12/30/10 After commanding the world's attention in 2010 with its cavalier stance on immigration, the Arizona state legislature is threatening—once again—to dominate national immigration discourse and policy. This week, Arizona state Senator and Senate President-Elect Russell Pearce (R) spoke candidly with CNN's Jessica Yellin about his plans to introduce a birthright citizenship bill in Arizona this coming January—a move likely to be echoed in the impending Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
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12/29/10 Reflecting on the past year, the John Tanton Network's anti-immigrant organizations performed an embarrassing number of gaffes that further exposed their extreme views and ties to white nationalism. Here is a list of the top 10 gaffes made by the John Tanton Network in 2010.
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12/28/10 POLITICO reports that Rep. Lamar Smith, incoming Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, is looking to put a kindler, gentler face on his preferred immigration policy of mass deportation. Rather than insisting that the federal government round up and deport 11 million undocumented workers and their families, apparently Rep. Smith is going to ask these workers to deport themselves.
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12/27/10 In the "reader poll" conducted by CBS that accompanies the news article entitled "Obama: My Biggest Disappointment" Is Not Passing DREAM Act," 68% of readers currently think that Congress should pass the DREAM Act.
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12/27/10 At the end of a grueling lame-duck session, President Barack Obama spoke to the press about the session's highs and lows. He said that his "biggest disappointment" was not being able to pass the DREAM Act, and pledged to keep fighting for immigration reform, "so we are a nation of laws and we are a nation of immigrants. And at minimum, we should be able to get the DREAM Act done."
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12/22/10 While the Census numbers for Hispanic voters won't be out until February or March, interested Census geeks can tide themselves over with the predictions America's Voice made earlier this year in our report "The New Constituents: How Latino Population Growth Will Shape Congressional Apportionment after the 2010 Census." The report turned out to be 100% accurate in predicting how many seats each state would win or lose, so it's fair to guess that the conclusion holds true as well: "new Members of Congress in states like Georgia and South Carolina as well as Texas and Florida will owe their positions, in part, to the expanding Latino population," while "states that are losing Congressional representation (like New Jersey and Illinois) would have fared worse had Latinos not moved there in record numbers."
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12/21/10 While a minority of cowardly senators blocked the dreams of so many talented youth this week, we know this: in the battle between justice and injustice, inclusion and exclusion, courage and cowardice, victory is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. Sign our holiday card to the courageous leaders of the DREAM Act movement, and let them know you will keep fighting alongside them:
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12/21/10 This just in, from today's press briefing with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, where a reporter asked about the possibilities for protection for DREAM youth moving forward. Gibbs was also asked about next steps for comprehensive immigration legislation and the DREAM Act.
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12/21/10 That's right folks, break out the paddles -- and the cell phones. Before we regroup for the holidays and move forward to what's next for real immigration reform, it is critical that everyone who cares about the future of DREAM call the following Senators to let them know what this vote meant to you.
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12/21/10 As DREAM activists paid one last visit to the halls of Congress this month to thank those who voted for DREAM this past Saturday, and remind those who voted against their futures that they will be back, Senator Claire McCaskill was one of the Senators that deserved special thanks.
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12/21/10 Here's what a sampling of what progressive blogs have been saying about Saturday's DREAM vote. The DREAM Act has also been a major focus of Latino-focused and immigration-related blogs:
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12/20/10 At the end of 2009, I said that if no immigration relief bill passed in 2010, I'd have to end the year with a column using the chorus from a Puerto Rican Christmas carol: "Todos los años vienen con la misma cosa," which, loosely translated, means "Like a broken record, here we go again."
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12/20/10 Although a majority of U.S. Senators voted in favor of the DREAM Act last Saturday, the 55-41 vote failed to meet the 60 vote threshold and therefore will not advance. This is particularly disappointing given the fact that the legislation had already passed the House and was just five votes shy of reaching the President's desk. The political consequences for those who voted against the DREAM Act will be felt in 2012 and beyond.
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12/18/10 Here's a slideshow of DREAM Act champions in the Senate and DREAM youth from across the country reacting strongly to today's Senate vote -- in which the DREAM Act obtained majority support (55-41) but not the 60 votes needed to beat a Republican filibuster. While there were many tears shed today, there were also words and prayers of hope and encouragement -- as well as a strong sense that those who blocked DREAM must be held accountable for their votes.
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12/18/10 This morning, in a procedural vote requiring 60 votes to advance the legislation, the U.S. Senate voted for the DREAM Act by a 55-41 margin, effectively shutting the doors of opportunity to thousands of bright and talented young people who grew up in America and wanted to give back to the country they call home.
