Hispanic Coalition Blasts Mexican President Vicente Fox

A new coalition of American Hispanic Americans opposed to the US Senate's illegal alien amnesty is condemning Mexican President Vicente Fox's overt effort to meddle in the internal affairs of the United States and exert influence over US immigration policies. The Mexican president went on a tour of US Western states, during which he openly lobbied for passage of an illegal alien amnesty and guest worker program. The group is disappointed in President George W. Bush and GOP senate members who are pushing a bill that rewards lawbreakers. They're also disappointed in the President for not telling Vicente Fox to butt out of US policymaking.

As he has often done during his more than five years in office, Fox is once again presuming to speak on behalf of American Hispanics and attempting to create the impression that there is widespread support for amnesty among U.S. citizens of Hispanic heritage. However, millions of American Hispanics are offended at the idea of any foreign leader meddling in the domestic affairs of the United States, said a You Don't Speak for Me! official.

"Who enters and is allowed to live in the United States is a sovereign matter for the American people and their elected representatives to decide, without any interference from the president of Mexico or anybody else," stated retired Colonel Albert Rodriguez, chairman of You Don't Speak for Me! (YDSFM).

"Given the fact that millions of Mexicans have fled the country since he has been in office, it is not even entirely clear that President Fox speaks on behalf of Mexican citizens living illegally in the U.S., much less millions of American citizens who happen to share his ethnic heritage."

A recent poll by the Zogby organization indicates that the majority of Hispanic voters in the US are opposed to amnesty for illegal aliens and want American immigration policies vigorously enforced. "American Hispanics are, first and foremost, Americans," said Rodriguez.

"American Hispanics, like all other citizens, are concerned about the staggering costs associated with mass immigration, the impact on jobs, schools and other vital national institutions, and the threat that our porous borders pose to the security of the nation. American Hispanics do not appreciate having their country used as Mexico's dumping ground, or themselves used as pawns by the leader of a foreign government."

YDSFM calls on President Fox to use his remaining six months in office to focus on curing the social and economic conditions in Mexico that drive many desperate citizens of that country to migrate illegally to the United States, rather than on lobbying the American people to grant amnesty to tens of millions of illegal aliens.

"President Fox has had the past five and half years to address the serious problems that face his country, and to achieve real improvements for the citizens of Mexico. Instead his policy has been to point his unemployed and impoverished people in the direction of the United States. His idea of helping Mexico's downtrodden is to provide them with maps to trek across the desert," said Col. Rodriguez.

"Now, he is brazenly demanding that the United State grant amnesty to the people he has encouraged to leave and is trying to enlist the support of American Hispanics," Rodriguez continued. "American Hispanics have a message for Mr. Fox: 'We are Americans and we will not be used for your political purposes.'"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police and he's a staff writer for the New Media Alliance (thenma.org).

The new group You Don't Speak for Me! formed when Col. Al Rodriguez became fed up watching media coverage of the mass protests of April. "Their leaders were saying it was a march for immigrant rights and a Latino/Hispanic movement," says Rodriguez. "I thought to myself, 'Hey, those are illegal aliens, not immigrants!'" Col. Rodriguez began speaking out to others saying, "I'm of Hispanic ancestry and those people are acting like they speak for me. Well, you don't speak for me!"

Col. Rodriguez began asking others to help him reach more people who felt the same way and You Don't Speak for Me! formed from this loose coalition of individuals. It is a group of concerned Americans of Hispanic/Latino heritage, some first or second generation, others recent legal immigrants, who believe illegal immigration harms America and a guest worker amnesty will do the same.

For media seeking interviews please contact Ira Mehlman at 310 821 4283 or Susan Wysoki at 804 221 7084.

Our Principles

We are Americans of Hispanic heritage who believe in America. We believe in the governmental institutions and laws that make this country the greatest in the world. It is because of this strong belief in the principles of freedom, individual liberties, the rule of law, and democracy that we formed You Don't Speak for Me!: American Hispanic Voices Speaking Out Against Illegal Immigration.

American Hispanic voices are being shouted down by the hate and race-directed rhetoric of those who do not appreciate the laws of our country. We of You Don't Speak for Me! give voice to those without a voice and those whose opposition to illegal immigration is drowned out by illegal aliens and their supporters marching in the streets demanding undeserved "rights" of U.S. citizens.

We are standing together to say to the those who come here illegally and those who would give amnesty to those who have broken our laws, you are wrong and you should not be claiming to speak for all American Hispanics. You Don't Speak for Me!

Our principles are simple:

All immigration should be legal
Illegal immigration hurts everyone, while carefully planned legal immigration helps. We believe in stopping illegal immigration and securing the national and economic future of our nation.
Illegal aliens from any country should never be rewarded with benefits or privileges
Becoming an American citizen is a unique and wonderful privilege. The legal route to becoming a citizen is not easy and requires patience and hard work. Those who break the law and come illegally should not be granted any benefits or privileges. No driver's license, no welfare benefits, no free health care, no in-state tuition - simply put . . . no state or federal benefits!
No amnesty - no way!
Amnesty is rewarding people who break the law. From past experience we have learned that granting amnesty only leads to increased illegal immigration. Those here illegally are taking advantage of our compassion. We say No Amnesty-No Way!
Secure our borders now and fully enforce immigration laws
The best way to stop the flow of illegal immigration coming across our borders is to build a high security fence along the length of our southern border where the majority of illegal traffic takes place. We must also vigorously enforce our existing immigration laws. Local and state law enforcement should be free to enforce immigration laws. Employers who hire illegal workers should be heavily fined and if a pattern of practice is established their owners/corporate officers should be fined and jailed for the offenses and the corporate charter revoked. Identification documents must be limited and strong security measures like biometrics applied to documents of foreign workers. American citizens driver's licenses are now secured by the Real ID Act, non-citizens should be required to present documents not susceptible to fraud and counterfeit, and include biometric security measures - especially for work purposes.
Learn and speak English
Learning the language of this country is the very least an immigrant can do. Learn and speak English. Learn the history of this country. Learn the Constitution and civics. Learn and practice the principles that make America the greatest country in the world.

I want to be part of this group!!!

I live in the border town of Calexico, California. We deal with the same problems at both sides of the border and the city has to deal with Mexico to solve those problems. What I don't like is when the Mexican government wants to change our laws to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants when the United States has NEVER asked Mexico to change one of THEIR laws. Most Hispanic groups like MECHA,NCLR, and MAPA are Democrat owned groups that try to put more pride in Mexico rather than to teach Hispanics about the greatness of America. I've been waiting many years for a group like that to rise and counter all the liberal Hispanic organizations that I mentioned before. I hope this group does really make a difference in the years to come.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.