In the state of California, following a “jungle” nonpartisan primary, two female Democrats are competing to replace retiring U.S. senator Barbara Boxer. This past July, one of them, Rep. Loretta Sánchez, a Hispanic implied that President Obama had endorsed her rival, Kamala Harris, because she, like the President, is black. Coming from a congresswoman from the president’s own party, the implication is both disturbing and surprising. On one hand, no president of the United States should practice racial discrimination. On the other, Pres. Obama and Democrats are supposed to be ‘pro-Hispanics’, or at least pro lax border control and lenient application of immigration laws, which presumably benefits Hispanics.
Close inspection of the Democrats’ immigration proposals reveal a great deal of deception. They offer what they know they cannot deliver, because it will be blocked either by courts or by Congress. Hence, Democrats pander to potential beneficiaries, while avoiding the political fallout if their proposals were actually implemented.
President Obama’s 2014 Executive Action on Immigration is an example. It offered an estimated 4 million illegal residents (of a total of about 11 millions) a temporary legal status, and the possibility of work permits. However, a federal district court blocked it nationwide, following a quick challenge by 26 states. Eventually the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the lower court ruling to stand, putting an end to Obama’s plans for the remainder of his term. The president and Democrats got publicity and some good will from potential beneficiaries, but immigrants themselves got nothing. At the same time, Pres. Obama has continued his deportations, which totaled more than 2.5 million for the first 7 years of his administration, more than any other administration in history.
The Democratic presidential candidate, Secretary Hillary Clinton, generally agrees with the approach to immigration of the Obama administration, although she seems to favor reducing immigration raids. She also promises – within her first 100 days in office – legislation that would allow the vast majority of illegal residents to stay in the U.S. with a path to full citizenship. But she largely follows a 2013 bipartisan proposal adopted by the Senate which was never approved by the House. Since there is little chance of a significant change in the partisan make-up of the House after the 2016 elections (and if elected, Secretary Clinton would likely lose House seats in her first mid-term election, as most presidents do) it is extremely unlikely that her immigration proposals will ever be implemented. So, Secretary Clinton also panders to pro-immigrant groups by offering what she knows she cannot deliver.
Disturbingly, it seems that the Democrat’s anti-Hispanic bias implied by Rep. Sánchez may also manifest itself in foreign policy. This is observed in the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which essentially has a black and a Hispanic side. The Dominican Republic – where the first Hispanic American settlement was founded by Columbus shortly after his first arrival in 1492 – occupies the eastern two-thirds, with the rest occupied by Haiti, founded in 1804 by former African slaves after a bloody rebellion against the French, followed by the genocide of the remaining non-black population. Initially lacks (Haitians) tried but failed to take over the whole island. Decades later they ruled the Hispanic side with an iron fist for 22 years, until Hispanics (Dominicans) declared their independence in 1844, and resisted massive Haitian invasions for 12 more years.
Haiti was initially wealthier, but has since fallen far behind. Today, Haitians violate Dominican borders, taking jobs, depressing wages, and congesting vital public services such as hospital and schools to the detriment of the Hispanic poor (rate =32.4%) and the unemployed (rate = 14%). The Obama administration (with tacit support from Secretary Clinton, who through her Foundation is a quasi-ruler of Haiti) has encouraged the sacrifice of the Hispanic poor, by exerting pressure on Dominican authorities to prevent the enforcement of Dominican immigration laws. When in 2013 the Dominican Constitutional Court upheld a law that since 1939 excluded the children of illegal residents from citizenship, the Democrats with their media ‘allies’ joined Soros-funded organizations in falsely accusing Hispanics of racism and ‘denationalization’ of Haitians.
More recently, Clinton-Obama anti-Hispanic antics took an extremely dangerous turn. The Obama Administration secretly ‘pressured’ the Dominican government into signing a ‘cooperation treaty’ that created a legal framework for a military occupation of the Hispanic side. It allowed an unlimited number of U.S. troops, with full diplomatic immunity, and unlimited armaments, to occupy any area of the Hispanic side, taking over any airport, port, bridge, and even the radio spectrum, all for an unlimited length of time. Fortunately the Dominican Constitutional Court blocked this ‘treaty’. Considering how the de facto occupation of Haiti has gone, and all the mismanagement associated with the Clinton Foundation, the Hispanic people of Hispaniola may have dodged a fatal Democratic bullet.
In summary, Democrats deceive Hispanics with promises that cannot be fulfilled, and will overtly show favoritism toward any other group when a conflict arises with Hispanics, whether in the U.S. proper or abroad. Hispanic voters should not support Democrats.
Dr. Virgilio Rodriguez is a scientist and consultant based in Germany, with a decade of research experience in telecommunication, mostly in European universities, such as RWTH Aachen (Germany), Supelec (France) and Surrey (England). He holds a doctorate degree from New York University, and received postgraduate training in economics at the University of London.