Annotations for People: Jon Ashcroft

I'm Maria Hinojosa. This time on Latino USA, perspectives on the confirmation of John Ashcroft as the new U.S. Attorney General.

After a grueling debate regarding his fitness to head the Justice Department, John Ashcroft has become the nation's new Attorney General. Among the estimated 200 organizations which opposed his confirmation were a number of leading Hispanic groups.

Latino USA's Maria Martin spoke to Latinos with varied perspectives on the Ashcroft nomination and has this report.

Never in this nation's recent history had Latino organizations been so vocal in opposing a president's nomination to the cabinet. Coming together under the banner of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda to oppose John Ashcroft had been such organizations as the National Council of La Raza, the League of United Latin American Citizens, LULAC, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, MALDEF.

Tony Ramirez holds a favorable view. About 15 years ago, he says, when Ashcroft was Missouri's governor, he was responsive to the concerns of the state's then small Latino community.

When we asked for the celebration of the Hispanic Heritage Month, there would always be something coming from the governor's office. In the city of St. Louis, there was an effort to build a dome stadium here. We wanted to make certain that Hispanic businesses were included, and we were included at these meetings. That was something that I remember that Governor Ashcroft did in regard to the Hispanic community.

I'm aghast. This person can be actually the leading force in our country. Just, it just keeps me from sleeping.

Dr. Cristina Lindal of Columbia, Missouri, is a university employee, the host of the radio program La Hora Latina, and a self-described Hispanic advocate.

He stands on his morals and his religious beliefs, and he says, for example, that here in Missouri, you know, we've had towns around us like Boonville, Missouri, that has been wanting to have gambling boats open, you know, for, and he has definitely been instrumental in making that an impasse and divisive. He's on grounds of morality, but yet he's pro-tobacco. I mean, just, the man makes absolutely no sense. You know, he's against gun control. He's against the right to choose.

For his opponents, John Ashcroft's confirmation by the U.S. Senate indicates how little representation minorities have in that upper body of the Congress. Again, Marisa de Mayo of MALDEF.

We do not have any Latino senators. We also do not have any African American senators. It just goes to point out that we still lack a lot of political power in this society.

The Department of Justice, which regulates immigration through the INS, as well as legislation such as the Voting Rights Act, is especially important to Latinos. Angelo Falcón of the Institute for Puerto Rican Policy says that now that Ashcroft has been confirmed, Latinos need to mobilize. To dispel the idea held by many Republicans, the Latino organizations represent fringe, liberal interests.

We get these contradictory kinds of things that basically the administration, the new administration is talking about reaching out to the Latino community. On the other hand, many of our leaders are said to be fringe people who really don't represent anybody. And I think what happens with this Ashcroft nomination is just kind of, it becomes the first kind of round of battles that hopefully clarify a lot of these issues and stake out different positions. So that people don't get lulled into believing that this administration is going to be any better for the Latino community than any other administration. So I think we need to stay critical as a community on these things. I think we have to be ready to mobilize and ready to really start exercising our growing political clout.

After John Ashcroft's confirmation by a 58 to 42 vote in the U.S. Senate, El Paso Congressman Silvestre Reyes, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, issued a statement declaring his readiness to work with the new attorney general. I take Mr. Ashcroft at his word and hope that he will enforce the law of the land fairly, judiciously and equitably.