Posted on 04/26/2010 12:13:52 PM PDT by lbryce
The Obama administration faced mounting pressure on Sunday to overhaul immigration policy, as prominent Hispanic politicians and street protesters decried a new Arizona law as a violation of civil rights.
Immigration reform is a bitterly contested political issue in the United States but a top priority for Hispanics, who are the largest minority in the nation and an important power base for President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party.
Their anger flared on Friday when Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a bill requiring police to determine whether people are in the country legally and to question them if there is suspicion they're not.
It also forces immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times
U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force, was among those who planned to attend a protest rally at the state capitol buildings in Phoenix on Sunday.
"I am going there to let the people of Arizona know that they are not alone in fighting against bigotry and hatred," the Illinois Democrat said in a statement, adding that the new law was a "serious civil rights catastrophe that Republicans in Arizona are unleashing on immigrants."
The law has raised fears that Hispanics will be racially profiled and police will actively hunt down illegal immigrants, who are estimated to number about 10.8 million in the nation and are the backbone of the shadow economy.
It is also expected to spark a legal challenge and has become a hot issue in the run-up to the mid-term congressional elections in November, when Democrats will defend their majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives. e.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
"I am going there to let the people of Arizona know that they are not alone in fighting against bigotry and hatred," the Illinois Democrat said in a statement, adding that the new law was a "serious civil rights catastrophe that Republicans in Arizona are unleashing on immigrants.
Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey told CNN's "State of the Nation" program on Sunday that Hispanics might stay away from the polls in November without a serious effort by Obama to deal with immigration this year. "They see it as a civil rights issue of their time," he said, referring to the Latino community.
Excuse me, sir, but immigration law and civil rights are mutually exclusive. There are no civil rights if you are in this country illegally.
Ramon Garcia, an activist who traveled from Tucson to take part in the rally said, "I feel very strongly that the law is extremely unconstitutional and racist, and it violates both human and civil rights."
Hey, Ramon. Please learn to speak the native language properly before you pass judgement on the legality of any laws of the land. You've just flunked the English language literary test by the use of the phrase "Extremely unconsttutional".
How do you spell astroturf?
It’s not fair that MEXICO SUCKS !!
Immigration reform is a bitterly contested political issue in the United States but a top priority for Hispanics, who are the largest minority in the nation and an important power base for President Barack Obama and his Democratic Party.”
time to figure out whether we want a Democratic power base or whether we want a strong, free Republic...let’s get this on right now and let the Dems watch their numbers flatline...
Oh yeah, he’s lovin’ this.
Hey Al, go out there and show your stuff.
I had Jan pass this law because we need votes bad.
We’ll pretend to care. I’m running out of charisma and I need the votes!
Please, I need the votes!!!
I’d listen to the opinions of illegal Mexicans about how to run our country but since they’ve fled the one country they’ve already destroyed.......
Will Hispanics be the next group mad at The One for failing to deliver?
If I demanded special treatment for illegal aliens of the English persuasion, would that make me a racist?
“Will Hispanics be the next group mad at The One for failing to deliver?”
I hope so. I live in Southern California. If I wanted to live in Mexico, I’d move there.
Obama has to tell the people of Arizona what he plans on doing with the over 400,000 illegals in the state. Then maybe he can get their attention.
Hunt down?
You mean do what they do to illegals in Mexico?
Prepare for war, maggot.
new law was a "serious civil rights catastrophe" that Democrats in administration are unleashing on legal American immigrants.
"They see it as a 'civil rights issue of their time,' he said, referring to the American Citizens. "I feel very strongly that the law is extremely unconstitutional and racist, and it violates both human and civil rights of law biding, tax paying American citizens."
If the Repubs really want to hammer them on this issue, hold a press conference and display the AZ bill alongside the federal immigration policies. I’d bet that a lot of people would be surprised to see that the AZ doesn’t make up anything new. In fact, everything in the AZ bill is already in federal immigration policy. The only thing the AZ bill does is REQUIRE state and local law enforcement to actually...ENFORCE THE LAW, something that Barry should be doing.
I love that they assume all Hispanics feel the same way. I don’t. I totally support this law. My family came here legally, why should theirs be any different? I have no hatred against Hispanics, nor am I racist, I just have respect for the laws of the country in which I live. Mexico has no tolerance for illegal immigration...are they racist too? What about other countries with strict immigration laws and enforcement? Racist?
It’s unfortunate for us that our neighbors to the south are of a different race/language/culture. That allows them to scream “racism” at every opportunity. If they were white, they wouldn’t be able to do that. We would have to rely on other means of identifying the aliens that are sneaking across our border. But the powers-that-be WANT the Hispanics to sneak across our borders - (they are future Democrat voters - how’s THAT for profiling?!) - and there is nothing we can do to stop it. The Republicans, also, don’t want to stop it because they think they have a shot at the Hispanic vote.
lol. Sigh. If only your fantasy version reflected reality.
Immigration reform = legalize all illegal aliens who will vote Demorat. It may not come early enough to save the ‘rats in 2010 but that is their aim.
During the height of the 2006 "Immigration Protests" 42% of Arizona hispanics polled said they were for stronger border security. The idea that American hispanics all support the La Raza position is a pile of steaming BS.
One thing we in AZ can thank Obummer for...
He did take Nappy away from Phoenix - she vetoed anything similar in the past.
Folks, this is obviously an issue of letting the ‘rats control the language.
Americans of latino descent generally oppose illegal immigration.
Racist poverty pimps of latino descent favor illegal immigration, although they like to call them “undocumented workers”, and other euphemisms. They also like to use loaded words, like “bigotry”, though it’s not, and “civil rights”, even though it’s AMERICANS’ rights who are being violated to serve the illegal and the poverty pimp.
This POS “article” is 100% slanted to the racist poverty pimp line. A decent rebuttal would require at least equal space to point out how the Illinois ‘rat lives off of hosing Americans - including Americans of “Hispanic” descent.
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