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Ianus
12-01-2008, 03:16 AM
Here is another article (http://www.sbsun.com/sanbernardino/ci_11110103) mentioning the Democrats will be pushing for immigration reform.The difference with this article is that it specifically mentions a few new things like how the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will be making plans with Rahm Emanuel over the Congressional recess & the planned immigration bill could be more lenient towards the undocumented.A dreamer also mentions what they would do if they were to become legalized.
Buoyed by the election of Barack Obama and a larger Democratic majority in Congress, Latino political and community leaders say the time is right to push for a major overhaul of immigration laws.

Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, said immigration reform will be "one of our top priorities" after Obama takes office Jan. 20.

During the congressional recess, Latino leaders plan to meet in Chicago with Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, to discuss immigration, Baca said.

"He's (Emanuel) indicated we needed to come up with a comprehensive immigration plan," Baca said in an interview in his San Bernardino office last week. "It's on their radar and on their agenda."

Post-election surveys show that Latino voters overwhelmingly supported Obama.

Seventy-two percent of Latino voters favored Obama, compared to 25 percent for Republican candidate John McCain, according to a survey this month by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund.

The survey of 800 Latino registered voters in 21 states also found high expectations for the incoming administration and Congress. Nearly 70 percent of survey respondents expect the situation for Latinos to improve under Obama's leadership.

The survey also showed that the economy is the biggest concern for Latino voters. Two-thirds said it is the most important issue for Obama and the new Congress to tackle.

However, 68 percent of respondents said that immigration must be addressed in the first year of the Obama administration.

"The Democratic Party must show that it can solve tough problems by enacting common-sense immigration reform," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, a pro-immigrant group based in Washington, D.C. "Failure to do so could net very different results in 2010 and beyond."

Patricio Guillen, who runs an immigrant-assistance organization in San Bernardino, has realistic goals when it comes to immigration reform.

"It's going to be done, there is no doubt," said Guillen, executive director of Libreria Del Pueblo. "For us to put timelines, I don't think we can do that. There are too many other things that are pending."

Baca said the first order of business of the new Congress will be to tackle the financial and housing crises and reform the health-care system.

But immigration won't be ignored, he said.

While details of an immigration reform bill must be ironed out, Baca said it would include a path to citizenship for the 12 to 14 million undocumented immigrants in the country.

He said the proposal also would have strict measures to prevent employers from hiring illegal immigrants.

"We're not just going to be dealing with the border," said Baca, the outgoing chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus who was re-elected for a fifth time Nov. 4. "Building a fence is not the answer."

Without getting into specifics, Baca said the bill "will be a lot more favorable towards the undocumented" than previous immigration proposals that had "strict requirements" that included back taxes and fines for people wanting to become citizens.

Baca said that he also expects the Obama administration to exercise discretion in using workplace raids to arrest and deport illegal immigrants.

"Raids shouldn't occur just for the sake of them occurring," Baca said. "If you're going to have them, you have to go after the employer and not just the employees."

Opponents of illegal immigration criticized Baca's proposal.

"Our American way of life is what's at peril here," said Victorville resident Raymond Herrera, national rally spokesman for the Minuteman Project. "You want to come here, come here legally and assimilate, and it's not an issue."

Illegal immigrants like 18-year-old Colton resident Alicia Galicia are holding out hope that the law is changed to allow them to get legal status.

"My education and whole life depends on it," said Galicia, who studies at San Bernardino Valley College. "If I get legalized, I can get financial aid and get a job."

dado123
12-01-2008, 04:20 AM
This article is not as vague in relation to other articles, that is a good thing.

lilbawler2001
12-01-2008, 08:14 AM
I don't want dream to be caught up in this whole comprehensive debate again.:-x I feel reassured that Obama always mentioned dream as a separate bill and talked about being able to pass that immediately. He said that in his debate with Hillary this year in texas i think.

VaeVictis
12-01-2008, 05:49 PM
I don't want dream to be caught up in this whole comprehensive debate again.:-x I feel reassured that Obama always mentioned dream as a separate bill and talked about being able to pass that immediately. He said that in his debate with Hillary this year in texas i think.

You're right, but for some reason I don't think it's going to be separate. There is a palpable feeling that something big, sweeping needs to be done and I think the Democratic leadership is going to attack it in one fell swoop.

When Baca mentioned removing things like fines and back taxes, I worried about how that would affect our support among moderates in Congress and among the public. It's good for poor immigrants to not have the burden of paying years of back taxes, but how fair is it?

lilbawler2001
12-01-2008, 06:20 PM
You're right, but for some reason I don't think it's going to be separate. There is a palpable feeling that something big, sweeping needs to be done and I think the Democratic leadership is going to attack it in one fell swoop.

When Baca mentioned removing things like fines and back taxes, I worried about how that would affect our support among moderates in Congress and among the public. It's good for poor immigrants to not have the burden of paying years of back taxes, but how fair is it?

I hope you are wrong.:wink:

Ianus
12-01-2008, 08:37 PM
Let's face it,Democrats as a whole need something big in order to show they can govern effectively,even with Republican obstructionism.It is better for the time being for the Democrats to try Comprehensive due to the fact that it would save tax-payer money as well as time from debating every single immigration detail.If CIR should fail[yet again] I believe Dream act is more than likely to come up on its own since we have strong co-sponsorship & Senate leadership to bring it to the floor.

geronimo610
12-02-2008, 02:50 AM
It is better for the time being for the Democrats to try Comprehensive

wait really??? But I thought Obama would put Dream as priority over CIR. Plus isn't Dream easier to pass? How long would it take for CIR to go through pass or fail... isn't that a long time.

questionsihave
12-02-2008, 10:52 AM
wait really??? But I thought Obama would put Dream as priority over CIR. Plus isn't Dream easier to pass? How long would it take for CIR to go through pass or fail... isn't that a long time.

It will depend on if the votes are there or not. I could see a small enforcement bill that includes the dream act and agjobs being passed very early on.

Just depends on which way they want to go.