|
||
| Who We Are | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Photo Download Page |
|---|
|
Download Exclusive RadicalImmigration.com photos by clicking here. |
| RSS Feed |
|---|
|
| Are We on Our Way to Immigration Reform? |
|
|
|
| Written by Simon | |
| Friday, 19 June 2009 | |
 Yesterday the Pat Brown Institute held a panel discussion at CSULA that asked the question “Are We on the Way to Immigration Reform?” It took a while for the panel to get around to discussing the actual topic but when they did they all seemed to concur that the ambitious agenda that President Obama had agreed to for getting Immigration Reform passed this year is going to slip. It was a diverse panel with Nancy Ramirez of MALDEF on the left and Ira Mehlman of FAIR on the right. The other two panelists Ruth Milkman of UCLA and Gary Toebbsen of the LA Chamber of Commerce were in roughly the sensible center. Not sure what an Acronym means? Look it up on our Immigration Acronym Converter Since the event was held at a public university in East LA the attendees (about 150) were decidedly in favor of legislation that rationalizes the status of the 10 to 15 million people who are “documentally impaired.” What else they wanted in the legislation was not clear. There was absolutely no discussion of what the level of immigration should be going forward. The moderator, Randal Archibold of the New York Times, got to the cusp of the matter when he asked the panel: “What is the smoking gun to the head that will cause Congress to act on this issue this year?” The general answer was that there isn’t one. Organizations like CHIRLA headed by Angelica Salas and SEUI are organizing phone campaigns to try to build some pressure for reform. But the reality is that the agenda is clogged with domestic items (health care and the economic recovery) and international issues (the Middle East and North Korea) and it is unlikely that President Obama will be able to get Immigration Reform on the agenda this year. However there is good news, to quote panelist Ruth Milkman, “Immigration Reform will happen. Maybe not this year. But it will happen.” The position of Radical Immigration is that comprehensive immigration reform should include: rationalization of the status of the undocumented people currently in the country, allowing a much larger number of immigrants and a reallocation of resources away from building fences toward acculturating the new Americans. This policy will ensure the continued success of the American model. It will also increase freedom in the world as other governments have to compete with our model or lose their best and brightest to our opportunity based system. Comments (2)Subscribe to this comment's feed...
"What is the smoking gun to the head that will cause Congress to act on this issue this year?"
Short answer: Mid term elections in 2010. Other considerations: Does the Democratic Party want to secure the latino/immigrant emerging voting block for 2010 and beyond? Reform Immigration is the way to go. Does the Republican Party need to repair relationships with conservative immigrants and latinos who are alienated by GOP fear-promoters rhetoric? Reform immigration for America is the way to go, baby.
,
June 19, 2009
Write comment |
|
| Last Updated ( Friday, 19 June 2009 ) |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
I did ask Randall Archibald afterward about why Ira Mehlman and FAIR get introduced without mentioning the ties to hate groups that SPLC referenced. Not sure I got a very satisfying answer.