Modern America Research: Immigration Reform
One expert analysis that conflicts with the first expert's assessment
President Barack Obama on Thursday managed to undo some of the damage he did recently with immigrants’ rights advocates — who were angered when Obama said in Mexico that immigration reform would have to wait until after health care and energy bills passed Congress.
Obama dropped in on a White House meeting with more than 100 immigration reform backers — and the message, according to some who were there, was that Obama would push for immigration reform even as the health-care debate continues to unfold. “I think he’s more forward-leaning,” said Angela Kelley, an immigration reform expert with the liberal Center for American Progress think tank. “The takeaway from Mexico was that this is just kicking the can down the road. The takeaway from today is they’re rolling up their sleeves and leaning heavy into the issue.” There was no indication that the president set a timeline for reform, though he said he expected Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to introduce and hold hearings on a major immigration bill this fall, participants said.
“He’s doing this and health care. He didn’t give an inkling that he’s going to back away from immigration reform. I think he’s ready to do the heavy lifting,” said Kelley. The session was officially hosted by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, who has been sharply criticized by immigrant advocates in recent days for putting too much emphasis on enforcement and too little on reform legislation and making the immigration system more humane.The meeting included advocacy groups, religious organizations, unions, employers and law enforcement. United Farm Workers Union President Arturo Rodriguez said participants delivered blunt messages to Napolitano that she needed to adjust her public message. “Very frankly, one issue was that we want to make sure you’re communicating the importance of immigration as much as you are communicating the importance of enforcement,” Rodriguez said. “We are a nation of laws. We all understand that, but simultaneously we are a nation of immigrants as well that treats people with dignity and respect. We delivered that. I think she got that message loud and clear from everybody.” “I think the secretary realized that she needs to do a better job on behalf of the administration but also in a way that supports the House and Senate moving forward. That’s significant,” said Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum. “The proof is in the pudding, and they’re still making the pudding. There are lots of things the secretary can do in terms of administrative changes and a lot of leadership she can exert.”Participants said both Obama and Napolitano both brought up controversial arrangements under which local police partner with the federal government to enforce immigration laws. Critics have accused some local officials of using such deals to harass immigrants and, in some cases, U.S. citizens. Obama and Napolitano said local officials must be held “accountable” for their actions under the program, known as 287(g), attendees said. The media was not allowed into the meeting, but Napolitano later issued a written statement emphasizing her commitment to reform. “Today’s meeting on comprehensive immigration reform was an important opportunity to hear from stakeholders and build on the significant time I’ve spent on the Hill meeting with members of Congress on this critical subject. I look forward to working with President Obama, my colleagues in Congress and representatives from law enforcement, business, labor organizations, the interfaith community, advocacy groups and others as we work on this important issue,” she said. A spokesman for Obama, Nick Shapiro, said Obama’s message has not wavered. “The President understands our nation’s immigration system is broken and needs to be fixed, and that’s why he asked Secretary Napolitano to work with stakeholders and Members of Congress to move the legislative process forward on this important issue. The President has consistently said we would begin work on comprehensive immigration reform this year, and that’s what we’re doing,” Shapiro said in a statement. Napolitano’s office released a list of attendees at the meeting. The roster of employers invited was heavy with technology firms, such as Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft, and Oracle, who often press for visas to hire foreign citizens. Lower-wage employers such as McDonald’s, Tyson Foods, and Wal-Mart also attended. Noorani said he was pleased with the meeting, but wouldn’t say immigration reform advocates are yet satisfied with the commitment Napolitano or the White House have shown on the issues. Asked if they are now on the same page, he said, “At the time of the Inauguration, we were in the same book. At this point we’re in the same chapter, but it’s a long book — and we read at different speeds.”
One expert analysis on the event
Immigration: Campaign Launch Events: Reform Immigration FOR America
National Desk
June 02, 2009
events build momentum for moving forward on immigration reform this year.
Washington, DC - This week, in an unprecedented display of grassroots coordination, energy, and unity, hundreds of grassroots advocates across the country are organizing a series of national and local events to launch the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign. The Reform Immigration FOR America campaign is a united national effort that brings together individuals and national and local organizations representing business, labor, progressive, religious, civil rights, and immigrant rights community with the mission to build support for workable comprehensive immigration reform. More than 200 organizations have signed on to the campaign.
