Mr. President, Americans Are Hungry for Immigration Reform

America's Voice Blog

Posted 04/29/10 at 05:13pm

There's been a lot of buzz today about President Obama's comments aboard Air Force One last night, implying that there is no "appetite" to pass real immigration reform this year.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) weighed in this afternoon:

In perhaps her most stern words on immigration thus far, Pelosi put the pressure on the president.

“[A]s I said when President Bush was president and I’ll say it when President Obama is president,” Pelosi said in her weekly news conference. “If there is going to be any movement in this regard, it will require presidential leadership … as well as the willingness to move forward in the Congress.”

Pelosi was responding to a question about Obama’s comments aboard Air Force One Wednesday evening, where he said that he knows “there may not be an appetite immediately to dive into another controversial issue.” Pelosi said she didn’t hear the comments, but still told reporters that the administration must take the lead.

Immigration reform advocates are eager to see clarification from the White House on the Administration's timetable for moving real immigration reform forward. Especially given the crisis that has errupted around Arizona's new "show us your papers" immigration law, which the President himself has argued is "misguided" and must be countered with federal action.

To this effect, there will be major grassroots mobilizations across the country this Saturday, May 1st, including escalated calls for the President and Congress to act swiftly to fix our nation's badly broken immigration laws. These local marches are a follow-up to the major March for America, which drew over 200,000 people to the National Mall on March 21st. At that event, President Obama delivered a firm message promising he'd work on immigration reform "this year."

It's strange that the President is now suggesting that there's no appetite to take on another "controversial issue" in Congress. No appetite? Maybe in the corridor between the White House and Congress there isn't. But, the majority of Americans want leaders to actually solve problems, not duck them, and that is exactly what they are looking for on the topic of immigration.

As we speak, Senate Democrats are unveiling a centrist immigration reform framework that could serve as the model for such a push.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) are taking an important step forward by introducing such a framework and inviting Republicans to join them in working out the details. While many groups, including SEIU, have expressed concerns over elements of the proposal, America's Voice believes it is long past time to get the dialogue on comprehensive immigration reform moving forward with an actual bill in the Senate.

As the new immigration law in Arizona – and potential copy-cat legislation in at least seven states – demonstrates, states will take matters into their own hands unless Washington can put aside political bickering and blame-shifting and solve the problem at the federal level. As 80 cities around the country gear up for May 1st rallies and marches calling for immigration reform, it’s clear that the immigration issue isn't going anywhere.