Primal Scream in Arizona on Immigration: Will Dems Deliver in Washington?

1 year ago

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I was with some Republican elected officials when Gov. Jan Brewer signed Arizona's controversial new immigration statute.

There was an audible gasp – like a collective punch in the stomach.

Let's make it clear: this legislation invites abuse and diverts local law enforcement to perform what should be a federal duty. It is a primal scream of frustration by the people of the state of Arizona.

Attorneys I trust have told me that it's likely to be blocked from taking effect almost immediately by court action. Even as a non-lawyer, I can imagine all kinds of situations where this new law -- requiring police to check the identification of people they suspect may be in the country illegally -- could lead to unreasonable stops, searches and detentions. Meanwhile, law enforcement throughout Arizona has complained that it'll move cops from local crime to what is a federal responsibility.

Even though the new law probably will not take effect, Arizona's legislature and Republican Gov. Brewer have managed to put immigration back on the nation's frontburner. It's about time.

Since Hispanics delivered the electoral votes in five battleground states to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi Democrats, Hispanic activists and their supporters expected the Democrats to keep their word and fix our broken immigration system. But 15 months into a 24-month Congress, it's apparent they plan to renege.

The White House and congressional Democrats have treated immigration like a game of Hacky Sack, with Obama passing to Speaker Pelosi, only for her to hand off to Senate Majority Leader Reid. If Reid drops the bag, the price could be his political career.

Reid already looks as if he is in trouble in November, and he desperately needs to energize Hispanic voters who comprise 12 percent of the Nevada electorate, and who delivered the state to Obama in 2008.

Nevada's Hispanic activists have a simple message for Reid: if you can deliver TARP and Wall Street bailouts, don't bother coming home unless you fix immigration.

Reid apparently hopes to satisfy Hispanics by merely scheduling the bill for debate on to the Senate floor -- these days, that's one of the few advantages of being majority leader.

While some Democrats on Capitol Hill believe the issue should be pursued even if destined for failure, the White House reportedly fears the worst of both worlds: advancing immigration will even further anger and energize conservatives, while a failure will dispirit the party's base.

We Hispanics know pantomime when we see it. We all know the story of Don Quixote and what tilting at windmills looks like. And we're not the only ones who would like to see this issue advanced: agriculture, the hospitality industry and local governments all know that unchecked immigration is at critical mass -- and so do the people of border states like Arizona.

If Reid can deliver for his friends at the high-roller tables, his home state's Hispanic activists say, he'd better do so for the men who serve his drinks and the women who clean his room.

Filed Under: Senate, House, Democrats, Republicans, Barack Obama, Crime, Immigration, Governors, 2010 Elections, Congress, Harry Reid

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