GEE, WHY WOULD THEY THINK THEY AREN'T WELCOME?:

How to get Hispanics into the GOP (LINDA CHAVEZ, November 22, 2008, San Diego Union-Tribune)

The first thing Republicans have to overcome is a growing belief among Hispanics that they aren't welcome in the party – or in America, for that matter. According to a recent survey by America's Voice – a liberal, pro-immigrant group – two-thirds of Hispanics think that discrimination against them has increased in the last two years because of the tone of the immigration debate. Republicans have to deal with the consequences.

Here's a radical suggestion – but one that wouldn't compromise Republican or conservative principles. Why doesn't the Republican Party launch an aggressive Welcome to America Campaign? The idea would be to set up a network of volunteers to reach out to Hispanic immigrants, and especially their American-born children, to teach English, American history and civics. Estimates are that four in 10 Hispanic voters in this year's election were naturalized citizens – and 75 percent of them cast their votes for President-elect Barack Obama.

But what if those new Americans had been helped to become U.S. citizens by local volunteers from the Federation of Republican Women, the Republican Men's Club or the local Republican central committee? What if Republican volunteers approached employers in their area and offered to set up English classes during lunch breaks or after work for immigrant workers, or distributed DVDs and videos with language and civics instruction? This type of volunteerism has been ceded to Democrat-leaning groups over the years. Is it any wonder that when these new citizens register to vote, their instinct is to support the party that they've come to know firsthand?

I can already hear objections from both immigrant advocates and critics. The immigration hard-liners will complain that any such efforts might end up helping people who are illegally in the United States, while immigrant advocates will warn that Republican volunteers could become a Trojan horse to turn in those same illegal immigrants.

To the hard-liners I would say that unless you're part of the tiny minority that is willing to round up and deport every single illegal immigrant, along with their U.S. citizen offspring, wouldn't it be better for everyone if these people at least spoke English? What's more, we're not talking about government dollars going to this effort, but individual volunteerism.