By Juan Escalante, Director of Digital Campaigns for America's Voice
Juan Escalante: Lopez-Cantera Should Denounce the Anti-Immigrant Agenda in Florida
The author questions Mr. Lopez-Cantera's position on Latinos and the Republican party
Por:Univision.com
Florida’s Lieutenant Governor, Carlos Lopez-Cantera, is upset with several prominent Hispanic celebrities.
In an open letter to the Hispanic community, Lopez-Cantera, who is running to replace Marco Rubio in the United States Senate, complains that “liberal elites and Democratic Party elders” are trying to court the Hispanic community into a “monolithic agenda.”
Lopez-Cantera’s letter is a response to a separate letter that was penned and signed by dozens of Latino celebrities, who called out Republican presidential candidates for having “turned their backs” on the Hispanic community and instead “embraced the party of Trump.”
In categorizing the language chosen by Latino celebrities as “offensive,” Lopez-Cantera is choosing to ignore his party’s long history within the Hispanic community. Here is how “conservative policies” have worked for “his community.”
“Al decir esta noche mis últimas palabras en el noticiero, me quedé pensando en todo lo que me queda por delante. Después de todo, los periodistas nunca se retiran. Estamos condenados toda la vida a perseguir noticias, a perseguir lo nuevo”. <br/>
“El reto de la serie era, en el mejor de los casos, complementar al libro y dar una visión, entre millones, de cómo era la vida en Macondo. Y lo logra. Agradezco las narraciones tomadas íntegramente del libro y las magníficas actuaciones marcadas por las páginas más que por las improvisaciones”.
<b>“</b>En la cabeza de Trump todo conspira para demostrar su poder. Ganó la elección y el voto popular, se desvanecen los juicios en su contra, y legalmente se siente protegido para hacer lo que se le pegue la gana. Se siente en el tope. Es en este contexto que Trump amenazó con la imposición de aranceles contra México, Canadá y China”.
<i>“Duele pero hay que decirlo: en México nadie sabe cómo detener la violencia. Si lo supieran, ya lo hubieran intentado. Lo que hemos visto desde la época de Felipe Calderón, cuando se declaró la guerra contra los narcos, son distintos experimentos -todos fallidos- para enfrentar la violencia”.</i>
<i>“Causarán un daño irreparable a miles de familias y a la economía estadounidense. No se trata de expulsar a los indocumentados sino de integrarlos a este país. Sería mucho más barato y efectivo. Pero Trump y sus asesores solo se oyen a sí mismos”.</i>
“Hay mucho que negociar antes que Trump tome posesión el 20 de enero. Pero el peligro de deportaciones masivas, aranceles y hasta de operaciones militares en su territorio ha puesto en alerta a la nueva presidenta de México. Sheinbaum y Trump ya hablaron y se dijeron esas cosas huecas que se dicen los presidentes por teléfono”.
“La realidad es que cada vez hay más votantes latinos. Este año hay 36.2 millones de hispanos elegibles para votar, casi cuatro millones más que en 2020, según el centro Pew. Y aunque no todos van a salir a votar, los que lo hagan serán suficientes para definir quién será el próximo presidente o presidenta de Estados Unidos”.
“Gane quien gane la elección en Estados Unidos, las cosas van a empeorar para los recién llegados. Los inmigrantes son el enemigo perfecto en esta campaña electoral. Son muy vulnerables, lo dejaron todo en su país de origen y no se pueden defender de los ataques injustificados de los políticos que solo quieren ganar votos”.
"En este caso, nos toca apuntar y corregir todas las mentiras que Trump ha dicho -y que sigue diciendo- sobre los inmigrantes, sobre la insurrección del 6 de enero del 2021 y sobre todos los esfuerzos ilegítimos por negar los resultados de las elecciones del 2020. Las democracias mueren, primero, desde dentro".
"A los 14 años, vi a mi familia y a mi comunidad y me dije: hay un futuro mejor para nosotros; podemos progresar y las cosas pueden mejorar. Todo lo que hago y lo que soy tiene sus raíces en mi comunidad latina, y me llena de humildad poder llegar a representar a nuestra comunidad en el Senado. Es un deber que asumiré con orgullo y mucho honor." Read this content in <a href="https://www.univision.com/univision-news/opinion/por-la-familia-todo-ruben-gallego-on-running-to-be-arizonas-first-latino-senator" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000147-f3a5-d4ea-a95f-fbb7f52b0000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1726508152821,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-d1c8-de50-affb-f1df3e1d0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1726508152821,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-d1c8-de50-affb-f1df3e1d0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.univision.com/univision-news/opinion/por-la-familia-todo-ruben-gallego-on-running-to-be-arizonas-first-latino-senator","_id":"00000191-fbe7-dddd-a5f7-ffef61bf0000","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"linkText":"english","_id":"00000191-fbe7-dddd-a5f7-ffef61bb0000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">english</a>.
Back in 2011, it was Florida Republicans who tried to enact a bill similar to Arizona’s controversial SB 1070. And it is the Republican Party who is trying to attack our communities with new anti-immigrant legislation during this year’s legislative session.
At the national level, there is barely any difference. Florida’s current senator, Marco Rubio, has turned his back on the Latino community entirely — and outright lied about his support for comprehensive immigration reform. Meanwhile, the Hispanic community has continuously been exposed to a Republican field that has done nothing but “but talk down to, demean, and show intolerance to any individual” that chooses to challenge their extremist immigration agenda.
This is, of course, separate from the Republican-led lawsuit that is currently delaying the implementation of President Obama’s immigration relief program known as DAPA. A lawsuit that Florida has signed on to, and on which Carlos Lopez-Cantera has not given a concrete position.
Immigration is an important issue to Hispanics in Florida. In 2012, it was one of the most important voting issues for Hispanics, who opted for Barack Obama over Mitt Romney. 49% of Florida Hispanics know or are related to someone who is undocumented. For them, as for me, it’s personal.
How will “conservative policies” work for a Hispanic community that will be separated by Donald Trump’s deportation force? How will immigrants like myself fare when Ted Cruz terminates DACA and moves to deport me?
As an immigrant who was brought to the United States in search of better opportunities, I have only been presented with obstacles in order to achieve my dreams. Some may say that this is due to my undocumented status, others might blame my parents for “breaking the law,” but the truth lies in the types of policies presented by Democrats and Republicans.
When looked and examined closely, the difference is clear as day.
Our country and state are deserving of a leader who is willing to find consensus across the aisle, and not post talking points that do nothing to fix an issue that is vital to the livelihood of millions of immigrant families.
Are immigrants and refugees being “monolithic” when working day and night to put food on the table, send their kids to better schools, and contribute to their communities? Their “monolithic” concern about immigration policies is what prevents them from living a life of dignity, and instead forces them to live each day in fear of deportation.
You are right to say that my home country of Venezuela would not tolerate this type of challenge to an elected official. But that is where I am to be deported if we don't stop with the divisive rhetoric that prevents Congress from fixing our broken immigration system.
As the highest-ranking Hispanic Republican, the immigrant community commends you for helping usher in-state tuition for undocumented students — a measure that was long overdue and fought over throughout a decade. But as another Hispanic Republican who seeks to represent Florida at the national level, we ask you: what will you do to ensure our families are not torn apart by the aggressive deportation policies your party is currently proposing?
Disclaimer: We selected this Op-Ed to be published in our opinion section as a contribution to public debate. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of its author(s) and/or the organization(s) they represent and do not reflect the views or the editorial line of Univision Noticias.