How far is ex democratic Arizona state senator Kyrsten Sinema willing to go to get a congressional post in the newly formed Arizona CD9? Well, apparently she has no problem with taking money from an ardent supporter and instrumental campaigner for the Russell Pearce campaign, Gretchen Jacobs, whom many say is Pearce’s campaign manager. As a matter of fact, according to one of her opponents, Andrei Cherny, who appeared in somewhat of a debate/conversation on a recent appearance on Sunday Square Off, a local political show, Cherny indicated that 18 percent of those that have contributed to Sinema’s campaign are also Russell Pearce contributors. During that same appearance Sinema argued with Cherny denying that she had failed to support the Pearce recall because Russell Pearce was her boss. However in an interview with Stephen Lemons of New Times, Sinema admitted that she didn’t want to rub Pearce the wrong way for fear that he might stop her bills from advancing. She certainly didn’t have to worry about him stopping her anti-Immigrant bill SB1225 since she carried with her 9 Republican co-sponsors well known for their aggression in the immigration arena. One of those, now disgraced senator Scott Bundgaard, was forced to resign after he was pursued in an ethics trial for allegedly beating his girlfriend.

This is obviously a disturbing pattern in of itself, however it doesn’t stop there. Sinema’s latest escapade involves her more than willing participation in a fundraiser for her campaign hosted by Ron Ober and the Policy Development Group, a CCA (Corrections Corporation of America) lobbying firm who is instrumental in acquiring lucrative private prison contracts for the billion dollar giant CCA.

As a matter of fact this is the same lobbying firm that employs Paul Senseman who was previously Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s chief of staff. Looking at Policy Development Group’s website they list Senseman’s bio in part as follows:

Paul rejoined Policy Development Group, Inc. in January 2011 after two years serving the State of Arizona as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications under Governor Janice K. Brewer. He brings extensive strategic, political and managerial experience to our clients at the local, state and federal levels.

Before Paul initially began at PDGi in 2006, he worked for US Senator John McCain in his Phoenix office and for three Arizona Speakers of the House as both communications director and ultimately chief of staff for Speaker Jake Flake.

It’s apparent Senseman knows how to play the game, and his affiliation has always been with Republicans and the red party, so what’s a blue ex senator doing in bed with private prison lobbyists as she vies for a congressional post? The answer is simple, I scratch your back, you scratch my back. Given the persuasiveness of Senseman and his boss Ron Ober, the brains behind PDGi (Policy Development Group) you can imagine what it is exactly that PDGi could accomplish with another ally in congress. After all, they’ve already got the state of Arizona in their hip pocket, as is evidenced by their influence on Jan Brewer.

To better understand the business side of SB1070 and the private prison industry involvement please read my previously authored piece linked here.

Knowing what I know about Sinema and her early attempts to center up while still serving as an Arizona state senator, having created anti-immigrant legislation titled SB1225, I am more than perturbed by this disturbing pattern. Sinema pushed heavily for the participation of the immigrant community in the 2010 census. It was as far back as 2010 or prior to that, that her diabolical political mind was plotting and planning, knowing full well what most of us knew, that a new congressional district would be created if they could only get the full participation of the undocumented community in the census. To fully comprehend the effect of the 2010 census on the undocumented Immigrant community and their subsequent influence in the creation of a new congressional district read a previously authored piece on the same here.

So now that Sinema understands the makeup of the new congressional district (CD9), mostly influenced by independent voters, it’s obvious that Sinema is willing to follow in the tradition of Judas Iscariot. The exception is that Sinema isn’t happy with thirty pieces of silver, why should she when she can have a multilevel contributor arrangement as is indicated in the private invite found here and quoted below.

Please join

Ron Ober

for a reception with
Kyrsten Sinema
Democratic candidate for Congress in
Arizona’s 9th Congressional District

Thursday, July 19th, 2012
4:30 – 6:00pm
Policy Development Group
3636 N Central Ave # 590 – Phoenix, AZ

Contribution levels:

Host (give/get) $1,000
Supporter $500
Friend $250

During her appearance on the local political talk show “Sunday Square Off” last week, Sinema doubled down on her love for Russell Pearce, she first professed her love for Russell on the same show a little over a year ago, when she said she loved Russell Pearce. I understand you maybe thinking I’ve taken her comments out of context, but knowing what we know now, it’s evident Sinema clearly loves Pearce, and his contributors, including the private prison industry. After all, this could very well be a marriage made in heaven. The problem is, Sinema hasn’t consummated the marriage, and she’s already in bed with them. Why does the AC/DC song dirty deeds done dirt cheap come to mind?

