If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
President Obama has proposed new legislation that would provide a path to citizenship and further secure the boarders, but, critically, it would also crack down on companies that lure undocumented workers into the country by illegally hiring them.
While Hillary had healed the divisions within the party to a large extent by the 2008 Democratic nominating convention, Obama naming Hillary for Secretary of State cemented the two halves of the party back together in an impressive way.
There's absolutely no risk, only gain, for Obama in taking the point on immigration reform to try and make that happen.
President Obama said it perfectly "It's about people." A conservative president got it in the 1980s and one of the most progressive presidents in the history of this country gets it today.
Surprisingly, a key sticking point is no longer the fate of the estimated 11 million-plus undocumented immigrants, but that of lesbian and gay bi-national couples and their families, who number less than 30,000.
LGBT communities will be a key constituency to weigh in on comprehensive immigration reform, and we call for a broader reform that supports not only same-sex couples but also all LGBT immigrants who desperately need reform to the currently broken system.
As I took my seat, I felt a strong spirit of anticipation and hope fill the auditorium, as if every heart was saying "The time is now. Our communities yearn for justice. For family unity. For citizenship. For reform."
On the strength of the Latino and Asian vote, Obama won. We also won the promise of a balanced approach to comprehensive immigration reform.
A fiscally sane agenda is needed for California, but as long as Republicans or conservatives package it by stereotyping Mexicans, the young, gays, "coastal elites," or whoever else they wish to drag into their damned "culture war," it doesn't have a chance.
How does immigration boost the economy? There are many reasons, but the short answer is that immigration adds more people who in turn spend more money. Businesses benefit from this spending, a fact reflected in the larger economy.
Economists are well aware that slowing labor force growth is a factor in slower growth predictions in the future, but faster immigrant flows can improve that outlook. But what about the near term impact of immigrant competition in a job market that's already too weak?
Nonprofits that advocate for immigrants will continue to lend their voice and lead in this rebooted effort at overhauling our decrepit and unworkable immigration system. They will do so until their constituents become full members of our society.
Instead of continuing to focus almost exclusively on border enforcement -- a strategy with a marginal payoff -- the following realities should guide policy makers.
Why, then, the continued talk of linking "border security" and increased enforcement with legalization of 11-12 million people, most of whom have committed no crimes?
At first glance, one has to wonder why the Senate blueprint does not include creating a giant moat across the Southwestern border with alligators to discourage all future immigration from Mexico and Latin America.
