See other Immigration Articles
Title: Immigration Debate Prompts Growing Jewish-Latino Ties
Source:
The Forward
URL Source: http://www.forward.com/articles/124 ... romptsGrowingJewish-LatinoTies
Published: Jan 31, 2010
Author: Nathan Guttman
Post Date: 2010-01-31 17:13:07 by Jethro Tull
Keywords: None
Views: 1166
Comments: 106
Washington — Even as health care reform twists in the wind, immigration policy looms as the next big political debate — and Hispanics and Jews are moving to the forefront in a burgeoning political alliance. The next three months are seen as critical in the fight for immigration reform, but the weakening of the Democrats’ grip on Congress with the recent loss of a key Massachusetts Senate seat does not bode well for the passage of reform legislation. The Jewish-Latino alliance on immigration issues builds on the heritage and experience of the Jewish community and on the enthusiasm and urgent needs of the Hispanic community, which has a strong interest in issues of family unification and the status of the some 12 million illegal immigrants, most of them from Latin America. But Jewish activists also see the joint work as an opening for cooperation with the Hispanic community on other issues, such as Israel. “If we want to engage with the Latino community on issues that are of concern for us, including Israel, we need to engage on issues that bother their community,” said Gideon Aronoff, president and CEO of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. “We want to create growing bonds with the Latino community, and we cannot create these bonds if we are indifferent to the issues that are of concern to them.” Alliance: Luis Gutierrez (left) and Charles Schumer are trying to drive reform through Congress.Some advocates view the ethnic backgrounds of the two key lawmakers leading the drive for immigration reform as symbolic of the growing alliance on the issue. In the House, the main immigration reform bill was presented Rep. Luis Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat, and in the Senate it is expected that New York’s Senator Charles Schumer will soon present his version of immigration reform legislation. The Gutierrez bill has been praised by advocates for immigrants as providing answers to most of the concerns of the Hispanic community, but so far it has failed to gain any Republican support. Schumer’s bill, now in the making, is expected to have more bipartisan appeal, by taking a nuanced approach to the thorny issue of providing a path to legalization for millions of illegal immigrants. While Democratic-backed health care reform legislation was uniformly opposed by Republicans and now seems to be stuck in Congress, advocates agree that immigration reform stands no chance of passage without bipartisan support. But immigration advocates believe that the blow suffered by health care reform supporters following the Massachusetts Senate election does not necessarily dictate the same fate for immigration reform. Indeed, said HIAS’s Aronoff, it might even help the cause, due to increased pressure on lawmakers to show progress on key issues. “All Americans have seen the gridlock in Washington and are very frustrated with it,” he said. “Now the president and Congress need to show that they can solve problems for Americans.” But with the political clock ticking, supporters of reform fear that major legislation is becoming harder to pass, and so they set the first half of 2010 as a desired deadline for passing legislation. “Every day we get closer to the elections, the harder it becomes,” said Richard Foltin, director of national and legislative affairs at the American Jewish Committee, referring to upcoming congressional elections. Jewish communal support for immigration reform is organized around several principles, including the need for a path to legalization for illegal immigrants; a mechanism for dealing with future immigration waves; speeding up work on family unification; integrating new immigrants into American society; and finding, as Jewish immigration advocates put it, an “effective and humane” way of enforcing immigration laws and border control. This last point seems to be a growing concern within the Jewish community, said Jane Ramsey, executive director of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs based in Chicago. Ramsey, whose organization has been working closely with Hispanic groups, stressed that while both communities strongly support immigration reform, there is still a need to instill in members of the Jewish community the importance of the issue, which for most Jews carries a symbolic, not personal, importance. “Our community is one step removed,” she said, “and therefore it is very important to make it real for people by interacting with the Latino community.” While the Jewish organizational world is essentially united on this issue, some have argued that the Jewish rank-and-file is not on entirely the same page as communal leaders. The supposed divide between religious leaders of various stripes and their rank-and-file was the focus of a recent survey, sponsored by the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based group that opposes granting illegal immigrants a path to legalization and instead argues that many will return to their home countries if immigration laws are better enforced. That poll, which was conducted online by Zogby International in December, found that Jews were roughly equally divided between those who prefer a stepped-up enforcement approach and those who prefer granting