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Ventura County LULAC Members Meet Presidential Candidates

Presumptive presidential nominees Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain addressed a record number of delegates including Ventura County members at the 79th Annual League of United Latin American Citizens National Convention in Washington D.C. recently. Both candidates spoke before large audiences in separate events at the Washington Hilton on Tuesday July 8.

If elected, both promised strong support for comprehensive immigration reform and other issues including health care for veterans.

McCain told members that both his and Sen. Edward Kennedy's efforts to pass comprehensive immigration legislation failed after conservatives complained that it would grant amnesty to illegal immigrants."Many Americans, with good cause, did not believe us when we said we would secure our borders, and so we failed in our efforts," he said. "We must prove to them that we can and will secure our borders first, while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents of the United States."Obama, who addressed the delegation later that afternoon, accused McCain of abandoning his "courageous stance" on immigration to appease anti-immigrant members of his party. He promised LULAC members he would make immigration a top priority in his first year as president.He also said that legislation must do more than secure the borders and crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants. "We have to finally bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows".

Dave Rodriguez, a Camarillo resident and a friend of McCain, was one of four LULAC leaders to greet and introduce the Arizona Senator to delegates. Rodriguez also attended a private meeting with other league officials after McCain's speech during which the Arizona Senator answered some tough questions on diversity, employment, and education. "It was a very frank discussion, there was accord on several issues" Rodriguez said.

Oxnard LULAC member Teresa de la Torre said she was inspired by Sen. Obama's commitment to Latino issues and a rousing speech by Sen. Hillary Clinton urging members to support Obama. "Latino voters can make a real difference in this election" de la Torre said.

Founded in 1929 and based in Washington D.C. the organization's mission is to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, and civil rights of the Hispanic population of the United States through community based programs operating at more than 700 chapters across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

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YourNews contains stories posted by members of the public.

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