Senator Harry Reid pretty much handed Senator Marco Rubio his arse with regard to the DREAM Act in the below op-ed.  How is it that a gabacho cares more about Latinos than those “convenient Hispanics” such as Rubio?

Rubio becomes “Hispanic” when Tea Party extremists need him to be one.  He was an effective tool for them when they needed him to side with the harsh Arizona anti-immigrant law. And he has flip-flopped on the DREAM Act the same way Mitt Romney flip flopped on his RomneyCare.  [On a side note: These crazy Tea Party people mobilized against Obama due to ObamaCare, and now they want to elect Romney who began RomneyCare that ultimately became the blueprint for ObamaCare.   They are utterly confounded.]

Marco Rubio is all of a sudden concerned about “chain migration” but fails to tell the public that his family benefited from “chain migration.”  And now we are learning that Rubio doesn’t want DREAMers to earn their citizenship.    Mexican-Americans and Chicanos BELIEVE in legal immigration.  We are not for amnesty even though the Cubans receive amnesty under the Cuban Adjustment Act.  We know that Cuban immigrants receive tax payer dollars without first contributing a dime into our taxpayer system.  The Mexicans want to contribute to our tax revenue system, too, and they are merely asking for legal immigration.

Where are the Cuban immigrants at in Florida revolting against Senator Marco Rubio?

Don’t Cuban-Americans know that Rubio is being used as a pawn for the likes of the Heritage Foundation, NumbersUSA and FAIR to keep those of Mexican descent (and other Latino immigrant groups who don’t benefit from amnesty)  in the shadows of society?

Don’t these people know that the likes of NumbersUSA will turn against the Cubans, too, once they are finished using politicians like Sen. Rubio?

Those of Mexican descent make up of almost 70% of the entire Latino population.  The xenophobes know this which is why they need tokens like Rubio to do their dirty work and keep the Mexicans in somewhat of a powerless underclass.  Cubans make up of only 3% of the Latino population which is why the puppet masters at FAIR are willing to use politicians like Rubio who benefit from amnesty in order to keep the larger Hispanic demographic as a permanent underclass.

Speaking of NumbersUSA (a well known anti-immigrant group)….they gave Senator Marco Rubio a good grade.  They gave him a B because they know damn well what they are doing.  They are using tokens to go after the larger Hispanic demographic to do their dirty work.  The Cuban-Republicans are taking the bait and it will backfire.

Let’s identify some fears, shall we? Just why is the Republican Party afraid of being compassionate to our youth via the DREAM Act?

Answer:  Because they have been hijacked by the nativist tea party extremists and they are afraid that if President Obama signs a DREAM Act bill and/or Legal Immigration Plan — then it might create generational Latino Democrats.  You see, amigos, Republicans will not be so scared when they try to create a situation that prevents an individual from voting — thus, creating an underclass.  It’s no different than when the slave owners tried to prevent slaves and African-Americans from becoming citizens to eventually vote.  Tea Party Republicans like Rubio want the Mexicans to work for competitive labor but not to give them the right to be citizens.

And that, amigos, is the bottom line.

So much for Republicans who tout personal responsibility.  They want Latinos to vote for them in 2012 as they try not to be held accountable for their open hostility towards Latino immigrants.  I think it’s time they took some courses on how to deal with disappointment.

An excerpt of Sen. Harry Reid’s op-ed below:

In contrast, the Republican plan to relegate hundreds of thousands of young people to a permanent underclass is unprecedented in American law or history, and goes against the basic American value of equal opportunity. Instead of bringing us closer to a solution, these measures move the discussion further away from the productive middle ground once occupied by Senator Hatch and other Republicans.

Ironically, even these bills have no chance of moving forward in a Republican House beholden to the Tea Party. Republican leaders automatically denounce any such proposal as an unacceptable “amnesty.” And how much farther to the right Republican leaders will move is anyone’s guess, since Romney’s positions are about as firm as an Etch-a-Sketch drawing, in the words of his own advisor.

