Yes we can?

WASHINGTON D.C. - Immigration reform has been put aside for a variety of reasons: the biggest economic collapse in history, the war in Afghanistan, the high unemployment rate, a quarreled health reform fight and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. When the topic did make it back to the headlines it wasn’t Obama or another member of the Democratic Party who brought it up, it was the SB1070 law.

Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona catapulted Latinos to the front page after promoting and approving a law that gives regular police officer permission to racially profile.  That alone unleashed a national outcry and made it an unavoidable issue for the president, who was overwhelmly supported by the Latino vote. The President confronted the law by the incongruences with the constitution and put himself in the eye of the hurricane. Meanwhile Arizona’s Governor counter attacked the federal government for the lack of action protecting the borders despite the fact that the deportation ratio has tripled under the Obama administration.

After only two weeks of debate the Democratic Party was already stepping to the side of the issue. In a closed door meeting that took place in the White House, Democratic governors showed the party concerns about the SB1070 debate and the coming elections. “We must deal with jobs and all of a sudden we are talking about immigration,” Gov. Phil Bredsen [D] of Tennessee said.  “It is a toxic topic in a critical moment for democrats.” In addition, a survey by the Lake Research Partners showed the majority of those surveyed were in favor of the law because of the federal inability to deal with the illegal immigration issue.

A 21st century law institutionalizing discrimination is about to be in effect and there is little we can do about it. Politicians are busy talking about a number of issues, but none of them seems to have to do with the Latino population. SB1070 exposes the minimal capability of the government to push for immigration reform and to honor the promises of most Democratic campaigns.