Immigration Reform Should Be Next Goal

President Obama has a lot on his plate: Afghanistan, health care, climate change and a persistent and poisonous unemployment rate. Now he's adding another indigestible dish: immigration reform.

In an important speech last month, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano reaffirmed the administration's commitment to the issue and said, "The hope is that when we get into the first part of 2010 ... we will see legislation begin to move."

We hope she's right. The current immigration system is an abomination on every level. Twelve million people live here illegally; they are not going home, but they have no hope of normalizing their status. Even families with a legal right to immigrate can remain separated for 10 years or more. And wrongheaded visa policies are driving away some of the world's best minds at a time when the American economy needs them more than ever.

Napolitano said it well: "The immigrant story is part of what it means to be an American -- but failing to fix a broken system that undermines our shared values of lawfulness and fairness is not."

Fixing that system will not be easy, of course. Both parties have turned health care into a holy war, and as the elections approach, the partisan hostilities stirred up by that debate will grow hotter, not cooler. The last time Congress tried (and failed) to fix immigration, in 2007, Republican strategists decided that demonizing foreigners would energize their ground troops, and the demagogues are circling again.

Still, there are reasons for optimism, starting with public opinion. An ABC News/Washington Post poll last spring found that 61 percent favored giving illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship "if they pay a fine and meet other requirements." By more than two to one, Americans told a Gallup survey last year that immigration was "a good thing," not a "bad thing."

Then there's politics. Smart Republicans know what George W. Bush and John McCain have always known: The GOP cannot be the majority party by driving away Hispanics, the fastest-growing demographic group in the country. Last year, Obama won 67 percent of all Hispanics, but that figure jumped to 76 percent for voters under 30.

That's why some Republican senators are already talking to Democrats about bipartisan legislation. Even Lou Dobbs, a professional immigrant basher before leaving CNN, is confronting political reality as he contemplates a political career in New Jersey.

Appearing on the Spanish-language network Telemundo, Dobbs said, "We need the ability to legalize illegal immigrants (who are) living upright, positive and constructive lives."

Napolitano emphasized a third factor driving change: a growing understanding by pro-immigration forces that "serious and effective" enforcement of existing laws has to come first. And the Homeland Security secretary documented a long list of administration initiatives, from a beefed-up Border Patrol to more vigorous prosecution of "criminal aliens." A former governor of Arizona, Napolitano asserted: "I know a major shift when I see one, and what I have seen makes reform far more attainable this time around."

There's a final point pushing immigration reform. It actually promotes three bedrock conservative principles: family unity, law and order, and free markets.

Of the 12 million illegals, one in seven is a child. Moreover, undocumented parents have more than 3 million children who are citizens. How does sending those parents home, and ripping those families apart, square with any conservative (let alone Christian) set of values?

Right now, most illegals live outside the law, afraid to encounter authorities by paying taxes, obtaining driver's licenses or insurance, complaining about corruption or exploitation. Giving them a shot at citizenship will make them more law-abiding, and the country more safe.

Yes, the current economic slump makes it easy to complain that foreigners are "taking jobs" from Americans, and in a few cases -- such as the construction industry -- that might be true. But every economic survey -- every one -- concludes that, overall, immigrants contribute heavily to economic growth and prosperity.

In his new book, "From Every End of This Earth," Steve describes 13 immigrant families, ranging from Sam and Pete Kourtsounis from Greece, who run a diner outside Baltimore, Md., to Asis Banerjie, a chemist who owns high-tech plastics factories in Ohio and India. Both illustrate the truth contained in an economic report to President Bush: "Immigration has touched every facet of the U.S. economy and ... America is a stronger and better nation for it."

Yes, we are. That's why the president and the Congress have to work together next year to "fix a broken system."


Here is the link....

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/...ON01/912040320

Start the debate, better than nothing is being done in Congress.

There may be good news for the prospects for immigration reform early next year. Today's jobs report show an unexpected decrease in job losses. Economist are now predicting that there may be job growth by early next year. This will take away some of the punch from the "bad economny" argument some may try to use.

I think they should take this subject soon.

They planned like what...end of Feb 2010 to take it into main topic?

If so, they should start discussing now. The longer they delay, the less chance it will pass and get forgetten.

I think I know Republican's strategies. They think they will win in midterm election next year, so to increase their win in immigration topic, they will do their best to delay more and more. I really wanna see the actions and I think only one I see is Gutierrez pretty much. Most politicians do seem to evade this topic since it may backfire their votes from angry US citizens.

