Obama, Immigration Refrom and Public Policy: The Fog In Public Opinion
Put forth on April 2, 2010 by XicanoPwr
Posted in Immigration, Public Policy
Thousands rallied in Washington in support of immigration reform on Sunday to encourage the nation’s lawmakers to move forward in solving the nation’s broken immigration system. The march was sparked when President Obama barely referenced immigration reform in his State of the Union Address.
And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system – to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nations. In the end, it’s our ideals, our values that built America — values that allowed us to forge a nation made up of immigrants from every corner of the globe; values that drive our citizens still.
Many people within the immigration reform movement were hoping he would ask Congress to tackle immigration this year. Instead, he gave Congress an out by not setting a timetable for action.
There is no argument that the immigration system is broken. Congress’ inability to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation over the past five years has resulted in a number of unintended consequences that challenge our federal system. The issue of immigration, although regulated by the federal government, has consequences for state and local municipalities.
The inaction of Congress has caused a number of these governments to pass laws and ordinances that target unauthorized workers and their families. In response, a number of federal judges have blocked laws targeting illegal immigration, ruling that most of these statutes are unconstitutional.
The problem has nothing to do with the party’s willingness to fix the system; both sides disagree on how to go about doing it. Their inaction has left this country without a clear-cut federal immigration policy, which is the root of much of the discord experienced today.
Those who were looking to Obama to address this issue were left scratching their heads when he did not set a timetable for action. With President Obama’s election, the time is ripe for a new dialogue about what the core assumptions of our public policy should be. Nevertheless, there is a reason to hesitate before celebrating.
Winning The Numbers Game
Nothing measures the imbalance of media and political power in the United States better than the decision-making by major news organizations when it comes to covering certain events. That reality was demonstrated on coverage of the march by the mainstream media.
Since Washington authorities do not provide crowd estimates, there was a glaring difference on the size of the crowd between the mainstream and the smaller alternative media. The mainstream reported “tens of thousands,” while ethnic and smaller media outlets estimated the crowd at more than 200,000. The New York Times article begins its story on the event with the following paragraph:
Tens of thousands of immigrants and activists rallied here on Sunday, calling for legislation this year to give legal status to millions of illegal immigrants and seeking to pressure President Obama to keep working on the contentious issue once the health care debate is behind him.
The Washington Post article on the same event began:
Tens of thousands of immigrants and their supporters from across the United States packed the Mall on Sunday in a last-ditch effort to spur Congress and the White House to overhaul the nation’s immigration system and offer its 10.8 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship this year against increasingly long odds.
The Washington Independent began:
More than 200,000 people gathered on the National Mall today to participate in March for America, a rally advocating comprehensive immigration reform.
And in Mundo Hispánico:
Ahí, más 200 mil personas, de acuerdo con los organizadores, se congregaron para exigirle al Congreso y a la Casa Blanca que apruebe una reforma migratoria integral.
Reporting accurate numbers is the first major obstacle immigration reform activists have to overcome is to convince the White House immigration reform should be next after health care. Unfortunately, “March for America” was held on the same day as the historic House vote to ratify the Senate’s health care bill.
The lack of coverage and the slant of information by the mainstream media is nothing new. Filling the void is the anti-immigrant cable-news that seem blind to the world in which immigrants are living. Those who are listening to them are the same dangerous people who shouted racial epithets and spat at members of Congress. They are motivated by rumors and innuendo that the government is taking over their lives, and they are ready to fight to preserve the status quo.
The backlash against immigrants began gaining momentum in 2006 according to Southern Poverty Law Center. Since then, America has become a more hostile place for immigrants. Despite Ezra Klein’s claim, nativism is on the rise and like a cancer; it has worked its way into the halls of Congress.
What are the sound bites that dominate this debate? Illegal immigration, immigrants and welfare, criminal aliens, lax controls, and the government don’t seem to care.
This is not surprising. With high unemployment and sensational media reports about drug-related border violence, this has helped fuel the current rhetoric for economic protectionism and is exploiting the notion of economic insecurity, disaffection with the federal government, and changing demographics, to build the Tea Party movement.
