The Republicans, Obama, Immigration and the New Census

The new United States Congress — where the Republicans will control the House of Representatives and the Senate will maintain a Democratic majority, but one without the 60 senators necessary to impose any decision — and President Barack Obama confront a large challenge: They must not only continue to lead the world and restore the economy but also construct a country where we can all live, including illegal immigrants. The new census of 2010 brings changes to the electoral map in Texas, Florida, Arizona and Nevada, which creates difficult choices for both parties and for the White House.

Meanwhile, to the delight of the tea party — the movement that put forth the highest number of candidates in November 2010 — the far-right wing of the Republican Party now begins its offensive. Rep. Peter King, a Republican from Long Island, NY, who will preside over the National Security Committee in the House, took advantage of this week’s storms, characterized by snow and cold temperatures, to tell the media that the first thing he will do as the head of the committee is to present a plan to impose and strengthen immigration laws throughout the country.

King, who assumes his position in the first week of January, affirmed that he will force the Obama administration to comply with immigration laws. “There is a lack of urgency by the administration [to comply with the laws]. … They are confining deportations primarily to immigrants arrested for serious crimes and, while this is considered harsh, I do believe that the workplace raids do send the signal that we are serious about enforcement,” King said before the cameras.

This story relates to two others of extreme importance: The first is that Americans believe that the so-called “American Dream” is over; and the second is that 308.7 million people live in the country, according to the Census Office.

During Christmas, hundreds of Americans told television networks that although they were shopping, they didn’t believe that they could provide their children with better lives than their parents gave them, and many doubted that their children could go to college, graduate, have a steady job and buy a house.

With unemployment at almost 10 percent, the Obama administration has not been able to find a way to create permanent jobs. For example, of the 5,000 jobs created between October and December in New York, 80 percent were temporary positions. Also, the United States hardly manufactures anything anymore, and since everything is done via the Internet, industries like banking, finance and journalism — that, in the case of the Big Apple, make up a large part of the job market — have changed. Few are prepared for such rapid and radical changes.

“The question is what new direction capitalism should take,” said The New York Times in an editorial, arguing that investment in health care, education and infrastructure is necessary. “The social contract and the government’s role in it should be re-examined,” affirmed the same editorial. But the heart of the matter is that, although the administration has worked hard on these issues, the Republicans — led by the tea party — oppose these programs with all their might. As analysts have been screaming about for months, all the social projects presented by the White House in 2011 will die in the House of Representatives. Furthermore, Obama still has not found a replacement for Larry Summers, the economic adviser, nor is there a clear program to create the new jobs that the country desperately needs.

Consequently, average Americans do not want more immigrants in their country. They accuse immigrants, especially those who are undocumented, of destroying the health, education and prison systems. This is the reason many senators felt obligated to vote against the Dream Act, a legislative project that almost one million young illegal immigrants would have benefited from, most of whom arrived to Uncle Sam’s land when they were under five years old.

Oddly, the reports from the Census Office give hope to a larger Hispanic representation now that the political map in the country is being redesigned. According to the Census Office, the largest increase took place in the South and the West of the country, a detriment to the Midwest and Northeast.

Texas is the big winner, with four more seats in the House of Representatives for a total of 36. Florida follows, with two seats, reaching 27 representatives, while Arizona and Nevada won one seat each. “They are all communities where an increase in the Latino community is seen,” noted Gloria Montaña, director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO, for its English abbreviation), who announced that they have now begun to work toward registering the highest possible number of Hispanic voters. Each member of Congress represents 710,767 persons.

New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and Pennsylvania all lost one seat each.

The pieces are in place for a rough 2011. Although Obama didn’t fulfill his promises to the Hispanic electorate — he didn’t pass immigration reform or succeed in passing the Dream Act — he will be forced to fight for them (even though it is his role), while the Republicans may have their future in the hands of those they so despise: The Hispanic vote can change the results of elections, including the presidential one.