Arizona just passed a strict new immigration legislation. The law allows police to question people about their immigration status if they suspect someone is in the country illegally.
Crowley pushed for reform last summer when he, and 111 Democrats, asked President Obama to make the issue a priority.
Crowley issued no press release in response to the Arizona law. No public rebuke. No nothing.
Crowley was the first one to sign the bill last summer, and right next to his name was Luis Gutierrez, the 9-term Democrat from Illinois. Gutierrez had no problem making noise this week.
“Where is the Justice Department? Here is an injustice against the basic rights. Where is the administration of Barack Obama and his Justice department?” said Gutierrez, according to MSNBC
Gutierrez, surprisingly, was one of Obama’s first supporters – even when most hispanics were supporting Hilary Clinton – when he decided to run for President. A long-time advocate for immigration reform, Gutierrez is now threatening his own party.
“We can stay home,” Gutierrez said in an interview with The Hill. “We can say, ‘You know what? There is a third option: We can refuse to participate.’ ”
Gutierrez is not a neophyte trying to make a name for himself, but a former cab driver who’s won handily in his last few elections. And still has dramatically low fundraising numbers – he raised less than $200,000 in 2006.
His arguments for immigration reform are more for the ears of Democrats.
“It is an answer to too many years of pain —mothers separated from their children, workers exploited and undermined security at the border— all caused at the hands of a broken immigration system,” he said in a December press release.
Crowley, on the other hand, knows that many Republicans see immigrants taking up more of their tax dollars – especially after Health Care Reform. So he crafts a different argument.
“A key element of this reform is requiring all undocumented immigrants to register, go through background checks, pay taxes, and study English in order to obtain legal status and be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship,” Crowley wrote in December.
Crowley, who must be upset about the issue, has not publicly criticized any members of his party; and most likely won’t. But Gutierrez resembles Crowley’s district neighbor, Jose Serrano, in that they’ve been in office for a long time and both are Puerto Rican. Serrano, one of the few Democrats who voted against the financial bailout and also raises little campaign money, and Gutierrez have nothing to lose. Already widely popular in their districts, going against their party will not lose them any money or future elections.
Given Crowley’s track record of seeking out leadership positions, he probably has higher aspirations and the cash to make them happen. He’s already raised $3 millionin campaign contributions, far exceeding the House average. With President Obama planning federal immigration reform legislation, Crowley will wait for the political storm-of-the-week to pass before speaking up.