If Republicans have constructive ideas to improve the DREAM Act, Democrats are listening. Before the last DREAM Act vote, we adjusted age limits and made other changes to accommodate Republican concerns. They still opposed it. However, our door remains open.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/01/2723706/dont-keep-dreamers-waiting.html#storylink=cpy

Rodolfo Corky penned a controversial poem that reminds Chicanos (Mexican-Americans) today of our own fellow brother who

I Am Joaquin Luna

took his life – Joaquin Luna.  Joaquin was a DREAMer who committed suicide because he felt he had no other option and on Monday, April 2, 2012, the Minority Affairs Council will be hosting a vigil in remembrance of Joaquin Luna.  While our hearts mourn with those marching for Travyon in Florida, we will hold a vigil for Joaquin in the southwestern part of our Country this upcoming Monday.

An excerpt of the poem Rodolfo Corky Gonzales wrote in the 1960s:

I Am Joaquin

Yo soy Joaquín,
perdido en un mundo de confusión:
I am Joaquín, lost in a world of confusion,
caught up in the whirl of a gringo society,
confused by the rules, scorned by attitudes,
suppressed by manipulation, and destroyed by modern society.
My fathers have lost the economic battle
and won the struggle of cultural survival.
And now! I must choose between the paradox of
victory of the spirit, despite physical hunger,
or to exist in the grasp of American social neurosis,
sterilization of the soul and a full stomach.
Yes, I have come a long way to nowhere,
unwillingly dragged by that monstrous, technical,
industrial giant called Progress and Anglo success….
I look at myself.
I watch my brothers.
I shed tears of sorrow. I sow seeds of hate.
I withdraw to the safety within the circle of life –
MY OWN PEOPLE

Why did Corky choose the name “Joaquin”?

Was it a premonition?

Was Corky accurate when he said our fathers have lost the economic battle?

Perhaps not.

All we know is what we are left with.

Republican Capitalists have benefited from taking advantage of my people, building entire communities via construction and development projects that sustained the backbone of our country via competitive labor, right?  Now some of these so-called Republicans such as GOP Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney and Texas Congressman Lamar Smith, who come under the guise of being “Capitalists,” are in full support of self-deportation policies.   In other words, these crony Capitalist Republicans want to benefit from the competitive labor of immigrants, but then kick out the builders, construction workers, and the agricultural workers later on because they fear they will come out from the shadows of society and earn a voice to vote.

The Tequila Party Movement (female-led political counter-movement to Tea Party extremists, encouraging Latinos to vote for pro-legal immigrant politicians) is in full support of the Minority Affairs Council in their efforts to promote a vigil in memory of Joaquin Luna.   We made a promise to Joaquin’s family to never let his death go in vain, and Chicanas intend on marching with that battle cry. While Cuban-Americans such as Senator Marco Rubio remember Elian Gonzales during their Floridian election season cycles, the Mexican-Americans will remember Joaquin Luna during the November 2012 elections in the greater part of the southwest.

The DREAM Act is an Act of kindness towards our youth, despite sham Latino organizations like Libertad, which is an affiliate of The Heritage Foundation, referring to the DREAM as a “nightmare.”  How dare the Heritage Foundation refer to fixing the broken immigration system as “amnesty”?  What is their stance with regard to Cuban amnesty?  Do they plan on using the Cuban-Americans as tools for now, since they have benefits under the Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA)?  Do they enjoy pitting Cubans against the Mexicans (which accounts for almost 70% of the Latino population), only to attack CAA at a later date?

Senator Marco Rubio (a convenient Hispanic) was one of those Senators who was against the DREAM Act, and kicked Mexicanos while we were down and out in Arizona after he showed his support for Arizona’s draconian SB 1070 law.  Now he is singing a new tune because it is an election year and he thinks Latinos are gullible enough to believe his lip service.  Rubio must not have received the memo with regard to the information age and the power of social networking.  If Latinos could not trust Senator John McCain in December 2010 (who used to be for Legal Immigration Reform and the DREAM Act), what makes Rubio think we trust him?

All it takes is one act of Congress to eliminate CAA.

Joaquin Luna was waiting for his DREAM to be fulfilled, but this talented young man (one of our own — our baby) was not able to see it come into fruition.  This bright young man was on a healthy course had these United States Senators voted in support of the DREAM Act in 2010, because Joaquin was accepted into ITT and Texas A&M and the University of Texas – Pan American in Edinburg, Texas, and had high hopes. He was waiting …..

Now we wait.

We wait for  Tuesday, November 6, 2012, when we remember Joaquin Luna on election day … because I AM JOAQUIN LUNA.

Librotaficante Visits Immigration Ground Zero Sparking Another Chicano Movement

By DeeDee Garcia Blase

(Above) Piles of banned books being funneled back in to Arizona with help of Tony Diaz and Librotraficante Caravan

You have heard of drug traffickers before, but have you heard of a book trafficker, too?

