By Merle David Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer
Washington — President Obama told the largest Hispanic advocacy group in the United States that America remains a place where opportunity is open to all who work for it.
“We’re a people who look out for one another. We’re a people who believe in shared sacrifice, because we know that we rise or fall as one nation,” Obama said July 25 in a speech to the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza.
Obama, who addressed the annual conference while a candidate for president, said that he had made promises that had to be kept and that his administration has worked closely with the Hispanic community to meet those promises. He said that a crucial promise he made then and believes now is that America remains a place where opportunity is open to all who are willing to work for it.
The president said his administration has cut taxes for middle class workers, small businesses and low-income families; won credit card reform and financial reform; and provided protections against being exploited to those who use payday lenders or send remittances home to families outside the United States. He added that his administration has secured health care for 4 million children, including the children of legal immigrants, and he is implementing health care reform for those who don’t have sufficient health insurance.
The president told the conference that he has worked to make students learning the English language a priority for educators across the United States, while holding schools with high dropout rates accountable. The Obama administration has worked to emphasize the teaching of mathematics and science and invested in community colleges so that workers can gain skills that companies need in their workforces, he said.
He also said that his administration has won new college grants for more than 100,000 Latino students, giving greater opportunities to those seeking advanced educations.
Obama told the nearly 25,000 people attending the annual conference in Washington that he still seeks an immigration system that “holds true to our values and our heritage and meets our economic and security needs.” He said immigration reform is an economic imperative.
In recent years, one in six new small-business owners were immigrants. Google and Intel were founded by immigrants, Obama said.
“This country has always been made stronger by our immigrants,” he said.
Obama has held meetings at the White House this year with 160 community leaders and local elected officials from 25 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and with more than 100 White House and Cabinet officials, to discuss his efforts for immigration reform and for the U.S. Hispanic community, the White House said in a separate statement July 25. Other Cabinet officers — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar — also addressed the National Council of La Raza annual conference.
