VivirLatino

A spokesmodel is a spokesperson whose physical appearance contributes to brand equity.
When I think of Latina spokesmodels, I think of the women of Sabado Gigante : leggy, tetona, culona bottle blonde white women smiling holding up the next product we just have to have. They are stereotypical examples of what Latinidad should be and in general mass audiences comsume that image, internalize that identity, as much as whatever dishwashing soap the jingle is asking us to purchase.

Cecilia Muñoz, the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House, plays an equivalent role well in Latino politics. She has proven to be the Latina spokesmodel for Obama’s immigration policy, prioritizing deportations over any executive action that could be taken and attempting to sell this destructive product to us in English and Spanish.

In response to the coordinated protests across the country happening against the expansion of the Secure Communities deportation policy, the White House officially responded through a post, with Muñoz’s name, on the official White House Blog.

The title of the post, In the Debate Over Immigration and Deportations, the Facts Matter, implies that the protesters, organizations and community members are lying about the impact of Secure Communities. In other words : potential Latino voters – the White House doesn’t believe you.

Their is a call growing for Cecilia Muñoz to resign from her position. Many feel that she is incapable of stepping back and actually listening to criticisms. Some may say she is simply doing her job and that Latinos should be happy to have someone in the White House. We are told to wait until November of 2012 and let the election sort it out, not to personalize the issue. That this S-Comm is part of a larger immigration policy strategy and that Muñoz is a genius and has done much in terms of immigration.
I counter that asking how many deportations past the one million mark will we be at in 2012. Is this level of deception acceptable because it is coming from the Democratic Party and not the GOP? I am pretty certain that those whose loved ones are being deported take the issue very personally.

This is not about quitate tu pa’ponerme yo. This is not about careerism. Certainly this is about a policy that is destroying families under the cover of taking care of the “bad guys”. Cecilia Muñoz can keep selling with a smile, a service that is harmful to our communities, or she can keep it real and resign.