Real Change News | Local activists want more specifics from president

July 14, 2010
Vol: 17 No: 28

Feature

Local activists want more specifics from president

by: Molly Smith

Immigration reform is on Obama’s lips

Washington Immigration Reform Coalition members watch President Barack Obama’s July 1 speech at OneAmerica’s headquarters in the International District. Photo courtesy OneAmerica.

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After actively courting the Hispanic vote and reiterating his support for comprehensive immigration reform throughout the 2009 presidential campaign, immigrants’ rights activists nationwide agree that it is time for Obama to deliver on his campaign promises.

In a July 1 speech, his first major address on the issue since taking office, Obama stated the need for reform, calling on bipartisan support to fix what he called a “broken” system.

“After years of patchwork fixes and ill-conceived revisions, the legal immigration system is as broken as the borders,” Obama said. “Stopping illegal immigration must go hand in hand with reforming our creaky system of legal immigration.”

“It has been a long time coming because Latino voters turned out strong for Obama and one of the biggest reasons was his commitment to immigration reform,” says Estela Ortega, the Executive Director of El Centro de la Raza, a local nonprofit that assists Seattle’s Latino population.

Obama discussed both the need for providing a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States as well as the need to secure the country’s borders.

His speech came amidst weeks of escalating action by immigrants’ rights activists, largely triggered by the state of Arizona’s crackdown on illegal immigration through its April passage of the nation’s toughest bill on immigration to date. The bill, which is slated to go into effect on July 27, aims to identify, prosecute and deport illegal immigrants living in the border state.
“Everywhere, people have expressed frustration with a system that seems fundamentally broken,” Obama said.

Last month, local activists gained national attention when they blocked a busy downtown intersection in front of the Federal Building, prompting the arrest of 22 protestors. The demonstration, organized by the Washington Immigration Reform Coalition, called on the federal government to proceed with reform that safeguards illegal workers and reunites families separated by the current immigration system.

“Given that we have been marching peacefully, talking to legislators and working on the issue since 2002, we’re clearly not being heard. Our action helped continue to lift up the urgency and frustration of people across the country and here in Seattle regarding the failure to be heard by the federal government,” says Pramila Jayapal, the Executive Director of OneAmerica, who was one of the arrestees.

OneAmerica, the largest immigrant advocacy organization in Washington State, organized a live screening of the speech, which was attended by immigrants’ rights activists, supporters, and community leaders from across the greater Seattle area.

“Everyone was disappointed that there weren’t more concrete actions outlined,” says Jayapal of the attendees’ reactions to the speech. According to Jayapal, the speech was not directed at activists but rather to the American public at large. “The goal of the speech was to explain the complexities of the issue in a way the American people could understand.”

“On the other hand, we recognize that this was a big step for the [Obama] administration – it elevated the issue to the level of a number of other critical issues of national importance such as health care,” she says.

Like Jayapal, Alonso Chehade, a co-founder of the Washington DREAM Act Coalition, was also disappointed in the lack of a clear action plan. “It’s great that he finally spoke about immigration, but it could just be a political strategy to get the Hispanic vote,” he says.

Now that Obama has publicly signaled his support for comprehensive immigration reform legislation, local activists’ attention shifts to Congress, where previous legislative attempts have stalled.

“I believe we can put politics aside and finally have an immigration system that’s accountable,” said Obama towards the end of his speech.

“We’re pushing very hard to pass [comprehensive reform] because we’ve seen how dangerous it is to continue where there is no federal action on immigration reform,” said Jayapal. “But a lot depends on what happens in November,” when the next round of congressional elections, including that of Washington state’s representatives, will take place.

Chehade says he will continue to focus his efforts on the passage of the DREAM Act, which would provide a path towards citizenship for students who were brought to the United States as children and young adults. He notes that it is the only piece of immigration legislation that has been supported by both Republicans and Democrats alike.

The DREAM Act “stands a better chance of getting passed than immigration reform,” he says. Chehade and other members of his coalition will travel to D.C. later this month to participate in a national action in support of the Act.

“Whatever happens around comprehensive reform, for almost two years our movement has been calling for an immediate halt to deportations that divide families,” says Ortega of incremental steps the government can take to support immigrants’ rights. “Aggressive deportations, except in the case of felonies, are a violation of international human rights and a betrayal of the fundamental democratic principles that our country is supposed to stand for.”

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