From the National Tequila Party Movement:

For Immediate Release
November 7, 2011
info@nationaltequilapartymovement.com
480.200.3748

Joaquin Luna Family Contact is Marie Ana Mendoza: 956-862-2407

Latina Female-led Political Movement Applauds Senator Dick Durbin For His Continued Leadership on the DREAM Act

On November 29, 2011, the National Tequila Party Movement  asked for United States Senators to pass the DREAM Act before they go on their Holiday or Christmas vacation breaks. We are happy to hear news that Senator Dick Durbin is taking a leadership role with regard to the DREAM Act in memory of Joaquin Luna, a Texas undocumented teenager who felt he had no other option with the current broken immigration system.

Lead Co-President of the National Tequila Party Movement, (D) Shirl Mora James, also Civil Rights and Immigration lawyer states:

“Our greatest gratitude to Senator Dick Durbin for his wisdom, compassion and understanding the plight of our DREAMers.  The DREAM Act youth are part of the fabric of this great nation and we welcome them into the privilege of full citizenship of the United States of America.  This is a monumental economic windfall of approximately 2.7 trillion dollars.”

Founder and Co-President of the National Tequila Party Movement, (I) DeeDee Garcia Blase states:

“We hope Republican Senator Orrin Hatch will follow the principles of the Utah Compact and help Senator Durbin take the lead in support of the DREAM Act as he once did approximately ten years ago.  This is an emergency and we hope he will act before he takes his Christmas vacation. We are specifically asking Democratic Senators Max Baucus, Kay Hagan, Ben Nelson, Mark Pryor, Jon Tester, and Joe Manchin to vote in support of the DREAM Act.  We also ask Republican Senators who are up for 2012 re-election to stand on the right side of immigration since they lead in states with high Hispanic population.  We are especially asking the retiring Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison to take a female compassionate leadership role since this occurred in the State of Texas.  We want all Senators to be remembered in American history as Senators who had compassion on our American DREAMers. ”

Marie Ana Mendoza, family member to Joaquin Luna states:

“As a family member of Joaquin Luna, I believe we need the DREAM Act.  I know that some people may not need it, but we want to make it happen for people who want to attend school and who do not have problems with the law.”

We pray the Holiday Spirit resides in the lives of our United States Senators and we hope to see them pass an emergency Joaquin Luna DREAM Act in the name of our children and our youth.

Thank you Julio Salgado for this artwork and memorial of Joaquin Luna, 18 y/o DREAMER who this past Friday took his own life.

Joaquin Luna’s Blood on the hands of Senators John McCain, Jon Kyl, Senator Orrin Hatch, etc. for failed DREAM Act 2010 vote 

I’ll be damned, here comes your ghost again…..

Children / Youth weep after failed 2010 DREAM Act vote.

The ghost indeed reared it’s ugly head as we approach the one year anniversary of that failed 2010 DREAM Act vote with the tragic news and passing of Joaquin Luna — an undocumented teen DREAM Act student who took his life. He felt he had no hope and nowhere to turn to.  We have already talked about the tragic story of Joaquin Luna here and here.  It appears the 2010 ghost is going to haunt the GOP in 2012, but will the ghost of Christmas Past cause these senators to repent before the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come visits them in 2012?

Latinos warned politicians in 2010 of the consequences of them not supporting the DREAM Act, and we continue to see bloodshed to this day. Whatever happened to leadership within the United States Senate?  We all know that President Obama would sign off on a DREAM Act bill if it were to land on his desk today, so let’s do the number crunching and calculate who is responsible for the failed DREAM Act 2010 vote by name.  Being a leader means having the ability to lead when it is unpopular to do so.  The politicians who voted against the DREAM Act or did not show up at all to vote (to attend Christmas parties instead) have the blood of Joaquin Luna on their hands. By not supporting the DREAM Act, they have proved to Latino parents, mothers, and families that they have no compassion in their hearts for innocent kids.

Before I (Ms. Blase) changed my voter and party affiliation from the Republican Party to the Independent Party, we encouraged DREAM Act activists to continue the good fight — not only for themselves, but for their parents, too with regard to immigration reform of a clearly broken system.

It doesn’t stop with the politicians!  I distinctly remember the Heritage Foundation referring to the DREAM Act as a nightmare.  You want

DREAM Act students weep at the failure of the 2010 DREAM Act vote.

to know what the nightmare is?  When children feel they have no hope!  Seeing innocent bloodshed that could have been spared in the land of the free and the brave is a travesty.  Since when did we become cowards in our own country?  Have we allowed the acts of 9-11 to be used as a fear mongering tool against children who want nothing more but to contribute their talents to our country?  Children who have pledged the allegiance to the flag as Latinos and Mexican-Americans fight valiantly for American wars under honorable terms?

