The much awaited immigration reform meeting between President Barack Obama and Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) scheduled for Monday afternoon has been postponed and will be rescheduled later this week, due to a flight cancellations in South Carolina.
This delay should not be of any concern to immigration reform advocates as the meeting was canceled not due to any political reason, but because of a technical problem. Graham’s communications director Kevin Bishop said in a statement. “Senator Graham was scheduled to fly to Washington this afternoon but his US Air flight from South Carolina was cancelled. The meeting will be rescheduled.”
Schumer, who has been working with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), has already set out principles for a bipartisan reform that include rigorous workplace and border enforcement, a realistic assessment of the nation's need for skilled and unskilled labor, a commitment to controlling the future flow of illegal immigration and bringing millions of people away from the shadows of society.
Mr. Schumer has said that the administration’s agenda was “ambitious,” but that he was “confident we can have a bipartisan immigration bill ready to go under whatever timeline the president thinks is best.”
Schumer and Graham have been working for months on an immigration reform outline. They have searched for an additional Republican co-sponsor but have yet to recruit anyone. Immigration reform advocates are working hard for Schumer and Graham to introduce legislation before the scheduled March 21 rally at the Washington D.C. National Mall.
Meanwhile organizers from around the country are preparing to march on March 21, 2010. The idea is to rally tens of thousand of supporters to push for immigration reform this year. The march, organized by the Reform Immigration For America coalition, will also bring together organizers concentrating on different aspects on the immigration problem. This includes supporters for the DREAM Act, which would grant legalization for children who entered this U.S. before they reached 16 years of age, reform for the 12 million illegal aliens, agricultural reform and better immigration detention practice.