"The reality is that the President wants immigration reform, the American people want immigration reform, and we are launching the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign to make it happen," said Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum, a non-partisan organization in Washington that is helping to direct the campaign. "America voted for change and voted for political leaders who will take on tough problems, forge broad coalitions, and solve American problems with American solutions. Immigration reform that restores stability, structure, and responsibility to our system is within our grasp if we all work for it. This week, that work begins in earnest," Noorani continued.Starting on Monday June 1, in an impressive demonstration of its broad national support, 40 cities and towns across the country are launching their local component of the new national Reform Immigration FOR America Campaign. Elected officials, law enforcement, clergy and other leaders are gathering with labor, business, faith and immigrant community groups to push for reform of our immigration system. In large cities with rich immigrant histories like Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and also in smaller towns and cities like Charlotte, NC, Omaha, NE and Nashville, TN, the campaign's momentum is building. A full list of local launch events is available here. A Wednesday, June 3, press conference in Washington, D.C. at the National Press Club (9:30 a.m.) will serve as the nationwide launch of the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign. The press conference inaugurates a 3-day national summit with the participation of 700-800 advocates representing more than 35 states. The summit aims to energize and activate immigration supporters at the grassroots level and secure the needed votes in Congress to win immigration reform this year (see attached advisory). On Thursday, June 4, a National Town Hall Meeting on Immigration Reform on Capitol Hill (Lutheran Church of the Reformation, 2nd & East Capitol Streets) will bring together 700-800 community leaders from across the country. Advocates will communicate the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to our immigration system to key members of Congress, including Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), and Immigration Subcommittee Chair Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) who are likely to among those meeting with President Obama during the upcoming White House meeting on immigration reform scheduled for June 8 (see attached information on the town hall and summit events)."The launch of the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign sparks movement towards a workable solution to fixing our immigration broken system that is rooted in the restoration of the rule of law, earned citizenship, united families, and fair treatment of workers," Noorani concluded.
One non-partisan source that provides background/context on the event
Obama Vows to Focus on Borders
But Immigration Action Won't Come Until 2010
By Cheryl W. Thompson and William Booth
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
GUADALAJARA, Mexico, Aug. 10 -- President Obama, attending a North American summit with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, said Monday that his administration will pursue a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. immigration system this year but that no action on legislation will happen before 2010. Wrapping up the two-day meeting, Obama said that there needs to be "a pathway to citizenship" for millions of illegal immigrants in the United States, and that the system must be reworked to avoid tensions with Mexico. Without it, he said, Mexicans will keep crossing the border in dangerous ways and employers will continue exploiting workers. "We can create a system in which you have . . . an orderly process for people to come in, but we're also giving an opportunity for those who are already in the United States to be able to achieve a pathway to citizenship so that they don't have to live in the shadows," Obama said during an hour-long news conference at the Cabañas Cultural Center in downtown Guadalajara. "Am I going to be able to snap my fingers and get this done? No. This is going to be difficult." The president said he expects draft legislation and sponsors by the end of the year, but no action until 2010 because of more pressing issues, including health-care reform, energy legislation and financial regulatory changes. "That's a pretty big stack of bills," he said. Immigration is among the most controversial items on Obama's legislative agenda, with critics opposing what they call an amnesty for illegal workers and businesses concerned about reductions in their labor force. President George W. Bush twice attempted immigration reform during his second term, without success.
Asked about the prospects for immigration legislation in view of the blows to his administration over health care and midterm elections next year, Obama dismissed the idea that the elections would play a role, saying he would not act "on short-term political calculations."
Flanked by Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Obama also pledged to work with Mexico and Canada on controlling emissions that contribute to global warming and on ensuring that Mexico receives aid for its battle with drug traffickers.
"We have already seen resources transferred, equipment transferred . . . to help President Calderón in what is a very courageous effort to deal with a set of drug cartels that are not only resulting in extraordinary violence to the people of Mexico, but are also undermining institutions like the police and the judiciary system," he said, attempting to deflect criticism from Mexican officials who have complained that U.S. aid is not coming quickly enough.
Although Obama expressed confidence in the Mexican government's attempt to fight drug cartels with "law enforcement techniques," he reiterated the importance of doing so without violating human rights. Calderón's government has been criticized by human rights organizations. More than 45,000 troops have been deployed to fight the cartels, and soldiers have been accused of killing, torture, rape and illegal detention. Since Calderón began fighting the cartels after taking office in December 2006, human rights complaints against the military have soared 600 percent, rising to 140 a month this year, according to government statistics. The Mexican government has begun to hire the first of 9,000 federal police officers who are college-educated and will be trained by U.S., Canadian and other law enforcement agencies, White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said. "I am confident that as the national police are trained, as the coordination between the military and local police officials is improved, there is going to be increased transparency and accountability, and that human rights will be observed," Obama said.
Calderón said his government is dedicated to guarding human rights. "Obviously we have a strong commitment to protect the human rights of everybody -- the victims and even of the criminals themselves," he said. "And anyone who says the contrary certainly would have to prove this -- any case, just one case, where the proper authority has not acted in the correct way." Calderón asserted that any soldiers or police officers who abused their power have been punished. According to Center Prodh, a human rights group in Mexico, fewer than 1 in 10 of the human rights cases tried in military court result in a conviction.
