HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM!!!
I saw a press conference in arizona with 2 latino congressman discussing and answering questions regarding the recent ruling in Arizona regarding the toughest illigal immigration laws in US History. I just saw this interview with Rep Guitierez and he has declared war on the democrats if immigration reform isn't done this year. That could spell trouble for democrats in heavy latino states and districts..
http://thehill.com/...
Dem to Obama: Push immigration or I’ll tell Latino voters to stay home
By Russell Berman and Bob Cusack
A congressman from the president’s home state is threatening that he will urge Latino voters to stay home this November if the Democratic Party does not make a concerted effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez (Ill.) is arguably President Barack Obama’s biggest Democratic critic in Congress. And he’s not fond of Obama’s top advisers at the White House, either.
Some Democrats have felt little urgency in pursuing the controversial issue, partly because they see no risk that Hispanic voters will bolt the party for the GOP. But Gutierrez says they are missing the real political consequence of inaction.
"We can stay home," Gutierrez said in an interview with The Hill. "We can say, ‘You know what? There is a third option: We can refuse to participate.’ "
For Gutierrez, a former cab driver first elected to represent Chicago in 1992, the shift from close Obama ally to ornery critic has been stark. The lawmaker was one of the former Illinois senator’s earliest campaign supporters, and — as Gutierrez is quick to note — he stuck by Obama even as many Hispanic leaders rallied around Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary.
When Gutierrez talks about his old Chicago neighbor, he speaks of "anger, disillusionment, dissatisfaction" and "betrayal." He says Obama has failed to keep his campaign commitment to immigration reform, and he decries what he calls an "enforcement-only" policy in which the administration has deported more undocumented immigrants than in the final year of the George W. Bush administration.
Gutierrez says Latinos have lost patience with Obama, and he predicts an "escalation" of activism aimed at forcing immigration reform to the fore of the party agenda.
"We’re going to make it uncomfortable for the Democratic Party," Gutierrez said, adding that immigration advocates would step up the pressure by drawing lessons from the movements for civil rights and women’s suffrage. "There’ll probably be civil disobedience. There will probably be a number of different actions. What we have to do is we have to break through this wall of silence, because we’re invisible."
http://www.cnn.com/...
Latino lawmakers urge veto of Arizona immigration law
Washington (CNN) -- Latino members of Congress Tuesday called on Arizona's governor to kill a state bill that would require police to determine whether people are in the United States legally, arguing that it unconstitutionally authorizes discrimination.
"When you institutionalize a law like this one, you are targeting and discriminating at a wholesale level against a group of people," Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Arizona, told reporters. Grijalva and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said Republican Gov. Jan Brewer should veto the measure, which the state Senate approved Monday.
The bill would require immigrants to carry their alien registration documents at all times and require police to question people if there's reason to suspect they're in the United States illegally. It also targets those who hire illegal immigrant day laborers or knowingly transport them.
Brewer, a Republican, has yet to take a public stance on the bill.
Grijalva, whose congressional district runs from the Mexican border to the outskirts of Phoenix, said the legislation "is not just mean-spirited, it is directed at a specific population." Gutierrez, D-Illinois, said the measure infringes on the federal government's authority over immigration laws as well as being discriminatory.
"I'm Puerto Rican. I was born in Chicago, and my family has been U.S. citizens for generations," Gutierrez said. "But look at my face, listen to my voice. I'd probably get picked up in Arizona and questioned. Is that what we want in America?"
Ariz. lawmakers pass toughest illegal immigration law in U.S.
History
http://www.freep.com/...
Arizona lawmakers on Monday approved one of the toughest illegal immigration laws in the United States.
The immigration bill now heads to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who has five days to sign it, veto it or do nothing and allow it to become law. Brewer said she’d be reviewing the legislation over the next several days, indicating that she will probably take the maximum time allowed to her before taking action.
Arizona Senate Bill 1070 would, among other things, make it a state crime to be in the country illegally and require local police to enforce federal-immigration laws. If the governor signs it, Arizona would be the first state to criminalize illegal immigrants.
I was just listening to callers on Ed Shultz show who lives in arizona and I think this just woke the sleeping giant. They said when state legislators passed legislation banning President Obama name from appearing on the ballot that upset a lot of people, now they have done this, they said they have woke up the dead in this state. They said this is just a preview of what will happen if the right wing lunatics win the house and senate and the White House in 2012. They said they are hell bent determined to vote these lunatics out of power and fight these ridiculous laws they are trying to force on them in Arizona. Folks are pissed off!