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Pho to by She l Hers horn In the first few days of January 1967, Luciano Santoscoy of El Paso, the editor of LULAC News, wrote Hoover requesting an article on “How Denial of Equal Opportunity Fosters Crime Increase,” suitable for publication in the nationwide paper’s February issue. Hoover wasted no time in requesting a search of Bureau files on Mr. Santoscoy, and he asked the SAC, El Paso, to conduct an “indices check and discreet inquiry of established source to determine character and reputation of Santoscoy. .. . Under no circumstances should he become aware of your interest.” He expected results within six days. SAC, El Paso, responded in five days with no derogatory information found on Santoscoy, his wife, Juanita, or LULAC. So the director graciously consented to write an article by February 15 for the LULAC News on another subject, the importance of citizen cooperation with law enforcement. The article, “A Time for All Things,” was prepared and mailed to Mr. Santoscoy on February 8, 1967. From the mid-1960s through the early ’70s, the FBI began collecting biographical information on the national presidents of LULAC and their organizational activities. The Midwest chapters attracted the most attention. On December 14, 1970, Hoover caused a national furor among Chicanos. In a national weekly news magazine, he said: “We cooperate with the Secret Service on presidential trips abroad. You never have to bother about a president being shot by a Puerto Rican or Mexican. They don’t shoot very straight. But if they come at you with a knife, beware.” Ralph Echave of the Anaheim, California, LULAC chapter sent a letter to Hoover demanding his resignation. Hoover, however, assured Mr. Echave that he was quoted out of context in that the quote was taken from a lengthy interview. “I had no intention,” said Hoover in his response, “whatever of criticizing, demeaning or casting aspersions on law-abiding citizens of any ethnic group or national origin.” Again, as was his custom, Hoover noted on the file copy of the letter that no Bureau ‘files existed on Ralph Echave and that the material on file on LULAC contained “no derogatory information regarding his organization, and in 1967, material was furnished for use in their organization newspaper.” Although Hoover died in 1975, the FBI continued the surveillance of LULAC. In recent years, the surveillance has been centered on the foreign policy pronouncements and on the international activities of the LULAC leadership. Then-national president Edward Morga joined other Chicano leaders in 1976 to begin a formal dialogue with the president of Mexico. Since that time, Presidents Ed Pena, Ruben Bonilla, Tony Bonilla, and Mario Obledo have continued to attract FBI attention. These leaders have expanded the scope and range of LULAC international activity. Most recently, in 1984, Obledo toured Mexico, Central America, and Cuba, meeting with the heads of state of the countries he visited. Other Organizations on the Spy Agenda THE AMERICAN G.I. FORUM has also been a target of FBI surveillance since its founding in 1948. This was particularly true during the 1960s and 1970s. Specific chapters of the G.I. Forum in Denver and Detroit have come under scrutiny for their activities on behalf of veterans of Mexican ancestry. The national conven MAYO members rally in Del Rio, April, tions and the national presidents of the American G.I. Forum, as in the case of LULAC, have drawn the attention of the FBI. The 1969 Cheyenne, Wyoming, conference and President Jose Juarez, for example, were monitored. Even the New Year’s dance of the G.I. Forum chapter in Flint, Michigan, was targeted for surveillance by Hoover. And the local pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, which had rented out the church hall for the forum dance, was also targeted. In the Midwest, the Muscatine Migrant Council, the Midwest Council of La Raza, as well as such personalities as Manuel “Manny” Fierros, an independent candidate for governor in Kansas; Rhea Mojica Hamer, a television personality in Chicago; and Paul Sedillo of the U.S. Catholic Conference were targets of FBI surveillance during the 1970s. Graciela Olivarez headed the Community Services Administration for Jimmy Carter and was a central figure in the federal harassment of .Zavala County. She, too, however, was a target of surveillance. Jesse Soriano was the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education and director of the OffiCe of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs during the first Reagan administration. He and Olivarez are in FBI files for attendin g “Mi kaza PrimerO” conference, -held at Muskegon ComMunity College in Michigan during 1972. Chicano student groups of the 1960s and 1970s attracted government agents from the FBI, Internal Revenue Service, 1969. and the Central Intelligence Agency. Such groups as the La Raza National Law Students Association, United MexiMexican American Youth Organization Brown Berets have all been made targets of infiltration, disruption, and harass_ meat by intelligence agencies. The Central Intelligence Agency has THE TEXAS OBSERVER i,11