La Cartita News

Is Michael Bloomberg Key For Comprehensive Immigration Reform?

La Cartita --- While the superficial argument against Michael Bloomberg resides on primarily his massive wealth (most of which is given away), those voters who lean Democrat may be wise to ask themselves if he is the best candidate for achieving what was, at best, neglected under the Obama administration: Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR).

No Candidate Is Beholden To Us

To an extent, most prominent Democratic candidates or figures have provided a type of lip-service to Mexican, Mexican-American and US Southwest constituencies. On one end, Sanders and Warren echo the perspective of New York based activists and politicians, like Congressional Representative Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, on the destitution of ICE, adopting other strident positions that actually take us, Mexicans, further away from mainstreaming the concept of 'legalizing good people', to put it simply.

Suppose one of the three leading candidates (Biden, Sanders, Warren) arrive into office. Their constituencies are basically white people, and you can tell because none of them have touched upon the most important issues amongst sizeable communities with undocumented members residing in the United States: Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR).

Each candidate, in effect, has shown us their position on CIR either through omission or outright rejection of criticism against their Trump-like policies.

The Biden Gaffe on Immigration

Let's examine Joe Biden, for example, whose campaign message is basically "did you guys like Obama?".

In yet another gaffe, Joe Biden, the former Vice President in the Obama Administration, was retiscent when questioned about Barack Obama's deportation of 1.4 million people from the United States. When human rights activists questioned Biden over his involvement in these deportations, Biden responded that they "should vote for Trump" instead of dealing with the premise of the questions. Surprisingly, this gaffe and criticism occurred in a rally in conservative South Carolina. What, then, can he expect in California?

Biden, as he was questioned about this Trump-like record, retorted: "if someone commits murder, should they not be deported?" ignoring the premise that almost all of the deportees under Obama were found at workplaces, homes and sometimes even school e.g. not committing crimes.

In effect, Biden alleged that such people, like Mexicans, should be happy with what Democrats provide as an after thought, which has been nothing but a bastardized version of the original DREAM act, a plan that was originally a path to legalization for several million people in the US but is now simply a request to not be deported. Who Cares About the Original DREAM ACT and CIR?

Today, those who should be the most invested in CIR are the people affected by the status-quo: Mexicans and Central Americans. These are the people most affected by the Democratic Party's status-quo on undocumented workers. Courting controversy for media buzz, while not actually adopting a position on CIR is disingenous of Warren and Sanders.

Under Obama/Biden, a large percentage, ~70 percent, of the deported individuals were Mexican, usually found through penetration of their workplace e.g. these were people who paid taxes and moved the economy.

Thus, we know Biden's position through his reaction to questioning over his deportation record.

While the other candidates pitch free advanced education, benefits that are inherently only for fully documented people and their mostly white families, we can safely assume that this voting bloc, people with undocumented families, has not been considered seriously.

Limited Options

So, at current, our options are to continue an Obama-lite/Trump-lite deportation reprieval scheme, where the Democratic candidate simply mitigates the worst features of the Republican Party's irrational anti-Mexican tirades OR become an after-thought for far-left wing candidates whose viability for the general election is questionable. Neither of these propositions seem desirable.

The probability of Trump being re-elected too, obviously, makes CIR an even more distant dream.

Context On Viable Candidates

Let's consider viability too before we consider the weight of a promise for CIR, which none of the three leading Democratic candidates have bothered to dangle in front of a massive potential electoral bloc.

Remember that in 2008, the Obama administration arrived with an unprecedented wave of popularity and money. The Obama administration won their first election with 778,642,962 million US dollars.

This campaign warchest allowed the hiring of consultants for what was then emergent technologies: social media, direct text to cellphone ads, and so on.

As the Obama campaign machine mobilized social media in novel ways, like Trump in 2016, they overwhelmed the competition in conventional messaging too that harmonized all efforts in the digital media fronts.

The messaging of 'Hope' was viral campaigning at its finest. Their influence over popular opinion in an unregulated domain was key to their campaign victory. In short, the best budget allowed for the best campaign.

Marketing experts, in fact, gave the Obama campaign a top acknowledgement for their 'Hope' based effort. Ad Age gave the 2008 'Best Ad Campaign' to Obama, nudging them past corporate heavyweights like Apple during the unprecedented buzz of their I-Phones.

In other words, the past 3 elections have been won and defined by money. For Mexicans, the aftermath was one in which they were forgotten. People who polled overwhelmingly for Obama did not understand why the deportation machine kept targeting them, and should not be surprised if this happens again under any conventional Democrat.

Fast forward to 2016, when Hillary Clinton, a much weaker candidate, tried to use her link to Obama's far-right policies and likely failed to mobilize an important bloc of Mexico & Central America linked voters.

CIR Through Coalitions, Compromise With Business Class, Moderate Voters

Still, we do not have to enter needless controversy to accomplish CIR. After all, full amnesty for many people was achieved under Ronald Reagan and the consequence were felt an entire generation after.

Rather than fragment the Democratic Party on issues inherently divisive or that lend themselves to confusion, we can steer the Democratic Party into advocating unequivocally humane domestic policy on immigration.

As Mexicans, we have the possibility of expanding and incorporating our desire for complete federal legality in the workplace, home and education centers. Particularly, in the US Southwest, CIR can be accomplished with the proper candidate if we leverage our numbers. Mexicans are a bigger constituency of the alleged 'Latino' voting bloc, but we differ quite sharply from Cuban, Puerto Rican voters because of our continouous link to the undocumented, vulnerable but hard-working economic engine of the US. We have more to lose and more to gain in 2020.

A New Campaign Option

The relative inattention towards our issues means we can turn neglect into an opportunity if we mobilize in favor of someone else.

Today's announcement of Michael Bloomberg, whose running as a Democrat but is effectively an independent candidate, whose looking to campaign on Gun Control, Climate Change and destituting Trump from office, offers us the chance to become a vocal constituency in a mutually beneficial manner.

Michael Bloomberg - whose voter base is still undefined - may be the proper candidate in need of a sizeable constituency whose independent enough to take a bold stance on CIR, without causing controversy so as to impede the probability of his presidency.

In other words, we need a promise from a candidate who can actually 'make it happen', which Warren and Sanders are unlikely to do because of financing problems, general election unpopularity while Biden has already shown his face to Mexicans in the US Southwest since 2008.

On that note, I believe we should give Bloomberg a chance. Already, there is a Bloomberg effort to mobilize new voters in places like Arizona, Wisconsin, North Carolina and even Texas. Thus, in parallel to trying to win the candidacy for Democrats, there is another effort to beat Trump, which is the more important issue. Finally, note that the aforementioned places are rural, with populations who may have one or more legal citizen among them with the righ to vote.

In 2020, a whole new generation of Chicano voters is ready to be mobilized, but not aware of their options, issues or fully cognizant of who they even are relative to other voters. Let's push the issue of CIR in our terms, with someone who actually thinks they need us unlike the other candidates.

placeholder image

Huachicoleo Kills 85

An illegal tap on PEMEX fuel duct left 85 dead, 80 injured after pipeline explodes.

placeholder image

Car Bomb in Bogota

A car bomb explodes at police academy in Bogota, Colombia, but details remain unclear.

placeholder image

Politician Daughter Assassinated

Mexico's House of Representatives lawmaker received word that her daughter was killed while at a Veracruz gym.

Mexican Not Latino

Anthony Brown Case

LA Sheriff investigated for corruption, 18 arrested.