legal status with a path to citizenship. Jewish immigration advocates have questioned the survey’s methodology, but they agree that there are diverse opinions within the community. Yet the CIS poll also found that Jews were still considerably more likely than members of other religious groups to support granting legal status to illegal immigrants, a finding that immigration advocates say rings true. The organized Jewish community is more committed than ever to immigration reform. A letter supporting immigration reform, which will be sent out to all Senate offices in early February, was signed by dozens of national Jewish organizations. Joining forces with the Hispanic community has been a longstanding goal for Jewish groups. But what seems to be a rare chance to reform immigration laws has helped galvanize the relationship. At a January 10 roundtable in Durham, N.C., Jewish and Latino activists shared their immigration experiences and looked for ways to work together in support of the legislation. “We broke into groups and spoke about the similarity between our grandparents’ immigration and their experience nowadays,” said Stephanie Grosser, who has been coordinating outreach efforts for HIAS. One of the issues activists from both sides discussed was hate and hostility directed at immigrants — both past and present-day, whether they were Jewish newcomers at the turn of the 20th century or Latinos in recent decades. “After we talked about why the Jewish community cares about immigration, two Latino women from the crowd came up and hugged me,” Grosser recalled. Cooperation between the two communities goes beyond the issue of immigration reform and includes many joint programs on the local level. On the national level, Jewish and Latino groups are part of broader coalitions organizing a Washington rally in March in favor of immigration reform, which will be preceded by advocacy work in congressional districts during the February congressional recess. Jewish groups bring to the table their experience and well-established network of political contacts, a contribution highly appreciated by Hispanic organizers. “For us, as newcomers to the society, this experience is extraordinary,” said Gutavo Torres, president of Casa Maryland, a Hispanic group active in the metropolitan Washington area. “They know how to work through the system, how to lobby, how to advocate. The Jewish community has a lot of experience and a lot of power.” Jewish organizations have been increasing their efforts to reach out to the Hispanic community for several years, and most national groups have established joint programs and sponsored Jewish-Hispanic events. With the rapid growth of the Hispanic community and with its rising political clout, Jewish groups see added value in building bridges to the community. “We are working on immigration, because it is the right thing to do, because it is part of our values,” said the AJC’s Foltin. “But the dialogue also creates better understanding for the needs of our community.”
Poster Comment: The Israelis have mined their border with Lebanon. Then they come here and preach to us about tolerance toward illegals. On the bright side, it appears the Hispanics no longer need Blacks. I wonder if they'll catch on to the game?
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
Comments (1-20) not displayed.
.
.
.
#21. To: Jethro Tull (#18)
"one of the confab's organizers, Mark Skoda, recently told TPMmuckraker he'd support inviting RNC chair Michael Steele." And: "As we've reported, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is the keynoter for the Feb. 4-6 event, and Rep. Michele Bachmann will be the highlight luncheon speaker."
Bachmann isn't going, so you're late on that, but the crux of the article is the awareness of a core group of independents that the GOP would love to absorb the enthusiasm and energy they bring. Maybe they won't, maybe they will, the struggle is currently ongoing. But hey, some think it's best to sit on their ass and type impressive missives that accomplish absolutely nothing. *Anything* and *anyone* is better than Obama, and that's my strategy. And yours is?
Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann says she won't attend the event, scheduled for early February in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn has announced she's dropping out as well. Both lawmakers are prominent backers of the tea party movement. However, their offices released statements Tuesday citing concerns about how funds raised by the convention might be used.
Well done! You've stumbled on that split I was talking about!! Wouldn't it be great if the independent faction came out on top and actually did what RP never even tried to do?
Reaction to the puppet is ineffective. Obama is just another brick in the wall. I don't take him any more seriously than I did Bush or Clinton. The people have to change. I don't see that happening yet, but the opportunity is there.. The economic downturn could have been a trigger, but so far it's been squandered, just like the Great Depression was. My strategy is to try to help people avoid partisan pitfalls. They have better things to do with their lives.
Yes.
I saw the meshing of Black nationalism and socialism in the late 60s in NYC during the riots. Having seen that slop up close and personal, Bush & Clinton, scumbags both, are a better option for this white nationalist. One man's opinion, and as I say, do as you please regarding the hot soup we're in. You're a free man even at this late stage of the game.
