By Michael Burgevin
While many Americans around the country sat glued to a screen watching the inauguration of the 44th president, hundreds of immigrant supporters across the country marched in the streets in an effort to remind newly elected President Obama of his commitment to immigration reform. President Obama, who received much support from Latino communities last November, advocated throughout his campaign for reformed immigration policy, stating that “the time to fix our broken immigration system is now.” Obama’s proposed policy would attempt to strengthen border security while simultaneously integrating illegal aliens into our society.
The appointment of Janet Napolitano as Secretary of Homeland Security may reflect the President’s approach to the hot-button issue of immigration. As a former governor of Arizona, Napolitano was lauded by both parties for her handling of immigration in her state. Napolitano supports the integration of illegal immigrants into the United States, and like the president she favors the expansion of work visa programs, allowing U.S. employers the right to temporarily employ foreign workers. Napolitano does however approve of penalizing employers who hire illegal immigrants, and in January 2008 she mobilized National Guard troops to combat the number of illegal border crossings in Arizona.
Meanwhile, the fence being built by the U.S. government along the Mexican border is nearly complete. The fence, authorized by congress in 2005 as part of a defense strategy against illegal immigration, has been protested by the Mexican government on environmental and civil grounds. Under pressure from immigrant rights groups to halt production on the project, President Obama, who voted for the construction of the fence in 2006, stated that he wishes to evaluate border security options before taking any action against the project. Many parties are looking towards his decision on this issue as an indicator of future immigration policy.
Immigration policy, however, may end up playing a lesser role during the President’s first term. Many news analysts suggest that immigration reform could be placed on the back burner while President Obama deals with such issues as the economic crisis, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, climate change, closing Guantanamo, and health care reform. In a recent article in the Washington Post, Latino populations themselves rank the importance of immigration reform “behind not only the economy but education, health care, national security and the environment.” Therefore, America will have to wait in order to judge the scope and practice of President Obama's immigration reform.
Rachel here --
ReplyDeleteNice comprehensive examination of Obama's plans, or lack of plans, for immigration. Have you thought about the relevant impact of increased Latino voter populations on Obama's immigration platform? Despite immigration not being at the top of anyone's list right now, Americans want it solved. And I think that Obama is well-positioned to make progress on this issue, especially given his unique position of cultural understanding. Check out this editorial with a disturbing look at extremists' still-present nativist views on immigration: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/opinion/01sun1.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=immigration%20obama&st=cse
The debate is far from over and racism is not dead.
Imola ~ I laud your decision to tackle the immigration question. Your entry well reflects the hierarchy of problems to be addressed as conceived by leaders but not the public. It is a sad reality, given the topical nature of the immigration question, and given that substantial immigrant support was given to Obama. Failure to "return the favor" will not be met by silence. At the same time, it is sad that immigrants are seen as "election steerers," "swing voters," and generally, "an issue."
ReplyDeleteThere is a tendency to forget that immigrants "surpass" their alien status and become citizens of the U.S. This country is made up of these peoples. These immigrants are now ours and should be ensured the same rights and treatment, while being given the same opportunities. As Rachel points out, Obama is an apt candidate for launching a resolution; let us hope that he will put the issue in its due place on his agenda.
Alyssa
ReplyDeleteI thought this piece was really well-written and concise without too complex or difficult to understand, which can be an elusive balance to achieve when writing such a brief analysis. The links given were definitely comprehensive and gave more breadth to the piece; however, my only critique here is that most of those links were to other equally brief news articles from such sources as TIME, Washington Post, etc. Maybe next time you could link some more in-depth analysis of the issue, instead of linking other just other brief articles to give the reader more insight...