Fall 2013; “Good Time To Be Hispanic”

Fall 2013 is a terrific time to be an American Hispanic.
Football! Saturdays, Sundays and Monday nights for almost 6 months. Mexico’s Soccer team tubes, sigh. There is a 70% chance that some immigration reform will pass Congress.
Hispanics that voted for Obama in 2012 are looking past his vacuous Presidency. A fellow Hispanic is marching around raising money to run for President in three years. Mexico is growing faster than the U.S.
Hispanic unemployment is high but shrinking. Proportionately more Hispanics than non-Hispanic Whites registered as freshmen for college this year, a first.
So, do Hispanic aspirations have a lane on the American highway of the future? Among many, yes. Among a few, no.
For example, the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) a California group that proclaims it is for the “indigenous” and “poor” is vociferously campaigning against Senate-passed immigration reform (68 Democrat and Republican votes).
It claims the bill will “militarize the border;” “enslave” work permit-holders who would work legally, nationalize a work verification system – e-verify – and “only” legalize a small number of the estimated 11-million illegally-present people. MAPA insists on an open border and legality for all.
This is a position that reasonable Hispanics can and do disagree with. While not perfect the Senate proposal and forthcoming House efforts will legalize a large number of people who will have to qualify, yes, and meet burdens of proof, yes. An e-verify system will apply to all work applicants not just Hispanics. Will the system be perfect, perhaps not, but as long as there are legal appeals, who cares?
A person with a work permit and/or Social Security number, and/or a birth certificate and/or driver’s license and/or U.S. passport, and/or voter registration card shouldn’t have any problem being approved by an e-verify system, should they? What is the problem MAPA?
Besides e-verify, the work permits, especially those for agriculture will by themselves eliminate most illegal border crossers. Who will pay smugglers thousands of dollars when a legal work permit is available? Then, there is the Mexican labor pool that is shrinking because Mexican women gave up having seven kids per 30 years ago and are now down to fewer than three almost two kids per. The century-old surplus Mexican labor pool of young men is vanishing.
Does MAPA listen to these points? No. It has striking similarities with the cabal that is against immigration reform of any sort but particularly the Senate’s S744.
Like MAPA’s opposition, the anti-reform people live in a fantasy world of myths and lies.
They say they are for the Rule of Law; that no one should be “rewarded” with anything much less legalization because they came here illegally, they broke the law. True, but the law-breaking is not a felony, it is not a serious violation; it is the equivalent of driving a car one mile over the speed limit, technically illegal but not of consequence. They are terribly inconsistent. If Congress passes this law as per the Constitution’s Article 1, Section 8, is that not the Rule of Law?
They say the Senate bill will open the borders to millions more illegals. How do they know that? Do they not know that the cohort of young Mexican men is smaller every day thanks to massive birth control education by the Mexican government over the past thirty years?
They say that if the border can be 100% secure, then we can talk immigration reform. That is a lie. The border can never be 100% secure, ever, ever, ever. Just like Middle Class white collar crime can never be 100% prevented. Can we approach a 90% secure border? Perhaps.
Immigration reform brings us back to what a good time it is to be a Hispanic. One of us is prominently being mentioned as a candidate for President in 2016. Senator Marco Rubio is his name, the son of Cuban immigrants.
Among the anti-immigration reform people Senator Rubio has lost some support over his personal push for reform with legalization and “a path to citizenship.” He has not among real political and money people, however. After being attacked viciously by the anti-reform people for his role in the “Gang of 8” that produced S744, his fundraising spiked upwards 31% in the 2nd quarter of 2013 over the 1st quarter. $3-million dollars, a cool $3-million dollars.

It will cost a billion dollars to win the presidency 1100+ days from now in 2016.
Vicious uninformed juvenile attacks by anti-immigration reform people or MAPA will not choose a President. A billion dollars will. The people who have a billion dollars want immigration reform and want it now. They will look kindly on Marco Rubio for President; if he falters, however, they will look at immigration reform supporters Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval or New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez.
Politically speaking, with three Hispanics, one a Cuban, two Mexican Americans potential real candidates for President, it is a good time to be or even think like a Hispanic in the fall of 2013. ###

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