White House political strategist Karl Rove touted "shared values" of faith and family and reiterated President Bush's support of broad immigration reform in a Los Angeles address Tuesday to one of the nation's largest Latino civil rights organizations.
In a lunchtime talk at the National Council of La Raza's annual conference, the Republican advisor outlined Bush's plan for stronger border security, workplace enforcement, a guest worker program and earned legalization for undocumented immigrants.
"He understands immigration is a positive force in this country
But he drew scattered boos when he highlighted Bush's recent approval of $1.9 billion in funding for more border security, including deployment of National Guard troops, and was disrupted twice by hecklers who unfurled antiwar and anti-Bush banners.
Rove, who shared his own family story of Norwegian immigrants, also told the crowd that assimilating by learning English was critical to both national unity and boosting the pay and career potential of immigrants. "English binds us together as Americans and enables us to share our common life," he said.
Speaking after Rove, New Mexico's Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson outlined his own immigration plan -- which was strikingly similar to Bush's. Unlike Rove, however, he was not booed when he promoted tougher border security to crack down not only on illegal immigrants, he said, but also on drugs and violence.
Rove's appearance comes as both parties try to tap the fast-growing Latino electorate, which is becoming more independent. About 40% of Latinos voted for Bush in the 2004 election, compared with 56% for Democratic candidate John F. Kerry.
In California, Democratic registration among Latinos has fallen from 69% in 1996 to 48% today. Latino voters declining to state a party preference increased from 9% to 25% during that period while Republican registrants grew from 19% to 23%, according to the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
Cecilia Munoz, La Raza vice president, said she was "encouraged" by Rove's remarks in support of broad immigration reform at a time when a wing of his party is pushing what she sees as a punitive approach focused on cracking down on illegal immigrants.
Congress' two chambers are holding dueling summer hearings, with the House promoting an enforcement approach and the Senate backing a broader bill that includes border security, legalization for undocumented immigrants and more family and worker visas.
