Thread: 'Advocates for Immigrants' Feel Optimistic About Reform

From Catholic News Service Briefs
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs ... 081205.htm

Advocates for immigrants feeling optimistic reform will be addressed

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A sense of optimism about the coming year is starting to settle in among advocates for immigrants who had begun to weary after years of unsuccessfully seeking reform of immigration laws and policies. Several nominations and appointments by President-elect Barack Obama are being taken as one reason for some hope. Signals also are coming from Congress that leaders may be prepared to tackle immigration sooner rather than later in the 111th Congress. And resounding support for Obama among Latino, Asian and immigrant voters and a new poll conducted for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are more indicators that the hostility that helped defeat immigration reform several times recently may no longer hold the same sway in Washington. Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Obama's nominee to head Homeland Security, which includes immigration-related agencies, is well-respected by those who support comprehensive immigration reform. Obama's appointee to be director of intergovernmental affairs at the White House, Cecilia Munoz, comes from a career of working to improve the situation of immigrants. She currently is vice president of research, advocacy and legislation at the National Council of La Raza.

Just go right ahead and try to shove amnesty down our throats again, you jerks. We'll fight this again just as vigorously as we have in the past. You may feel your OBLs have the support, but we've got the numbers.

Let's crush their optimism...on Friday from Roy Beck at NumbersUSA:

"ON THE AMNESTY FRONT: Thanks so much to all of you who responded quickly to the presence of a few hundred "community leaders" swarming Capitol Hill this week carrying out the pro-amnesty campaign of Rep. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Sen. Reid (D-Nev.). They had a few HUNDRED voices, but all of you provided ANTI-amnesty voices on a few THOUSAND phone calls into congressional offices and more than 150,000 faxes!

How great was this picture? While the pro-amnesty visitors waited in offices to speak to a Congressman or aide, the phones were ringing regularly at the desks a few feet away as staffers handled your cries for putting unemployed American workers ahead of illegal aliens. You made a real difference this week in how the amnesty issue is being perceived on the Hill. There will continue to be huge efforts at posturing between now and the inauguration next month. Like a game of high-stakes poker, every time the Gutierrez crowd lays down a marker, we will need to match their effort and raise the stakes -- not just double but tenfold. You can do it. You did it this week!"

Wish I could have been there to see the phones ringing off the hook! and the fax machines humming right along.