American politicians profess to love Latinos, and they will say it…in a hush undertone.

Yet, this love affair in the advent of the midterm 2010 November elections proves inconvenient more so now when the immigration issue catalyzes voters against it.

Ex-presidential candidate John McCain has now disenfranchised Hispanic constituents to the extent of disowning his 2006 immigration reform initiative and blessing Arizona’s S.B. 1070 “attrition through enforcement” law, which will become effective in July.

On the opposite side of the spectrum we have Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “jumping the gun” and announcing the federal government would file a lawsuit to strike down Arizona’s S.B. 1070. 

A welcome announcement indeed, yet, oddly enough it was made not to mainstream media here in America but to an Ecuadorean reporter during an official visit to South America.  Even the Department of Justice was caught off guard.

The June 8 announcement in Ecuador was brought to the attention of mainstream media and thus the American public opinion more than a week later by a right wing political blog “therightscoop.com” and now it widely serves as cannon fodder to boost candidates rallying against “illegal immigrants”.

That the federal government should assert its immigration authority over state and local authorities is an urgent and still widely delayed duty.

Secretary of State Clinton made an announcement intended to reach Latinos in Latin America, but not for the American public.

We as Hispanic media have witnessed all too often this pervasive habit of politicians verbally professing to care for Latinos but only inside closed doors, in small self-contained environments, out of the sight of the mainstream media and the American public eye.

The reason is very simple, politicians fear public opinion, more so when a majority of polled Americans (58% ABC-Washington Post) have expressed their support for initiatives such as the S.B. 1070 and other similar attempts throughout the U.S. to eradicate “illegal immigrants” out of their midst.

Sadly its bad politics to do the right thing; Pilate-like hand-washing allows a mob dictate the continued “attrition” -aka abuse and persecution- against non-violent and non-felon immigrants.