Interestingly, during last year’s Netroots Nation panel discussion on immigration, an audience member foresaw that this country was heading down a dangerous path due to the rhetoric of armed conflict from commentators at Fox News, Teabag leaders, and politicians who manipulate them for profit and influence. Sadly, I agreed. However, we were in the minority and were told this view was too cynical.
Fast forward to now, the same view is being expressed by Laura Flanders of GRITtv. She points out the immigration debate “has the potential to be more violent” due to the xenophobic tendencies on the far Right.
Both sides, proponents and opponents of comprehensive immigration reform, have cited polling data to underscore their respective positions.
However, from a social science viewpoint, many of the opinion polls either conducted for or cited by specific organizations, such as NumbersUSA and America’s Voice, are methodologically weak. They are often illusory with respect to the specific substance of the policy issue that the questions were designed to measure. The problems include asking leading questions, vagueness of the language used, assuming knowledge of and baselines for immigration issues among respondents, and educating about immigration issues while at the same time surveying attitudes.
In fairness, it should be said at the outset that most professional pollsters do their very best to develop survey questions that measure what people actually think about various issues and problems in American society. Nevertheless, it is important to point out the pitfalls of asking survey questions and interpreting poll results will presumably lead the reader to be a bit more skeptical how public opinion polling is practiced today. The surveys used by both groups demonstrate the importance of how immigration is framed in shaping attitudes.
As for how successful was the March, the jury is still out whether it has persuaded the Obama administration and Congress will tackle immigration reform next.
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Tags: America's Voice, Barack Obama, Congress, Immigration, immigration march, immigration reform, Latinos-as, Tea Party | 
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This is the blog of Edmundo "XicanoPwr" Rocha, a social worker, an activist, freelance writer and founder and editor of The Sanctuary. My interests include: immigration reform, critical race theory and it's interaction with equality/inequality and freedom/oppression as they relate to the experiences of people of color in the Americas.
Para Justicia y Libertad is a Latino-centered political blog focusing on the humanistic perspective of politics, history, and society as they relate to the Latina/o community throughout Texas and the United States.
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Illegal immigrants violate our laws every single day. They use fraudulent documentation to obtain jobs, welfare and other benefits. Illegal alien females have 400,000 plus babies each year and we’re supporting nearly all of them with natal care. The majority of foreign nationals won’t learn the common language. Every U.S. citizen–resident in California and nationwide pays a tax for illegal immigration. They aren’t poorly educated unless you count the 10K plus per child per year it costs to educate their children. They have nothing to offer but manual labor, which we have millions of American given the chance will do? They will be a huge financial burden on the rest of us if AMNESTY is forced through. Our immigration policy encourages diversity, multiculturalism, which is causing a major upheaval in Europe right now? With chain migration, we’ll have tens of million more to support, who will sponsor the sick family members. Their kids are disrupting our schools holding back our English speaking students because they don’t speak the language. California–a SANCTUARY STATE is in serious fiscal trouble from years of neglect, attributed to the Sacramento lawmakers giving welfare benefits to illegal immigrant families. This is observed from deterioration of public services, cut-backs in fireman, police and infrastructure erosion. Every state in the union is literary falling apart from not addressing years of neglect of bridges, dams, levees, highways, pot-holed city streets and empty promises from politicians. Ever state has serious consequences from the President Bush, Clinton administration from the illegal immigration invasion. Now we have a national emergency of the coming years Overpopulation, disruption of water supplies, electricity brownouts and reduce in natural resources. Any AMNESTY will immediately bring millions more crossing the border or flying in on tourist visas, with no intentions of leaving.
