VivirLatino

Even though I’m going to be on a panel next week on HITN to talk about NY State elections (stay tuned for details), electoral politics gross me out, especially the way I have seen paid politicians play the issue of immigration and it’s reform. The name of game is careerism, not doing what is best for the communities they were elected to represent. This is especially true for poorer immigrant communities who don’t have the power of the donation dollar behind them or even the power of the polls since they cannot vote. This makes it easy for politicos to do the politically expedient thing as opposed to the right thing. I’m not stupid, I know that’s the way the game is pero it doesn’t make it right especially when we are talking about people’s lives.

Let’s take Congressman Luis Gutierrez for example. I’m not picking on him because I am against him, or because I have a beef with him, but rather because he himself has put himself out there. No es a quitate tu pa ponerme yo. I have no interest in “doing” electoral politics if you will. My feet are firmly planted in the calle.

Recently, Gutierrez came out in favor of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) as part of larger Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In some ways, this a great but there are two problems. One : For months, when Gutierrez was pushing his CIRASAP Bill, the exclusion of LGBT families was a calculated move, aimed to keep the support of faith organizations. Two : most DC insiders say that comprehensive immigration reform is dead this year. So what’s the point? What’s the game? It’s pretty much the same bait and switch that is currently being played with the DREAM Act.
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