by Rosalba Ruíz

Already pronounced dead by president obama and key members of congress several times this year, immigration legislation remains alive in the souls and on the soles of millions of hispanics and other reform advocates.

Tens of thousands of demonstrat­ors marched throughout the country may 1 to urge once again that the federal government reform the nation’s immigration laws. The april 23 passage of an arizona state law widely condemned as anti-immigrant helped fuel participation.

Advocates turned out for more than 70 international workers day events spread across 30 states. These included major rallies in los angeles, which attracted some 50,000 participants, and turnouts of additional thousands in dallas, chicago and milwaukee.

In washington, d.C., Thousands participated in protests that culminated in lafayette park in front of the white house. It was there that congressman luis gutiérrez (d-ill.) And 34 other persons were arrested for participating in a sit-in on the sidewalk in front of the white house.

“For myself, i know i am going to keep the pressure on the white house, on the leadership in my party, and on the members across the aisle. We need to get a bill passed this year,” said gutiérrez, on april 29, in response to federal immigration reform legislation outlined that day by a group of senate democrats, including majority leader harry reid of nevada and sen. Chuck schumer of new york.

This latest proposal by the democrats shows that the debate has shifted to the right, concluded a washington post analysis.

The bill emphasizes securing the border more tightly before taking steps to legalize many of the 11 to 12 million undocumented immigrants estimated to be residing in the country. Analysts told the post that the democrats’ shift underscores how, in the struggle between enforcement backers and legalization advocates, the former appeared to be gaining.

Frank sharry, executive director of america’s voice, a pro-reform organization, says that, while enforcement-heavy, the latest proposal does deal with what to do with those who lack legal status. Even if “not perfect,” the revised bill addresses issues that need to be tackled as part of the reform, he said.

But what everyone does agree on is that the immigration system has to be reformed.

According to a new york times/cbs news poll, a majority of the public thinks an overhaul is needed, including 44 percent who say the system needs to be rebuilt completely and 45 percent who say it requires fundamental changes. Only 8 percent say the system needs only minor changes.

“The american people are ready for reform. What we need is courage from the leadership now,” said felipe matos, 24, an economics student who was brought to the united states at age 14. He wants to be a teacher but his undocumented status prevents him from gaining the credential that will allow him to achieve his dream.

Matos traveled to washington from miami with a group of students who embarked on foot jan. 1 On a 1,500-mile journey. They reached the white house on may 1.

The students called their campaign the trail of dreams, in reference to the dream act, a proposal that would help undocumented immigrants who arrived in the united states at age 15 or younger to obtain legal residency.

Their hope was to give president obama a petition signed by 30,000 people to stop the separation of families through deportations.

They were instructed by white house security personnel to mail in the petition. Instead, they left their shoes behind, “the same shoes we wore the day we started walking on january first, as a symbol of thousands in our communities that disappear due to our broken immigration system,” they wrote on their blog. “This is our official statement. May first is not the end, but the beginning of a new chapter that all of us will write together!”

The grassroots immigration reform movement came to life in 2006 with huge protests, but it has seen no success yet. However, the demonstrations are helping the cause by mobilizing the community, says sharry.

The 2006 marches, with a common slogan, “today we march, tomorrow we vote,” helped generate three million new voters, he explains. In the 2008 election, four states with significant and growing hispanic populations that in 2004 were “red” states, turned “blue” — a message to politicians, sharry calls it.

“Marches and elections, lobbying and boycotts are aspects of the same movement,” he says. “If we are to have a victory … it’ll be in response to the mobilization of a community, the fastest growing group of voters.

That’s why i think we have a shot to have reform this year.”

More protests and marches are being prepared throughout the summer.

(Rosalba ruíz is a reporter with hispanic link news service in washington, d.C. Email her at rpruiz @yahoo.Com) ©2010

por José de la Isla

­HOUSTON —As a young guy I participated in a computer store grand opening. The main attraction was a robot, manipulated by a man with a job stick who threw his voice into a Dixie cup decoy microphone. The robot appeared to talk.

But the moving robot developed mechanical problems and stalled.

The audience froze. The operator went over, lifted the robot’s back and adjusted the connector cables, Then the act continued.

I was impressed how the audience suspended disbelief about what happened before their eyes. No one mentioned they knew the operator was behind the robot. It seems many people only realize what they want to believe.

That episode came to mind when Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle signed on May 12 a bill allowing state agencies not to respond to follow-up birth certificate requests when they duplicate similar or previous ones.

Enough is enough with questioning President Obama’s nationality. Put in context, others who have run for president have more questionable places of birth: John McCain (R., Panama Canal Zone), George Romney (R., Mexico) Lowell P. Weicker Jr., (R., Paris), Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. (D., Canada). President Chester A. Arthur (1881-85), was born in Vermont but the “birthers” of his day questioned his eligibility, some claiming Vermont was part of Canada.

Still, some people just won’t accept the facts staring at them.

It makes for good, laughable political entertainment. But propaganda and ignorance and even bad intentions can take over and pass as “facts.”

For instance, truth-tellers are sick from repeating how the immigrants among us provide sweeping economic benefits. Viewed state-by-state, further economic endangerment is a serious risk without them. The Immigration Policy Center (immigrationpolicy.org) has been documenting this for a long time.

A breath of sanity was demonstrated in Trenton, N.J. (like Princeton, New Haven, San Francisco and others), which issued a non-official ID so the bearers could cash checks and conduct some normal activity because they know to differentiate between peaceable workers and families from dangerous law-breakers.

Mexico’s president Felipe Calderón’s recent visit to Washington also reminds us why it’s sometimes better to think geographically along with policy issues. For instance, if you don’t want the violence resulting from the crack-down on drug cartels in that country to spill over to our side, you would want our government to ban the sale of assault weapons to keep the bad guys from getting their hands on them.

Think again.

So that raises a pair of questions: To what extent are our subterranean drug purchases and assault weapons sales responsible for the lawlessness?

And what are we going to do about it?

The same should be said about how a more sober and honest North American economy could be fostered. The North American Free Trade Agreement   — good idea — became a roulette wheel tilted toward the U.S. While labor, right-wing and some liberal critics would rather make the U.S. a NAFTA victim, the facts don’t bear this out, even though there are problems with the treaty.

According to a sober report from the Carnegie Endowment, Mexico’s economic growth was slow and job creation weak. That’s because the treaty discouraged industrialization, rural development, poverty alleviation, and environmental protection flexibility.

To balance the ledger, Mexico benefited from dramatic increased levels of trade growth, direct investment, economic stability and rising productivity.

The mistake seems to be that Mexico concentrated too much on deficit reduction when it could have focused more on domestic investment on growth.

Yet, Mexico has been recovering from the global recession, with about a 382,000-job growth this year, and exports are up 40 percent. The fact remains that whether the issue is our growth or theirs, our jobs or theirs, this is one inter-tiered North America of both people and policies.

Whether the focus is immigration or trade or investment, the time is at hand to stop listening to fake news and stereotypes. To do otherwise is to our own detriment and pure folly.

After all, who wants to become a robot with an operator talking into a Dixie cup, mouthing words instead of letting us speak for ourselves, and making our own decisions based on today’s realities, not somebody else’s screwball ideology. Hispanic Link News Service.

[José de la Isla writes a weekly commentary for Hispanic Link News Service. His 2009 digital book, sponsored by The Ford Foundation, is available free at www.DayNightLifeDeathHope.com. He is author of The Rise of Hispanic Political Power (2003).  E-mail him at joesela3@yahoo.com.