‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: Deportations Up; Support for Obama Cracking; Reid, Pelosi Talk DREAM

America's Voice Blog

Posted 07/27/10 at 11:11am

‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: Deportations Up; Support for Obama Cracking; Reid, Pelosi Talk DREAM

Following a story in yesterday's Washington Post, the Spanish-language press leads with new numbers showing that deportations are still higher under the Obama administration than they were under Bush--while a new poll shows that the president's majority support among Latinos is threatened by a split in assessment of his job performance on issues important to the Latino community.And the Democratic leaders of both houses of Congress will meet today to discuss prospects for the DREAM Act.

Deportations up. Outlets including news agency EFE report on the rise in deportation rates under the Obama administration. As the Washington Post reported yesterday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expects to deport 400,000 people in fiscal year 2010—10% more than were deported under the Bush administration in 2008, and 25% more than were deported in 2007. La Opinión (Los Angeles) analyzes how deportations have become a lucrative industry.

Support for Obama cracking. The AP releases the results of a joint AP/Univision poll showing that Hispanic support for President Obama remains significant—57%--but has begun to show “cracks.” Fewer than half of Latinos, 43%, agree that Obama is effectively addressing the issues that matter to the Hispanic community; 21% disapprove of his job performance, and 32% are unsure.

Reid, Pelosi talk DREAM. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told La Opinión that he will meet today with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to discuss the DREAM Act. The article discusses differences of opinion and strategy regarding the bill; Pelosi said on Saturday that “The Hispanic Caucus doesn’t want us to take one part of comprehensive immigration reform which may be easier to pass — but instead pass it as part of comprehensive immigration reform.”

In other DREAM news, five students are continuing their hunger strike in front of the Westwood, CA offices of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), La Opinión reports. Feinstein is a cosponsor of the DREAM Act. And AOL Latino and Al Día (Philadelphia) reprint a column by Maribel Hastings of America’s Voice about the efforts “DREAMers” are making to pressure Congress to give them legal status by passing the DREAM Act.

In other news... Judge Susan Bolton still hasn’t released a decision on SB 1070 in Arizona, but Hispanics continue to mobilize, holding vigils, caravans and protests, Impre.com and Mi Gente (Charlotte) report; El Diario-La Prensa (New York) covers a Staten Island march against racially-motivated hate crimes in response to recent attacks; AOL Latino posts an interview America’s Voice en Español conducted with Eliseo Medina, executive vice president of the SEIU, about the importance of voting and the voter-mobilization “caravan” that will make its way through 9 California cities from August 14^th-17^th.

America's Voice has started a new series, “‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration,” to bring Spanish-language coverage of immigration and politics to a wider audience. Look for daily roundups (in English) of some of the best Spanish-language news.

The latest Spanish-language reporting and analysis on immigration can now be found at AmericasVoiceEspanol.com. Check it out!