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Many pundits think that the reason for President Obama’s softening numbers in the Latino community can be attributed to broken promises on immigration legislation. I think that’s unlikely, actually, and the fact that the DREAM Act got a vote at the end of the session at least can make a plausible case that Democrats tried. What drives this much more strongly, in my view, is the sharp spike in deportations under this Administration. Communities are being ripped apart.
In fiscal year 2010, ICE set a record for overall removals of illegal aliens, with more than 392,000 removals nationwide. Half of those removed—more than 195,000—were convicted criminals. The fiscal year 2010 statistics represent increases of more than 23,000 removals overall and 81,000 criminal removals compared to fiscal year 2008—a more than 70 percent increase in removal of criminal aliens from the previous administration [...]
Since January 2009, ICE has audited more than 3,200 employers suspected of hiring illegal labor, debarred 225 companies and individuals, and imposed approximately $50 million in financial sanctions—more than the total amount of audits and debarments than during the entire previous administration.
Basically, ICE is running at the maximum levels given their funding for deportations.
What’s depressing about this is that Republicans continue to accuse the White House of being soft on the border and soft on “illegal immigrants.” The facts don’t matter whatsoever. Yet Latinos understand the facts all too well, they see it in their communities every single day. There’s some evidence to suggest that the deportations fall more heavily on undocumenteds with criminal records, but the fact remains that a higher rate of people have been expelled from the country under Obama than under Bush. It’s hard to say that has no impact on those Latino voter numbers, one way or the other.
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Good. Isn’t that the workplace enforcement that liberals and progressives toss out as the phony solution to illegal immigration? (I say phony but they don’t want to really stop the influx of illegals, just allow all of them — here presently and to come in the future — to become citizens.)
Often you have very intelligent and incisive posts, and I enjoy reading them. Sorry to see what you wrote there because it’s highly inaccurate, as well as insulting. Simply unfounded and wallowing in a lot of rightwing talking points. Lazy thinking; try again.
Here in Arizona, Brown People will out-number the White People in five years. As such, in five years the newborns, when properly accounted for will be eligible to vote in 23 years from today. Consequently, white Arizonans will see their “legacy” shattered, and its these Arch-Conservatives that are “fighting back” and immigration is this sole issue that is the focus of their overall political effort. To wit, more voter intimidation, suppression, and disenfranchisement is on the rise.
Moreover, in January of next year, the state legislature is going to approve and the Governor will sign two pieces of legislation. First is challenging “birthright citizenship” of all Brown People including those of us who have been here long before the Great European Migration into this Indigenous Hemisphere, commenced. And secondly, the Homeland Security Command Force will be established and implemented in which gun zealots, with one week of weak training, will go forth into our Sonoran Desert in search of “mua” given that I am considered a Brown Person. So, Arizona’s historical behavior at a continuing schematic for “racial profiling” will now be conducted by gun zealots and not necessarily Law Enforcement in the traditional sense of our mutual understanding. So, I expect the national news media outlets will get their fill of and their full-throated opportunity for “If it bleeds, it leads”.
Consequently, “immigration” is all about “new” voters and since “new” voters tend to vote for the Democratic Party, the lexicon for “toss the bums out” will come forth as a full gale storm for political activity in which angst and anger will be the paramount behavior from all of Arizona’s
citizenry and regardless of political party affiliaton.
In closing, the Second Rule of Political Engagement in the Sonoran Desert is “Don’t take shit from anyone, and yet, don’t take any beer bottle that doesn’t belong to you.”
Jaango