Thread: Immigration-law reforms pushed

http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_4661183

Immigration-law reforms pushed
Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
San Bernardino County Sun
Article Launched:11/15/2006 12:00:00 AM PST

RIVERSIDE, CA - Latino activists began a renewed push Tuesday night for a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's immigration policies.
The Riverside-based National Alliance for Human Rights urged Congress to move swiftly to reform immigration laws in the wake of last week's election.

"With the House and Senate being taken over by Democrats, I'm very optimistic that President Bush will accept and support a guest-worker program that will include a legalization component," said Gil Navarro, a 64-year-old San Bernardino resident.

About 50 members of the alliance gathered at Zacatecas Restaurant to formulate strategies for legalizing the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

The group called on Rep. Joe Baca, D-Rialto, to become more vocal in his support of immigration reform.

Baca, who has served in Congress since 1999, could become chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus - a post that would increase his clout in shaping the immigration debate in the House of Representatives.

Baca has expressed support for legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented workers.

He voted against a bill approved by Congress and signed by President Bush last month that authorizes 700 new miles of fencing on the U.S.-Mexico border.

"If Joe Baca becomes the next chair, I'm confident he's going to open some doors that will allow major changes in immigration policy to take place," said Armando Navarro, coordinator of the alliance and an ethnic studies professor at UC Riverside.

But he warned Democrats that they would pay the price at the ballot box in the 2008 presidential election if they failed to produce results.

"They must show by tangible actions that they are committed to our interests in the area of immigration," he said. "If they don't, what can happen to the Republicans last week can easily happen to them in 2008."

Opponents of illegal immigration say members of Congress risk a political backlash if they try to pass an amnesty bill or guest-worker program.

"While the Republicans may have gotten soundly defeated last week, there were ballot initiatives in Arizona and Colorado aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and those passed overwhelmingly," said Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports severely reduced immigration levels.

An Arizona measure that declares English the state's official language passed with 74 percent of the vote, Mehlman noted.

"If Congress starts pushing a radical agenda, or even one that entails a massive amnesty, the burdens on society are going to be astounding," Mehlman said.

First off, this orginization needs to change it's name.
National Alliance for Human Rights

This should be the orginization to Legalize Criminal Aliens.

About 50 members of the alliance gathered at Zacatecas Restaurant to formulate strategies for legalizing the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

Dixie

They must show by tangible actions that they are committed to our interests in the area of immigration," he said. "If they don't, what can happen to the Republicans last week can easily happen to them in 2008."

With all the threats they are coming out with this week, it is obvious that they are becoming more bold.

They are all part of the Tan Klan. Maybe I will start the Western Poverty Law Center, and list them all as hate groups!