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POLITICS-US: Democrats Cagey on Immigration Reforms
By Aaron Glantz
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 5 (IPS) - As voters in 24 U.S. states go to the polls for the "Super Tuesday" caucuses and primaries that will help determine the formal presidential nominations for each party, Democratic contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been actively courting support from Latino voters across the country.
Latinos comprise a major portion of the Democratic electorate in many Super Tuesday states, including California, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona.
The two candidates have clashed repeatedly on issues important to this community - in particular, whether undocumented immigrants should be allowed to hold a valid driver's license.
"I do not think it is appropriate to give a driver's license to someone who is here undocumented," Clinton said in a CNN debate last week.
It puts "them frankly at risk because it is clear evidence that they are here illegally," she added.
Obama countered "there is a public safety concern here and we're better off (if we grant licenses) because we don't want a bunch of hit and run drivers because they're worried about being deported, they don't report an accident."
The issue of whether undocumented immigrants should be allowed to obtain a driver's license is seen as a key indicator of the way presidential candidates approach immigration more generally, because of the symbolic force of a license in determining who is, and is not a U.S. citizen.
Some immigrants' rights activists say the entire controversy has been made irrelevant by the passage of the REAL ID Act, which requires that undocumented immigrants' driver's licenses bear a disclaimer stating that the document may not be accepted for federal identification or any other official purpose. The REAL ID Act also requires the card to have a unique colour or design to alert federal agencies and other law enforcement personnel.
"Because of the Real ID Act there have been various attempts at passing pretty repressive driver's license measures that would identify the immigration status of the holder," said Arnoldo Garcia of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Garcia said the REAL ID Act has forced those who want to grant driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants into a difficult position. He said the real issue might be the candidates' stand on the REAL ID Act.
Both Clinton and Obama voted for the Real ID Act when it passed unanimously in 2005. Last year, Obama voted against expanding the bill. Clinton voted for it.
"We've seen Hillary Clinton play an extremely dangerous and disturbing role on immigration issues," Monami Maulik of the New York-based South Asian group Desis Rising Up & Moving told IPS.
"She's actually been one of the strongest advocates for stronger militarisation and enforcement under the 'war on terror'," she said.
Maulik said as a senator from New York, Clinton has championed legislation to make it easier to deport undocumented immigrants. She was silent when the George W. Bush administration rounded up thousands of Arab and South Asian immigrants after Sep. 11, 2001, and she voted to construct a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. In last week's presidential debate in Los Angeles, she spoke about undocumented immigrants taking U.S. jobs.
"Because of employers who exploit undocumented workers and drive down wages, there are a lot of job losses," she said.
"I think we should be honest about that. There are people who have been forced out of jobs in factories and meat processing plants in all kinds of settings," she added.
Obama's response: "To suggest somehow that the problems we're seeing in inner city unemployment are attributable to immigrants, I think is a case of scapegoating that I do not subscribe to."
In presidential primaries thus far, Clinton has won large percentages of the Latino vote. In Nevada, exit polls showed she won more than 60 percent of the Hispanic vote, though the Culinary Workers Union had backed Obama. In Florida, Clinton won 59 percent of the Latino vote; Obama won only 30 percent.
Clinton has scored several major endorsements from within the Latino community in California, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the pioneering labour activist Dolores Huerta. Obama supporters in California include Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero and Maria Elena Durazo, the head of the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labour.
Immigrant rights advocates in Chicago say they have a long history of working with Senator Obama and had high praise for him. He even spoke at the head of a massive rally on May 1, 2006 and pledged never to vote for a fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. But when the bill to build the fence came up for a vote, the Illinois senator reversed himself.
"Before he's saying that he is with us and then he's doing something different," said Chicago organiser Fabian Morales. "That's one of the things that really concerns us about Mr. Obama."
Morales is now a Clinton supporter.
Both Obama and Clinton support civil penalties on employers who hire undocumented immigrants. They also both supported the DREAM Act, which would have allowed undocumented immigrant children to go to college in the U.S. if they attended high school here.
Finally, they both say they support "comprehensive immigration reform" which would grant some undocumented immigrants a so-called an earned "path to citizenship". Immigrants' rights advocates say voters should look at the details of the candidates' plans - details both candidates have yet to release.
(END/2008)
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