Immigration Reform on the Horizon: Congressman Luis Gutierrez Weighs In

Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) expressed optimism about the prospects for immigration reform during an interview with CNN's John King on April 13, 2010. As the chair of the Democratic Caucus Immigration Task Force, Gutierrez has been a vocal advocate for comprehensive immigration reform. He believes that President Obama's administration should prioritize the issue, despite the challenges and opposition it faces.

Key Takeaways:

• Congressman Luis Gutierrez is optimistic about the prospects for immigration reform, citing Senator Reid's commitment to putting it on the Senate agenda.
• Gutierrez believes that the president's engagement is crucial for success, and that the administration has failed to inspire the Latino community.
• He argues that if Democrats fail to lead on immigration reform, they will lose the support of the Latino community, which was instrumental in President Obama's election.
• Gutierrez emphasizes that the Democrats have a majority in both the House and Senate, and that this is an opportunity to pass meaningful immigration reform.
• He criticizes the administration for treating the Latino community as a reliable voting bloc rather than a community that deserves a fundamental promise of comprehensive immigration reform.
• Gutierrez believes that the 250,000 people who gathered on the mall to demand immigration reform were inspired by the lack of inspiration from President Obama's state of the union address.

Statistics:

• 250,000 people gathered on the mall to demand immigration reform (1).
• 2 million additional Latinos came out to vote in the 2008 election (1).
• Nearly 70% of Latino voters supported President Obama in the 2008 election (1).

Sources:

• CNN "John King, USA" interview with Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) (April 13, 2010)