Pressure on Obama Administration for Immigration Reform

Antonio Olivo and Mary Owen write in the Chicago Tribune:

Whether President-elect Barack Obama plans to deal with the nation's Immigration system quickly after taking office, reminders of the problem are resurfacing. Petitions collected Saturday in Chicago at a church in the Pilsen neighborhood will be sent to Obama this week demanding that Immigration raids be dramatically scaled back under his administration. Signed by U.S. citizens on behalf of friends or family in the country illegally, the letters also called for new action on Immigration reform within the first year of Obama's presidency.

Meanwhile, activists in several cities are planning a January march in Washington, and strategists wonder how else to make Immigration reform a higher priority in light of the nation's sputtering economy.

"We want to make sure that, certainly within the first year, this is a high-prioritized agenda item," said U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), whose office orchestrated the Saturday event at St. Pius V Catholic Church.

Obama, who favors a path to legalization, previously said he hoped to tackle the issue during his first year in office. His transition team did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Frustrated by the scant mentions of the problem during Obama's presidential campaign, Immigration advocates vowed to keep pushing the issue. They pointed to overwhelming support for Obama by immigrant voters, with Latin American and Asian immigrants choosing the president-elect by a ratio of 2-1, according to exit polls. Click here for the rest of the story.

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