Posted on 12/21/2005 11:31:47 AM PST by VU4G10
Several members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) and their allies off Capitol Hill were furious that House Democratic leaders urged some of their colleagues to vote for an immigration-enforcement bill.
Democratic leaders encouraged members of the Democrats’ Frontline program — which aids the party’s 10 most at-risk incumbents — to vote for the bill to avert Republican attacks that could paint the vulnerable members as soft on illegal immigration, Democratic aides and lobbying sources said. Every Frontline member ultimately voted for the immigration bill, which enjoyed the support of 36 Democrats overall.
The move by Democratic leaders troubled Hispanic activists.
“We were disappointed in leadership on both sides of the aisle. Republicans brought up a bill that was extraordinary in its ugliness … but frankly there is also some real disappointment at Democratic leadership, particularly those urging Frontline members to support this bill,” said Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza.
“There was no evidence to suggest that this was the correct political move,” Munoz added, arguing that anti-immigration candidates have performed poorly at the polls. “We intend to hold both sides accountable.”
The bill, sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and opposed by the CHC and many Hispanic groups, would expand detention facilities and border controls, and would impose work-force restrictions on employers seeking to hire illegal immigrants.
CHC members had been speaking passionately against the bill all last week.
“The Sensenbrenner bill is a vicious and vile attack on our nation’s hardworking immigrant community,” Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said Wednesday. “This horrible piece of legislation is not only ill-conceived and fundamentally flawed, but it also will not fix our nation’s broken immigration system.”
All the CHC members voted against the bill save one, Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.), a Frontline member who voted to back the bill after being lobbied on the House floor by Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the House Democrats’ campaign operation, and by Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House sources said.
Emanuel and Hoyer themselves voted against the bill, as did a number of Hispanic Republicans who bucked their party’s leadership.
“Mr. Salazar was certainly in one of the most difficult positions because this bill did damage to his community,” Munoz said. “It was pretty clear he was pressured by the DCCC in very hard-hitting way.
A spokeswoman for Salazar defended the Coloradan’s vote.
“Congressman Salazar believes that this bill was an important step forward in opening up the conversation on comprehensive immigration reform,” said Nayyera Haq. “Congressman Salazar doesn’t vote according to pressure from either party. He votes his district,” she added, noting that another Colorado Democrat, Rep. Mark Udall, had also backed the measure.
A spokeswoman for the DCCC, Sarah Feinberg, disputed the notion that party leaders were working to switch votes.
“That’s not at all an accurate portrayal of the leadership’s activity on this bill,” she said. “It’s ultimately up to members to decide how they are going to vote on a certain bill.”
Although few CHC members were available for comment yesterday, several Democratic aides confirmed that some Hispanic lawmakers were concerned when they saw leaders urging Democrats to support the bill.
“Here is a seminal issue for their caucus, and leadership was whipping against it,” said a House Democratic aide. “They were livid.”
After the vote counts became clear during the roll call on the bill late Friday night, Reps. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), both CHC members, confronted Emanuel about his actions.
“It was very clear they were angry about it,” said a House Democratic aide familiar with the encounter.
Emanuel had said privately earlier in the week that he did not wish to spend money defending Democrats who had voted against the enforcement bill, a House source said.
Despite the dust-up over the leaders’ actions, one CHC member reached yesterday, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), said he did not believe that the Frontline members responded to the leaders’ encouragement but rather to their own belief in the bill.
“From everything I know, everyone voted their conscience,” he said. “I spoke to Frontline members because many were undecided right up until the vote. From everything I can tell, they made a decision based on conscience.”
Early this morning I received a call from Rosanna Pulido, founder of the IllinoisMinutemanProject and who is of Mexican descent. She attended the "immigration" session at last Thursday's Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation (ILLCF).
State Sen. Martin Sandoval (D), a member of the Latino Caucus, said Hastert "is our enemy." Sandoval also said immigration reform has not taken place because Bush is president.
He repeated the line about how the Southwest used to be part of Mexico. According to Pulido, Sandoval also said "The local economy can't do without us," and "No public policy should go unchallenged."
And this: "You do not want rules, restrictions and regulations stopping you from working and making a good living." He also predicted that Illinois' illegals will get drivers licenses this spring because "we have the votes." (What about REAL ID?) When asked why more Republicans aren't backing this bill, Sandoval said, "Because they're getting beat up after supporting instate tuition." (May 2003).
