Obama positioning for immigration reform

[Joanne98]

By Peter Nicholas and Tom Hamburger

Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON — With the health-care battle still unfinished, the Obama administration has been laying plans to take up an issue that could prove even more divisive — a major overhaul of the nation's immigration system.

Senior White House aides privately have assured Latino activists that the president will back legislation next year to provide a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million undocumented workers now living in the United States.

In addition to the citizenship provision, the emerging plan will stress efforts to secure U.S. borders against those trying to cross illegally. But that two-track approach was rejected repeatedly in the past by Republicans and other critics who insist a border crackdown must demonstrate its effectiveness before any action on citizenship is considered.

Whatever proposal Obama puts forward will likely be complicated by the calendar: Midterm elections are in November, and polls show the public is more worried about joblessness and the fragile economy than anything else.

The White House already has a packed agenda for 2010: economic recovery, global-warming legislation and tougher regulation of financial institutions.

In an effort to enlist the kind of business support that helped drive its health-care initiative, for example, administration officials have reached out to the National Restaurant Association, which represents an industry that employs thousands of immigrants. Earlier this year, the new head of the association, Dawn Sweeney, met with Cecilia Munoz, a White House aide involved in the issue, and expressed interest in cooperating.

"It's an extremely important issue for our members," said Sweeney, whose group could exert grass-roots pressure on lawmakers.

continued>>>.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2010642357_immig31.html

10% unemployment and they going to do immigration reform? How stupid is this!

[doc03]

1. Apparently Democrats are determined to put Repugs

back in power.:wtf:

[firstnamefred]

2. This is great news

Think about it. If your employer sells consumer products or anything else, you're now going to have MILLIONS more new
LEGAL customers. If you own rental property, you'll be able to jack up the rent (more people chasing fewer vacant apts.).
If you're a police force chief, it'll be easier to get a bigger budget, larger force, increase in prison budgets (CCA co. will
be very happy)---because you can keep more people in OUR (or I should say "their") prisons and not have to just send them back
to Mexico.

If you own a small business or a Home Depot, you won't have to worry anymore about INS raids.

This is a FINE piece of news for so many Americans.

[leveymg]

3. CIR not likely to happen this year. eom