Immigration priority

The White House comment on its intention to keep the campaign promise of addressing immigration reform this year is a welcome signal in the immigrant community.

Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz told the press that the administration’s intention is a policy reform that "controls immigration and makes it an orderly system," and that beginning in May there will be movement on the issue.

The announcement could not come at a better time. At times, the president’s agenda seemed to be overwhelmed with other priorities like the economic crisis, healthcare reform, the war in Afghanistan, etc., leaving little room for immigration legislation.

At the same time, some argue that the middle of an economic crisis is not the right time to promote a reform whose proposals include legalizing the status of millions of undocumented immigrants.

Actually, normalizing the status of undocument-ed workers will not take jobs away from anyone because they are already working in jobs that were vacant due to lack of interest by the native workforce.

The problem is the manipulation of the issue and the deceitful tactics used in the debate by opponents of reform. For example, again the word "amnesty" has arisen in some sectors to disqualify any action that means taking honest workers who have been paying taxes and living established lives in our country for years out of the shadows.

There is no good or bad time for immigration reform. Current legislation does not meet today’s needs such as security, and also fails on the economic and especially human fronts. It is a priority in and of itself that must be considered this year.

The White House comment on its intention to keep the campaign promise of addressing immigration reform this year is a welcome signal in the immigrant community.

Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz told the press that the administration’s intention is a policy reform that "controls immigration and makes it an orderly system," and that beginning in May there will be movement on the issue.

The announcement could not come at a better time. At times, the president’s agenda seemed to be overwhelmed with other priorities like the economic crisis, healthcare reform, the war in Afghanistan, etc., leaving little room for immigration legislation.

At the same time, some argue that the middle of an economic crisis is not the right time to promote a reform whose proposals include legalizing the status of millions of undocumented immigrants.

Actually, normalizing the status of undocument-ed workers will not take jobs away from anyone because they are already working in jobs that were vacant due to lack of interest by the native workforce.

The problem is the manipulation of the issue and the deceitful tactics used in the debate by opponents of reform. For example, again the word "amnesty" has arisen in some sectors to disqualify any action that means taking honest workers who have been paying taxes and living established lives in our country for years out of the shadows.

There is no good or bad time for immigration reform. Current legislation does not meet today’s needs such as security, and also fails on the economic and especially human fronts. It is a priority in and of itself that must be considered this year.

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