Calderón said his strategy, which includes the mass deployment of soldiers, is working. "We know that we are destroying their criminal organizations," he said. "We're hitting them hard. We're hitting at the heart of the organizations." Obama, Calderón and Harper also showed support for Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted as Honduran president in a coup in June. The men agreed that Zelaya should be returned to power. During a visit to Mexico City last week, Zelaya complained that the Obama administration has offered only a tepid response to the coup leaders. Obama has been repeatedly criticized by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez for not pressing harder for Zelaya's return. "The same critics who say that the United States has not intervened enough in Honduras are the same people who say that we're always intervening, and the Yankees need to get out of Latin America," Obama said. "You can't have it both ways." Harper agreed.
"If I were an American, I would be really fed up with this kind of hypocrisy," he said. "You know, the United States is accused of meddling except when it's accused of not meddling."
One first-person account of the event/effects of the event
April 15th, 2009 by admin
Coming up with a comprehensive immigration reform bill that serves our national security and economic interests and without giving away too much amnesty, remains a major issue of contention. We realize that there are strong emotions on both fronts, but ignoring a problem will, as it always does, make the problem worse.When we stop to consider the millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S, we don’t think it un-American to ask how they got here in the first place. Certainly those who crossed our borders illegally must have known they were breaking the law, right? Well perhaps, but we’re not so sure it’s as simple as all that. For example, you know you are breaking the law when you drive and exceed the speed limit, but aren’t there are times when you just go with the flow of traffic—hey, we all know it’s wrong but we are willing to take that risk from time to time. And where’s the highway patrol anyway? Why weren’t they making a greater effort to stop us if they really wanted to curb speeding, right? Admittedly this example is an oversimplification taken to the extreme, but it is one to which most of us can relate. But don’t you think that is sort of what the illegal aliens may have been thinking when they crossed the border into the U.S. All levity aside, where was the Border Patrol Agents and why weren’t they making a greater effort to stop them if they really wanted to curb the growing problem of illegal aliens. We have the greatest admiration for or nation’s law enforcement officers, but it appears there’s been a long-term tacit policy afoot to leave the door open just a bit. There is a popular illustrative tort case used by law professors, I think it’s called Rocker v. State. In any event, at issue was the principle of the “well worn path” which essentially made a land owner liable to trespassers on his land where he or she knew or should have know of their presence because of the well worn path they left behind from their daily trespass. May we suggest here for a moment that our Mexican border shows ample signs of a well worn path? And don’t you agree that our government’s policy on overstays may have also cut a sizable swatch as well. May we further suggest that we all own up to that fact that we as a nation share some responsibility for the problem? Sorry, we know it’s a difficult pill to swallow, but it is the sociopolitical inconvenient truth of the day. So, what can we do about it? The first thing to do is to admit we have a problem—and that we may be at least partially responsible for causing the problem in the first place. We’re not suggesting the illegal immigrants have no responsibility for their actions, we’re just saying we as a country played a part in it, that’s all. AND, of the two, that is, us or them, we’re in a much better position to fix things, aren’t we? The next thing to do is to take real steps toward stopping the relentless incoming tide of new illegal immigrants entering every single day? We’d be a lot better off in this post 911 world knowing that not just anybody can enter the U.S. with little fear of being stopped—that’s just plain unacceptable. We will leave it to those better capable to implement an effective solution. Whether it be stone walls, drones, barbed wire or a combination, let’s find something that works and do it. Others have made an argument that this would be tantamount to building a Berlin Wall, but that’s just nonsense, the fact is we need more effective border control. We then need to do something with the millions illegal that are already here. All this talk of amnesty being unacceptable is understandable, but when you realize that there is no way to deport the mass of illegal immigrants already here, you have to face the fact that we need to do something to sort out, qualify and assimilate these people in a controlled setting. Certainly you cannot just hand everyone a green card. But let’s forget for a moment the semantics of whether or not it’s amnesty, legalization or whatever label they come up with. Perhaps it is some form of amnesty, perhaps it isn’t, but one thing’s for sure, taking steps to get these folks out of the shadows is the only solution. Pure amnesty is forgiveness for entering, remaining in, and working in the country illegally without any penalties. President Obama has stated that he doesn’t support outright amnesty and neither do we. But let’s be sensible, what we are really talking about is compromise. The whole issue of immigration reform is, in the end, one of compromise—and compromise is always borne of necessity—and we need to fix the current immigration system. Surely illegal immigrants will walk away with benefits, some of which admittedly may be a form of amnesty, but we also have an opportunity to correct an ineffective immigration system that is not working. With compromise both parties walk get to away from the table with some tangible benefit. Finally, we need to keep the pressure on Congress to enact immigration reform that will serve our nation’s national security interests and offer a fair solution to the mass of illegal immigrants already in our economy and culture. But we need not do this in one fell swoop. Since comprehensive immigration reform failed in the past, st move in a positive direction while giving Congress maybe we should start enacting it piece-by-piece. (DREAM Act anyone?) This way we can at leaand the nation an opportunity to better explore the more contentious issues—it’s certainly better than doing nothing. No matter which side of the aisle or argument you may sit, I urge you to work toward a improving our immigration system. Immigration reform is an issue that cannot be ignored.