The English meaning for a librotraficante is book trafficker.  This past Saturday, Librotraficante visited Tucson, Arizona, on St. Patrick’s Day.  The Librotraficante Caravan traveled from Houston, Texas, to Tucson, Arizona, carrying a payload of contraband books, creating networks of Underground Libraries and leaving community resources in its wake.

Tony Diaz is behind the Librotraficante movement and is a Texas-based novelist that spoke to several students, artists, political activists and Chicano (Mexican-American) leaders recently.  Admittedly it was depressing to hear the truth from him that this is the Civil Rights movement again except it seems that Chicanos and Mexicans seem to be the target that is driving school officials and politicians behind these antiquated ideas.   Diaz was correct to say that Arizona needs to catch up with modern laws.

Since when must we fear history and mere books?   It is absurd for us to hear about school officials trying to implement ideas that would eliminate Native American history, Jewish history as it relates the Holocaust and/or  African-American history.  Either we embrace the freedom of expression, or we do not – and I for one believe that we are on a slippery slope when we ban creative expression and books.

The Tequila Party Movement (Mexican matriarch counter movement to the Tea Party) will be ever watchful of officials and/or

Librotraficante Book passed out in Tucson, Arizona, 17 March 2012

politicians who want to erase history and our rights to freedom of expression – and we sincerely applaud the Librotraficante for sending their love to Arizona from Texas.  Leaders must emerge from those who are directly affected and hurting and those of Mexican descent are hurting right now.

I sense another strong Chicano Movement push in light of the 2012 Presidential elections.

Mexican-Americans and Chicanos  are tired of perceived anti-Latino laws here in the southwest and it is time for us to give political covering to school officials and politicians who do not perceive Mexican-Americans and our growth rate as a threat.   While there are legends or tales of 2012 being an end to things; we believe it is a beginning of an era.   Mexican-Americans should not have to feel dirty or ashamed of our history as some try to portray us.  Nay – we know who we are and we are a passionate people with hearts for fellow mankind.

Elect mike stauffer for maricopa county sheriff

Recent news below from Mike Stauffer, a candidate that Tequila Party Movement members are collecting petition signatures for in order to replace racist Joe Arpaio.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has mismanaged millions of millions and taxpayer dollars.

 

 

 

 

Once again, the cities and towns are subjected to Arpaio’s incompetence and mismanagement and the taxpayers must foot the bill for his corrupt, self-centered policies. As I stated in my note on January 29 (http://tinyurl.com/7fd42bu), Arpaio is jacking up the jail fees on the cities and towns that must use the MCSO jails for their arrests. Arpaio’s lack of management skills, lack of fiscal responsibility, and lack of desire to cooperate with the other jurisdictions in the county do not allow for innovative, mutually beneficial solutions. In fact, Arpaio’s stubborn clinging to his self-awarded status of toughness has led him to refuse to participate in and actively block any innovative progress.

As sheriff, I will seek out new ways to share cost burdens with the other jurisdictions in Maricopa County. Some of the jail operations burden can be shared by assigning MCSO Detention Officers to existing detention facilities in the cities and towns to assist with county bookings and transporting of prisoners to county facilities and court as necessary. This will allow the city/town police officers and detention personnel to remain in their jurisdictions and return to patrolling your communities faster. I will also work with the courts to implement video court appearance technology, which will help insure on-time court appearances.

I will seek out innovative ways to reduce jail costs, while providing high quality, constitutional services to the people of Maricopa County.

(See Mike Stauffer’s First Year Plan here (http://www.votestauffer.com/Stauffer2012/The_Mission.html) for more details on his plans for cost/personnel sharing for jail operations)

Read the Arizona Republic Article Here:

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/03/06/20120306county-cost-cutting-takes-toll-suburban-police.html

We are glad to highlight DREAM Act activist, Erika Andiola of Arizona as she is mentioned in this story from FOX NEWS LATINO:

Opinion: Dreamers’ Open Letter to Marco Rubio

From the National Tequila Party Movement.

