by Moses Apsan, Esq.
What’s wrong Senator Reid? On Saturday he pledges in front of 6000 people to move quickly in immigration reform and by Monday instead of moving forward he moves away from his endorsement destroying the fragile hope he created. “We won’t to get immigration reform in this work period,” Reid told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Forty-eight hours earlier Mr. Reid was adamant about his position on comprehensive immigration reform. He stated unequivocally that he was ready work on immigration reform now that health care legislation was out of the way. He would do this as soon as Congress returned from a two-week recess. In fact, he gave the impression that he was filling the shoes of recently departed Senator Kennedy, who was a champion in the fight for legalization
Reid said “We’re going to come back, we’re going to have comprehensive immigration reform now.” Most people, when they say now they mean right away. Not some hazy day in the future.
Sen. Reid’s Aides told reporters that Reid never intended to imply that he was going ahead immediately and that they were still waiting for Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, to complete the bill. “Once a bill is drafted, we hope to get it on the floor as quickly as possible,” Jim Manley, a spokesman for Mr. Reid said. A likely story.
In truth, the wait for immigration reform could be appreciably longer than anticipated since the Senate this summer will be dealing with a Supreme Court vacancy and everyone expects a big fight from the republicans. Unless immigration reform proponents move quickly and aggressively, the window of opporunity will close until next year, and 11 million people including their family and employers will continue to suffer.
The question for Mr. Reid today is whether he was sincere when he claimed concern over the plight of the immigrant community. In fact it appears to many that he was disingenuous and only created the appearance of support, while in reality he was just trying to drum up support for November's election.
Time will tell who the true supporters are and who are just trying to benefit from the immigrant’s suffering.