Cristina Jimenez

Should Immigration Reform Be Piecemeal?

If the Obama Administration puts comprehensive immigration reform in the backburner, some immigrant rights organizations will push for a piecemeal approach.

Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF), says:

If Democratic leaders delay, because of elections and a hostile political climate for immigrants, Congress should take up the issue gradually and in smaller ways, Saenz said. Lawmakers could address the need for foreign agricultural workers, provide legal status to high school graduates brought to the country illegally as children, and create equity for same sex partners who want to come to the U.S. or get green cards.

According to Patrick Young, Long Island Wins blogger, Saenz's position is controversial because it can potentially disintegrate the broad coalition supporting immigration reform. But as Young points out, under the Bush administration "the coalition held tight to the 'comprehensive immigration reform or nothing' line--and got nothing."

Read the rest of the story here

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Posted at 4:51 PM, Oct 01, 2009 in Immigration
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