Ask the Scholar

{
    "localId": "1104686",
    "label": "1974/10/17 - President Ford and Hispanic Leaders",
    "core": "doc",
    "dtoType": "document",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1104686"
}

{
    "id": "1104686",
    "sourceUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1104686",
    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "1974/10/17 - President Ford and Hispanic Leaders",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1104686",
    "collections": [
        "Fernando E. C. De Baca Files (Ford Administration)",
        "Fernando De Baca's Meetings and Trips Files"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Pressure groups",
        "Hispanic Americans"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0216/645472/1104686.pdf",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0216/645472/1104686.pdf",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0216/645472/1104686.pdf",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "hasImages": true,
    "source": "import",
    "hasTranscription": false
}

{
    "url": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1104686",
    "naId": 1104686,
    "coverageEndDate": {
        "logicalDate": "1974-09-30",
        "month": 9,
        "year": 1974
    },
    "coverageStartDate": {
        "logicalDate": "1974-09-01",
        "month": 9,
        "year": 1974
    },
    "levelOfDescription": "fileUnit",
    "recordType": "description",
    "ocrSource": "nara-archive"
}

{
    "seq": 1,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "document",
    "url": "https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/ford/grf-0216/645472/1104686.pdf",
    "mediaId": "3bc3c72e9dfdf511",
    "ocrText": "The original documents are located in Box 5, folder \"1974/10/17 - President Ford and\nHispanic Leaders\" of the Fernando E.C. De Baca Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential\nLibrary.\nCopyright Notice\nThe copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of\nphotocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Gerald R. Ford donated to the United\nStates of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.\nWorks prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public\ndomain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to\nremain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid\ncopyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.\nOctober 15, 1974\nFor further information\ncontact:\nE. B. Duarte\nDirector, Public Affairs\n202/254-5940 (0)\n202/265-3350 (H)\nADVISORY TO EDITORS\nWASHINGTON -- President Ford will meet Thursday, October 17,\nwith 16 Hispanic American leaders to discuss concerns of the\nSpanish speaking community.\nThe meeting is scheduled to last 45 minutes, beginning at\n12:15 P.M. It will be held in the White House Cabinet Room.\nThe session is being arranged by Fernando E. C. De Baca,\nSpecial Assistant to the President; he is being assisted by\nthe Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for Spanish Speaking\nPeople.\nReynaldo P. Maduro, Executive Director of the Cabinet\nCommittee and De Baca will also attend the meeting.\nHispanic leaders invited to meet with President Ford are:\n(List of names of leaders, hometown, and title or\nidentification to be supplied by Mr. De Baca's\noffice)\nThe session will mark the second time the President has\nmet with Spanish speaking leaders since he took office.\nHe met with six Spanish-surnamed. Congressmen and eight\nAdministrative representatives at a September 4 White\nHouse gathering.\nWhile serving as Vice President, Mr. Ford met last April\nwith a group of Spanish speaking community leaders at the\nWhite House.\nNOTE TO EDITORS\nA briefing on President Ford's October 17 meeting with the\nSpanish speaking leaders will be held at 2 P.M. in the\nWhite House West Wing Press Office.\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\nFernando E. C. De Baca, Special Assistant to the President,\nand some selected meeting participants will take part in\nthe briefing.\nMedia representatives who do not have White House press\ncredentials must obtain clearance to gain entry to the\nWest Wing.\nThose planning to attend the briefing are asked to call\nE. B. Duarte at the Cabinet Committee (254-5940) by 5 P.M.\nWednesday, October 16.\nPhotographers will be permitted to take pictures of the\nPresident's meeting with the Hispanics from 12:15 to\n12:25 P.M.\nFORD LIBRARY i GERALD\n- 2 -\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nWASHINGTON\nOctober 17, 1974\nMEETING WITH HISPANIC-AMERICAN LEADERS\nThursday, October 17, 1974\n12:15 P.M. (45 minutes)\nThe Cabinet Room\nFrom: Fernando E. C. De Baca\nI.\nPURPOSE\nTo elicit suggestions for addressing the needs and\nconcerns of the nation's Spanish speaking Americans\nand to demonstrate your personal interest and the\ncommitment of your Administration in addressing these\nconcerns.\nII.\nBACKGROUND, PARTICIPANTS AND PRESS PLAN\nA. Background: This event is a continuation of your\ndesire and willingness to meet with significant\nspecial groups. Last April 11 you met with a\ncross-section of Hispanic organization and com-\nmunity representatives. On September 4, 1974 you\nmet with Hispanic-American Members of Congress and\nmajor Hispanic Administration appointees. Today's\nmeeting includes the heads of all major Hispanic\norganizations in the country.\nWhile population statistics on Spanish origin\npeople differ, the Census Bureau currently esti-\nmates the national Hispanic population at 10.8\nmillion. Due to current birth rate and immigration\nprojections, the number and proportion of Americans\nof Hispanic descent will increase dramatically in\nthis decade with actual population majorities ex-\npected for Arizona, California, New Mexico and\nTexas by 1980. Yet, the Hispanic American ranks\nat the bottom of almost every demographic enumerator\nwhen compared with other racial and ethnic groups.