NEW YORK BOSTON |#Popular: Irish Celebrity Gossip Irish Pubs Irish Festivals Irish Roots Irish Entertainment Offbeat Irish

Home Page > Blogs > News blogs > People and Politics > White House arrest of Rep. Gutierrez a wakeup call for Obama on immigration reform

People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

White House arrest of Rep. Gutierrez a wakeup call for Obama on immigration reform

Posted on Sunday, May 02, 2010 at 09:16 PM

Larger Text

E-mail

41 Comments

RSS

Archives

The hundreds of thousands who took to the streets of America this weekend calling for immigration reform are ensuring that this issue will not go away.

But perhaps it was the arrest of Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Chicago outside the White House that will impact President Obama the most.

Gutierrez is an old ally from the Chicago era and the two men, both political outsiders at key points in their lives, have an awful lot in common.

Gutierrez stayed on in Congress because Obama was elected and he was given a firm promise that immigration reform would be top of the new president's agenda.

Since then Gutierrez has been bitterly disappointed in his old friend.

He has warned Obama that the Hispanic congressional caucus is no longer a solid vote on many key issues unless immigration is addressed.

But Obama has not listened.

Then at the weekend, Gutierrez uppsd the ante, allowing himself to get arrested outside the house where his old friend now resides and shapes all policy.

Gutierrez's symbolic act is also a final signal to Obama that he needs to get real about immigration reform and stop trying to shrink his responsibilites.

There is no question that a new vista has opened, that the new Arizona law has propelled reform back onto the front page and front line.

Obama needs to grasp the moment and shape a compromise between two bitterly opposed sides.

That is what great leaders do.

Great leaders also take the ultimate step, like Martin Luther King in getting arrested, like Gutierrez did to drawn attention to the horrific reality that a lack of federal action is causing on this issue.

Gutierrez was issuing a call to action,a clarion call that Obama should ignore at his peril.

Are you listening Mr. President?

E-mail

41 comments

Next Previous Page 2 of 3 pages

DennisQ | May 04, 2010, 01:55 PM EDT

Political power in America has shifted from an older, fearful generation to a younger, more confident generation. This "confident" generation is more characteristically American than the one it replaces. Americans are not a fearful people. We won't get out of a recession by bailing out banks, but by welcoming good hearted workers from other countries.

Report abuse

merryman39 | May 04, 2010, 12:41 PM EDT

Are the businesses and individuals who are hiring illegals, all part of the "lunatic lefty fringe" group protesting in the streets--I doubt it. They are the enablers, not the idiots protesting in the streets. The U.S. is full of a lot of hypocrites who like cheap lettuce and low construction costs.

Report abuse

knowthyself | May 04, 2010, 12:38 AM EDT

Whats wrong with people don't they know what the word illegal means ? if your in this country without papers or a up to date visa /Green Card your a criminal. and should be arrested and deported . we need to Enforce the Law in all states.I want to see a National Identification card with a Picture & Finger Prints on the cards Issued .

Report abuse

Monsoonman | May 03, 2010, 08:26 PM EDT

You need to look at the organization who is behind the pro illegal alien/amnesty push that is getting front page news. Two on the board of directors funding millions of dollars for protests and ads are Kofi Annan and the family of the New York Times...No wonder we get such slanted news.

Report abuse

beachline | May 03, 2010, 08:05 PM EDT

Hooray for the Arizona Governor and legislature for doing the FEDS job. None of this would have occured if the government had not reduced funding and manpower for the Border Patrol. If the illegal immigrants can gather enough cash to pay a coyote to bring them across then they should have used that money to try to change things in their own countries. Mexicans are getting a bad rap--many other nationalities are also crossing illegally.

Report abuse

beachline | May 03, 2010, 07:52 PM EDT

OK, I will try again.! All of you bleeding hearts who oppose the Arizona law--get yourselves down to the border and intercept the drug runners, and take the bullets they will certainly shoot at you.

Report abuse

IrishAndProud | May 03, 2010, 07:35 PM EDT

Also, Dandyglow (and others) keep talking about 'Nazi politics,' or words to that effect, when talking about those who oppose illegal entry. Seems to me ALL the violence thus far has come from the OTHER side...the murder of the AZ rancher by an illegal, the beating up of those who support Arizona in San Fran, the shooting of that Arizona sherriff's deputy, vandalism of state government property, etc...not to mention all the crime from illegals which helped lead to this law.

Report abuse

irishwxman | May 03, 2010, 06:35 PM EDT

hundreds of thousands may have taken to the streets, but according to the latest polls, the majority of American people agree with the new law in AZ. Nobody here wants amnesty except the lunatic lefty fringe groups. This entire debate has become ridiculous. If you are illegal, get out! If you are legal, produce papers, and welcome to the U.S.! Simple as that!

Report abuse

SouthSideIrish | May 03, 2010, 04:28 PM EDT

How ironic. Little Louie is lauded on this web site the SAME day he is outed by the Chicago Sun Times for (i) setting his daughter up for an $85,000 profit on a "non-for'profit" condo deal and (ii) living with the same daughter in her new place OUTSIDE the boundaries of his distict. Congrats Louie...

Report abuse

FastEddy | May 03, 2010, 03:50 PM EDT

" But Obama has not listened. ..." LOL I'm shocked! ... Shocked!! ...

Report abuse

IrishAndProud | May 03, 2010, 02:08 PM EDT

Dandyglow wrote: "Where would we Irish Americans be if the Arizona law was in place when our people came over? It's a little too close to Nazi tactics for my taste. Our President will respond, with Constitutional insight and wisdom." *** I'll tell you where we'd be, Dandyglow, if that AZ law was already in place: right here. It only affects illegals. As for Obama's response, yeah...I've no doubt he'll sick his iron-jackboot government on the American majority for daring to do this.

Report abuse

rpmschevy | May 03, 2010, 01:57 PM EDT

Absolutely asinine to equate Gutierrez and his criminal friends intent with that of Martin Luther King. MLK was about equality of Americans. Even though he, as we all do, love thy neighbor, he also would have been against illegal immigration. Now if the Feds were processing people in a unequal way, yes he would have spoken out, but these people are here illegally. Do you have any concept of that?

Report abuse

IrishAndProud | May 03, 2010, 01:57 PM EDT

We as Irish must NOT back the illegals. There was a time in the United States when we got bad treatment, but that was chiefly a RELIGIOUS beef, not about our legal status. The Irish immigrants of yesteryear have NOTHING in common with the ILLEGALS of today, and it has nothing to do with ethnicity.

Report abuse

mhichil | May 03, 2010, 01:33 PM EDT

some things never change, Los Patricios

Report abuse

user905596 | May 03, 2010, 01:22 PM EDT

We as Irish must back the illegals. There was a time in the United States when we got the same treatment and on a much lower level still do. We must be tolerant of all ethnicities.

Report abuse

Next Previous Page 2 of 3 pages