2004 was not that great a year for U.S. Latinos

For Latinos, 2004 was a mixed year. Despite the addition of two Hispanic surnames to the U.S. Senate roll, Latinos have little to cheer about. The victories of Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and Mel Martinez, R-Fla., nominally give us a greater voice in Congress, but it is unclear whether either of them will become Hispanic stalwart defenders in the model of Democratic Reps. Jose Serrano from New York or Luis Gutierrez from Illinois. And President Bush's Cabinet nominees -- USA PATRIOT Act drafter Alberto Gonzales for attorney general and Kellogg executive Carlos Gutierrez for secretary of commerce -- are symbolic gains at most. They do not make up for the lack of policy changes that have failed to produce significant results for a majority of Latinos in the United States. On immigration policy, for example, Bush finally proposed to help millions of Latinos toiling in obscurity to "emerge from the shadows." But the guest worker program he presented after three long years of post-Sept. 11 silence left many of us still waiting to see the light. It is ironic that one of the "shadow workers" the president referred to was apparently the undocumented Latin American nanny of Bernard Kerik, Bush's first nominee for secretary of homeland security. Many domestic issues nearest and dearest to Latinos