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Rove Assures La Raza Group of Cooperation

LOS ANGELES - Karl Rove, U.S. President George W. Bush’s senior political advisor, on Tuesday took the administration’s message on immigration reform to Latino leaders, saying the country was approaching a “critical moment” in the debate.

Speaking at the annual convention of leading Latino civic group the National Council of La Raza, Rove said Bush would work with Republicans and Democrats in coming weeks to push through reform legislation that has bitterly divided Congress, the Republican Party and the nation.

“We face a critical moment in our immigration debate, a moment when our nation will make an important decision about what kind of country and what kind of society we will be,” said Rove, one of Washington’s most powerful and polarizing figures.

Immigration promises to be a hot issue in the November mid-term congressional elections, and Republican strategists are mindful of the growing clout of Latino voters. In Los Angeles, where Hispanics account for nearly half the population, Rove said Bush “appreciates the vital contributions of Latinos to the greatness of our country.”

La Raza estimates that the number of Hispanic voters in 2008 will increase 30 percent from the 7.5 million who cast ballots in the 2004 presidential elections.

“We need to work together, which will require making tough choices to get a bill that is not perfect, but is meaningful, and fair and comprehensive,” Rove said.

“Working together we can do it or we can run the risk of a failure, a bill that splits apart and takes a political rather than a practical direction,” he added.

A hard-line Republican contingent in Congress advocates a House bill that represents a crackdown on the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants, most of whom come from Mexico and Central America seeking low-paying jobs Americans won’t do.

Bush is more aligned with a bipartisan Senate bill that offers a guest worker program and path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.