National Women-led Latino Organization to GOP: Carmen Figueroa Classic Example Why CIR Should Be Fixed Before You Go On Christmas Break
Phoenix, AZ – Yesterday, the Arizona’s state police agency says one of its officers has resigned following the discovery that she was in the United States as an undocumented immigration after being brought from Mexico at a young age. According toKPHO, Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves says Carmen Figueroa apparently was told by her family that she was born in the United States, though she was actually born in Mexico. She was forced to resign.
The Carmen Figueroa incident is another example of a woman who demonstrated her hard work and contributions to our American society with regard to public safety. She lost her job and the economic impact this has on her and other families is another example of why legal immigration reform must be dealt with. In a matter of months, the loss of her job could be devastating to her family. This DPS officer is getting overwhelming support from compassionate people who see her as a contributing member of our society.
Women voters and the burgeoning Mexican American / Latino vote have witnessed Speaker John Boehner and most of the Republican House Representatives obstruct the advancement of legal comprehensive immigration reform in 2013. They are not budging on advancing a bipartisan bill supported by our Republican Senator John McCain that would fix the broken immigration system. A piece meal approach supported by restrictionist Republicans will not work because it does not give an incentive to the undocumented to pay more into the tax system when a path to earned citizenship is not on the table. Many undocumented are already skeptical a “DACA for all” system would merely be used for tracking purposes when the government wants to look for them and deport them later on. Note: Many DREAMers have not fully taken advantage of DACA that was implemented by the Obama administration.
Thus far, we have witnessed Republican Speaker Boehner’s office berating and scaring small children and women voters from his office with Capitol security guards for praying and singing Christmas carols outside his office in support of immigration reform because they do not want to see their mom or dad deported. We saw Speaker Boehner ignore those who have been fasting for families, he ignored Cardinal Dolan’s letter, and so forth. RNC Reince Priebus has lied to Hispanic voters when he stated he wanted reach out to Hispanic voters, but none of these leaders are moving forward with urgency on fixing the No.1 issue that is important to us — immigration. The message is clear to Women and Hispanic voters: Republican House of Represenative leaders such as Speaker Boehner and Eric Cantor do not care about Latino families until they seek and beg our votes come election time.
Since Speaker Boehner is causing women and Hispanic voters to wait for an undetermined time, perhaps it would be a better idea for #WomenVoters who empathize for families and children to vote out obstructionist Republicans come 2014 while we wait. With Democrats taking the House of Representatives, the Latino community may get a better legal comprehensive immigration reform deal than what the GOP is wanting to give us.
Women and Hispanic voters will remember how the Republican-led House of Representatives scheduled themselves for an almost 3 week vacation while unfinished business remains in 2013 as GOP House of Representatives continue to leave Americans and our national security weakened with so many living in the shadows. In light of today’s technology, every person living in our Nation should be documented from a security standpoint. Yet there are millions living here without documentation, and Republicans continue to drag their feet leaving us exposed because they do not support a legal mechanism in order for this to happen. The House GOP knows the United States simply cannot afford to deport 11 million immigrants, and are good for the economy and tax revenues they contribute.
