Texas Hispanic Elected Officials Rebuke Romney and Rubio

Marco Rubio’s endorsement of Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential primary only further shows how out of touch the GOP is with Latinos.  Hispanic elected officials in Texas issued strong rebukes on the endorsement:

“This endorsement is a slap in the face to Latinos. By endorsing Romney, Rubio followed the lead of infamous xenophobes like Pete Wilson and Jan Brewer,” said State Rep. Roberto Alonzo (D-Dallas).

“Mitt Romney has shown he will say anything to get elected, no matter how much his positions harm Latinos. Mitt Romney has called Arizona’s draconian immigration law a model for the nation. If Romney were elected president, Latinos across the country could be exposed to these types of extreme laws,” said House Democratic Leader Jessica Farrar (D-Houston).

Romney’s threat to veto the DREAM act is disappointing. Rubio also proposed denying immigrant students the ability to earn citizenship through military service or a higher education. It’s sad that they would use kids as a political punching bag to earn points with rightwing extremists,” said State Rep. Pete Gallego (D-Alpine).

“Mitt Romney’s wrong if he thinks a Rubio endorsement is going to fix his troubles with Latinos. Mitt Romney is so extreme on immigration, he has already promised to veto the bipartisan Dream Act. Republicans have certainly alienated Latino voters by using extremely vitriolic rhetoric that invokes themes of terrorism and criminality,” said State Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas).