Immigration reformists turn up the heat

Posted from Politico.com:

...Latino leaders are pressuring the White House to set a goal of signing a major immigration reform bill by the end of the year. Friction between immigrant communities and local police seeking to enforce federal law is increasing, prompting hearings on Capitol Hill and scrutiny from the Justice Department.

And in less than two weeks, Obama will be in Mexico for a presidential summit in which immigration issues will be on the agenda.

“I think, politically, [Obama] is in a tough spot, and he recognizes that the public isn’t where he is on immigration,” said Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, which bills itself as a “low immigration” think tank. “If you are Obama, it’s a no-win situation, and there is no reason to bring this issue up right now from a political view. You can give a few speeches to the right groups and then say, ‘What else is on the agenda?’”

With everything on his plate — from the economy to health care to two wars — it’s easy to see why Obama is hoping to steer clear of the issue. Immigration reform inspired furious debate in Congress when President George W. Bush tried to push through a “comprehensive” approach that would have allowed most of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to stay in the United States.Bush’s approach called for a “path to citizenship” that would have allowed immigrants already here to apply to stay, as long as they paid any penalties and fines and stayed out of trouble with the law. Obama endorsed a broadly similar approach during the campaign.

Even as Latino groups and others seek to bring the issue back into the spotlight, the political reality is that the economic downturn might make this a particularly difficult time to clear the way for immigrants to stay in the United States.

The recession and rising unemployment rates are likely to undercut the already shaky public support for legalization of illegal immigrants. Business leaders are diverted by more immediate issues of corporate survival. And a surge in drug-related killings and assassinations in Mexico could stoke public fears that any immigration-related measure might cause that violence to migrate north, even though advocates insist reform would make Americans safer.

Asked whether the ailing economy would increase public resistance to immigration reform, the administration official said, “You might be right if the debate is about generosity versus being harsh to immigrants. ... It’s not about whether we’re nice to immigrants or not. It’s about whether we’re doing a smart thing for the economy.”

...The emotion the immigration debate inspires was on clear display on Capitol Hill on Thursday as two House subcommittees conducted a hearing on local efforts to detain illegal immigrants. One very high-profile drive, conducted by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., with help from a cooperation agreement with the federal government, is now the target of a Justice Department investigation into possible civil rights violations.

Julio Cesar Mora, a 19-year-old Arizona man who is a U.S. citizen, complained that he and his father, who holds a green card, were pulled over and detained for three hours during one of the sheriff’s immigration raids. “They patted us down and tied our hands together with zip ties like we were criminals,” Mora complained.

Another witness, Ray Tranchant of Virginia, described the death of his 16-year-old daughter and a friend in a car accident caused by an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk and had been arrested before. “Instead of being deported, he stayed on the streets of Virginia Beach to drink and drive and subsequently killed these two beautiful girls,” Tranchant said.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) told the Latino witnesses their plight paled in comparison to what had happened to Tranchant. “I don’t know how to impress to you what looks like an inconvenience to you compared to the very sacred life of this man’s daughter,” King said.

However, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) insisted the enforcement efforts were actually leading to more crime.

“Those drunkards and those rapists and those murderers do most of their drunkenness, their murdering and their raping in the very immigrant community in which they reside. And you know who wants to get rid of them? The very immigrant community that lives there, but they cannot call the police,” he said, insisting that comprehensive immigration reform was the only real solution.

Oh dear! Now Obama wants to grant sovereignty to lord knows how many illegal aliens. They are here illegally, not paying taxes, stealing our jobs away from us because they will work cheaper, and expect to stay here? They have no rights in this country. They all need to go home and stay there. Even if they do work some of the more undesirable jobs....there are people right now unemployed who would settle for any job they could get and there's nothing...thanks to the illegals in this country. It would help us out financially if we weren't supporting these illegals and if they weren't here.

The tragic event that happened to Mr. Tranchant should never have happened. If this gov't was more strict on immigration and actually actively pursued them, events like these would never happen. I said it once before and I will say it again:Put up the tallest, sturdiest cement wall you can and make sure it goes along all of the border states. The only message that it gives is that this country is serious about protecting it's borders and it's citizens. The only way through the wall would be through the proper channels and checkpoints where things will be checked thoroughly! And only registered LEGAL immigrants can cross over.

Rep. Steve King is looking at this in the right way, Rep. Luis Gutierrez is not. The only reason the immigrants in the immigrant community cannot call the police is because they are ILLEGAL!!!!! I know your latino but get a clue! You cannot justify these illegal aliens commiting crimes. They need to leave, period.

**This was a production of The Coalition Against Illegal Immigration (CAII).