Commentary: Tragic neglect of immigration – CNN.com
Commentary: Tragic neglect of immigration – CNN.com
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During his presidential election campaign, Barack Obama promised that comprehensive immigration reform would be a top priority of his administration.
Guess what? With the country still swept up in the financial crisis and the pending fight for passage of national health care reform, it is becoming more evident that immigration is being pushed onto the back burner.
The latest word from the Obama administration is that the immigration issue is being pushed back to 2010–and probably 2011 is the more realistic and earliest year in which immigration will be addressed.
Comprehensive immigration reform should thus be viewed as an essential measure to protect human rights on our soil and continent. This is a time to think big, not small. This is about more than laws and lines drawn on a map.
It is about the origins of our humanity, not our nationality. Real people are suffering as raids continue, border deaths and hate crimes escalate, and families are destroyed.