Obama Pushes For Comprehensive Immigration Reform

President Barack Obama brought immigration policy to the front burner Thursday in an address that called for comprehensive reform.

“After years of patchwork fixes [and] ill-conceived revisions, the legal immigration system is as broken as the borders,” Obama said before an audience made up of religious, labor, and business leaders at American University in Washington, D.C.

In his nearly 40 minute long remarks, the President outlined the provisions Congress should incorporate into reform legislation, including additional security along U.S. borders and a path to citizenship for those already in the country illegally.

“They must be required to admit they broke the law, register, pay their taxes, pay a fine and learn English,” Obama said. “They must get right with the law before they get in line and earn their citizenship.”

Obama also emphasized that reform would need to avoid the solutions put forward by those on the far ends of the political spectrum, noting that neither amnesty nor mass deportation were realistic or desirable approaches.

The issue of immigration reform gained national prominence in April when Arizona passed a controversial bill that allowed law enforcement officials to ask individuals suspected of being in the country illegally for proof of citizenship.

Obama said Thursday that the law, which the White House has been a fierce critic of since its passage, can be attributed to the federal government’s failure to address border security.

“Into this breach, states like Arizona have decided to take matters into their own hands,” Obama stated. “Given the levels of frustration across the country, this is understandable, but it is also ill-conceived.”

In 2005 and 2006, a push by Congress to reform the immigration system made considerable headway, but ultimately flopped when the legislation passed in both chambers could not be reconciled.

Illegal Alien Debate Affecting American Perception Of Legal Immigration

Americans are growing increasingly weary of immigrants, with 54% of the population viewing legal immigration as a problem rather than an opportunity says a recent survey. The Transatlantic Trends survey conducted by the German Marshall Fund of the United States and presented to Canadian and American Immigration Department officials in New York yesterday evening, also revealed that 48% of Americans believe there are too many immigrants in the country.

Public opinion on immigration is often drawn along the lines of political affiliation, a fact that is even more obvious this year with 73% of Republicans seeing immigration as a problem, up 15% from last year. The percentage of Democrats who view legal immigration in the same light also grew from 45% to 48%. Immigration policy is gearing up to be a hot button issue in the coming election, with over two thirds of Americans saying it would influence their choice of a political candidate.

But the study also denotes an important disconnect between public perception of immigration and reality. For instance, when asked to estimate what percentage of US population was foreign born, respondents said 35 %, when in reality the number is around 14%.

"The gap is huge. This leads us to believe that education is very important here, that we don't know alot about our immigrants" says Zsolt Nyiri, Director of Transatlantic Trends, "There is alot of talk about how immigrants should learn more about their host society, and that is true, but perhaps this could be a two a way street, and that the general public can benefit from learning about the immigrants among them."

"I think the elephant in the room is the Comprehensive Immigration Reform issue and that probably has a big impact on what we are seeing in terms of public perception" says Rebecca Carson, head of the Office of Citizenship, a branch of US Citizenship and Immigration Services. ""The fact that we have not dealt with this issue as a country and the distinction between legal immigration and illegal immigration really muddies the water."

Police Chiefs Concerned Arizona Immigration Law Will Strain Resources

By Justine Rellosa - Talk Radio News Service

Following a meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder, police chiefs from several Western states held a press conference to discuss concerns regarding Arizona's controversial immigration law.

"Mandating that we now determine citizenship or immigration status ... will severely strain our resources," Tuscon Chief of Police Roberto Villasenor said. "We doubt the federal government can even handle the numbers of people that we will bring to them now for verification on immigration status."

The Arizona legislation grants law enforcement officials the authority to question individuals suspected of being in the country illegally, a provision that the police chiefs warned could make people less likely to turn the police for assistance.

"Laws like this will actually increase crime, not decrease crime ... they break down the trust that we have been building for decades," Los Angeles Chief of Police Charlie Beck emphasized.

Villasenor stressed that the Arizona law could also be dangerous for the police, since it will force officers to be put in confrontational situations.

Arizona Bill "Dehumanizes" And "Demonizes" Latinos, Says Hispanic Rights Advocacy Group

By Miles Wolf Tamboli
Talk Radio News Service

During a conference call Friday, focused on polling in response to Arizona's recent passing of immigration legislation, Clarissa Martinez de Castro, Director of Immigration and National Campaigns for the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), sent a strong message to the media: "The intent of this law is clear: to dehumanize and demonize Latinos, regardless of immigration status."

Regardless of the intent of the law, some groups have begun enacting economic boycotts against the state of Arizona in response to the controversial legislation. According to Elisio Medina, Executive Vice President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), "[Arizona] is getting a very strong message from the rest of America, that this is unacceptable behavior...A growing number of U.S. cities, institutions, and civil rights leaders have announced opposition to S.B. 1070, and support for economic sanctions against Arizona."

Despite a growing sentiment that conservative Republicans oppose federal immigration reforms pitched by moderate Republicans and Democrats, it is clear that voters are looking to both parties to find a solution to their concerns. It can be seen that Latino support for Republicans has fallen dramatically in recent years, and the party may soon suffer from this loss of favor by the country's fastest growing constituent group, which has a history of great political plasticity. In light of the coming election, however, the Republican National Committee dropped Phoenix, Arizona from its list of potential convention sites, choosing Tampa, Florida instead as its location for the 2012 political convention.

Matt Barreto, of the Hispanic civil rights group Latino Decisions, clarified during the conference call, however, that 33% of Latino votes believe that both Republicans and Democrats are responsible for the new Arizona immigration law, and Ben Patinkin of Grove Insight adds that, "pluralities of voters believe that both parties are ignoring or avoiding [working towards comprehensive immigration reform]."

According to Medina and Martinez de Castro, voters are "fed up" with the federal government for putting off immigration reform. Their groups are calling for comprehensive immigration reform, formulated on a national level, and not just increased restrictions imposed by states. Said De Castro earlier today, "the response to federal inaction cannot be irresponsible state action." Patinkin added that, "while voters provide support for [Arizona's recently passed law on immigration], they would greatly prefer a comprehensive solution to the issue of immigration at the federal level."

Holder Highlights New Times Square Arrests, Defends Trying Terrorists In Federal Courts

By Justine Rellosa-Talk Radio News Service

Attorney General Eric Holder told the House Judiciary Committee Thursday that the Department of Justice had issued search warrants earlier in the day that ultimately led to the apprehension of several individuals identified during the investigation of the Times Square bombing attempt.

Holder raised the fact to highlight the effectiveness of confronting terrorists within the U.S. justice system.

“The concern I have is that people want to take away from us the ability to bring cases in the federal courts,” Holder said. “You take away from us an extremely valuable tool; you actually weaken this country; you weaken our ability to fight this war against those that would do this nation harm.”

The Attorney General added that he is making a conscious effort to keep his Department from becoming ensnared in politics.

“I will not allow this department of Justice to be politicized,” said Holder. “I want the American people to know that, right or wrong, the decisions that I make are based on the facts and on the law and have no basis in politics.”