Frank Sharry Quotations

Obviously, there's tremendous pressure on lawmakers to fix the problem.

But even if we win today, it's only one step. Immigrants pay a lot in taxes and don't get a lot back.

I'm a little worried that the political momentum that we witnessed this week may dissipate somewhat.

It is fundamentally workable. We got a food fight instead of a bill, and I quite frankly think it's a real failure of leadership on the part of both parties.

I think the ads are soft-peddling an extremist agenda. And what they're trying to do is draw people in with a soft pitch. But if you take a look at what their real agenda is, it is hard. It is ugly.

I think he's trying to tell a restive populist base in his party that he gets it, ... It's a way to say, 'We understand that we need to get better control of our borders.'

That would mean President Bush would have to weigh in.

That's a very good sign for the tough votes on other issues.

Will it (the speech) change what's already scheduled to happen in Congress? Not one iota.

The fact that they're calling a hearing in the midst of their other priorities indicates the chairman's commitment to moving immigration reform as quickly as possible.

We all know that this issue is so volatile that anything can happen.

There's lots of signs of the growing drumbeat for reform. We think there is a bipartisan majority with presidential leadership that can actually get across the finish line this session.

The Sensenbrenner bill has proven to be one of the great mobilizing forces for the pro (immigration) reform alliance in this country.

There will be no bill passed without robust immigration enforcement.

There's a bipartisan majority in favor of reform, and there's a president who says he's willing to sign it. And if they cannot figure out how to get from here to there, shame on them.

A community that had essentially been trying to remain invisible suddenly concluded that their invisibility was only making them more vulnerable.

It's a big day for us. We may not have a lot of big days, but this is a big day.

It's a very volatile and unstable debate. There are a variety of voices all calling for action. And it's looking increasingly likely that Congress will address it but the what Congress does is far from certain.

It just raises the question: Did they want a bill or did they want a food fight?

No matter what the administration witnesses say, it's going to be revealing. Everyone knows the only way that immigration reform happens is if the president leads on it. And if they come and mouth platitudes and stay vague, it'll be interpreted in both chambers as an abdication of his leadership role.

Every Western industrialised nation faces the same issues of an ageing society that needs migrants, a sceptical public and some hostile media. In supporting migrants, we do face formidable challenges but I'm still optimistic; we just have to focus on bringing together the needs of our societies and the aspirations of migrant families.

The Mexican who arrived last month is more often in direct competition with a Mexican who's been here five years than with an African-American who was born here.

The Minutemen were offensive because they were kind of scary, but no one disagrees with border enforcement, really. It angered some people, but it angered activists. But when Congress said 'You hardworking people, we are going to call you felons,' that really broke through. You were no longer talking about policy, you were talking about who they are, that they are bad people.

Their painstaking progress on winning Latino voters is in jeopardy because the face of the (Republican) party on this issue is Tom Tancredo. They are caught between their base and their desire to do something reasonable.

I'm disgusted that we are engaged in a blame game. We needed a bill, and we got a food fight.

Instead of leading the country to bipartisan comprehensive reform, ... he runs more of a danger of putting gasoline on the fire.

In supporting migrants, we do face formidable challenges but I'm still optimistic.

The idea that 11 million here illegally are going to sign up for a program that is going to (eventually) result in their removal is unworkable. Most won't sign up. The good news is that (Bush) continues to address the issue and he hasn't backed down from the point of view that temporary workers need to be part of it. But politically, they've made a mishmash of this issue.

The loud voices, punchy arguments and simple headlines from governments, politicians and anti-immigration groups will often be easier to hear. The other side has a harder job, because theirs is the more sophisticated argument, offering humane, progressive and enlightened policies in the midst of an emotional debate.