Pro-immigration advocates lost a hero

Last Saturday, August 25, 2018, pro-immigration advocates lost a fighter and a hero with the passing of Senator John McCain who died from brain cancer. Senator McCain, a Republican, was known for his bipartisanship in working and passing legislation with opposing Democrats, earning the ire and consternation of his conservative party.

One of the issues that Senator McCain crusaded for was immigration reform. In 2005, he co-authored a bill with then Senator Edward Kennedy (who in 2009, also died of the same type of brain cancer that Senator McCain succumbed to), with the aim of overhauling the US immigration system, providing a pathway for citizenship for the undocumented immigrants as well as increasing border security. This bipartisan bill did not flourish because of the resistance coming even from Senator McCain's hardcore party members. In his memoir, he called the failure of the passage of this bill as the biggest disappointment of his political career.

Senator McCain represented the State of Arizona, which shares its southern border with Mexico, and was well aware of the issues and concerns of the immigrant communities in his own state.  He saw the need for a common sense approach to the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows in the US, recognizing the value of the immigrants in the US economy and at the same time ensuring the safety and security of the country. He was highly critical of President Donald Trump's divisive and caustic comments about immigrants and was opposed Trump's move to end DACA and what Senator McCain perceived as anti-immigrant policies which are antithetical to American values.

Because of his long and storied career as a skilled politician and negotiator, his no-nonsense but common sense approach, and his commitment to the issue, Senator McCain was the last best hope for pro-immigrant advocates in advancing their cause. As it is constituted presently, no one among the incumbents in both chambers of the US Congress could fill in. His death carried with it, at least in the foreseeable term, the hopes and dreams of the immigrants he valiantly fought for.

This column is not a substitute for professional legal advice obtained from a US-licensed immigration attorney. The information contained herein does not constitute a warranty or guarantee or legal advice regarding a reader’s specific immigration case. No attorney-client relationship is and shall be established with any reader.

For any questions, comments and observations, please contact Atty. Marco Tomakin at [email protected]