\nSpanish speaking Americans suffer from the highest\nunemployment rate, highest school drop out rate,\nlowest level of educational attainment and lowest\nmedian income of any segment of the U. S. population.\nGERALD\nLIBRARY\n- 2 -\nB. Participants:\nMr. Joe Benites, National President\nLeague of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)\nMr. Antonio Morales, National Chairman\nAmerican G I Forum\nMr. Edward Valenzuela, National President\nIncorporated Mexican American Employees (IMAGE)\nMs. Margaret Cruz, National President\nMexican American Political Association (MAPA)\nMr. John Flores, National Chairman\nSpanish Speaking Coalition on Domestic Affairs\nMs. Vilma Martinez, General Counsel\nMexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF)\nMr. Jose Aceves, National Executive Director\nLatin American Manufacturer's Assn. (LAMA)\nMs. Gilda Gjurich, Director\nNational Economic Development Association (NEDA)\nMs. Paquita Vivo, National President\nNational Organization of Puerto Rican Women\nMr. Ricardo Zazueta, National Executive Director\nSER (Mexican American)\nMr. Luis Alvarez, National Executive Director\nASPIRA (Puerto Rican)\nMr. Jose Casanova (Businessman)\nState of Florida\nMr. Manuel Gonzales, Director, State Commission\nState of New York\nMr. Arturo Hevia (Businessman)\nState of Florida\nMr. Edward Barrera (Businessman)\nState of Michigan\nMr. Jesus Monroy (Businessman)\nState of California\nMr. Ruben Figueroa, Director, State Commission\nState of Connecticut\nMr. Rafael Alvarez (Businessman)\nState of Florida\n(Administration Officials)\nMr. Reynaldo Maduro\nExecutive Director, Cabinet Committee on\nOpportunities for Spanish Speaking People (CCOSS)\n(White House Staff)\nMr. Fernando E. C. De Baca\nSpecial Assistant to the President\nFORD LIBRARY & GERALD\nMs. Rose Marie Roybal\nStaff Assistant to Mr. De Baca\n- 3 -\nC. Press Plan: Press photo opportunity in the\nCabinet Room. Press briefing following event\nby no more than five meeting participants.\nIII.\nTALKING POINTS\n1. Buenas tardes y bienvenidos. I have been\nmeeting with representatives of special groups\nduring the last few weeks and am delighted to\nmeet with you today to talk openly and with no\nspecific format about this nation's Spanish\nspeaking people.\n2. Last April I had the opportunity to visit with\nseveral of you. That meeting was particularly\nrewarding to me in that I had the opportunity\nto become better informed of the diverse needs\nand diverse make-up of the Spanish speaking\ncommunity of this nation.\n3. Last month, I had the pleasure of meeting with\nthe Hispanic-American Members of Congress and\nmajor Administration appointees. We talked\nabout the need for greater participation of\nSpanish speaking Americans in government and\nprivate industry. We spoke about the need for\neffective bilingual education programs and the\nnecessity for bilingual job training, particularly\nin major metropolitan areas. Additionally, we\ntalked about the opportunity presented by the\nBicentennial to educate all Americans to the\nHispanic heritage and the solid contributions\nof Hispanics to American history.\n4. I was delighted to learn of the actions taken\nthis Spring by Civil Service Commission Chairman\nBob Hampton in expanding and upgrading the\nSixteen Point Program for Spanish Speaking\nAmericans and I look forward to improved progress\nin Federal employment of Hispanic Americans in\nthe current year, despite the projected reduc-\ntions in the size of the Federal workforce. I\nam also very much aware of the positive contribu-\ntions of groups like IMAGE, LULAC and the GI\nForum in making these conferences a success.\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 4 -\n5. Despite the fact that we now have more Spanish\nspeaking Americans in full-time, policy-making\npositions and more Hispanics in the Federal\ncareer service than ever before in our nation's\nhistory, much remains to be done. For this\nreason, I am having Fernando De Baca and other\nmembers of my staff review this matter for\nadditional appropriate direction to the depart-\nments and agencies. I think this is one area\nwhere it is absolutely essential that the\nFederal government set a positive example for\nthe private sector and for state and local gov-\nernments.\n6. A key to the upward movement of any group in\nour society has been economic progress. I was\npleased to learn that the business development\nprograms at OMBE and SBA have paid off so hand-\nsomely for those Hispanic businessmen who have\nbeen able to take advantage of these services.\nThe Hispanic businessman has proven to be a\nsuccessful competitor and a solid contributor\nto the economy. And in turn, his contribution\nto the community has proven significant as well.\n7. While I know that you will be presenting many\nproblems and concerns at today's meeting, I urge\nyour input on the major issues of the day--\nespecially on the problem of inflation and its\nimpact on Hispanic Americans.\nGERALD LIBRARY ? FORD\nPROPOSED SEATING CHART\nTHE PRESIDENT\nFernando E. C. De Baca\nReynaldo Maduro (CCOSSP)\nAntonio Morales (GI FORUM)\nJoe Benites (LULAC)\nJose Aceves (LAMA)\nEd Valenzuela (IMAGE)\nVilma Martinez (MALDEF)\nPaquita Vivo (PRW)\nRicardo Zazueta (SER)\nRaul Yzaguirre (NCLR)\nLuis Alvarez (ASPIRA)\nRuben Figueroa (CONN.)