Armando Vazquez
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By Armando Vazquez / LULAC , Oxnard Downtown Council president
“We have a Latino problem,” says Republican strategist Mike Murphy, “and it cost us the election.”
Yes, Republicans, you have a huge problem. Some in your party have spewed hate-mongering diatribes about the “closet Muslim in the White House” and the ever-present and looming immigrant menace; this was evil spin by cutthroat political assassins who did everything possible to fire up the pent-up fear and angst of old white men and their lap dogs of this country, who see “their” great country going to the mongrel masses, and it scares the hell out of them.
Yet it was not enough to defeat love, hope and justice.
Oxnard, and Ventura County, we have a “Latino problem” and it is only going to get worse. Estamos y no nos vamos: We are here and we won’t go. Significant, just and compassionate immigration reform will be achieved in the next four years, and it will be the mostly Democratic Latino activists who will lead the way. So, local Republicans, get on the bus or get the hell out of the way. As George Will put it, “Now Obama can bring immigration reform front and center … giving the Republicans a reef upon which they can wreck themselves.”
Now that the election is over, perhaps we can put aside the hate-filled and destructive rhetoric and get to work on just and comprehensive immigration reform. In the absence of any immigration reform, far too many immigrant families have been devastated in this city, county and the nation. My local Republican friends, we can work it out. No hard feelings; you played your card and you lost. Cowboy/girl up and act like mature adults; then we can work together and fix the immigration mess that we have created.
Comprehensive immigration reform, of course, will take place at the federal level. But make no mistake: The suffering of immigrants is local and we can do much to improve their lives and the way we treat our immigrants. Concurrently, we can work to create a more compassionate, inclusive immigration atmosphere here locally.
Oxnard is 78% Latino and our population keeps growing. We are the majority and soon we will be the majority political leadership that will lead our great city into a more diverse, intelligent and compassionate future. Today, far too many of our immigrant brothers and sisters live in the hopeless shadows of our local society; they are denied driver’s licenses, many lose their car, and they work where no else will work, putting much of the food that we consume on our tables.
Our youth are disproportionately targeted by the police, which often leads to a life of institutional supervision; far too many of our youth are failing in our schools; they do not have jobs, and many suffer from PTSD – the effect of a cruel, unrelenting and indifferent world.
These immigrants are hardworking, family-oriented and want the best for their children. They work and dream of a better tomorrow for their family. They all dream of wanting to become Americans; that is why they often sacrifice everything to come here, work and contribute.
Oxnard has always gotten a bum rap. The black eyes are often self-inflicted, but there are both covert and overt forces throughout the county that work overtime to smear Oxnard and its ”Latino problem.” This misguided nativism and xenophobia is rooted in the fear and loathing that some white folks have in this county that they are losing “their” county. They are not alone; the national election painfully revealed how deep the division across color lines is in this country, and how fear drives good people to do desperate and evil things.
Ventura County, Estamos y no vamos: We are here and we are not going. Immigrants want to come out from the shadow of hopelessness and inequality and help forge a more just, compassionate and healthier Ventura County that sees immigrants as full-stake partners in the future of this county.
A brilliant beacon to the future was presented in the national and local elections, and it was the bilingual voice of America shouting for all to hear: Aqui estamos y no nos vamos. Join us, won’t you, so that we can continue our work in making this nation of immigrants a more just, compassionate and loving nation.
— Armando Vazquez is the Oxnard Downtown Council president for the League of United Latin American Citizens.