Hispanic advocates should be Americans first

A lot of Hispanic bloggers and advocates are upset that the presidential debates have not included immigration and issues associated to it such as the heinous 287 deportation program in cities like Nashville and ICE raids across the country.

We do know, at least for Michelle Obama, that her husband will stop ICE raids. That would be a major human rights improvement. But a questionnaire from an immigrant advocacy group Sen. Obama filled out did not tell much about anything else he would do. Even Sen. McCain wants to pass reform of the nation's immigration policy. But neither candidate has it as a first-year priority.

And we won't see immigration as any priority in any new White House. That's because our country is in grave danger of another Great Depression. Households of citizens living in families that have been in this nation for generations are at dire risk.

If this nation and these households are not saved, there will be no place for immigrants to come here and stay here and fewer jobs to fill. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that immigration from Mexico has declined 25% and some undocumented immigrants are returning home for lack of decent-paying work.

Advocates should quit complaining about not being heard in the debates. Times have dramatically changed. And this nation's overall needs must come first.

We still can fight for human rights in our communities and this nation. Besides ICE raids, we can encourage a President Obama to dismantle the Clinton administration machinery that allows 287g. We also can recruit and fund local candidates who will refute public policy unfairly aimed at undocumented human beings. Also, registering our brothers and sisters to vote is being Americans first.

But we should be prepared for President Obama to not want to use a lot of his political capital for something that's not a priority on his agenda -- such as saving the nation from another Great Depression.

That truth will demand our patience. Most of all, it will require that we be Americans first, before anything else.