In response to what they view as deceptive media propaganda portraying all Hispanics as supporters of amnesty, illegal immigration, the welfare state, big government, and other causes, two liberty-minded leaders with Latin American ancestry launched Conservative Hispanics of America to fight back. In an exclusive interview with The New American, CHOA founder Andy Ramirez explained why such an organization is needed and what the future might hold for the budding alliance.
While the group will focus on a variety of different projects, the primary goal will be to educate the public and policymakers about the concerns of conservative American Hispanics. According to Ramirez, there is a real absence of liberty-minded Hispanics in the public arena, and that needs to change — especially because leftist and collectivist groups purporting to speak for all Hispanics currently dominate the limelight in terms of press coverage and lawmakers’ attention.
After watching the “propagandizing” on immigration issues by the Mexican government and “their agents in America,” Ramirez and his friend Al Garza decided “enough was enough,” Ramirez explained. Among the myriad groups he cited: the National Council of La Raza, which means “The Race” in English; a student group in colleges and high schools known as MEChA; the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and more. CHOA says those groups are pushing “ethnocentric politics,” and conservative Hispanics are sick of being lumped in with such collectivist organizations.
“We knew the other side was getting all the publicity and presenting false information that’s purely propaganda and only reflective of those who’ve bought into the bologna or chose to accept the brainwashing that goes on within groups like MEChA,” Ramirez said. “They do not seek improvement for Hispanics any more than the Congressional Black Caucus seeks for the communities they represent, except that the CBC are not agents for Mexico or seeking a takeover and replication of what so many ancestors fled Mexico and other countries to escape. This replication is happening today, and we see it especially in California.”
Ramirez said he and Al Garza, the other founder of CHOA, each have a “lifetime of experience” having witnessed the other side’s politics. In fact, they even know the key leaders and attended meetings of the radical Hispanic groups in both Los Angeles and other areas. On the outside, he continued, groups like La Raza (The Race) and others try to portray themselves as “civil rights” organizations. “But they’re far from that,” he added.
“Mexico has long wanted revenge and not a mere slice of the pie, but the whole pie altogether,” argued Ramirez, a longtime advocate for law enforcement and an expert who has testified before Congress on numerous occasions. “As we watched illegal aliens invade congressional offices and testify before the U.S. Senate, while qualified experts like ourselves were not asked, I had enough and called Al. We then decided to combine our expertise and efforts to address the propaganda and lies once and for all, and have begun reaching out to friends who we know feel the same way.”
“There is another viewpoint among Hispanics, and CHOA represents that, for not only do we oppose amnesty and illegal immigration, we speak openly about the corruption that takes place south of our borders, something the other side has yet to begin to address,” Ramirez said. “This is something we have spoken out against all along.”
According to Ramirez, watching the Senate hearing that featured an admitted illegal immigrant and a representative of La Raza, it became clear to conservative Hispanics across the country that the “fix was in” as far as amnesty was concerned. Given his own personal experiences going back to his time as chairman of a local California Democrat Party and nominee for the California Assembly, he immediately understood what was going on in terms of the “leftist goals” being advanced. That is when he and Garza decided to form CHOA.
“In point of fact, during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Gang of Eight’s S-744, not one conservative Hispanic appeared as a witness where we would have discussed our objection to what I’ve referred to as the U.S. Immigration Capitulation Act of 2013 aka Shamnesty, which is exactly what this bill does,” Ramirez said, adding that another round of amnesty would be needed in a decade or two at this rate. “It capitulates on immigration enforcement to the foreign governments that continue to promote illegal entry into the United States.”
Conservative Hispanics of America has rallied together to “remind all politicians that ignoring the ‘Oath of Affirmation’” will lead to “serious consequences,” CHOA co-founder Garza explained in a statement. “Allegiance to the United States Constitution is not an option, it is their sworn obligation,” he continued. “The images in the far distance of this great nation’s rear mirror should never again interfere with the long-range vision of Americans of all colors. That is the America I was taught by my parents to love, serve and to protect. Clearly the traitors in Washington are obsessed with the recreation of another America which will never parallel with the America I grew up to love and defend.”
According to Garza, the immigration system is not broken — and “amnesty is clearly not the solution, it’s the enforcement part and lack thereof that is broken.” The threats America faces as a nation, he added, “could easily be remedied” by securing the border properly and enforcing current immigration laws. “Any notion that our system requires some form of comprehensive adjustment is ludicrous and totally unacceptable,” Garza concluded. “Conservative Hispanics of America are demanding ‘Attrition by Enforcement.’ How difficult can that be? Mexico does this, and so can we.”
While the immigration debate is currently in the spotlight, CHOA will also be focusing on other issues important to conservative American Hispanics. Among the key principles and values the group will fight for: The rejection of “public poverty lifestyles,” including welfare, and encouraging American Hispanics to reject ongoing corruption by governments in their ancestral lands that keep people suffering from injustice, under-educated, and impoverished. Also on the agenda are stopping U.S. taxpayer support for corrupt governments ruling over Latin American nations and demanding that foreign governments stop meddling in domestic U.S. affairs.
“We hope that our fellow Americans begin to see that not all Hispanics accept the propaganda of ethnocentric, Mexican government-backed groups like La Raza, aka The Race, and that not all Hispanics support amnesty,” Ramirez added in ending his interview with The New American. “In fact, we speak for many who oppose both. We also realize that it’s difficult to publicly take the position that Al and I have long taken on such issues given the opposition often taking the law into their hands and becoming violent if cameras and law enforcement are not around.”
“We also hope that people finally see and understand what is really going on, that there are two sides to Hispanic issues, but that we shall continue to engage in facts, not propaganda or race-card sympathy, respect for the Rule of Law, and to support, protect, and defend the Constitution,” he concluded. “Our loyalty is to the United States of America, not a race, ancestral land, or foreign government that uses their agents to replicate what our ancestors escaped decades ago.”
Ramirez told The New American that he hopes CHOA will serve to unite the voices of conservative Hispanics nationwide in fighting for the principles of liberty and the U.S. Constitution. Additionally, he added, it is crucial for the future of the country that the debates currently raging in America feature both sides of the issue. Whether the radical collectivist agenda of certain Hispanic “civil rights” organizations can be stopped, however, remains to be seen.
Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, politics, and more. He can be reached at [email protected].
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