Tino Cuellar, Professor of Law and Deane F. Johnson Faculty Scholar at Stanford Law School, is an immigration advisor to Barack Obama's campaign.
Here is an interview where he discusses the Obama campaign's outreach to Latinos:
Why did you decide to support Barack Obama?
People around the world face historic challenges. War and disease are devastating many parts of the developing world. Global warming remains a threat. And rampant poverty crushes the dreams of hundreds of millions across the planet. American leadership is central to forging solutions. Within our own country, we find a health care system that leaves tens of millions of people uninsured and satisfies few of those who are covered, a failing immigration system, vulnerable critical infrastructures at risk from disasters and terrorism, and growing economic insecurity. I support Barack Obama because these problems call for uncommon leadership that can transcend our existing political divisions. He can deliver this leadership. He has built a national movement founded on integrity, intellectual honesty, and decades-long experience working to achieve public policies that improve people's lives. Over the course of his career as a community organizer, a civil rights lawyer, a law professor, and a legislator, Barack Obama has consistently defied the odds, demonstrating a distinctive ability to speak with people across conventional social, racial, economic, and ideological divisions. His energy, his ability to transcend existing political battles, and his capacity for helping the public understand and find principled responses to complicated challenges can help us leave the country and the planet in better shape than we found it.
What do you think distinguishes Barack Obama's position on immigration from the rest of the field?
Although a number of Democratic candidates have demonstrated interest in immigration issues during this election cycle, Barack Obama stands out. First, as an Illinois State Senator and a U.S. Senator, Obama has led in seeking sensible, comprehensive immigration reform that would serve the interests of the American people and help immigrants become productive members of American society. He has also taken clear positions on key aspects of immigration policy that demonstrate his core principles in this area. For example, during the recent debate over immigration policy, he emphasized preserving family unity as a touchstone of our immigration policy. He has unambiguously supported state policies that provide access to driver's licenses because of public health and public safety imperatives. Furthermore, he has established a high-level working group within his campaign to analyze more complex issues in immigration policy, such as improving how the federal government is organized to implement effective migration policy, and combining improved training and education opportunities for U.S. workers with immigration reforms that attract skilled workers. In his policy proposals and public pronouncements, he has shown an uncommon recognition of the connections between immigration policy and other critical issues that our country faces, such as trust in government and security.
Why is immigration reform such a critical issue in this election cycle?
Our immigration policy has always been central in defining our country. But in recent years, it has become one of the nation's most pressing issues. We have over ten million nationals of other countries without visas. We have a system that fails to focus scarce resources on genuine security threats. Our existing policies also create massive backlogs, neglect the needs of local communities and businesses, and exacerbate humanitarian problems. Surveys indicate that the majority of Americans believe that fixing our existing system requires a number of key reforms, including the creation of a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who pay a fine, as well as strengthening security and managing the demand for migration. Our national conversation about immigration should be an example of how Americans can deliberate respectfully about a major challenge. But our failure to address existing concerns with sensible reforms means an ever larger population of undocumented immigrants living in the shadow, further polarizing opinion and creating divisions that may become far more difficult to bridge over time.
Can you point to specific issues that Obama has shown leadership on that demonstrate his commitment to Latinos?
Barack Obama has spent his career fighting to help people share in the American dream. He deeply understands, and is intensely committed to addressing, major policy challenges facing Latinos, including immigration, health care, criminal justice, and the role of the military. He was an architect of efforts in Illinois to better integrate new permanent residents and citizens into the web of communities and professional opportunities that can foster a productive role in society. To help immigrants attain their full measure of promise as educated citizens in a democratic society, he passed the Illinois version of the DREAM Act and has supported the DREAM Act in the U.S. Senate. He called national attention to an unacceptably high Latino dropout rate, and called on Congress and the American people to reconsider harsh mandatory minimum sentences of dubious value that often disproportionately impact African Americans and Latinos. And perhaps most important, he has focused attention on these issues during a campaign that might have otherwise neglected them.
Testimonial from Teno Villareal of San Antonio, Texas
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