\nMargaret Cruz (MAPA)\nGilda Gjurich (NEDA)\nJohn Flores (CSSDA)\nJose Casanova (CF)\nManuel Gonzales (NY)\nJess Monroy\nArturo Hevia\nRose Marie Roybal\nRafael Alvarez\nPete Villa\nEd Barrera\nLIBRARY GERALD R. FORD\nPROPOSED SEATING CHART\nTHE PRESIDENT\nFernando E. C. De Baca\nReynaldo Maduro (CCOSSP)\nAntonio Morales (GI FORUM)\nJoe Benites (LULAC)\nJose Aceves (LAMA)\nEd Valenzuela (IMAGE)\nVilma Martinez (MALDEF)\nPaquita Vivo (PRW)\nRicardo Zazueta (SER)\nRaul Yzaguirre (NCLR)\nLuis Alvarez (ASPIRA)\nRuben Figueroa (CONN.)\nMargaret Cruz (MAPA)\nGilda Gjurich (NEDA)\nJohn Flores (CSSDA)\nJose Casanova (CF)\nManuel Gonzales (NY)\nJess Monroy\nArturo Hevia\nRose Marie Roybal\nRafael Alvarez\nPete Villa\nEd Barrera\nGERALD LIQUARY P. FORD\n1. Identify main issues for emphasis -\n2. Determine who should present issue -\ndirect explicit - concise - precise\n3. Avoid duplications\n4. Assure maximum input (avoid confusion of\nissues)\n5. Assure Puerto Rican, Cubans as well\nas Mexican Americans coverage -\n6. Avoid token participation (window dressing)\n7. Organize presentations for maximum effectiveness\n8. Demonstrate coordination of Fernando De Baca's\nsupport thru organizational and community\nrepresentatives\n9. Do not over structure or become too rigid\n10. Avoid overplaying\nGERALD ? LEDRARY FORD\nFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE\nOCTOBER 17, 1974\nOFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nPRESS\nCONFERENCE\nOF\nFERNANDO DE BACA\nSPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT\nJOSE ACEVES\nPRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE I\nLATIN AMERICAN MEMBERS ASSOCIATION\nJOSE CASANOVA\nNATIONAL HISPANIC ASSEMBLY\nANTONIO MORALES\nAMERICAN G.I. FORUM OF THE UNITED STATES\nTHE\nBRIEFING\nROOM\nto\n2:02 P.M.\nEDT\nMR. ROBERTS: Ladies and gentlemen, as you know,\nthe President met today with 18 Hispanic American\nleaders to discuss concerns of the Spanish-speaking\ncommunity.\nThe President was with the group for more than\nan hour, and we have with us after the meeting to give\nyou a little information on what transpired, Fernando\nDe Baca, who is the Special Assistant to the President,\nand three of the participants in the meeting -- Jose\nAceves, who is President and Executive Director of the\nLatin American Members Association of San Leandro,\nCalifornia; Jose Manolo Casanova, who is Chairman of\nthe Naitonal Hispanic Assembly of the State of Florida\nfrom Miami; and Antonio Morales, who is the National\nChairman of the American G.I. Forum of the United States\nfrom Fort Worth, Texas.\nAnd I think Mr. De Baca will lead off with a\nsummary, and then the other gentlemen will have something\nto say, and then you will be able to get your questions in.\nMR. DE BACA: Thank you, Mr. Roberts. We\nhave just concluded a one and a half hour meeting with\nPresident Ford. This event was a continuation of the\nPresident's desire and willingness to meet with\nsignificant special groups.\nMORE\n(OVER)\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 2 -\n3TAI03MMI 807\nNow last April, as Vice President, he met with\na cross section of Hispanic organizations and community\nrepresentatives.\n3HT\nOn September 4 of this year, he met with the\nHispanic American Members of Congress and with major\nHispanic Administration appointees. Today's meeting\nincludedthe heads of all major Hispanic organizations\nin the country.\nI am very pleased, in addition to the people\nwho have been introduced to you, to present to you\nMr. Luis Alvarez, who represents the major Puerto Rican\norganization in New York, who is to my right here, Luis\nAlvarez.\nMUROT\nWe also have with us Mr. Joseph Benites\nrepresenting the largest Spanish-speaking organization\nof Hispanic Americans, organizations of Hispanic Americans\nin the country, LUAC, the League of United American\nCitizens.\nWe have a number of other leaders here the\nPresident of the IMAGE Organization, Mr. Edward Valenzuela,\nwho is present here as well.\nWhile the population statistics on Spanish-origin\npeople differ, the Census Bureau currently estimates that\nthe National Hispanic population is close to 11 million\npeople.\nNow we believe that there are probably some-\nwhere between 14 and 16 million Hispanic Americans in\nthis country. Hispanic Americans are the emerging\nminority in this country with actual projections, physical\nprojections, placing them in a very large percentage in\nCalifornia, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, and Arizona.\nto\nAdditionally, we have very, very large\npercentages of Spanish-speaking people in the Middle\nWest, certainly in New York, in Connecticut, and\nFlorida with the Cuban population, and many other parts\nof the country.\nDespite the large number of Hispanics in\nthis country, the Hispanic American ranks at the bottom\nof almost every demographic enumerator when compared\nwith other racial and ethnic groups.\nSpanish-speaking Americans suffer from the\nhighest unemployment rate -- 40 percent in some areas --\nhighest school drop-out rate in this country, and the\nlowest level of educational attainment. Not only that,\nbut we rank among the lowest in median income of any\nsegment in the U.S. population.\nMORE\nFORD i LIBRARY GERALD\n- 3 -\nNow today's meeting was devoted to a\nnumber of issues. It was a very substantive meeting.\nIt was a very productive meeting, I feel, and you will\ncertainly hear from the national heads present with us\nthis afternoon.\nWe spoke about problems of employment, the\nneed to have a Presidential communique emphasizing\nthe Spanish-speaking program formerly known as the\nPresident's Sixteen Point Program for Spanish-speaking\nAmericans, the need for more appointments to commissions,\nboards and agencies in the super grades, and policy-\nmaking categories.