LaredoBuzz.Com

Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

Council sites historic ties with Mexico, strong Hispanic presence in Laredo and Texas and idea of freedom in America as reasons to oppose

 (June 8 – Laredo,TX)  In early May, immediately after the passage of Arizona’s controversial SB 1070 law, a law that allows local police officers who have reasonable suspicion to check a person’s immigration status, Laredo City Council Member Cindy Liendo Espinoza, and co-sponsored by Mayor Raul G. Salinas, placed an item on the city council agenda, asking for a resolution opposing the law to be passed by the Laredo City Council.  It passed unanimously. 

 The resolution, recently drafted after that May 3 meeting, was recently signed and will now join the countless other resolutions throughout the country opposing the law or boycotting Arizona.  The cities of Austin, Boston, Boulder, Columbus, El Paso, Hartford, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, Oakland, San Francisco, St. Paul, Washington, D.C. and West Hollywood all have resolutions boycotting travel and business to Arizona.  Texas Governor Rick Perry and the cities of Brownsville, El Paso and Laredo resolutions strongly oppose SB 1070 on grounds that it will cause racial profiling, will cause a rift in minority communities and does not adequately address immigration issues.  The City of San Antonio is expected to pass a similar resolution later this week; that resolution also does not include a boycott.  .

 “The resolution passed by the Laredo City Council strongly opposes Arizona SB 1070; however, we chose not to include a boycott in consideration to the many hard-working families of Arizona who would be affected,” said City of Laredo Council Member Cindy Liendo Espinoza, District VIII.  “This resolution is intended to let the State of Arizona government know that we feel this law is reprehensible, encourages racial profiling and could potentially hurt tourism for all border states.  We support and encourage comprehensive immigration reform,” she concluded.

 Laredo’s resolution highlights the long standing and historic connection the city has enjoyed with the Republic of Mexico, and notes that the only way to identify an illegal immigrant by sight is to resort to stereotypes and racial profiling, a repulsive measure that will hurt the documented and undocumented alike.  Citing Laredo’s high Hispanic population and that most of the state’s illegal immigrants are also Latino, assigning local police to enforce federal immigration laws, SB 1070 could deter members of immigrant and minority communities from cooperating with police in other law enforcement issues.  Most importantly, “Arizona. . . will only have the effect of negating the idea that America has a special relationship with Liberty and Freedom that no other country enjoys. . . .”

 “This is a dangerous and frightening law, because it reeks of hate and intolerance,” said City of Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas.  “This law is very much like those first laws passed by the Nazis before the start of the Holocaust, slowly stripping individuals of their humanity.  This fundamentally dismisses the basic human rights and dignity of not only the immigrant work force that built this country, but also, it disregards the contributions that especially Hispanic immigrants are making today, doing jobs that most of us, Latinos or otherwise, would rather not do,” he added.

 “Those of us in border communities in Texas understand and appreciate the work that our neighbors do in our cities, in our homes.  Without them, additionally, many of our economies would grind to a halt without the money they spend here, because they are able to work here.” 

 “It is important to take all border communities and contributions of immigrants into consideration when drafting future immigration legislation, because we do not have the appetite for racist and hateful laws in this country,” Salinas concluded.