Retiring Senator Mel Martinez of Florida and other immigration reformers are looking to Barack Obama to push their cause next year in Congress. Martinez, who announced his decision not to seek re-election, said he will try over his remaining two years in the Senate to help enact reforms that include legal status for millions. But he expects the new president to take the lead. ``I think it’s something that will require presidential leadership,’’ he said. ``If the opportunity comes along to work on comprehensive reform that I think is good for this country and that treats people with respect, I think I would be a part of that.’’ Martinez suffered a backlash from fellow Republicans when he tried to push reforms through Congress in 2006. ``The hostility from a lot of grassroots Republicans may have helped persuade him to not run for re-election,’’ said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors more restrictive measures. ``He faced a situation similar to John McCain’s, where Republicans don’t want to vote for him and Democrats are going to vote for their guy.’’ Reformers contend, however, that a hard line on immigration did not help Republican candidates this year. ``The general pubic isn’t buying that kind of campaign rhetoric,’’ said Mary Giovagnoli of the National Immigration Forum. ``I think also the election showed the significance of immigrant voters and that their concerns about immigration can turn a state.’’ She said immigrants, especially Hispanics, helped Obama win Florida, Nevada and Colorado. Not so, says David Caulkett, founder of Floridians for Immigration Enforcement, a group based in Pompano Beach. ``I don’t think there was any kind of mandate for amnesty by any means,’’ he said. ``People weren’t voting on that issue as much as they should have.’’ ``We lost some ground on the congressional front,’’ Caulkett conceded. ``That does not in any way lessen the anger of citizens over non-enforcement of immigration laws.’’ |