ALBUQUERQUE — On the eve of the Republican National Convention, leading Hispanic national organizations sent a bluntly worded letter to Sen. John McCain about his party’s platform positions on immigration.

 

Authored by John Trasviña of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), the letter was co-signed by 19 organizations, including the League of United Latin American Citizens, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, the National Council of La Raza, the National Institute for Latino Policy, MALDEF and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Trasviña’s letter urged McCain to ”…lead your party’s platform away from the deportation and detention path” which he says repudiates McCain’s past positions on immigration:

 

The Republican Party Platform language regarding immigration repudiates your efforts to provide a legal opportunity for immigrants who have lived steady, productive and crime-free lives in the United States to come forward, pay a fine, and demonstrate they are learning English.

The Republican Party’s 2008 platform places immigration with national security issues at the beginning of the document. It emphasizes border security, immediate deportation of undocumented immigrants “without delay,” and explicitly opposes “amnesty.”

 

McCain co-sponsored with Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a highly debated bill in 2005 that called for a comprehensive approach to immigration reform. It called for strengthening border security coupled with a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already working and living in the United States, rather than deportation.

Conservatives in the Republican party base reject this “pathway to citizenship,” calling it “amnesty,” and hammered McCain for his position on immigration on the campaign trail during the Republican primary. He has since back-tracked from comprehensive reform, going so far as to say in January 2008 during a debate that he would not vote for the bill he authored in 2005 if it were introduced today.

Trasviña’s letter to McCain also takes aim at additional platform proposals that if implemented would have a significant impact on New Mexico.

 

Specifically, the platform calls for the denial of federal funds to “sanctuary cities.” It would also deny in-state tuition and drivers licenses to undocumented residents. The platform says these positions are consistent with the “rule of law”, although it does not clarify what law it is referring to:

 

It [the rule of law] means requiring cooperation among federal, state and local law enforcement and real consequences, including the denial of federal funds, for self described sanctuary cities, … It does not mean driver’s licenses for illegal aliens, nor does it mean that states should be allowed to flout the federal law barring them from giving in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens…

 

In the letter sent August 30, Trasviña said that such policies would split families, close the door on education for young people, and unwisely place federal immigration enforcement responsibilities on local police. Plus, he said, the platform also wades into the "divisive English Only debate:"

 

The platform language would split families, make our communities less secure by placing federal responsibilities to enforce immigration law on local police thereby harming police/community relations, and close the door to higher education to young people who have been raised here and graduated from local schools and whose parents or themselves paid local and state taxes. It also wades into the divisive English Only debate but fails to emphasize the importance of more English language classes for adults and youth.

 

Sanctuary Cities in New Mexico

In New Mexico, which is one of the states in which the Latino vote is expected to be highly contested in 2008, several places are considered sanctuary cities, including Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Rio Arriba County. New Mexico also does not check immigration status when a person applies for in-state tuition, and it’s policies do not preclude undocumented workers from obtaining a drivers license.

 

Essentially, a sanctuary city takes a "don’t ask, don’t tell" approach to immigration status. This means that police officers and other law enforcement entities don’t inquire into the immigration status of people unless they are being actively investigated for a crime. They are also not allowed to arrest someone based on their immigration status, or report a person to federal authorities.

Proponents of this policy argue that if police officers are allowed to check immigration status on the basis of suspicion, it will lead not only to racial profiling due to the subjective nature of the request, but also will prevent people from calling the police for assistance or to report a crime, due to fears that their immigration status will be checked.

 

On a more nuts and bolts level, authorities say, it isn’t the responsibility of local and state level police officers to enforce federal law, nor are federal funds provided to do so.

 

In an Albuquerque Tribune article last year, former state Republican Party spokesman Scott Darnell characterized sanctuary city policies as “incentives” to undocumented residents. The Tribune also reported that Bernalillo County does allow it’s sheriff’s deputies to check immigration status, plus it requires them to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement those who they arrest and also suspect of being undocumented.

 

“That’s the way it should be,” Sheriff Darren White, a Republican, told the Albuquerque Tribune last year. “If there’s one thing we should have learned in this era, it’s that there are people trying to come into this country to harm us.”

 

White is currently running against Martin Heinrich for Heather Wilson’s vacated First Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

 

Heinrich, a former Albuquerque City Councilor, voted for a sanctuary city resolution while on the City Council in 2004. That resolution was titled "Opposing the Enactment of Federal Legislation Calling for State and Local Police to Enforce Federal Civil Immigration Laws," and passed with 7 votes — the two other councilors weren’t present. It was then signed by Mayor Martin Chavez.

 

Latino Leaders say the Republican platform positions are harmful to the Hispanic Community

 

In his letter to McCain, Trasviña clearly states that the Republican party’s platform positions on immigration are harmful to the Hispanic community as a whole:

 

Now is the time for you to stand with the aspirations of Latinos and against platform positions that would harm the Hispanic community and the nation.

And Trasviña urged him to support “solutions on the issues of most importance to the growing Latino community” that are provided in the 33-page National Hispanic Leadership Agenda.

 

The NHLA does not endorse candidates but we provide an agenda that candidates and parties can endorse that demonstrates they understand what federal policy is needed to foster Latino participation in all walks of life and an end to economic and social disparities that impair Latino advancement.

 

 

That document promotes comprehensive immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship. Here is the complete list of organizations that co-signed the letter to McCain:

 

American GI Forum
Dominican American National Roundtable
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Hispanic Federation
Hispanic National Bar Association
Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
League of United Latin American Citizens
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Association of Hispanic Publications
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials
National Council of La Raza
National Hispanic Council on Aging
National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts
National Hispanic Media Council
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Institute for Latino Policy
Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
U. S. Hispanic Leadership Institute