Is the new Pope Latin American? Are anchor babies American?

Hector Luis Alamo, Jr. in his March 25th article on this website, Pope Francis is not Latino (and barely Latin American),claimed that as a child of immigrants to Argentina, albeit one born in Argentina, Jorge Mario Bergoglio could not be considered either Latino or Latin American since he is the first generation of his family born in a Latin American country.

 

While I would concede that Pope Francis is not Latino, since this term applies to those children born in the United States of parents from Mexico and countries further south, I would take issue with the second part of his argument that Francis is barely Latin American.

Hector’s questioning of the Pope’s “Latin American-ness” makes me think of two groups of people: the ‘Know Nothings‘ of 19^th century U.S. politics who were a nativist, racist group of Protestants who looked upon the newly-arriving Catholic Irish and Germans as the tools of the Papacy bent on taking over and toppling the American democratic experiment(reflected in many ways by Pat Buchanan and his ilk today) and, more recently, those in Mexico who questioned President Vincente Fox’s “Mexican-ness” and “Latin American-ness” in the early 2000s since his parents were both children of immigrant families—his paternal grandfather being from Germany via the United States originally in the 1870s and his mother being the child of Basque parents who herself was born and emigrated from Spain with her parents as a child. Vincente Fox himself being born and raised in Guanajuato, Mexico.

From reading Hector’s article, it appears that he believes in a “2^nd generation rule” when it comes to being American or Mexican or Argentinian or Latin American. That is, the grandchildren of immigrants to Latin American countries or to the United States only truly deserve the titles. People like Pope Francis or my late wife, who were born to immigrants in their new homeland, are somewhat less than those who have been here at least one additional generation. So, the children of my wife’s siblings can claim the title ‘American’ but my wife and her siblings born here cannot. That seems to put Hector on the same wavelength as those who claim that, despite the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, children born of undocumented immigrants here on U.S. soil, the so-called ‘anchor babies’ should not be eligible for citizenship even if their parents have made their homes here for years and years(de facto if not de jure immigrants).

Hector is reflecting an unfortunate but truly American attitude, whether being argued as a devil’s advocate or not, in that, he argues for an attitude that I would think he would find ugly in his fellow citizens if applied to him or other Americans of Latino descent.


By Being Latino Contributor, Jeffery Cassity.  Jeffery Cassity is a mostly socially-liberal, fiscally-conservative Anglo male who is involved in his local Hispanic community as the widower of a 1st generation Mexican-American woman and his active, some would say hyperactive, membership in the local Council of the League of Latin American Citizens(LULAC).

George P Bush---Young, Latino, and the next President named Bush?

“These are Jebby's kids from Florida, the little brown ones.”

Then Vice President George HW Bush, August 16, 1988

referring to the three children (including George P. Bush) of Bush's son, Jeb and his Mexican-born wife, Columba

George P. Bush has come along since being part of the subject of an awkward grandfatherly quote twenty-five years ago. Later in 1988 while still only 12, he spoke at the Republican National Convention where his grandfather was nominated as the Republican candidate for President. Four years later, George P. spoke again at the 1992 Republican Convention which renominated his grandfather who was seeking re-election as President. He attended and graduated from the prestigous Gulliver Preparatory School in Miami in 1994 and earned his college degree from Rice University in 1998. He received his law degree from the University of Texas Law School in 2003. George P. also worked on the two successful Presidential campaigns of his uncle, George W. in 2000 and 2004.

When asked by the media about his own Presidential aspirations upon graduating from law school, George P. responded with the advice his grandmother, Barbara, wife of George HW and herself the second cousin five times removed of President Franklin Pierce, gave him. She told him, “Make a name for yourself, have a family, marry someone great, have some kids, buy a house, pay taxes, and do the things everyone also does instead of just running out and saying, 'Hey, I'm the nephew of or the son of or the grandson of...'."

Following that advice, George P. quickly started making his own way in the world. He clerked for a federal judge for a year before leaving to work as a corporate and securities lawyer for a couple years. He left the firm to co-founded Pennybacker Capital, LLC, a real estate-focused private equity firm in Austin, Texas, which he left in 2012. From there, he moved on to his position as manager of St. Augustine Partners, an energy and technology-focused investment firm in Ft. Worth.

George married a law school classmate, Amanda Williams, on August 7, 2004 in Kennebunkport, Maine at the Bush family vacation compound. She is a media law attorney in Ft. Worth, Texas, where they reside.

George P. is currently the national co-chair of Maverick PAC, a national political action committee dedicated to engaging the next generation of Republican voters. He is also a co-founder and on the board of directors of Hispanic Republicans of Texas, a political action committee whose goal is to elect Republican political candidates of Latino heritage to office in Texas. Also George P. is currently the Tarrant County chairman for Uplift Education—a Dallas-based public charter network focused on closing the achievement gap in inner-city public schools.

George P joined the Naval Reserve in March 2007, holding the rank of Lieutenant. He said that attending the christening of the aircraft carrier named for his grandfather, the USS George HW Bush and the inspiration he drew from Pat Tillman leaving a successful NFL career to join the military led to his decision to join. George P. served a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2011 and received the Joint Service Commendation Medal for his time there, serving as an Intelligence Specialist.

Recently, George P. has taken the first step into formally entering politics and what many see as a first step on a political career path which may lead him to the same place his grandfather and uncle ended up---1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Ending months of speculation, George P. announced officially on February 26^th of this year that he will be seeking the office of Texas Land Commissioner in 2014. This office has served traditionally as a stepping stone in the careers of several Texas politicians. To the sound of Beyonce's “Halo”, the next generation of the Bush family entered politics.

Even before his first run for public office has fully begun, speculation is starting about the course George P. will take. Will he work his way up the chain from Land Commissioner to Lt. Governor to Governor, or will he take the route which escaped his uncle, George W., the US House of Representatives?

Whichever route he takes, it is almost a foregone conclusion at this early date that in a matter of a few years, the nation will be hearing rumors and gossip of a new Bush looking to live in the White House: A photogenic 'little brown one' named George P. Bush.

By Being Latino Contributor, Jeffery Cassity Jeffery is a mostly socially-liberal, fiscally-conservative Anglo male who is involved in his local Hispanic community as the widower of a 1st generation Mexican-American woman and his active, some would say hyperactive, membership in the local Council of the League of Latin American Citizens(LULAC).