Politics on the Hudson

Hispanic state legislators called off a news conference Tuesday to blast new Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s record on immigration, but said they still have major concerns about where she stands on the issue.

Since her appointment Friday to the Senate, Gillibrand has faced some of her strongest criticism from immigration groups because of her record, in which she has opposed amnesty for undocumented immigrants and co-sponsored the Save Act, which would crack down on illegal immigrants by using the military to patrol the borders.

Gillibrand has spoken with some Hispanic leaders in recent days to calm their concerns, and they plan to meet. Leaders said they held off on the news conference in order to get more answers from her.

“It was our contention that she has a questionable immigration background, among other issues,” said Assemblyman Jose Peralta, D-Queens. “We wanted her to answer some questions.”

Assemblyman Peter Rivera, D-Bronx, put out a strongly worded advisory of the news conference Tuesday morning before it was hastily canceled, saying “Gillibrand’s pandering to xenophobes has made her persona non-grata in communities across the state.”

The news release indicated that Hispanic leaders would be meeting with other candidates to unseat her in 2010. But Peralta said the advisory was the case of a misunderstanding among aides.