The Hill "Getting the DREAM Act right"

In the current environment of politics, riding on the wake of the “Yo Decido” cover of TIME Magazine, both parties are noticeably vying to score points with Latino voters. The Republican party has been relying upon Florida Senator Marco Rubio to provide it Latino representation. With awareness of Mitt Romney’s harsh positions on immigration, especially on the DREAM Act, the party is increasingly looking to Rubio for support. An example of this support was apparent when Romney cited him as a Latino friend during his debate in Arizona to counteract the charge that he’s anti-Latino. Nevertheless, the GOP is paying the price for the Tea Party’s attack on immigrant communities and promotion of anti-immigrant policies.

President Obama leads Mitt Romney 70 percent to 14 percent among likely Latino voters. It is logical for a majority of Latinos to support Democrats since it has been Democrats who led passage of the DREAM Act in the House during the lame duck session, provided support for state dream acts, and have become public opponents of anti-immigrant state legislation.

As a response, Marco Rubio is currently crafting legislation to be a Republican version of the DREAM Act. It is hard to predict what this bill will ultimately look like -- so judgment must be suspended for now -- but the pressures on the Republican party’s are easy to understand. On one hand, he must offer enough to the Latino population to at least claim that he is interested in helping Latinos. On the other, he must balance the party, and appeal to the less immigrant-friendly base. Equally significant, Rubio must demonstrate that he can move the House to his position.



But the pressure is also on the Democratic party. President Obama has deported record numbers of undocumented immigrants. And simply supporting the DREAM Act means nothing if action is not behind the sound bytes.

The temptation is real to produce a bill that offers abundance or only a fraction of what previous DREAM Acts covered just to execute a marketing ploy. Sadly, this conduct has been rampant in today’s political climate. It is no surprise that many are becoming dishearten by the dysfunction in Congress. Latinos expect Democrats and Republicans to be better than this. The spirit of the DREAM Act is grounded in bipartisanship.

It’s hard to judge a law before it’s written, but Latinos have good reason to be suspicious of a Republican party which filibustered the DREAM Act, pushed racial profiling bills like SB 1070 and HB 56 into law, and have supported anti-Latino icons such as Joe Arpaio. Marco Rubio may very well change this calculation and soften the anti-immigrant rhetoric on the right, or he may offer a hollow pander attempt that an increasingly savvy Latino demographic will see through. With an electorate which is still very much up for grabs, both parties are challenged to offer a better deal to the Latino community.

Ultimately, both parties must let their ideology inform, not dictate, decision making. And both parties must be mindful that undocumented youth are not fighting for a party. We are fighting for our communities, our families, and for this country we call home.

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-bl...ream-act-right

It feels like Rubio's bill is putting the dems in a hard spot: support it, or you look bad for the election. What would make this interesting is if the DEMs put forth a more lenient bill and see how the REPs will handle it...counter attack and all. This whole reform move is already telling us what we all know.....all politics.

*sigh*