<\/p>\n
Whether people agreed with U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died Saturday at the age of 71, there was no questioning his sincerity. He was open to honest dialogue about border and immigration concerns as well as economic policy with San Antonio’s business and political leaders.<\/p>\n
Alex Brandon\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
San Antonio\u2019s relationship with the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham began during a visit he made here in 2010. At that time, I thanked him for his willingness to speak openly about the need for immigration reform. His response has stayed with me ever since.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He said it was easy for Texans to support immigration reform because it is part of our border state culture, but he then added that his state, South Carolina, is home to the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan, making it riskier there to publicly support immigration reform. But he was committed to reform because it was the right thing to do.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Whether people agreed with Graham, who died Saturday at the age of 71<\/a>, there was no questioning his\u00a0sincerity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Before leaving San Antonio, he asked if he could return to continue the conversation. We were honored to invite him back.<\/p>\n In January 2011, during my year as chairman of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, we welcomed Graham for a public conversation at Pearl Stable. More than 300 business and community leaders filled the room. The discussion was thoughtful, substantive and focused on finding practical solutions for the country.<\/p>\n As the event closed, Graham said<\/a>: \u201cI am not going to create a bill to help my party with Hispanics. I\u2019m going to create a bill to help America.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n He saw immigration reform as a way to address declining birth rates, meet labor needs and boost our economy.<\/p>\n After that, whenever our local chambers of commerce led the annual so-called SA to DC trip, Graham met with us to discuss immigration, as well as economic and policy issues important to San Antonio\u2019s business community. He respected our willingness to engage in difficult conversations and appreciated our belief that lasting solutions require secure borders and workable legal pathways.<\/p>\n One memory, in particular, speaks volumes about the kind of person he was.<\/p>\n One Saturday afternoon my phone rang, and the caller ID simply read \u201cPrivate Caller.\u201d I answered, and to my surprise it was Graham. He was preparing to appear the next morning on CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation\u201d<\/a> to discuss immigration. He wanted to share what he intended to say and asked if I thought his message was the right one.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n He hardly needed my advice. He understood the issue as well as anyone in Washington. Yet he took the time to call because he valued hearing from people outside the Beltway who were living these issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n