TRANSLATED FROM:
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Charlotte, North Carolina June 26.- A forum that begins today in North Carolina and that will meet Hispanic organizations of the state and others at a national level, will seek solutions to counteract the growing wave of anti-immigrant measures.


It is called the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina (AMEXCAN), the ttwo day meeting to be carried out in Greenville, to the north of the state, will have as an objective to organize, to fortify and to inform the Hispanic leadership.

"We haven't worked in a unified form to fight on behalf of our community and to fight discriminatory rhetoric. We have been a little stagnant", affirmed today Juvencio Rocha Peralta, president of AMEXCAN. According to Peralta, it is the first time that this type of event is carried out in North Carolina, in which we will exchange experiences with national organizations in order to prepare the leaders for "any future situation".

"We are living critical moments, with an alarming wave of violence against the undocumented, a xenophobic tone, therefore one must seek alliances with other groups because we cannot fight alone", emphasized Peralta. Peralta refers to incidents as the change in policies regarding the access of undocumented people to centers of higher education and the increase of deportation programs (287g) in the local jails.

Besides, the public statement from the city council of Beaufort to become the zone "that is less hospitable in the country for the undocumented" and the comment from the commisioner of Mecklenburg, Bill James, who compared the undocumented to "prostitutes and drug dealers".

The summit expects the intervention of representatives from the National Alliance of Latin American and Caribbean Communities (NALACC) and the Institute of Hispanic Leadership.

Likewise, the League of United Latin-American Citizens (LULAC) and the Mexican Fund for the Legal Defense and Education (MALDEF), among others.

For Angela Sambrano, president of NALACC, the most important thing will be to emphasize the social and economic contributions that the immigrants contribute to society.

"One must break the myths that we do not pay taxes and we cause expenses. It is necessary to fight that erroneous speech that the anti-immigrants utilize and to stop being blamed for everyting", emphasized Sambrano to Efe.

According to David Conde, professor of the University of East North Carolina, the approval of state laws against the immigrants is a "reaction before the failure of the federal Government for not passing an immigration reform bill".

"One must open this community to dialogue, because its voice is being lost. The organizations should be united, to build an infrastructure that can fight the anti-immigrant speech moved by political interests", clarified Conde.