Advocates Ponder How To Yank Immigration Narrative Back From Trump

NBC NEWS ^ | aug 13, 2015 | GRISELDA NEVAREZ

[glenduh]

Before Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump grabbed the spotlight on immigration, it was advocates and young Dreamers who were forcing the issue to the forefront of the 2016 presidential election.

A presidential candidate could expect to be interrupted in a speech with questions from pro-immigration reform advocates about why they want to deport a young person's mother or be confronted at a restaurant about taking away the quasi-legal status President Barack Obama had given them.

But the cameras and attention are now trained on Trump, who shifted the discussion on immigration to the right with incendiary and, to many, bigoted remarks about Mexicans and immigrants. Now, the discussion has taken on a greater enforcement tone than it had when immigration advocates were pressuring candidates to state their views on Obama's immigration executive orders.

Pushed to the sidelines, advocates huddled in Las Vegas this week to define their national strategy on immigration. More than 250 immigration advocates, allies and policy experts from 25 states and Washington, D.C., convened for the conference held Monday through Wednesday.

Lupe Lopez, executive director of the Alliance for Citizenship, said even though she doesn't think Trump has the upper hand on immigration, she acknowledged he has taken much of the spotlight and influenced other Republican presidential candidates to steer more to the right on immigration.

They will continue going to public events where candidates are scheduled to appear and ask pointed questions about immigration. "What we're finding out right now is that the agenda of the Republicans is an agenda that is anti-immigrant," Lopez said. "They're not talking about a path to citizenship, and they're questioning whether they should even support legalization."

One difference in strategy: immigration advocates plan to join forces with other movements, including #BlackLivesMatter, to build power and increase the number of allies...

[caww]

That's just it....people don't view Trump through a political party lens ...they don't want to for obvious reasons.

Jim Robinson has long been talking about “Revolution”...Ted Cruz said in 2014 soon after his Filibuster...”The American people do not realize how close we are to taking our country back.”....So we're seeing this Political Revolution in action throughout these campaigns....which will touch Media, Washington and the American people.

[caww]

Yep...just happened at Jebs Rally if you looked closely ....and same at Berni's......Planned ParentHood t-shirts and Blk lk me t's....and hispanic people as well as blacks......and the college students will jump on board just with Lisa Filthian leading the charge.

So this is either Hillary's people sending out the call....or it's Obama enlarging his division agenda....maybe both.

[nathanbedford]

Add an increasingly Muslim militancy and conversion rate in the black ghetto and you have a toxic, radical and even revolutionary potential, much of which is being funded or encouraged by the federal government.