This morning, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus will meet with President Obama at the White House, and immigration reform is expected to be the top priority on the agenda.
The meeting is the first between Obama and CHC members since the president’s inauguration. Some members of the CHC have recently expressed frustration that Obama has not talked more about immigration in his first two months in office, as he had promised throughout the campaign trail. They have also expressed frustration that Obama has not realized how damaging recent workplace raids are to Hispanic communities across the country.
“The president is silent,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who is leading a 19-city tour to build grass-roots support for comprehensive reform. “If the president doesn’t set it as part of his agenda, it won’t happen.”
Gutierrez’s campaign attempts to humanize immigration by featuring children who are U.S. citizens separated from their illegal immigrant parents. The events are being held in large churches, an attempt to bring a Biblical and moral dimension to the fight, Gutierrez said.
The CHC is eager to speak with the president regarding his idea and proposals for addressing immigration reform and ideas for comprehensive reform bill that could provide citizenship for millions of undocumented workers. They also would like to focus on fixing the Bush administration tactic of raiding workplaces and detaining and deporting thousands of illegal workers.
This year, the CHC has made their biggest focus of immigration reform be human raids and their human cost.
As previously reported in La Plaza, CHC members met at the Capitol with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and spoke with her about workplace raids. She said the policy would be fully reviewed and possibly altered.
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