For Immediate Releae

20 February 2012

Shirl Mora James, Lead Co-President (Civil Rights and Immigration Lawyer): 402-890-2295

info@nationaltequilapartymovement.com

Sheriff Babeu’s “I am Gay” Excuse Does Not Minimize Legal Consequences

Phoenix, AZ — Sheriff Babeu’s recent resignation as the co-chair of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s campaign in Arizona does not address the pertinent legal question that needs to be answered in this case.  Specifically, on February 18, 2012, Sheriff Babeu publicly acknowledged that he is gay and had a personal gay relationship with an undocumented man called Jose.  Sheriff Babeu also disclosed that Jose alleges that he (Babeu) used threats of deportation to silence Jose from disclosing anything about their personal sexual relationship to the public.

It is common knowledge that Sheriff, Paul Babeu, is a tough law-and-order and anti-immigrant advocate.  However, the Sheriff’s recent revelation of having a personal sexual relationship with an undocumented (non-citizen) man exposes his hypocrisy.  Furthermore, Sheriff Babeu’s “I am Gay excuse” does not begin to address the federal legal questions that must be answered in this case.

The legal questions that need to be quickly answered are as follows:

(1) Whether Sheriff Babeu was breaking immigration laws or sex trafficking laws while in a relationship with “Jose”, his ex-lover, who is apparently undocumented.

(2) Whether Babeu’s ex-lover, Jose, was living with him during their relationship…if so, then Sheriff Babeu could be charged with harboring an alien in the United States.

(3) Did Sheriff Babeu assist his lover to come to the U.S.?  If so, then that’s another federal felony law violation.  The “I’m Gay excuse” does not begin to address these serious questions that must be answered.

Ultimately, Sheriff Babeu needs to do some explaining about how he could be such vehement anti-immigrant advocate while engaging in a personal sexual relationship with an undocumented man (non-citizen).  Conversely, the biggest question is whether the personal sexual relationship between Sheriff Paul Babeu and Jose,  wasa voluntary relationship on Jose’s part?  Sheriff Babeu has a lot of questions that must be answered.

Therefore, it is paramount for U.S. Department of Justice to bring forth an investigation of Sheriff Babeu’s recent activities to determine, if the Sheriff violated any federal laws by allegedly using threats of deportation to silence his ex-lover, Jose.

###

Mitt Romney and his Arizona Co-Chair, Sheriff Babeu 2012

Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta and OZOMATLI plays to save ethinic studies tonight in Tucson!

If you live in Tucson, Arizona, please attend this important benefit to help save ethnic studies.

Celebrated LA based culture mashers Ozomatli will be performing a special benefit show on February 18th at the Rialto Theatre in Tucson to help raise money and support the Acosta plaintiffs of Save Ethnic Studies. The Acosta plaintiffs are teachers of various Mexican American Studies classes in the Tucson Unified School District who are involved in a lawsuit, and as Ozo singer / guitarist Raul Pacheco asserts, “Ozomatli fully support their cause, and we will be donating funds based on the Acosta plaintiffs need for fair legal representation.”

Ozomatli encourages anyone seeking more information on this issue to visit http://saveethnicstudies.org to understand their cause and, if so inclined, to donate to the Acosta plaintiffs need for fair legal representation.

Pacheco says, “playing in Arizona is not a simple thing if you are trying to respect the various methods of activism that exist in support of fair policies on immigration, education, and its political and legal systems. This is why Ozomatli has decided to play in Arizona only when we align ourselves with worthy causes and donate, promote and support to these causes and the organizations that represent them.”

Raul adds, “Ozomatli hope you support Save Ethnic Studies!”

In their sixteen years together as a band, Ozomatli have gone from being hometown heroes to being named U.S. State Department Cultural Ambassadors. Their music — a notorious urban-Latino-and-beyond collision of hip hop and salsa, dancehall and cumbia, samba and funk, merengue and comparsa, East LA R&B and New Orleans second line, Jamaican ragga and Indian raga— has long followed a key mantra: it will take you around the world by taking you around L.A.

Ozo is also a product of the city’s grassroots political scene. Proudly born as a multi-racial crew in post-uprising 90s Los Angeles, the band has built a formidable reputation over five full-length studio albums and a relentless touring schedule for taking party rocking so seriously that it becomes new school musical activism. “Just being who we are and just doing what we’re doing with music at this time is very political,” says bassist Wil-Dog Abers. “The youth see us up there and recognize themselves. So in a playful, party-type of way, I think it’s real easy for this band to get dangerous. We are starting to realize just how big of a voice we actually have as a band and how important it is for us to use it.”

