In Focus: The Latino Vote (continued)

"We stand at the equilibrium of both the righteousness and justice
platforms”, states Rodriguez. “Our agenda is broad, and includes such
issues as alleviating poverty, health care, education reform, climate change,
Darfur, the eradication of AIDS and even torture. And yes, the defense of
traditional marriage and the sanctity of life, but maybe from a different
perspective. As Latinos, we see the preservation of traditional marriage as
the antidote to the proliferation of gang violence. We believe, that if mom
and dad are in the home, that young man or woman would be hard pressed
to engage in any gang activity... and not only that, but their social, economic
and educational advancement is directly affected by the presence of both
parents in the home. For us the defense of traditional marriage is a matter
of survival, community survival that is”.

Rodriguez, a first generation American born to Puerto Rican parents,
identified by Newsweek Magazine as one of the leaders to watch in 2008,
has emerged as a commanding voice for Hispanic evangelicals, and
believes, that Latinos will play a key role in electing the next president.
As a group, Latinos are a “natural” republican constituency. In general
they are conservative, or better yet, traditional in their values, and in the
past, have strongly supported the republican party along issues pertaining
to family. But now, the administrations failure to pass comprehensive
immigration reform combined with the strong vocal opposition from some
members of the republican party, has become the great divide between
the two, thus placing any prior gains within the Latino constituency up for
grabs in the upcoming presidential elections.

“For Latinos, immigration is a family issue”, states Rodriguez. “Most of us,
fail to realize that those referred to as illegal immigrants are fathers and
uncles of the documented, and very much part of their communities. We
are very much in favor of protecting our borders and stopping any and all
illegal activity, including illegal immigration, but as you can imagine, it
would be very difficult to build alliances with anyone who threatens to
deport a family member”.

It is estimated, that 12 million undocumented immigrants and their families
will be affected by the absence of a national solution to the problem. And
after congress', third failure to pass a comprehensive reform last spring,
some local governments have opted to take matters into their own hands,
in many cases, with such measures as banning foreign language signs
in their towns to making it illegal to hire or rent to undocumented people,
giving way to problems of racial profiling and other discriminatory practices.

“The anti – Latino fervor and demagoguery exposed via – the immigration
debate, is an issue of major concern for the Latinos community”, states
Rodriguez. “Right now, we are the group of choice for xenophobia and
discriminatory racist rhetoric in very much the way that African Americans
have experienced from day one. We have never been down this road
before, but are now - under the guise of border protection. The rhetoric
and verbiage out there is polarizing, there's truly an anti-Latino sentiment
out there. . . that needs to be addressed”.

note: In forthcoming issues will continue to investigate the narrative of the
Latino Evangelical in America. We will examine their challenges, concerns
and triumphs in hopes to better understand the role this group plays in the
intricate fabric of our nation and its impact on America culture.

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