As for the actual speeches from McCain and Obama, there were no real surprises. McCain seemed to focus on economics and small business development, but he didn’t address immigration reform other than to mention it toward the end of his address. Obama appeared later in the afternoon and was introduced by Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa (uh, get back to work Villaraigosa, let one of the other Latino politicos in D.C. introduce the Democratic nominee). Obama talked about immigration reform in the context of racial diversity and economic development, providing him with a warmer reception and more excitement from the attendees.

Matthew Continetti from The Weekly Standard pointed out some of the flaws in Obama’s attempt to portray himself as a champion of immigration reform. Obama did not come out swinging for immigration reform last year, and he was noticeably silent regarding the Elvira Arellano case in his home state as well. If you don’t remember, Elvira Arellano was seeking asylum in a Chicago church, and she ended up being deported leaving behind her U.S. born son.

While immigration reform is a key issue for many Latinos, Roberto Lovato points out that the war ranks as the #1 issue for Latinos. Note how the Department of Defense, the Army, and Navy are sponsors of this LULAC event. McCain didn’t talk about the war, but he did mention the contributions of Latino troops. Big deal… we already know that we pour our blood and sweat on the battle field in high numbers for little reward or recognition. If McCain really wants to do something for our troops, he would increase G.I. Bill benefits or work to bring them home instead of insinuating that we will be in Iraq for 100 years. Obama also could have addressed the war with LULAC, as he sought to portray himself as the anti-war candidate from the start of his campaign, but he gave a standard “feel good” speech from the center. It will be interesting to see if both McCain and Obama deliver any punches at the NCLR conference in the next few days. They could definitely improve their talks and offer more specifics. Stay tuned for more.

I hope that Elvira’s story inspires the policy makers to provide a path to citizenship or legalized status for parents in her position. I remember seven years ago watching the Elian Gonzalez case and the outpouring of support for this little boy, whose own mother was trying to land on American shores. Ultimately, I supported his father’s parental right to raise him where he wanted to, which is in Cuba. It is kind of ironic that we welcome Cubans with open arms as refugees if they make it to the shore, but we shun our Mexican neighbors to the south who come here for that same opportunity to live the American dream.

Many people assume that Americans will eventually fill in for the work that the undocumented and poor immigrants do, but that doesn’t seem to be happening in some of the farming towns in Colorado. Some argue that as employers have trouble hiring undocumented migrants or other low wage immigrants that they will eventually raise wages to a level where people will start to take those jobs. I don’t think that will happen as quickly as we would like to satisfy those enterprises. Some places in the US are experimenting with US prison labor to fill in the void, but I doubt that will continue if prisoners escape. There aren’t any easy answers.

While he is here, I do hope that Elvira’s little boy, Saul, takes advantage of everything that US citizenship affords him. Her son is now living with the pastor of the Methodist church where she was seeking refuge. I believe that if he dedicates himself to his studies and becomes successful that his mother’s sacrifices will be worth the pain both he and she are enduring because of their separation. He really has a chance to prove to people that something positive can come from this situation.