As rallies begin, immigration advocates face tougher political climate

[DeepModem Mom]

LAT: Tougher Audience for Immigration Rallies
With congressional midterm elections just a couple of months away, neither side of the issue looks likely to yield for a legislative compromise.
By Nicole Gaouette, Times Staff Writer
September 1, 2006


IN IOWA: Supporters of broad overhaul march across a bridge in Dubuque before a House hearing in city today on immigration. (Dave Kettering / AP)

WASHINGTON — Immigrants and their supporters will take to the streets today to start a weeklong encore of the rallies that brought millions out in the spring. But as they prepare marches in Chicago, Washington, Phoenix and Los Angeles, immigration advocates are facing a less friendly political climate in the nation's capital.

Although Congress may take up immigration overhaul when it returns next week, few on Capitol Hill are optimistic about passing legislation before November's midterm elections. And any new initiatives are likely to focus solely on enforcement, not on providing more legal options for illegal immigrants.

In some political campaigns, immigration hard-liners are embracing the issue as a way to rally voters and target opponents who favor a broad rewrite of existing laws.

In response, advocates of a more comprehensive immigration overhaul are making the rallies more explicitly political, incorporating voter registration drives aimed at affecting tight races in November — along with reminders that the Latino community, in particular, will watch what politicians say....

***

House Republicans are also on the offensive, tying immigration to the larger issue of national security as part of their election-year campaign strategy....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immig1sep01,0,2860951.story?coll=la-home-nation

[Demeter]

1. Corporate America Advocates for Immigration

but Democrats advocate for fairness: that the rules of immigration be just and good and properly executed, and that human rights and asylum seekers be respected and honored.