Whose Side Are U.S. "Latino Officials" On?

November 04, 2003

Whose Side Are U.S. “Latino Officials” On?
By Allan Wall

http://www.vdare.com/awall/whose_side.htm

Some of America’s most patriotic citizens are Americans of Mexican
ancestry. And some of them read VDARE.com. 

I get email from Americans of Mexican ancestry who are just as
concerned about the ongoing immigration disaster as we are.

But the Hispandering so in vogue today is not aimed at them. Both
parties work overtime to appease activists, organizations, and elected
officials, who demand special privileges, group rights and open
borders. 

Disturbingly, many prominent Mexican-American politicians seem to
function more as agents of the Mexican government than as American
officials.

Unrepentant Mechistas Antonio Villaraigosa and Cruz Bustamante climbed
to the top of California politics. Villaraigosa publicly boasted that
the president of Mexico helped to mug Proposition 187 in the courts. 

In June 2002, a group of California state legislators joined Mexican
diplomats for a strategy meeting.

In August, 2002, Teresa Sanchez-Gordon, a judge in the Superior Court
of California, LA County, was a guest on Vicente Fox’s weekly radio
show. Never once did Her Honor mention her American citizenship. But
she did pledge to utilize the judiciary to promote Mexican interests.
The judge spoke of “our people” (Mexicans, not Americans) and spoke
fawningly to Fox of “your leadership.” 

As I reported recently in VDARE.COM, Mexican-American legislators in a
conference in Mexico this summer so flagrantly took the side of the
Mexican government against their fellow Americans that even an Anglo
politician (!) who was there spoke up in protest. 

And U.S. congressmen Luis Gutierrez and Xavier Becerra have publicly
taken the side of the Mexican government against fellow congressman
Tom Tancredo.

Do we detect a pattern here?

Polling indicates that most Americans want our immigration laws
enforced. Yet prominent Mexican-American politicians continually
support driver’s licenses and in-state tuition for illegal aliens, and
the acceptance of the matricula consular. They do their best to stymie
border security, even after the bitter lesson 9/11 should have taught
us. 

This phenomenon is being successfully exploited by the government of
Mexico. (See my article “Undue Influence” in The Social Contract,
Winter 2002.) The Mexican government and media see all Americans of
Mexican ancestry, regardless of citizenship, as Mexicans—and as tools
of Mexican foreign policy.

This must be offensive to patriotic Americans of Mexican ancestry, but
once again, they are not the ones being courted. The Mexican-Americans
with the influence, the ones being listened to and pandered to—are the
ones who promote open borders, in cahoots with the government of
Mexico. 

And the Mexican government is only warming up. It recently hosted
another conference in Mexico City, specifically designed for
Mexican-American officials. (Recibe Derbez a alcaldes de EU de origen
mexicano, El Universal, October 27th, 2003)

They called it the “Primera Jornada Informativa para Funcionarios
Latinos Electos y Designados” (the “First Public Awareness Conference
for Elected and Appointed Latino Officials.”)

Notice it’s “the first”—meaning they plan to have more!)

The conference was held in Mexico on October 27th and 28th. It was
attended by 30 delegates, all of them U.S. mayors and state
legislators of Mexican ancestry. They were able to meet and network
with Mexican government officials, congressional leaders and
academics.

Delegates included California legislator Marco Antonio Firebaugh (who
also attended the meeting with the Mexican diplomats in 2002, see
above), California senator Gil Cedillo (perennial campaigner for
driver’s licenses for illegal aliens) and Texas legislator Rick
Noriega (champion of in-state tuition for illegal aliens). Also in
attendance were California legislators Fabian Nuñez and Bonnie
Garcia—a Republican—and 25 others.

At the press conference the second day of the Jornada, Representative
Firebaugh impressed upon Mexico the need to seek a migratory accord
with the U.S. Firebaugh—speaking on foreign soil, remember—spoke of
the “exploitation of Mexican workers,” a situation that he said
“requires an intervention by the Mexican government” (my emphasis) to
accomplish an amnesty followed by more “guest workers.” 

(Finalmente Marco Antonio Firebaugh, representante de origen latino
del Distrito 50 de California, conminó a México a buscar un acuerdo
migratorio con EU que no se base sólo en la situación de los
trabajadores temporales, sino que abogue por la regularización de los
mexicanos que trabajan desde hace años en ese país.

Para Firebaugh, la situación de "explotación de trabajadores
mexicanos" en EU "requiere una intervención del Gobierno mexicano",
que debería centrarse antes que nada en la situación de los
indocumentados para solicitar después un marco de regulación nuevo con
visados de trabajo para empleados en programas
temporales.—“Legisladores hispanos instan a Fox a visitar pronto
California”, La Opinion, Oct. 29th, 2003)

So tell me, which government is Firebaugh working for?

Foreign Minister Derbez seemed rather pleased with his colleagues from
the northern territories.

According to El Universal, 

“Derbez emphasized ‘the work that elected Latino officials accomplish
at the local level in favor of’ Mexicans in the U.S.”

(Derbez resaltó "la labor que los funcionarios latinos electos a nivel
local realizan en favor" de los mexicanos residentes en Estados
Unidos.)

Derbez is also pleased at the work these officials have carried out in
promotion of the matricula consular, a document successfully used by
Mexico to subvert U.S. immigration law (with the active collaboration
of too many U.S. officials, most not of Mexican ancestry). 

Derbez spoke of 

“the support that the people's representatives of Latin origin have
offered to the matricula consular, so that it be recognized as a valid
identification document in a wide variety of procedures, for example
the acquisition of a driver’s license or the opening of a bank
account.” (También, "el apoyo que los representantes populares de
origen latino han brindado a la matrícula consular, para que sea
reconocida como documento válido de identificación en una amplia
variedad de trámites, como la obtención de una licencia de manejar y
la apertura de una cuenta bancaria".)

Congratulations, “Latino Officials.” The Mexican government is very
proud of you. 

Ordinary Americans, on the other hand, might not appreciate what
you’re up to. 

That is, if they still have any say in the matter. 

American citizen Allan Wall lives and works legally in Mexico, where
he holds an FM-2 residency and work permit, but serves six weeks a
year with the Texas Army National Guard, in a unit composed almost
entirely of Americans of Mexican ancestry. His VDARE.COM articles are
archived here; his FRONTPAGEMAG.COM articles are archived here; his
website is here. Readers can contact Allan Wall at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]