As far as we are concerned the GOP can go right ahead alienating Latino voters. The real problem is that GOP (as well as conservative Democrats') demagoguery further demonizes Latinos and inflames the underlying racism that, among other things, prevents the issue of "illegal" immigration from being solved.
Illegal immigration; Latinos; GOP policy; The wrong way to deal with illegal immigration - latimes.com: "When Republicans assume control of the House in January, Rep. Steve King (R- Iowa) will become chairman of the subcommittee on immigration. His first order of business, he says, will be to pass legislation denying "birthright citizenship" to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.
Set aside, for a moment, the obstacles: Revoking a right enshrined in the Constitution cannot be accomplished by legislation, and besides, such a bill would never get through the Senate. What attacking birthright citizenship could do, however, is consummate the increasing alienation of Latinos from the GOP. And that might be a big mistake, in the long run, for the party. ....
The resurgent GOP stands at a fork in the road: It can attempt to turn anti-immigrant rhetoric into public policy, as Rep. King seems determined to do, or its leadership can quash such talk and remain a contender for more than just token Latino votes." Nov. 15, 2010
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
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