Editor’s Letter

The June 28 failure of the immigration reform bill endorsed by President Bush
highlights just how polarizing the issue has become in America. The proposal, billed as a bi-partisan effort and championed by Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA), among others, also found resistance from both fronts. Nonetheless, even though the immigration issue remains unresolved, Democrats claimed a public opinion coup, and Republicans must now deal with the aftermath of their strong anti-immigrant rhetoric.
The debate has only made fixing the nation’s broken immigration policy more difficult. The matter now carries as much emotional weight as some of the most divisive issues for Americans, such as abortion and gay rights, mostly due the stacking of immigration with issues of assimilation, language, cultural identity and national security. The resulting concoction is hard to digest for most Americans, especially when argued with the sort of nativist rhetoric taken by some news anchors, which threaten journalistic integrity (see Ruben Navarrette, Jr. on Lou Dobbs on p. 20).
At its core, the issue of immigration is a humanitarian one. Yes, it’s an economic issue and, to an extent, a security issue. Its ripple effect has both positive and negative impacts on everyday life in this country. However, there are 12 million people living beyond the reach and protection of the law, many below poverty levels and most of whom have, at one point or another, been trafficked like commodities. It is high time we learn to separate the issues and view immigration, first and foremost, as the humanitarian crisis it has become right here within our borders. That was the sentiment that gave birth to the sanctuary movement back in 1982, and that is the feeling today among those responsible for its revival. (See “The New Sanctuary Movement” on p. 42)
As of this month you’ll notice a new look for our magazine, as well as a new section, Picture This on p. 84, inviting our readers to submit images that capture Hispanic life and chronicle the times we live in. Every month we will select an image to feature, allowing our readers to contribute to our magazine.
And who better to help us premiere our good looks than Spanish heartthrob Enrique Iglesias (see p. 58), whose new album Insomniac, continues to light the charts around the world.

Enjoy the issue,

Daniel Eilemberg
Editor