Thread: Overhaul of immigration seems unlikely this year

Overhaul of immigration seems unlikely this year
Saturday, March 27, 2010
By William Douglas, McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON -- With the overhaul of the nation's health care system off his to-do list, President Barack Obama has renewed his promise to revamp immigration laws this year.

"I pledge to do everything in my power to forge a bipartisan consensus this year on this important issue," Mr. Obama said in a video message to tens of thousands of activists calling for revising immigration laws as they gathered last Sunday on Washington's National Mall.

Chances are slim to none that the president will fulfill that pledge this year, however, as administration officials and lawmakers in Congress have put several other priorities -- from tightening financial regulations to creating jobs -- ahead of overhauling immigration laws.

Furthermore, lawmakers and pro-immigration advocates question whether Mr. Obama has the political capital -- and Congress, the will -- to deal with another potentially divisive hot-button issue after the bruising battle over health care and with November's midterm elections on the horizon.

"There's nobody in there ready to say, 'Hey, let's write an immigration bill.' Nobody," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who co-authored an immigration framework with Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., that the president recently embraced. "Democrats are risk-averse. If you don't believe me, go ask them about whether or not they want to take up immigration reform in the Senate."

Since Mr. Obama took office, there has been little action on restructuring federal immigration law or figuring out what to do with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants who already are in this country.

The bill outline drafted by Mr. Schumer and Mr. Grahamcalls for creating a high-tech, tamper-proof Social Security card that would ensure that employers hire only legal workers. It includes a temporary worker program and penalties for illegal immigrants -- fines or community service -- while allowing them to remain in the United States.

There is little evidence that tackling immigration is a burning priority. In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel didn't even mention it when listing Mr. Obama's post-health care agenda, which includes dealing with financial regulation and job creation, retooling the No Child Left Behind education provisions and amending campaign-finance law to rebut a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that permits corporations and unions to finance campaign ads.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in a statement about Sunday's immigration rally, said, "We look forward to sending a bipartisan bill to the president's desk." She didn't say when.

The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said he and other pro-immigration religious leaders met Monday with members of Ms. Pelosi's staff in Washington and were told that any movement on immigration would have to start in the Senate.

"They looked at me straight in the eye and said, 'It must be led by the Senate,' " Mr. Rodriguez said.

"I left the meeting at Pelosi's office feeling, 'Oh boy, this will be a long climb.' I'm not sure Congress is ready for this rodeo."

If immigration isn't addressed before November's elections, congressional Democrats might find themselves voted out of office by the same Latino community that gave Mr. Obama 75 percent of its vote in 2008, largely because of his vow to change immigration laws.

Pro-immigration organizations predict that Latino ire over a lack of progress on immigration policy could affect as many as 40 congressional races in November.

www.post-gazette.com

This is encouraging. And its the last post I'm going to read tonight, because its a good article to end the day with!

Since Mr. Obama took office, there has been little action on restructuring federal immigration law or figuring out what to do with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants who already are in this country.

That's because we don't need to restructure immigration law, we simply need to enforce it! The 12-20 million illegal invaders currently trespassing on US soil will have no option but to go home!

Don't breathe easy just yet. There's always midnight on Saturday for Congress to push this through against our will. They've shown their true colors during the healthcare debate.

Originally Posted by ReggieMay

Don't breathe easy just yet. There's always midnight on Saturday for Congress to push this through against our will. They've shown their true colors during the healthcare debate.

Your exactly right ReggieMay! They seem to fancy midnight on Saturday to ram their garbage through. We'll wake up one Sunday morning and it will be a done deal! We cannot trust these cowards!

I'm waiting for the day they come out and say they deserve a 10% increase in pay because they've been working so many Saturday nights!