Typical blather about how we are racist and full of hatred as we protest Home Depot and for its policies and partnership with the National Council of La Raza.

A Noble Cause Under Attack

One of the greatest things about our country is the existence of hundreds of nonprofit organizations that take care of their own, that look out for the underdog or the underprivileged. Then, of course, there are other organizations that promote hatred and intolerance and that represent a more radical point of view.

But this is a free country, and one of the pillars of our democracy is freedom of speech. Therefore, just as people are free to voice their racist views, I am free to express my opinion about what I consider their distorted point of view.

Such is the case with Save Our State, an anti-immigrant group in California whose most recent campaign to boycott Home Depot has turned an otherwise positive development into a poisonous vendetta.

It all stems from an agreement reached between the world's largest home-improvement-store chain and four prestigious Hispanic organizations to train and hire Latino workers.

As part of the deal, Home Depot would create day-labor centers in several sites in Southern California.

Sounds like a good plan, but Save Our State launched a vicious attack against Home Depot to "punish" the company for its support of the daylabor centers, calling it an effort to hire "illegal aliens" (or undocumented workers, as they should be referred to). It also chastised the company for its affiliation with what the group called "anti-American" organizations.

"It is an insult to the work of these organizations," said Janet Murguia, president of the National Council of La Raza, one of the four Latino advocacy groups involved in the partnership with Home Depot. "Obviously, they do not know that our organization has been working for 30 years to integrate Latinos and immigrants into the mainstream," she added. Among other things, NCLR provides education, career development, homeownership programs, health care and English lessons to members of the Latino community.

Save Our State found support for its effort not only among its hundreds of members, but in CNN newsman Lou Dobbs, whose ongoing segment "Broken Borders" launches relentless attacks on undocumented immigrants and any person or institution speaking out in their defense. On his program, Dobbs questioned if Home Depot is "supporting the massive invasion of illegal aliens into this country," and suggested that the company is creating "day-laborer sites, knowing specifically that they were for illegal aliens."

Murguia said Dobbs has blurred the line between presenting a story and becoming part of the story. "He needs to accurately characterize that the partnership with Home Depot was created to meet important work-force needs as well as to train Hispanic-Americans for jobs to meet these needs."

She denied that the organization is promoting the hiring of undocumented immigrants but rather said that it is advocating for comprehensive immigration reform that would lead to legalization but would also address other pivotal issues, such as sanctions for smugglers and for employers who hire undocumented workers.

Home Depot contends that the day-labor centers were created to address public-safety concerns. Although it recognizes that not all of those who attend the labor centers are legal residents, it reiterated its policy not to hire workers who are not in this country legally.

So, once again we have anti-immigrant groups and individuals who are inciting bigotry, hatred and racism in the country by distorting the facts of a noble cause. Instead of chastising legitimate efforts to create a more diverse work force, these people should be crediting companies like Home Depot for their forward thinking and civic organizations that work tirelessly to improve the lives of those they represent, whether it's Latinos or any other minority group trying to get a fair shake.