Putting immigration on back burner could singe Dems in 2008

Via Chicago-Sun Times
November 28, 2006
BY MIGUEL PEREZ

With state and local governments threatening to continue passing immigration laws and usurping the responsibilities of the federal government, can Congress afford to keep delaying immigration reform?

Better yet, with Democrats benefitting from the Hispanic backlash against Republican immigrant-bashers in the midterm elections, can the new Democratic majority afford to take the Latino vote for granted?

Will Democrats act on immigration reform, or will they become the victims of another Hispanic backlash in 2008?

Amazingly, after nurturing the aspirations of Latinos and other immigrants who voted overwhelmingly for Democrats in the midterm elections, some Democrats are already putting the brakes on immigration reform.

In the midterm elections, voters banished many of the most anti-immigrant Republicans. But now that that Democrats are about to take control of both houses of Congress, expectations have been raised in immigrant communities, yet Democrats say immigration is no longer an urgent issue that must be resolved.

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