Opinion: Navarrette: Obama administration punting on immigration reform
By Ruben Navarrette


San Diego Untion-Tribune

Posted: 12/05/2009 08:00:00 PM PST


The paradox of the Obama administration's plan to achieve comprehensive immigration reform — one of these days, when it gets around to it, be patient, yada yada — is that the agency responsible for removing illegal immigrants is now supposed to find a way for millions of them to stay. Given that agency's law enforcement bent, don't be surprised if it is much better at the former than the latter.

The Department of Homeland Security is where you'll find U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is the administration's point person for immigration reform.

Many Latino liberals naively hoped that, as a Democrat, Napolitano would conjure up a kinder and gentler version of immigration enforcement, such as a decrease in deportations and an end to workplace raids. This hasn't happened.

What has is that, under this administration, ICE is supposedly doing more to crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants — when it's not praising those who don't. Homeland Security recently unveiled an effort to spotlight the hundreds of thousands of companies that use the "e-verify" program, a free Web-based system that compares information from the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9) against federal databases to verify workers' eligibility. The campaign recognizes businesses that use the system in the hopes that consumers keep that in mind when making decisions.

Fine. But besides handing out blue ribbons, ICE needs to make more arrests of employers who ignore the law in addition to rounding up the illegal immigrants they hire. The government should not be shy about continuing work-site raids, but the net needs to be much wider and catch bigger fish.

Appearing with Napolitano at the news conference to announce the new initiative was John Morton, assistant secretary for ICE. A former deputy assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush Justice Department, Morton recently made headlines by trying to rein in renegade Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., who is enforcing immigration law despite the fact the administration has denied him the authority to do so. Addressing the issue of employers, Morton dished some plain truth.

"The main reason people enter the United States illegally is the opportunity to work," he said.

He's right. These people don't come for welfare, health care or public schools. They don't come as part of an invasion force that is intent on converting the United States into a Spanish-speaking nation so it can become part of Mexico. Illegal immigrants come to work — mostly at jobs in which Americans have lost interest. Morton also stressed the importance of employers following the rules by hiring only those workers who are legally eligible to work.

Yet, enforcement is only part of the equation. During a recent speech to the Center for American Progress, Napolitano spelled out the rest. Borrowing language from the Bush administration, she called for a "three-legged stool" that includes enforcement, pathways for legal immigrants, and "a firm but fair way to deal with those who are already here."

Enforcement is the province of Homeland Security. But Napolitano doesn't seem all that eager to deal with the other two legs of the stool. Despite saying that immigration reform "has been punted from year to year, from Congress to Congress, from administration to administration," she did the same thing. She punted.

"When Congress is ready to act," Napolitano said, "we will be ready to support them."

When Congress is ready to act? Is she kidding? Congress is never ready to act on difficult issues that make enemies and threaten to terminate the comfy jobs of legislators. It's true that, according to the Constitution, legislation comes from one end of Pennsylvania Avenue and not the other. But it's also true that, as a practical matter, the toughest issues don't get dealt with unless there is strong and vocal leadership from the White House.

Latinos care about a range of issues. Still, many of the Latino voters who helped put Barack Obama in the White House expect him to keep his promise and deliver comprehensive immigration reform. They see the issue as a test of political courage. Instead, all they've gotten are more promises, stall tactics and pushed deadlines.

Obama showed up for the debates on an economic stimulus, health care, climate change, education reform and troop strength in Afghanistan. Why? It's because he obviously cares about those issues. So Obama doesn't care about fixing the immigration system?

Now he tells us.


RUBEN NAVARRETTE is a columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/c...nclick_check=1

This pretty much sums it up to me; I don't like the decision on Afghanistan, I have to agree that whoever advises the president to keep stalling on this issue, doesn't realize that they have added another group of disenchanted voters who won't show up for Democrats next year. And I'm talking about anti-war constituents, not just pro-immigration voters.

This guy has opposite views. One day i see him supporting immigrants and the next i see him bashing on them as well. The other day i read an article on the press telegram on which he said that illegal immigrants should go back to their home country. Now i see this article on another news source and he's bashing on the administration and congress for not doing anything. He should make up his mind. Aside from that good article, most of what he said is true. Although the administration has a lot of their plate they got to stop promising things and then not back them up.

hope before the end of 2010