Thread: Reconquista asks Venezuelans to meddle in U.S. immigration

Riverside activists traveling to Venezuela


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10:00 PM PDT on Friday, April 25, 2008

By DAVID OLSON
The Press-Enterprise

Riverside activist Armando Navarro is leading a 13-member delegation to Venezuela on Sunday, hoping to improve U.S.-Venezuelan relations and obtain Venezuelan support for U.S. immigration reform.

The group has meetings scheduled with mid-level Venezuelan government officials, the mayor of Caracas and academics, said Navarro, a professor at UC Riverside and coordinator of the Riverside-based National Alliance for Human Rights. They've requested a meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez but have not yet received a response, he said.

U.S.-Venezuelan relations have been strained for years. The United States backed a 2002 coup that briefly overthrew the democratically elected Chavez, who continues to accuse the United States of plotting against him, a charge the U.S. government denies. U.S. officials in turn assail Venezuela for close relations with countries such as Iran and say the country does not do enough to combat terrorism and drug trafficking, allegations that Venezuela rejects.

Navarro said he will urge Venezuela to use diplomacy to help pressure the United States to liberalize immigration laws, including the legalization of undocumented immigrants. The diplomacy could include discussions in the Organization of American States -- of which Venezuela and the United States are members -- and the United Nations, he said.

If either Sen. Barack Obama -- who has said he would meet with Chavez -- or Sen. Hillary Clinton is elected, it could also include bilateral talks, he said.

Navarro also said he would tell Venezuelan officials that the election of Clinton or, especially, Obama would lead to a thaw in relations between the two countries.

The Venezuelan embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for an interview.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies, which favors greater limits on immigration, said any attempt by Venezuela to influence U.S. immigration policy would backfire.

"It's rejecting the sovereignty of the American people and promoting the involvement of a foreign government in domestic politics," Krikorian said.

Navarro said he would also discuss possible educational exchanges, such as having Venezuelan academics teach and do research in the United States, and arranging for U.S. academics to travel to Venezuela.

Navarro, who previously has led delegations to Cuba and Mexico, said the growing Latino population in the United States can help influence U.S. relations with Latin America, much as U.S. Jews do with Israel.

"We could be the powerful bridge to the rest of Latin America," he said.

Another member of the delegation, Daniel Morales, a Riverside activist and a state director of the American GI Forum, a veterans group primarily comprised of Latinos, said he is looking forward to seeing Chavez's changes in Venezuela first hand.

"When you see it with your own eyes, you know the truth," he said.

Other members of the delegation include academics and graduate students from universities in California, New Mexico, Texas and Utah.

Reach David Olson at 951-368-9462 or dolson@PE.com

If Navarro is part of a non profit organization they should lose their tax exempt status for illegally lobbying, especially involving a hostile foreign country.

More reasons not to vote for Obama or Chelsea's mama!

Riverside activist Armando Navarro is leading a 13-member delegation to Venezuela on Sunday, hoping to improve U.S.-Venezuelan relations and obtain Venezuelan support for U.S. immigration reform.

Do we have grounds to deny them re-entry into the United States?

Since 2005, President Chávez has deepened relations with Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism, by signing multiple economic and social accords and publicly supporting Iran's controversial nuclear program. President Chávez has also reached out to North Korea, Belarus, and Syria. The Venezuelans have also embarked on a worldwide effort to increase their presence in embassies overseas in Africa and Asia.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35766.htm