SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010
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POLITICS & THE NATION DREAM Act defeat reveals failed strategy
WOOING OF GOP QUESTIONED
Increase in deportations could alienate Latinos
BY SHANKAR VEDANTAM Whenever Rep. Luis V. Gutierr-
ez (D-Ill.) and other immigrant- rights advocates asked President Obama howaDemocratic admin- istration could preside over the greatest number of deportations in any two-year period in the na- tion’shistory,Obama’sanswerwas always the same. Deporting almost 800,000 ille-
gal immigrantsmight antagonize some Democrats and Latino vot- ers, Obama’s skeptical supporters said the president told them, but stepped-up enforcement was the only way to buy credibility with Republicansandgeneratebiparti- san support for an overhaul of the nation’s immigrationlaws. On Saturday, that strategy was
in ruins after Senate Democrats couldmuster only 55 votes in sup- port of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a measure that would have created a pathway to citizenshipforundocumentedim- migrantswhowere brought to the United States as children. Under Senate rules, Democrats needed 60 votes to overcome Republican opposition to the bill. The House ofRepresentatives had passed the measure thismonth, 216 to 198. The irony of the DREAM Act’s
failureis that ithadstrongbiparti- san support at the start of the administration, and advocates thought it couldgeneratemomen- tumformorepolicy changes. But as the country’smoodshift-
edonillegal immigration, support among Republicans and some Democratic senators evaporated, with many decrying it as a back- door amnesty for lawbreakers. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.),who
led Republican opposition to the measure, said: “This isanamnesty bill because it provides every pos- sible benefit, including citizen- ship, to thosewho are inthe coun- try illegally.” Virtually no one thinks an im-
migration overhaul is possible in thenext twoyears,giventhe views ofmanymembersof the incoming RepublicanmajorityintheHouse. Now many immigrant-rights
supporters are second-guessing Obama’s efforts to woo Republi- cans by rampingupdeportations. “It isastrategywhichhasborne
no fruits whatsoever,” Gutierrez said. “This administration has unilaterally led the march on en- forcement, yet the other side has
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JASON REDMOND/ASSOCIATED PRESS In Los Angeles, Leslie Perez, left, and GreciaMondragon watch TV coverage of the Senate vote.
not given one modicum of com- promise.” “If you really want to bring Re-
publicans to the table,” he added, “so long as they are getting every- thing they want, every piece of enforcement, why, why would they come to the table?” At a recent press briefing,
Homeland Security Secretary Ja- netNapolitano denied that the ad- ministration had increased depor- tations to bringRepublicans to the bargainingtable. “I don’t view it as a quid pro
quo,” Napolitano said. “We en- force the law because we took an oathto enforce the law.” But a senior administration of-
ficial,who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly, said that although there was no explicitquidproquo, theadminis- tration had indeed hoped that tougher enforcement could create a new climate inwhich legislative compromise became easier. “Oneof the arguments that gets
trotted out regularly is that the government can’t do its job,” the official said. “We believe the gov- ernment can do its job, and our work hopefully is evidence of that.”
Being tough enough Latino groups pushed hard for
passage of theDREAMAct,mobi- lizing thousands of students to campaign for the measure across the nation. They went on hunger strikes, conducted prayer vigils, and organized holiday food drives and Thanksgiving dinners with citizens. The DREAM Act would have
given hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants brought to the United States before age 16 a
chance to gain legal status if they have been in the country for five years, have graduated from high school, have no criminal record, and attend college or serve in the military for two years. “I amnot asking for just a vote
for the DREAM Act today,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), who tried, along with Gutierrez, Napolitano, Education Secretary ArneDuncanandothers, toround up enough Republican votes for passage. “From some of my col- leagues, I am asking for much more — I am asking for a vote of political courage.” But the Obama administration
miscalculated conservative antip- athy on the subject of immigra- tion, saida seniorDemocraticHill staffer, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the issue. Even as the administration stepped up deportations, conser- vativeschargedObamawithbeing toosoftonthecountry’sestimated 11millionillegal immigrants. “Short of marching these peo-
ple naked over the border at the pointofabayonet, thereisnosuch thing as being tough enough” for those who want to target illegal immigrants, the staffer said. Immigrant-rights advocates
think the issue will reverberate throughthe2012elections.Obama will have to persuade Latinos — who turned out for him in record numbers inkey states in2008—to do so again, despite the lack of progress on legislative initiatives. ForObama toget intotrouble,His- panicsdon’thavetoswitchsideson Election Day — they just have to stayhome,Latinoleaders said. Republicans,meanwhile, have found that they can talk tough on
DIGEST WIKILEAKS
Bank of America cuts ties with group Bank of America on Saturday
joined several other financial in- stitutions in refusing to handle payments for WikiLeaks, the lat- est blow to the secret-releasing organization’s efforts to continue operating under pressure from governments and the corporate world. The bank said in a statement
that it acted because “WikiLeaks may be engaged in activities that are, among other things, incon- sistent with our internal policies for processing payments.” Internet “hacktivists” claimed
responsibility this month for causing technical problems at the MasterCardWeb site after it end- ed its relationship with WikiLeaks. PayPal’sWeb site was also attacked. WikiLeaks founder Julian As-
sange has said the organization is preparing to release information on banks, which could include documents he says it has on Bank of America.
