OUR CURRENT POLITICAL BACKDROP

July 24, 2009:

Regardless of political affiliation, any politician seeking office in Arizona faces the challenge posed by the broken federal immigration policy. No exceptions. The situation is especially acute in Congressional districts and Senate races with an intensely polarized electorate. Our response is not to further inflame an already divided electorate but to explore the basis for building mutual respect, primarily through education and conversation.

Let’s start with how our Congressional leaders seem to line up on the issue as of now. Broadly speaking, all of Arizona’s Congressional delegation, with the exception of Senator John Kyl and Representatives John Shadegg and Trent Franks, support comprehensive immigration reform. But the devil is in the details…. and in 2010 electoral politics.

Senator John McCain, who has paid an historic price for attempting to advance comprehensive immigration reform in past years, will be contested in the Republican U.S. Senate primary by Chris Simcox, founder of the Minutemen. This poses a special challenge to Senator McCain’s participation in the coming legislative battle over CIR. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, Rep. Jeff Flake and Rep. Harry Mitchell all run in districts with strong, vocal and numerous opponents of CIR. Again, a 2010 electoral challenge in each case.

The current focus by New York Senator Charles Schumer, who is taking the lead on CIR in the Senate, is on border security. Senator Schumer seems to believe that an aggressive stance in this area will help create the space inside of which CIR can move forward.

President Obama is trying to move health care reform through Congress. After that comes climate change legislation and credit market reforms. Then immigration reform, if all goes as planned.

AIR, in collaboration with AIN organizations and allies, propose a course of action that will be constructive regardless of the fate of specific legislative initiatives, whether immigration reform moves forward to passage …or not…in whole or in part.

Frank Pierson