade. He said not only has Arrowhead tried to ensure its work force is diverse, the company has sponsored community and school functions. It also has taught area Hispanics about financial literacy.

"We think that community is serving us well and in turn we're serving them," Calderon said.

San Bernardino Supervisor Josie Gonzales said companies have been reaching out more to Hispanics, but she doesn't think the numbers in the work force equal the numbers of their customer base.

"The economic engine that drives the Inland Empire ... needs to be recognized for what it is," Gonzales said.

By the end of 2004, Latinos made up 14 percent of the U.S. population.

The community represents more than $1 trillion in purchasing power in the U.S. consumer market, Baca said.

"A community that invests a trillion dollars ... should be responded to," said Rep. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. Menendez said a community needs to know if the corporations that are benefiting from the largesse of that community are not investing back in that community.

The task force plans to put out a report card later this year measuring corporations' overall commitment to the Hispanic community.

Reach Claire Vitucci at (202) 661-8422 or cvitucci@pe.com

http://www.pe.com/breakingnews/local/st ... db33.html#