Imperial Valley Press: State Latino Caucus Looks To Weigh In On Immigration Reform

September 05, 2013

By: Julio Morales

Calling the need for comprehensive immigration reform one of “highest importance,” members of the state’s Latino Legislative Caucus convened an informational briefing last week that highlighted how the state would be impacted by reform, or by the failure to approve such legislation.

The briefing included a diverse body of stakeholders, including representatives of labor, agriculture, the high tech and building industry, as well as policy analysts.

“It was the first of its kind to take place in Sacramento,” said state Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez, D-Coachella, vice chair of the caucus.

The state has the highest concentration of immigrants living in the country illegally, estimated to be about 23 percent — or 2.6 million — of the nation’s total, according to a Public Policy Institute of California report.

The goal of the briefing was to find a common ground by which the caucus could deliver a unified voice to Congress on behalf of immigration reform. A series of meetings is scheduled in the coming weeks to gather the input of known supporters and as well as meet with detractors of immigration reform.

“We can educate those individuals not in support or on the fence,” he said.

The caucus’ Taskforce on Immigration Reform, which Pérez chairs, will have convened twice since the Aug. 27 briefing and may consider a trip to Washington, D.C., in the near future.

It is estimated that immigrants pay about $5.2 billion in state income taxes and $4.6 billion in sales taxes each year, according to a press release from the Latino caucus.

Pérez said he wasn’t absolutely certain that the state is leading the nation’s efforts to better integrate immigrants that are in the country illegally. He also noted that some states such as Arizona have taken a different approach that could be considered just as beneficial to the country in the eyes of its supporters.

The current political atmosphere makes for limited options, said immigration political consultant Arnold Torres during the recent hearing.

Compared to the discussions that took place in the 1980s surrounding the Immigration Reform and Control Act, Torres said partisanship in the U.S. House of Representatives has driven the focus away from any desire to enact sound policy.

Along with passing IRCA, Congress had allocated $12 billion in grants to the states to provide a minimum level of social and health care services and support.

The recently approved Senate immigration reform bill contained no such funding.

“This is really bad politics as opposed to policy,” Torres said. “It is about what can pass Congress as opposed to what will work.”

In the absence of any federal reform, Pérez said that state legislators, and Latino Caucus members in particular, can try to pass state legislation that would help improve the integration of newly arrived immigrants in California.

Previous attempts have included legislation that would allow for immigrants in the country illegally to obtain drivers licenses and the current attempt to pass the Trust Act, which would limit who state and local police could hold for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The caucus may also use its unified voice to pressure the Obama administration to enact or extend programs such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which removed the threat of deportation from eligible immigrant youths.

“We need to think creatively about how to push such actions,” he said.

Contact the Reporter: Julio Morales at (760) 337-3415 or at jmorales@ivpressonline.com