Thread: Florida's Immigrants Pin Hopes on Obama

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...1.story?page=1

Florida's Immigrants Pin Hopes on Obama

Maria Mora's husband was returning home from work about two years ago when he noticed a van moving slowly through the parking lot of their apartment complex in south Orlando.

Emblazoned on the vehicle were the letters that strike fear in the hearts of undocumented immigrants: ICE -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Peruvian man walked discreetly past the van and reached his apartment, where he quickly alerted his wife. They locked themselves in a room with their three U.S.-born children, afraid the agents would bust through their door to take them away.

It turned out to be a false alarm. Still, news of ongoing immigration raids and deportations throughout the state and the nation kept the Moras on high alert. Now, Maria Mora says the election of President Barack Obama has brought a feeling of hope for her family.


More Orlando Sentinel blogs "We are very hopeful that he, as the son of an immigrant, will have a heart," said Mora, a finance graduate in her native Peru who is now a stay-at-home mom. Her husband, an engineer by trade, works at a car-upholstery shop. They came to the United States eight years ago on tourist visas that expired.

Undocumented immigrants such as the Moras and their advocates are counting on Obama to deliver on his campaign promises of immigration reform -- a divisive issue for which the last administration could not gain consensus.

Meanwhile, organizations that support tough immigration enforcement are gearing up for a showdown.

Leaders of NumbersUSA, one of the most prominent immigration-restriction advocacy groups, say there is an oversupply of immigrant workers that is hurting Americans looking for jobs in a bad economy.

"There will be a fight" over immigration, said Roy Beck, director and founder of NumbersUSA, based in Washington, D.C.

As a preemptive move, a coalition of immigrant activists from throughout the country, including members from Central Florida, attended the Obama inauguration and welcomed the 44th president by holding a rally for reform in Washington.

"We want them to know what the core demands are," said Jose Luis Marantes, a community organizer with the Florida Immigrant Coalition in Orlando, who went to the rally. "People have shown with their votes that they want change and that they don't want this thing to fester."

Their list of demands includes an end to immigration raids, but they also are advocating for "just and fair immigration reform" such as the proposed earned legalization program that ended in spectacular failure in 2007.


Immigration opposition

Reform opponents are not only against any form of what they call amnesty; they are also calling for a slowdown of most legal immigration.

"We are going to have a great national public debate on this, and I don't think Obama wants this debate to happen," said Beck of NumbersUSA. "It will be a very divisive kind of debate which could drag down his efforts on higher priorities such as Iraq, the economy and entitlements."

Florida pro-enforcement activists say that battle will take place at both state and national levels.

"All of the pro-enforcement immigration groups are geared up and ready," said David Caulkett, vice president of Floridians for Immigration Enforcement in Pompano Beach. "Until the country has the will to enforce the law, this battle is going to continue."

Still, those who support reform for the country's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants are feeling emboldened.

One main reason: Hispanics and legal immigrants voted in record numbers, helping decide the outcome in several key states. Many analysts agree that though both presidential candidates supported immigration reform, many Hispanic voters penalized Republicans for the failure of the Bush administration and Congress to pass the earned legalization bill.

Frank Sharry, director of the national immigrant-advocacy group America's Voice, said he expects Obama and the new Congress to take up immigration in the fall. He anticipates a vote on a final immigration bill by March 2010.



Democrats, he said, should be mindful about not upsetting the growing coalition of pro-reform voters.

"Elections matter," Sharry said. "It needed to be proven to the political class that swing voters want a solution; Latinos and immigrant voters want respect; and that hard-line opponents of reform . . . make a lot of noise but don't have a lot of juice."

Although some groups in Florida -- such as undocumented agricultural workers, students and Haitian refugees -- would be satisfied with piecemeal legislation on visa programs that would help them, they unanimously support a comprehensive legalization program.

The pro-immigrant coalition has the support of large Hispanic advocacy groups and community organizers at the grass-roots level. In addition, it has earned the backing of labor unions and businesses.
The Roman Catholic Church has also been a long-standing supporter of immigration reform, and now other churches that serve immigrants are joining the cause.