\nWe spoke about the problems posed by the\nrecent CETA legislation, the need for more manpower\nprograms for our Hispanic people, particularly bilingual\nmanpower training programs.\nWe spoke about bilingual education and the\nneed for strong funding and sufficient funding for\nthat program, about grants to Spanish-speaking schools\nand colleges, recognition of foreign degrees, particularly\nin the Cuban communities.\nWe spoke about housing problems and problems\nof the health delivery system. We mentioned to the\nPresident our feelings about any Bracero program that\nmight be under discussion or consideration.\nWe spoke about the problems of normalizing\nrelations with Cuba, Castro Cuba, and strong objections\nwere voiced in that regard.\nWe spoke about economic development and\nabout the illegal alien problem in the Southwest.\nAnd the gentlemen who are here with me this\nafternoon will certainly be pleased to answer your\nquestions. Perhaps I should now turn over the podium\nto Mr. Luis Alvarez.\nMR. ALVAREZ: Thank you, Mr. De Baca.\nMy name is Luis Alvarez. I am the National\nDirector of Aspira. Aspira, as you may know, is the\nlargest private Puerto Rican agency. It is primarily\nan educational agency, leadership development, and we\npresently have major operations in New York, New\nJersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chicago, Illinois,\nand San Juan, Puerto Rico.\nMORE\nFORD & GERALD LIBRARY\n- 4 -\nToday we are servicing over 7,000 youngsters\nand last year we placed over 2,000 in colleges and\nuniversities. It was particularly a pleasure for me\nto meet with the President. I found the meeting to be\nboth very warm, candid, and very constructive.\nWe were rather emphatic in our support for\nthe bilingual education bill. As you know, it is a\nmajor bill that has been closely identified with all\nthe Hispanic people in this country, and we urged him\nto support it.\nWe also touched on the need to really think,\nre-look at the whole underlying strategy around revenue\nsharing. It has been a strategy that has not met the\nneeds of the Spanish-speaking people because many of\nthe funds are going to the State courthouses and, as you\nknow, our communities are not in the State courthouses.\nSo we urged the President that special set-asides should\nbe considered. I do think this is particularly critical\nto our community for our institutional life.\nAs you know, we are an emerging community. Our\ninstitutions are fragile, and need long-sustained support\nbecause they will be the pillars of our society. I will\nbe prepared to answer any questions a little later on, but\nfor me personally it was both an honor and a pleasure\nto meet with the President.\nMR. DE BACA: Mr. Morales.\nMR. MORALES: My name is Antonio Morales,\nNational Chairman of the G.I. Forum, an organization\nprimarily made up of Spanish-speaking Veterans that\ndelves into the field of civil rights in our 26 years\nof existence.\nFirst off, I would like to say that this\nmeeting today is historical in aspect; that for the\nfirst time the Mexican-American community, the Puerto\nRican community, the Cuban community, got together to\ncrystalize what we feel are some of the most important\nissues affecting all of our communities.\nIn starting out, we know any type of affirmative\nprogram must have total commitment from the top level on\ndown to the administrators of various programs. This\nis our main reason for meeting with President Ford. We want\nto be assured that that commitment is there so that when we\ngo back to the Hill and participate in any type of hearings,\nwhen we talk to the Secretaries -- whether it be the\nDepartment of Labor, HEW, et cetera -- we know that\nwe have that commitment from President Ford, himself.\nMORE\nFORD & LIBRARY BERALD\n- 5 -\n9W\nWe feel that we have covered every spectrum.\nPerhaps more time will be needed, but I think the specific\nissues are going to be dealt through Fernando De Baca's\noffice, in which the total 18 people that were represented\nthere are in full support of the method in which we can\nexpress not only the problems but the solutions as\nwe\nsee\nthem.\nNOV\nThank you very much.\nMR. DE BACA: Mr. Jose Casanova from Florida,\nMR. CASANOVA: My name is Jose Casanova from\nMiami, Florida. I am a Cuban-American involved in\nrefugee work, co-chairman of the Cuban Refugee Assistance\nFund and, of course, our concerns are in similar areas,\nbut with one exception, and that was in relation to\nthe Cuban problem.\nI was very pleased to hear the President\nrather emphatically say that the situation as far as\nthe United States is concerned has not changed at all.\nHe did recognize the fact that the the OEA is holding\na meeting in the near future, and the possibility\nexisted that the votes might be there to lift sanctions\nagainst Cuba. I to\nto\nBut he said that the United States was not\nobligated to establish commerce with Cuba because\nof this. He also called the attention to the fact that\nCastro's attitude is quite evident in the way he has\nacted in terms of his recent speeches and those of\nthe Cuban government representations.\nWe also, of course, are very much interested\nin other areas such as bilingual education, and we are b[uow\ninterested in, as perhaps the newest minority group\nthat has joined the citizenship of the United States,\nto participate in Government activities and perhaps\nnot only in the private but in the public field to make\nour contribution to this society.\nOverall, I must that we feel that this\nis a great first step in the right direction, and that\nwe have had a very receptive, very warm President in\nthe conversations, and also I might add a very cooperative\nMr. Fernando De Baca to help us.