This is great news, especially considering the outcry already coming from anti-immigrant and vigilante groups, dishonestly claiming that immigration makes America less safe and that providing a path to citizenship for folks currently here without papers will take jobs away from US citizens.
Check out America’s Voice Online to send a quick message to the Obama administration supporting their efforts to address the issue.
But lets also pay attention to how exactly the Obama administration wants to approach reform. From the NY Times article:
In broad outlines, officials said, the Obama administration favors legislation that would bring illegal immigrants into the legal system by recognizing that they violated the law, and imposing fines and other penalties to fit the offense. The legislation would seek to prevent future illegal immigration by strengthening border enforcement and cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, while creating a national system for verifying the legal immigration status of new workers.
These are important considerations for any legislation that will have a chance of passing, but we need the dialoge to shift from the rhetoric of blaming Immigrants that currently dominates the discourse around immigration. We must be persistent in our pursuit of solutions that support policies that not only protect America’s security interests but that prioritize the dignity and human rights of all people entering this country, and certainly the rights of folks who are already here and contributing enormously to our communities and economies.
The NY times article hints that Obama wants us to do just that:
Anticipating opposition, Mr. Obama has sought to shift some of the political burden to advocates for immigrants, by encouraging them to build support among voters for when his proposal goes to Congress.
So, lets answer his call. In addition to contacting the president, get involved with the Hold DHS Accountable National Week of Action!, hosted by Rights Working Group and Detention Watch Network. And lets make it last longer than a week!
