Thread: Rahm says Obama brings change of course to immigration

HispanicBusiness.com

Obama Brings 'Change of Course' on Immigration, Top Aide Says

Feb. 6, 2009
Macarena Vidal--EFE

President Barack Obama's administration has brought to Washington a new attitude toward the issue of immigration, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Thursday.

In comments to a small group of Hispanic journalists, Emanuel cited Wednesday's ceremony where Obama signed into law a bill reauthorizing the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

The chief of staff pointed out that the law increases the number of youngsters covered by SCHIP, as the program is known, from 7 million to 11 million, including - for the first time - children of legal immigrants.

According to Emanuel, the former Democratic whip in the U.S. House of Representatives, the inclusion of benefits for immigrants' kids in the face of opposition from some Republicans indicates that in the debate over immigration, "the arrow has begun to point in a different direction."

He said it was Obama himself who decided that the SCHIP bill, which was vetoed twice by President George W. Bush, needed to provide health insurance for children of legal immigrants, even though it would have been easier to leave out the controversial provision.

The expansion of SCHIP to immigrants' children represents "an advance" on what the Obama administration plans to do on behalf of immigrants during the next four years, Emanuel said.

Obama's Cabinet was originally set to include three Hispanics, but New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his nomination for commerce secretary, leaving Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, who heads the Interior Department, and Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), still awaiting Senate confirmation as labor secretary.

While touting the appointments of Salazar and Solis, the chief of staff said it is Obama's policies that will demonstrate the president's commitment to the Hispanic community.

At the same time, Emanuel was unwilling to say when Obama might propose the kind of comprehensive immigration reform that could offer a path to legalization for the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

The important thing, he said, is that the inclusion of legal migrants' children in SCHIP "represents a change of course."

Emanuel made it clear that for now, the overriding priority for the Obama administration is winning congressional approval for the economic stimulus plan, which has already passed the House but faces tough sledding in the Senate, where the Democrats have a much narrower majority.


Source: Copyright (C) 2009. Agencia EFE S.A.

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