Lately, the issue of immigration has been giving us political strategists a lot to talk about.
On one hand, Democrats continue to fight for immigration reform’s early adoption. On the other, the Republican leadership continues to make excuses to not pass immigration reform.
A few weeks ago, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, at an event in his district in Ohio, blamed his Republican colleagues for their lack of action on reform and their failure to put immigration reform before a vote.
But this week, the same John Boehner returned to his position where he states that the reason why many Republicans are not willing to vote for reform is because if reform were to be approved, they do not trust the president to rightfully execute the laws.
With an administration that has broken records in terms of deportations each year (and has been heavily criticized for it), saying that the president would not comply with immigration laws is just ridiculous
This week, President Obama met with more than 40 police forces to discuss the immigration issue and noted that the time window to pass reform this year is running out.
During the meeting, the President pointed out that there are only 2-3 months left before Washington will focus on the midterm elections in November.
This week, the Department of Homeland Security is preparing to re-launch the controversial “Secure Communities” program, which has brought much criticism in recent years for its tendency for racial discrimination.
As a result, the Department of Homeland Security is looking to prioritize collaboration between local police and the federal government dedicated to the undocumented who are truly dangerous criminals and offenders.
And although this is a positive step to having a fairer system of immigration, the Latino community can not rest until immigration reform becomes a reality.
With the midterm elections just around the corner, it is important now more than ever that Latinos realize who the politicians in Congress are who really support us and are willing to fight for our interests.
The truth is that the Republican leadership has been playing with the interests of the Latino community. And as each day passes, Republicans have a new excuse to not pass immigration reform.
It is time that our community holds Republicans accountable for inaction on the issue of immigration, and elects candidates across the country who are not going to play political games, and instead, will focus on issues that advance our community and the rest of the American people.
This article originally appeared in Spanish in the Washington Hispanic
Recent Comments