Face of Immigration Reform Broadens

(AP)  Beyond the noisy town hall meetings, Tea Party protests and sky-is-falling speeches characterizing much of the health care debate is a less visible, but no less intense push to broaden the face of the immigration reform movement.

With the 2010 election year looming, Democrat Barack Obama in the White House and increasing numbers of Asian-American and Pacific Islanders in Congress, many groups, including the NAACP, are working harder in the traditionally Latino-led movement, sensing a fresh opportunity to overhaul laws affecting millions of immigrants, both legal and illegal.

"For far too long, the Latino population in the U.S. has really borne the brunt of the anti-immigrant sentiment," said Rep. Yvette Clarke.

National Association for Advancement of Colored People Washington bureau director Hillary Shelton said: "The immigration debate needs to have, in addition to a Latino face, it needs to have a Haitian face. It needs to have an Asian face."

Unquestionably, the immigration issue is a temperature's-rising matter; opinions are strong, in some cases ranging to demands to close the borders. And no small part of the renewed impetus for revamping the system are the increasing immigrant crackdowns.

Against this backdrop, the collection of voices clamoring for overhaul is expanding - Caribbean-Americans, evangelical churches, labor unions and law enforcement, besides the NAACP. And businesses, too, are becoming increasingly active.

"It's a Godsend," said Arturo Vargas executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. "We have been trying to make the argument, unsuccessfully in many respects, that immigration is not just a Latino issue because others are affected - Asians, Russians, Africans ... At it's core, this is about the future viability of this country."

The immigration reform movement hasn't been devoid of diversity over the years, however.

Catholic, Jewish, Lutheran, Christian and other churches and faiths have been active leaders. In 2006 and 2007, people wearing T-shirts emblazoned with "Legalize The Irish" in green letters were common sights around the U.S. Capitol. Even immigration groups in Caribbean American communities have participated.

But because the overwhelming majority of immigrants are coming from Mexico and Latin America, the push for a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million undocumented has been led largely by Latinos. It was mostly Latino immigrants who turned out for the 2006 marches against immigration crackdowns, for instance. It was a massive showing, stoked in part by Spanish-language radio and television.

Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, has said he fully expects work on rewriting immigration law to begin in Congress next year. But he also said Congress may have to deal with it on a piecemeal approach if Democratic leaders delay because of the elections and a hostile political climate.

For his part, Obama said in September he believed that remaking immigration policy would be difficult, "but I think we can get it done." But he has not suggested a timetable.

Meanwhile, proponents of immigration reform are stepping efforts to expand their ranks, and present a more diversified face at the same time.

Part of the problem is that black and Latino communities have divided in the past over illegal immigration reform. There has been friction - and in some communities continues to be - over whether illegal immigrants take jobs from black Americans.

But Clarke, a second-generation American whose parents immigrated from Jamaica and the West Indies, said many in the black community, which includes many African, Caribbean and black Latino communities, realize that ignoring the immigration reform movement means giving up the chance to ensure that the unique problems of black immigrants are addressed.

California Democratic Rep. Mike Honda, a Japanese American, said he wants to make sure reforms address the long waiting periods that Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders face to get visas to legally enter the country and to help lesbian/gay/bisexual and transgender communities have equal chances to bring their loved ones to this country.

"We are being asked to lead. At 29 members strong, we are weighing in with newfound force to ensure Asian American/Pacific Islanders are included in immigration reform," Honda said.

"No longer will we be silent on issues of immigration reform," Bishop Orlando Findlayter, head of Churches United to Save and Heal, a coalition of Carribean-American clergy, said last month. A few moments later, about 100 ministers, pastors and others crossed Independence Avenue in Washington to join him in lobbying members for immigration changes.

The increased intensity behind the movement has been palpable, with many faces and organizations pitching. Activism is on the rise.

- Rep. Luis Gutierrez led immigration reform meetings in various churches. And more than 60,000 people attended "house parties" this month and listened in on a conference call with Gutierrez and other members of Congress.

