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®*!' ^forilanh (Obserurr September3, 2014 Page 7 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Earning an Immigration Red Card Stalling reform further alienates Latino voters R aul A. R eyes Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., used a World Cup analogy to castigate his Re publican colleagues for blocking immigra tion reform. “Leave the field, too many flagrant offenses and un fair attacks. You’re out,” Gutierrez said. “Hit the showers. It’s the red card.” (In case you’re not into soc cer: Referees bestow red cards on players they deem guilty of misconduct warranting expulsion from the field. These infractions leave a team down a player and at a big disadvantage.) President Barack Obama has no choice but to take executive action on immigration, Gutierrez added. He’s right. Yet Republi cans shouldn’t celebrate the de feat of immigration reform, even if Obama made it a top priority. Not only have GOP lawmakers by responded disgracefully to the child migrant crisis along the bor der, they’re setting themselves up for a demographic slap in the face in 2016— courtesy of Latino voters. The Republican response to the current crisis on the border has been long on rhetoric, short on solutions. For example, Sen. Jeff Ses- Y sions, R-Ala., holds Obama “personally responsible” for “incentivizing” children to com e to the U n ited S tates through the Deferred Action for C hildhood A rrivals program (DACA). The program grants undocumented youth relief from deportation, but it’s not com prehensive. The Obama admin istration is deporting undocu mented imm igrants at record levels, and its deferred action policy doesn’t apply to recent arrivals. Republican lawmakers aren’t letting the facts interfere with their grandstanding. C onsider the thousands of unaccompanied minors who this summer overwhelmed the Bor der Patrol in South Texas. U.S. government officials believe that these kids were making the dan gerous journey north because traffickers have promised them that they could stay here, and because their home countries are awash in violence. Yet this crisis actually makes the case for reform. Had the House passed the immigration bill that the Senate approved last year, it could have cleared up confusion about our immi gration policy. Moreover, the Senate bill included additional money for Border Patrol agents and for more fencing. These beefed-up security provisions were called the “border surge.” In response, House Republi cans sat on their hands. So, the only “border surge” w e’re ex periencing today is one of des perate children fleeing Central America. The fact that Republicans have seized on the child migrant cri sis as their latest excuse for not passing immigration reform is as unconscionable as it is disin genuous. The UN High Com m issioner on Refugees esti mates that about 60 percent of these children may be eligible for humanitarian status. These kids shouldn’t be used to score political points — they deserve humane treatment and compas sion. The G O P’s other excuses for not dealing with immigration fall flat too. They range from the budget sequester to the Boston Marathon bombing to Syria to not trusting Obama. The bad news for Republi cans is that the GOP is firmly saddled with the blame for kill ing immigration reform since 2007. T hat’s bound to cost them in the 2016 general elections and could boost the Democrats’ prospects in the 2014 midterms. A June survey by Latino De cisions found that 74 percent of Latinos said they would view Republicans less favorably if reform didn’t pass, significantly diminishing their chances of re taking the White House. True, not all Republicans op pose immigration reform. Sena tors John McCain, R-Ariz., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., both worked with their colleagues across the aisle to craft the Sen ate immigration bill, only to have their voices drow ned out by House hardliners. And just because reform has died legislatively doesn’t mean nothing can be done. Obama has said that he would take ex ecutive action on deportations once there was no chance of reform passing Congress. Pro imm igrant measures continue to pass at the state level, with 11 states allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses and New York consid ering a “state citizenship” plan for undocumented workers. Meanwhile, immigration activ ists will soon turn their attention to voter registration and to help ing elect candidates pledging to back new immigration laws. Im migration reform may be dead in Congress for now, but change will come. H ouse R epublicans have squandered a historic opportu nity. They should be ashamed of their deliberate inaction on immi gration and unsurprised when they face the consequences at the polls. Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and columnist in New York City. Ferguson is a Critical Reminder for All Cities Trust is a perishable commodity greater trust between police of ficers and the people we serve is paramount; particularly among those communities whose rela tionship and history with the Po lice Bureau has sometimes been by M ichael R eese strained. Trust is a perish As we watch the able commodity; it's some tragic ev en ts in thing we must work on Ferguson unfold, there every day. are som e pow erful At the Portland Police themes that have come Bureau, we have had a lot to the forefront and of conversations recently have emerged as critical remind about building legitimacy for the ers for all cities and law enforce work we do in protecting the ment agencies across America. public. These unfortunate circum The importance of building stances in Missouri help make ‘^'tJo rtlan h (Obstruer P u b l is h e r : E d it o r . Established 1970 Mark Washington, Sr. M ich a el L eig h to n E xecutive D irector : Rakeem Washington C reative D irector : P aul N e u fe ld t O ffice M anagf . r /C iassifieds : A dvertising M anager : clear to me, and hopefully to ev eryone in our community, that creating a police-community re lationship built on trust is our most important obligation. A law enforcement agency must mirror the community in which it serves. In Portland, we continue to increase diversity as we hire new police officers. We are committed to building strong partnerships with community members and agencies that assist us in serving and protecting the people of Portland. Police use of force and the policies and training that accom USPS 9 5 9 -6 8 0 R eporter /P hotographer Donovan M. Smith ing or high-profile incident, we are committed to transparency. There is no daylight between our values as an organization and the values and expectations the community has for their police officers. This is important to all of us. Our Portland Police Offic ers go out every day committed to doing their very best to serve and protect our community. As an agency, we pledge to continue to develop and enhance our ser vices to match our community's expectations. Michael Reese is Portland’s Chief o f Police. 4747 N E Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 2008 THE PORT LAND OBSERVER. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer-Oregon’s Oldest Multicultural Publication-is a member of the National Newspaper Association -Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Representative Amalgamated Publishers. Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association Lucinda Baldwin Leonard Latin pany it need to be continually reviewed and improved upon. The Portland Police Bureau has made significant changes to our use of force policies and training aimed at reducing use of force and im proving de-escalation tactics. Our use of force numbers have de clined over the last four years, and all uses of physical force are investigated by a supervisor. Citi zen complaints also have de creased. Finally, communication, includ ing listening, remains the key to better understanding. When we have an officer-involved shoot news @portlandobserver, com CALL 503-288-0033 FAX 503-288-0015 ads@portlandobserver. com subset P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer, PO Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8
