Obama Pushes Immigration Reform, Doesn't Say When
By Jacqueline L. Salmon
President Obama told clergy leaders at this morning's National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast almost exactly what they wanted to hear: He wants passage of comprehensive immigration reform.
"For those who wish to become citizens, we should require them to pay a penalty and pay taxes, learn English, go to the back of the line behind those who played by the rules," he told several hundred at the event. "That is the fair, practical, and promising way forward, and that's what I'm committed to passing [it] as president of the United States."
However, he left one detail unclear -- when.
Hispanic leaders say they want a bill this year because they fear that postponing legislation until 2010 would allow the issue to get caught up in the politics of the mid-year election, but the White House has been noncommittal.
The bill is of special urgency to the many clergy members at the event. They say their churches have seen the devastating effect of the recession on the illegal immigrants in their congregations, and they want to put them on the path to citizenship.
The Rev. Eugene Hoyos, the director for the Hispanic Apostolate in the Diocese of Arlington, Va., prayed from the podium for immigration reform "this year." He got a round of hearty applause.
Obama, who made immigration reform a top priority in his presidential campaign, won two-thirds of the Hispanic vote -- an increase of 13 percent from Sen. John Kerry's showing in 2004, according to pollster John Green of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. It helped him win states like Florida, Nevada and New Mexico.
Hispanic leaders have threatened to take their votes elsewhere if immigration reform is not passed this year, but the question is where they would go. While Latinos -- most of whom are evangelical Christian or Catholic -- often side with Republicans on social issues, they were turned off by the anti-immigrant rhetoric of many Republicans during the 2008 election.
By
Jacqueline L. Salmon
|
June 19, 2009; 10:54 AM ET
| Category:
God in Government
Save & Share:
Previous: Bishops: Notre Dame Likely to be Discussed |
Next: At Funeral for Johns, Words of Grief and Hope
Posted by: cmarshdtihqcom | June 24, 2009 11:27 PM
Report Offensive Comment
I read The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich. Scenario Two depicted chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides with disastrous effects on ocean fishing, 27% unemployment, mass welfare, air pollution that literally requires occasional oxygen breaks to survive, and after the U.N. passed economic sanctions against the U.S. and President Bud Tate launched a pre-emptive nuclear attack, nuclear war. The professors are going to break out the cyanide in Nebraska when they run out of food: the top soil is too radioactive, clearing it would expose them to fatal levels, the rain would be radioactive, and the climate is getting colder. Freddy, grown up 20 years later, and others have survived in remote places like Alabama, despite a high incidence of birth defects in newborns, although he and his wife have been fortunate to have a healthy newborn, and radiation sickness that claimed his mother.
Usually I would favor closing off the southern border: I think foreign visas and immigration is an excuse for our simple-minded employers to close their minds to a laundry list of other possibilities, starting with people with disabilities.
But I did see Earth 2100 recently. Within 20, 30 years Mexico and Central America are practically going to be desert. Las Vegas is going to run out of water unless they run a pipeline in.
I hate to say it but those poor Hispanics who overbreed at the insistence of the Church are going to die in horrendous numbers without food and water. Imagine one Mexican trying to sneak in lost in the desert without water. Easy. Now imagine 100 million Mexicans dying of thirst. Desalinization? Maybe, but it is expensive for countries like Mexico, Belieze, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama...
Posted by: cmarshdtihqcom | June 24, 2009 11:15 PM
Report Offensive Comment
IMPORTANT RECOMMENDATION to AMERICANs:
As mentioned many times;
Obama & CO., should 1stly Encourage ALL "Non-Doc" Foriegners [not only hispanics] Here/USA to Participate (with No Reprisals or FED tricks) in the up and comming
"U.S. C E N S U S -- 2010"
Then locals (via grass root secular orgs, not religious orgs) or via local Police Precints can obtain a IRS/U.S. Treasury "TIN" {via Form: "W-7 (Spanish)"for each non-documented Alien.
This way they can have a Lagitt 9-digit tax Id #, feel good about it via self esteem, open a bank account (Legally) and the Local, State & Feds Governments will know their Locations and thus verify the post 2010 U.S. Census results. Then they will Duly pay their tax's on the New 9-digit #'s.
Note: "Sancuary Cities" like New York City, should be respected during the U>s> Census 2010, not flouted! Safe Harbor style, so to speak. ELSE
remove the santuary City status and Gather All "Illegals" via Local-police [Federaly DEPUTISED/Sworn to work with "ICE" et al & deport them ALL ASAP!
Either Cold Heart or Warm heart style!
Remember: AMERICA will have more than a Billion People living here. So think Uniting MEXICO all the Way to Panama (Sen. J. McCain's Birth place, not Hawaii Obama's birth place) and
CONSIDER adding 50+ States to OUR already 50 States! Hence 100 or 101 02 102 States total. This way WE can Spitoon on Chavez & Co. too.
Note: Then Puerto Rico will become a "1/2 States" & so will Cuba, Haiti, Dominican, Jamaica etc. under the NEW-MONROE DOCTRINE!
Posted by: liveandlove | June 21, 2009 10:58 AM
Report Offensive Comment
I think they should uphold the rule of law and govern by the rules set forth by the United States Constitution, as they swore they would with their oaths of office.
Back in the sixties the government came into the schools and brainwashed us with the idea we needed to control the population because it was rising so fast. They said the roads would become crowded and we would run out of things like water.
They unleashed abortions, birth control pills, and other forms of Family Planning.
To allow the country to be over run with the criminals in businesses illegal labor while the criminals in the government aid and abet the invasion is a travesty against mankind.
They have seen to it our children were killed to control the population at the same time allowing the world to export their population problems here.
What about our sacrifices, many made against our will?
P.S. We still haven't recovered from the last time the criminals in business were allowed to bring in their slaves.
Posted by: Stokeybob | June 20, 2009 10:03 AM
Report Offensive Comment
The comments to this entry are closed.

Twitter










If we allow anybody in this country it should be medical doctors and nurses, etc., to pick up the slack for the 50 million new insured we are going to have thanks to national health care. That is a crisis.
The rest is a stimulus to send young people to school, at public expense if necessary. If we need more plumbers, for example, and no one wants to be a plumber, raise the salary.
We can cut out the nonsense of "we can't find anyone who is a right fit". That is an excuse to maintain unemployment. A lot of the time people are not learning how to get along, so the lazy solution is to hire someone like themselves and throw away the rest. If that were a customer you can bet your bottom dollar they'd get along with him or her or die trying. We don't extend the same courtesy to our colleagues?
For example I am very courteous and friendly despite loneliness.
It is nice to be important but it is important to be nice.