“Today, Mr. Obama will make the case for providing a path to legal status for the country’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in a speech at American University’s School of International Service at 10:45 a.m. Though his comments are not expected to make lawmakers move any faster, Mr. Obama will use his speech to remind Latino voters that he opposes Arizona’s new immigration law,” according to the New York Times.
At 10 a.m., lawmakers plan to announce that they have more than 100 co-sponsors for Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act, which is now a House subcommittee. The bill is sponsored by Representative Solomon Ortiz, Democrat of Texas, and co-sponsored primarily by members of the Black, Asian, Progressive and Hispanic Congressional caucuses.
Game on! Thank you President Obama.
Why is he doing this now? Simple. It looks like there is a real danger that the Democrats will lose their Congressional majority in November. So this is Obama’s last chance to do something about immigration reform, which he promised us during his campaign for President.
Republicans beware. Your continued attacks on Latinos will cost you, maybe not in November but certainly in future elections. This is your party’s last chance to reach out to Latinos. Fumble this opportunity at your own risk.
Here is an update from our friends at Reform Immigration for America:
Just a few minutes ago, President Obama spoke to the nation about immigration. He laid out the ways that our broken system hurts millions of people across this country, and how our nation can’t wait any longer for real reform. The President showed that he understands what this fight is about.
As President Obama said, passing national comprehensive immigration reform is going to take all of us working together. And for too long, Republicans in Congress have been holding up the process. Their unwillingness to even address the issue shows that they’ve ignored real solutions and promoted the politics of fear. But every day that they refuse to act constructively, millions of families suffer.
We can’t wait any longer for immigration reform. Stop holding up the process and hurting families – work on immigration reform, now.
Click here to send this fax to Republicans in Congress
We need to show the Republican obstructionists that their inaction has had real consequences. Join President Obama in telling Congressional Republicans that the time for obstruction is over.
Thank you,
Marissa Graciosa
Reform Immigration FOR America
PS: After you’ve sent your fax, forward this email to five friends to ask them to fax Republicans in Congress as well!
reps dont worry if your a LEGAL latino . your fine ..most support the law , the ones who dont cant vote and are not suppose to be here . nobama and his goons want to give them amensty so they can all vote for him and his party and save their ass . IT WONT . he is going down . .sitmilus bill failed , gulf , fail , health care will bk the country and the people where not for it , failed , and the american DONT WANT AMENSTY . = FAIL . THIS GUY IS A TOTAL LOST .
I watched the address and this is what I heard the President say.
More boots on the ground than ever before (To close the border?)
The 11 million already here are going to pay (For their crime?)
Change the law so it will be easier to keep those who are highly educated here in the US, (Here.?)
And to fix the systems that’s allowed those with expired visa to escape deportation.
I can’t remember the word amnesty being said.
Cook, you won’t hear reform advocates using the word “amnesty” (except for me because I’m a smartass.)
It’s an anti-reform buzzword. To anti-reformers (Immigration hardliners) many of those things you just listed constitute “amnesty.”
Gotta go see the speech myself now, where did you find it?
the great one,
” and the american DONT WANT AMENSTY . = FAIL . THIS GUY IS A TOTAL LOST .”
You are wrong. The majoriy of Americans want immigartion reform with amnesty. This includes Democarts, Republicans and Independants.
Polling from various sources including Fox News show this.
art lomeli
you are wrong that the majority of Americans want Amnesty for illegals.
As of April 2010 50% of America supported the AZ law. As of Late May 2010 60%+ support the AZ law and it’s support is growing in numbers. You also fail to understand that most of the illegals don’t want Amnesty due to the law that will fall into place will require them to possess a Social Security card and a required State issued I.D card. That will result in problems wiring money transfers back to their original country of origin and will also place them under the radar. I know many illegals personally who like being undocumented because they are not resisted in any State or Federal database. You also fail to understand that many of the immigrants who are here legally also support NO Amnesty.
rewarding an Illegal trespasser with Amnesty is a failure. That fact that people like You and Vern thank we need a Majority Democrat house to illegally disregard the people by passing an unconstitutional Amnesty Law to favor your agenda of furthering the God awful “Dream Act”, and “Amnesty”. people like you are not Americans. I desperately encourage the what you and your friend Vern call “Obstructionism” to block the Democrat Majority socialist movement dictatorship of Granting freedom just to tamper with the elections.
Art Lomeli and No Amnesty are both right. The polls are confusing. That’s because people are confused and misinformed.
Not completely understanding what SB 1070 does, they see that Arizona is at least doing something about the immigration issue, and say they support it.
Most Americans are also fair and reasonable, and think that hard working, upstanding immigrants who want to become citizens should have a way to do it.
Of course people who only refer to one of those sets of polls and ignore the other, probably have an agenda they don’t want to admit. And “No Amnesty’s” agenda is undoubtedly not wanting so many people of Mexican background around.