\ntsy\nThank you.\nMORE\nGERALD LEBRARY P. FORD\n-6-\nMR. DE BACA: Mr. Roberts, if I may indulge in\na little bit of time here, I do want to be sure that we\nknow who is here. Mr. Aceves represents the Latin\nAmerican Manufacturers Association which is charged with\nthe economic development area and has done a lot in the\nminority business enterprise area.\nSo, if you have any questions to be directed\nin that area, he is available.\nIn the employment area, the image organization\nof the government employees' association of Hispanics\nacross the country, the national president is also here,\nMr. Valenzuela. And also, as I mentioned earlier, Mr.\nJoe Benites, the national president of LUAC is seated\nhere with many, many chapters across this country, and\nmany things to offer, I think, in the way of advice and\ncomments regarding the meeting with the President\nWe are open for questions at this point.\nWas there any mention of the reinstitution\nof the Bracero program, or what was the discussion on the\nBracero program with the President?\nMR. DE BACA: Yes, there was extensive\ndiscussion of the Bracero program, and I am wondering\nif anyone here would care to address their impressions of\nthe discussion surrounding that question.\nMR. ALVAREZ: The point was brought to the\nPresident that any kind of Bracero program would be very\nhypocritical of the immigration quotas that we have\nin the United States. We have a limited amount of\nindividuals that can come legally to the United States\nfrom Mexico and to embark in the new Bracero program\nwould be in direct contrast to that policy.\nThe organizations there were very much\nagainst any type of Bracero program and, of course,\nPresident Ford has been getting advice from other\nareas where perhaps he could go into a limited Bracero\nprogram and ask the Mexican government through President\nEcheverria in his meeting Monday to help enforce the\nillegal aliens coming into this country.\nWe see the problem has multi-aspects into it.\nOne is that so many illegal aliens have been in the\ncountry long enough now to establish legal residency, yet this\nis perplexed with the fact in order to attain citizenship\nin the United States, he has to take a written examination.\nMORE\nFORD & LIBRARY BERALD\n- 7 -\nSo the organizations have joined in a lawsuit\nagainst the U.S. Government through the Organization of\nAmerican States to remove this barrier so that some\nof our own immediate parents and their parents can enjoy\nthe full privileges of citizenship in this country.\nQ Could Mr. Casanova please tell us exactly\nwhat the President said about U.S. relations with Cuba\nand what is involved in that area?\nMR. CASANOVA: I think I covered the subject\nrather generally, and I have come away with a very\nencouraged feeling in terms of the Government's position.\nI think it is still a firm position and the way I\ninterpreted it -- it is my own interpretation -- that\nthere is no appearance of any change in Castro's attitude.\nAs a matter of fact, the President specifically\nmentioned the recent aggressive stand in public speeches\nand reference in the last couple of weeks by the Cuban\ngovernment towards the United States and himself personally\nand I came away encouraged that the position of the\nGovernment, justifiably so, has not changed, because\nCastro's position towards what he so-calls \"imperialism\"\nhas not changed.\nQ\nDid President Ford tell you that he is\nnot going to recognize Cuba diplomatically, that\nthere would be no what exactly did President Ford\ntell you?\nMR. CASANOVA: The President said exactly what\nI have just said.\nQ\nI think I understand you to say you made\nthe presentation to him. What did President Ford tell\nyou in response to your presentation?\nMR. CASANOVA: I think I covered it and I\nwill repeat that he said there was no change in policy and\nhe did not feel at this time that there was any justification\nfor a change in policy. These are not his words verbatim,\nbut the gist of his conversation.\nQ Could I follow that up? You said that\nthe President, even if the OAS voted to keep, or to\nestablish relations that would free the other countries,\nthat he would not establish commerce. Does that mean\ndiplomatic relations, too?\nMORE\nFORD i GERALD LIBRARY\nJluewsi B ni bentot even 8 enoitssinsgro and 02\nto .2. odt tentage\nMR. CASANOVA: He said that, of course, he 2\ncould not control or be responsible for the actions of TUO to\nother countries and that there was a possibility that at\nthe next meeting of the OEA, the sanctions on Cuba might\nbe lifted if they had enough votes.\n0\nedit\nJsdw\nBut he said that, first of all, that he would bas\noppose it emphatically and, secondly, that even if\nif were approved by a majority, it did not necessarily\nobligate the United States to follow through\nTedder\nestablish relationships of any kind. began\nbris 6 [lite +1 I\nMR. DE BACA: Perhaps I can clarify that last\nquestion simply by saying that the President did indicate\nthere was no change in our policy toward Cuba, period.\nHe also indicated that certain member nations of the OAS\nwere discussing this topic actively and that we would enoitnem\nhave to wait their actions in this area before any bris\nformal determinations were made on the part of the United\nStates. to nottieoq VSW5 I bns\nbegnedo ton\nCan we turn now to another question? Yes. s'ortest\nbegando Jon 85d\nat 9d tent UOV [[9] MORE Insbisem9 bid D\nJENJ adul esingooer of gniog ton\nbrot insblasm9 bib VIJOSXE Jsrlw 120.000 on 9d bluow start\n{UOV [Ist\ntsrlw bise grfT :AVOMAZAO .