Education, immigration and health care for Latinos were the core issues discussed at a town hall meeting in Raleigh Saturday. The forum brought Democratic U.S. Reps. David Price and Bob Etheridge together with guest of honor Rep. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., to discuss topics pertinent to the Latino community in North Carolina and the nation as a whole.
Menendez, vice chair of the Democratic Caucus and the highest ranking Latino in Congress, emphasized that the nation's growing Latino population has made great strides, but still faces several challenges. Among these challenges is the need for more education in the community.
"When 50 percent of all Latino students in the country don't finish their high school years... we need to look at that," Menendez said. As part of the solution, Menendez discussed the Hispanic Education Action program, a piece of legislation in Congress that would secure $200 million for the education of young Latinos.
Etheridge echoed Menendez's statements, saying that education for all youth is critical to ensure economic success and a strong tax base from which to draw funds for programs such as social security.
Menendez also discussed immigration and voiced his support for the idea of "earned legalization," which would allow illegal immigrants who have lived and worked in the United States for several years to apply for legal status or citizenship.
He said the idea has come under criticism since the Sept. 11 attacks, which have given rise to calls for more secure borders. Menendez acknowledged that improvements in immigration policy must be made, but said the nation should not close its borders. "We must secure the borders of the U.S., but must also understand the history of America," he said.
He also called for changes in the nation's current health care system. "There are still too many Americans who have no health care coverage whatsoever or are dramatically underinsured," Menendez said.
"We need to look at the shortcomings of our health care system in general, specifically as it applies to this community as well," he said.
The representative praised Community Development Financial Institutions, banks for specific communities that may have difficulty obtaining credit. One such CDFI is the Latino Credit Union in North Carolina. "Economic opportunities that lead to self-sufficiency is a goal that Republicans and Democrats [in Congress] share," Menendez said.
After his opening comments, Menendez took questions from the audience. One person asked the panel whether or not undocumented immigrants had access to education at the state's community colleges and universities. Although the representatives did not cite many specific admissions policies, they said the government should institute less ambiguous laws to allow immigrants to attend college.
"It's not desirable to have college admissions people be the front line in immigration law enforcement. But we should have workable and enforceable immigration laws," said Price.
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