Sinema will do anything for that coveted congressional seat

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

I suppose I have to be really careful right about now. This is a very delicate subject. I don’t want to appear to be using the race card, but, that’s exactly what happened with Priebus’ replacement of Steele in 2011 as RNC chair.

I considered addressing this matter back in 2011 when Michael Steele the former Republican Committee Chair was kicked to the curb by the white, elite, Republican puppet masters during a reelection process for RNC chair. However, given Priebus’ recent rants, and Steele’s continued high profile, I figured it’s still very relevant to the conversation, especially during a hotly contested presidential race.

The Republican strategy was obvious, when in January of 2009, Steele, the first African American chair of the RNC was selected as the token, I mean, the first black to head the mostly white party of obstructionists.

Barack Hussein Obama, the first African American president elected to the presidency of this country swore oath in in the same month that Steele took his position as RNC chair. The Republicans were livid after seeing their old warhorse and the Wasilla Hillbilly defeated in the 2008 election. They figured, if the Democrats can get a black man elected to run this country, by golly we’ll elect a black man to run our party. Well, kinda sorta. They were well aware that Steele was comfortable with playing second fiddle as demonstrated by his position as the first African American Lt. Governor of Maryland. He knew well how to get along with the majority white, he was polished, the talking points were spot on, hell, the only thing that hindered him was his color, but that was an asset for the Republicans in 2009, especially given the fact that they had to somehow counter Obama with someone of his own race that wouldn’t appear to be racist as he pushed the Republican talking points that often border on bigotry, racism and white privilege.

Steele actually did an amazing job for the RNC. This tidbit spells out his accomplishments while RNC chair.

Under Michael Steele’s leadership the RNC broke fundraising records in the 2009-2010 cycle by raising over $192 million; and, for the first time in U.S. history, a party that suffered losses in consecutive elections as catastrophic as Republicans did in 2006 and 2008 rebounded to win a majority in the U.S. House or Senate in the next election. Republicans won 63 House seats, the biggest pickup since 1938, and the largest gain en route to winning a majority since the 1800s. For good measure, Republicans won the greatest share of state legislative seats since 1928.

Not only did Steele do a great job as chair, he far exceeded their expectations. The RNC also failed to recognize that Steel was an effective Pitt bull raging against the Democratic Party and the newly elected president. Not only was Steele a great puppet, a great financial producer, he was great at ad lib. You would have thought that after having accomplished as much as he did, not just the unbelievable fundraising which is extremely important, after all, money is what makes politicians dance, right? But perhaps more important, was the seizing of the house in 2010 and the removal of the Republican’s arch-nemesis Nancy Pelosi.

You would have though that this guy was a shoe in for reelection as RNC party chair. However, by 2011, the Tea Party had all but hijacked the GOP. We’ve all known that the Tea Party is a primarily white movement meant to “return America to what it once was.” We all heard the shouts of “I want my America back.” It was clear that the puppet masters within the Republican party heard that call loud and clear, and besides, they were done trying to be politically correct or counter the black President with a black Chairman.

By now the conversation in America had gotten to the point where you could openly make racist statements and comments on cable news shows, and it was considered just being brazen, bold, and outspoken. If anyone dared call them racists or bigots, they would flip the conversation and point out, that if you brought up race, you must be the racist.

So the selection was obvious, a hand picked and polished white puppet from Wisconsin, With a cheesy name to boot, Reince Priebus. Priebus campaigned on change and a return to what was before Steele.

He said:

“I’m not running for Chairman because I think I’m better than anyone or because I think I have all the answers. I’m running for chairman for only one reason: I believe our country is in a time of great peril and we have to do something about it.”To turn around the RNC, Priebus said, “I will keep expenses low. I will put in strong and serious controls. We will raise the necessary funds to make sure we are successful. We will work to regain the confidence of our donor base and I will personally call our major donors to ask them to rejoin our efforts at the RNC.”

I think the “I will personally call our major donors to ask them to rejoin our efforts at the RNC”, meant, I will work closely with the Koch brothers to ensure we keep the bucks rolling in.

Priebus went on to say:

He believed the RNC is “part of” the Tea Party movement; he believed it is the Republican Party’s mission to “save our country, to save our party and to take back the White House”

That’s all she wrote! Priebus was in as RNC party chair. It was easy as that. You kick the black man to the curb, throw him under the political bus and you move on with the mission of returning America to the days of yesteryear.

Priebus has turned out to be a perfect fit for the Republican party. He’s aggressive, makes inappropriate statements, doesn’t give a damn about being racially insensitive or politically correct. He’s certainly on the warpath. His latest rant according to the National Journal is as follows:

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus attacked President Obama on Sunday, citing issues from negative campaigning to last week’s lukewarm jobs report.

“This president can’t fulfill a promise,” he said, rebutting Democrats who defended Obama’s performance on Fox News Sunday. “They live in Fantasy Land. We are going to put this dream of theirs to an end.”

Priebus called Obama “the most divisive, nasty, negative campaigner this country has ever seen,” but added that voters will likely be focused on Obama’s handling of the economy and jobs growth.

“I don’t think people are begging for another four years of this misery … with a president who acts like he’s not living on Earth,” he said.

I believe Reince Priebus is exactly what the RNC was looking for, he carries all the right qualities needed to run the Republican agenda, more importantly, he is white, and that, to the RNC contributors and the Republicans in general is one of the most important factors. Now they can get to work on electing a white president.

The great white hope!

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

Martin Bashir got the ball rolling on Romney’s offshore bank accounts the other day. I thought to myself, why aren’t more people talking about these accounts? Liberals should be outraged, and conservatives should be equally disgusted. It’s absolutely not acceptable for an American politician to keep money banked elsewhere. It’s down right insulting!

The conservatives and the anti-Immigrant crowd, well, for the sake of argument, let’s call them the pro “legal immigration” crowd, should be equally outraged. They complain about the “illegals” coming here to work and then shipping their money out of the country to Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador etc. Yet, they are completely silent when it comes to Romney’s offshore bank accounts. If that isn’t the height of hypocrisy, I don’t know what is.

Can you imagine knowing that your president has his money in a foreign country because he doesn’t have faith in his own country. Well, some would argue that it’s because he wants to pay less taxes on his money, less penalties, and not have to divulge his true worth to the American public.

But let’s use the conservative argument, why don’t we? It’s simply un-American! Continuing with the conservative talking points: He must hate this country. He would rather put his money in a country that will provide him anonymity and a tax shelter, than keep it here in our good old American banks. Can this guy be trusted? After all, he must have learned quite a bit about gaming the system from those socialist Europeans in France when he did his two and a half year mission for the Mormon church as he avoided his duty to this country by dodging the draft using his religion as an excuse to avoid serving in our armed forces. Keep in mind that Romney was 21 years old! These are the years in which you are the most influenced, and those years in which your life is shaped forever, and he spent them in Europe.

Looking at a small excerpt from Time Magazine written by Vivienne Walt, we get a perspective of what Romney was to become.

Romney was left in charge of the mission, relocating from the small Bordeaux town where he was stationed to the Mormon residence in Paris’ wealthy 16th district, a large house with chandeliers, servants and an art collection.

Continuing with the conservative argument: So we have here a politician who was at first a chicken Hawk, then became trained as a socialist in a European country in the lap of luxury, who later returned to the U.S. to educate himself at the best schools, to use that education to get his foot in the wall street door, to train and ultimately become one of the best corporate raiders this country has seen, in order to profit hugely, and send those profits to offshore accounts to game our tax system, and, because he doesn’t have faith in our American banks.

So, once again, I ask, where is the conservative outrage? This guy represents everything a conservative despises, right down to a socialist style health care, the “Bay State Health Care Act”, aka Romneycare that he created as governor of Massachusetts.

The problem with conservatives is glaringly obvious. They are not about what’s best for this country, they are about whatever opposes the other party. That’s evident by their desire to elect as President, the son of a Mexican, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, who avoided fighting for this country, and who is now gaming our tax system with offshore accounts.

I have just one more question for these hypocrites that call themselves conservatives and members of the Grand Old Party, at what point did you abandon your ideals, principles, and values to support a European molded, Chicken Hawk elite who was in fact the harbinger for Obamacare?