Ozomatli has spent 16 years working diligently to spread its message of peace, communication and understanding through music, with a long standing tradition of performing for children all over the world, from the schools of North St. Louis to the orphanages of Southeast Asia.
Ozo’s special “Save Ethnic Studies” show in Tucson on February 18th is a continuum of the band’s longstanding devotion to multi-cultural studies and the hard work of the students everywhere

Saturday, February 18, 2012 at the Rialto Theatre, in Tucson, AZ
Tickets go on sale on Friday, January 6th at 10am at luckymanonline.com, the Rialto Theatre box office, all Bookman’s locations.
To charge by phone, call 520-740-1000 – priced at $23.00 (advance); $25.00 (day of show) plus applicable fees for general admission tickets

 

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$23 general admission advance
$25 general admission day of show

Breaking News:

I spoke with former Maricopa County Counselor — Rick Romley and he said he would be more than happy to put his support behind Martin J. Quezada to fill in for Arizona Rep. Richard Miranda who recently resigned yesterday.  Romley has put in a call to Mary Rose Wilcox asking her to appoint Quezada.

I want to personally thank a good friend — Rick Romley for supporting new emerging Latino leadership via Martin Quezada.   Martin is also running for 2012 and hope you will contribute and support his cause.

Rick Romley has served our country in multiple capacities and facets and this is a very important endorsement.  Romley was the County Attorney for Maricopa County, Arizona from 1989 to 2004.  He is a hero of mine because he is a veteran of the Vietnam War, serving in the United States Marine Corps,he received numerous commendations for his service in that war, including the Purple heart medal.  He was severely wounded by a land mine, losing both legs above the knee and suffering other injuries.

This is great news!  We hope Mary Rose Wilcox will appoint Martin Quezada to fill in for Richard Miranda.

GOOD NEWS! national tequila party movement deedee garcia blase

I’m glad to see former Republican Governor of New Mexico quit the Republican party race.  Please remember that I wrote about Gary on December 11, 2011, where you can read the whole story in it’s entirety here.   Apparently Gary will be seeking the Libertarian Party Presidential nomination.  Good for Gary!   We are glad to see him not being utilized as a doormat.  Now he can really influence the 2012 political landscape.  This is yet another indication that the Republican Party is too slow to keep up with how fast the political landscape continues to shape itself.  Demographics are changing rapidly and their short-sighted views and lack of strong leadership will cost them the future.  We are pointing towards a larger Independent Voting chunk. The GOP is looking more and more antiquated, out of date and too conservative without  out-of-the-box thinkers.

From POLITICO:

POLITICO Breaking News
————————————————-
Gary Johnson will quit the Republican primaries and seek the Libertarian Party presidential nomination instead, POLITICO has learned. The former two-term New Mexico governor, whose campaign for the GOP nomination never caught fire, will make the announcement at a press conference in Santa Fe on Monday. Libertarian state directors will be informed of Johnson’s plans on a conference call Tuesday night, a Johnson campaign source told POLITICO.

An excerpt from my December 11th story essentially encouraging Gary Johnson to run as third-party or Independent below:

Gary Johnson should run as third-party in 2012

By DeeDee Garcia Blase

Let us call it what it really is – Gary Johnson has been marginalized throughout the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary Elections.

Here is an emailed press release I received from the Gary Johnson campaign on November 22nd, 2011:

RNC RESPONDS TO JOHNSON CAMPAIGN DEMAND FOR FAIRNESS

November 22, 2011, Santa Fe NM — In a letter signed by its legal counsel (text below), the Republican National Committee has responded to a request by former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson’s presidential campaign that the RNC “exert some leadership and reclaim the nominating process from the national news media who are today pre-ordaining the viability and success of candidates.” The campaign’s request was conveyed in a letter to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus in late October, and expressed Johnson’s frustration that Republican party leadership is allowing the news media to “preselect” the presidential nominating field by arbitrarily deciding which candidates are allowed to participate in nationally-televised debates.   <snip>

“There is also something fundamentally wrong when one of the criterion for participation in the process — embraced by the national party — is a fundraising threshold. Since when does the size of one’s contributor list have anything to do with qualifications to lead the nation, and how is a candidate to be expected to raise millions of dollars when he is denied the opportunity to even appear on the debate stage? “Gary Johnson has a message that deserves to be heard, and a track record of controlling spending and the size of government that is unmatched by any other candidate, especially those who the news media have deemed worthy of inclusion in their debates and polls. This is a message that we believe a majority of Americans want to hear and we will get that message out, with or without the support of the national party.”

