The Three Musketeers: Obama, Schumer and Graham

Ever since Rep. Luis Guitierrez (D-IL) introduced the CIR ASAP bill, the political sphere has been rather quiet about immigration reform. No one has discussed any specific steps to move forward with CIR. Of course, this all changed when it was reported that Obama was to meet with Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Monday, March 8. Not surprisingly, though, the meeting was canceled because of a flight cancelation. Now, we can look it as a bad omen, or as great things never coming easily. I prefer the latter.

However, it turns out that they rescheduled the meeting for Thursday, March 12. And guess what? It did happen! They got together and actually discussed the issue. Based on news coverage, the meeting went pretty well with Obama stating at the end that “[his] commitment to comprehensive immigration reform is unwavering.” Of course, we can’t just take his word for it. He has said it before and he has said it during his campaign, yet we are still here, waiting.

We must also keep in mind that the president’s “commitment” has manifested itself just a week before the March 21 march. So it goes without saying that it was obviously instigated by pressure. And that’s a good thing. Just because he said he is committed doesn’t mean we should stop and just wait for him again. Our presence must still be felt. Our cries for fair immigration reform must still be heard. We cannot leave it all up to the politicians, for as we have too often seen, they are not always willing to act on our behalf.

We must get out and sing our freedom song and prove that we are not just a political ball to be tossed around. We feel, we think, we act. We have a battle to win, and it starts now. It begins when we look in the mirror and a brave young soul looks back and say’s: “Yesterday I wept, but today I fight!”

Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/camarim/4153459553/