Published Wednesday, April 4, 2001
Hispanic representatives looking for more after meeting with Bush
BY OLIVIA MUNOZ
ASNE Reporter
Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met wit
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| President Bush met Monday in the Cabinet Room of the White House with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including (left to right) Reps. Solomon Oritz, D-Texas; Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas; and Joe Baca, D-Calif. (PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS) |
h President George W. Bush Monday to discuss potential policies on immigration, education and economic issues. But the 45-minute meeting at the White House left much of the caucus dissatisfied with the president’s response.
"I think the president was long on listening and short on committing," said Rep. Robert Menéndez, D-N.J.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., who led the discussion of immigration at the meeting, said, "Many families, U.S. citizens, leave their children – their most precious asset – with undocumented workers every day while they go off to work. And if they can leave their childr
en with them, then certainly (these workers) can have the dignity and respect that comes along with legalization."
Census figures show that the Hispanic population in the United States grew by 60.7% between 1990 and 2000, tripling in some states.
According to Rep. Gutiérrez, President Bush said he was against a blanket amnesty for the six to 11 million undocumented immigrants that the census reports are in this country.
Caucus members also said they are concerned that the president’s proposed tax plan would endanger programs geared toward small-business owners of color.
Members also expressed their concerns about U.S. military bombing exercises in Vieques, Puerto Rico. They asked the president for an immediate and permanent end to the exercises.
White House spokeswoman Mercy Viana reaffirmed on Tuesday the president’s commitment to the caucus members’ agenda.
"The president is very concerned with all of these issues. He has included in his budget $88 million for the Small Business Center Program. He has also agreed to increase the funding to Hispanic-serving institutions by 6.4%," Ms. Viana said.
"The president has also pledged to speed up the naturalization process for immigrants," she said.
But a caucus member responded that although Ms. Viana’s comments were encouraging, they weren’t convincing.
"Although the meeting was definite progress, we have yet to see anything in writing in regard to these issues," said Yvette Pena Lopes, a spokeswoman for caucus Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas.
No date for a future meeting has been set.
