A day after Proposition 200 became law, Arizona's most influential
Latinos were blaming each other for the failure to stop the immigration
measure and are urging immigrants to be wary of anyone asking them for
money to continue the court battle. Some Latino leaders are questioning
efforts already under way asking immigrants to donate $1 each to
continue the fight against Proposition 200. A federal judge allowed it
to become law on Wednesday. Among other things, the law calls for state
and local government workers to report suspected undocumented
immigrants seeking public benefits. Top Latinos said Thursday
they now feel more could have been done to defeat the measure at the
ballot box. Rep. Ben Miranda, D-Phoenix, blasted the election campaign
against Proposition 200, saying a big failure was not to involve
Latinos in general and immigrants in particular. "It's important to
recognize that the campaign against Prop. 200 was poorly run," Miranda
said. "It was poorly run because we were scared that we were going to
be looked upon as people out there waving the Mexican flag." Maricopa
County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, a top Latina and one of the initial
opponents of the measure, said the criticism is only a reflection of
defeat. "There is frustration because we lost," Wilcox said. "There are
different opinions about what we should have been done." Miranda, who
believes that part of the problem was not involving immigrants in the
campaign, is organizing a new coalition designed to attract immigrants,
church officials, students and others outside the Latino political
establishment. [more]
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