As foreign nationals have more children, they need more government entitlements, legalizing them will propel our federal deficits into hundreds of billions of dollars. President Obama won’t get any kind of amnesty passed as the majority of Americans who don’t know about the major impact of illegal immigration. They will surely know about it by the end of any public debates, through TV, unbiased media or radio awareness. We want birthright citizenship for legal residents only, not a contradiction to the law for freed slaves? We want E-Verify permanent and for very worker, even for those who have been employed for 20 years. We want to heavily fine those employ them, with business asset confiscation and even prison. No CEO, executive should be immune from incarceration, if they defy the PEOPLE’S LAWS?. We want our borders secure with the National Guard deployed and armed against drug smugglers, criminals and insurgents. Our US Border Patrol is under-funded, undermanned and will be victims of narcotic incursions in the growing war. The only people who want them here are the real left wing Democrats and Latinos, so they can keep the Liberals in power and Republicans for cut throat labor. It’s NOT going to happen because the rest of us will fight it, specifically now with upwards to 15 million Americans seeking work.
With all due respect to bloggers and or Immigration/Amnesty advocates…I believe that advocates of reform and those pushing for Amnesty have been misleading the general public. I also believe the mass-media is complicate in this effort.
The Immigration System is not broken. The Enforcement facet is. There was one Amnesty previously and the argument then was it is the humane thing to do. This then created the current state of affairs. Hence, the original Amnesty granted, created an incentive for more Illegals. Where does this end? I see no effort on the part of Mexico to assist in the prevention of illegal activity. Mexico will not assist, because Illegal residents of the US send money back to Mexico, or to the country of origin.
The mass-media and advocates need to speak plainly and truthfully. The Immigration System is NOT broken. The Enforcement facet is.
NAFTA! What does it have in common with drug trafficking and illegal immigration? Last night it was made all to obnoxiously clear to me and everybody else who watched the very revealing National Geographic cable channel. Its made blatantly obvious that–FREE TRADE–from Mexico, is more important than the protection of the population of the United States by our own politicians. Each day thousands of 18 wheelers cross the border, to the gargantuan profit the owners of large American corporations with products manufactured the other side of the border. Thus cutting out the American worker and higher wages paid. But amongst that “Free Trade” is hidden large quantities of every conceivable narcotic, that the majority slips undetected past our undermanned, underfunded border. The border fence is an absolute parody when Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano tells the nation that the border is far more secure? That’s yet another joke thats on citizens, expressly the Americans who live in the border region.
Communications is limited to Sheriffs and police enforcement, DEA, the US border Patrol because their is no single designated frequency and never have enough men-women. THIS IS THE TIME WE MUST INSIST ON EVERY BORDER STATE, PICKETING ARMED NATIONAL GUARD, TO REINFORCE THE US BORDER PATROL. This is an absolute fabrication, because the TV documentary showed the tracks of drug smugglers called (Mules) hiking across millions of acres of desert and open range. One farmer, exposed to the viewer the miles of a three-stranded, rusted barbed wire, shallow river crossings and the hundreds of tracks of illegal aliens crossing into his land. The politicians can pretend that the border between us and them is sealed, but it is not a practical joke to the ranchers. They explain they cannot leave their homes, unless they are armed and has been this way for ten years or more.
Its a literary a horror story of homes ransacked, cattle fences cut and piles of human garbage left behind. Everybody has a price, which includes the environmentalists who remain quiet to trash left in the desert. The whole truth resonated throughout the majority of the independent media, when a elderly Rancher, a humanitarian was slain for some obscure reason. Found dead slumped across his ATV, the investigators followed the footprints back to the border line and suspect drug traffickers? Just a month ago Homeland Security resources were cut that included further construction of the fence. The lies have reflected back on the politicians pushing for another outrageous mass Amnesty, as the separating fence between Mexico and the US, should have been 2 barriers. NOT ONE? With security patrolling tracks in the middle. But instead we got a fence that doesn’t exist in many places, where drug pedestrians and illegal aliens can slip through with ease. Some illegal aliens enter our sovereign nation to work, but millions find its simple to get free hand-outs from Liberal run state assemblies.
