Immigrants may make up only a fraction of the electorate in the 10th and 11th congressional districts, but their influence in the increasingly tight races could have a larger-than-anticipated influence on Election Day.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) yesterday launched a 501(c)4 arm that will spend $513,000 over the next four weeks to do whatever it takes to deliver some 33,000 immigrants in IL-10 and IL-11 to their polling places.
Tired of lawmakers dodging the topic of immigration reform, Illinois Immigrant Action (IIA) director Lawrence Benito said he sees the campaign as an opportunity to put the congressional hopefuls on the spot.
"What we'd like to know is: if these people are elected what will they do to work toward just and humane immigration reform," Benito said.
For 10th District GOP Rep. Mark Kirk, convincing Waukegan's large Latino population that he supports their agenda might be a stretch. Just last year, Kirk suggested from the House floor that distributing condoms through border patrol agents might help to stem the flow of Mexicans into the U.S. Prior to that, he voted in favor of cracking down on illegal immigration by heightening border security. Furthermore, a local white supremacist organization -- Chicago Friends Of American Renaissance -- described his views on immigration as "encouraging."
Latinos in southwest suburban Joliet, on the other hand, will have to make their decisions based on messages from the campaign trail. Republican Marty Ozinga and Democrat Debbie Halvorson are vying to replace retiring incumbent GOP Rep. Jerry Weller.
IIA will send out the first of three mailers this week. Shortly thereafter, paid canvassers will begin knocking on doors and making phone calls to the new or reluctant voters, mostly in Waukegan and Joliet, who are the targets of this last minute push.
Elsewhere in the Chicago region, organizers also plan to reach out to an additional 100,000 immigrant voters who otherwise might not make it the voting booth on Nov. 4. ICIRR will spend an additional $500,000 on that portion of the campaign, which began three months ago with a registration drive that netted nearly 26,000 new potential voters.
Benito is fighting the perception that the campaign is merely a last-ditch effort to sway these increasingly competitive congressional races.
"This is part of a progression," Benito said. "In '06 you saw big marches. In '07 you saw increases in people filing for citizenship. And in '08 you're going to see people going out to the polls in record numbers because people know what's at stake."
what are they thinking (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 08:30
Do immigration advocates really believe that it is a good idea to deliver pro immigration messages via direct mail in swing districts that are at least 80% white? These districts have had Republican congressmen for a reason.....they are center-right districts. I, personally believe in amnesty but I would guess the vast majority of voters in these districts do not. I just pray that the Republicans do not use this campaign in their own tv ads and generate a backlash against the Democratic candidates. Sometimes the better part of valor is discretion.
markg8 on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 08:43
Legal citizens who are registered voters have the right to vote. There's a whole lot of them that aren't even Hispanics and they are getting hurt by this economy like every one else. Getting them involved and to the polls is not only effective it's the right thing to do. What are the nativist clowns of the Republican party gonna say if those immigrants start going back where they came from because the opportunities are better?
I hope the ICIRR will help out Scott Harper in IL-13. He's got voters in north Joliet and he puts his money where his mouth is. When he needed a bigger campaign office he turned his old office over to a Sudanese immigrant group for their cultural center.
Josh Kalven on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 08:45
They're mailings aren't blanketing the districts -- they're going out to their lists of immigrant voters.
Elder (not verified) on Wed, 10/08/2008 - 11:32
If Kirk chooses to make immigration an issue this election cycle he will just alienate these new voters.
Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 11:18
Immigrants are not supposed to be voting.....only U.S. CITIZENS who are not felons are eligible to vote. I hope that ICIRR gets investigated just like ACORN....I suspect that many of the "immigrant advocacy" organizations like ICIRR, Pueblo Sin Fronteras, LULAC , Democracia USA.....have been registering non-citizens to vote in our elections......illegal aliens, and legal permanent residents are NOT eligible to VOTE again...only native born or naturalized CITIZENS are eligible. If you suspect voter registration fraud...please contact your local board of elections and/or the FBI. Don't let the Democrats steal our elections by the massive voter registration of foreign nationals not qualified to vote in our elections. How come LULAC was out there conducting "voter registration" when the Mexican Consulates were giving out matricula consular cards to illegal alien Mexicans.....can we say voter fraud?
la migra (not verified) on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 21:56
Well, whaddaya know? More voter fraud from our friends at ACORN (brought to you by BH Obama).
IIllinois has a long history of stolen elections. I guess that's why he moved there.
mickey0107 (not verified) on Tue, 10/14/2008 - 10:19
ICIRR has not been registering undocumented. every gets asked if they are a U.S. citizen at least 3 times and in different ways. ICIRR is a great organization that believes in social justice and involving the immigrant community to win a pathway to citizenship.
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