Dems Put Immigration Reform on Agenda

This week, a Democratic lawmaker announced plans to submit what looks to be the most progressive legislative proposal on comprehensive immigration reform this year, which I alluded to near the conclusion of Wednesday's blog post.

Illinois Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, who serves as the chairman of the Immigration Task Force of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, made his announcement amid a pro-immigrant rally on Capitol Hill held on Oct. 13.

Gutierrez's prepared statement read, in part,

"We need a bill that says if you come here to hurt our communities, we will not support you; but if you are here to work hard and to make a better life for your family, you will have the opportunity to earn your citizenship… We need a law that says it is un-American for a mother to be torn from her child, and it is unacceptable to undermine our work force by driving the most vulnerable among us further into the shadows."

The rally, according to the New York Times, was sponsored by the Reform Immigration for America campaign, the National Capital Immigration Coalition and Families United/Familias Unidas, and was attended by more than 3,000 demonstrators from at least 17 states.

All in all, those are pretty small numbers, but since immigration reform efforts have been in a state of suspended animation all year, one might have reasonably expected greater news coverage that would at least hone in on the legislative proposal. Instead, aside from the Times, only a smattering of small sources picked up on the event.

The Times piece said that the bill was put forward partly in order to "pressure his Congressional colleagues," but didn't provide supporting evidence or quotes to back up that point. It did note that a more restrictive plan was announced in June by the more prominent Democrat Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, who wants to implement "a biometric-based employer verification system" and "imminent deportation" of those who do not "quickly register" and undergo "a rigorous process" to attain citizenship. Needless to say, he's working with Republicans to craft his bill.

It's no surprise that in light of Schumer's draconian-sounding proposal, the ACLU issued a cautiously optimistic appraisal of Gutierrez's announcement:

"The ACLU is encouraged by the willingness of congressional leaders to lay out details of immigration reform, but we strongly oppose any reforms that would unnecessarily violate the privacy of Americans," said Michael Macleod-Ball, acting director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

"We urge lawmakers to reject any proposed immigration reform measures that include a biometric national worker ID system or a universal compulsory electronic employment verification system. These systems come at enormous cost to the American public and do little to prevent the hiring of undocumented workers. It is unacceptable to force Americans to be fingerprinted and photographed in order to work."

Legislative movement on immigration reform is highly unlikely this year, but if nothing else, this measure hopefully keeps the issue from becoming totally eclipsed by healthcare and Afghanistan in the public mind.

M. Junaid Levesque-Alam writes about America and Islam at his website, Crossing the Crescent, and for WireTap, where he is also the immigration blogger.