Angel Marcial -- an Orlando pastor who heads the Fraternidad de Concilios y Entidades Evangelicas, a group that represents more than 1,000 Hispanic evangelical churches in the Southeast -- announced plans to hire a lobbyist and vowed to continue the fight for reform.

"We understand that the fundamental discourse of the church, regardless of denomination, is to lend a hand to those who suffer and to the least of us in our communities," Marcial said.

For the Moras, their storefront evangelical church in south Orlando is a sanctuary. They avoid government offices. They don't take their three boys, ages 2, 4 and 7, on many outings. The father, who asked not to be identified, rides a bicycle to work and to shop for groceries, fearing a traffic stop by authorities if he gets behind the wheel.

When they do venture out, it's to attend Sunday services and evening prayers.

At the top of their prayer list is immigration reform.

"We don't want our American children growing up with a feeling that they don't belong here," Mora said. "We want to contribute to this country, but we are not allowed."

More Orlando Sentinel blogs "We are very hopeful that he, as the son of an immigrant, will have a heart," said Mora, a finance graduate in her native Peru who is now a stay-at-home mom. Her husband, an engineer by trade, works at a car-upholstery shop. They came to the United States eight years ago on tourist visas that expired



Where is this "son of an immigrant" horsesh*t coming from, anyway?

obama is NOT the son of an immigrant. He is the son of a foreign student who, as soon as he was done partaking of educational opportunities in the US, hightailed it right back to Kenya to take up his position within the Kenyan government.

He was not an "immigrant", he never had any intention of making his home here or becoming a citizen.

Just when does this twisting of facts to suit agendas ever STOP?

Democrats, he said, should be mindful about not upsetting the growing coalition of pro-reform voters.

He means the growing group of illegals that would vote if they could - actually some do. Dems and Repubs both need to pay attention to the wants and needs of American citizens or there will be consequences.

You have to see it to believe it folks... Orlando is PACKED with Illegal Aliens and I mean PACKED.

The crime rate is going through the roof and I'll say this much... they will never see me there again

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

You have to see it to believe it folks... Orlando is PACKED with Illegal Aliens and I mean PACKED.

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

The crime rate is going through the roof and I'll say this much... they will never see me there again

It's amazing, isn't it AB, how illegal aliens, especially those from Mexico, are always very strategically located in huge numbers where this country's most lucrative business enterprises are located?

Of course, the American business types who THINK they are benefitting from the cheap labor are too stupid to see just how brilliant of a plan Mexico is carrying out. Their workforce and population is already in place to ensure minor disruption when they make their final move to take over.

They had a similar story in the Sun Sentinel. Is it just me or have others noticed that the media has increased the amount of illegal sob stories they print? There was one on the weekend about families being split up when the parent gets deported. An anchor baby sob story. Today there is an article about illegals fraudulently using being a victim of crime to obtain a u visa and become temporarily legal for 2 years and during that time thet can apply for a greencard. I posted it already.

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

You have to see it to believe it folks... Orlando is PACKED with Illegal Aliens and I mean PACKED.

The crime rate is going through the roof and I'll say this much... they will never see me there again

I have a question for you Airborne. I used to go to DisneyWorld all the time back in the 90's. As always, you would see and hear a huge diversity of cultures. I went to Six Flags here in DFW last year for the first time in years. I was saddened to see all of the illegal immigrants and anchor babies that have taken over the park. They line jump, and are very rude. Has the same thing happened at Disney?

The last time I went (Last July) it was over flowing with rude obnoxious foreigners that cut in lines .. kids that were not under any control or supervision and it felt like I was in a 3rd world (Small World after all)

when we got home my girl friends Gucci purse was cut by a razor blade as if someone or group planned on purse snatching it

Honest, I would not and will not recommend it to family members or friends... Orlando itself is crime ridden .. you name it, it happens there and on an ever increasing scale.

Like I said... if you were there in the past, you would not recognize it.

Not only was I disappointed, I felt very uncomfortable and so did every one else.. well, except the kids that were to excited to worry about anything else

I heard that ever since they started catering to the Latinos and their culture ot has gone down hill. They were promoting quinces or what ever the correct term is for the girls coming of age ceremonies. I haven't seen Disney cater to any other culture like that.