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FEATUREArizona bill “alienates” Latino consumers, votersBy Marisa TreviñoThe force of the Latino consumer iswidely recognized by retailers. Withan estimated buying power of $1 trillion,it’s no wonder department stores carryLatino-influenced product lines sportingeither bright colors and shapely silhouettesor Spanish surnamed celebrities. Grocerystores now devote shelves or aisles to productsthat appeal to a wide Latino audience.In fact, retail recognition of the power ofthe Latino consumer has even extended tostores, such as WalMart, acknowledgingthat future growth for their business lieswith the Latino audience.So one has to wonder — if corporateAmerica sees the inevitable future of Latinoinfluence, why don’t politicians? Or thebetter question may be, why don’t theybelieve it?Elected officials around the country canhardly wait to announce that they too aredrafting Arizona-like immigration bills fortheir states and communities.It might have something to do with thefact that every major poll seems to overwhelminglyfavor the Arizona immigrationbill. The latest Rasmussen poll regardingArizona’s immigration law says it foundthat 55% of those polled would favor immigrationlaws like Arizona’s in their state.Politicians, however, are not payingattention to the polls that shows the majorityof Arizona’s Latinos are against SB1070. It’s not surprising, given that thefoundation of the immigration legislationenacted thus far is based little on fact and alot on fiction.That’s a serious mistake.Support starts with fear-based adsPoll after poll gauging non-Latinos’ feelingsabout Arizona’s immigration bill showoverwhelming support for every element ofSB 1070, ranging from seeing nothingwrong with requiring people to produceevidence they’re in the country legally toallowing police to question anyone theythink is here illegally.Are these polls an indication of systemicracism in this country or is it indicative ofsomething more sinister?Call me optimistic, but I think the betterexplanation is that those polled, especiallyin Arizona, are responding out of fear —fear induced by advertisements run fromimmigration restrictionists who want peopleto fear hard-working, Spanish-speakers.Three senators, McCain (R-AZ), Kyle(R-AZ) and Cornyn (R-TX), have introducedamendments to the EmergencySupplemental Appropriations Bill, whichwould ratchet up militarization of the borderand immigration enforcement withmore detention beds.Instead of using the tired argument thatthese amendments are needed to makeAmerica safer, some immigration restrictionistsare focusing the debate around theissue that instills more fear in people thesedays than fear itself — jobs. Immigrationrestrictionists NumbersUSA characterizesthe proposed amendments as having “anunderlying goal to help create jobs thissummer.”What these groups conveniently fail tomention is that unless the American workeris low-skilled, chances are he/she didn'tlose their job to illegal immigration but to abad economy.In May, the New Policy Institute releaseda report that shows “the recent waves ofnew immigrants have increased the averagewage of native-born Americans in theshort-run, and by even more in the longterm as capital investment has increased.”Reports like these are always quickly discountedby immigration restrictionistsbecause they fear if people did know thetruth, or even deeply thought about theissue, the support base needed to achievetheir mission is lost.Misinformation misleadsTwo other reasons supporters say thatany kind of immigration bill is needed is dueto escalating crime committed by the undocumentedand abuse of the healthcare system.Looking at Arizona, one has to wonderwhy the crime portion would be a premisefor SB 1070, when crime rates are actuallyat their lowest in four decades. According tothe FBI, the number of violent crimesreported in Arizona between 2005 and 2008dropped by almost 1,500 while the numberof reported property crimes during the sametime period decreased by 8,000.Data compiled by the Bureau of JusticeStatistics show that violent crime rates inArizona from 2006-2008 are the lowestsince 1983. According to the Department ofHomeland Security, by 2008 the rate of violentcrimes had dropped from 577.9 per100,000 to 477 — despite the fact thatArizona’s illegal immigrant population hadincreased by 70% during the same time.According to another piece of often-citedrhetoric, undocumented immigrants alsotake advantage of our healthcare system andare overburdening our emergency rooms.Yet a new report by the National Centerfor Health Statistics shows the majority ofER visitors are senior citizens and AfricanAmericans. Among the three ethnic groups:white, black and Hispanic, Hispanics hadthe lowest rates of emergency room visits.A segment reunitedThe National Council of La Raza foundthat not only has SB 1070 united Arizona’sLatinos, but it’s actually serving as an impetusfor a heightened interest among Latinosfor the upcoming November election.And if it’s happening in Arizona, it’s happeningwherever there are Latinos. So, whycan’t politicians see the potential in Latinovoters like retailers see with Latino consumers?The obvious answer may be because,unlike voting, every Latino is a consumer.Yet, not every Latino is a voter.However, the nation’s fastest growingpopulation is also one of the fastest growingparts of the American electorate, accordingto Census figures. Between 2000 and 2008,Latino voter registration grew 54 percentand turnout grew 64 percent. In the 2004presidential race, 7.5 million Hispanicsvoted. In the 2008 presidential race, 10 millioncast ballots. It’s widely known thatLatinos helped Obama win, and evenhelped George W. Bush in 2004. The ideathat Latinos can make a difference at thevoting booth has been proven.From the 2008 presidential election, itwas