La Raza Opposes Obamacare; Rep. Gutierrez Falls on the Sword

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) released a statement to the Huffington Post on Thursday morning that said it could not support the Senate bill, nor reconciliation if the health care reform proposal remains unchanged. What makes NCLR's objection particularly noteworthy, is that the organization's former senior vice president, Cecilia MuÒoz, currently serves as President Obama's Director of Intergovernmental Affairs.

"The argument that everyone should support health care reform because it's for the "greater good" has given national leaders an excuse to brush off the concerns of the most disenfranchised and vulnerable communities that desperately need results," writes Ng'andu. "Latinos engaged in health care reform have not only been asked to sweep critical health care priorities under the rug, but also to swallow measures that would harm vulnerable immigrant families and their children. If this is what we can expect from our lawmakers and political leaders, we ought to take pause. We cannot forget for whom and for what we have been fighting since the beginning of this debate."

Last week, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) released a statement in which he said it would be "extremely difficult if not impossible" for him "to vote for any measure that denies undocumented workers health care purchased with their own dollars."

However, on Thursday Rep. Gutierrez, Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Immigration Taskforce, ate his words and betrayed his constituency. At a press conference with fellow members of the CHC, Gutierrez said that he could now vote for the bill, which denies health care to undocumented workers, because the President has assured him that he is committed to comprehensive immigration reform. While accepting the fact that the "rules of this legislative process ... do not allow for changes to the health care bill's immigration provisions," he now believes the "President will lead us in getting comprehensive immigration reform across the finish line."