ЯМ\n.biss teut eved I\n9bsm NOV yse of UOV I Antrit I\na\n[Ist Ford Bib JsrW .mid of grit\nДоп TN Leabovee fo 2001\nI brus +1 I I :AVOMASAO ЯМ\nbres voiloq ni egnerio on BBW start bise ed tsnt tesqer Ifiw\nyrus 85W from tarff smit sint ts [est ton blb an\n,mitsdtev abrow aid ton SIB saenT votioq ni sgnado 5 IOT\n.noitsatevnoo ald to taig odt Jud\ntedt bisa woY squ tent wollot I bluoD\n0\nof TO ,goox of befor 2A0 grit 11 neve eff\nredito srit sert bluow tsnt enoitsier Halldates\nasem tent asod dalidates ton bluow an tedt\nSoot ,enoitsIer oitsmolqib\nМОЯ\nGERALD FORD LIBRARY\n9\nII\nЯМ\nbroosa\nQ\nWas the situation about the Cabinet\ncommittee for the Spanish speaking discussed with the\nPresident?\nMR. DE BACA: On the Cabinet committee, there\nwas some discussion of the Cabinet committee. The\nPresident, of course, at the September 4 meeting with\nthe Hispanic Congressmen and with the Hispanic American\nAdministration appointees did indicate his support\nfor legislation extending the Cabinet committee through\nthe end of the current fiscal year.\nHis position remains the same, and there was\nonly some brief discussion regarding the Cabinet\ncommittee on that point.\nQ What was the position of the group in\nterms of their support for the Cabinet committee?\nto\nMR. DE BACA: Perhaps you should hear from the\ngroup.\nMR. VALENZUELA: Several of the major\norganizations did get together to discuss the future,\nwhat they felt as far as support for the Cabinet\ncommittee. The feeling or concurrence of the group was\nthat we would support-the organizations would support--\nthe Cabinet committee with certain changes, with\nconditional changes, and that we have the Administration-\nthe President as I understand, has agreed to these\nchanges and, therefore, we are willing to give full\nsupport to the Cabinet committee. We wish to see it\ncontinued with those specific changes.\n.ЯМ\nQ\nWhat are the changes?\nMR. VALENZUELA: Number one, that the national\norganizations be included in some advisory or some\ncapacity to advise and hold the Cabinet committee account-\nable to some certain degree to have some input into the\nactivities of the Cabinet committee and to always have\nthe information coming back.\nNumber two, that the position of the chairman\nof the Cabinet committee be subject to the Hatch Act\nso that it would not have the problem of politics\ninvolved with regard to the chairman of the committee.\nNumber three, that the chairman not be\nselected until some final decision was made with the\nfuture of the Cabinet committee so that it would continue\nin existence, so there would not be any jockeying around\nto try to get someone for the position until we knew\nwhat the future of the Cabinet committee was, and four,\nsome structural changes in this Cabinet committee itself.\nnoy\nMORE\nGERALD LEBRARY FORD\n- 10 -\nMR. ALVAREZ: If I may, I would just like to\ngo on record saying that we at Aspira have still\nreserved our basic decision regarding the Cabinet\ncommittee. We share the concern of the other national\norganizations, but I am more interested in seeing that\nthe Cabinet committee does function and that it does\nfunction effectively and that it begins to undertake\nactivities that support the emerging institutions of\n85W\nour community because, frankly, many of the staffs\ncome and go and we in the community must stay, so I am\nfrankly going to hold back reservation on making a\ndecision until we see clearly how the i's are being\ndotted and the t's are being crossed.\nto\nBBW Was the meeting with the President of\nMexico\ndiscussed?\nMR. DE BACA: Yes, the meeting with the\nPresident of Mexico was addressed. The point was made\nwe have in this country presently 11 million people,\nabout seven million of those are of Mexican-American\ndescent, and it represents a vast reservoir of human\ntalent that has not been previously tapped in our\nrelations with Latin American countries, and Mexico\nespecially\nto\nMR. MORALES: I think there was one important\nitem that was not brought up yet; that is, the entire\norganization, the entire group totally and unanimously\nsupported the selection of Fernando De Baca in this\nposition and we have asked the President to provide\nproper and sufficient staffing, proper and sufficient\nauthority so that he can address himself to the\nconsensus of this wide community.\nMR. DE BACA: Let me say also for the record,\nMr. Roberts, if I may, that there are some very serious\nconcerns about the minority procurement area, business\nprocurement area. Mr. Aceves, as I said, is here. He\ncan\naddress\nthat\narea.\nWe are particular concerned about the Alyeska\nproject in Alaska, the trans-Alaskan pipeline and the\nvery fact that many of the dollars, the subcontracting\ndollars with regard to that project have already\nbeen committed and very little Hispanic participation was\ninvolved. For that matter, very little black minority\nto\nparticipation was involved, and there were serious\nconcerns in both the Hispanic and black communities\nregarding that problem.\nQ\nWill you be traveling with the President\nto the meeting with Echeverria?\nMR. DE BACA: There will be a decision on that\nthis afternoon.\nTHE PRESS: Thank you.\nEND\n(AT 2:23 P.M. EDT)\nFORD is GERALD LIBRARY\nNovember 5, 1974\nMEMORANDUM FOR:\nANNE ARMSTRONG\nFROM:\nFERNANDO E. C. DE BACA\nSUBJECT:\nMeeting with Hispanic American\nLeaders, October 17, 1974\nAt your direction and with your support, a meeting was arranged\nbetween the President and Hispanic-American leaders on October 17,\n1974, at 12:30 PM, in the Cabinet Room of the White House. In addi-\ntion to the list of participants attached at Tab A, Reynaldo Maduro,\nExecutive Director, CCOSSP, and I attended the meeting. Also\npresent were William J. Baroody and Dr. Theodore Marrs, who\nasked to be seated as observers. The meeting lasted from approx-\nimately 12:20 PM until approximately 1:48 PM with two brief inter-\nruptions requiring the President to momentarily leave the room.