Schumer Holds Hearing Today

April 30, 2009

From America’s Voice:

Schumer Panel Seeks Way Forward on Immigration;

Republican Cornyn Seems Stuck in Reverse

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Citizenship, will hold a hearing: “Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009, Can We Do It and How?” The hearing is the kickoff of the immigration debate in the 111th Congress and shows continued momentum toward movement on comprehensive immigration reform this year.

“This past election was a game-changer and both parties are confronted with the new politics of the issue,” said Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice. “The election showed that swing voters want solutions to tough problems rather than political finger pointing, Latino voters want their contributions respected rather than their families and rights threatened, and that anti-immigrant activists are more bark than bite. This creates a great deal of new political space for good policy.”

Under the leadership of the Subcommittee’s Chairman, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Subcommittee will hear from an array of prominent witnesses who will share their perspectives on the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform. Witnesses will include former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan; Montgomery County, MD Police Chief Thomas Manger; evangelical Pastor Joel Hunter of the Northland Church in Central Florida; Eliseo Medina, International Executive Vice President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Wade Henderson, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights(LCCR); and Doris Meissner, Senior Fellow at the Migration Policy Institute and former Commissioner of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

At the request of Ranking Member Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), the panel will also hear from a business representative who supports comprehensive immigration reform, Jeff Moseley, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, as well as the notoriously anti-immigrant Kris Kobach, who works with the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). FAIR has been labeled a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Cornyn’s choice of witnesses reflects the schism in the Republican Party between moderate voices of reason and anti-immigrant extremists. While the 2008 election results should have delivered a final death blow to the Republican immigration wedge strategy, many in the GOP continue to cling to the mass-deportation approach. Meanwhile, new national polling numbers show that the American people strongly support comprehensive immigration reform and expect President Obama to follow through on his campaign promise to address the issue. Polling also shows that if Congress follows through on today’s hearings and engages in practical immigration reform, they will be rewarded with strong support from the American people.

“Sen. Schumer is one of a number of Democratic leaders who now understand that the public wants their leaders to lean into this issue and enact common sense solutions, and we salute him for holding this hearing and officially inaugurating this year’s debate,” said Sharry. “On the other hand, we will be watching with interest to see how Senator Cornyn navigates this issue. He has talked a good game in the past, but when it came to voting he proudly opposed comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Given how the GOP’s attempt to use illegal immigration as a wedge issue has backfired spectacularly, and given the shifting electoral map in Texas and across the country, will he finally have the courage to vote for reform and stand up to the very people that are driving his party over the cliff? Today’s hearing lifts the curtain on what promises to be one of this year’s most dramatic and high stakes policy debates.”