Latina/o Groups Warn McCain on Immigration

On the eve of the Republican National Convention, leading Hispanic national organizations sent a letter to Sen. John McCain about his party’s platform positions on immigration.

Authored by John Trasviña of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), the letter was co-signed by 19 organizations, including the League of United Latin American Citizens, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, the National Council of La Raza, the National Institute for Latino Policy, MALDEF and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

The letter urged Senator McCain to ”lead your party’s platform away from the deportation and detention path,” which it says repudiates McCain’s past positions on immigration:

“The Republican Party Platform language regarding immigration repudiates your efforts to provide a legal opportunity for immigrants who have lived steady, productive and crime-free lives in the United States to come forward, pay a fine, and demonstrate they are learning English. “

The Republican Party’s 2008 platform places immigration with national security issues at the beginning of the document. It emphasizes border security, immediate deportation of undocumented immigrants “without delay,” and explicitly opposes “amnesty.”

Here is the complete list of organizations that co-signed the letter to McCain:

American GI Forum

Dominican American National Roundtable

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities

Hispanic Federation

Hispanic National Bar Association

Labor Council for Latin American Advancement

League of United Latin American Citizens

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund

National Association of Hispanic Publications

National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials

National Council of La Raza

National Hispanic Council on Aging

National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts

National Hispanic Media Council

National Hispanic Medical Association

National Institute for Latino Policy

Southwest Voter Registration Education Project

U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

U. S. Hispanic Leadership Institute

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KJ