It’s all to easy to fool the man -women in the street, who have never viewed the FENCE? Just like E-Verify that rejects illegal nationals from the workforce or the local police enforcement program 287 (g) It’s like a repeat performance to inform the public that the people they voted in to office are working for their interest, when in fact they are pandering to a corrupt foreign government or the open border organizations. The list is long, but they are headed by Sen. Reid, Sen. McCain, Speaker pelosi, Sen. Graham, Sen. Schumer as all are involved as an advocacy of illegal immigration. WANT THE TRUTH ABOUT THE BORDER FENCE, go to AMERICANPATROL
Illegal immigrants violate our laws every single day. They use fraudulent documentation to obtain jobs, welfare and other benefits. Illegal alien females have 400,000 plus babies each year and we’re supporting nearly all of them with natal care. The majority of foreign nationals won’t learn the common language. Every U.S. citizen–resident in California and nationwide pays a tax for illegal immigration. They aren’t poorly educated unless you count the 10K plus per child per year it costs to educate their children. They have nothing to offer but manual labor, which we have millions of American given the chance will do? They will be a huge financial burden on the rest of us if AMNESTY is forced through. Our immigration policy encourages diversity, multiculturalism, which is causing a major upheaval in Europe right now? With chain migration, we’ll have tens of million more to support, who will sponsor the sick family members. Their kids are disrupting our schools holding back our English speaking students because they don’t speak the language. California–a SANCTUARY STATE is in serious fiscal trouble from years of neglect, attributed to the Sacramento lawmakers giving welfare benefits to illegal immigrant families. This is observed from deterioration of public services, cut-backs in fireman, police and infrastructure erosion. Every state in the union is literary falling apart from not addressing years of neglect of bridges, dams, levees, highways, pot-holed city streets and empty promises from politicians. Ever state has serious consequences from the President Bush, Clinton administration from the illegal immigration invasion. Now we have a national emergency of the coming years Overpopulation, disruption of water supplies, electricity brownouts and reduce in natural resources. Any AMNESTY will immediately bring millions more crossing the border or flying in on tourist visas, with no intentions of leaving.
As foreign nationals have more children, they need more government entitlements, legalizing them will propel our federal deficits into hundreds of billions of dollars. President Obama won’t get any kind of amnesty passed as the majority of Americans who don’t know about the major impact of illegal immigration. They will surely know about it by the end of any public debates, through TV, unbiased media or radio awareness. We want birthright citizenship for legal residents only, not a contradiction to the law for freed slaves? We want E-Verify permanent and for very worker, even for those who have been employed for 20 years. We want to heavily fine those employ them, with business asset confiscation and even prison. No CEO, executive should be immune from incarceration, if they defy the PEOPLE’S LAWS?. We want our borders secure with the National Guard deployed and armed against drug smugglers, criminals and insurgents. Our US Border Patrol is under-funded, undermanned and will be victims of narcotic incursions in the growing war. The only people who want them here are the real left wing Democrats and Latinos, so they can keep the Liberals in power and Republicans for cut throat labor. It’s NOT going to happen because the rest of us will fight it, specifically now with upwards to 15 million Americans seeking work.
Illegal immigrants violate our laws every single day. They use fraudulent documentation to obtain jobs, welfare and other benefits. Illegal alien females have 400,000 plus babies each year and we’re supporting nearly all of them with natal care. The majority of foreign nationals won’t learn the common language. Every U.S. citizen–resident in California and nationwide pays a tax for illegal immigration. They aren’t poorly educated unless you count the 10K plus per child per year it costs to educate their children. They have nothing to offer but manual labor, which we have millions of American given the chance will do? They will be a huge financial burden on the rest of us if AMNESTY is forced through. Our immigration policy encourages diversity, multiculturalism, which is causing a major upheaval in Europe right now? With chain migration, we’ll have tens of million more to support, who will sponsor the sick family members. Their kids are disrupting our schools holding back our English speaking students because they don’t speak the language. California–a SANCTUARY STATE is in serious fiscal trouble from years of neglect, attributed to the Sacramento lawmakers giving welfare benefits to illegal immigrant families. This is observed from deterioration of public services, cut-backs in fireman, police and infrastructure erosion. Every state in the union is literary falling apart from not addressing years of neglect of bridges, dams, levees, highways, pot-holed city streets and empty promises from politicians. Ever state has serious consequences from the President Bush, Clinton administration from the illegal immigration invasion. Now we have a national emergency of the coming years Overpopulation, disruption of water supplies, electricity brownouts and reduce in natural resources. Any AMNESTY will immediately bring millions more crossing the border or flying in on tourist visas, with no intentions of leaving.
