October 7, 2007
The National Latino Congreso,
meeting in Los Angeles this weekend, has unanimously passed one
of two resolutions presented by representatives of the Kucinich
for President campaign and will consider a second one today.
The Congreso, expected to draw
upwards of 2,000 Latino elected officials, community leaders,
and activists from across the country, is developing a political
and social action agenda for the coming year, and hopes to have
a major impact on the 2008 Presidential election campaign. The
campaign of Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich is the only
Presidential campaign that is officially sponsoring the Congreso.
Kucinich will be the keynote
speaker Sunday morning at a breakfast sponsored by the Latino
Vote Caucus. On Saturday, Rep. Kucinich's wife, Elizabeth,
addressed a luncheon meeting on "America & the World in
the 21st Century."
The resolution approved Friday
night calls for the Maricopa County, Arizona, Sheriff's
Department to shut down a telephone hotline set up to encourage
people to report the whereabouts and activities of persons the
callers suspect of being in the country illegally. The Congreso
resolution says the hotline encourages "racial profiling
and promotes discrimination of the Latino community of Maricopa
County."
The second resolution deals with
the "Minuteman Project," a group of individuals who
patrol the U.S. border with Mexico to discourage crossings. The
group is all volunteer, raises its funds from private sources,
and, while heavily armed is undocumented as being a bona fide
law enforcement agency.
The Congreso resolution finds
that the Minuteman Project "promotes violence, hatred,
racism and discrimination which are not representative traits of
the honorable and just American society that has a rich legacy
of immigration and inclusiveness."
On Saturday, a group supporting
the Minuteman Project will picket outside of the Sheraton Los
Angeles Hotel where the Congreso is being held. The protestors
claim they will be peaceful, although one pro-Minuteman Internet
blog on Friday discussing the Congreso included the comment
"Target rich environment...I suggest we treat the event
like a M.O.V.E. house in Philadelphia..."
The blog referred to an incident
in Philadelphia on May 13, 1985, when police dropped an
incendiary device on a row house after being fired upon when
attempting to serve arrest warrants on four of the occupants.
The resulting fire from the device burned down 50 houses,
killing six people and leaving another 200 neighborhood
residents homeless.
Kucinich staffers from
California, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona are participating in
the Congreso.
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Media contacts:
California: Sharon
Jimenez, (310) 478-0114 or (310) 409-3306, enzah@aol.com
Washington, D.C.: Sharon Manitta, (202) 506-6683, Sharon.manitta@kucinich.us
National HQ: Andy Juniewicz, (216) 409-8992, ajuniewicz@aol.com
Website: www.dennis4president.com