All of us already know the new law signed by the Governor of Arizona and nearly all of us progressives consider the law not only to be unconstitutional, but also discriminatory since it violates the civil rights not only of undocumented people ( the Constitution applies to them as well), but documented ones just for the mere fact of looking hispanic or brown.
Hispanics are the biggest minority in the United States and the fastest growing as well. They are also trending democratic, especially since 2008 with the election of President Obama. Nonetheless, they are also one of the least active in the political process. This law in Arizona is changing that and here is an example of this.
There is a facebook page that was started after the governor signed this new law ( Thursday afternoon). This facebook page now has over 306,000 members, from every state of the nation, documented, undocumented, whites, blacks, hispanics, old, young, every demographic or ethnicity. This group has been growing at the fastest pace I have ever seen any political facebook page or any facebook page period. Right now it is growing at a pace of over 6,000 new members per hour. More than 100k people have joined it since Midnight ( 20 hours).
Yes, I know this is facebook, and facebook is not a representation of the whole USA, but it still means something. People are extremely angry at this law, but they are not only angry they are pro-active, they are calling for a boycott or Arizona, they are calling for its repeal, they are calling for massive protests, in essence they are getting personally engaged in this issue. I have never seen so many hispanics energized in my life on one issue at one particular time.
This is why I think this is the perfect time for President Obama to begin tackling the important issue of immigration reform. Our immigration system is broken and it needs to be fixed. So many of the members of this group know the President is on their side and many blame Republicans for what they call a racist, discriminatory law. Nevertheless, many are angry that the president is not tackling this issue yet. They want him to help them help themselves and they are willing to fight and vote for people who do such things. Hence, it is my belief that the President should begin dealing with this issue this summer, by proposing an immigration law that stops laws in states that are discriminatory (He should also have his DOJ challenge this law), protecting our borders, having people who hire undocumented people penalized, and most importantly offering the 13 million HUMAN BEINGS a PATH TO DOCUMENTATION and while we are at it making it easier for people to come to the USA legally. They are Americans, they pay taxes, they consider this their home, many have been here for generations, many were brought here as children and have no friends or family in their parents home countries.
I exort everyone to join this amazing group so they can pass their goal of a million, they are active and they will VOTE for democrats and President Obama if we stand with them. We can win their votes for generations.
Facebook Group link:
http://www.facebook.com/...