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Activists seek more immigration debate
2008-03-06
When officials in this suburban Chicago community began proposing hardline anti-illegal immigration policies last year, pro-immigrant rights activists rallied. Council meetings overflowed with thousands, mostly people who wanted to protest the proposed measures. Neighborhoods were canvassed with fliers. Coalitions formed to fight the policies. But months and many primaries later, pro-immigrant activists fear the attention paid to immigration reform has faded in Illinois and other non-border states, even in communities like Carpentersville -- where more than 40 percent of 37,000 residents are Hispanic. "All political candidates are avoiding the issue. They talk about getting the vote of immigrants and Latinos, but they haven't touched the problems of immigration reform," said Jorge Mujica, an activist supporting immigration rights. "Something has to happen. We are still here." In response, Midwestern immigration activists are renewing a call for action in the months leading up to the November election. They're joining with academics from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin this weekend in Chicago to discuss how to again bring immigration reform to the forefront for the region's voters. The events, to be held Saturday and Sunday in Chicago, will cover topics including deportations and how to build more regional momentum for a third round of rallies to be held nationwide May 1. Past marches brought hundreds of thousands to the streets to call for immigrant rights. "Immigration reform may have faded from the public view, but certainly not from the day-to-day struggles of many people," said Judith Boruchoff, a professor of anthropology at Roosevelt University, which is helping organize the weekend's events. The one Republican and two Democrats still seeking the presidency have somewhat similar views on illegal immigration reform. Republican nominee John McCain sponsored a 2006 bill that would have offered illegal immigrants legal status, on the condition they learned English, paid fines and back taxes and passed a background check. He supports a border fence and recently said securing borders is a chief concern. Both Democratic candidates Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama voted for the 2006 bill and a border fence. The issue of immigration reform, meanwhile, has largely not resonated with primary voters as some had hoped, and debate on the issue has faded, particularly in non-border states. "A number of candidates have interpreted the fact that immigration is important that this is a good issue for demagogy, but that has fallen pretty flat with voters," said Cecilia Munoz of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights group. Voters across the country overwhelmingly and consistently have named the economy as their top issue in exit poll data from Super Tuesday and subsequent primaries. That's true even in Carpentersville, a community about 40 miles northwest of Chicago which has experienced rapid change following a large influx of Mexican immigrants. In 1990, Carpentersville's population was nearly 17 percent Hispanic. Fifteen years later it had more than doubled to 41 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As attempts at federal immigration reform stalled and failed, the Village Board passed a nonbinding resolution declaring English the town's official language. An ordinance to ban employers from hiring or landlords from renting to illegal immigrants was tabled indefinitely. But Carpentersville voters heading to the polls last month didn't seem to have immigration on their minds. Beatrice Cobal, 46, an immigrant from Mexico who voted for Clinton, said immigration reform is low on her list of priorities. "When the economy is good, everything is good," she said in Spanish. Judy Wille, 62, an independent who has "Republican tendencies," voted for McCain. "My biggest issue was taxes," she said. "Then the economy and the war." Immigration activists and politicians say they expect the tone of the debate on immigration to shift as the election draws closer. "People know that we have to do something on it soon," said state Sen. Iris Martinez, a Chicago Democrat. "The immigration question will be back in again." ___ On the Net: National Council of La Raza: http://www.nclr.org Fox Valley Citizens for Legal Immigration: http://www.foxvalleycitizens.com
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