OBAMA'S PRO-IMMIGRATION POLICY IN DANGER

The New York Times runs an important and relevant editorial today, "Obama Flinches on Immigration."

A noted civil rights attorney and immigration advocate from California, Thomas Saenz, was going to be the next Assistant Attorney General for civil rights. However, after Saenz began drawing cries and howls from immigration opponents in Congress, Obama dumped Saenz for a less controversial choice, Thomas Perez, from Maryland. Here's another case where Barack Obama caved to the reactionary and conservative forces opposed to his progressive agenda.

Writes the editorial board of The New York Times:

"Mr. Saenz, the former top litigator in Los Angeles for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, or Maldef, was privately offered the job in January. The floating of his name led to fierce outbursts from anti-immigrant groups and blogs, which detest him for being so good at what he does.

"He was a leader of the successful fight to block California’s Proposition 187, an unconstitutional effort to deny social services and schooling to illegal immigrants. He has defended Latino day laborers who were targets of misguided local crackdowns, from illegal police stings to unconstitutional anti-solicitation ordinances. An editorial in Investor’s Business Daily slimed Mr. Saenz by calling him “an open-borders extremist” and said Maldef wanted to give California back to Mexico.

"None of it was true, but it was apparently too much for the White House. Mr. Saenz was ditched in favor of Maryland’s labor secretary, Thomas Perez, who has a solid record but is not as closely tied to immigrant rights."

The history of the United States is one where anti-immigration forces attempt to keep out people with different languages, with different skin colors, from different racial backgrounds. It was not that long ago that the official policy of the U.S. was to ban any and all immigrants from Asia, especially the Chinese and Japanese. Today it is a movement against Latinos in general and Mexicans in particular. Some would deny immigrants health care for their families and education for their children because they are "illegals," as if it were okay to deny basic human rights because the parents lack "papers." Others like the American bigots of yesterday want to see all Mexicans returned to Mexico.

Obama had an excellent pro-immigration candidate in Thomas Saenz. Why he decided to desert him can only be guessed. But for whatever reason, the dumping of Saenz does Obama no credit.