Analysis: Immigration ruling carries double-edged sword
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge's ruling blocking key parts of Arizona's immigration law could bolster President Barack Obama's standing among Hispanics and energize Republican foes who back the tough law.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton weighed in on the festering American debate over illegal immigration that has implications for November 2 congressional elections.
* Obama's Democrats could get a boost from Hispanics who have been disenchanted with his inability to advance an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. The Hispanic vote is expected to be increasingly important in the years ahead.
Negotiations between the White House and the congressional leadership have gone nowhere on the potent political issue of immigration and the issue is considered dead for the year.
Both Democrats and Republicans have tried to attract Hispanics to their parties and thus far Democrats have largely won the battle.
But Obama's approval rating among Hispanics in a recent Gallup poll was at 52 percent, his lowest rating with them after reaching the 60s earlier this year.
* On the flip side, the ruling may well generate further enthusiasm among Republican voters who are already energized ahead of November 2 elections in which Democratic control of the U.S. Congress is at stake.
Republicans have used the Obama administration's effort to strike the Arizona law as a rallying point. The Republicans' conservative base is leery of any immigration legislation that could be perceived as granting amnesty to the estimated 10.8 million immigrants living illegally in the United States.
Many Americans who are weary of a 9.5 percent jobless rate back the Arizona law and could be disappointed by the judge's ruling, which was prompted by a lawsuit filed against Arizona by Obama's Justice Department.
A CNN/Opinion Research poll this week showed that a majority of the country back the Arizona immigration law -- 55 percent of those questioned favored it compared to 40 percent against it.
* Immigration is a volatile issue in Washington. Battle lines are drawn between Democrats, who want a system of documenting illegals to allow them to work in addition to improved border security, and Republicans, who mainly want tougher border enforcement.
Obama has been challenging both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill to offer him bipartisan proposal on immigration in recognition that any overhaul would not pass without Republican votes.
Senator John McCain of Arizona is well aware of the potency of the issue. He led efforts to overhaul immigration three years ago and the issue nearly unraveled his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.
Defeated by Obama in 2008, McCain has been a strong backer of the Arizona law in trying to face down a primary challenge to his re-election from conservative former congressman J.D. Hayworth.
(Editing by Howard Goller)
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It should not be a near impossible undertaking for people who want to work and be productive members of society to become legal U.S. citizens.
We also do not need laws that are born out of hate, racial prejudice and an attitude of racial superiority.
We’ve all heard that argument repeatedly, but most of us don’t buy the bulk-shipment. Let’s look at the ‘compromise’ a moment from your perspective, and see how that adds up.
Do you feel that anyone, anywhere in the world, should be allowed to come here for a job whether the chips are down or up? Do you feel that an unlimited and undocumented workforce should be allowed to sneak into the country in the dead of night to compete with legal immigrants and citizens for the same jobs?
How would you feel about having an incursion of undocumented immigrants come in by boat from the Ivory Coast and set up living quarters in government subsidized housing? That’s what is happening in France as we speak~!
We are a nation of LAWS – NONE of these undocumented immigrants sneaked in or overstayed their visa unknowingly.
Amnesty is not an option. Been there done that. Even President Reagan thought the introduction of employer sanctions and the I-9 would be adequate to remove the jobs magnet. But CLEARLY that was too easily subverted.
Don’t offer the premise that they are only coming here for a better life, unless and until you are ready to admit you would subject AMERICAN CITIZENS and LEGAL IMMIGRANTS to a lesser one~! And don’t think for a MOMENT that this game is over. If we do not FIX the system, you will have illegal immigration from all over the globe at increasing rates until we have been overwhelmed completely.
Reagan’s Signing Statement was clear enough in 1986. The intention was to close the loopholes and remove the jobs magnet. The loopholes perpetuate, and the illegals keep coming.
Shut it DOWN..
Quote:”It should not be a near impossible undertaking for people who want to work and be productive members of society to become legal U.S. citizens.”
It is NOT nearly impossible, but there are LAWS TO FOLLOW~ I could care less if they are Russian Commies or Bulgarian Bolsheviks. If you are caught breaking the law, there is a price to pay for it. If that law were trespassing, you surely would not be invited to stay and play in the yard.
Many of the jobs that our children would have grown up doing for summer work are now filled by illegal aliens. That’s a double-edged sword, too. Teaching your child to be respectful of his fellow man becomes a lot harder when you are preaching forgiveness of the man who does not respect the law~ At HIS expense.
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