Clinton underlines key Hispanic issues

By Gustavo Reveles Acosta / El Paso Times
Photo by Ruben R. Ramirez / El Paso Times)
Article Launched: 02/12/2008 11:58:07 PM

Forget the mariachis, the folklorico dancers, the bilingual handmade signs and the slew of Spanish phrases uttered by every warm-up speaker before Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton took the stage at a rally at the Don Haskins Center.

What made it clear that Clinton is wooing the Hispanic vote was her message, said people who attended her rally Tuesday night.

"She spoke to us about our families and about our relatives that have lived in hiding for so long," said Hector Ruben Soto, a student at the University of Texas at El Paso, who carried a sign that read "Latinos + Hillary = Presidency."

"Hillary is speaking about the issues that affect us," he added. "And if we stick by her, she's going to stick by us."

Indeed, Clinton talked about several issues experts say are hot topics for Hispanic voters in the campaigns leading up to the March 4 Texas primaries.

Chief among those issues is immigration, something Clinton on Tuesday said needed compassionate reform that could grant undocumented immigrants a path to legalization.

"Of course we're going to secure our borders," she said. "But so many people that are here have worked hard É and they also deserve to live the American dream."