It also seems some members of the CHC are finally speaking out about Obama’s gatekeeper, Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff, for pulling the strings when it comes to immigration. Politico also reported that the CHC is also singling out Emanuel for his involvement to prohibit undocumented immigrants from buying health insurance plans.

“A forensic study would show it all leads back to Rahm Emanuel and the White House,” said Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who worked with Emanuel when the president’s top aide was in the House.

Since being chosen as President Obama’s White House Chief of Staff after the 2008 election, Rahm Emanuel has emerged as the “most influential White House chief of staff in a generation,” according to a New York Times article. His hardball approach to politics earned him the nickname “Rahmbo” during the the Clinton administration.

Obama selected of Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff to exert control over Obama’s team and legislative agenda. Emanuel has proved in the past that he bows to no-one when it comes to getting the job done. Democrats fear the consequences of crossing him; their fear is not unsubstantiated. He once sent a dead fish to a disloyal Democratic pollster during a US Congressional race when Bill Clinton ran for his first bid to the Presidency. Outraged at “disloyal Democrats” during Clinton’s first presidential campaign, he stunned dinner companions by rattling off names of the offenders, each time stabbing the restaurant table with a dinner knife and shouting, “Dead.”

It’s no secret that Emanuel has been an obstacle for immigration reform since he views immigration as “third rail of American politics.” Like the electrified rail used to power the trains, he believed that any Democrat who touched immigration would face likely (political) death.

Upon President Barack Obama 2008 electoral victory, immigrant advocates expressed hope that immigration reform would take place in the first term or even in the first year. In a press briefing, Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, mentioned that immigration reform would probably occur between “September of 2009 and maybe the end of March 2010.”

Some felt Rahm Emanuel must had a change on heart when he told Hispanic media “the arrow is pointing in a different direction in relation to immigration politics in this country.” However, it was only a matter of time Emanuel’s true colors would come out.

During the summer, the president did an about face to make immigration reform “a top priority in my first year.” In June, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said there are not enough votes for the Obama administration to achieve its desired immigration reform. At a Christian Science Monitor breakfast, Emanuel reiterated the same message.

The simple fact is that Rahm Emanuel never deviated from his view that immigration is a “third rail” despite what told the Hispanic media. Speaking on the condition of anonymity to Politico, a CHC member confirmed that “[he] still thinks immigration will defeat Democrats.”

Although the ideas epitomized in Emma Lazarus’ poem of the “poor, yearning to breathe free” have been much immortalized in American culture, immigrants in the US have always faced problems of discrimination, ethnocentrism, and racism. Yet, to see Republicans wield undocumented immigrants as a weapon to derail or postpone the passage of any health care bill goes beyond than being mean-spirited.

From the time I started blogging, I have watched with unease as restrictionist forces gain ground in communities, public policy, and political discourse. It was easy to see wheels were in motion hijack the health care debate after Rep Joe Wilson’s “You lie!” outburst. As a consequence, the White House is now willing to placate to the immigration restrictionists in Congress.

What is frustrating, instead of listening to me and all the other people who were sounding the alarms, CHC once again was slow to respond. True, Rahm Emanuel may be an obstacle towards immigration reform, but the CHC is also their own worst enemy.

Their main mistake has been not fighting back hard and soon enough. As a consequence, CHC have conceded vast political terrain they had won after the 2008 election. Instead of using their constituents for support, they are now forced to choose between political realism and social idealism. The former focuses all energy on political reform and partisan politics, while the focuses on creating a society which would be more democratic and more just.

As Rep. Luis Gutierrez jump start the immigration debate by introducing a comprehensive reform bill in the Democrat-controlled Congress in December, Gutierrez’s bill most likely won’t see the light of day as Democrats leaders consider ditching their controversial legislative agenda next year; making it likely immigration reform will be addressed in Obama’s second term if elected.

Once again, immigration restrictionists have succeeded in framing the immigration debate, forcing Democrats to view immigration reform as a “third rail.” Maybe now the members of CHC will take us seriously.

In 2008, more than 2.3 million American homeowners who thought they had attained the “American Dream,” saw it shatter into a nightmare once they began defaulting on their loans. In American society, home ownership has always symbolized the triumph of moving up the economic and social ladder from the lower rungs of renting. It has always been associated with security and stability and is often thought to be an essential ingredient of the “American Dream.” That was all true until now. Owning one’s own home has now become nightmare for a growing number of American families.

Last month, fellow blogamiga, Adriana of Latino Politics Blog, blogged about the latest article by the Wall Street Journal on how CA Rep. Joe Baca and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) “launched a housing initiative … to increase mortgage lending to Latinos.”

The Wall Street Journal ties a portion of the mortgage meltdown to a Hispanic first-time home buyers program, HOGAR, because they enabled people to get home mortgages without good credit, down payments or reliable evidence they could repay the loans. The article also states that the program was pushed by a coalition of mortgage industry professionals and Hispanic lawmakers. According to the Wall Street Journal:

An examination of that borrowing spree by The Wall Street Journal reveals that it wasn’t simply the mortgage market at work. It was fueled by a campaign by low-income housing groups, Hispanic lawmakers, a congressional Hispanic housing initiative, mortgage lenders and brokers, who all were pushing to increase homeownership among Latinos.

The network included [California Rep. Joe] Baca, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus [Institute Inc], whose district is 58% Hispanic and ranks No. 5 among all congressional districts in percentage of home loans not tailored for prime borrowers. The caucus launched a housing initiative called Hogar — Spanish for home — to work with industry and community groups to increase mortgage lending to Latinos. Mortgage companies provided funding to that group, and to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals, which fielded an army to make the loans.

It is not surprising that both Baca and CHCI refute the accusation that they aided the foreclosure crisis. So, what exactly was Rep. Baca and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s role in the housing collapse?

Pay-to-play
The fact a pay-to-play system exists in our political system simply is not only bad business, but it taints the political process. The first thing that comes to mind when some mentions pay-to-play is the impeachment Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich for his “play for pay” scandal relating to Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat. However, there are different forms when it comes to this practice. “Pay-to-play” is the practice of a business entity making some type of contributions with the hope of in hopes of getting in return.

According to the WSJ, HOGAR was financed some of the nation’s top subprime lenders that are either now defunct or now taken over because they ran into trouble in mortgage markets. HOGAR’s backers included: Countrywide Financial Corp, Washington Mutual Inc, New Century Financial Corp, and Ameriquest Mortgage Corp. Two of their largest sponsors are mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both now under federal control.

The article also revealed that companies that donated $150,000 a year got the right to place a research fellow who would conduct HOGAR’s studies to be used later by industry lobbyists. Those who donated over $100,000 a year, HOGAR would highlight the lender’s commercial products intended for the Latino market in their news releases.

The Players
It was reported that HOGAR and Freddie Mac had partnered with each other on a two-year study identifying the state of Latinos homeownership in 63 Congressional Districts in 11 states, including Puerto Rico. The study in question is HOGAR’s The Potential of Hispanic Homeownership: Challenges and Opportunities, authored by HOGAR Fellow and former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) insider, Alejandro Becerra.

After a closer look, XicanoPwr.com discovered that Freddie Mac was not the influential play that took part in the HOGAR study. As noted in the WSJ report, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) sponsored the study, however, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary and CityView Executive Chairman, a national housing investor, Henry Cisneros also had input into the study. Other influential people in the housing industry included Moises Loza, President and CEO of Housing Assistance Council (HAC) and Ron Jauregui of Hispanic National Mortgage Association (HNMA).

Mr. Jauregui currently serves as Vice President for Community Alliances for the HNMA and has one of the most interesting backgrounds out of HOGAR’s fellows. According to Mr. Jauregui’s bio on Hispanic National Mortgage Association, Mr. Jauregui was not only a Fellow; he also served as HOGAR’s Director. Prior to working for CHCI, he worked for Bank of America, where he worked on processing and underwriting mortgages Bank’s Spanish Language pilot Fulfillment Team.

