America's Voice Blog

Posted 08/21/09 at 10:37am

VIDEO: Responses to Yesterday’s White House Meeting on Immigration

For the 130 immigrant advocates, business and labor leaders, and law enforcement representatives, who met with Janet Napoitano yesterday, the urgency for real reform is clear. Here are four video responses from attendees at yesterday's White House meeting on immigration reform.  I took these videos directly after the meeting, as attendees were leaving the White House.

Clarrisa Martinez, National Council of La Raza:

Frank Sharry, America's Voice:

Art Venegas, Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative:

Arturo Rodriguez, United Farm Workers:

The Politco reports:

President Barack Obama on Thursday managed to undo some of the damage he did recently with immigrants’ rights advocates — who were angered when Obama said in Mexico that immigration reform would have to wait until after health care and energy bills passed Congress.

Obama dropped in on a White House meeting with more than 100 immigration reform backers — and the message, according to some who were there, was that Obama would push for immigration reform even as the health-care debate continues to unfold.

“I think he’s more forward-leaning,” said Angela Kelley, an immigration reform expert with the liberal Center for American Progress think tank. “The takeaway from Mexico was that this is just kicking the can down the road. The takeaway from today is they’re rolling up their sleeves and leaning heavy into the issue.”

Why all the urgency?

Just this week, ten more deaths in ICE (immigration) detention were reported in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Sheriff Joe Arpaio continues to flagrantly abuse a government-sponsored 287(g) immigration enforcement program. The Administration has failed to revoke Arpaio's federal funding for 287 (g), despite the fact that he is under federal investigation for constitutional violations, racial profiling, and discrimination. Also this week, the ACLU  announced it will sue the Sheriff for arresting legal residents and U.S. citizens in recent neighborhood “sweeps,” holding them in handcuffs, and interrogating them for three hours. 

The growing discontent from leading community voices about the combination of escalating, Bush-era immigration enforcement and delays on moving immigration reform were clearly voiced at yesterday's meeting. Leaders of the Reform Immigration For America campaign brought a few of the over 4,000 text-message questions they compiled for Napolitano over the course of just 24 hours.

From the FOR America blog:

Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, and a partner of the Campaign to Reform Immigration FOR America, was able to ask Napolitano two representative questions selected from the 4,000-plus entries. The first was submitted by a person in Pickerington, Ohio who wanted to know why Napolitano has focused too intently on border security and stopped advocating for comprehensive reform. Napolitano said she has been working on immigration reform, and would do more to communicate with people on her efforts on both fronts.

Noorani’s other question concerned the 287g program, which gives local law enforcement the authority to enforce immigration law. Noorani asked Napolitano to revoke the authority of agencies who have clearly violated the spirit of the agreement, and that the immigration reform community looked forward to seeing that happen. Napolitano responded, “Me, too.”

According to America's Voice Executive Director Frank Sharry:

Today’s meeting represents a positive step in that President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform in this Congress. Secretary Napolitano also made it clear that she received our message that she has to communicate more effectively in favor of reform. But as always, the proof will be in the pudding. What we are looking for going forward is public advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform from Secretary Napolitano, a concrete proposal presented in Congress early this fall, and continued promotion of this urgent issue by the President.

It's clear that now is the time for action on immigration, and yesterday's meeting was a good first step. 

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