Hispanic organizations court Trump, wind up with scandal

A lot of Americans worry about "fake news." But if they tune in to cable TV and see someone with a brown face supporting Trump, they've caught a glimpse of a fake Hispanic.

Sometimes all it takes to end up on the outs with other Hispanics is to express support for a policy proposal put forth by Trump, such as his recent 3-for-1 swap on immigration.

The president has said that he will support legal status and a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers if he gets $25 billion for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the elimination of the diversity visa lottery, and an end to so-called chain migration.

That's a good deal -- especially since Democrats don't have a serious counter-proposal. As a columnist, I can say that.

Apparently, one person who can't say it is Roger Rocha, who serves as the national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. After Rocha sent a letter to Trump in support of the swap, LULAC members and the heads of local chapters demanded Rocha's resignation. Under pressure, he put out a press release saying that he regretted sending the letter. But he has not apologized for the content, which suggests he still supports the deal.

Meanwhile, Palomarez isn't offering any apologies either. He probably should. He made mistakes, even if he won't admit it.

When a reporter from The New York Times asked him about the accusations of impropriety, he said: "I categorically deny these troubling allegations." And after his departure was announced, in a statement put out by the USHCC, Palomerez said he was "extremely proud" of his tenure.

Here's the question: Do you care about any of this?

To be honest, I didn't -- not at first. I started getting pitched bits and pieces of this story about 18 months ago by some well-placed sources who hoped I'd write a column about the fiasco and expose Palomarez's alleged wrongdoing.

I passed. And I did so for the same reason that I'm ambivalent about the story now.

Organizations like the USHCC and LULAC dug their own graves over the last few decades by neglecting and forgetting about the people they claim to represent. The people who lead these groups have become elitists who breathe rarified air and often get too close to the powerful.

Once that happens, it's hard to find much sympathy from the community they left behind.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.