2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumWho Would Win an Immigration Debate Between Sanders and Clinton? Martin O’Malley.
'The former governors remarkably detailed policy platform is one place he could distinguish his stalled candidacy. ((And of course it's NOT STALLED at all!))
Martin OMalley, Democratic presidential candidate and former governor of Maryland, is a mere whisper in the polls and has been pilloried for his record on policing while he was mayor of Baltimore. He also happens to be an immigrant voters dream.
Compared to other Democratic presidential candidates whove incrementally evolved on the issue of immigrant rights, and contrasted against a sea of Republican candidates who clamber to say the most outrageously racist thing, OMalley is a standout for his longtime support of immigrants rights. And for the seriousness of his current reform platform.
Certainly compared to any of the other Democrats and all of the Republicans, is so far more detailed and thorough than anyone else has been willing to express, said Beth Werlin, director of policy at the Immigration Policy Center. Werlin said that on immigrant detention in particular, where OMalley has proposed serious cutbacks, he really goes out there in a level we havent seen from other candidates.
Maryland activists say OMalleys leadership on immigration issues started with his time as mayor of Baltimore. I remember in 2006 when we had a huge fight about the day laborer situation in Baltimore, OMalley came to the town meeting with an attitude of: Im going to resolve this, Gustavo Torres, the executive director of CASA de Maryland, a statewide immigrant rights advocacy organization, told me. Six months later we had a day laborer center.
Torres ticked off the other issues OMalley, as governor, later backed: drivers licenses for undocumented immigrants; Marylands state Dream Act, which allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition in public colleges; an initiative disentangling local law activities from immigration enforcement. . .
Torres remembers a much more recent moment of contrast between the two candidates. Last summer, when the country was in the throes of a child migrant crisis, Clinton said of tens of thousands of unaccompanied children fleeing Central America: They should be sent back. The United States must send a clear message just because your child gets across the border doesnt mean your child gets to stay, Clinton said last year. As cable news streamed images of Border Patrol agents apprehending children and families at the border, OMalley, then just a rumored presidential candidate, struck a different tone. We are not a country that should send children away and send them back to certain death, he said, calling hospitality to strangers an essential human dignity.
Now, as an official candidate, OMalley has worked to solidify his immigration reputation with a stunningly explicit immigration platform. He doesnt stop at mere support for comprehensive immigration reforman almost empty political position for Democrats, given the fact that reform has been trapped in Congress for over a decade. OMalley also details his policy proposals in the likely scenario that Congress does not pass immigration reform in the near futurea reality that newly minted Speaker Paul Ryan further cemented during his tour of this weeks Sunday morning talk shows, when he vowed he wouldnt work with the Obama administration on immigration.
OMalley lays out in his platform ideas on immigration enforcement (more restraint), detention (only as a last resort), healthcare (yes for those who are eligible for executive action relief), even technical specifics like how to work around a policy mandating that those eligible for green cards face a decade-long exclusion from the United States before taking advantage of the legalization process. The policy ideas include actions that he can take without Congress (absent, of course, the legal battles that have tied up President Obamas latest executive action). Its not a safe wait-and-see approach to campaigning. Its rather bold, in fact.
While comprehensive immigration reform languishes in Congress, families are feeling the devastating impact of deportation policies on a daily basis, Gabriela Domenzain, Martin OMalleys director of public engagement told me. What the new American immigrant community in the United States wants is specificity.
Thus far Clintons, OMalleys, and Bernie Sanderss engagement on immigration has largely involved them agreeing with one another that the Republicans are racist and that they support comprehensive, Congress-driven reform. Clinton and Sanders have both pledged to go further than President Obama did in his contested executive order offering undocumented parents of American citizen or green cardholding children short-term work permits and temporary shields from deportation. Clinton and Sanders, along with OMalley, have agreed to also examine other groups of people who could qualify for relief from similar kinds of executive action, like undocumented parents of some undocumented children. Clinton, too, has pledged to end privately run detention centers.
Thus far though, the candidates havent been forced to delve as deeply on these topics as has OMalley in his platform. So Sanders and Clinton may well come to the same place on enforcement and detention policy as OMalley, Werlin of Immigration Policy Center notes. But OMalley got there first, without pressure, and has been there for a while.
http://www.thenation.com/article/who-would-win-an-immigration-debate-between-sanders-and-clinton-martin-omalley/
bigtree
(85,998 posts)"...and has been there for a while."
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)could give O'Malley a solid debate in this area. She is extremely knowledgeable. While her past does have some issues, it would be a great debate for all of us. O'Malley and his ideas are second to none in this area.
elleng
(130,958 posts)askew
(1,464 posts)O'Malley would clean her clock.
And O'Malley understands immigration and how it impacts all up and down the government. He is also the only one talking about how immigration and criminal justice system tangle together.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)Clinton also often talks about how the criminal justice system and immigration are often intertwined. She often links immigration centers directly in with the criminal justice system, and more. She did just that last week. Sometimes her message gets muddled while she is kicking republican ass. But overall, O'Malley is all over it.
Thanks askew. O'Malley rocks.
karynnj
(59,504 posts)so less active than others on anything in 2007 and 2008 -- the same as Obama.
She did cast various votes on this.
From wikipedia:
The bill's sole sponsor in the Senate was Majority Leader Harry Reid, though it was crafted in large part as a result of efforts by Senators Kennedy, McCain and Kyl, along with Senator Lindsey Graham, and input from President George W. Bush, who strongly supported the bill. For that reason it was referred to in the press by various combinations of these five men's names, most commonly "Kennedy-Kyl". A larger group of senators was involved in creating the bill, sometimes referred to as the 'Gang of 12'.[1] This group included, in addition to the aforementioned senators, Senators Dianne Feinstein, Mel Martinez, Ken Salazar and Arlen Specter. Senators Jim DeMint, Jeff Sessions, and David Vitter led the opposition to the bill.[2][3]
That said, she has been involved in all issues since 1992 - at some level - and she will be well prepared.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)As were many great dems. Kennedy, Clinton, Obama, Biden, Boxer, etc..
We were so close. Almost able to get it past cloture. Some fought against even giving it an up or down vote.
riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)elleng
(130,958 posts)FSogol
(45,488 posts)askew
(1,464 posts)on immigration (and refugee issues).
Wish others would notice as well.
elleng
(130,958 posts)I do feel a 'groundswell,' askew; hope I'm not ill!!!
Koinos
(2,792 posts)elleng
(130,958 posts)Koinos
(2,792 posts)And they like what they see. He has authored numerous and detailed position papers.
It is all a great read for understanding what progressive democrats should stand for.