Latina Republican Leader Responds to Herman Cain Deadly Fence Remarks

Reaction to Comments by GOP Presidential Candidate Herman Cain

Dear Mr. Cain,

Allow me to get to the point. You are not presidential material and your comments about how you would deal with the immigration issue prove that this. It is appalling that in this day and age politicians resort to incendiary and cruel comments to pander to voters. You have brushed off your comments as being merely jokes and WE ARE NOT LAUGHING.

Regardless of what side of the immigration issue one happens to be, we need to agree that the issue is a human issue. Do not forget you are referring to the electrocution and mauling of God’s children. You claim that you do not care about political correctness. This is not about political correctness, this is about basic humanity. Our Constitution provides you with the right to free speech. Use it responsibly.

Hate filled rhetoric is bad business for party and most importantly the nation. The party has lost Latino voter support and it will take decades before it recovers. You claim you don’t pander to any groups. It is very clear that you are pandering. In your efforts to pander to the extremists in the Republican Party, you have alienated a group that can swing presidential elections in key states.

It seems that some polls are showing you in the lead; let me assure you that this is a pyrrhic victory for polls in primaries are fickle and the damage that you are inflicting on the party and the nation is no laughing matter. The end result will be four more years of Obama.

I am the Northwest Director for the largest Latino Republican group in the nation, Somos Republicans. As diverse as the Latino community in the United State is, a recent poll conducted by impreMedia/Latino Decisions found that a majority of Latino voters (53%) said they know someone who is undocumented, while one-fourth (25%) said they know a person or have a family member who is facing deportation or who has been deported. The poll was conducted among registered voters, who by definition are citizens of the United States.

The majority of Republicans do not espouse extremist views on immigration and many of us want to see the immigration system overhauled because it is clear that what we currently have in place is not working.

This letter to you is also a call to the Republican National Committee (RNC) and other GOP Presidential Candidates to repudiate your rhetoric.

Sincerely,

Antonella Packard
Somos Republicans Northwest Director

A pro-immigrant LDS conservative

Antonella (author of oped) is the northwestern regional director for SOMOS REPUBLICANS.  She writes an excellent article that made it in the Salt Lake City, UT Tribune.

You can be a Utah conservative and a strong advocate for the civil rights of immigrants — but it isn’t easy. I should know.

Throughout the years I have asserted that support for immigrants’ rights goes hand-in-hand with “conservative, Constitution-loving, free-market-type” thinking.

As a university student, I came to the United States from Honduras, where I had converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After moving to Utah I married into a family of entrepreneurs.

Early on, I got involved in helping Mexican immigrants navigate the road to citizenship. In recent years, my business and community involvement earned me positions with the Utah Hispanic Republican Assembly and the Utah Hispanic Latino Legislative Taskforce, where I served as the Republican co-chair.

But in December, when an incident at the Salt Lake office of Sen. Orrin Hatch sent a DREAM Act activist to jail — where the youth sat without being charged on a federal marshal hold — I raised a strong voice in support of the detainee. The aftermath resulted in my resignation from the Utah Hispanic Republican Assembly. I knew that opposing Sen. Hatch could be damaging to any political aspirations and professional career, but I forged ahead on principle.

Advocating for marginalized communities certainly isn’t limited to Hispanics. After an incident with a Bosnian Muslim refugee who was involved in a shooting, I spoke out on behalf of the Bosnian Muslim community, which had many insults hurled its way.

I was recently named one of 15 Freedom from Fear Award winners from around the country. The awards honor ordinary people who have committed extraordinary acts of courage on behalf of immigrants and refugees — individuals who have taken a risk, set an example, and inspired others to awareness or action.

I believe that all of us can stand up for basic human dignity for all people, including immigrants. After being nominated for this award, I have become northwest director of the national Latino grassroots group Somos Republicans and the first Utah state director for the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Read the rest of the story here.

Mormons of Mesa, Az Should Learn from Mormons of Salt Lake City, Ut

MEDIA ADVISORY

Hispanics Applaud Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints’ on Immigration

For Immediate Release

For questions regarding the LDS contactAntonella Romero Packard – 801.427.4242

Phoenix, AZ – Hispanic Republicans commend the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS Church) for supporting a “responsible approach to the urgent challenge of immigration reform” at the federal level. The LDS Church is a very conservative organization with strong presence in many areas throughout the Southwestern Part of the United States, and their declaration comes at a time when many of these states are cobbling anti-immigrant legislation to present during their upcoming legislative sessions.

The LDS Church joins the throng of religious and spiritual communities across the nation asking for a comprehensive, humane approach to immigration reform at the federal level. While it is distressing that any ecclesiastical body has to remind its flock to love their neighbors and that the definition of neighbor has to be spelled out, it is heartening that more religious organizations are raising their voice in support of, as the LDS Church’s statement reads, “laws that reflect the best of our aspirations as a just and caring society. Such laws will properly balance love for neighbors, family cohesion, and the observance of just and enforceable laws.”

This is something the LDS Church knows something about as this is the very reason why it has such a strong presence in the Southwest. LDS Prophet Brigham Young led an exodus of Mormons across the plains after unjust legislation had been passed expelling Mormon families from their homes in Missouri in 1838 and an edict calling for their extermination was issued. Families are central to the doctrine of the LDS Church and we could not agree more on their position that there is “an ever-present need to strengthen families. Families are meant to be together. Forced separation of working parents from their children weakens families and damages society.”

Now that we have the Catholic Church, and now the Mormon Church taking a reasonable and compassionate approach on immigration, we hope that other major Evangelical churches throughout our country will take a similar stance. We especially hope that the LDS community of Mesa, Arizona, will take a similar stance to the message that comes from Salt Lake City, Utah, and we hope that they will make the effort in supporting the principles of the Utah compact on immigration.