Taking the Safe Road on Immigration

The New York Times reports that Thomas Saenz, a lawyer with a well noted record on immigration advocacy was passed over for a job, for being too immigrant friendly.
There is so much fighting going on over the economy, it may be that the Obama Administration is wanting to save its energy...for the next big drama

--

Editorial
Obama Flinches on Immigration
New York Times
Published: March 23, 2009

In a little-noticed act of political faintheartedness, the Obama administration has pulled back from nominating Thomas Saenz, a highly regarded civil-rights lawyer and counsel to the mayor of Los Angeles, to run the Justice Department’s civil rights division...more

--

Obama's civil rights nomination upsets some Latinos
Thomas Perez's selection for a Justice Department post concerns some civil rights advocates, who believe Villaraigosa aide Thomas Saenz was passed over to avoid sparking an immigration battle.
By Paul West and Richard Simon

Los Angeles Times
March 19, 2009
Reporting from Washington -- Thomas Perez is Maryland's highest-ranking Latino, but his selection as the nation's leading civil rights enforcer has provoked sharp criticism from some Latino civil rights advocates.

The criticism isn't directed at Perez, the state's secretary of labor and a first-generation Dominican American, or his qualifications.

Instead, it revolves around a belief that the administration passed over another Latino attorney for the position as head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, possibly out of a desire to avoid a fight over immigration.

A statement by the National Council of La Raza, which calls itself the nation's largest Latino civil rights organization, expressed "profound disappointment" that Thomas Saenz, an advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, wasn't chosen for job.

"This action may lead some to question whether the White House is ready to fulfill its promise on immigration reform," said Janet Murguia, the group's president. Through a spokeswoman, she refused a request for further comment.

Saenz was reported last month to be the leading contender for the position. A close associate, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, was quoted late last week as saying that he had been offered the appointment and accepted it...more