Approval of a comprehensive immigration plan with Republican votes would enable the party to once again compete for Latino votes here, Arizona’s senior U.S. senator said Thursday.
It would not be “helpful” if the bipartisan proposal by the “Gang of Eight” is sidelined because Republicans who control the House – and have enough votes in the Senate to filibuster – refuse to go along, John McCain said Thursday.
“I think it’s very obvious, as we know, the Republican Party has less support from the Hispanic community in the recent elections,” he said in a joint telephone news conference with fellow Arizona senator and co-sponsor Jeff Flake. That clearly played out in the presidential race, when 71 percent of Latinos voted for President Obama.
s debate heats up around the Senate immigration bill, Latino Republican leaders are calling on fellow conservatives to refrain from harsh rhetoric, focus on the issues and embrace a fair but practical solution for the 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal permission.
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., told audience members at the Hispanic Leadership Network conference on Friday that he was proud of the so-called “Gang of Eight” Republican and Democratic senators who drafted the legislation and expects a bill to be introduced soon in the House.
The bill would allow immigrants in the U.S. illegally to obtain a provisional status after 10 years and later apply for citizenship. The measure is contingent on meeting certain border security goals first. It would also allow tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers into the country while requiring employers to verify their legal status.http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130419/APN/1304190780
As the Senate’s “gang of eight” announces its proposed immigration bill, the political calculus behind any bipartisan push seems clear. Immigration affects many groups but after winning a whopping seven in 10 Hispanic votes last year, Democrats will particularly want to fulfill a promise to tackle it, while Republicans need to start winning some of those voters back. Many will see this as a chance for the GOP to re-engage after finding themselves on the wrong side of a demographic wave that could hinder them in elections for years.
Last cycle it seemed Republicans couldn’t get a hearing from Hispanics after the strident talk of fences and deportation that had surfaced during the primaries. The party’s own post-election review lamented that – and Mitt Romney’s “self-deportation” comment in particular: “If Hispanic Americans perceive that a GOP nominee or candidate does not want them in the United States they will not pay attention to our next sentence.”http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57579718/will-the-immigration-debate-affect-the-hispanic-vote/
Senators writing a comprehensive immigration bill hope to finish their work this week, opening what’s sure to be a raucous public debate over measures to secure the border, allow tens of thousands of foreign workers into the country and grant eventual citizenship to the estimated 11 million people living here illegally.
Already negotiators are cautioning of struggles ahead for an issue that’s defied resolution for years. An immigration deal came close on the Senate floor in 2007 but collapsed amid interest-group bickering and an angry public backlash.
On Wednesday, tens of thousands of people will flock to the nation’s capital to rally in support of immigration reform, an event organized by immigrant rights groups.
What’s the point of bringing busloads of people from around the country to Washington, D.C. for a day?
The rally comes at the same time that Republicans and Democrats in the Congress are working on an immigration reform bill. The so-called “Gang of Eight” in the Senate is expected to release its bill as soon as this week, and the rally may put added pressure on them to finish their work.
“Quite frankly we were hoping it would be out by now,” said Kica Matos, director of immigrant rights and racial justice for the Center for Community Change, which is one of the groups organizing the rally. “Unfortunately, the disappointing thing is that the Gang of Eight keeps dragging its feet, and it’s April and there’s no bill.”
Past protests on the National Mall, such as the civil rights marches of the 1960s, helped bring about massive policy change. But this week’s protest on immigration reform likely won’t have that same effect.
“In general, protests don’t change policy,” said University of Maryland professor Dana R. Fisher, who studies protest and social movements. “We live in a very big country and in order to show large-scale political will, we need to have millions of people on the streets.”http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/Politics/immigration-reform-rally-matter/story?id=18906914#.UWNjNavwIhM
