WASHINGTON (HB) March 9, 2004 - U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, a Mexican-American who overcame high obstacles on the road to success, is urging Hispanic parents to join the battle against the drug abuse, crime and street gangs that have harmed Latino communities.
 

"If we allow drugs, gangs and crime to ravage our communities ... we will not realize the leadership potential of our community," he said Tuesday night at the National Council of La Raza's Capital Awards Gala.
 

Gonzales was the featured speaker at the NCLR event, where Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah) were recognized for their work in Congress to advance the interests of the Latino community.
 

Also honored was the Llano Grande Center for Research and Development, which strives to improve opportunities for Latino students in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
 

The NCLR is the country's largest Hispanic civil rights organization and Gonzales's appearance at the Tuesday night ceremony was his first before a major Latino group since becoming attorney general.
 

While some prominent Hispanic organizations opposed Gonzales's nomination because of his involvement in authorizing harsh treatment of prisoners in Iraq and Guantanamo, Cuba, the NCLR endorsed the choice, citing the nominee's achievements on behalf of Latinos as a Texas Supreme Court justice and adviser to then-Gov. George W. Bush.
 

The new attorney general sought in his speech to enlist the NCLR in a battle against drug abuse and lawlessness among the nation's Latinos.
 

"In 2003 it was announced with great fanfare that Hispanics had become the largest minority group in America. Some of my Hispanic friends found comfort in this news, but I saw an even greater challenge. If we allow drugs, gangs and crime to ravage our communities, if we unfairly deny the protection of our nation to law abiding aliens who seek asylum, if we fail to prepare our children for competition in the global economy, we will not realize the leadership potential of our community," he said.
 

"This is the challenge I share with you tonight. This is the dream I know we can achieve," Gonzales told the audience at the NCLR gala.
 

Authorities in the United States are increasingly concerned about the growing presence in some cities - notably Washington, with its large Central American population - of Hispanic youth gangs such as the notorious Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.
 

Gonzales acknowledged past differences between La Raza and the Bush administration, but expressed confidence that they could work together on issues of concern to Hispanics, including immigration reform.
 

Bush's proposal for a guest-worker program envisions granting immigrants permission to live and work in the United States for three years. NCLR, for its part, wants to see those migrants given the opportunity to obtain permanent residence here.
 

The two lawmakers being honored by NCLR also spoke at the event.
 

Dodd repeated his call for congressional passage of the so-called "DREAM Act," which would allow undocumented immigrants to attend publicly funded universities as in-state students.
 

Speaking in Spanish, the Connecticut Democrat also said that "children should not be deported."
 

Cannon, who spent three years as a Mormon missionary in Guatemala and El Salvador, touted the "AgJobs Act," a bill that proposes the legalization of a half-million mainly Hispanic undocumented farm workers.
 

Janet Murguia, making her public debut as NCLR's new president and chief executive, told the crowd she was hopeful about the prospects for a bipartisan immigration reform proposal expected to be introduced soon by Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Arizona's John McCain.