Monsieur Romney

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

It sure looked like Marco Rubio was going to be the guy that Romney picked to be on the GOP ticket for November. Romney was heavily floating the idea that Rubio might be his man, mostly based on his desire to attract the Latino vote. In turn, Rubio was floating the idea of a Dream Act that would convince the “Dreamers”, that they in turn, should convince others, that he was their savior.

Here in Arizona I heard some of the “leaders” of these Dreamers on Spanish language media outlets stating that they would support whomever gave them the Dream Act. Wow, talk about betraying the Latino community! Judas Escariot betrayed Jesus for thirty pence, I suppose the Dream Act for some of these Dreamers is their thirty pence. I mean, after all, it’s the GOP that has systematically created laws to attack not just the Dreamers, but their parents as well. It was Willard that said he would unequivocally veto the Dream Act. Yet when Romney saw an opportunity to use a “Latino” U.S. Senator to attract the Latino vote, he jumped on it like flies on a steaming pile of dung on an hot Arizona summer day.

Willard & Marco didn’t count on the fact that Obama was plotting and planning to make a move to seize the Latino vote, and in one fell swoop a series of incidents occurred that essentially assured Obama the 2012 Latino vote. It was almost as if the stars had aligned. Obama declares that the Dreamers would be able to come out of the shadows and receive a work permit that can be renewed every two years indefinitely, then SCOTUS rules on SB1070 striking most provisions as unconstitutional and allowing the show me your papers portion of the law to take effect, Obama, as if dueling with Arizona and the GOP, immediately pulls the 287g certification from Arizona’s law enforcement agencies and further states that ICE officers will not pickup undocumented Immigrants being held for suspicion of being in the country unlawfully unless they were being charged with a felony. Romney’s response? An attempt to one up President Obama by stating that it was not enough and that he would seek a longer term solution for the Dreamers.

Very few Latinos believed Romney, well, I suppose their are still those Dreamers looking for their thirty pence, but for the most part Romney is toast with the Latinos. There is less and less talk about Rubio being part of the veepstakes.

That’s not stopping Rubio though. He’s clearly still coveting that spot on the GOP ticket, and he’s making sure that the conservative folk see him. I suppose it would be hard to miss him with his new sales tactic. He’s pounding the street town by town as any self serving politician would do, selling his propaganda, I mean book, “An American Son.” What makes this book tour interesting is Rubio’s attempt to make sure you can’t miss him, he’s cruising around on a huge tour bus with his mug and his name plastered prominently on the side. It might as well say, An American Son looking to be an American Vice President.

Now that Rubio can’t bring Romney the Latino vote, I suspect Romney’s advisors will steer him towards someone who has more experience, can bring in the moderates and conservatives. Shall we say, someone, a bit more vanilla.

Hey, look at me!

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

Well it sure looks like my pro Immigration colleagues missed the boat again. As soon as I heard Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio allege that ICE (Immigration & Customs Enforcement) was working with him on picking up the undocumented Immigrants he has been detaining, I knew there was more to the story than Arpaio was claiming.

I heard a Latino civil rights attorney on a Spanish language radio show blowing it off as just crazy rhetoric, and he further encouraged listeners to ignore the old man. He said they give him too much credit and that what he was claiming was hogwash. The cooperation between ICE and MCSO that is.

No matter how much Latino “leaders” and “activists” want to use the “just ignore Arpaio tactic”, that’s certainly not the way to deal with him. It’s best to understand the man and his tactics in order to know how to counter them or at the very least to know how to inform the unprotected Immigrant community who has zero information at their disposal and who clearly depend on their “advocates” to keep them informed. Telling the community to ignore the old man certainly is not in any way helpful to the Spanish speaking Immigrant community who utilizes radio programs and Spanish language television to get what little bits of information they can for purposes of survival. Remember Sun Tzu’s advice,
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

I had a pretty good idea how it was Arpaio was able to get ICE out to pick up the undocumented Immigrants even after President Obama had made it clear that ICE would not pick up those identified as undocumented Immigrants unless they had committed a felony.