—Associated Press
California. North of Los Angeles, there
were reports of flooding across all lanes of southbound Interstate 5 south of the AntelopeValley Free- way interchange, according to the California Highway Patrol. Resi- dents who live along flood-prone roads in La Canada-Flintridge were warned to move their cars. —Associated Press
BOB CARE/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Spencer Slate, a dive shop owner in the FloridaKeys, donned Santa gear to take a fundraising plunge offKey Largo on Friday.
CALIFORNIA
Storms could bring widespread flooding A series of winter storms bear-
ing down on California could be the largest system the region has experienced in the past decade, the National Weather Service said Saturday.
Southern California will be hit especially hard by the storms,and officials were preparing for flood- ing and posting mud-flow warn- ings for burn areas in the San GabrielMountains andMalibu. The National Weather Service
said a low-pressure system off Oregon created a band of mois- ture that started in Hawaii and was pointing directly at Central
CORRECTIONS
l Intoday’sMagazine,whichwas printed in advance, photo cap-
tions with an article about D.C. comics misspell the last name of comedian AparnaNancherla.
l A Dec. 16 Style article about an e-mail on climate change written
by Fox News’s Bill Sammon mis- stated his title. He is Fox News’s Washingtonmanaging editor.
l A Dec. 15 A-section article, about the requirement in the new
health-care law that Americans buy insurance, incorrectly said
that, according to estimates by congressional budget analysts, the federal deficit would increase by $250 billion over the next decade if the mandate were re- moved. The analysts predict a decrease by that amount.
l A Dec. 15 A-section article that looked ahead at the Obama ad-
ministration’s Afghanistan war review incorrectly implied that, according to coalition figures, overall Afghan civilian casualties had decreased by 66 percent in the first 11 months of 2010 com-
pared with 2009. That figure ap- plied only to civilian casualties caused by air support to coalition ground operations.
l A Dec. 14 Health & Science article about “conflict minerals”
in Congo incorrectly said that tantalum is amineral. It is ametal that occurs in minerals.
l A Dec. 8 A-section article, about the Supreme Court consid-
ering whether fiances are includ- ed under a federal law that pro- tects employeeswhofile discrimi- nation complaints, misspelled the first name of the principal deputy solicitor general. She is Leondra R. Kruger, not Leonda.
Washington, DC
The Washington Post is committed to correcting errors that appear in the newspaper. Those interested in contacting the paper for that purpose can: E-mail:
corrections@washpost.com. The ombudsman, who acts as the readers’ representative, can be reached by calling 202-334-7582 or e-mailing
ombudsman@washpost.com
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Crash kills three in La.: A single- engine plane crashed shortly af- ter takeoff in south-central Loui- siana on Saturday, killing three people and injuring two, authori- ties said.FederalAviationAdmin- istration spokesman Lynn Lunsford said the plane was about 200 feet in the air when the pilot tried to make it back to the runway.
N.Y. monsignor defrocked in abuse case: A Roman Catholic tribunal has defrocked a monsi- gnorwhoonce led fundraising for the Archdiocese ofNewYork after concluding that he molested a teenage student in the 1980s. MonsignorCharlesKavanagh has denied wrongdoing. —From news services
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immigration and still appeal to Latinovotersbypickingconserva- tive Hispanic candidates. That producedthreesignificantRepub- lican victories this year: Marco Rubio captured a Senate seat in Florida,andSusanaMartinezwon a gubernatorial race inNewMexi- co, as did Brian Sandoval in Ne-
vada.Rubioisbeingmentionedby some as a vicepresidentialpick.
Painwithout gain Ali Noorani, who heads the
National Immigration Forum, an immigrant-rights group, said that Obama faces adilemma going for-
ward.Republicanswould nowcry foul if theadministrationeasedup on deportations, he said.But Lati- nos are losing patience with a strategy that has led to painwith- out gainfor their communities. “The administration is in a
pickleof epicproportions,”Noora- ni said. “They are going to feel incredible pressure in the House to increase enforcement, and the recordshows theywill continue to increase enforcement of a broken immigration system.On the other hand, candidate Obamawill need those same Latinos, Asians and other immigrant voters to come out for him in record numbers. Howdo they square that circle?” The seniorWhiteHouse official
said the administration has no plans to pull back onenforcement just because Republicans are un- likelytosupportabipartisanover- haul of immigration laws in the next two years. “In the short term, there is not a lot of evidence [Re- publicans]will come forward, but our response is not going to be to dismantle immigration enforce- ment,” the official said.
vedantams@washpost.com
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