\nFollowing the meeting with the President in the Cabinet Room, a\npress conference was held in the White House Briefing Room (Tab B).\nThe following is a summary of the major points raised by participants\nat the October 17, 1974, meeting:\nJoe Benites, President of LULAC, was the first to speak. He thanked\nthe President for inviting the various Hispanic leaders present to dis-\ncuss the problems facing Hispanic Americans. He asked that the Presi-\nWhite House dent consider sponsoring a White House Conference on the Spanish\nConference\nSpeaking. The President replied by saying that a conference for the\non the\nsake of a conference was self defeating, and that it was possible to\nSpanish\nstudy a problem to death. Unless a conference were to accomplish\nSpeaking\nsomething in terms of recommendations for actions to solve pressing\nproblems, it would be useless.\nGERALD ? LEBRARY FORD\n-2-\nPaquita Vivo, President of National Conference of Puerto Rican\nHispanic\nWomen, expressed her concern over the multitude problems faced\nWomen\nby Spanish-origin women. Sexist bias and cultural bias combine to\nexclude the Spanish speaking woman from economic and educational\nadvancements.\nGilda Bojorquez Gjurich, National Republican Hispanic Assembly,\nfocused on the depressed state of the home construction market and\nhow high interest rates work to the detriment of new mortgages and\nHousing\nhomestarts. She also expressed concern for inclusion of Hispanic\nConcerns\nminority contractors in the housing industry. The President replied\nthat under pending legislation before the Congress, about 3 billion\ndollars would become available to the mortgage and construction\nindustries for new mortgages and homestarts.\nEd Valenzuela, President of IMAGE, requested an Executive Order\nor Presidential Memorandum reaffirming the support of the Adminis-\nEmploy-\ntration for the 16 Point Program (Spanish Speaking Program). He\nment\nexpressed disappointment in the small number of Spanish Speaking\nConcerns\nsupergrades and judges. He recommended that the White House\nemploy the services of a qualified Spanish Speaking executive\nrecruiter. The President replied he would talk to Chairman\nHampton of the Civil Service Commission regarding his opinion\non the need for such a document, and that he would query Bill\nWalker on the possibility of employing a Hispanic recruiter.\nRicardo Zazueta, Executive Director, SER/Jobs for Progress,\nfocused on the issue of parity for the Spanish speaking within the\nCETA\nCETA/revenue sharing bill. Specifically, he suggested that tisty\nmillion dollars be assured for Section 301 (b) of CETA in the pending\nFY 1975 Labor-HEW Appropriations Bill; That a formula be developed\nto assure that an equitable share of public service employment monies\nand jobs go to the Spanish speaking: and that the Spanish speaking be\nequitably represented on all commissions and boards appointed by the\nPresident. The President replied he would check into the CETA funding.\nJose Manolo Casanova. Expressed concern over lack of Cuban super-\ngrades, and uncertainty of the direction of foreign policy toward Cuba.\nGERALD ? FORD\n-3-\nThe President replied that he saw no need for a change in our\nCuba\nforeign policy toward Cuba so long as Fidel Castro continued his\npresent policy of exporting revolution. He said he would have to\nsee a change in Castro's attitude toward this country before we\ncould consider a change in our attitude toward Cuba.\nParticipants were against the renewal of a Bracero Program with\nBracero\nthe Mexican government unless wages would be paid on a level with\nProgram\nprevailing wages in that area. They did not want to see existing wages\ndepressed. The President replied that it was a complicated situation.\nEmployment problems existed all along the border. There was no\ncommitment as yet regarding a renewal of the bracero program nor\nthe illegal alien situation. He would seek fulber cooperation with the\nPresident of Mexico on these two problems.\nFORD i LIBRARY 03RALD\nOctober 15, 197\nFor fr her information\ncontact:\nE. B. Duarte\nDirector, Public Affairs\n202/254-5940 (0)\n202/265-3350 (H)\nADVISORY TO EDITORS\nWASHINGTON --- President Ford will meet Thursday, October 17,\nwith 16 Hispanic American leaders to discuss concerns of the\nSpanish speaking community.\nThe meeting is scheduled to last 45 minutes, beginning at\n12:15 P.M. It will be held in the White House Cabinet Room.\nThe session is being arranged by Fernando E. C. De Baca,\nSpecial Assistant to the President; he is being assisted by\nthe Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for Spanish Speaking\nPeople.\nReynaldo P. Maduro, Executive Director of the Cabinet\nCommittee and De Baca will also attend the meeting.\nHispanic leaders invited to meet with President Ford are:\n(List of names of leaders, hometown, and title or\nidentification to be supplied by Mr. De Baca's\noffice)\nThe session will mark the second time the President has\nmet with Spanish speaking leaders since he took office.\nHe met with six Spanish-surnamed Congressmen and eight\nAdministrative representatives at a September 4 White\nHouse gathering.\nWhile serving as Vice President, Mr. Ford met last April\nwith a group of Spanish speaking community leaders at the\nWhite House.\nNOTE TO EDITORS\nA briefing on President Ford's October 17 meeting with the\nSpanish speaking leaders will be held at 2 P.M. in the\nWhite House West Wing Press Office.