In order to understand how Arpaio is gaming the system, you have to understand the prosecutorial tool he’s using. It’s a controversial law that was conjured up in 2005 for purposes of pursuing human traffickers. The law, A.R.S. 13-2319 is meant to target those human traffickers who make it a business to transport America’s labor force across the border and across that unforgiving desert to drop houses where they are often held for ransom until a friend or family member coughs up the additional bucks requested.

I don’t think any of us have a problem with the prosecution of human traffickers commonly referred to as “coyotes”. It’s precisely that “coyote” law, A.R.S. 13-2319 that has allowed Sheriff Joe to brag about Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s cooperation with his deputies. In the last few days Arpaio has netted over 20 undocumented Immigrants and it appears all have been picked up by ICE.

Let’s take a closer look at the method in which the “Coyote” law is being misused by Arpaio and the Maricopa County Attorney’s office. In 2006 as the law came to be applied against those being smuggled as co-conspirators, all hell broke loose. Here is an excerpt from an AZbar article:

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office interpreted the new law as creating liability
for such individuals under Arizona’s conspiracy statute, A.R.S. § 13-1003. On June
9, 2006, this interpretation was upheld by the Maricopa County Superior Court after
the defendants arrested under the statute moved for dismissal under various grounds.
The court found jurisdiction and venue were proper in Maricopa County because
overt acts in furtherance of smuggling occurred there. The court found the defendants
“may be prosecuted for conspiracy to smuggling themselves” if it is proved they
provided themselves as “human cargo” and agreed to be transported as illegal aliens.

Despite testimony from one of the bill’s sponsors that A.R.S. § 13-2319 was not
intended to be applied to the aliens who were being smuggled, such exclusionary language was not included in the statute and the legislature is presumed to have
known and intended the conspiracy statute would apply to a violation of A.R.S. § 13-
2319.

As mentioned in the article, the intent of the law as written and later confirmed by one of it’s authors former state lawmaker Jonathan Paton, was not to pursue those being smuggled, but to punish those doing the smuggling.

The inappropriate use of the law was challenged in a lawsuit by Somos America Coalition and ironically ex senator and political opportunist Kyrsten Sinema was a plaintiff in that lawsuit. Yes the same “Democratic” senator who later created an anti-Immigrant law titled SB1225 in which she hypocritically utilizes A.R.S. 13-2319 as her prosecutorial tool.

So now you know, what I know. Arpaio simply has to get a Spanish speaking investigator or officer to ask these timid undocumented immigrants if they paid a coyote to be transported. By the time they are questioned, their morale is shot, they more than likely have traveled days across a desert that takes it’s tolls in lives. Perhaps they witnessed some of their group get left behind and die next to a bush in the desert, they suffered thirst, hunger and their body has been ravaged by the elements. So when asked a basic question, “did you pay a coyote to bring you here?”, they’re quick to answer, “si señor, le page a un coyote $3,000.00 para cruzarme” Which interprets into, “yes sir, I paid a human smuggler $3,000.00 to transport me. That’s all she wrote! Joe Arpaio now has enough to charge them with conspiracy to smuggle themselves which under A.R.S. 13-2319 is a class four felony. Don’t take my word for it, take a look at Joe Arpaio’s press release outlining the details as I just articulated.

So it’s a no brainer, Obama’s recent policy change indicates ICE will not pickup undocumented Immigrants from police officers in Arizona unless they are being charged with a felony. Well, given the aforementioned information, it appears ICE will be forced to cooperate with Joe and his MCSO goons, thanks to the misuse of A.R.S. 13-2319, another piece of poorly designed legislation by Arizona’s inept Republican lawmakers.

Joe Arpaio upset

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com

Ever since Barack Obama took office Latinos have been pounding on his door. It seems to me that President Obama could hear them, after all they have been vocal enough. The problem was, the general feeling of dislike for Latinos by the majority. Keep in mind, the President is the President of the United States, not of just the Latino community, the gay community, the African community or of women. However, it sure seems like the groups I just mentioned were much more valued than the Latinos.

I suppose that if you’ve been depreciating something for years, it simply loses it’s value. If you bought a brand new car and over the years you allowed people to walk by and hit it with a bat, plug some buckshot into it, broke the windows and keyed it, and on top of that, from the day you bought it, you claimed it was a gas hog that cost you dearly, that it was draining your budget, it was inefficient, it smelled, it looked ugly and you just couldn’t stand it’s color, it would surely depreciate. It just wouldn’t have the value that other same model cars of a different color might have, now would it?

