Chicago bid for Rep. Gutierrez could be loss for immigration reform push

While Chicago supporters of Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) are
pushing him to run for mayor, immigration advocates in Washington are less
enthusiastic about seeing one of their leading champions leave the Capitol.

Now in his ninth term, Gutierrez is considering whether to
join a wide-open field of contenders for Chicago’s top job after longtime Mayor
Richard Daley announced this week he would not seek re-election.

{mosads}A winning bid by Gutierrez would be an unmistakable loss for
the immigration reform movement in Congress, where he has been the most
forceful advocate and at times a singular voice for a cause whose political
viability has teetered in recent years.

“There’s no one that delivers the punch the way Luis
Gutierrez does,” said Angela Kelley, vice president for immigration policy at
the liberal Center for American Progress. “He would be sorely missed.”

Since the Daley announcement on Tuesday, Gutierrez has
released two separate statements indicating his interest in replacing him. The
most recent statement, on Thursday, said Gutierrez was “humbled” by the
encouragement and that Chicago “is ready for new, progressive leadership and
for a mayor that can unite our diverse city. 

“I’m continuing to talk to supporters, but I’ve been overwhelmed
by the enthusiasm I’m seeing and feeling,” Gutierrez said.

A source close to the congressman said Gutierrez was “giving
a lot of thought to the race.”

Kelley said that while there was not yet a coordinated
effort by immigration reform advocates to lobby Gutierrez, “many of us will of
course want him to stay.”

“We want him to stay in Congress,” said Lynn Tramonte,
deputy director of America’s Voice, an immigration reform advocacy group. “We
need him here. We want him here.”

After 21 years of Daley rule in Chicago, the field of
candidates is likely to be crowded. The biggest name in the race could be White
House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, a man Gutierrez has frequently criticized.
Yet in an early poll conducted by the Chicago Sun-Times, no clear favorite
emerged. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart led with 12%, followed by state Sen.
James Meeks with 10% and then Gutierrez at 9%. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. took 8%
and Emanuel took 7% in the poll. More than one-third of respondents had no
preference.

The election is Feb. 22. While candidates have to file
papers by Nov. 22, Gutierrez could run without giving up his seat in Congress,
a spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election said. He would resign his seat
upon taking office in May if he won.

Gutierrez has been linked throughout his tenure in Congress
with the push for a comprehensive immigration overhaul that would combine
enhanced border security and enforcement with a path to citizenship for illegal
immigrants. But in recent years he has emerged as a chief congressional
spokesman for the cause. A longtime champion for the issue, Sen. Edward Kennedy
(D-Mass.), died in 2009, and a chief GOP advocate, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.),
dropped his support for comprehensive legislation when he ran for president in
2008 and then faced a primary challenge from the right in his bid for re-election to the
Senate.

Gutierrez has been a deliberate thorn in the side of
President Obama on the issue, reminding him frequently of his promises on
immigration reform and criticizing the administration for not confronting the
issue aggressively.

In 2007, he cited the desire to see comprehensive
immigration reform achieved as a reason for forgoing a challenge to Daley. With
the likelihood of either a diminished Democratic majority or a Republican
majority in Congress next year, a decision by him to run now could be taken as
a signal that immigration reform is dead in the near term.

A source close to Gutierrez cautioned against that reading
of his thinking but acknowledged that the prospect of a conservative Republican
like Rep. Lamar Smith (Texas) or Steve King (Iowa) heading key House panels
with jurisdiction over immigration policy was discouraging. “It’s always an
uphill battle, but it’d be even more of an uphill battle,” the source said.

Immigration reform advocates lavished praise on Gutierrez
but suggested he was not indispensable, pointing to other members of Congress
who have pushed the issue in recent years. They include Rep. Nydia Velazquez
(D-N.Y.), the outgoing chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; Rep.
Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz), who has spoken out against the controversial Arizona
immigration law; and Rep. Mike Honda, head of the congressional Asian Pacific
American Caucus.

Gutierrez “would be happy to have them play a more prominent
role,” Tramonte said.

And while Gutierrez would be out of Congress if he won the
Chicago mayor’s race, he would not be abandoning the issue, she added.

“Immigration reform is in his blood,” Tramonte said. “He’s
not going away.”