Latino rights group opens convention in Milwaukee
Presidential politics with town hall, immigration policies spark event celebrating LULAC’S 90th anniversary
The nation’s oldest Hispanic civil rights organization is gathering in Milwaukee this week amid the swirl of presidential politics and the shadow of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. ❚ Up to 25,000 people are expected to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). The national convention kicked off Wednesday with an opening news conference and breakout sessions.
Nine Democratic presidential candidates are scheduled to put in appearances during the convention that concludes Saturday.
The prime political event is a Thursday night town hall with U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont and former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke and former housing secretary Julián Castro.
Jill Biden, the wife of former Vice President Joe Biden, is also slated to participate in a discussion on education.
LULAC officials say that President Donald Trump was invited to attend but they never heard back from the White House.
On Friday, Trump will be in Milwaukee, where he’ll hold a fundraiser and also visit Derco Aerospace Inc. to tout a trade agreement and his administration’s economic policies.
LULAC officials were blistering in their criticism of conditions at migrant detention centers along the nation’s southern border.
Domingo Garcia, LULAC national
president, singled out a Border Patrol facility for migrant children in Clint, Texas.
“It is difficult to believe in the United States of America in 2019 there are concentration camps for 2-, 4- and 6-yearold children,” he said. “And when I say concentration camp, I don’t believe it’s an exaggeration. There are fences, barbed wire around it, armed guards with guns for children. That is the reality right now on the border of the United States.”
The Trump administration has denied reports of dire conditions at the facility.
Garcia said that during the presidential town hall meeting, “We intend to ask all those presidential candidates what are they going to do about immigration and the refugee crisis on the border and having concentration camps for children and families. Are they going to close those down? Keep those open?”
Garcia, a lawyer, said the organization will also ask the White House, “What are you going to do to find a bipartisan way to have comprehensive immigration reform that secures our borders, closes the loopholes of asylum but guarantees the 12 or 13 million (undocumented) immigrants in this country to have citizenship and legalization.”
LULAC officials also are bracing for the impact of potential raids of thousands of migrant families by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Late last month, Trump signaled such raids might be coming but the plan was then put on hold as the president waited to see if Congress could work out a solution on the border situation.
On Wednesday, CNN reported that Acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Ken Cuccinelli said ICE raids are “absolutely going to happen.”
Sindy Benavides, LULAC chief executive officer, said: “We were just informed that President Trump plans to do ICE raids this weekend.”
“LULAC is celebrating 90 years and it is sad that we are here 90 years later protecting the civil rights of Latinos and Americans,” she said.
‘This is a unity convention’
Beyond discussing crucial issues like immigration, education, health care, the environment and technology, there are other events, including a youth talent show and a baseball clinic featuring Luis Roberto Clemente, the son of the late Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.
“This is a unity convention. You learn about what is going on. It’s family. It’s being together,” said Regla González, who has held roles on the national board and is attending her 28th national convention.
“We have grown tremendously,” she said.
There’s also space for newcomers. Six students from Carmen High School in Milwaukee are among dozens of high school students attending their first LULAC convention.
Carrying an agenda, Neida Sanchez, one of the students, said she was eager to “meet new people, interact, get to see what LULAC is about.”