The same is the case with Latinos throughout the United States. Especially immigrants! After years of beating them up, defaming them, frowning at the color of their skin, calling them disease carriers, lazy, job thieves and leeches, to name a few, the Latino has been devalued.

This is akin to the 1700′s, when slave owners wanted to count their slaves in order to broaden their representation in congress. The more populous the state, the more representation in congress. They found themselves with a dilemma. These were slaves! Their white slave owners didn’t treat them or consider them to be a man. They were simply sub human beings, that if rated at all, would rate on the lowest rung of the social ladder. They were used to create profit for the wealthy white plantation owners.

I suppose I’m starting to sound a bit militant, using words like white masters and black slaves and stirring up the ugly history we all want to forget. I’m simply trying to put into perspective the reasoning behind the desire to determine the value of a “sub human.” Well, after a knock down drag out fight, congress, in order to appease the wealthy white slave owners, decided to value these slaves as 3/5 of a man, changing the dynamics of the representation these slave owners received, and allowing them to further profit financially from their black skinned property.

Fast forward to modern times and examine the much depended on immigrant labor and what many of us call the modernized slave labor force that responds in a very similar way to their white employers.

In 2010 the U.S. Census was heavily banked on by local, state and federal government entities. The census is a decennial financial windfall for state and local governments.

An astounding $340 million dollars was spent to promote the U.S. Census in 2010. Everyone tried to get a piece of the pie. The local radio and television stations were littered with ads promoting the census. More importantly, and related to this article, the Spanish language media was all over it. The ads targeting Latinos, and specifically undocumented Latinos, were trust specific. They assured the Spanish language viewer or listener that their information would be kept completely private and confidential. The modern undocumented immigrant who they were targeting and enticing to participate, has traditionally had zero trust in a local and federal government that has been part and parcel to their exploitation as this country’s labor force.

The Census Bureau used truckloads of propaganda material, like trinkets, placards, backpacks, handbags, etc., all with the U.S. Census prominently displayed. The material was given away at stores frequented by Latinos and immigrants. People love giveaways, and immigrants are not an exception.

I would venture to say that very few of these immigrants were aware of the U.S. Census’ betrayal of trust during the 1940′s census campaign involving the Japanese Americans, who by virtue of their participation were rounded up and thrown in concentration camps after the Census Bureau gave specific information as to their addresses and ethnicity to the Secret Service. Had they known this, I imagine, the census, to these modern day Spanish speaking immigrants, would have been akin to being willing participants in their own deportation process.

The hype to participate in the census reached a crescendo as the anti-immigrant crowd argued that the census should not taken into consideration “illegals” who had no right to be here. On the other hand, the pro-immigrant groups for the most part, pushed for an absolute enumeration of the undocumented community, arguing that they wanted that representation in congress, new congressional districts, and the federal funds that would be distributed upon determining the amount of immigrants, mostly Latinos that are hiding in the shadows.

The undocumented immigrant community was railroaded by their own “advocates.” They were told that their children would have better schools to attend with the money that would be given to their communities, that they would have better roads to drive on, and that they would have a better infrastructure with the additional funds. Very few of us opposed these snake oil salesmen who profited from the census as they sold the immigrant community an elixir that would not only, not work, but they wouldn’t even get a chance to sip, in most cases.

What they didn’t tell the undocumented Immigrants is that since they don’t have a drivers license, and because they run a risk in just driving on the roads, they would not benefit from better roads. Those roads could very well lead to their deportation after being stopped and asked for their papers. Not only that, if deported, their children in all likelihood would have to join them in their native country, and they certainly would not enjoy that better education they were promised. The only benefit that was received, was for the politicians and the pseudo Latino activists and pseudo Latino leaders that sought additional congressional districts and funding to be distributed on their pork barrel projects which in most cases would not even get to the average Joe, let alone the undocumented Immigrant.

I think you would agree that the 2010 U.S. Census was very much like what occurred in 1787 with the three fifths compromise. What everyone considered and considers to be an unwanted sector of the general populous is used for political and financial gain.

