Three Republican lawmakers from Tennessee and Georgia say now's not the time to focus national attention on immigration reform.
Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday to reform the nation's immigration laws. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Arizona's new law allowing police to stop and question people on a "reasonable suspicion" that they might be illegals left Congress no choice but to act on a comprehensive overhaul to immigration laws.
"It's worth quoting what the Arizona association of the chiefs of police have said: 'We strongly urge the U.S. Congress to immediately initiate the necessary steps to begin the process of comprehensively addressing the immigration issue, to provide solutions that are fair, logical and equitable,'" Sen. Durbin said.
But U.S. Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said that's putting the cart before the horse.
"We know, because of what we tried to do back in 2007, that trying to deal with the immigration issue, particularly those that are here illegally today, is not practical because we still haven't sealed the border," Sen. Chambliss said. "And until you secure the border, trying to really have an overall reform package on immigration just simply can't be done."
Sen. Corker echoed his colleague.
"It is my belief that before the American people will be willing to get behind an immigration policy, the federal government needs to show that it can put the mechanisms in place to actually enforce whatever immigration laws are passed," he said.
And Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said economic issues should take priority.
"I believe Congress needs to focus right now on legislation that will create jobs, address our economic issues and allow for responsible domestic energy exploration and expansion so we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil," Sen. Isakson said in a statement.
The Arizona law brought the issue into the spotlight and raised a nationwide controversy. Opponents marched Saturday in cities across the nation. There have been calls for a boycott of Arizona and police chiefs in the state saying they won't enforce the law.
Last week, President Barack Obama said he thought immigration reform was dead after massive congressional battles over health care and financial reform. "Lawmakers may lack the 'appetite' to take on immigration," he said, according to The Associated Press.
But the president, who campaigned on immigration reform, said, "We need to start a process, at least," adding that he wanted to come up with a proposal that could win broad public support.
Before the president spoke, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid urged swift action to fix the "broken immigration system" during a Reform Immigration for America rally in his home state.
"Immigration reform, like health reform, is about doing what's right, even if it's hard," he said.
Ken Ellinger, associate professor of political science at Dalton State College, said Sen. Reid is facing a tough re-election battle this fall that could influence his push for immigration reform.
"His own need for a legislative victory that could be viewed by his constituents as something positive could be motivating this push to deal with immigration when normally an issue like this is a little too controversial to tackle in election year, especially almost half-way through an election year," Dr. Ellinger said.
CLOSER TO HOME
The timeline to pass immigration reform is getting shorter, said Elias Feghali, spokesman for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.
"If it doesn't happen in the next couple of weeks, it's not going to happen and our elected officials are going to pay the price at the polls," he said. "You have millions of immigrants Latino and non-Latino to whom this issue is vital."
Even if it's for different reasons, some Americans feel Washington has failed to deal with the illegal immigration problem.
"The first responsibility of any government is to protect its citizens (and) that includes protecting the borders and ascertaining who is coming into the country and for what purposes," Chattanooga resident Mary Bailey wrote in an e-mail.
Ms. Bailey said she supports legal immigration but is completely against illegal immigration.
"I would appreciate it very much if Congress would focus on illegal immigration sooner rather than later," she wrote.
Pro-immigration reform activists argue that it would help improve the U.S. economy.
"You would have millions of new full-time taxpayers who registered, paid a fine and, now that they are part of the system, they would have the ability to get a driver's license, buy car insurance, home insurance ... drive economic growth and create jobs," said Mr. Feghali.
In 2007, Georgia enacted the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act, which covered areas including health care, public benefits, employment and immigration enforcement. At that time, it was considered to be among the toughest such laws in the country.
America Gruner, founder of the Coalition of Latino Leaders in Dalton, Ga., said her group advocates immigration reform because the system is broken.
"Being an immigrant is not equal to being a criminal," she said. "If the real problem is that we are undocumented, then we want the federal government to create a path to legalization so that 'problem' would be fixed.
"Otherwise, we'll perpetuate the system benefiting from our labor without offering us protection of the law," said Mrs. Gruner, who is a naturalized citizen.
ARIZONA'S LAW
Gives police officers the discretion to stop anyone who appears to be in the country illegally. People who can't prove their legal status could be arrested, jailed for up to six months and fined $2,500.
Source: The Associated Press
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