SOMOS REPUBLICANS IN TIME MAGAZINE STORY: Latino Republican Mormons Speak out Against Romney

From Time Magazine Story regarding Mitt Romney:

“Yes, we are happy that we have a Mormon running for president,” said Packard, a Saratoga Springs, Utah, resident and member of Somos (We are) Republicans. “But a lot of us aren’t supporting him because of his stance against immigrants.”

While stressing the Mormon faith’s historic connection to converting immigrants, Latino Mormons point directly to immigration stories in the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ recent statements against policies targeting immigrants. They also view Romney’s stance against proposals giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship as hypocritical since Romney’s great-grandfather, Miles Park Romney, who had five wives and 30 children, sought refuge in Mexico after passage of an 1882 law that barred polygamy.

“We view immigration as a God event,” said Ignacio Garcia, a history professor at Brigham Young University and a Sunday school teacher at his Mormon ward. “The book says no one comes to the Land unless they are brought by God.”

SOMOS REPUBLICANS IN UNIVISION (Largest Spanish Media Outlet in Nation) regarding Romney’s immigration stance that puts off some Latino Mormons

Univision News Tumblr

Romney’s immigration stance puts off some Latino Mormons

Latinos make up only a small portion of Mormons in the U.S., but they’ve split with many of their co-religionists over Mitt Romney’s immigration stance. (Flickr: More Good Foundation).

By MATTHEW JAFFE
Channel: Politics

<snip>

And the country’s largest Latino Republican group – Somos Republicans – said they would oppose Romney due to his immigration policies, deciding to back rival Newt Gingrich instead. What makes the opposition to Romney of some Latino Mormons different is that their disapproval of his immigration stance stems not from business or professional reasons, but rather from religious ones.

According to the Associated Press’ Russell Contreras, some Latino Mormons such as Honduran-born Antonella Cecilia Packard believe Romney has betrayed a basic Mormon belief of protecting immigrants.

“A lot of us aren’t supporting him because of his stance against immigrants,” she told Contreras.

Latino Mormons, the AP story noted, cite immigration stories in the Book of Mormon and some recent statements by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints against various policies that target immigrants. In addition, per the AP, they see Romney as a hypocrite because his own great-grandfather Miles fled to Mexico after an anti-polygamist law was passed in 1882.

SOMOS REPUBLICANS IN ABC NEWS: Romney’s Immigration Stance Alienates Some Latino Mormons

By Matthew Jaffe

Romney’s Immigration Stance Alienates Some Latino Mormons

(Image Credit: Rainier Ehrhardt/AP Photo)

(snip)

Even the country’s largest Latino Republican group – Somos Republicans – said it would oppose Romney because of  his immigration policies, deciding to back rival Newt Gingrich instead.

What makes the opposition to Romney of some Latino Mormons different is that their disapproval of his immigration stance stems not from business or professional reasons, but rather from religious ones.

Some Latino Mormons such as Honduran-born Antonella Cecilia Packard believe Romney has betrayed a basic Mormon belief of protecting immigrants, according to a story by the Associated Press’ Russell Contreras.

To Win 2012 Presidential Election the GOP Needs to Think Outside of the Box the same way Jon Huntsman does

To Win 2012 Presidential Election the GOP Needs to Think Outside of the Box

By Antonella Packard

What has happened to the party of Lincoln and Reagan? It has lost its way and if does not start thinking strategically, it will become the minority party for many years to come.

Let’s start with the current presidential candidate crop. They are all vying for being the “most conservative” of the lot. However, do they really know the meaning of “conservative”? It is likely that they don’t.

This country was built on compromise, which is another dirty word in present day politics. However, the inability to reach across the aisle and do what is right for America has been lost. Both major parties are to blame. Rhetoric has become poisonous and demagoguery is the order of the day.

We have lacked statesmanship for a long time and the nation knows it. Herein is an opportunity for the GOP if they could only stop trying to see who is the most conservative and who can find scapegoats to fry. Romney picked on undocumented children to attack and that will come back to haunt him and the GOP. The Latino vote does count and in elections every vote counts. Just remember that the Iowa caucuses were won by a mere 8 votes. The GOP needs serious lessons in electoral college mathematics if it allows the noxious rhetoric against unauthorized immigration to continue, particularly the DREAMers.

The GOP should look at finding a nominee who can be a unifying force. Someone who will do what is best for America and not just a party. Someone who understands the precepts of justice and compassion – a person who has business acumen and can lead this country with its best foot forward.

That candidate is not Romney, Santorum, or Gingrich. The one that fits this profile is Jon Huntsman. He is an out of the box Republican and that is who is needed to successfully defeat Obama.

Like Romney, Huntsman is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Unlike Romney, Huntsman has diplomatic experience and has championed instate tuition for undocumented students during his tenure as Utah Governor. Huntsman is most definitely the Republican candidate who is most outside of the box and that is what Republicans will need to beat President Obama on November 2012.

Utah Somos Republicans Leader Reacts to Jerry Lewis Win in Recall Russell Pearce Elections

Jerry Lewis True Conservative

For Immediate Release

10 November 2011

info@somosrepublicans.com

Somos Republicans is very proud to have endorsed a true conservative who is a model of traditional Republican Party values in Arizona’s Legislative District 18 race, Mr. Jerry Lewis. I am honored to write this statement on behalf of the organization. My husband’s pioneer ancestors were crucial in the settlement of the Mesa and Gila Valley area and our family has strong ties to Arizona. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, make my home in Utah and serve as Northwest Director for Somos Republican.