While subprime loan products can sound relatively simple and attractive, some people have benefited from their use. As more details of the industry’s activities begin to surface, it is evident Jauregui was at the forefront pushing lenders different subprime loan products to increase homeownership among Latinos, such as ITIN mortgages. American Prospect defines subprime lending as:

Sub-prime lending is a fancy financial term for high-interest loans to people who would otherwise be considered too risky for a conventional loan.These include middle-class families who have accumulated too much debt and low-income working families who want to buy a home in the inflated housing market. To cover their risk, lenders charge such borrowers higher-than-conventional interest rates. Or they make ‘adjustable rate’ loans, which offer low initial interest rates that jump sharply after a few years.

Real estate blogger, Pam MacKenzie, explain that in 2007, a Texas-based national consulting firm, the Gonzalez Group, advised a group of Realtor on how to effectively market themselves to minority groups. One particular group she was concerned was the push to lend money to undocumented immigrants. She wrote that Wells Fargo and Deutche Bank (two of HOGAR’s backers) and some other bankers were “lending money to people who didn’t have Social Security numbers” by using ‘ITINs’ – Individual Tax Identification Numbers – to process their applications.

After Ms. MacKenzie wrote her post about this questionable practice, Ron Jauregui replied. Jauregui defended this practice because he felt that “ITIN loans perform better than the rest of the market.” However, if one were to look closer at his statement, the purpose of this practice is to exploit the “underground economy.”

It is undeniable the issue of immigration became one of the most significant economic themes during the housing boom. Under the guise of immigration reform, a 2004 study was conduct by The Immigration Policy Center of the American Immigration Law Foundation for NAHREP. Rob Paral & Associates performed the study. Paral was a research fellow with the Immigration Policy Center, though the report was performed outside his duties at the center. The report asserted that nearly a quarter of a million undocumented immigrant households in the US could become homeowners if barriers such as identification, legalization, traditional credit requirements and language were no longer an issue.

Presenting the study, Tim Sandos, president of the NAHREP – a group made up of Latino and non-Latino representatives of banks, real estate firms, developers, homebuilders and real estate service providers – advocated that if the mortgage companies made greater use of ITIN, $44 billion in new mortgages – primarily to first-time buyers – could be originated.

Leaders from the corporate arena applauded the findings of the study, particularly those in the industries that are challenged with developing initiatives for the under-served market. Making matters worse, they interest in immigration reform was never out of altruism but out greed. Once in the hands of the mortgage lending industry, subprime loans became predatory loans – a faulty product that was ruthlessly hawked even though financial institutions were aware of its defects. The spillover effect from theses wholesale bad loans, communities have been torn apart, with one house after another in a neighborhood becoming vacant and property values deteriorating by thousands of dollars.

It is unfortunate civil rights organization like Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, National Council of La Raza and Immigration Policy Center of the American Immigration Law Foundation pushed for these lending practices, which has made a mockery of the American dream and has ruined many economic lives and many communities. What was supposed to be a financial product intended for limited use by a limited number of people has been parlayed into another ill-fated bubble by mortgage lenders lacking the integrity, foresight, and any vestige of civic concern.

The subprime crisis continues to threaten US society by deepening the already existing wealth divide. The foreclosure of the dream must be prevented. Millions of Americans still live in communities that are separate and unequal. Empowering the Latino community means helping Latinos make informed financial decisions; not using them as a vehicle to reap huge profits by ignoring their ability to repay a loan and/or neglect to document the homeowner’s income. We must hold those who engaged in predatory lending practices accountable.

With a new Administration in place, we must that this moment to recognize the failures of existing government policies and address predatory lending through vigorous enforcement of safety and soundness standards, consumer protection, financial education programs, credit counseling, and a new legislative solution.

This is another setback to the once control [tag]Republican[/tag] controlled Congress. With this victory, Democrats have now won a total of 30 House seats in the mid-term election and giving them 233-202 advantage in the House. (Side note: Currently a FL election is being challenged because there is strong evidence that election fraud occurred that resulted in a Republican win.)

