Editorial:
Since the Presidential election, much political talk has been about immigration reform, consuming a lot of media attention. On top of this, every special interest group, blogger, or political pundit has weighed in on this issue, including this newspaper. It is getting to the point of information overload. Yet, immigration reform deserves the attention and the need for reform is self-evident. But let us not fool ourselves into thinking that this reform will come about anytime soon. There is the possibility that it may not happen at all.
Will a reform package get passed? It is hard to say at this time. The good news is that it has some Republican support with Senator Marco Rubio leading the way. The President is one hundred percent on board and committed to making this happen. And the Republican Party has to find a way to connect with the Hispanic vote and what better way than to pass reform legislation.
That is the good news. The bad news is that five years ago it only took fourteen Republican Senators to block then President Bush’s effort to passing an immigration reform package. Then there is a relatively short time period to get something this complicated done. And the inconvenient fact that the Republicans version of immigration reform does not exactly mirror the President’s vision. Probably the biggest stumbling block is that Rubio’s plan calls for eligibility of a green card contingent on, “requiring our proposed enforcement measures be complete.” Who is to say when enforcement measures are complete? There are other small details like paying back taxes, and what immigrant will have the money to pay years worth of back taxes?
You can couple this with the fact that House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) this week declined to endorse the Senate immigration-reform proposal backed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Many Republicans see the proposed path to citizenship as an amnesty plan, and we can hear Rush Limbaugh hammering this point home every day.
And politicians will do what politicians do, which is drag this discussion on ad nauseam, until the next big hurdle or crisis comes along. If immigration reform is not passed by the end of July, congress will come up against summer recess and we all recall what happened last time the President wanted to get major legislation passed, health care reform. Tea Party zealots and Republicans in general are not crazy about a path to citizenship. We can still remember the packed town hall meetings in the South during the summer recess berating Republicans over the health care issue. It will be the same all over again on immigration reform. And as the 2014 elections just around the corner, Republican candidates will be less inclined to support any immigration package that leads to citizenship. Politics is local and they will need the votes of conservative voters in their districts!
But the intent of this editorial was not to talk about immigration per se, but use it as a segue, into voter registration and the importance of voting.
Over the past few days there has been discussion about the vote in the last election. While voter turnout numbers are up, the discussion was about the need for greater participation and how to get Hispanics committed to voting. There was a greater voter drive in Escondido, and a concerted voter registration drive throughout the county. There is a greater need now to continue registering and getting the community committed to voting.
Voter registration tends to become a focused effort six months or so before an election and then put on the back burner until the next election. If the Hispanic community is going to have a greater say in issues such as immigration, our community must continue to build on the efforts of last year and maintain the drive to register and talk about the importance and impact of each and every vote. For example, Escondido is 50% Hispanic, yet Hispanics don’t vote anywhere near those numbers. If they did Escondido would not be the one of the most anti-Hispanic cities in the nation.
The voter registration process is long and often times difficult and is not accomplished in one fell swoop. It is more along the lines of taking baby steps, one foot in front of the other. As this road is traveled, soon one can look back and see how much has been accomplished. Then when a politician comes in for a town hall meeting the atmosphere may not be so hostile to future immigration reforms or other issues that directly impact the Hispanic community.
Voter registration and the importance of voting is too important to put on the back burner until the next election, it needs to be full time process.