SAN DIEGO -- Never mind baseball. The real national pastime is talking down illegal immigrants. We depict them negatively, crudely and simplistically. We see them as...
SAN DIEGO -- President Obama had been getting high marks in his first year in office for what seemed to be an insightful approach to education reform. Too bad he flunked...
SAN DIEGO -- President Obama's give-and-take with House Republicans at the GOP retreat in Baltimore was refreshing, interesting and informative.
Yet, for me, the whole...
SAN DIEGO -- I, for one, would have liked to have seen President Obama condemn racial and ethnic profiling in his lengthy and otherwise far-reaching State of the Union...
SAN DIEGO -- Part of being a Latino columnist is getting unsolicited travel advice. Disgruntled readers will often tell me to "go back to Mexico," even though I was born...
SAN DIEGO -- Sometimes conventional wisdom is wrong.
That's how it is with the assumption that Republican Scott Brown's victory over Democrat Martha Coakley in the...
SAN DIEGO -- Never mind pictures. Sometimes, a joke is worth a thousand words.
Take this recent zinger from Conan O'Brien: "I just want to say to the kids out there...
SAN DIEGO -- Et tu, Arnold?
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is usually a kinder, gentler Republican when it comes to immigrants. So what a shame that...
SAN DIEGO -- If Harry Reid's defenders are right that he was really doling out compliments, then I sure don't want to be around when he starts hurling insults.
If...
SAN DIEGO -- As we have seen, bravado is not exclusive to any political party. Republicans and Democrats can both get carried away and say things they'll later have...
SAN DIEGO -- Want to cross into the United States illegally while keeping track of the location of the nearest water station and the distance to your final...
SAN DIEGO -- After recently criticizing bratty students at the University of California for protesting a fee hike because they'd rather have taxpayers subsidize their...
SAN DIEGO -- Those on the pro-immigrant left have shown considerable courage in taking on Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Minutemen vigilantes, border walls...
SAN DIEGO -- Just in time for Christmas, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has given Latino voters a valuable gift: clarity.
So much of politics is masked in smoke and mirrors....
SAN DIEGO -- With the nation's jobless rate at 10 percent and six applicants for every opening, you might think this is the worst possible time for Congress to legalize...
SAN DIEGO -- For more than two centuries, part of being an American has often meant struggling to be something else.
No offense intended. It's not that people are...
SAN DIEGO -- Move over, Clint Eastwood. The Senate has its own Dirty Harry. When it comes to ham-handedly exploiting the sensitive and divisive issue of race to score...
SAN DIEGO -- President Obama is absolutely correct to respond to the conflict in Afghanistan by sending more troops. Yet in light of the reaction of lawmakers in both...
SAN DIEGO -- The paradox of the Obama administration's plan to achieve comprehensive immigration reform -- one of these days, when it gets around to it, be patient, yada...
SAN DIEGO -- Some truths are counterintuitive. In business, you have to spend money to make money. In politics, the only way to maintain acquired capital is to spend it....
San Diego, California (CNN) -- When I speak to college students, I always push two messages: If you work hard, take risks, leave your comfort zone and never give up, you...
SAN DIEGO -- When the make-love-not-war generation finally got around to having kids, they were so proud of their accomplishment that they fawned over the little...
SAN DIEGO -- In the past, I've advised undocumented immigrants from Mexico to learn English, become legal, value education, refuse handouts, resist entitlement, and...
SAN DIEGO -- What does the Iraq War have to do with the health care debate? More than you might think.
In politics, what goes around comes around. And it's coming around...
SAN DIEGO -- It's time to send Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York a slew of calendars.
Here's why. One of my favorite stories from the civil rights movement involves James...
SAN DIEGO -- Hotelier Larry Whitten should have known this much: When in New Mexico, do as the New Mexicans do.
That sounds familiar. It's ironic that the cultural right...
SAN DIEGO -- What's next? A resurgence of segregated swimming pools, where they only let Mexican-Americans swim on Fridays because they drain the pool on Saturdays? A...
SAN DIEGO -- By stalling on issues ranging from Afghanistan to immigration reform, President Obama has earned a reputation for being indecisive. Yet Obama did make one...
SAN DIEGO -- Are we post-racial yet? Not so much.
Recently, there have been some ugly racial skirmishes. And we're not talking about the hate crimes, ethnic harassment...
SAN DIEGO -- Coming from a family that is something of a racial and ethnic stew -- her mother is Afro-Cuban, her father Australian with Irish roots -- CNN's Soledad...
SAN DIEGO -- Those who believe that President Obama should ignore Vice President Biden's advice about a "small footprint" and give Gen. Stanley McChrystal additional...
SAN DIEGO -- Joe Arpaio, who calls himself "America's toughest sheriff," has gone rogue. Consumed by ego, accused of racial profiling, and running roughshod over the...
SAN DIEGO -- If Census Bureau estimates are accurate, there are about 47 million Latinos in the United States, accounting for about 15 percent of the total U.S....
SAN DIEGO -- After years of criticizing President George W. Bush for running roughshod over American foreign policy by sending U.S. troops to fight two wars, liberals...
SAN DIEGO -- There was a huge response to a column listing 10 ways for immigrants -- especially those from Mexico and Latin America -- to improve their relationship with...
SAN DIEGO -- Less than a year into the job, President Obama seems ambivalent about America's role as the world's one great superpower. Nor is he enamored of the majestic...
SAN DIEGO -- You can place a top general in Afghanistan, but you can't tell him what to think.
Call that one of President Obama's first lessons as commander in chief....
SAN DIEGO -- Some might consider this an impolite way to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. But this year, I'm giving Hispanic immigrants a gift straight from the heart:...