Ciro win is a tremendous victory not only for him but for Hispanics as well. Faced with many challenges the minute he entered the race, Ciro defied them all and beat a very strong Republican incumbent and who was the favorite to win the runoff because of his huge war chest. Political Money Line shows that Bonilla reported he had $955,000 in cash on hand compared with $91,000 for Rodriguez.

What makes this race interesting, not many people from his own party actually believed that Ciro could pull this victory because of his recent loss to Henry Cuellar. In fact, at one point, Ciro dropped out of the Nov 7 race, some say that the losses hurt Ciro’s creditability among some party activists, who say it exposed Ciro’s weaknesses in “fundraising and his campaigning abilities.”

The back-to-back losses hurt Rodriguez’s standing among some party activists, who say they exposed weaknesses in Rodriguez fundraising and campaigning abilities.

I have discussed Ciro’s loses to Henry Cuellar before. He lost by 58 votes when he lost to Cuellar the first time around, it is kind of hard to see how that is seen as a weakness in his ability to campaign. The second lost also has to do with redistricting, for the party elites contribute Ciro’s loss to his campaigning ability is a far stretch. But if people want to believe in this type of propaganda, I wonder if they also believe we are winning the war in Iraq.

It’s not secret that Henry Cuellar angered a lot of Democratics in 2004 when Cuellar went against the advice of Party officials not to do it. In fact, Rodriguez had been an enormously popular Congressman, and chair of the House Hispanic Caucus, before he lost to Cuellar in the 2004. As a Congressman, Cuellar has publicly sided with the Bush administration; has supported Bush’s Social Security plan; and has served as Texas secretary of state under Gov Rick Perry. So Ciro’s lost to Cuellar during the March 2006 primary did not help, Ciro was viewed as damaged goods.

This is probably why he did drop out, despite the fact that Ciro cited it was due to family reasons and the inability to raise the needed funds. The last time that excuse was used was when Richard Morrison – who ran (and almost won too) against Tom DeLay in the 22nd Congressional District back in 2004 – opted not to run against DeLay in 2006.

As you all know I devoted 2 years of my life to win and placed my law practice on hold. With the prospects of having to spend another 2 years winning a primary and then challenging DeLay, my family’s financial situation is not the rosiest. My wife is expecting our 5th child in August and I feel that I must devote my time to getting my financial house in order. I think the biggest issue this county faces is our national debt and for me and mine to be facing debt that could quickly become unmanageable is irresponsible and unwise.

Some were speculating that the DCCC had something to do with Morrison’s decision to drop out.

Unlike Morrison, Ciro re-entered the race and many didn’t think he had a chance to win. To make it to the run off, he would have to beat Party favorite businessman Lukin Gilliland Jr. and the other 6 Democrats who were also running and hope Bonilla didn’t get 50% of the vote. In the end, Rodriguez won the right to participate in the runoff with 20.3% to Bonilla’s 48.1%.

Another obstacle Ciro was facing was the way the run-off elections were handled by the state. It seems Perry et al were doing everything in their power to keep Bonilla in office.

Gov. Rick Perry set election day for Dec. 12, with early voting Dec. 4 through Dec. 8. But Rodriguez and the League of United Latin American Citizens objected to the announcement’s timing, which came right before Thanksgiving. They argued that gave voters too little notice of the coming runoff.

Rodriguez and LULAC also noted that election day falls on Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe, a major religious holiday for Mexican Catholics, potentially driving down the turnout of Hispanic voters.

Despite all that and a “Si, Se Puede” attitude, Ciro beat them all.

It is interesting to see the dropped-jaws at some of the bigger blogs in the blogosphere who had no idea Ciro could win this race and they are paying tribute to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee because they did drop cash there, after dragging their feet or could it be that members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus put some fire under their asses. Last year, members were angry at the Democratic leadership for not supporting Hispanic races and their races. In protest, member withheld paying their party dues.

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are withholding their party membership dues until they receive assurances from House Democratic leaders that the party will make a concerted effort to engage Hispanic voters and better serve the needs of the Hispanic community.

