Romney’s immigration stance ignores his roots

TO THE EDITOR:

I was brought to this great country when I was 18 months old by some of the most hardworking, caring people I know — my parents. When I was a little boy, I never imagined that I would be fighting for my life; fighting for the rights of my family and my community.

But yet here I am — or I should say, as DREAMers, here we are — caught in a sea of foreign politics, red tape and anti-immigrant rhetoric; all of which have spun out of control.

In 1990, Latinos only accounted for 1.2 percent of the state population. Today, Latinos comprise 8.4 percent of the population of N.C. These numbers are important since Obama won N.C. with only 14,000 votes, and registered Latinos are numbering roughly 130,000, nearly double since the last cycle.

Latino voters in North Carolina are leaning hard toward Obama, and it’s easy to see why. We’ve seen Republican candidates applauding Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, a state which Mexican-Americans have fled since the establishment of SB 1070 (the bill aimed to identify, prosecute and deport illegal immigrants). Mitt Romney eagerly accepted the endorsement of Kris Kobach, who helped author SB 1070, as well as Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed it knowing it would lead to racial profiling.

Mr. Romney has even publicly stated that he would veto the DREAM Act, which approximately 91 percent of Latinos support.

Is this the Romney that the Latinos in the United States need? Must we remind you, Mr. Romney, that you too came from a family of immigrants? Latinos never forget our roots, but it seems that you have.

Let us refresh your memory. The following comes from Henry Fernandez, a political blogger and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress:

The 1882 Edmunds Act stripped polygamists of the basic rights of U.S. citizenship, denying them the right to vote, serve on juries or hold office. Not dissimilar to current immigration raids, federal agents in the United States hunted and arrested polygamists, who were forced to leave the country or risk jail.

In 1884, as it became increasingly clear that the U.S. government would not tolerate polygamy in the Utah Territory, Miles Park Romney — your great grandfather — chose to leave the country, bringing his multiple wives and children with him across the southern border to Mexico.

In his 1902 book “The Story of the Mormons,” author William Alexander Linn states that the
Secretario de Fomento of Mexico related that “The laws of this country (Mexico) do not permit polygamy, and that the contracts for the establishment of Mormon colonies in Mexico required the same.”

If true, Miles Romney then knowingly arrived in direct violation of Mexican immigration law.

So your ancestors were immigrants and now you live to actively persecute human beings who are in the same situation as your great-grandparents? Shame on you, Mr. Romney.

Every single Latino that I have met agrees on one thing. We call you “sin verguenza,” which means someone who has no shame — a hypocrite.

Latinos in North Carolina are no longer alone or afraid. North Carolina DREAMers, Latinos, allies and faith-based communities will not tolerate your anti-immigrant positions.

We demand that you renounce the endorsement made by Kris Kobach, that you change your rhetoric against immigrants, and seek sensible legislation that keeps the happiness and well-being of immigrant children and families in mind.

Moises Serrano
Yadkinville
Organizer, El Cambio