And speaking of race…

and the race to the White House…

The Democratic National Convention passed a milestone by having speaker Benita Veliz address the crowd Wednesday night as an undocumented person.  Veliz, who traveled here on a visa which expired when she was young, was almost deported in 2009 over a speeding ticket.  Her speech illustrates the tension the administration faces in dealing with illegal immigration.

Even though President Obama has deported more illegal immigrants (more than 30-50 percent more) than President George Bush, Obama is still popular among Hispanics. In 2011 alone, the Obama administration deported 400,000 people. Yet, Hispanics seem to continue to support Obama.   Recently Hispanic public opinion (the collective consensus by the public about an issue, person, topic, etc.) had a boost.   Obama signed via executive order (a presidential policy directive that implements or interprets a federal statute, a constitutional provision, or a treaty) a law that extended additional protections to immigrants. The executive order (which does not require Congressional approval) allows persons under 30 years of age to be deferred for deportation on immigration violations.  Some Republican Governors like our own Rick Perry or Jan Brewer (R-Arizona) are challenging the federal government’s authority or refusing to comply with the directive.

Even as Veliz was speaking, outside the convention hall, the issue of immigration was also at the forefront of the crowds as the “UndocuBus” with the slogan “No Papers No Fear” drew attention to the concern that the Obama administration has not gone far enough in passing immigration reform. The bus of 40 undocumented persons had been on the road for five weeks publicizing awareness about the issue and engaging in civil disobedience (carrying out speech and activities that are a refusal to obey civil laws to induce change in policy or institutions). When the bus came through Texas, crowds turned out in Austin to try to convince the protesters not to attack the Obama administration for not going far enough on immigration.

And all of this on a day when a federal court finally put into effect controversial law that allows police officers check the immigration status of a person if they have a “reasonable suspicion” the person is undocumented. The Arizona law, is one of six other states including Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia, Utah and Indiana, which allow officers to ask for proof of citizenship or residency. A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in June had struck down some provisions of that law, but had upheld the ability of officers to verify immigration status.

As the division between the parties continues, Texas may decide it wants to enter the fray and do what other states have done. That may all depend, however, on where the road to November takes us.