GRITtv: Is Immigration Reform Dead?
Immigration reform is hardly the front page issue it was one year ago, even though thousands of immigrants end up in detention centers every year. More than 90 immigrants have died in detention in the last few years and the cost of maintaining these facilities is about $1.7 billion. The facts on the ground haven't changed, so where does the movement stand? And is there a real possibility for reform under Obama? Roberto Lovato, Associate Editor at New America Media, Mallika Dutt, Executive Director of Breakthrough, Ravi Ragbir who spent two years in immigration detention and is a member of Families for Freedom, and Lynn Tramonte, Deputy Director of America's Voice on the state of immigration reform.
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Real Immigration Reform
This comprehensive "stick to the road to nowhere" strategy has been sticking it to actual immigrants for years now, resulting in more broken families, broken dreams, and a lost generation of undocumented youth. It is high time for a change in strategy. Pro-immigrant advocates must call for the passage of smaller standalone measures such as AgJOBS and the DREAM Act -- the only immigration-related measure with a national grassroots movement behind it -- that can serve as a down payment to more comprehensive legislation down an alternate road. It is not a cop-out that separates parents from their children; in fact, it is an economic stimulus and an "education equality" package that most immigrant families want and need.
Dead this year
The president is making his healt care reform the priority this year and he does not have the support to push for immigration reform at the same time, even though he will not come out and say so. So 2010 is the time where this battle will stand and probably be lost again.
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