CPAC 2013 – Immigration Panel Talks Solutions, Realities

Tackling one of the most controversial issues in politics, a panel of policy experts led a conversation at CPAC titled ” Immigration “Respecting Families and the Rule of Law: A Lasting Immigration Policy.”

Panelists included:

Dr. Whit Ayers, President, North Star Opinion Research
Dan Garza, Executive Director, The LIBRE Initiative
Helen Krieble, Founder and President, The Vernon K. Krieble Foundation
Jenny Korn, Executive Director, American Action Network
The Honorable Raúl Labrador
Moderator:  Helen Aguirre Ferré, Host, “Zona Politica”The moderator for the panel was journalist Helen Aguirre Ferré who began the immigration discussion saying “there isn’t a topic today that has done more to divide our nation unnecessarily.”

Selected comments by the panelists include:

Dr. Whit Ayers: Regarding the projected influx of young immigrants over the next few decades, “If we hope to have a vibrant center-right coalition, we better reach out aggressively.”

Dan Garza: Talked about the immigrant experience and his families personal story saying he was taught “hard work, perseverance and access to a free market will help us achieve in America.”

Jenny Korn: “Immigration reform is a conservative issue.” She continued, “You can be conservative and be for immigration reform.”

The Honorable Raúl Labrador: “We can offer a modern immigration system that keeps us strong, safe, and free.” Labrador continued, “It’s time again for the Republican party to again become the party of change.”

One of the biggest applause for the Labrador came when he said “We have too many Republicans that speak like conservatives and act like moderates. We need Republicans that speak like moderates and act like conservatives.”

For up to the minute updates follow me at @BettinaInclan on twitter.

 

Covering CPAC – Lineup Showcases Hispanic Conservatives

Greetings from the Conservative Political Action Conference were Hispanic Conservatives are poised to have a strong presence at the nation’s largest gathering of conservative activists. Discussing topics from economy, immigration, foreign policy to coalition building at National Harbor outside of Washington D.C. from March 14 – 16 the conservative activist with diverse Hispanic backgrounds will provide some fresh perspective to this important national summit.

Among the conference noted speakers include two very prominent Republican Senators of Hispanic decent, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Cruz will give the key note speech at CPAC He will become the first Hispanic in CPAC’s 40-year history to deliver the keynote address.

Stay tuned throughout the week for more updates.

Below are some of the Hispanic speakers speaking on CPAC panels (This is not the full panel). For more information and to see a full list of speakers.For today, Thursday, 3/14 some select highlights:

Republican PAC Launches Pro-Immigration Ads Supporting Senator Graham

Today from Politico’s morning score, they report on a new ad from Republicans for Immigration Reform supporting Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Republicans for Immigration reform: $60,000, TV and cable (statewide in S.C.; March 13-19).Charlie Spies, co-founder and treasurer of Republicans for Immigration Reform: ”Senator Lindsey Graham understands that immigration plays an integral role in the way South Carolinians work, live and do business. With Sen. Graham’s support, Republicans can lead the way on a comprehensive immigration reform package that modernizes the laws and encourages economic expansion, competition, and job creation in South Carolina and across the country.”http://bit.ly/WHaA0l

Recently we reported how Republicans For Immigration Reform were ready to get very involved this cycle and provide cover to Republicans supporting passage of a real solution for immigration.

A Look At ALL the Languages of the US (MAP)

A quick visual that America is truly a diverse nation of immigrants. This map illustrates the top language, other than English, spoken at home in each county in the country. No surprise, Spanish is the most popular second language in the U.S. Thanks to Washington Post’s The Fix, who like us, is obsessed with maps.

“Who knew that Italian was so popular in a county in southeastern Montana? Or that French was so prevalent in all of Maine? Or that Scandanavian (Norwegian, Swedish etc.) was the prevalent second language in the northernmost points of North Dakota and Minnesota? The map serves as (yet another) reminder that most of all politics is (still) local.”

The map comes courtesy from the Sunlight Foundation. (Click the map to see a bigger image on their site.)

Wish I could see which is the second most spoken language in each county. I’m pretty sure we would see a spike in Asian languages.

