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Wednesday, August 23, 2006
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Latinos announce El Grupo's return

By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer

NORTH COUNTY ---- A Latino leadership group that dissolved four years ago is making a comeback in response to recent efforts perceived as targeting the Latino community, including anti-illegal immigrant rallies, Vista's new day labor law and Escondido's proposal to ban landlords from renting to illegal immigrants, organizers said.

El Grupo Sin Nombre, or the Group Without a Name, was organized in 1998 by the late San Marcos City Councilman Vince Andrade as an umbrella organization to connect numerous groups focusing on Latino issues in North County. The group struggled to find its identity after Andrade died in 1999.

Retired San Diego County Assistant Sheriff Bill Flores said Monday that he and others had been quietly working to rekindle the group, but are now going public in light of last week's Escondido City Council vote on the rental proposal.

A divided City Council voted to begin drafting an ordinance that would ban undocumented immigrants from renting property in Escondido.

It was the last straw in a long list of perceived problems blamed on the community, Flores said.

Speakers at recent congressional field hearings in San Diego County accused illegal immigrants, most of whom are Latinos, of overcrowding schools, increasing crime and taking advantage of welfare benefits.

Flores said he was alarmed that politicians and others are exploiting people's concerns over national security and using Latinos as scapegoats.

"I see an effort to capitalize on the fear that was engendered" by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Flores said. "That has morphed into an anti-immigrant, anti-Latino sentiment."

Vista Mayor Morris Vance said he was skeptical about whether an effort such as El Grupo would help city leaders better understand Latino concerns.

"My first instinct is to work with the people within the community," he said. "It depends on who's involved and what their motives are."

On June 27, the Vista City Council unanimously approved a controversial ordinance that requires anyone who hires day laborers in Vista to first register with the city, display a certificate in a car window, and present workers with written terms of employment. City officials said the law was intended to protect workers from unscrupulous employers.

Flores said the group, which has shortened its name to El Grupo, includes representatives from various advocacy organizations such as La Raza Lawyers Association, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People of North San Diego County, the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation and the Chicano Federation of San Diego County.

Former members of the group said they welcomed news of El Grupo's resurrection.

"I think it's an excellent idea," said John Herrera, a former leader in the group. "For a long time, we have not had a viable group to vocalize the community's concerns."

After Andrade's death, the group was responsible for various candidate forums and networking meetings that helped launch Latino candidates for local and state offices, including Herrera's unsuccessful campaigns for the state Assembly. But political divisions and differing views on the group's mission, structure and membership led to its demise in 2002.

Herrera said that if the group is able to overcome its past mistakes, it may be able to fulfill its promise this time around.

"I feel that if the leadership of all the groups has a focus to advance the community and not individuals, it can be effective," he said.

The lessons learned are reflected in the new structure of El Grupo, organizers said. Although guidelines are still being developed, membership will likely be restricted to organizations invited to join. And representatives of the groups must be "decision-makers" within those organizations, Flores said.

"(El Grupo) will not be used as a political springboard for people," he said. "That led to the dissolution of the group because there were people with individual political goals."

The group will also be more guarded about its plans, said Joe Cordero, former president of El Grupo Sin Nombre, who is helping to organize the new group. El Grupo meetings were often held in restaurants and anyone was welcome to attend. That led to public arguments about who had the right to vote and decide the organization's direction.

Meetings will no longer be open to the public, organizers said.

"This is not an open process of developing our strategy," Cordero said. "That's one of the differences. We don't want to make promises we can't keep ---- raising expectations and not being able to deliver."

The group plans to host a voter registration, citizenship information, leadership development and legal rights event in Escondido, but the time and date have not yet been announced.

-- Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.