The members of the National Association of Hispanic Publications on Thursday here emphasized the need for independent communications media and respect for immigrant communities as tools for U.S. development.

At the 37th annual NAHP convention, about 100 Latino publications and U.S. political personalities agreed that the climate of confrontation which, in their opinion, the Donald Trump administration is fomenting, must be rejected.

Hailing the "diversity" on display at the event, the Democratic candidate for Nevada governor, Steve Sisolak, vowed to defend pro-immigrant programs such as DACA and TPS.

Sisolak, currently chair of the Clark County Commission, referred to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was pushed by the prior administration of Barack Obama to protect thousands of undocumented migrants who arrived in the U.S. as children, and Temporary Protected Status, which has benefited more than a million undocumented immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, among other countries.

The candidate reaffirmed in an interview with EFE the value of education and the need for investment aimed at offering equal opportunities to all communities.

The congresswoman for Nevada's District 1, Democrat Dina Titus, attended the NAHP Latina Publisher's Breakfast to "support the work of the Hispanic media," which - in her opinion - is a basic requirement for local communities.

Titus lamented the fact that the media are "under attack" by the Trump administration.

The Democrat extrapolated the discrimination toward the media as "a demonization" of immigrants.

During the morning, the publishers discussed the issue of immigration in "the Trump era," focusing on the crisis provoked by the zero tolerance policy affecting both Hispanic residents of this country as well as migrants who arrive at the border hoping to gain U.S. entry.

Law professor Michael Kagan, who directs the University of Nevada Las Vegas Immigration Clinic, said that the main problem in this situation is the "political use" of the courts and the figure of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, both of which limit Hispanics' options to obtain legal residence.

Kagan's UNLV colleague, Laura Barrera, agreed with that opinion, saying that "there is no independence among immigration judges" who deal with these cases.