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| |  |  | VOA Online Discussion: The 2008 Presidential Elections
| Guest: Gloria Roa Bodin, Immigration Attorney and Jennifer Trotter, Texas Delegate
Date: 26 August 08
Moderator: Frances Alonzo
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| | Frances Alonzo: Welcome to today’s T2A’s chat with 2008 Democratic party activist Jennifer Trotter and Gloria Roa Bodin, a U.S. immigration Attorney.
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Frances Alonzo: Hello, Jennifer. It’s Day 2 of the conventions. Tell us about the first day experience and whose speech you liked last night and why.
Jennifer Trotter: It was just incredible. I enjoyed the speeches from Michelle Obama and Senator Ted Kennedy. Senator Kennedy reminds us what we are fighting for this election and that hope is there to be reclaimed. Michele carried that message in her speech describing her and Senator Obama's life as the 'American Dream' in placing special emphasis on the role of public service. So far this experience has been one of the most important experiences so far in my life. As I was sitting in the Pepsi Center, it really dawned on me, the enormous honor bestowed upon me in representing my state of Texas. The most surprising moment thus far, was definitely Senator Ted Kennedy, strong and fighting through the battle he is currently undertaking and how more inspiring could that be.
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Shafiqul Islam in Dhaka, Bangladesh: Do you think that Hillary supporters will work for or vote for Barack after this convention? When will the Democratic supporters become united?
Jennifer: I absolutely believe that Hillary Clinton's supporters will vote for Barak Obama. In several appearances yesterday, Senator Clinton made it clear that she does not support any of her supporters voting for Senator McCain and that a vote for Senator McCain would be a continuation of the failed policies of the last eight years. Senator Clinton is the keynote speaker for tonight's program. I suspect that we will hear her emphatically call her supporter base to action and clearly distinguish Senator Obama's positions and policies from those of Senator McCain. Unity is in the air and it will be achieved by Thursday night.
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Frances Alonzo: Explain how the Obama campaign embraced younger voters and used the Internet to build instant communities of supporters?
Jennifer Trotter: The Obama campaign took what Howard Dean created in 2004 one step further with my.barakobama.com. This website is much more than an internet fundraising tool. It is an online community. Just in my own experience, in one of the most conservative counties in Texas,we have been able to harness it's power. As an example, before the Texas primary, we attracted 500 participants at one of our initial organizing events. This is amazing because I live in very small suburb of Dallas and people drove from as far away as 50 miles to get to our event. myBO places the ownership of the campaign in anyone's hands; you don't have to be a political insider or top fundraiser to get involved.
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| Frances Alonzo: What about today’s events, what is coming up for you? What activities do you have to participate in here at the convention?
Jennifer Trotter: So, today is another busy day. Business in the morning, and the prime time convention program in the evening. I will be splitting my time this morning between the youth and the women's caucus and then headed to a Hispanic Caucus event in the afternoon. In between, I will be trying to do some sight-seeing in Denver and will head over to the Pepsi Center in the early evening.
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| Frances Alonzo: How is this convention addressing immigration issues?
Gloria Roa Bodin: So far, the immigration issues have not been discussed at lenght. But in the next three days, I can assure you, it will be a hot topic. Our immigration system is badly broken, and needs to be fixed. However, most undocumented workers are hard-working and can contribute to America. Most important is the Hispanic vote. We have approximately 15 million undocumented workers, some of whom have relatives who can vote. It will be up to Obama and McCain as well to win these votes. Other issues are as follows: employers are having problems finding qualified workers. we need temporary worker program H-5A visa to grant temporary employment status. We need to promote family unity by increasing the annual cap and we need to increase the number of employment based visas to reduce the backlog in both these categories. Most importantly, we need to secure our borders. Another issues with Congress is employers who hire undocumented workers. The system needs to provide stronger employment eligibility confirmation. I am hoping as an immigration attorney for more than 30 years to see new legislation such as a comprehensive immigration reform to fix the system.
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| Frances Alonzo: Should Barak Obama become president, what might the impact be on immigration policy in the United States.
Gloria Roa Bodin: I believe that if Barak Obama becomes president he will institute comprehensive immigration reform. However, Senator McCain has also spoken of immigration reform. I support Barak Obama because he strongly understands the frustration and division that communities are facing on dealing with our disfunctional immigration system. I would like to see the Department of Homeland Security focus on the processing of professional business and investor visas. Cases are being denied in high volume sabatoging economic growth by disallowing millions of dollars to enter the U.S. through business and investor visas. This is the most important change needed.
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Frances Alonzo: That’s it for today’s T2A web chat. Thanks for joining us. Our thanks to our guests Jennifer Trotter,a first time delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado and Gloria Roa Bodin, a U.S. immigration Attorney. You can learn more about our guests from the link on our webpage and you can find the transcript of today’s chat. Just go to voanews.com and click on the T2A link. Stay with us for our weeklong discussion on the 2008 Democratic National Convention. We invite you to join us live at 1500 UTC to ask your questions or share your opinions on the 2008 Presidential Election. Remember, you can also send your questions or comments in advance to chat@voanews.com
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