Signs of (Slow) Progress.

The Obama Administration's approach to immigration reform have been lacking, to say the least. Yet in these few weeks there have been a few glimmers of progress. For example DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that there would be changes in the way that non criminal immigrant detainees would be held. New idea: using renovated hotels and nursing homes (anyone else find the irony amusing? immigrants detained in hotels where they used to work).

According to Ms. Napolitano,

“Serious felons deserve to be in the prison model,” Ms. Napolitano said, “but there are others. There are women. There are children.”

These and other nonviolent people should be sorted and detained or supervised in ways appropriate to their level of danger or flight risk, she said. Her goal, she said, is “to make immigration detention more cohesive, accountable and relevant to the entire spectrum of detainees we are dealing with.” NY times

Then there was the somewhat good news that Mr. Arpiao himself would be stripped of his 287g powers, and could no longer conduct his brown immigrant witch hunt. I say this is some what good because in all honesty the man should be behind bars, wearing the very same demeaning uniforms that he forced many to wear. He should not only have had his "wings clipped" as the NY Times puts it, but rather he should have been removed from his post. Why? well judging by the following excerpt, the fact that the Federal Government told him he no longer has this power means absolutly nothing to a Patriot like Arpiao:

Either way, he and his supporters vowed to press on.

Andrew Thomas, the county attorney, appeared with Mr. Arpaio to voice his support and condemn the “setback in the fight against illegal immigration.” Mr. Thomas said, “The fight goes on.”

He and Mr. Arpaio suggested that deputies could use the state anti-human smuggling law to make stops and refer suspected illegal immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, though it was not clear whether the agency would take them.

If not, the sheriff said, “I’ll take a little trip to the border and turn them over to the border.” NY times

Last but not least was the announcement that The National Association of Evangelicals came out in support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform:

The National Association of Evangelicals' resolution, passed unanimously by the group's board of directors, recommends that immigration laws provide a path for the undocumented to eventually gain legal status, place a high priority on reuniting families and reduce backlogs of petitions in those areas. AP

It was but two years ago that I heard an evangelical Priest ask God to "protect us from these foreing invaders". Yes because God hates Immigrants. This from the National Catholic Reporter:

The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, commended the NAE for passing the resolution . "At the end of the day, immigration reform is an issue of justice firmly grounded on biblical truth," he said. -NCR

Some one should send the memo the the other Evangelical Priest and let him know religion now needs these "foreign invaders" too.

Oh! And soon (tuesday the 13th) Representative Luis Gutierrez and Congressional Hispanic Leaders, will present the outlines for a Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill that will be introduced.

Rep. Gutierrez. "Saying immigration is a priority for this Administration or this Congress is not the same as seeing tangible action, and the longer we wait, the more every single piece of legislation we debate will be obstructed by our failure to pass comprehensive reform." - luisgutierrez.house.gov

These are only small steps. However they are welcomed ones.