- Lennox Abrigo, pastor of Seventh-Day New Covenant Church in Maryland said the pastors have a Dec. 2 meeting at the White House. He said they have seen increases in immigrants in their congregations and increases in the problems faced by those in the country both legally and illegally.

"Members in our church have been deported ... Families are disrupted. We have families broken up just like it was done in the period of slavery," Abrigo said.

- The National Council of Evangelicals, representing 40 denominations including the Assemblies of God and Church of the Nazarene, recently issued a resolution backing immigration reform.

[DEMOCRATS-------SUCK]

WAKE UP WHITE AMERICA why do you think obama and his house of fools want to pass these criminals,simply for the voting block.If he passes this crap there will only be one party a party of minorities.If you let him put this through white people will become the minority.They will be a minority in a country like the one these criminals are coming from.Let me ask you a question how many countries led by blacks or latinos are countries not regarded as 3rd world nations.They ruin theirs so they come here to do the same.WHITE PEOPLE GET OFF YOUR LAZY ***** AND VOTE........iM AM A REG. INDEPENDENT THANK yOU FOR READING THIS

[6591Hou]

"Immigration Reform" is a misnomer, the proponents of open borders want to do away with immigration controls.
Using a criminal act, i.e. illegally entering a country, in order to have children born in that country and then using their automatic default citizenship as a tool to obtain citizenship for everyone in the family is the crux of the issue. Reform the anchor baby rationale to remove illegal aliens from the process.
Illegal immigration may truly have many faces, but anecdotaly there aren't too many non-Hispanics mobbing around the convenience stores waiting for a truck or van to pull in (and then rushing it) - we have to deal with the face of illegal aliens as we encounter it.

[polisigh]

The issue is not legal status or illegal status. Enacting a law making all immigrants legal, with or without penalty, would not satisfy the fearful and bigoted opponents of reform. The anti-immigrant movement is filled with a bunch of flag-waving, tax-cheating fear mongers.

[theskeptical1]

"Enacting a law making all immigrants legal, with or without penalty, would not satisfy the fearful and bigoted opponents of reform."

Did you stop and read what you had typed before you hit the 'Submit' button?

[theskeptical1]

Congratulations, ASSociated Press, on yet another sleazy exercise in calculated deceit (which obviously is your stock in trade). By my count your so-called news story used the words "immigrant" or "immigration" approximately TWENTY SIX times. However the word "ILLEGAL" was used exactly TWICE!

This issue is NOT about immigration, it is about ILLEGAL immigration and the abject surrender of our national sovereignty to ethnic pressure groups, and your desperate lies to the contrary serve only to highlight the fact that AP has become totally worthless as a source of honest, unbiased news coverage. But many people have known that for a long time.

[Jack Wiseheimer]

Have you ever heard of a general amnesty for tax evaders? It would be the same as if you legalized illegal immegration. The rule of law says 'same rights under the law if you abide by an existing charter and are entitled to it, but not the same treatment if you don't abide by the law, i.e. breaking the law. Example: You complain about your speeding ticket to a police officer arguing that you should not get the fine because he/she didn't ticket another driver for the more severe violation of running a red light.
Legalization of illegal immigration would surely put another price tag on 'Obamacare'. How many people would be added to the new public option when introduced? 30 million new entitlements mean $1000 billion health costs - rough estimate. Are you sure you are able to shoulder more than $30bn extra for one million legalized 'illegals'?
Are you going to surrender to illegality? That equals anarchy, and contradicts your beloved constitution.

[Dgunner]

I feel the same way about immigration at times as does the remainder of my tribe and What remains of the Cherokee Nation.Will the real americans please stand up? If there is still room?

