Thread: Nevada Democrats promote easing rules for illegal immigrant waivers, slam Romney

lvrj.com
Posted by Laura Myers
Monday, Jan. 09, 2012 at 04:20 PM

That didn't take long.

On Friday, President Barack Obama proposed new rules that would let illegal immigrants with American families stay in the U.S. while they apply for hardship waivers and legal residency.

On Monday, the Nevada Democratic Party held a news conference in Las Vegas with Latino leaders to tout the new rules, which will please Hispanic voters. The Democrats also slammed Mitt Romney for his immigration views. Romney is expected to become the GOP presidential nominee unless there's an upset. Obama must dominate the Latino vote to beat him in Nevada.

Romney's "priorities are not with Nevada families," said Assemblywoman Lucy Flores, D-Las Vegas, who represents a district that's 60 percent to 70 percent Hispanic.

She said Romney is "extreme" for saying he would veto the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to U.S. citizenship for illegal immigrants who go to college or serve in the U.S. military.

Obama, on the other hand, Flores said, is trying to fulfill his campaign promises to Hispanics to reform the immigration system -- with or without the help of Republicans.

Ryan Williams, a spokesman for the Romney campaign, said Obama "has completely failed to fix our immigration system" and failed to enforce immigration laws.

"Governor Romney will protect legal immigration, and therefore opposes any special pathway for illegal immigrants who apply for legal status," Williams said. "Illegal immigrants should go to the back of the line behind those who have applied legally and are waiting their turn."



In 2008, Obama easily won Nevada thanks to scooping up nearly three-quarters of the Hispanic vote. Latinos make up 15 percent of the electorate and 26 percent of the population.

At the news conference inside the Latin Chamber of Commerce, Otto Merida, the group's president, praised the Obama administration for moving to ease the rules to let undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens remain here while they apply for "hardship" waivers so they can stay in the U.S. legally. Under the current law, illegal immigrants must return to their home countries to apply for such waivers in hopes of getting a green card. As a result, undocumented spouses and children often are separated from their American families for months or even years.

"This is not right," Merida said, adding that many of these illegal immigrants have worked in the U.S. and paid taxes for years.

Andrew Driggs, an immigration lawyer at the news conference, said the proposed rule changes could be a "game changer" for illegal immigrants who have been afraid to come out of the shadows. He estimated that at least 10,000 undocumented immigrants living in Las Vegas could be eligible for "hardship" waivers so they can stay in the U.S. as legal residents to support their families.

If illegal immigrants are granted waivers to stay in the U.S., under the proposed rules they must still travel to their home counties for a quick trip to pick up their U.S. visas, he said.

"In the current situation, you never knew if they were coming back," said Driggs. "Changing the rules is going to make a huge difference in peoples' lives. It'll take away all the worry and all the risk."

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