Advocates Ask Obama to Stop Raids, Offer Citizenship to Illegal Immigrants.

Dozens of immigrant advocates from across the country convened in Washington today to call on President-elect Barack Obama to halt immigration raids, fulfill campaign pledges to revamp the nation's immigration system and offer the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship within his first year in office.

The coalition, which includes activists from Los Angeles, New York and the Washington area, also [b]announced plans to mobilize tens of thousands of immigrants and their supporters for a demonstration on the Mall on Jan. 21, the day after Obama's inauguration.

"We voted in the millions and now we're going to demand progress in the millions," said Angelica Salas, director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, at a news conference to publicize the coalition's efforts.

The last attempt to pass an immigration overhaul in Congress foundered in the spring of 2007 amid a storm of angry phone calls from constituents complaining that the measure amounted to an unacceptable "amnesty" for "lawbreakers." And several members of the coalition acknowledged today that the tanking economy had further complicated their goals.

However they said they were also confident that the record turnout of Hispanic and immigrant voters in last week's elections would translate into greater political clout on the Hill.

Two-thirds of the Latino vote went to Obama, compared with barely more than half for Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race. And Hispanics, who tend to favor the path to legalization plan, proved particularly helpful to Obama and other Democrats in the three battleground states of Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado.

"Historically we've never had legislative progress on immigration during an economic recession," said Chung-Wha Hong, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition.

"On the other hand we've never had these kinds of numbers turn out at the polls. . . . The immigrant and Latino vote has permanently established itself as part of the electoral calculus."

Can we get this type of effort to pass the DREAM Act only??

I think these groups stand for all immigrants, they aren't going to dilute their message to exclusively DREAM, but in all reality DREAM may be one of the few measures that will have less opposition than if it were to be packaged all together with CIR. In all reality we may not hear much about anything changing until after innaguration when Obama can actually enact anything....

my 0.02

Great quote.
So true, too.

G-Money, we know that Obama will not hear much of anything changing until after January 20. Still, it's important to get our message out there beforehand so that he'll know what kind of support and encouragement he'll get for DREAM. Obama needs to know how much it will affect the people in this country.

We need to do everything we can to make the DREAM Act be known, so that it don't get lost in the debate over CIR as a whole. The minute we make the debate over comprehensive immigration reform take root, the more we are killing our chances of passing the DREAM Act in 09.

that is true... the problem is how do we put Dream on top of CIR and immigration as the main focus on the media?

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/Ne...20Takes%20Over

Guys don't let our effort to pass the DREAM Act next year conflict with the effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform which is very unlikely.

should we have a mass mailing/ calling to convince those groups to help Dream pass first too??? will they even consider our plea?

we have to stop being so selfish, even when they pass Dream what about our parents, if we call for these groups to lobby for Dream first, you know how bad that makes us look.

not bad at all actually. If we simply explain to them WHY we think it's a better idea. I mean, It's damn near FACT that CIR is less likely to pass than it would be for DREAM. Any one who's well educated on both bills and on the Country's immigration standing will be able to tell you the same. It's not about being selfish, it's about being realistic. I too have parents here undocumented, and they tell me everyday that if DREAM were to pass that it would be a HUGE weight off of their shoulders, more than half of our parents here I'm sure are not even worried about themselves, They worry about legalizing themselves only to be able to pass that on to their children. After all, wasn't that what they came here for? to better YOUR situation? So when your situation is settled you can do everything in your power since your in a better position, to pay them back for bringing you to the land of opportunity by any means necessary?

At the end of the day EVERYONE wants to be documented here, Parents and children alike, and in a perfect world that would happen and that would be great. But we don't live in a perfect world, so we have to take what we can get and haul ass.

Selfish. Seriously? Maybe it's the other word. Realistic.

Think of it this way. You have a starving person. You can choose to either wait in a long line and get them a gourmet meal or go to the shorter line and get them a small meal.

Hmm... which choice to make...

Also I forgot to add. The DREAM act isn't only about legalization. We sometimes forget that. Some of can't go to college or join the military. Is it selfish to want to serve your country or gain an education?