The Republican Party should not be afraid of  including GOP Candidate Gary Johnson.  They should embrace him and let the chips fall where they may, after all he did climb Mt. Everest which is a tremendous accomplishment  in and of itself and he deserves a second look as an individual who sets high goals and accomplishes them.   The GOP is doing an effective job of neutralizing the man who was once the former Governor of New Mexico.  This is more evidence that the Republican Party has gone mad particularly when most political strategists know that New Mexico is a key swing state and it ought to be reckoned with.

Gary seems to be taking a visionary approach on behalf of the Republican Party and it is simply not conservative enough for them.  What are some of the reasons Gary is being neutralized?

1.  He knows the immigration system is broken and advocates for fixing it by reforming a reasonable legal approach.

2.  He supports healthy economic principles that reject isolationism, protectionism and restrictionism with regard to reforming immigration.

3. He believes in reforming marijuana laws and parallels it to the Prohibition days.

In a recent POLITICO article, here is what Gary had to say about the Republican Party:

“I feel abandoned by the Republican Party,” Johnson said in a phone interview. “The Republican Party has left me by the wayside.” …

“If I’d have been included in 16 of the last debates we wouldn’t even be having this conversation,” Johnson said.

Continue Reading    Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/69110.html#ixzz1gGT748Lj

I completely understand Gary’s sentiments, and all I can say to him is: “Join the Club.”

Let’s face it — Americans need to be rejuvenated!  Gary has some right ideas  with some of the answers he has for a broken nation and fixing systems that ought to be resolved by the federal government via our federal lawmakers. Admittedly, I especially like Gary Johnson’s ideas on how to fix the clearly broken immigration system.  He articulates his plans and visions to put our country back on course in an articulate manner and because he is being neutralized by the Republican Party and the media, I believe it is time for him to make his voice be heard  and run as an Independent.  Independent voters are the way of the future, and we see that with College Students who are registering themselves more and more as Independent voters.  Americans are growing weary of partisan politics, and they want a candidate who is simply serious about taking on tough issues head on.

Gary Johnson should run as thrid-party candidate in 2012

Note to Niall O’Dowd:  An Irish-American’s view on some Irish reaction to the passage of HB3012 / immigrant visas.

Ben Franklin famously said: “We should hang together or we will surely hang separately”

This is true in the immigration debate as well. Only together, as Mexican, as Irish, as Asian, as Indian, as Cuban, can we coordinate a mass effort to come together to move Comprehensive Immigration Reform/DREAM Act forward. These are our children, our collective future we are talking about here, not yours, not mine, OURS.

We are the collective village and these kids are our collective future. Are there enough Irish DREAMERS to support the aging Irish population? No. Can any one group support just their own, and sustain it for many generations?, no. This nation is a melting pot, the lines blur generation after generation and over time cultures blend and open.

This idea that the passage of a bill that is good for one group but excludes the other is acceptable, is NOT acceptable. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. Currently, 4 countries, have had their visa quotas raised for the purpose of family re-unification. These are the nations that have the highest backlogs and slowest turn around times. Recently, a bill is to be introduced that will also benefit the Irish, who have lower numbers of Green Cards and lower visa quotas as a response to HB 3012.

Framing a debate around the idea that “they got theirs (at our expense) and we want ours (at their expense)” is disingenuous, and short-sighted. One deals with family reunification, and high-skilled non-immigrant work visas. The other with allowing kids that were raised here with a dubious entry, to stay in the only country they know. The third bill, if ever introduced, allows a pathway to citizenship for all who entered without permission and have worked and otherwise abided by the law a chance to come out of the shadows and live in the light.

The debate outlined by Niall O’Dowd in his article on HB 3012 is completely awry, HB 3012 does not deny green cards to the Irish, it is not about green cards it is about immigrant visas, it is even stated in the title, “to eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, to increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored immigrants”

We can work together to get something for all of us, or we can work separately and at odds, and end up with nothing for anybody.

Margaret Reyes is an immigrant activist and is part of building strong relationships and coalitions between Latinos and the Irish since both share the same plight regarding the immigration issue.

Shane Wikfors operator of Sonoran Alliance is a far right wing Republican extremist website filled with anti-immigrant and anti-Latino commentary.