‘Your Vote Is Your Voice’

Mitt Romney spoke recently in San Diego about the need for the nation to clamp down on illegal immigrants and not provide amnesty. What's your take on Romney?
His hypocrisy is astonishing. The reason Mitt Romney is alive today is that his father, who was born in Mexico, was supported by the sanctuary movement when Mormons were being persecuted. And now he's turning his back on those principles. Romney never brings that up. The person who introduced Romney yesterday at his San Diego rally was Congressman Brian Bilbray, who was a lobbyist for the extreme right-wing Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), founded by John Tanton. That tells it all right there. Romney is going after the Tom Tancredo, Duncan Hunter, Minutemen crowd. He's using the politics of fear and deception. He switches like the wind, but he's been firm on his anti-immigrant position.

How important is the endorsement of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson?
Very. It doesn't quite compare to Ted Kennedy's, but Richardson's support carries weight. Not so much his endorsement, but his campaigning. He speaks Spanish, he's part Mexican, he's one of us. Of all the candidates, Richardson was the most qualified to be president, with his experience with the United Nations, as secretary of energy, governor, congressman, ambassador, his negotiating the release of hostages, etc. He's a worldly person with a great reputation, but he's not the kind of person who fires you up when he speaks. I know him personally: he has charisma and is sharp, but he loses a lot of that on television. But he'll have a key cabinet position. That's why he's not endorsing yet.

How would you describe the tone of the illegal immigration discussion?
There are, understandably, more important issues to many voters, so the candidates aren't talking as much talk about immigration as they are about the economy, the situation in Iraq, the housing crisis—things that are important to all communities, including Latinos. But we are hearing more as the campaign moves to the Southwest. Most people in this country believe in diversity and human rights. The polls show that two-thirds of Americans want humane and comprehensive immigration reform.

What aspects of the immigration debate are the presidential candidates not talking about?
They need to do a better job of telling the truth and keeping hate out of the debate. They need to stop perpetrating the myth that there is some sort of line that poor folks from Mexico and Latin America can stand in to come here. There is no such line for the poor. And they need to stop talking about undocumented workers as if they're all criminals. The candidates also need to be reminded that more than 10,000 people have died at the border since Operation Gatekeeper was put into effect in 1994.

What else do you think the candidates need to be reminded of?
That there really are two Americas. John Edwards was right, and I'm sorry he's out of this race. I took a lead role in the recent devastating wildfires here in San Diego, and I saw how the wealthy Anglo communities were well taken care of but the poorer Latino communities did not receive the reverse 911 calls, etc. We all must be included in America's successes as well as our challenges, and we face strong challenges. The Latino community is patriotic, but we demand to be treated with respect.

© 2008