\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\nFernando E. C. De Baca, Special Assistant to the President,\nand some selected meeting participants will take part in\nthe briefing.\nMedia representatives who do not have White House press\ncredentials must obtain clearance to gain entry to the\nWest Wing.\nThose planning to attend the briefing are asked to call\nE. B. Duarte at the Cabinet Committee (254-5940) by 5 P.M.\nWednesday, October 16.\nPhotographers will be permitted to take pictures of the\nPresident's meeting with the Hispanics from 12:15 to\n12:25 P.M.\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\n- 2 -\nOCT 13 1974\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nWASHINGTON\nOctober 11, 1974\nMEMORANDUM FOR: MRS. ANNE ARMSTRONG\nFROM:\nWARREN RUSTAND usr\nSUBJECT:\nApproved Presidential Activity\nPlease take the necessary steps to implement the following and confirm\nwith Mrs. Nell Yates, ext. 2699. The appropriate briefing paper should\nbe submitted to Dr. David Hoopes.\nEvent: Meeting with selected Spanish speaking leaders from the\nmajor national Hispanic Organizations\nDate: Thursday, October 17, 1974 Time: 12:15 p.m. Duration: 45 mins.\nLocation: The Cabinet Room\nPress Coverage: Press Photo\nParticipants:\n12 selected Hispanic leaders and a representative (one)\nfrom the Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for Spanish\nSpeaking People\ncc:\nMr. Hartmann\nMr. Marsh\nMr. Cheney\nDr. Hoopes\nMr. Jones\nMr. Nessen\nMr. O'Donnell X2168 / 2669\nMr. De Baca\nMr. Buchen\nGERALD LEBRARY ? FORD\nMr. Burch\nSeptember 26, 1974\nTO:\nWarman Rustand\nFROM:\nFernando E.C. De Baca\nSUBJECT:\nSchedule Proposal For The\nPresident.\nAttached please find the Schedule of Proposal for the\nPresident.\nPlease do not hesidate to contact me if I can be of\nfurther assistance.\nAttachment 1\nFORD & LIBRARY 074429\nSCHEDULE PROPOSI FOR THE PRESIDENT\nDATE:\nSeptember 24, 1974\nFROM:\nFernando C. De Baca\nVIA:\nWarren Rustand\nMEETING:\nWith selected Spanish speaking leaders from the\nmajor national Hispanic Organizations.\nDATE:\nBetween October 14 and October 31, 1974\nPURPOSE:\nTo provide a forum for the airing of major\nproblems and issues confronting Hispanic Americans.\nFORMAT:\n-Cabinet Room\n-30 Minutes\n-Selected Hispanic leaders (twelve), and a repre-\nsentative (one) from the Cabinet Committee on\nOpportunities for Spanish Speaking People. A\ntentative participant listing will be attached.\nPRESS COVERAGE:\nPress pool photo opportunity.\nRECOMMEND:\nAnne Armstrong\nDean Burch\nFernando C. De Baca\nSTAFF:\nAnne Armstrong\nFernando C. De Baca\nBACKGROUND:\nOn April 11, 1974, sixteen Hispanic community\nrepresentatives met with Vice President Ford to\nrequest his support for development of a national\npolicy directed at the specific needs of Hispanics.\nSubsequent to this meeting, Fernando C. De Baca\nwas named as his Special Assistant in charge of\nHispanic Affairs, a position which was the direct\noutgrowth of the previously held meeting.\nOver the past three weeks, the President has re-\nceived requests for separate audiences from\nHispanic leaders wishing to bring to his attention\nmajor problems facing Spanish speaking Americans.\nThis event would permit Hispanic leaders represent-\ning the Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Latin\nAmerican communities to meet as a group to directly\naddress their concerns to the President. Further-\nmore this event would serve to demonstrate the\nPresident's personal interest and concern for\nproviding increased opportunities for the Hispanic\nAmerican.\nTALKING POINTS:\nTalking points will be provided.\nApprove\nDisapprove\nFORD & LIBRARY GERATO\nMEMORANDUM FOR: E.B. Duarte\nDATE:\nOct. 11, 1974\nFROM:\nRose Marie Roybal\nSUBJECT:\nRequest Assistance with the following:\nPUBLICITY\nLead: E.B. Duarte\n- select Primary Print Media (General)\n- Select Primary Print Media (General)\n- Coordinate with John Carlson,\nWH Press Office for notification of Media\nRepresentatives and issuance of WH Press Release\n- Meet with WH Photographer and coordinate photos\n*Group photo\n*Wide Lens photo\nGenerate memo to Carlson confirming meeting details\n(see model)\nCCOSSP\n-Briefing Material for President t/Armstrong\nLead: Maduro\n- -00btain President's Briefing Book\n- Ms. Armstrong's Book\n- Update on CCOSSP's 16 Point Program\n- Generate Memo SSL 9/2/74\nFORD & LIBRARY GERALD\nDecember 20, 1974\nOCT.17\nDear Gilda:\nI am enclosing a photograph fromoour\nmeeting with the President. I took\nthe liberty of having it mounted to\nmake it more suitable for framing.\nThis photograph comes with President\nFord's and my best wishes for a joyous\nholiday season.\nSincerely,\nFernando E. C. De Baca\nSpecial Assistant to the President\nMrs. Gilda Bojorquez Gjurich\n926 N. Los Flores Avenue\nMontebello, California\n90641\nFORD & LIBRARY BERALD\nDecember 20, 1974\nDear Gilda:\nI am enclosing a photograph fromoour\nmeeting with the President. I took\nthe liberty of having it mounted to\nmake it more suitable for framing.\nThis photograph comes with President\nFord's and my best wishes for a joyous\nholiday season.\nSincerely,\nFernando E. C. De Baca\nSpecial Assistant to the President\nMrs. Gilda Bojorquez Gjurich\n926 N. Los Flores Avenue\nMontebello, California\n90641\nFORD is LIBRARY GERALD\nDecember 20, 1974\nDear Gilda:\nI am enclosing a photograph fromoour\nmeeting with the President. I took\nthe liberty of having it mounted to\nmake it more suitable for framing.\nThis photograph comes with President\nFord's and my best wishes for a joyous\nholiday season.\nSincerely,\nFernando E. C. De Baca\nSpecial Assistant to the President\nMrs. Gilda Bojorquez Gjurich\n926 N. Los Flores Avenue\nMontebello, California\n90641\nGERALD ? LLERARY FORD"
}