Lawmakers withholding their dues said that their decision was the culmination of several years of frustration with what they view as the Democratic Party’s failure to reach out to Hispanics and include them in the decision-making process. They are also increasingly concerned by results at the ballot box and of post-election surveys showing that President Bush won 44 percent of the Hispanic vote.

Caucus members last week demanded meetings with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and told The Hill that they would use their pending party dues as leverage to secure an audience. Pelosi was scheduled to receive the caucus in her office March 10, and Emanuel will host members one week later at DCCC headquarters.

Before anybody is to give out congratulatory messages to the DCCC, all congratulations should first go to those who deserve it and that goes to the members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. It was the Hispanic Caucus who were the first to come out to support Ciro before the DCCC even decided to pour in money into the race.

Hispanic Caucus members jumped behind Rodriguez in a Nov. 15 meeting, where they began a push to get party leaders involved in the race.

“I think everyone is doing their own part for Ciro, but the money is essential and it has to get rolling,” said Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, a Hispanic caucus vice chairman.

Maybe the Hispanic Caucus had to remind Pelosi and Rahm Emanuel of the promises they made last year or suffer the same consequences – withholding party dues again!

Now that Ciro has won, things are going to be interesting between Cuellar and Ciro – payback is a bitch and Cuellar knows it. The same type of payback Cuellar dished out on fellow members of Congress right after his March primaries. Rather makes you wonder if he wishes he could take back this statement.

“For all those members who feel they know my district better than I do, they’re just plan wrong,” he said later. “I don’t appreciate it. What happened to the incumbency rule?”

I am pretty sure Bonilla is wondering what happened to that incumbency rule that Cuellar mentioned.

It is obvious Cuellar backed the wrong horse when he decided to play with the Republicans. Now that the Democrats have control of the House, Cuellar has is hoping Nancy Pelosi, a friend of Ciro Rodriguez, will not rectified the situation now that the Democrats control the purse strings in the 110th Congress. So far, Cuellar is doing everything the party has asked, even going out in public and endorsing Ciro Rodriguez.

There are some Texas Democrats who were delight to see this, I still say, it is nothing more than a ploy.

Cuellar will begin his second term in January, he is still too far down the seniority ladder to land an appointment to a powerful committee and burning those bridges doesn’t help. Cuellar better brush up on that “New Direction for America,” agenda if he wants a good assignment. He serves on agriculture and budget and he is gunning for an assignment on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Ciro’s win is a major victory for Latinos, not just here in Texas, but in states where we have the majority. Something Cuellar had better take note. Gringo conservatives were riding on their “Great Brown Hope” because Bonilla was not only the Republicans only Mexican American Republican, but he also was a strong supporter for those nativist anti-immigration measures that were sponsored by xenophobic Republicans. He voted for the construction of the 700-mile border fence, and supported Rep. Jim “I hate Mexiskins” Sensenbrenner’s bill penalizing workers who hire undocumented immigrants.

The break down of the Latino majority counties the evidence shows Ciro beat Bonilla in a major landslide.
Latino majority counties
Bexar County – Ciro 56%, Bonilla – 43%
Dimmit County (85% Latino) – Ciro 75%, Bonilla 25%
Maverick County (95% Latino) – Ciro 85%, Bonilla 14%
Presidio County (85% Latino) – Ciro 60%, Bonilla 40%
Val Verde County (75% Latino) – Ciro 49% Bonilla 50%
Zavala County (91% Latino) Ciro 83%, Bonilla 16%

Here is the kicker, the district is the largest in Texas – it stretches from San Antonio to the Texas-Mexico border and out to far west Texas until El Paso. Sixty-one percent of the district’s voting age population is Hispanic, compared with 51 percent in 2004. If all these people came out to vote for Ciro, then I will once again ask, how Red is Texas really? Despite having a huge money advantage and the incumbent factor on Bonilla side going into this election, it looks like even Republicans fall for their own lies, especially the lie that Texas is a Red state.

Viva Ciro Rodriguez! Si, Se Puede!