Women's Leadership Forum: Latinas Feel Unrepresented at Democratic National Committee Event
Hispanic women in the U.S. do not feel that the Democrats represent them, and a protest outside an event in Washintgon D.C. expressed that sentiment Friday, the Huffington Post reported.
A gathering of the Women's Leadership Forum of the Democratic National Committee
"This is supposed to be a convention for women, and there no Latinas representing the undocumented community," said Maura Pereira, a political organizer from North Carolina, told the Huffington Post. "I hope they do notice that we're all also women and Latinas living the struggle."
The DNC event was a rally of its own -- to mobilize female voters for the 2014 midterm elections -- but with the lack of Latinas being represented, the message was that neither party can be trusted by undocumented immigrants.
In 2012 women and Latinos supported Democrats, but now, Latinos believe, neither part can be trusted to provide relief for tens of thousands at risk of deportation.
President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi attended the event on Thursday and Friday.
The frustration over the lack of representation may have stemmed from the inaction on immigration reform, especially the recent self-imposed deadline missed by the president -- which some say has been fueled by Republican criticism that he is to blame for the influx of immigrants.
"As he's in there talking about the future [role] that women will play in America, we want him to really remember the mothers he's deported," Mario Carillo, communications director for United We Dream, told Huffington Post. "We want him to remember the children he's torn from their families, from their mothers."
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has attempted to apply pressure to the Obama administration, by issuing a resolution to demand action, but the women criticized the effort for not being more demanding and immediate.
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