Sides get set to lobby Barack Obama for immigration policy changes

Some activists oppose detentions and deportations; others seek hiring restrictions and border control

By Luis F. Perez | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
December 1, 2008

Immigration rallies are planned. E-mail blasts have started to go out. And advocates have already penned an open letter to president-elect Barack Obama.

He is about seven weeks away from taking office, but advocates on all sides of the immigration debate are gearing up to lobby for changes in the country's immigration laws. They want Obama to make it a priority.

Pro-immigrant groups cite a huge swing in Hispanic voters toward Democrats as a reason the new administration should make changes fast. Obama can make policy changes, such as slowing detentions and deportations, without waiting for legislation, they say.

Proponents of tighter immigration policies want laws more strictly enforced, including against employers who hire undocumented immigrants, and more border control.

Both sides face the country's economic crisis, which Obama has identified as his first priority. Still, they're undeterred.

"We will be mobilizing our members to not only act on their own but also to energize their friends and neighbors," said Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, a group that advocates reduced immigration.

Beck said his group, which touts more than 800,000 members, sent e-mail encouraging supporters to write to their elected representatives.

Some argue that revising immigration laws could save money and boost the economy.

"Immigration goes hand in hand with the economy," said Linda Osberg-Braun, president of the South Florida chapter of American Immigration Lawyers.

Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigration Advocacy Center, said the government "would have more resources to target real terrorists and threats if it didn't spend so much on ineffective border fences and jailing immigrants who pose no danger to U.S. communities."

The Florida Immigrant Coalition plans to join a rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21, the day after Obama's inauguration. It's part of the National Alliance of Latin American & Caribbean Communities, which published an open letter to the president-elect.

Maria Rodriguez, coalition executive director, said the groups are ready to take political steps to encourage Obama "to do the right thing for immigrants."

Jeff DeVore, a Palm Beach Gardens resident and past president of the local chapter of the immigration lawyers association, said he expects incremental changes, not an immigration overhaul.

"I think the economy is going to take center stage," he said.

Luis F. Perez can be reached at lfperez@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4553.

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