As foreign nationals have more children, they need more government entitlements, legalizing them will propel our federal deficits into hundreds of billions of dollars. President Obama won’t get any kind of amnesty passed as the majority of Americans who don’t know about the major impact of illegal immigration. They will surely know about it by the end of any public debates, through TV, unbiased media or radio awareness. We want birthright citizenship for legal residents only, not a contradiction to the law for freed slaves? We want E-Verify permanent and for very worker, even for those who have been employed for 20 years. We want to heavily fine those employ them, with business asset confiscation and even prison. No CEO, executive should be immune from incarceration, if they defy the PEOPLE’S LAWS?. We want our borders secure with the National Guard deployed and armed against drug smugglers, criminals and insurgents. Our US Border Patrol is under-funded, undermanned and will be victims of narcotic incursions in the growing war. The only people who want them here are the real left wing Democrats and Latinos, so they can keep the Liberals in power and Republicans for cut throat labor. It’s NOT going to happen because the rest of us will fight it, specifically now with upwards to 15 million Americans seeking work.
With all due respect to bloggers and or Immigration/Amnesty advocates…I believe that advocates of reform and those pushing for Amnesty have been misleading the general public. I also believe the mass-media is complicate in this effort.
The Immigration System is not broken. The Enforcement facet is. There was one Amnesty previously and the argument then was it is the humane thing to do. This then created the current state of affairs. Hence, the original Amnesty granted, created an incentive for more Illegals. Where does this end? I see no effort on the part of Mexico to assist in the prevention of illegal activity. Mexico will not assist, because Illegal residents of the US send money back to Mexico, or to the country of origin.
The mass-media and advocates need to speak plainly and truthfully. The Immigration System is NOT broken. The Enforcement facet is.
Illegal immigrants violate our laws every single day. They use fraudulent documentation to obtain jobs, welfare and other benefits. Illegal alien females have 400,000 plus babies each year and we’re supporting nearly all of them with natal care. The majority of foreign nationals won’t learn the common language. Every U.S. citizen–resident in California and nationwide pays a tax for illegal immigration. They aren’t poorly educated unless you count the 10K plus per child per year it costs to educate their children. They have nothing to offer but manual labor, which we have millions of American given the chance will do? They will be a huge financial burden on the rest of us if AMNESTY is forced through. Our immigration policy encourages diversity, multiculturalism, which is causing a major upheaval in Europe right now? With chain migration, we’ll have tens of million more to support, who will sponsor the sick family members. Their kids are disrupting our schools holding back our English speaking students because they don’t speak the language. California–a SANCTUARY STATE is in serious fiscal trouble from years of neglect, attributed to the Sacramento lawmakers giving welfare benefits to illegal immigrant families. This is observed from deterioration of public services, cut-backs in fireman, police and infrastructure erosion. Every state in the union is literary falling apart from not addressing years of neglect of bridges, dams, levees, highways, pot-holed city streets and empty promises from politicians. Ever state has serious consequences from the President Bush, Clinton administration from the illegal immigration invasion. Now we have a national emergency of the coming years Overpopulation, disruption of water supplies, electricity brownouts and reduce in natural resources. Any AMNESTY will immediately bring millions more crossing the border or flying in on tourist visas, with no intentions of leaving.