If Obama were a true black nationalist, he'd have more blacks in his cabinet. He would be pulling out of the wars in the middle east. He'd be appointing blacks to the supreme court. It's important to characterize our situation accurately.
You mean that South Bronx 'wise Latina' recently appointed to the SC isn't hand in hand with their agenda? Please. Your lack of Ghetto knowledge is disturbing. And one doesn't have to be black to be part of the black nationalist movement; I give you Fr. Pflager, Ayres and all the scum associated with the "social justice" movement. Just call them White Guilters, they know who they are.
I don't think that the wise Latina is worse than the white males Bush and Reagan appointed.
Ah....you can't be serious........
I am serious. WASPs gave this country away. It's done.
This affirmative action hire will strip your gun rights w/o blinking an eye. Give the Witch Doctor one more placement, and you'll see for yourself. That's what's driving gun sales. We aren't as dopey as some think.
It's too late. She's already been robed.
Yeah, I actually know that. This dark POS will have another three years to place hard, left wing radicals on the bench should the occasion arise. If you see no distinction between the radical, Che-loving left, and say a Justice Thomas, then there isn't much point in continuing this conversation. No offense intended.
Same old crap - the Jewish doing divide and conquer politics. Gang up on white males and the Jews will deliver to you government riches!
Well it is getting late, as in tonight. But I'll say that most of the damage has been done already. We've been in free fall. This is a new country. Welcome to the results of the past 200 years.
They do. In my anecdotal experience.
It's not socialism if it's the white man's money.
Not important. FOX News tells them Palin's one of them, and they believe it. THAT is why she's more dangerous. Every non-white believes it too. That's why she's great.
It's not socialism if it's the white man's money.
you gots to wonder how many hispanics realize the pope is muzzled because the boston globe ---a subsidiary of the new york times--- still has a couple vaults full of priestly sex abuse stories.
It's enough.
It's not socialism if it's the white man's money.
I wouldn't trade this time in our history for anything. I know exactly how I'll behave when the SHTF. Good luck to you and whatever it is you're planning to do.
it's no coincidence that those sex abuse scandals surfaced right after the pope started mouthing off about the immorality of the neocon PNAC project in iraq.
We've seen these waves of enthusiasm before. Take what happened with Ron Paul and multiply it by 20 times in terms of numbers, dollars, and voter savvy and I'll be interested. Right now, people are excited about health care, taxes, and the so-called banker bailouts. They're still pretty clueless. They're still receptive to media manipulation. This is going nowhere in a big hurry. People haven't figured out just how bad off they really are yet.
and they havent figured it out because they're fed a steady diet of garbage media, as per the neocon philosophy of goverment.
I don't think the S will ever HTF, no more than it is already. That's the way history works, in my view. It happens in small steps, which together make large changes. Some of them are sudden. Just think back to 9/11. That was sudden. What did you do? You watched it on TV probably. I keep saying that we have to change as a people. We can't do this any other way. It may sound silly, but we have to become the liberated people we want to be. There's no big event yet to happen that will make us do that.
Why are you different? You've been fed the same thing, right? They have to be different in some way, too. The GIGO business will not change until the consumers demand otherwise.
so the israeli samson option is nothing but a vaudeville routine. good enough
i've been programmed differently, havent i?
Your historical view strays significantly with reality.
so how many network executives will we have to shoot to persuade those remaining to tell the truth?
I think she'll help with that.
It's not socialism if it's the white man's money.
We're not a people yet. She'll help with that. Small steps? Why, yes! :)
It's not socialism if it's the white man's money.
Why would that help if people don't care about the quality of the information they're getting? If they don't care, they aren't listening carefully anyway. You don't seem to understand that the people are the ones who have to protect their own freedom. We have failed to do that, starting with how we listen to media, how we educate our children, and so forth. GIGO happens when people don't reject lies.
She's working on the other team.
Suppose you're right. So what?
It's not socialism if it's the white man's money.
All we need is for the majority of legal Americans to realize that their votes don't matter. As soon as that happens, change will begin. I don't know how it will begin, but it will. Convincing people that the tea parties or that Palin are "real" isn't helping us to get there.
