No Coverage for the Undocumented under Health Care Proposal — Question of the Day: When will the Obama administration do something constructive on immigration?

If you support the rights of immigrants, the Obama administration to this point has been bitterly disappointing.  As Bill Hing reported yesterday, President Obama says that immigration reform will have to wait until next year — with it more difficult for Congress to pass anything controversial (like immigration reform)  in an election year.  In the last six months, the Department of Homeland Security has aggressively pursued what has been termed an “enforcement now, enforcement forever” strategy.  And now, despite the public health risks at stake, the Obama administration — which has delayed immigration reform in no small part to pursue health care reform — has cut undocumented immigrants out of its health care proposal.  Antonio Olivo of the Los Angeles Times reports that the debate is heating up on healthcare for the undocumented with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying that they would not be covered under overhaul proposals with activists saying that medical care should not be denied to the sick, no matter their immigration status.

When will the Obama administration do something constructive on immigration?  When will we see anything beyond “manana” and “enforcement now, enforcement forever”?   Is there anyone out there?

KJ