Some Things Never Change-- Like Bigotry Towards Immigrants

If you follow DWT with any frequency you've probably noticed we've been losing confidence-- to the extent that we've had much-- in President Obama's willingness or ability to rise above the exigencies of the permanent ruling elite. But today I wept watching the two videos on this page above-- the one above of President Obama making the case, at American University, for comprehensive immigration reform, and the one below of 24 U.S. service members from all over the world being sworn in as new citizens. Watching Obama speaking above made me think he had just given the most moving and profound talk of his administration so far. If you missed it, you ought to take a look. Watching below made me proud that people still want to come to our country and become part of it.

Congressman Raúl Grijalva, may be one of the Members leading teh opposition to Obama's Afghanistan War policies, but he praised him yesterday for his immigration speech. “Like the president, I want to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to finalize legislation along the lines proposed in today’s speech. We need a bill that ensures safe borders, holds undocumented immigrants accountable, and creates a rigorous process for acquiring earned legal status, as HR 4321 currently does... I totally agree that the needs of these populations are strong reasons for action,” Grijalva said. “We can’t leave millions of people in permanent limbo. A rigorous process for bringing them into the legal system, the employment system and the tax system will benefit not only these people individually but the nation as a whole... Demagogues in the Republican Party, and their Democratic allies, will say this is about amnesty and open borders. No matter how many times they repeat it, it won’t be true. No one who understands the issue believes we can just dig trenches, point guns at the border and live in fear the rest of our lives. We need legal, social, economic and political reforms to truly make immigration work in this country, and we need them now.

“If the GOP doesn’t want to cooperate in the Senate on a reform bill, Democrats should move forward regardless,” he said. “The American people want action, and they want results. If all the opposition intends to do is chant ‘amnesty’ over and over in an attempt to scare us out of passing a bill, they may as well just get out of the way. We’re ready to move on immigration reform, and I call on everyone who cares about border safety, the rule of law, and the economy to join us.”

After the president's speech Janet Murguía, President of the National Council of La Raza, called on Congress to take action on the ideas he expressed.

The president’s speech comes at a crucial moment-- we have a civil rights crisis in our hands due to federal inaction on immigration. He understands that the solution to our broken immigration system lies in Washington, not in Phoenix. But a speech alone is not enough, and it will not make a difference if the president does not follow through and push both parties in Congress to move a bill forward. It is time to see who stands for solutions and who wants to continue playing politics with people’s lives and America’s interests... It’s time for Washington to stop pretending that we can secure the border without fixing our legal immigration system. It’s time for politicians to stop the dangerous and divisive rhetoric that fans the flames of intolerance in our country, just to score cheap political points. It’s time for Republicans to stop railing against the problem while blocking every attempt to fix it. And it’s time to stop defrauding American taxpayers with the fantasy that we can massively deport 12 million people. America needs an answer.  Comprehensive immigration reform is the solution, and the time to act is now. Politicians who stand in the way or sit on the sidelines will be held accountable on Election Day.

Meanwhile Democracia Ahora is doubling down on the calls by Campaign to Reform Immigration FOR America for a boycott of the Arizona businesses that are refusing to take a stand against SB 1070.

All have the power to stand up and say, “This is wrong,” but none have done so, yet:

• Hotel chain Best Western
• Airline U.S. Airways
• Soap, deodorant, and cleaning product company Dial
• Transportation company Super Shuttle
• Moving company U-Haul
• Pet supply company PetSmart