Republican and Conservative Pundits from the likes of Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Lou Dobbs, Shane Wikfors SONORAN ALIANCE (Arizona far right wing blog), RED STATE (another far right wing blog who had the audacity to beg the question on whether or not Rick Perry’s DREAM Act was “worse” than RomneyCare), NEWSMAX, and so many more have shown no mercy on youth. Let’s not forget the worst of the worst when it comes to those 2012 Republican Presidential candidates who have taken a populist anti-immigrant approach.  Some of the worst Republican Presidential candidates are the likes of Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, Rick Santorum, and Michele Bachmann.

The Washington Times wrote a story on Joaquin Luna today and we are thankful to see them post this because we do not want this incident to just go away.  Joaquin took his life the day after Thanksgiving, and we just cannot forget about why he did what he did. We can’t sleep at night if we don’t exhaust all means to promote fixing a clearly broken system in the name of the babes and our youth.

Family: Illegal-immigrant student martyred himself for Dream Act

An illegal-immigrant student in Texas who committed suicide the day after Thanksgiving left letters saying he felt trapped by his lack of opportunities and, according to his family, he “decided to sacrifice himself for the cause.”

High school senior Joaquin Luna, 18, dressed in a suit, kissed family members, went into the bathroom and shot himself, according to his brother, Diyer Mendoza. In the letters he said he had lost hope in the chances for the Dream Act, which is legislation that would have legalized illegal-immigrant students and young adults but which was blocked in Congress last year.

“He was actually doing this for the cause, mainly the Dream Act,” Mr. Mendoza said. “He was doing this to show politicians, to show that something had to be done because there are a lot of kids out there in the same situation.”

 

We have provided a list of the Senators below who have the blood of Joaquin Luna on their hands, and the female-led political Tequila

Courtesy of KGBT Action 4 News

Party Movement will not allow this story to be silent.  We will remember the actions of 2010 when politicians ask for our Latino vote in 2012. The only 3 Republican Senators who do NOT have blood on their hands are Senators Robert Bennet, Dick Lugar, and Lisa Murkowski. It is the responsibility of federal lawmakers to fix the broken immigration system.  This is why U.S. Senators get elected.  To do the job Americans expect of them and to fix broken systems that will benefit Americans and the American economy. It’s no wonder why mere State lawmakers are introducing unconstitutional and anti-immigrant laws — they are waiting for United States Congressmen and Senators to act and fix the situation under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution!

It’s absurd to see Texas Congressman Lamar Smith and Senator Marco Rubio support enforcement-only anti-immigrant policies.

We have been dismayed that the United States Senate has not shown compassion upon our Hispanic youth, as it voted down the DREAM Act.  The disappointment we feel is indescribable.

Who are the Democratic Senators who should not receive voting support from the Latinos?

Democratic Senators Max Baucus, Kay Hagan, Ben Nelson, Mark Pryor and Jon Tester voted against the DREAM Act.   Senator Joe Manchin skipped the DREAM Act vote in order to attend a Chistmas party but forgot to take the Christmas Spirit with him when a bill that would help children and youth was due for a vote. Had these 6 Democratic Senators voted in favor of the DREAM Act, this legislation would have passed.

There were 6 Democratic Senators who did not vote in support of the DREAM Act, however, there were 39 Republican Senators  below who also have the blood of Joaquin on their hands.  They showed no mercy and compassion before they took their Christmas vacations in 2010, and we are wondering if they will allow the 2011 Christmas Spirit to move them on the right side of immigration of American history.  Will Senator John McCain and Senator Jon Kyl retire with the legend of being anti-children and anti-immigrant? Hell, Senator Orrin Hatch clearly doesn’t stand by the principles of the Utah Compact.  Isn’t this nation great because of the immigrants that landed on Plymouth?

Below is a list of United States Republican Senators who will receive an F on an immigration score card currently being prepared in light of the 2012 Presidential Elections.  An immigration score card will be circulated to all High Hispanic populated states and our media contacts.  We encourage the below United States Senators to pass the DREAM Act and fix the broken immigration system before they take their Holiday or Christmas vacation in 2011.  The judgment that is passed on our children will be reciprocal.

