Latino Congreso speaker sends 'showdown' warning to Democrats

By David Montero
El Paso Times
January 30, 2010

EL PASO -- Antonio Gonzalez, frustrated because President Obama did not devote more of his State of the Union speech to Latino issues, had a warning Friday for the White House and Democratic members of Congress facing elections in November.

Do not, he said, assume that the Latino vote is a lock for Democrats.

"We think 2010 is a showdown year," Gonzalez said. "We have tremendous leverage."

Gonzalez, president of the nonpartisan William C. Velasquez Institute, made the comments at the start of the fourth annual National Latino Congreso at the Camino Real Hotel.

The congreso is seeking to highlight issues of importance to Latinos, including immigration reform, the economy and participation in the 2010 Census. Some groups want Latinos to boycott the census as a protest against the government they believe is ignoring their needs.

Nativo Lopez, national president of the Mexican-American Political Association, supports that position.

"We're living in serious, perilous times, as said by the president in his State of the Union address, where Latinos were essentially excluded from that address," Lopez said.

He also said immigration enforcement policies of the Obama administration are "more robust, more aggressive and more insidious than even under the Bush administration."

In 2007, census officials asked for a suspension of raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ensure a more accurate count in 2010.

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, said the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is still in talks with the White House to hold off ICE raids during the census count.

So far, he said, the White House has not agreed to a freeze on raids.

"There is plenty of precedence for it. President Reagan did it," Reyes said.

Luis Figueroa, a lawyer for the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said that if the policy does not change, many Latinos will remain "in the shadows" during the count.

Reyes said he hoped the split among Latinos over whether to be counted is resolved by the congreso. The debate will be today at the hotel.

"I am puzzled we are debating or discussing or wondering whether it's a good idea to participate in the census," Reyes said. "... It's a dumb idea not to be counted."

Lydia Camarillo, vice president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, said Texas could gain as many as four seats in Congress, depending on the census count. Texas currently has 32 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

David Montero may be reached at dmontero@elpasotimes.com; 915-546-6249.

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