As I wrote earlier today, Senator Barack Obama was interviewed by La Opinión. You can hear the interview, which is in English (click where it says “Entrevista completa en inglés” or read the Spanish-language translation). However, I couldn’t find a transcript of the interview either at the campaign’s website or its Spanish-language section (which is marred by poor Spanish-language grammar). So here goes some transcribed excerpts of the interview with La Opinión:
On Immigration
“We have to fight against this us versus them mentality. “
“The history of this country has always been waves of immigrants come and people treat the newcomers as if somehow they were here all along forgetting they themselves are part of an immigrant past. And I think the next president has to lead on this issue and try to draw a better attitude among our people.”
“Number one, it is not illegitimate in a modern nation-state to have some control over your borders. Mexico is probably tougher on migrants from Central America than America … The second thing is that I do think that part of the reason why you are seeing this anti-immigrant sentiment right now is that there is a lot of economic anxiety among American workers because George Bush´s policies have been very good for corporate profits but have not been good for ordinary workers so their wages have stagnated. Because of globalization you see jobs move overseas. It used to be they moved to Mexico now they are going to China. So people feel as if maybe their futures are insecure so they look for someone to blame. And part of what we have to do is not only remind people that we are a nation of immigrants. But, we also have to make sure that the American worker feels that somebody is fighting for them, for health care, for a decent wage because I think if they feel that way, then they are less likely to engage in some of these sort of ugly sentiments that we´ve been seeing.”
“I also think the Republican party has really used this in a political way that I think is unfortunate.
[Senator and former RNC co-Chair Mel Martínez] who actually is a decent guy. He’s a decent person. Obviously, he has a different political philosophy than I do. He was increasingly uncomfortable being the head of a party that is trying to use the immigration issue to scare people.”
“I think [immigration raids are] all for show and it doesn’t solve the problem. We have twelve million people who are undocumented in this country. The notion that we are going to solve that fifty people at a time is dishonest. So, I have been very clear about what my policy will be. We will strengthen the Border Patrol because as I said I think a nation-state has the right to control its borders. We will work on an employment verification system that is not discriminatory but that actually holds employers responsible. I am less interested in arresting workers who are just trying to make a living for their families. You do have employers who are exploiting workers. And I want to provide a pathway to citizenship for those who are here. I also want to reform the legal immigration system because the backlog is so serious that is actually putting more pressure and pushing more people into the underground.”
On Relations With Latin America
Number one, I think that it is important for us to figure out how do we structure trade with Latin America in a way that is good for workers on both sides of the border and not just corporations and that means making sure that all the trade agreements that we have are abiding by International Labor Organization standards and basic environmental and worker safety standards. I think that if you look at Nafta, as an example, that has provided some benefits to economic growth on both sides of the border but Mexican farmers, for example, have taken a pretty bad hit. And alot of the immigrant pressure has to do with displaced workers in the agricultural sector in Mexico.
On Black-Latino Relations
“Look, there is a long history in this country of pitting groups that are dispossessed against each other. When African Americans and Latinos typically make progress it is because they join ranks. … African American civil rights helped to empower Latinos. Cesar Chavez’s movement helped to remind people of basic issues of justice and equity. That is how we are going to make progress. In order for us to continue that cooperation, we have got to have leadership on both sides that is willing to fight for all people not just some people. “
Read here about his weekend in Los Angeles.
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immigrationTags: Immigration, Obama
