A Republican Led Immigration Discussion
|
Print This Post
Statue of Liberty
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
- The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus; Statue of Liberty inscription, 1883
Standing proudly since 1886 in our New York Harbor, “Lady Liberty” has been a symbol for the entire world to see what we believe in as a country. Inscribed on the pedestal on which the statue stands is the sonnet by Emma Lazarus, the most memorable of words shown above. And just a stone’s throw away, Ellis Island stands as witness to one of the most incredible moments in history, the immigration of northern, southern, and eastern Europeans into the United States.
Today we stand at another moment in history, which has had, and is continuing to have, one of the most profound effects on American history, and that is the influx of Hispanics from Latin America. In the early 1950s, under the United States’ Bracero program, the country legally admitted about 400,000 Mexican farm workers each season. Levels of illegal immigration from Mexico at that point were not high enough to cause concern, but as we know today, is a concern. Another influx of Hispanics was in the early 1960’s, when Cubans fled in exile from the communist regime of Fidel Castro and were effectively forced onto the shores of the United States of America, and often settling on the closest shores of Miami and New York City. These tended be some of the more educated elites of Cuba and today, their descendants are some of our more influential Hispanic American citizens in this country. The system was a more orderly system back then, and the issue of terrorism and border security was not as grave. Today, since the attacks of 9/11, border security and protecting our homeland is one of our top concerns. But how we handle the immigration of issue of today will be key to the future of the Republican Party.
There are many in the Republican leadership that use immigration as “red meat” for their constituent base back home, but I believe immigration is an important issue the Republican Party needs to focus on if we are interested in a change in leadership in 2012 and beyond. At this point, we are all familiar with the changing demographics and know that winning the hearts and minds of the Hispanic American voters, will be critical in effecting change in 2012. Even some of the loudest critics of immigration such as Lou Dobbs, former CNN anchor, in an interview with Maria Celeste on Telemundo November 20th, has shown wisdom in recognizing the political importance of Hispanics and is trying to smooth the waters. “I hope that we will begin with Maria and me and Telemundo…in this national debate that we should turn into a solution rather than a continuing debate and factional contest.” These are smart words for a man who is possibly going to make a third party run for the New Jersey Senate seat in 2012 or even President.
Now, I realize that much weight has been given to a Pew Hispanic Center study that showed that as a policy issue, immigration is fifth on the list of important issues with Hispanics. To an extent, I think this has given the Party the false impression that this is a non-issue for Hispanics. However, I am not surprised with results of the report, as I believe it was the way the questions were asked that led to those results. I hypothesize that immigration is the #1 “heart and mind” issue for Hispanics and that we must address it as a Party. That is why the methodology that I use with all my clients is not a “flash poll” type methodology, but one based on derived results. It goes back to the premise of what people say and what people do are two totally different things. I will not bore folks with methodology differences at this point, but suffice it to say that using flash poll results to set policy is not the best path.
In the case of Hispanics and immigration, the areas that they said are more important to them, does not surprise me, because those are common to human nature and people’s view on life and their well being. BUT, in this particular case, with Hispanics, our attitude, dialogue and actions (or inaction) on immigration serve as a litmus test (an ante, so to speak) for Hispanics which we must pass to be able to even have a credible discussion with them on the other elements that are important to them. We must win their trust and respect first, and it is our stance on immigration that serves as a key test. Until we win them over on this front, will we be able to have legitimate and credible conversations with them, and even more so, win them over enough to gain their vote in an election.
To that end, I have laid out the objective for a Republican led discussion as the following: “To win the hearts and minds of the Hispanic American voter and win back the three million votes lost in the 2008 election that will ultimately help the GOP to a presidential victory in 2012.” From this, I have laid out the central goal of an immigration solution, and that is: “To restore the rule of law by creating a system that serves the nation’s economic, security and humanitarian interests and values.” I am approaching this discussion very much as I would if I were back running my billion dollar business at Kraft, which is to first and foremost get agreement on objectives and goals, before going much further. I believe it is critical to get people on the same page; otherwise the discussions tend to get sidetracked with political positioning.
