Future uncertain for immigration reform

The battle against undocumented immigrants in North Carolina was quieter in 2008 left up to law enforcement more than to politicians as other issues such as the economy took precedent.

Meanwhile law enforcement has managed to continue and even increase deportation.

A program that allows local law enforcement to act with the authority of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials called 287(g) has put more than 3100 N.C. undocumented immigrants through deportation proceedings since January 2007" according to The (Raleigh) News & Observer.

""There's definitely a tangible sense of fear in the community right now with law enforcement" particularly because North Carolina has been one of the leaders in the 287(g) program" Irene Godinez, advocacy director for El Pueblo, a Raleigh-based Latino advocacy group, said in September.

The 287(g) program, a pet project of outgoing U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., is also supported by her successor, N.C. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-Guilford.

Yet the subject of illegal immigration, a controversial political issue in 2006, was barely on the radar of the 2008 elections.

The economy has really pushed everything else to the back burner"" said Tom Jensen, communications director of Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling.

If the election had been last year, immigration would have been a much larger issue, he said.

When President-elect Barack Obama voiced support of illegal minors to attend N.C. community colleges during a Greensboro rally in late September, his remarks didn't create a lasting stir.

The question surrounding undocumented immigrants' access to N.C. community colleges was one of the only immigrant-related issues to come up in this year's political campaigns.

Governor-elect Bev Perdue, a Democrat, upset some of her more progressive supporters when she supported a ban on undocumented immigrants' admission to the N.C. Community College System at a board of trustees meeting in August, at least until a study of the issue was complete.

Perdue later weakened her stance in one of the last gubernatorial debates of the election season, calling on immigration reform from the top down.

If Congress can just tell us what the rules are" then we'll play by the rules" she said.

One group of students is still concerned that when the N.C. General Assembly returns to session in January, the door to community colleges for undocumented immigrants will remain shut.

The statewide Coalition for College Access met for the first time in September and is organizing groups on every UNC-system college campus to garner enough support to fight for college access for undocumented immigrants in the legislature.

(Perdue) pushed to close this door"" said UNC journalism professor Paul Cuadros, who spoke at the group's first statewide meeting.

She's not going to go back on her policy decision. Who's going to open these doors? The students.""

But Mauricio Castro" an organizer for the N.C. Latino Coalition" said his organization hopes that new leadership both on the state and federal level will help further comprehensive immigration reform.

""We want to deal in realities" not assumptions. We need to correct and clarify misconceptions" Castro said.

My experience tells me we need to start with the very basics before we approach the big issues.""



Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.