Top Democrat Accused of 'Political Cowardice' on Immigration

Diario Hoy, Posted: Nov 21, 2007

CHICAGO -- Residents and activists protested in front of the offices of Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel, the powerful head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, for his increasingly conservative comments on immigration, reports Spanish-language Diario Hoy. Members of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and other organizations decried Emanuel's statements that immigration reform will be postponed for the forseeable future, and that it is the "third rail of politics." Such statements, says ICIRR director Josh Hoyt, are hypocritical coming from a congressman elected in a district whose 190,000 immigrants make it one of the most diverse in the country. Emanuel, says Hoyt, "is himself the son of Israeli immigrants." He adds, "We think he needs to show political courage, not cowardice." Local activists are also calling Emanuel's office and have taken out full page ads in Korean, Polish and Spanish-language newspapers.

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