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12/17/10 Today, leaders of organizations that mobilize Latino and new American voters emphasized on a press call how real immigration reform like DREAM has become a litmus test issue for these voters, and how tomorrow's vote on the DREAM Act will be a moment of truth for each and every senator. DREAM is a bipartisan bill that is supported by 66% of the American people, and a full seventy-five percent of Latino voters say passing the DREAM Act in short order is either extremely important or very important to them.
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12/17/10 Majority Leader Harry Reid announced late last night that the Senate will vote on the DREAM Act tomorrow morning! Now, we have less than 24 hours to persuade a handful of Senators to stop wavering and support the DREAM. Call now, and we'll connect you to a Senator still wavering on the DREAM Act: 866-587-6101.
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12/17/10 Last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid put the DREAM Act on the Senate floor and filed cloture on the bill, setting up a Saturday vote that will determine whether the DREAM Act becomes law this year, and whether thousands of bright and talented young people who grew up in America can get on a path to legal status and achieve their dreams -- like, for instance, Alina, a young Republican who dreams of serving in our nation's military. This ad ran in today's edition of Politico and CQ Today:
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12/16/10 Majority Leader Reid filed cloture on the DREAM Act tonight, setting DREAM up for a Saturday vote. Barbara Morrill at Daily Kos urges readers to keep up pressure on key Democratic votes.
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12/16/10 America's Voice, Center for American Progress Action Fund and the American Immigration Lawyers Association released the first in a series of ads today in Roll Call urging Senate Republicans to do the right thing and vote for the DREAM Act. Today's ad juxtaposes the story of Cesar Vargas, a DREAM-eligible law student who calls himself "a typical American kid who grew up in Brooklyn and roots for the Yankees," and "dreams of becoming a J.A.G. officer to defend the country I love," with accusations from DREAM Act opponents in the House who have called people like Cesar "drug smugglers," "lawbreakers," and worse.
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12/15/10 Continuing a week of impassioned action to urge the Senate to pass the DREAM Act, scores of DREAMers, along with military veterans, marched on the sunny (and frigid) lawn in front of the U.S. Capitol to demonstrate their commitment to serving the country they call home. As youth leader Alina Cortes said, she and others are asking for "just the opportunity to serve my country, the country that I love, the country whose language I speak...and the only country I call home."
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12/15/10 On a cold and dreary Sunday evening, dozens of DREAMers and their supporters gathered together on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to sing slightly altered holiday carols – all with a witty DREAM Act theme. Watch as Eric Byler, of 9500 Liberty and the Coffee Party fame, interviews a number of attendees on that faithful Sunday evening:
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12/14/10 Via Politico, folks may need to rethink those off-the-grid holiday travel plans if the DREAM Act doesn't get done this week. See: "Reid threatens post-Christmas session, Hoyer sees business spilling into next week: "Reid ticked off a number of priorities he would like to address before this congress officially ends in January: The START Treaty, the DREAM Act, the repeal of "don't ask don't tell" and other legislative matters."
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12/14/10 With the Senate poised to vote on the DREAM Act before the close of this lame duck session, dozens of prominent clergy – including bishops, national leaders and clergy from numerous key states–converged on the nation's Capitol today to press Senators to vote in favor of the DREAM Act. These faith leaders, who have led the faith community's ongoing efforts to reform our broken immigration system, held an emergency prayer summit and "Jericho March" along with over 100 DREAM students, praying and singing as they encircled the U.S. Senate Office Buildings and proclaimed that now is the time for Senators to show moral courage and break down the barriers obstructing passage of the DREAM Act.
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12/14/10 Today's piece in the Boston Herald by conservative columnist Linda Chavez is one of several warning bells being rung this week for the GOP if they decide to continue false attacks on and obstruction of the DREAM Act (See also, the Washington Post's Schumacher-Matos, who begins: "If Senate Republicans kill the Dream Act, I and many millions of Hispanics will take it as a slap in the face.")
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12/13/10 Yesterday evening DREAM Act supporters, including young immigrants and allies from across the country, gathered at the symbolic Lincoln Memorial -- the spot where Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous speech -- to sing holiday carols. Marchers carried candles and an image of the Virgin Mary - December 12th is El Dia De La Virgen Guadalupe, after all. DREAM leader Gaby Pacheco led a procession to the National Christmas Tree at the White House, where caroling continued. Spirits and hopes were high, despite a light drizzle of rain, that several key Senators will have a change of heart and do the right thing by voting "Yes" on the DREAM Act in this holiday season where we celebrate love, compassion, and peace.
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12/13/10 The mainstream media has done a pretty lousy job reporting what's next for the DREAM Act, writes Marisa Treviño of Latina Lista: "If ever there was an issue constantly lobbed at with distortions and falsehoods, the DREAM Act bill is one... Yet, there's nothing to be afraid of if these students are granted the opportunity to attend school or the military and join the U.S. workforce. It's been calculated by the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation that "enacting the bill would reduce deficits by about $2.2 billion over the 2011-2020 period."
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