Cross-Posted at America's Voice
First the good—Some of us already knew this, but the fact that good immigration policy also boosts the middle class is a myth-buster that bears repeating, as well as a new report by the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI).
Immigration Impact argues:
The myth that immigration is bad for U.S. workers has sullied the immigration debate for far too long. A new report by the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI), "Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2009 Edition," sets the record straight. In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and in anticipation of a new round of legislative debates on comprehensive immigration reform, DMI’s report makes a rational, concise argument for why comprehensive immigration reform is needed to improve the conditions for middle class Americans.
Next up, some good, some bad— We’ve got a few takes on urgency and timing of reform. Conservative Latino columnist Ruben Navarette argues, on CNN, that the President is not setting a clear enough timetable for how and when reform will happen—going so far as to state that Obama has thrown immigrant advocates under the bus. Then, in the AP Friday, Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), said, "he fully expects work on rewriting immigration law to begin in Congress next year." He argues:
"Part of President Obama's mandate coming in, particularly in the high levels of support that he received from Latino voters in critical states, I think a significant part of his mandate was about comprehensive immigration reform," Saenz said.
Ok, now some very bad—Simon Rosenberg of NDN reflects in, "GOP Senator Introduces Bill to Bar Undocumented Immigrants from Reapportionment Process," on the potentially nasty effort brewing to bar millions of families from being included in the Census count. Maybe someone will propose that they just count 3/5 of the undocumented population.
Now some ugly— Wonk Room’s Andrea Nill reports on the Value Voters Summit last weekend, and points out the hypocrisy from local officials like Corey Stewart in Prince William County, who asserts – in the face of damning evidence to the contrary – that not one single case of racial profiling has occurred under the county’s 287(g) agreement.
Back to good for a moment, bringing us back to a moral center in this debate, the San Francisco Chronicle reports on an interfaith convening of 500 people of faith—with Clergy from 11 Bay-area congregations- who came together at St. Mary’s Cathedral on Saturday to "pray and call for immigration reform."
And finally, some very good— the growing campaign to hold CNN accountable for Lou Dobbs’ hate speech continues to gather steam. Check out the latest Lou Dobbs roundup at the America’s Voice Blog, as well as the damning statistic, very bad for CNN, reported in the Politico that 90% of Latino Leaders Believe CNN’s Lou Dobbs Makes it Harder to be Hispanic . Roberto Lovato sums it up today in the Huffington Post:
You see, underlying CNN's desire to capture Latino audiences--our large and growing numbers--is the same reason they must heed our call to dump Dobbs from their network.
There you gave it the good, the bad, the ugly, and the very good. Oh, and before you go, please take a moment to chip in to air our television ad,if you haven’t yet. We can’t do it without your support.