Immigrants and supporters rally Wednesday outside the office of Republican Sen. John Cornyn. (Photo by Ben Torres)
Update, 8:35 a.m.:
Immigrants and their supporters rallied in Washington, and cities across the nation, including Dallas. A spokeswoman for Sen. Cornyn had this to say about a ?compassionate? solution that ?will secure the border first.?
?As the ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security, he looks forward to reviewing the immigration reform bill that is expected to be introduced soon and appreciates the input he?s heard from so many Texans.
He is hopeful this bill will secure the border first, fix our broken system and find a compassionate solution for the many individuals who wish to live and work here legally.?
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Conrada Vidal took her rally position this chilly afternoon in front of the building where Texas Sen. John Cornyn keeps an office. The mother from southern Mexico said she wanted an immigration legalization program from Congress that would cover herself, her three sons and millions more.
The 53-year-old Vidal told a crowd of supporters, waving handmade signs, that she came to the U.S. for a better life. That part of her tale was familiar. Well, it was even the title of a movie about a Los Angeles gardener nominated for an Oscar last year. But Vidal?s story grew more dramatic and personal. Her bad marriage fell apart and her husband abandoned her with three children in a shabby house. She migrated to the U.S. and eventually made it to Dallas.
?We need immigration reform,? she said in a hoarse voice in Spanish. ?I don?t just ask for my children but for all children. There are so many mothers like us suffering for their children. We come here and we leave our children behind.?
Eventually, Vidal and her three sons would reunite in the U.S.?but they are here without legal immigration status.
The Senate is expected to officially release details of a immigration proposal within days. Traction on an overhaul of the nation?s immigration laws grew after the strong Latino turnout in presidential elections. Fully 70 percent of Latinos voted for Obama.
Meanwhile, back on the ground in Dallas, three members of Cornyn?s staff stood in the building?s heated foyer watching the rally. One referred comment to their press aide. Am waiting.
It?s very worth noting that just yesterday my email contained a news release from the Republican senator that he supported legislation to ?secure our nation?s porous borders.? The measure is called the ?Border Security Results Act of 2013.? Sen. Cornyn introduced the Senate version of the measure, as his House Republican colleagues presented their version.
That cuts to the crucial issue of trade-offs in the immigration debate. And it highlights the significant tension of the rally this afternoon by the immigrants and their supporters near the Texas senator?s office.
Will the Senate proposal on immigration require a legalization be tied to some metrics of ?border security?? Or will there be a legalization program that comes simultaneously with additional financing for law enforcement measures at the border?
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