Name one sudden change you've experienced. You're not going to get your SHTF moment. The PTB know better than to give you one.
and you refuse to acknowledge that liars are so firmly entrenched in powerful media positions that there's no way to dislodge them, short of shooting them. and they know that, and they're preparing themselves to deal with it. why do you think obama was elected rather than hillary? ...surely not to forestall more black riots. in the meantime, the only thing the media people have to worry about is stacking up enough loot to buy refuge someplace once the shit finally hits the fan, as it surely will. do you think that american power will last forever, or at least long enough to protect israel from the idiocy of its founding? or are you admitting that israeli leadership is nothing but a gang of thuggish looters, who will abandon israel once the american tit goes dry?
Comments (62 - 106) not displayed.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#22. To: Deasy (#21)
#23. To: Jethro Tull (#20)
(AP) The National Tea Party Convention has lost two of its major speakers.
#24. To: Deasy (#21)
#25. To: Deasy (#23)
#26. To: Jethro Tull (#22)
*Anything* and *anyone* is better than Obama, and that's my strategy. And yours is?
#27. To: Jethro Tull (#25)
Wouldn't it be great if the independent faction came out on top and actually did what RP never even tried to do?
#28. To: Deasy (#26)
Obama is just another brick in the wall. I don't take him any more seriously than I did Bush or Clinton.
#29. To: Jethro Tull (#28)
#30. To: Deasy (#29)
He'd be appointing blacks to the supreme court
#31. To: Jethro Tull (#30)
#32. To: Deasy (#31)
I don't think that the wise Latina is worse than the white males Bush and Reagan appointed.
#33. To: Jethro Tull (#32)
#34. To: Deasy (#33)
#35. To: Jethro Tull (#34)
#36. To: Deasy (#33)
In an interview with Forbes Magazine Saban was asked how he thinks the Democratic Party could get back into the White House in 2008. Saban answered three times: "Vote for Hillary Clinton."
"a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel"
....may we assume that hillary's "best vision for the future of america" means that she is a one-issue gal, and that issue is israel?
#37. To: Deasy (#35)
It's too late. She's already been robed.
#38. To: Jethro Tull (#0)
Immigration Debate Prompts Growing Jewish-Latino Ties
#39. To: Jethro Tull (#37)
If you see no distinction between the radical, Che-loving left, and say a Justice Thomas, then there isn't much point in continuing this conversation. No offense intended.
#40. To: Deasy (#1)
Anglos haven't caught on to the game yet, why would the Hispanics?
#41. To: Deasy (#7)
They both favor amnesty. They both coddle the bankers.
#42. To: Prefrontal Vortex (#40)
They do.
#43. To: Deasy (#15)
You're enthused. That's the only result I can see.
#44. To: Deasy (#39)
Well it is getting late, as in tonight. But I'll say that most of the damage has been done already. We've been in free fall. This is a new country. Welcome to the results of the past 200 years
#45. To: Prefrontal Vortex (#43)
#46. To: Prefrontal Vortex (#43)
#47. To: Deasy (#46)
(Edited)
People haven't figured out just how bad off they really are yet.
#48. To: Jethro Tull (#44)
I know exactly how I'll behave when the SHTF. Good luck to you and whatever it is you're planning to do.
#49. To: groundresonance (#47)
and they havent figured it out because they're fed a steady diet of garbage media, as per the neocon philosophy of goverment.
#50. To: Deasy (#48)
I don't think the S will ever HTF, no more than it is already.
#51. To: Deasy (#49)
Why are you different?
#52. To: Deasy (#48)
That's the way history works, in my view.
#53. To: Deasy (#49)
(Edited)
The GIGO business will not change until the consumers demand otherwise.
#54. To: Deasy (#46)
People haven't figured out just how bad off they really are yet.
#55. To: Deasy (#48)
I keep saying that we have to change as a people.
#56. To: groundresonance (#53)
#57. To: Prefrontal Vortex (#55)
She'll help with that.
#58. To: Deasy (#57)
#59. To: Prefrontal Vortex (#58)
#60. To: Jethro Tull (#52)
Your historical view strays significantly with reality.
#61. To: Deasy (#56)
(Edited)
You don't seem to understand that the people are the ones who have to protect their own freedom.
.
.
.