As foreign nationals have more children, they need more government entitlements, legalizing them will propel our federal deficits into hundreds of billions of dollars. President Obama won’t get any kind of amnesty passed as the majority of Americans who don’t know about the major impact of illegal immigration. They will surely know about it by the end of any public debates, through TV, unbiased media or radio awareness. We want birthright citizenship for legal residents only, not a contradiction to the law for freed slaves? We want E-Verify permanent and for very worker, even for those who have been employed for 20 years. We want to heavily fine those employ them, with business asset confiscation and even prison. No CEO, executive should be immune from incarceration, if they defy the PEOPLE’S LAWS?. We want our borders secure with the National Guard deployed and armed against drug smugglers, criminals and insurgents. Our US Border Patrol is under-funded, undermanned and will be victims of narcotic incursions in the growing war. The only people who want them here are the real left wing Democrats and Latinos, so they can keep the Liberals in power and Republicans for cut throat labor. It’s NOT going to happen because the rest of us will fight it, specifically now with upwards to 15 million Americans seeking work.
Illegal immigrants violate our laws every single day. They use fraudulent documentation to obtain jobs, welfare and other benefits. Illegal alien females have 400,000 plus babies each year and we’re supporting nearly all of them with natal care. The majority of foreign nationals won’t learn the common language. Every U.S. citizen–resident in California and nationwide pays a tax for illegal immigration. They aren’t poorly educated unless you count the 10K plus per child per year it costs to educate their children. They have nothing to offer but manual labor, which we have millions of American given the chance will do? They will be a huge financial burden on the rest of us if AMNESTY is forced through. Our immigration policy encourages diversity, multiculturalism, which is causing a major upheaval in Europe right now? With chain migration, we’ll have tens of million more to support, who will sponsor the sick family members. Their kids are disrupting our schools holding back our English speaking students because they don’t speak the language. California–a SANCTUARY STATE is in serious fiscal trouble from years of neglect, attributed to the Sacramento lawmakers giving welfare benefits to illegal immigrant families. This is observed from deterioration of public services, cut-backs in fireman, police and infrastructure erosion. Every state in the union is literary falling apart from not addressing years of neglect of bridges, dams, levees, highways, pot-holed city streets and empty promises from politicians. Ever state has serious consequences from the President Bush, Clinton administration from the illegal immigration invasion. Now we have a national emergency of the coming years Overpopulation, disruption of water supplies, electricity brownouts and reduce in natural resources. Any AMNESTY will immediately bring millions more crossing the border or flying in on tourist visas, with no intentions of leaving.
As foreign nationals have more children, they need more government entitlements, legalizing them will propel our federal deficits into hundreds of billions of dollars. President Obama won’t get any kind of amnesty passed as the majority of Americans who don’t know about the major impact of illegal immigration. They will surely know about it by the end of any public debates, through TV, unbiased media or radio awareness. We want birthright citizenship for legal residents only, not a contradiction to the law for freed slaves? We want E-Verify permanent and for very worker, even for those who have been employed for 20 years. We want to heavily fine those employ them, with business asset confiscation and even prison. No CEO, executive should be immune from incarceration, if they defy the PEOPLE’S LAWS?. We want our borders secure with the National Guard deployed and armed against drug smugglers, criminals and insurgents. Our US Border Patrol is under-funded, undermanned and will be victims of narcotic incursions in the growing war. The only people who want them here are the real left wing Democrats and Latinos, so they can keep the Liberals in power and Republicans for cut throat labor. It’s NOT going to happen because the rest of us will fight it, specifically now with upwards to 15 million Americans seeking work.
With all due respect to bloggers and or Immigration/Amnesty advocates…I believe that advocates of reform and those pushing for Amnesty have been misleading the general public. I also believe the mass-media is complicate in this effort.
The Immigration System is not broken. The Enforcement facet is. There was one Amnesty previously and the argument then was it is the humane thing to do. This then created the current state of affairs. Hence, the original Amnesty granted, created an incentive for more Illegals. Where does this end? I see no effort on the part of Mexico to assist in the prevention of illegal activity. Mexico will not assist, because Illegal residents of the US send money back to Mexico, or to the country of origin.
The mass-media and advocates need to speak plainly and truthfully. The Immigration System is NOT broken. The Enforcement facet is.
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