I’ve said it before and will say it again … we are seeing very nice Chicano leadership come from California and Texas via the Castro brothers, but Arizona Chicano politicians seem to be lagging and lacking in a state where SB 1070 originated from.  We are seeing superstar leadership from a freshman Texas Democratic Congressman via Joaquin Castro has already laid out policies he plans to take to Washington, calling for “comprehensive immigration reform” to address the presence of an estimated 15 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

Arizona Family reported:

Rep. Ed Pastor, a Democrat from Phoenix, says legislative attempts to fix the nation’s immigration problems will probably have to wait until summer or possibly longer.

The Mexican-American community does not want immigration reform to be on the back-burner because they believe politicians in Washington D.C. should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.  One notable Arizona immigration lawyer, activist and leader, Jose Penalosa, stands in criticism of Arizona Congressman Ed Pastor for  taking a back seat to legal immigration reform at “Immigration Ground Zero.”   Rising superstar via Joaquin Castro ought to get more support from his Mexican-American counterparts — particularly from Arizona.

Jose Penalosa (Immigration and DREAM Act activist and leader) states:

A friend of the immigrant community? Not! An advocate for his community where “ground zero” of the immigration debate is located? Not! No wonder why the Congress’ approval rating is so low. Yet, he still wins elections because the establishment supports him to the detriment of the public. Who’s gonna hold Congressman Pastor accountable for CIR?

 

If you live in the Phoenix area, and if you are interested in finding out why Pastor might be taking a back seat to immigration, please call his office at (202) 225-4065 or (602) 256-0551.  Tell Ed Pastor to publicly support Joaquin Castro’s immigration reform plan today.  We are happy to see new Mexican-American leadership take the bull by the horns — even if it is from Texas, and if the Arizona delegation does not have a plan in place … then they ought to support Castro’s plan so we can stop the bleeding on issues that come from the likes of SB 1070.

Mitt Romney has been up to his old tricks in getting the Presidential Candidates to move further to the right on the immigration issue.  You would think the GOP establishment would learn from the failure of far right wing extremism when it comes to the immigration issue.  A moderate Republican, Jerry Lewis, beat an extremist one (Russell Pearce) in a very “red” state here in Arizona or commonly referred to “immigration ground zero”.

The GOP has massive lessons to learn because the State of Arizona is one of the most extreme Republican states in the country.  The Jerry Lewis win is a wake up call to the establishment, but will they learn?  If Mitt Romney is their ‘establishment guy’ then they had better think again if they want to ‘really’ give Obama a run for his money.  Mitt Romney will be lucky to get 9% of the vote with his disgusting anti-immigrant rhetoric and tactics since 2007.

Regarding proof of citizenship at a Rick Perry event, Eva Millona of Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy says:

“It’s disturbing, especially given his record on immigration,” said Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. “I find that discriminatory.”

Steve Rodriguez of Colorado (a key swing and Presidential state) says:

“Second-string politicians such as Mitt Romney and Herman Cain continue to use harsh rhetoric and political posturing to gain a minute of fame for denouncing commonsense debate.

“Political extremists such as former Arizona Senator Pearce are finding out that political rhetoric is no way to fix our dysfunctional, broken immigration system. Governor Perry in the past has shown the courage to not only show compassion but present commonsense solutions. We encourage him to resist the far-right wing bullies and do what is right for America.”

Here is a flyer that Mitt Romney mailed out in which he tried to paint all of the other 2008 GOP candidates as being too soft on immigration below: