Rallying once more for immigration reform in the U.S.

Tens of thousands of people rallied once more in Washington, D.C., over the weekend to press for comprehensive immigration reform, a prospect that even influential supporters in Congress say looks dim as healthcare and other domestic issues take hold of the U.S. capital's political attention. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a key Republican supporter of immigration reform, said on Friday that if the Democrats' healthcare reform package passed (as it did on Sunday), "that will, in my view, pretty much kill any chance of immigration reform passing the Senate this year."

Nonetheless, the big march on Sunday attracted immigrants and their supporters from all over the country. With marchers praying and chanting, and many dressed in white, the protest resembled dozens of other demonstrations that have been staged in the U.S. since the spring of 2006. That's when more than half a million people -- some say twice that -- choked downtown Los Angeles on March 25 in what is now considered the largest protest in the city's history.

Immigration reform efforts broke down in the final two years of President George W. Bush's second term in office, and President Obama promised to tackle the issue early in his term. An estimated 11 million people live and work in the United States without proper immigration status, and a large majority are from Mexico, Central America and other parts of Latin America.

In Mexico, where "it seems everyone knows somebody who has migrated north," locals remain skeptical of the likelihood that reform will come this year, reports the Christian Science Monitor. “The North American does not value the Mexican hand of labor,” a priest in Ciudad Juarez told the paper.

Besides Sunday's march, The Times reports that immigration reform advocates are also taking less orthodox approaches to advance their cause, such as a "tacos for justice" effort:

By texting "reforma" to 20222, participants will authorize a $5 donation and send House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) a message to move on legislation. Organizers hope to get 100,000 such texts. The "tacos for justice" coupons will give users a 10% discount on selected items at more than 40 Los Angeles-area taco trucks and restaurants; the participating food vendors will donate up to $1 for each coupon received to the reform campaign, according to Antonio Gonzalez of the William C. Velasquez Institute, a public policy analysis organization.

Last week, Graham and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) published a general reform blueprint that would mend the U.S. immigration system with familiar approaches: anti-fraud Social Security cards, ramped-up border security, a temporary-worker program and a "tough but fair" path to legalization. (So far, no mention of potential solutions to the crisis in the country's deadly immigration detention centers. Harrowing specifics on ICE detention facilities are laid out at this page by the American Civil Liberties Union.)

If a comprehensive reform package isn't put forth this year, activists will be looking for a "down payment" in the meantime, reports The Times. That could include bills to grant legal status to undocumented students or grant spousal immigrant status to partners of migrant gays and lesbians.

-- Daniel Hernandez in Mexico City

Photo: Marchers on Sunday in Washington, D.C., hold up crosses memorializing migrants who have died along the U.S.-Mexico border. Credit: Associated Press

Comments

[Jesse Macias]

We are in the most powerful nation for now. Is sad to say that we have people in this nation that have lack of information. History information. I could say people that came to this country in the past why their parents or grandparents fix their origin country's economy, government and education. Is that the right question to ask? What is really free in this country? Lets not forget where we come from and how our founding fathers struggle to make this country of what it is. We have to think and do like our founding fathers to establish a better life for all WE THE PEOPLE of the past,now and future in this land of the plenty. Is there a color, nationality, crede, religion in those very powerful words.

[Nuorder]

So, let me get this straight: the Illegal immigrant lobby tries to confuse the public with their "Immigrant Rights" propaganda? The public is not stupid, and sees through this thinly veiled attempt to usurp the rule of law and trick the naive into believing that unfettered illegal immigration is good for our Country. Illegal immigration is human trafficking and has no place in our society. Those politicians and business people who profit from the misery of illegal immigration are not worthy of having a voice in our Country. Our country was founded on the rule of law; and anything that perverts that rule of law hacks away at the cornerstone of our society and imposes massive crime and social costs which we can ill afford. Say no to illegal immigration and uncontrolled chain migration. We don't need any new immigration laws. We just need to enforce those laws already on the books. To do otherwise makes us no different than the cesspools which spawned the criminal law breakers who infiltrate our society by coming here illegally.

[sallforth]

Uh... we have enough uneducated people who can't read or write in English as is. I'm pretty sure we have no need for more such people, who additionally don't SPEAK English.

There is a 'culture of corruption' that exists south of the border (also here in the US, don't get me wrong, but to a lesser extent) that really does not mesh well with American culture and people. I am fed up with people scampering across the border to have children.

Sorry to those women from Mexico and Latin America-- I can't help giving you the stink eye every time I see you at WalMart with your five screaming, Spanish-speaking and English-illiterate children. My bad.

[Mitzi]

I see too many illegals getting goverment help that we as Americans are paying for. It doesn't seem to bother them much. I really think that the US hands out free anything to them as soon as they can get it. It's not free for us we pay for all of it. I don't know how it got out of control so fast. We need to stop catering and stop having to have a bilingual staff at every establishment. We need to stop printing everything in spanish.

[Kristian]

I get it, people want immigration reform. Immigrating to the United States is not a right, it is a priviledge. Starting out on the journey to citizenship here by breaking the law to get here is not a good way to start. If people want to fight for their rights, maybe they should go back to their home countries and fight for better governance and more economic opportunity. After all, those are rights, not priviledges.

[barracuda]

Follow the friggin' immigration rules and don't break the damn law. Now just how hard is that?

[Teach]

I might consider immigration reform if the people who get amnesty are not allowed to bring relatives--WE HAVE TOO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED AND UNEDUCATED. We can't take care of those we have.