Enter SB1070 in the same year as the census, and you not only had an outright hatred for the “illegal” a term coined by the racist, Tea Party members and Nationalists. You had a desire to violate the rights of those who looked like they might be an “illegal.” The concept behind SB1070 was to put a band aid on a border issue by pursuing those that might appear to fit the “look” of an “illegal border crosser.” Just about every one of the state house members that voted to pass SB1070 stood up and said they didn’t think it would resolve the border issue, but, it was a start.

With SB1070 under scrutiny by the District Court of Arizona and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court, Latinos were depreciated more and more. I remember having a chat with more than one Tea Party activist that said they had no problem with people being stopped based on what they looked like, if they fit the bill. They explained it by saying, “if you aren’t here illegally, then you got nothing to worry about.” One fair haired blue eyed gentleman in his fifties said, “well, if you’re looking for oranges, you go to the orange orchard, not the apple orchard.” To me it was obvious, the violation of a U.S. Citizen’s rights by and through racial profiling was A okay with supporters of SB1070, further depreciating the Latino, documented or not.

By the time 2012 rolled around, the Republican debates were littered with attacks on Latinos, U.S. born children of undocumented parents offensively called anchor babies, and the “Dreamers”, kids brought at a young age by parents who arrived seeking to fill those jobs most of us wouldn’t dare work.

As soon as the Republican primary ended, the prevailing candidate Mitt Romney, did an about face. After taking a look at his dismal standing with the Latino community, he began floating the idea of a Dream Act. He partnered with a “Latino” and banked on Latinos having short memory syndrome. The problem with his strategy is that Marco Rubio son of a Cuban Immigrant doesn’t completely qualify as a Latino in the eyes of many Latinos. You see a Cuban and a Puerto Rican would never be in the dilemma that a Mexican, Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran etc. would be in. The wet feet, dry feet policy that the U.S. has for Cubans provides for a fast track to permanent residency and U.S. Citizenship. So as Romney struggled to sell Rubio as a Latino, and Rubio struggled to sell his fictitious Dream Act, President Barack Obama made his move.

President Obama granted a reprieve for kids who had been brought to this country by their parents at a very young age. By and through an executive order Obama made it clear, these kids would not be subject to deportation. Almost one year to the date from his change in prosecutorial discretion by and through a memorandum issued by Immigration & Customs Enforcement director John Morton, Obama lowered the boom on the Republicans.

The race was on! The Latino vote was the most desired vote. It was the game changer. All of a sudden that same sector of the community that had been devalued, kicked around, called names, and frowned upon, was a high value pawn in the political game. Without a large percentage of the Latino vote, a candidate can’t win the presidency of the United States.

Ten days later the Supreme Court rules the majority of SB1070 unconstitutional and allows the show me your papers portion to take effect. Once again, Obama comes to the rescue of the Latino and the undocumented immigrants which form an integral part of our Latino communities. Obama strips Arizona law enforcement agencies of their 287g certification rendering them helpless in trying to verify the legal status of a person who may fit the “look” of an “illegal immigrant.” Not only does Obama strip law enforcement of their 287g, he goes one step further in ordering that those determined to be unlawful Immigrants will not be picked up unless they have committed a felony. Essentially granting your average undocumented immigrant that is not a felonious criminal freedom to continue washing your cars, cleaning your houses and mowing your lawns.

So while my colleagues, the Immigrant activists complain about President Obama, it appears, it’s Obama that has done the most for Latinos and the undocumented community.

Although I don’t think our value as Latinos will bounce back overnight, I think this is certainly a start to making us whole again.

However, nothing will take away the pain that we have endured, the dirty looks, the filthy names, the inferior treatment for us and our children. As a child bussed to all white schools as part of the desegregation of America, I have been enduring this pain and abuse for many years.

A word to the wise, we Latinos don’t suffer from short memory syndrome, but as good Americans we are willing to forgive, and when we become the majority, I promise you, we will not treat you, the way you have treated us.

Carlos E. Galindo is a radio talk show host & political analyst conducting radio shows in both English and Spanish on four radio stations in Arizona. Mr. Galindo is a weekly contributor to KPFK 98.7 FM Los Angeles and W60 AM Radio, Los Angeles, San Diego and has appeared on CNN, Univision and Telemundo as a political analyst. Mr. Galindo is also an Op-Ed columnist on Prensa Hispana and the Tucson Citizen in Arizona. Carlos Galindo is President and founder of the Immigrant Advocacy Foundation, Inc.

http://www.carlosgalindo.com