On behalf of Somos Republicans, I would like to commend Jerry Lewis for his positive and clean campaign – something very rare these days. Mr. Lewis never attacked his opponent. This type of leadership is what the Latino community has wanted in Mesa for a long time, a fresh voice to help represent their interests. Mr. Lewis is a fellow Latter-day Saint, a Conservative Republican who has focused his message on the things that matter such as improving the economy and education system. Lewis, unlike his opponent, is in step with the Mormon Church’s policy on immigration, and believes in a balanced approach that does not separate families. The three decades as a community servant and his commitment to preserve family values has garnered the overwhelming support for Lewis in the Hispanic Community.

Sincerely,

Anonella Cecilia Packard, Northwestern Director

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.

Hispanic Republicans look to raise profile on immigration / Northwestern Regional Director – Antonella Packard

The Utah Legislative Preview by Northwestern Director, Antonella…

Antonella gives you the breakdown of what she sees unfolding.  From the Salt Lake City News she says:

Immigration Roundup
This session, more than a dozen immigration-solution bills are waiting to be introduced as Utah solutions to the nation’s immigration conundrum. How many will make it through to committee and House and Senate floors remains to be seen, but one thing is clear—they can’t all become law. The four most prominent bill proposals are listed below:

Likely to pass? A 50-50 chance, depending on cost of implementation

Carl Wimmer: Repeal In-State Tuition for Children of Undocumented Immigrants
With the federal DREAM Act killed, Rep. Carl Wimmer, R-Herriman, decided Utah might as well follow the fed’s lead in denying opportunities for children of undocumented immigrants and has proposed legislation to repeal the in-state college tuition currently offered to Utah students who have gone to a Utah high school for three years and whose parents are undocumented immigrants.

“It’s fundamentally unfair that an American-born citizen from Evanston, Wyo., would have to pay more to go the University of Utah than an illegal immigrant,” Wimmer told The Salt Lake Tribune in a Dec. 22 article. “It’s fundamentally flawed.”

For Antonella Packard, Utah director of the conservative Latino advocacy group Somos Republicans, however, it’s Wimmer’s logic that is flawed.

“Somebody who hasn’t lived in our state hasn’t contributed to our economy,” she says pointing out that undocumented students or families who meet the current requirements would already have contributed sales and property taxes to the local economy, more so than a student from out of state.

“I think [Wimmer] is looking at the 4th Congressional seat—and he’s made no bones about it,” Packard says. “In order to ingratiate himself, he is going after kids who are graduating and getting ready for college.”

Likely to pass? It’s too close to call. Legislators have attempted to repeal in-state tuition for children of undocumented immigrants every year since 2007, each year failing by a narrow margin, but this year the momentum may be there for repeal.

Northwest Director, Antonella Packard, Packard is the model of what Somos Republicans are looking for in leadership: conservative, Constitution-loving, free-market-type thinkers.

Our superstar, Antonella, is going to take the bull by the horns in the northwestern part of the United States.  She has a great start!

You can read the rest of the article here:

Antonella Packard to Lead Conservative Latinos

La Rasa Republicans: Somos Republicans to engage Hispanics.

By Eric S. Peterson
If you didn’t know that LDS Church founder Joseph Smith’s teachings have direct bearing on the DREAM Act—the recently defeated legislation to allow children of undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship—then you haven’t thought about the scriptures the way Antonella Packard has. Packard, the new Utah director of the national conservative Latino grass-roots group Somos Republicans, says the Lord’s dictation in LDS scriptures that “every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment” was a lesson Republican senators like Utah’s Orrin Hatch forgot about when they killed the Dream Act.
“They actually want to punish the children for the sins of the father?” Packard says, quickly reciting the chapter and verse of the Doctrine & Covenants scripture before stopping in mid-sentence. “Can you tell I was a Sunday school teacher?” she asks with a laugh.

Packard is the model of what Somos Republicans are looking for in leadership: conservative, God-fearing, Constitution-loving, free-market-type thinkers. It also helps that she’s willing to take on her own party for bowing to extremist anti-immigration laws like Arizona’s State Bill 1070—the passing of which was the catalyst for the organization’s creation. The group, with 6,000 members in 12 states, is taking a different approach to fighting Draconian immigration laws and leaders. Instead of beseeching the establishment for compassion, they’re organizing by registering voters and educating Hispanics about immigrant friendly and unfriendly politicians so that Latinos are a powerhouse in coming elections instead of political scapegoats. The group has also formed a political action committee to contribute to immigration-friendly candidates.

“We’re a healthy chunk of the population,” Packard says. But, she says, voter turnout is so low that “there are going to be repercussions.” According to the Census Bureau, Hispanics make up 12 percent of Utah’s population, but only 2 percent of voters in the 2008 election were Hispanic.

While such a dismal turnout may mean Latino demographics aren’t courted by politicians the same way as other constituents, Packard shares her organization’s optimism that her group has potential to win over historically unengaged Latinos.

As a free-market Republican and an LDS Church member, Packard puts energy into reminding Utahns that Latinos are natural Republicans: religious, family-oriented, with conservative sentiments about abortion, marriage and other social issues. She also brings the message to Hispanics that not all Republicans want to deport first and ask questions later. “It’s about getting [Hispanic] folks motivated; let them know this is the party that does mirror their values.”

After emigrating to the United States from Colombia as a university student, Packard came to Utah, where she married into a family of entrepreneurs and was converted to the LDS Church. She got involved early on by helping Mexican immigrants navigate the citizenship process. In recent years, her business chops in financial consulting earned Packard positions with the Utah Hispanic Republican Assembly and as chair of the Utah Hispanic Latino Legislative Taskforce.

Mark Alvarez, a Salt Lake City immigration attorney who has been active in assisting youth and student groups in fighting oppressive immigration policies, is aware of Packard’s political clout in Utah County, and likes the Somos Republicans group for its message.

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