observed that two things must happenwith the Latino electorate that would ensurea turnout that matches the hype of theLatino vote — a strong emotion generatedby the presence of an issue/candidate andidentifying an issue/candidate as being anti-Latino.A strong emotion exists with the passageof SB 1070. Any politician that supports anissue that is negatively emotional forLatinos is seen as being anti-Latino. Thistheory is supported in the 2008 presidentialelection where McCain, who previouslyhad been viewed as a Latino ally, was seenas representing the party that oppressedLatino immigrants.We know what happened to McCainamong Latino voters. From the way thingsare going now, it won’t be a big surprise tosee Latinos turn out in record numbers.Marisa Treviño is the President ofTreviño TodaMedia LLC and the Publisherand Founder of the English-languageLatino news site Latina Lista. A 16-yearfreelance journalist, Treviño’s columnshave appeared in USA Today and syndicatedin both English and Spanish throughoutthe country. She lives in Dallas. 28JUNE 2010 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM
Resorts begin Asian American PR outreachBy Lisa SkriloffThe Poconos, long known as a familyski destination and for its honeymoonhotels with heart shaped bathtubs,will now see a pioneering initiative undertakento begin outreach to Asian Americans.A brand new hotel, Mount Airy CasinoResort, was built on the grounds of theMount Airy Lodge, that quintessentialPocono Mountain hotel known from its heydayin the ’50s and ’60s. Mention MountAiry to any boomer-aged New Yorker andyou might get a spontaneous rendition oftheir ubiquitous TV commercial jingle, “Allyou need to bring, is your love of everything.Come to beautiful Mount AiryLodge.”This summer, a Mount Airy ad is morelikely to have a message in Chinese, beckoningvisitors to the Casino, where, pendingfinal regulatory approval, table games willbe available, including Pai Gow poker, atable game favored by Chinese casinogoers.Pennsylvania in January legalized tablegames. Mount Airy had their licensing hearingin April, was approved for a table gamelicense and now has an anticipated openingPR services briefsPR WEIGHS IN ONIMMIGRATION REFORMBurson-Marsteller’s Prime Policy Group isrepping the National Immigration ForumAction Fund, which is pressing both theWhite House and Republican leadership tomove on immigration reform.The Forum says its mission is to “embraceand uphold America’s tradition as a nation ofimmigrants.” It criticizes Arizona’s new immigrationlaw as one that “enshrines racial profiling”and believes its passage highlightsthe need for national reform before otherstates apply their own band-aid fixes.The Forum praises Democratic SenatorsReid (NV), Schumer (NY) and Menendez (NJ)for introducing a framework for reform legislation.It wants Republicans to review theDemocratic proposal and put forth their ownideas in fixing the system.Charlie Black, Chairman of PPG, is spearheadingthe Forum’s effort on Capitol Hill.The GOP-connected Black advisedPresidents Reagan and Bush I, and served asspokesperson for the Republican NationalCommittee.date of July 1. Since then,Mount Airy has been workingwith feng shui expertsto make sure the Asiangaming rooms are designedwith cultural cues in mind,such as no use of whitecolor in the design and fish,not birds, as a motif.Multicultural MarketingNews sat down with GeorgeToth, President & CEO,Mount Airy Casino Resort,to learn about marketingplans and structuralchanges to the Casino, alldesigned to attract andappeal to Asian Americans.How did you decide totarget the Asian gamingcommunity?One of the reasons we aregoing through this Asianmarket focus is because ofour proximity to New YorkCity. We are about an hourand 20 minutes outside ofthe Lincoln Tunnel, theclosest Casino destinationon the East Coast. Inmy past position asPresident of the SandsCasino Hotel in AtlanticCity we had a large Asianplayer community and it isa significant and growingpopulation.How is the Casinobeing changed to accommodatetheir interests?We are building an Asianroom, which will contain 17 games includingmini baccarat and poker. We are also inthe process of opening a noodle bar whichwill open in the same time frame as the tablegames. Our feng shui consultant has helpedus with the design, letting us know what colorsare lucky, what symbolism is lucky andunlucky. We will use [suggested design elementssuch as] fish motifs on the draperies,carpeting, and we’ll have statuettes locatedthroughout [the room]. The dealers in theAsian pit speak fluent Chinese, as do thesupervisors and Asian hosts.How are Asian Americans being targeted?We will have 5 members of an Asian marketingteam which primarily goes to Asiancommunities in New York, Flushing andBrooklyn. While we will be marketing allover the country, we will have a significantThe Pocono’s Mount Airy Casino Resort was built on thegrounds of the famous Mount Airy Lodge. The resort wasapproved for a table gaming license in April.position in that market. Specifically,we will be doing a number of things. Wewill have ads in Asian papers. We are doingrelationship marketing. The team we havehas 30 years doing this. They are the bestAsian player development team and nowthey will be working for us. We will haveAsian bus groups from Flushing andBrooklyn and we expect eight to 10 buses aday. And no one else in Pennsylvania willbring it to that level.How are you positioning Mount Airyagainst Atlantic City and the ConnecticutCasinos?It is not a question of “Can we compete.”This property is unique. You can’t experiencein AC what you get here. You are in themountains; it’s an active lifestyle. You alsohave tennis, golf, and whitewater rafting. Ithink the product is totally unique in theNortheast. JUNE 2010 WWW.ODWYERPR.COM 29
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