Game on !! and let’s finish it this time. we have been waiting too long for action. Deport all the illegals now and let them apply to come here. if my fellow republicans want to bow down to latinos because they are afraid of losing their votes they are stupid. they will never get their votes anyway. better kick em out now or the country is lost, all by trespassing illegals and their sympathizers. the whole la raza attitude sucks, the “we’re here and we’re not leaving “chants suck and are a challenge that should be met with deportation. Mexican flags suck. who’s in charge here? illegals? wtf !! we are being invaded and colonized, wake up Americans. Game on, and step it up Republicans. this IS the time to be obstructionists to the max.
No Amnesty
Posted July 1, 2010 at 7:44 PM
art lomeli
you are wrong that the majority of Americans want Amnesty for illegals.
I am giving you data …facts. You offer only your opinion.
From the PEW Research Center:
When Congress and the president abandoned efforts to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2007, public opinion was quite conflicted. A Pew Research poll found that, among those aware of the legislation, more people opposed (41%) than supported (33%) the bill being considered by the Senate, but a solid majority of 63% of the general public supported the bill’s main objective to provide a “path to citizenship” for undocumented immigrants. At the time, support for this principle was bipartisan, with nearly as many Republicans as Democrats favoring it. And even when the provision was described as “amnesty,” a majority still supported it — though by a smaller margin of 54%-39%. Republicans were evenly divided on the question when the policy was described as “amnesty.”
Pew Research has asked about the path to citizenship three times since 2007, most recently in April of this year when 63% again said they favored providing a way for illegal immigrants currently in the country to gain legal citizenship if they pass background checks, pay fines and have jobs. Unlike in 2007, there is now a substantial partisan gap, with 73% of Democrats but just 50% of Republicans in favor of the path to citizenship.
While favoring a change that would make it possible for many undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S., the public has also generally favored stronger efforts to enforce existing immigration laws. Majorities favor increasing penalties on businesses that hire undocumented workers, beefing up border security, and allowing states to check immigration status before issuing driver’s licenses.
Underlying the public’s attitudes about specific reform proposals is a set of contradictory and conflicted perceptions and attitudes about immigrants. Numerous polls over the past several years have found that the public generally respects immigrants for their strong work ethic, good family values and for the cultural contributions they make to American society. But at the same time, pluralities or majorities believe that illegal immigrants weaken the economy by using public services, failing to pay their fair share of taxes, not making enough of an effort to assimilate and, according to some surveys, contributing to the threat of terrorism and the crime problem. And, more generally, large majorities of the public continue to favor limiting the number of immigrants entering the country (73% in April of this year).
Yet, the public’s appetite for enforcement-based solutions is not unlimited. Though most favor increasing border security, the public has been divided over the building of a security fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Relatively few people say that deportation of illegal immigrants should have a high priority when asked to choose among different options for dealing with the issue. Indeed, just 13% of respondents in a June 2007 poll by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal said that deporting all illegal immigrants is a realistic and achievable goal.
The Prospects for Reform
President Obama campaigned on a platform that included a commitment to immigration reform in his first term. Whether or not he can build public support in pursuit of that goal depends on several factors that are difficult to forecast. The first is whether the sluggish economy and high unemployment will increase opposition to a policy that eventually leads to legal residence for millions of workers currently in the U.S. illegally. Anxiety about the job competition immigrants pose to American workers was important during the debate in 2006-2007, but polling during that period found significant majorities saying that immigrants generally take jobs American workers don’t want, rather than taking jobs away from Americans (59%-30%, in a May 2007 CBS News/New York Times poll). How much that view has changed today will affect how well the Democratic Party, in particular, can hold together a coalition in support of reform.
A second unknown is how willing Republican Party leaders will be to support a cross-party coalition in the Congress. Both John McCain and Mitt Romney encountered criticism from conservatives within the GOP during their run for the Republican nomination for president. And, of course, President Bush was unable to unify his party around a comprehensive immigration measure in 2007, despite having made it a priority for his second term. Arguably, conservatives hold more sway within the party now than a few years ago. As noted earlier, public opinion on the issue has become more partisan over this period, with Democrats expressing greater support for reform than Republicans.
Finally, there is the role of Hispanics and Latinos themselves. In 2004, Hispanics gave President Bush 40% of their votes, and Republicans were optimistic that the party could make inroads into this growing constituency. But over the next few years, Latinos shifted in a Democratic direction and gave Barack Obama 67% of their votes (to 31% for McCain). Many observers argued that the tone of the debate over immigration hurt the Republican Party in the eyes of Latinos, and many within the party worry that another heated immigration battle could further damage the party with this important group of voters.
——————————————————————————–
This analysis is based on remarks delivered at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Nov. 16, 2009.
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