Posted on 09/14/2007 2:35:42 PM PDT by Altura Ct.
LANCASTER, Pa. - Leaders from two statewide groups of Latino Republicans are criticizing the Lancaster County Republican Committee for inviting Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta to speak today at a donor luncheon.
Robert S. Nix, chairman of the Pennsylvania Hispanic Republicans, and Luis Mendoza, chairman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly's Pennsylvania chapter, slammed the local GOP, accusing it of acting against Latino interests.
The two groups shared their concerns with the local GOP this week.
"Personally, being of Mexican descent, I find a lot of (immigration reform) rhetoric really offensive, and I feel increasingly backed into a corner in my own party," Nix said Wednesday during an interview.
The county GOP, however, said the invitation of Barletta is not an endorsement of the mayor or his controversial Hazleton ordinance that would have punished people for doing business with illegal immigrants.
"It's an opportunity to bring in a person who is a newsmaker, to hear what he has to say, and to see if there aren't some discussions that can occur from something like this," Dave Dumeyer, chairman of the Lancaster County Republican Committee, said Wednesday. "But it does not represent any endorsement of his viewpoint."
The luncheon — at the Pressroom Restaurant, Lancaster city, at noon — is by invitation only. Invitees are donors who gave at least $500 to the county GOP.
Mendoza, a former Lancaster city councilman, said Barletta's ordinance was inherently racist, and having the Republican mayor appear in Lancaster was a "slap to the face" of local Latinos.
Hazleton's Illegal Immigration Relief Act, passed by City Council and signed by Barletta, called for fining people who rented property to illegal immigrants and suspending the permits of businesses that hire them. It caused intense national interest to focus on the small coal-region town of 23,000 people.
A U.S. District Court in July struck down the act as unconstitutional, holding in part that it was an illegal infringement of federal responsibilities.
The city is appealing.
Nix said he opposes the ordinance because he agrees with the court that illegal immigration is a problem for the federal government to solve.
To allow municipalities to enact their own illegal immigration policies would create "hostile and nonhostile" areas not only for illegal immigrants but lawful immigrants, too, he said.
"We should all be working together to force our Congress to get a backbone and address this issue," Nix said.
Nix and Mendoza said to tackle illegal immigration, they support better border security and the plan put forward by President Bush and a bipartisan Congressional team that would have provided a mechanism for the estimated 12 million to 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States to become citizens.
Opponents labeled the program "amnesty" for people who broke the law. Nix, however, referred to the program as something else. "Nobody is saying amnesty, but what we are saying is something like a plea bargain," he said.
Opponents ultimately derailed the plan in June.
Both said the county GOP, by welcoming Barletta to the luncheon, was pushing Hispanics away from joining the ranks of Republicans.
"The concern we have is these kinds of moves makes it so hard to bring Latinos to the party to join us," Mendoza said.
Dumeyer said he didn't see the situation that way.
"I don't know that to be true or not," he said. "I don't know that to be the case."
Mendoza was unmoved.
"Lou Barletta doesn't necessarily represent the values of the Republican Party," he said.
‘No, you can’t turn the USA into another third-world cesspool of corruption like your Mehhiiccko”
Iffen you don’t like it, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!
Latinos are free to join the Democratic Party if they think the LAW should be ignored. I really have no use for these people.
The fact that they support other Latinos who are here illegally, simply on the grounds that they are Latinos, is RACIST TO ITS CORE.
Hey Nix, I'm English/Irish. And I don't get all bent out of shape when an English or Irish CRIMINAL gets punished for their crime. What makes you so damn sensitive?
I seriously doubt you've heard any negative or offensive rhetoric about Mexicans entering this country LEGALLY.
Bush made a GIGANTIC mistake when he refused to differentiate between legal and illegal Mexicans. Now we will see more and more pressure on hispanics to vote Democratic. Far from gaining hispanic votes, his recent actions will be a turning point toward losing them.
Too bad. For four or five years I thought he was doing pretty well on gaining Hispanic votes, and that he understood the difference between hispanic citizens and criminal hispanic invaders. He proved me wrong.
Maybe if Robert S. Nix and Luis Mendoza became Americans, they would be more concerned with American interests instead of latino interests and be less upset by who the GOP invites to speak.
“Hey Nix, I’m English/Irish. And I don’t get all bent out of shape when an English or Irish CRIMINAL gets punished for their crime. What makes you so damn sensitive?
I seriously doubt you’ve heard any negative or offensive rhetoric about Mexicans entering this country LEGALLY.”
B T T T
Thats all I really need to hear. That statement tells me:
1) Mr Mendoza regards himself first and foremost a member of the Latino/Hispanic “tribe” and
2) His first allegiance is the his tribe, NOT his fellow American citizens or our laws.
If a citizen of this country feels it necessary to have their primary allegiance to their own race/religion/culture first and foremost, I will regard them as a traitor first and foremost. That includes such luminaries as Geraldo, the first hispano-journalist, instead of just a journalist.
Thanks. Attitudes like that realllly piss me off.
Pisses me off too!!
Honest to God, I have never considered myself anything other than American. Some family members came from Italy, some from Poland, some from Germany at some point but as far as my family was concerned we were just American. I guess thats why I never became insulted when someone would tell an ethnic joke because I’ve never considered myself ethnic in any way. If you are a Republican you should believe in the rule of law. Lou Barletta felt that the influx of illegals was bringing crime to his community. This past week he was proven 100% right with that huge coke smuggling ring busted in his town. I would tell them if they don’t like it, leave. Don’t let the door hit ya in ass on the way out.
It appears more and more that many in the pro amnesty crowd are the racists. They want special privileges for people of Mexican/ 3rd world origin. In other words, everyone else has to play by the immigration rules except for Mexicans. Why are Mexicans so special that they deserve to be treated better than everyone else and do not have to abide by our laws?
ping
These so-called “Latino Republicans” will vote for Democrats anyway.
Do you have some reason to believe that these men are not citizens?
I have reason to believe they are something called “latinos” before they are Americans. Which I think I quoted in my original post. If they were Americans they wouldn’t have problems with a GOP that put Americans first. Don’t you agree?
“slammed the local GOP, accusing it of acting against Latino interests.”
If demanding that we actually enforce our immigration laws and not turn a blind eye to the CRIME of illegal immigration is “acting against Latino interests”....then to hell with these people. They’re not even committed Americans, much less committed Republicans.
The Latino Republican Caucus motto: Law and Order....well, except for The Race....we get special priveleges.
This “Caucus” is a disgrace to every Hispanic immigrant that had to play by the rules to get here.
Maybe they are acting in American's interests and not latino interests ...your racism is showing....
IMHO these activist Mexicans are the biggest narcissists on the planet...but what else would you expect from LaRaza types?
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