Now that we have pointed out the pesky Democratic Senators, let’s point to all of the Republicans Senators who voted Nay during the DREAM Act vote in December 2010:

Alexander (R-TN),
Barrasso (R-WY),
Bond (R-MO),
Brown (R-MA),
Brownback (R-KS),
Burr (R-NC),
Chambliss (R-GA),
Coburn (R-OK),
Cochran (R-MS),
Collins (R-ME),
Corker (R-TN),
Cornyn (R-TX),
Crapo (R-ID),
DeMint (R-SC),
Ensign (R-NV),
Enzi (R-WY),
Graham (R-SC),
Grassley (R-IA),
Hutchison (R-TX),
Inhofe (R-OK),
Isakson (R-GA),
Johanns (R-NE),
Kirk (R-IL),
Kyl (R-AZ),
LeMieux (R-FL),
McCain (R-AZ),
McConnell (R-KY),
Risch (R-ID),
Roberts (R-KS),
Sessions (R-AL),
Shelby (R-AL),
Snowe (R-ME),
Thune (R-SD),
Vitter (R-LA),
Voinovich (R-OH),
Wicker (R-MS),

Note the 5 Democrats who voted nay. 60 votes were needed on the aye side for the measure to invoke cloture, which would have concluded debate on the matter so it could proceed to a vote for or against passage.

Not Voting – 4
Bunning (R-KY)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Manchin (D-WV)   *Note:  Democratic Senator Manchin chose to attend a Christmas Party instead of voting.

*Note: Senator Marco Rubio repeatedly voiced his opposition against the DREAM Act and the blood of Joaquin is on his hands, too.  He is the worst of them all because he knows that Cubans receive privileged amnesty and does nothing to fix the broken immigration system knowing full well that other Hispanic ethnic groups do not receive special benefits that have been afforded to his family who migrated from Cuba.

We have approximately one year before the Presidential elections.

Latino Hispanic Vote 2012 Emphasis

In a nutshell, how do we condense the work of a decade within one year?The only thing Latinos have in this race is the leverage in High Hispanic populated states a/k/a key electoral states.  Politicians like Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas need to be replaced by moderate and immigrant friendly politicians.  Simply put:  Texas has no business being anti-immigrant.

The Tequila Party needs to focus on the Democratic Senators who voted against the DREAM Act of 2010.  The Democrats who voted against our children in the super majority are Senators Max Baucus, Kay Hagan, Ben Nelson, Mark Pryor and Jon Tester.  Had these 5 Senators voted in favor of the DREAM Act, this legislation would have passed.   Those who did not cast their votes are shameful. The Senators who lacked the spine and fortitude to vote in support of our youth are Senators Orrin Hatch, Jim Bunning, Judd Gregg, and Joe Manchin.  They voted against our youth and a price will be paid to that regard.  Bottom line:  we have to put pressure on those senators who are up for re-election to vote in support of immigrant friendly bills BEFORE their primary election 2012 election dates.

Below are the states we are watching very closely.

*Note:  PEW did not provide us with all of the state information and we are still gathering results from Census Bureau.

Election 2010 State Fact Sheets from PEW Hispanic Research

The state fact sheets below contain data on the size and social and economic characteristics of the Hispanic and non-Hispanic eligible voter populations. These fact sheets are based on the Center’s tabulations of the Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey. Eligible voters are defined as U.S. citizens ages 18 and older.

Mapping the Latino Vote: Latino Eligible Voters by State and Congressional District

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1.     California
There are 5.4 million eligible Hispanic voters in California, 24% of all eligible voters in the state.

2.     Texas
There are 3.8 million eligible Hispanic voters in Texas, 25% of all eligible voters in the state.

3.     Florida
There are 1.8 million eligible Hispanic voters in Florida, 15% of all eligible voters in the state.

4.     New Mexico
There are 525,000 eligible Hispanic voters in New Mexico, 38% of all eligible voters in the state.

5.     Nevada
There are 224,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Nevada, 14% of all eligible voters in the state.

6.     Colorado (Tom Tancredo effect)
There are 434,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Colorado, 13% of all eligible voters in the state.

7.     Arizona (Arizona will be like Colorado due to anti-immigrant SB 1070 bill that motivates Latinos against GOP or  Russell Pearce effect).
There are 766,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Arizona, 18% of all eligible voters in the state.

8.     New York
There are 1.6 million eligible Hispanic voters in New York, 12% of all eligible voters in the state.

9.     Illinois
There are 749,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Illinois, 8% of all eligible voters in the state.

10.  Nebraska (DREAM Act state) There are ____ eligible Hispanic voters in Nebraska, __% of all eligible voters in the state.

11.  Michigan
There are 183,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Michigan, 2% of all eligible voters in the state.

12.  Massachusetts (High Irish Undocumented – strengthen Irish relationships)
There are 256,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Massachusetts, 6% of all eligible voters in the state.

13.  Pennsylvania (Daryl Metcalfe effect).
There are 289,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Pennsylvania, 3% of all eligible voters in the state.

14.  Utah
There are 104,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Utah, 6% of all eligible voters in the state.

15.  Connecticut
There are 202,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Connecticut, 8% of all eligible voters in the state.

16.  New Jersey
There are 645,000 eligible Hispanic voters in New Jersey, 11% of all eligible voters in the state.