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发帖数: 4127 | 1 老老墨表示未来一片光明 毫无鸭梨 小老墨表示母偷渡非法 匪夷所思
http://news.yahoo.com/u-immigration-u-turn-hispanics-seeing-lig
U.S. immigration U-turn has Hispanics seeing 'light at end of tunnel'
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Ricardo, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, sets off each
day before dawn looking for casual work in construction not knowing if he
will return home to his wife and three children or get snared in an
immigration sweep. Lately, he feels the pervasive fear slowly lifting.
Ricardo, 46, is among millions of Latino immigrants who, regardless of their
immigration status, feel fresh optimism this week over newfound Republican
willingness to consider immigration reform to avoid further alienating
Hispanic voters who proved key to re-electing President Barack Obama.
Some leading Republicans have signaled a shift away from an enforcement-only
approach to illegal immigration, with U.S. House Speaker John Boehner
saying that a "comprehensive approach is long overdue."
"When we head out ... it's always with the fear that we might not all make
it back home," Ricardo said in Spanish, perched on the couch in his Phoenix
apartment with his wife, Alicia, 43. "But now you can see the light at the
end of the tunnel."
The Obama administration, in a move that boosted support among Latino voters
, said in June it would relax deportation rules so that many young illegal
immigrants brought to the United States as children can stay and work.
On Sunday, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said he and Republican Lindsey
Graham had agreed to restart talks on a proposal that includes a path to
citizenship for illegal immigrants in the country - who number roughly 11.2
million.
Not since President George W. Bush's 2007 push for broad immigration reform,
which ultimately died in the Senate, have Hispanics and other immigrants
here heard such promising words.
For Ricardo and Alicia, who have stayed on in Arizona despite a state clamp
down on illegal immigration designed to drive them out, comprehensive
immigration reform holds out the possibility for a permanent status for
themselves and a more secure future for their children.
The couple, who asked not to be identified by their last name, crossed over
the desert to Arizona from Mexico 11 years ago and now work as a builder and
house cleaner. They first sent the children, now 21, 16 and 13, to the
United States by bus with false papers, then walked across the desert
themselves.
Now fluent in English and Spanish, the children consider themselves
Americans and the oldest is planning to apply for deferred deportation
status. They felt threatened by the Arizona crackdown but decided not to
flee.
"We've focused on working and bringing up our children honorably," said
Alicia, adding that immigration reform "could make it easier for my children
to carry on studying."
GROWING PART OF ELECTORATE
Latinos are the largest minority and the fastest-growing demographic in the
United States, amounting to 10 percent of the voting public in last week's
election, up from 8 percent in 2008 according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
They also largely supported Obama, with his backing among Hispanic voters in
the election coming in at about 66 percent, according to Reuters/Ipsos
polling data, roughly in line with the percentage that voted for him four
years ago.
"The conservative movement should have particular appeal to people in
minority and immigrant communities who are trying to make it, and
Republicans need to work harder than ever to communicate our beliefs to them
," Florida Senator Marco Rubio said last week.
For Mexico-born Justino Mora, a student in Los Angeles who won temporary
legal status under relaxed deportation rules but whose mother remains
undocumented, the new focus on immigration reform left him hopeful but
wanting more.
"It's really strange knowing that my two siblings and I ... are protected
from deportation and have the ability to work in the U.S., get a Social
Security number and apply for a driver's license, but my mom does not," said
Mora, 23.
Even as some Republicans have expressed willingness to consider an
immigration overhaul, others including Republican Arizona Governor Jan
Brewer who has been at odds with the Obama administration on immigration
policy, have resisted such calls.
Brewer, whose state requires police to check the immigration status of
anyone they stop and suspect is in the country illegally, warned in a
statement against rushing "head-long into a ‘solution' that only makes
things worse."
With mixed messages from Republicans, some Latino immigrants remain wary
about whether they could trust Republicans to represent their interests
going forward.
"You can't trust them: They tell you one thing and they do something else ..
. There's a lot of them who don't like Hispanics," said Mexican day laborer
Baltazar Lara, 54, as he risked arrest waiting to be hired outside a Phoenix
-area Wal-Mart.
But Mexico-born Edder Diaz, 22, who volunteered to help register Hispanic
voters across the Phoenix valley ahead of the election, said he remained
open to the possibility of one day voting Republican should he win
citizenship.
"For me, personally, I see myself as independent ... If a Republican
understands my needs ... I may vote for them," said Diaz. "Up to this point
they have only been playing political games to get themselves elected. There
may be a possibility." | l****z
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