TopNews Hispanic Update – 3.7.2013 — A shift away Chicano? Silicon Valley’s Immigration Reform

Top news of the day for all those interested in Hispanics and politics:

Miami Herald: Hispanic Leadership Network To Meet In Coral Gables

Building upon a pro-immigration reform advertising campaign launched last Sunday, the Hispanic Leadership Network (HLN) today announced its third annual Miami Conference to be held April 18-19 at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami, Florida. Under the theme “Family Reunión,” the conference will be chaired by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutiérrez.

NYT: Democrat Latinos Gain Political Muscle, and Fund Raiser

The New York Times takes a look at the Futuro Fund, a fundraising arm of Obama campaign that raised $32 million from fellow Latinos soliciting donations and engagement in the President’s re-election. The Futuro Fund was founded by “ a trio of Obama donors: Mr. [Henry R.] Muñoz, as controversial in San Antonio as he is prominent; Andrés W. López, a Puerto Rican lawyer with two Harvard degrees; and Eva Longoria, the actress of “Desperate Housewives” fame.

Politico: W.H. Seeks Tech’s Help on immigration

In Silicon Valley the big concern on immigration law is focused on high-skilled foreign nationals whose advanced degrees and unique technology skills are highly sought after, as well as making it easier to allow foreign entrepreneurs starting companies in the U.S. to live here. The challenge for those pro-immigration reform activists pushing for comprehensive reform is to get the tech world on the bandwagon. There is now a strategy to change that. Read more at Politico.

KPBS: Declining Interest in “Chicano Studies” Reflect A Latino Identity Shift

Hispanic are becoming part of the mainstream and see themselves as “American” and this reality is being seen on college campuses who are seeing a decline in “Chicano Studies” enrollees, even with record number of Hispanic college students. KPBS Reports:

He said understanding the community’s demographic evolution is key. The Latinos on university campuses today are the children of the large wave of immigrants who came to the U.S. in the 1980s and 90s, well after the Chicano movement’s heyday.

“It means that many of these young people don’t know what the term Chicano means in the U.S. context,” Mariscal said. “So it’s really the demographic change, and the culture that those new young people bring, that is slowly moving off center stage the term Chicano, and therefore Chicano Studies.”

Unlike the Chicano generation, which saw itself outside the mainstream and was clearly a minority, today’s young Mexican-Americans increasingly are the mainstream. Many are voting, participating in the political system from within. The four-decade-old Chicano movement is increasingly a vague memory, the term imbued with nebulous meaning.

INFOGRAPHIC: Blacks and Hispanics Are More Likely to Use Twitter

AdWeek illustrated some great data recently published by Pew Research Center, the first of its kind study that analyzes social media use by various demographics.  A strong majority of internet users, 67 percent, are active on social media platforms like Facebook, Instragram and twitter. Yet, who and how social media is used varies greatly from groups to group. Twitter is popular with internet users 18-29 and Hispanics and blacks. Instagram is particularly appealing to Hispanics, blacks and women.. Though I published the results of the survey a few weeks ago, this infographic was too good, that I had to share.

 

 

Rand Paul, Marco Rubio and Jay-Z on the U.S. Senate Floor

For almost 13 hours U.S. Senator Rand Paul took over the Senate floor to filibuster President Obama’s nominee for CIA director, John Brennan, and challenge the administration’s drone-strike policy. From the inception of the filibuster at 11:47 am the junior Republican Senator from Kentucky became the focus of the conservative blogosphere and twitter. Eventually various colleagues joined in on the filibuster including Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. John Thune, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Ron Johnson, Sen. Tim Scott, Sen. Jeff Flake among others.

Filibusters are famous not only for their length but what Senators do/say to extend time. Sen. Rand Paul read from Alice and Wonderland. Senator Cruz read tweets in support of Rand Paul, quoted Shakespeare and lines from the movie Patton.  In contrast, the Miami born Senator Marco Rubio quoted from Jay-Z and Wiz Khalifa and referenced The Godfather.

Quoting Jay-Z, Sen. Rubio made a very important point. Rubio wondered out loud if his Democratic colleagues would have joined the filibuster  if it was Republican President George W. Bush in the White House and implementing these same drone-strike polices, instead of President Obama.

There are many who don’t agree with Senator Rand Paul, saying what he did was unnecessary. Yet, one of the points he did make was a need for transparency in government. A promise made and broken by this administration.

See more outstanding moments from the Washington Post and from National Review.