Reid Reiterates Promise to Pass Immigration Reform This Year

http://www.rollcall.com/news/45207-1.html

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What should I believe? Would that really work? Right after elections?

Whoever gets thrown out will still be there during November and December, right?

This is an utter and unbelievable lie.

He and the President aren't serious about this at all. The date keeps getting postponed? The dems haven't delivered on ANY ONE of their promises to the immigrant community. He cannot deliver immigration reform with control of literally the entire government; but we are to believe you that you can accomplish this with even less of your party in charge?????????????????????????????????????????? Then why vote for you at all?

Now it's maybe November. But - hold on to your seat now, don't go anywhere (that's if you don't get deported in the meantime) - then it will be NEXT YEAR. Do we know what other "crisis" the country will have in January 2011? I know! It's the year before the presidential election! Obama cannot possibly look at any immigrant community with a straight face and say that immigration reform is a priority 3 years into his presidency with no date, bill, to even mention to their families.

By the way, Congress goes into recess for a month pretty much the first week of December. They are closed the week of Thanksgiving. .. Which month of the calendar are we missing that would give them the time for debating, amending, reconciling and voting on sweeping legislation for immigration reform? There's not time left in 2010. If something passes, a background check takes on average about 6 months; times millions and millions of people...we could maybe in the next 2-3 years have legal status.

http://immigration.change.org/blog/v...gration_reform


Back and Forth on Immigration Reform

Since the introduction of CIRASAP by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) in December, rhetoric surrounding immigration reform and its chances of passage in 2010 have been downright confusing, not to mention frustrating (like President Barack Obama's whopping 38 words on immigration in his State of the Union address). Here's a rough timeline of the back-and-forth in just the last month and a half:

•March 11: Obama meets with immigrant rights advocates in Washington, D.C.
•March 17: Schumer-Graham "Blueprint" revealed. Well, a blueprint does not a piece of legislation make, especially if the blueprint itself is pretty darn flawed.
•March 21: March in Washington, DC with over 200,000 participants. Obama appears on-screen (not onstage) to show the White House's "support" for reform this year. Hm.
•That night: Health care reform passes House. Senator Lindsey Graham of the Schumer-Graham proposal pronounces immigration reform DOA thanks to approach taken with health care vote.
•April 2: Senator Bob Menendez says, hey, let's just wait on immigration reform until November. •April 10: Rallies for immigration reform held across the country. In Las Vegas, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says work on immigration reform needs to happen this year. Curiously, Reid faces a tough re-election campaign.
•April 13: Just kidding, say Harry Reid. We won't be getting to immigration reform.
•April 13: Damage control from Reid's office: he only meant that an immigration reform bill, if/when Schumer and Graham finish drafting it, "won't be on the floor in the next seven weeks."
•April 13: Senator Graham states that, "Immigration is going nowhere this year." So the proposal everyone has been banking on now seems to be abandoned by the one of people drafting it.
It seems obvious what's going on: No one in Congress or the White House is genuinely serious about moving forward with immigration reform this year. If they were, something would have happened already. (I defer to the health care vote as proof of the success of determination against all odds.)

However, the White House can't come out and say that because of a certain campaign promise that was made and has already been broken — the first year of the new administration has come and gone, and no immigration reform. So the White House says, of course we support immigration reform! We just can't do anything until Congress does. Blame them.

Ah Congress. No member of Congress is willing to come out and say the obvious (except Senator Graham, it seems) because, in case you hadn't noticed, this is an election year. Members cannot afford to alienate the part of their base that is waiting for action on immigration reform. And so they pull a Harry Reid: when faced with hundreds or thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people demanding immigration reform, they give them what they want to hear — I promise you we will take up immigration reform this year! Si se puede! But when faced with the D.C. reality of re-election and political capital they say, You know, with all the energy we put into that health care vote, we just cannot take up immigration this year.

Well, members of Congress, you may not be able to afford losing your re-election bids, but in the meantime, children cannot afford to be torn from their parents, immigrant youth cannot afford to lose a chance at an education, workers cannot afford to be abused and underpaid, and America cannot afford to continue to treat its current immigrants as second-class citizens. Political actions this year may affect your careers, but remember that they will have a much greater impact on the lives, dreams, and futures of thousands of immigrants who look to you to offer them equality of opportunity.

Yet if Congress is unable (or unwilling) to move forward on immigration reform this year, why not at least move forward on other pieces of legislation that have the community support, the business support, the economic support, and more than likely, the votes to pass this year, such as the DREAM Act and AgJobs?


Senator Graham is the only person who is being honest here. A Republican at that, go figure. He should be our focus in getting more support for immigration reform.

Senator Reid, what makes you so sure you will be a part of the 112th USC? Do you know something we don't? Just saying. Anyhow, I'm going to believe in what you say. Please don't disappoint me.

I don't see why he is lying. This week was the first time he has given the firm number of votes, 56, that they have to break a filibuster. Things are definitely progressing, unlike before.

Financial reform will pass in the next few weeks since the republicans can't filibuster the bill now that Sen. Collins supports the bill.

The main questions are:

When will they introduce the senate bill?

Can they get a 4 moderate republicans?

How will the climate change bill affect the process?

I have heard reporters, analysts, blogs, etc now mention immigration reform as a top legislative issues which they never really did except at the start of the year b4 the Scott Brown win.

So, don't be so pessimistic.

What? That same day he also said that we're going to have immigration reform now. Now, as in at least somewhat soon, and not in December like he is proposing now. And in December he is going to say, "well we were going to do it but...." whatever who really gives a damn what the excuse is this time if the result is always the same.