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Roger Rocha Jr. president and CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). Source: NBC News.
Roger Rocha Jr. president and CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). Source: NBC News.

Roger Rocha Jr. betrays LULAC's principles and refuses to resign

The president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest civil rights organization in the country, has announced that he doesn’t intend to…

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Trump’s presidential slogan of "Divide and Rule" seems to be wreaking havoc, fragmenting the foundations of organizations whose fundamental positions are radically opposed to the racism and the new segregation against the immigrant citizen that the White House sends out as if it were radiation.

An example of this is the controversy and chaos that has been planted within one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the history of the country, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a coalition that aims to "advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of the Hispanic population of the United States."

After its president, Roger Rocha Jr., sent a letter to President Trump dated January 28 saying that LULAC would support his administration's immigration demands (including millions of dollars for its border wall), the organization's board and social networks exploded in rejection against a gesture that could easily qualify as treason.

"I would like to begin by congratulating you on setting out a reasonable framework on immigration reform and border security," begins Rocha Jr.'s letter to Trump. "The four pillars which you have outlined, (Border Security, DACA Legalization, Protect the Nuclear Family and Elimination of the Lottery and Repurpose Visas) are items that LULAC can support if they remain within the current framework you have proposed."

Rocha's letter triggered a wave of indignation on the part of volunteer members of the LULAC councils nationwide and on social networks, urging their directors to immediately dismiss the president of the organization.

As reported by NBC News, members of the Midwest Region issued a statement in which they stated that "a motion was made and passed by the six LULAC Midwest State Directors, by the National Vice President for Elderly and National Midwest Vice President to demand that LULAC National President Roger Rocha Jr. do the following: 1. Retract from the letter sent to President Trump; 2. Formally apologize to the national board for his action and 3. Resign immediately."

Rocha Jr. proceeded to issue a statement through the organization's platform apologizing for the effects that his letter might have had but ensuring that “it may well be our last chance to save and protect our dreamers and immigrant community,” through what he stated as "the continuation of a dialogue" that could change the position of members of Congress and the Trump Administration in general.

Despite having described the letter as "the worst mistake of my life", Rocha Jr. refused last Friday to resign his position, putting the organization in a serious situation of "zero confidence" with its leadership.

In a statement made to NBC News, the disgraced president said he would end his term that concludes in LULAC’s July convention. "I was elected to the office of the national president and that term ends at a convention, so that is when my term will end,” Rocha said.

To avoid any attempt of impeachment by the board, the president went further and filed a lawsuit against LULAC and its executive committee members, obtaining as well a temporary restraining order from a Texas court.

Elected in July 2015, Rocha insists that "there is still a lot of work that we have to do" before resigning from his position as required from within the organization he intends to represent.

For her part, the national vice-president of the young adult members of LULAC, Abigail Zapote, declared to be astonished by Rocha's position: "I just can’t believe that he is not seeing the consequences of his actions".

In the midst of the critical situation faced by the immigrant community in the country, the instability of organizations such as LULAC (which has existed since 1929) is a symptom of the need for revision and agreement when facing an Administration that is about to unprotect 800,000 undocumented youths and whose weapon par excellence is to blame others for its own actions, while simultaneously destroying any opposition block that crosses its way.

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