[retm-w]

My neighbor is a drywall contractor who pay's his employee's the going rate per square they hang and tape. He is losing bids because of illegals, other contractors are hiring illegals and paying them less then half of the going rate. Plus the don't have to pay unemployment taxes or workmans comp, they all work under the table. So the illegals aren't paying any federal, state or city taxes, the only tax they pay is sales tax on what they buy. One of the cities in our area recently, found eight illegals living in a one bedroom apartment and all worked for a building contractor. That's eight job's american tax paying citizens could be doing. I blame the employers as much as the government.

[ffoulkes-2009]

If this neighbor of yours is in the north Texas area...I got some drywall work I would be proud to pay full price to have done.

[retm-w]

ffoulkes Sorry we are on the north coast, Ohio. I believe these contractors are paying for these illegals transportation, we're loaded with them up here.

[joelwisch]

You gotta wonder if there is any point in discussing the issues on a story that talks about 'immigrants'. The Immigration Law has been thoroughly abused by President Clinton, President Bush, and to some extent, President Obama. And from that grew the issue of illegal aliens. Not immigrants.. illegal aliens. And since that is what this reporter seems to be talking about, he should have corrected almost anyone who suggested the immigrants to this country were abused in any manner at all. In fact, proof or a polygraph would have been far better. The Immigrants are NOT being abused.

There is a criminal element illegally crossing our border constantly. We call them illegal aliens, and they are both illegal aliens and criminals. Once here, if they make it, the teeth in the Real I.D. have been compromised enough that they wind up collecting one heck of a lot of welfare, and they then become the world most expensive workers. But not to the employer who employees them.. only to the American Taxpayer. And where Immigrants have not been abused, illegal aliens have not been abused either and it is a lie to suggest they have been abused. But CBS supports them with that very lie of abuse, and without a iota of research to support their work.

La Raza adamently supports the illegal aliens. La Raza is adamently supported by a number of National Foundations.
http://www.mnsirproject.com/laraza.php
Pretty much they can manipulate all they want to, and apparently, proof is not required. And those are the people who support them

These are the issues in one case and generally, for all of us in the United States.
http://www.numbersusa.com/content/issues.html

This is an excellent site that detailes and references its work.
http://one-simple-idea.com/BorderSecurity.htm

And another.
http://immigrationcounters.com/

I can only tell you these are only a very few of the references I could bring. So this is the last one and it deal with the cost of amnesty. CBS probably has not ever seen it, but many, many Americans have, and if you follow the Rassmussen Polls, they clearly want Congress to stop the garbage manipulations, and deport the illegal aliens. The site.
http://www.heritage.org/research/immigration/wm1490.cfm

I don't think we are going to win, but there is no doubt in my mind at all that we should have won. But even in winning, the illegal aliens issue is not going to go away. Congress has ignored the American People for over 15 years as we asked them to deport the illegal aliens and turn the Immigration rate way, way down. Things are going to change. Lately, such as Kennedy called us racists because we wanted the immigration law supported. Things are going to change.

[imaadouche]

Have we all seen first hand where these people come from? I have ..8 years in mexico for work quite frankly its a s*** hole 400 plus years and they still cant get it right dont tell me its the goverment or some invisible force its people period !And when they come here they s*** the area up where they reside they left their country for a reason and because of greedy corporations we inturn hurt our own people how very sad that a American teenager cant get a summer job any longer or a out of work adult cant get a simple job to hold themselves over until steady employment of their profession comes along all those servant jobs they are doing could go back to the americans who were doing them before they invaded. I feel for our country and would love to have a few minutes alone with the traitors that call themselves American.

[WiseAsOwl]

What does it take to make the politicians believe that illegal immigration will be stopped... or else...?? The people have stood about all they're going to stand.. Enough is enough.. I'm ready to join a volunteer border patrol group... except that I live too far from the border.. I could afford to spend a couple of weeks a year doing it, I guess... Meanwhile,elected officials... DO WHAT IT TAKES, as far as the illegals already here.. NOW!! Are you SURE you want vigilante patrol groups doing what needs to be done??