April 10, 2009
This week saw the first post Obama inauguration push for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR). As first reported in the New York Times on April 9, 2009, the administration is committed to starting discussions on the subject this year. This is in line with public statements by House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid on the need to push for CIR this year. Then came the news today that Rahm Emmanuel the White House Chief of Staff supports CIR this year. For those who have followed the background discussions on this matter closely, Emmanuel’s support is a really big deal. This means that the stars are finally lined up for CIR, except for one thing: the economy.
I expect public relations efforts in the next few months to engage the general public on this subject. Don’t be surprised to see campaign-style commercials on your TV screen. Every effort will be made to reintroduce the subject as a humane issue that goes to what we are as Americans, and what we need to do to help the ailing economy.
Those opposed to the cause are mobilizing and working to spread the news and impression that if we do CIR, Americans will lose their jobs to foreigners; that the right approach is to kick out all foreigners so that Americans will be hired and unemployment reduced. See the Stein Report on the FAIR website. This argument misses the point. Most potential beneficiaries of CIR are in the US. They are our neighbors; we want them to buy homes to help stem the tide of foreclosures. Kicking them out will result in more foreclosed homes. Also, some of them are the engines the U.S. needs to remain a force in a competitive global economy. But most importantly, inclusiveness and keeping families together is a core American value.
We have leadership in the White House on this issue. We have congressional leaders who understand the issues. We have lessons from the bitter battle of 2007. We have a congress that is weary of this same fight that never goes away, and who wants to deal with it now and be done with it. We have political strategists who understand that this is an important issue for an increasingly influential constituency. We have the opposition who, following the painful electoral losses of 2006 and 2008, understand that one of the paths out of political wilderness is NOT to appear xenophobic and anti-immigration. But then again, we also have those who only care to bash those who are “different.”
This is an exciting time for all advocates of immigration reform. We will be providing regular updates on this blog on the state of the debate and report progress and setbacks.
Peace to all people of goodwill.