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White House calls for June 8
Immigration Meeting
WASHINGTON (AFP) May
21, 2009 — The White
House has contacted
Democratic and
Republican
legislators to hold
a June 8 meeting
that would open the
debate on
immigration reform,
an administration
source told AFP on
Wednesday.
"The idea is to
start a dialogue on
immigration policy,
to have more
substantive debates
later in the year,"
the source told AFP,
speaking on
condition of
anonymity.
The first meeting
will be headed by
President Barack
Obama, though the
source said it was
unlikely that a
detailed immigration
reform plan would be
announced.
Obama promised US
legislators in the
Hispanic Caucus on
May 18 that
immigration reform
would be launched
this year.
Attempts to overhaul
US immigration laws
failed in the US
Congress in 2006 and
again in 2007.
Some 12 million
undocumented
migrants live in the
United States, the
majority of them of
Hispanic origin.
Obama has publicly
said he opposes
amnesty for illegal
aliens, but favors a
system for them to
obtain residency or
citizenship.
When he was a
senator, Obama voted
in favor of
immigration reform
as well as in favor
of reinforcing the
US border with
Mexico.
Immigration reform
was one of Obama's
main attractions for
the ten million US
Hispanic voters.
Sixty-six percent of
them voted for him
during the November
presidential
election.
During the debate
over immigration
reform in Congress
over the past few
years, certain
parties have
consistently pointed
to border security
as a top priority,
as the Associated
Press points out.
The continuing
debate over what
constituted adequate
border security was
a major reason why
the immigration bill
failed three times.
Borders Are Now
Safe Enough For
Immigration Reform
But according to
Sen. Chuck Schumer
(D-NY), the borders
are now safe enough
to take a step
forward. "We can
pass strong, fair,
practical and
effective
immigration reform
this year," he said
following a hearing
on border security
Wednesday.
Customs and Border
Protection said that
the number of people
arrested while
illegally crossing
the Mexican border
dropped 27 percent
from the same period
since last year.
Along the Canadian
border, the number
of arrests was down
13 percent.
The shrinking labor
market in the U.S.
plus tougher border
enforcement caused
the number of
undocumented
immigrants to fall,
said Schumer.
Under Bush
Administration
policies, more
undocumented
immigrants are
getting deported
than ever before,
according to the
Washington Post.
The Post reports
that President
Obama's immigration
policies do not
depart too far from
those of his
predecessor. The
major difference is
the Obama
administration's
plan to limit
Immigration and
Customs Enforcement
raids at workplaces.
Mr. Obama supports a
"virtual fence" of
sensor towers along
the Mexican border
and the "zero
tolerance" jailing
and deportation of
apprehended
undocumented
immigrants.
Hispanics Flexing Political Muscle
The country's Hispanic voting
population is gaining political ground,
rallying behind the new president, and
keeping immigration reform close to its
heart, according to poll results
released yesterday.
"It's a very personal issue," Sergio
Bendixen, president of Bendixen &
Associates, a Coral Gables, Fla.-based
consulting and research firm, said of
immigration in a telephone news
conference. "What's new in this poll is
the growing intensity among Hispanic
voters."
In Spanish-English interviews with 800
Hispanic voters, researchers from
Bendixen's group found Hispanic voters
identify more closely with the
Democratic Party than the Republican
Party, and they view President Barack
Obama as a leader sympathetic to
immigration issues.
Researchers interviewed Hispanic
voters from 13 states from April 28-May
5. Fifteen percent of those interviewed
lived in Florida, 29 percent in
California, and 24 in Texas. The survey
had a margin of error of plus or minus 4
percentage points.
A central part of the survey was
deciding which way the 12 million to 13
million eligible Hispanic voters are
casting their ballots.
The report showed a majority of those
interviewed backed President Barack
Obama. Sixty-eight percent of
respondents said they supported Obama in
the 2008 presidential election, compared
to 30 percent who supported GOP
candidate John McCain.
Seventy-one percent of respondents said
the Democratic Party best represents the
opinion of the Hispanic community on
immigration issues, compared to 11
percent who thought there was better
representation from the Republican
Party.
The survey also found more Hispanic
voters have been showing up at the
polls. In the 2008 election, 86 percent
of the respondents said they voted,
compared to 50 percent in the 2006
mid-term election. (Presidential
elections draw more voters than mid-term
ones.)
For the 2010 mid-term election, when
immigration is expected to be an
important part of the political debate,
75 percent of respondents said they were
very likely to vote. Sixteen percent
said they were somewhat likely to vote,
and 7 percent said not likely.
Respondents also were asked about their
views on problems facing the country.
Fifty-six percent said the country's
weak economy weighed most heavily on
them, and 13 percent cited the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan as concerns. Other
worries included lack of access to
health care, illegal immigration, the
housing crisis and low quality of public
schools.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents said
the immigration issue was very important
to them and their families.
According to the poll, it was easy to
see why: Many respondents - 69 percent -
said they knew undocumented migrants
personally, counting them as friends,
family members, neighbors or co-workers.
"This very much fits in with why the
immigration issue is important to them,"
said Bendixen. "It's personal."
Seventy-five percent said they felt
anti-immigrant sentiment against
Hispanics was growing, compared to 21
percent who disagreed.
During Obama's short time in office, he
has eased travel restrictions to Cuba
and visited Mexico to relay his concerns
over drug-related violence along the
U.S. border.
Seventy-five percent said his
performance in addressing Hispanic
issues was excellent or good. Seventeen
percent said he had done a mediocre or
bad job.
Of the former category, 35 percent said
Obama has done a "good job so far." In
the latter category, 53 percent said he
hadn't "done much at all."
The bulk of those interviewed in the
Bendixen survey - 45 percent -
identified the United States as their
place of origin, and 30 percent said
Mexico. Five percent said Cuba, Puerto
Rico and South America.
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