Also speaking at this session was Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. He used this "story" to describe the current state of affairs in the Illinois immigration debate:
"I came out one morning to find three nails in one of my car's tires, the first two not having done much damage. The first nail is the Minutemen. They only look bad, but they are closely tied to racist groups and hate Mexicans. The second nail is Jim Oberweis, who is trying to capitalize on the ongoing chaos and portraying himself as a nice guy. The third nail is Dennis Hastert, who controls the flow of immigration. His district is 25 percent Hispanic and he has done nothing to reach a consensus. He has flattened the tire of immigration reform."
Other speakers at this session included Mary Lou Girvachio, a rep with the Catholic Conference of Illinois. She agreed with Sandoval that the Church should try to "start the revolution" in the U.S. by asking parishioners to petition their legislators, using homilies with immigration themes, etc. But the going has been tough, she said, "because Catholics don't relate to the immigration issue."
Also in attendance was Michael Frias, the FDIC's national coordinator for the The New Alliance Task Force, According to him the Patriot Act allows banks to accept the matricula.
FYI: Oscar Avila, the Chicago Tribune's "immigration reporter," showed up half way through this session so he either missed the Sandoval and Hoyt quotes or chose not to include them in his story.
I know nothing about the other reporter here.
Major sponsors of ILLCF:
llinois Trial Lawywers Assn. and ATT, each donated $25,000.
Smaller donations came from NBC, Walgreen's, Com Ed, Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois, Coco-Cola, Coors, Illinois Bankers, Assn, Northern Trust Corp. State Farm Insurance, Abbott Laboratories.
P.S. I'm tempted to send a copy of this to Tribune Public Editor Don Wycliff bugging him about why the media always avoids publishing smarmy quotes like the ones above.
Hispanic lawmakers urge focus on growth
By Oscar Avila, Tribune staff reporter. Antonio Olivo contributed to this article
Published December 2, 2005
Latino lawmakers from the Chicago area prodded government officials Thursday to devote more attention and money to Hispanics, arguing that public policy has not kept up with the booming population.
They got a surprise boost from seven suburban mayors--including the leaders of Berwyn, Stone Park and Palatine--who endorsed a bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses.
Hundreds of state officials, activists and researchers gathered in Rosemont for a conference designed to formulate a statewide agenda for Hispanics in education, housing, immigrant rights and other topics.
The conference organizers, the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus Foundation, said the state's role is vital as Hispanics move into suburbs and Downstate towns ill-equipped to handle newcomers.
Lawmakers and activists also used the forum to grill the mayors, including several whose towns have been implicated in racial profiling allegations or housing discrimination.
The mayors said they hoped to work with lawmakers to build on the entrepreneurial spirit of their Latino newcomers by adding job training, English classes and other economic tools.
Several mayors said the driver's license bill was especially important in the suburbs, where many immigrants are far from public transportation.
"It is a matter of dignity," Palatine Mayor Rita Mullins said.
The bill has generated strong opposition in the past; critics say it rewards lawbreakers and grants government legitimacy to undocumented immigrants.
While praising Latinos as community assets, the mayors acknowledged that they often feel overwhelmed by the challenges of integrating the newcomers, with problems such as overcrowded schools and insufficient housing.
Asked to name the two largest challenges, Round Lake Park Mayor Ila Baur said, "That's a tough one because I could sit here and name 22, not two."
Lawmakers also kept up the heat on the Blagojevich administration, which they say has been slow to increase the ranks of Latinos as both department heads and rank-and-file workers in government. Hispanics make up 3 percent of state workers, state officials said.
"This 3 percent is a disrespect to the Latino community," said state Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago). "We have been waiting the last three years. I am tired of waiting."
Paul Campbell, acting director of the state's Department of Central Management Services, vowed to submit a Hispanic hiring plan by Feb. 1. Campbell reported modest progress, saying nearly 10 percent of last year's state hires were Hispanic.
Que?
“There was no evidence to suggest that this was the correct political move,” Munoz added, arguing that anti-immigration candidates have performed poorly at the polls. “We intend to hold both sides accountable.”
Accountable to who? Or what? The guy represesnts racist illegal non-citizens that can't vote.
What an absolute pinhead.
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