If we can get legitimate agreement as a Party on just our objectives and central goals for a Republican led immigration discussion, I believe we can then start setting the framework for further action to win the hearts and minds back of the Hispanic American voter. In my first op-ed, I mentioned the American Dream, and I think, this dream would be the umbrella unifying theme for us, with discussions around education, health care, economic prosperity, and security & safety as the four key pillars. The hope is that this framework can help us be more solution focused and less rhetoric driven.
I know this is a tough for the Party to tackle and in many cases, a divisive issue. But, I truly believe we need to tackle this one to win in 2012 and beyond. I look forward to dialoguing with people on this topic, and would welcome dialogue that is solution focused.
Alfredo Ortiz is Partner and Senior Vice President at Real Truth Marketing & Joy (RTM&J), a boutique strategy consultancy focused on developing growth strategies for Fortune 1000 companies. He received his B.A. in Economics from Pomona College and his M.B.A in Marketing and Finance from the University of Michigan.
Related posts:
- It is Time for Republicans to Act Courageously on Immigration By Luis R. Guevara. Thousands rallied in Los Angeles this...
- Congressman Lamar Smith (TX-R): “GOP Should Stick to Values in the Immigration Debate” Congressman Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas, wrote an...
- Libertarian Perspectives on Immigration By: Noah Clarke. There are lots of things I...
- The Republican National Hispanic Assembly Congratulates and Supports George P. Bush This past weekend the Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA)...
- The Right is Taking the Wrong Approach With Hispanics By Rachel Alexander. The Republican Party has been trying...
Mr. Ortiz, I truly enjoyed your first article. And this was a homerun.
“In my first op-ed, I mentioned the American Dream, and I think, this dream would be the umbrella unifying theme for us, with discussions around education, health care, economic prosperity, and security & safety as the four key pillars. The hope is that this framework can help us be more solution focused and less rhetoric driven.”
I think immigration is such a sore subject right now, no politician wants to come near it with a 10 foot pole. It’s a no win situation. However, I agree. If someone needs to come up with a plan, and a decent one at that, it needs to be the Republican Party.
I completely Agree. History has showed that at the time of historical shifts in party affiliation by one specific ethnic group it is [not] that the group seeks to accommodate its political interests to one party, it is the party who accommodates its political goals inline with that of the group in question. The early Irish immigrants of the 1940s became Democrats ( in the north and south) only when Martin Ban Vouren aligned the interest of the Democratic Party and goals the Irish-American, independence From Britain, that he was able to solidified the “Irish bloc“ for the Democrats. Blacks never sought to be Republicans, nevertheless when Abraham Lincoln forced an amended to the Constitution for the emancipation of blacks, Blacks naturally became Republicans. It was until FDR, once he became president, abolished lynching in the south the Democrats won blacks back. Again, blacks never accommodated their demands to that of the Democratic party; the party accommodated their goals according to the needs and demands of blacks.
The same goes for Jewish-Americans, the Italian-Americans, Easters European and so forth. Even the remarkable and successful “southern strategic” created by Nixon and that allowed the shift from Roosevelt Democrats to Republicans in the south and “ethnic whites” in the northeast, built the Reagan Democrats. This goal was developed and fulfilled by aligning the goals of the Republican party to those interests of specific groups in the north and south.
Thus, it is imperative that the Republican Party, if it truly wants to successfully attract new potential Hispanic voters, it must align its goals with the interests of the Hispanic community and not the other way around. Sure we can wait for another generation and still rely heavily on the older shrinking base of the GOP, but our vision should not be myopic and focus on shorter gains at the expenditure of long term gains. Historically, a loyal ethnic base develops when a party support the issues that a group perceives as sensitive and dear their community. Hispanics are already social conservatives, but we can not just assume than that is enough reason for them to be Republicans; you must build a stronger bond by building bridges. Lets Think Fordward