12/28/12 As 2012 comes to a close, we would like to take this opportunity to reflect on what a remarkable year it has been for immigration reform.  While 2012 started out with a vow to veto the DREAM Act and talk of self-deportation, it ended with a triumphant election season that underscored the power of the [...]
Read More »

12/28/12 Late last Friday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that they had deported another record number of immigrants in the last fiscal year, but that they were enacting reforms that could lead to fewer unnecessary deportations in the future.  As a New York Times Christmas editorial noted, the policy change “if it works — should [...]
Read More »

12/27/12 Next year is going to be huge for  immigration reform—and you still have a chance to donate to the DREAMers who helped make the coming fight possible. You still have a few days left to help DREAMers pay for college, get an internship, and gain leadership training. 100% of your tax-deductible contribution goes directly to [...]
Read More »

12/27/12 Cross-posted at the Hill: The results of the 2012 elections showed that Republicans are teetering at the edge of a “demographic cliff.” They have alienated Latino voters so thoroughly that they risk becoming a regional party unless something big changes, and changes soon. It’s obvious how they got here: the anti-immigration wedge strategy employed by [...]
Read More »

12/21/12 Earlier this month, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), along with a large and prominent group of pro-immigration reform leaders in Colorado, launched the Colorado Compact, a bipartisan set of principles to guide a conversation on immigration reform going forward.  The Compact boasts some of the broadest possible support from across the political spectrum, and has been [...]
Read More »

12/21/12 Because I’m undocumented, my options for scholarships and work experience have always been limited. But last year, I was selected to participate in a unique program called Dream Summer, which provided me with a summer internship at one of the top national social justice organizations, leadership training and a $5,000 college scholarship. The scholarship helped [...]
Read More »

12/21/12 At NPR today is an analogy on why people find themselves forced to come to the US without papers: Imagine immigration, especially from Latin America, as a two-lane residential street with a 20-mile-an-hour speed limit. Over the decades, it’s grown to an eight-lane superhighway. But the speed limit is still 20 mph. That is, visas [...]
Read More »

12/20/12 Ruben Navarrette is a syndicated columnist for CNN, a conservative, and a self-proclaimed supporter of immigration reform. With such a platform and agenda, we would hope and expect him to use his column to promote citizenship for the undocumented in our country or to push his GOP friends to come around on immigration reform. But, no, [...]
Read More »

12/19/12 Last week, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the latest numbers on President Obama’s deferred action for DREAMers (DACA) program.  The program, which began in mid-August, is entering its fifth month.  Of the nearly 1.4 million young aspiring Americans eligible to apply, 367,903 have sent in applications, 102,965 have been approved, and 157,151 currently [...]
Read More »

12/19/12 TIME Magazine editors named Barack Obama their “Person of the Year” today–but in the magazine’s recent Readers’ Choice poll for the same award, the President came in at 18th.  ”Undocumented Immigrants“ finished with a strong third, while The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart took second, and first place went to North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un (after meddling from 4chan.) Undocumented [...]
Read More »

12/18/12 More breaking news from Congress today about new committee and subcommittee chairs: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) has announced his pick for the new House Immigration Subcommittee Chair—Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC). Here’s what we know: Gowdy supported Lamar Smith’s STEM Jobs Act—twice—voting yes on a bill that would increase STEM visas for [...]
Read More »

12/18/12 New data on the deportations of the parents of U.S. citizen children remind us why family unity has to be the cornerstone of the upcoming immigration reform debate in Congress. Colorlines reports that the “federal government conducted more than 200,000 deportations of parents who said their children are U.S. citizens in a timespan of just over two [...]
Read More »

12/18/12 This week, NPR is airing a series of reports on the state of US immigration and the prospects for reform in 2013.  In the latest segment, Debbie Elliott looks at Alabama’s worst-in-the-nation anti-immigrant law HB 56, which was first implemented just over a year ago and still has consequences today.  Here’s an excerpt from the [...]
Read More »

12/17/12 The retirement of Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-CA) is finally nigh, bringing good cheer this season to immigration advocates everywhere.  Gallegly, a member of Congress since the 80s, has long been a nativist crusader and one of the anti-immigrant “Three Amigos” on the House Immigration Subcommittee. His hometown paper, the Ventura County Star, wrote profile piece [...]
Read More »

12/17/12 DREAMers led our movement in winning our biggest victory in 25 years—protecting over a million young people from deportation with the deferred action policy!  In this holiday season, America’s Voice Education Fund wants to say thank you to these inspiring leaders. Will you contribute $5 to thank a DREAMer by helping her go to college and [...]
Read More »

12/17/12 As the Tampa Bay Times reports, two Florida Republicans, Senator Marco Rubio and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, are engaging in the upcoming debate over immigration reform. They have different approaches–Rubio’s for an incremental strategy while Diaz-Balart wants a comprehensive approach.  From the Tampa Bay Times: Immigration — one of the most complex and divisive issues facing [...]
Read More »

12/17/12 At NPR this morning is the first report in a series analyzing the need for US immigration reform following last month’s election. “Republicans and Democrats are pushing to make overhauling immigration a priority in 2013. Senator-elect Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, is expected to play a big part in any overhaul of immigration laws,” [...]
Read More »

12/14/12 A new directive yesterday from the Department of Homeland Security announced that US Border Patrol agents will no longer serve as interpreters when local police and law enforcement agencies need language help.  According to the new guideline, translation help should now come from private services often used by government agencies. Border Patrol agents who are [...]
Read More »

12/14/12 Continuing in the news today is the drumbeat of how 2013 will be the year for immigration reform.  After all, Americans want it, Democrats have promised it, and Republicans need it.  Politico’s piece today, entitled “Immigration waits in the wings,” gives an update for the plans being made to advance immigration reform: President Barack Obama [...]
Read More »

12/14/12 Today, we’re bringing back “Qué Pasa in Immigration,” a weekly roundup of  news, opinion, and links from Spanish-Language online news publications: This week in Qué Pasa in Immigration, Spanish-language press lifts up a variety of voices calling for action on immigration reform. From children to Latino and civil rights leaders, a clear message was sent to Congress [...]
Read More »

12/14/12 If our latest video doesn’t have you amped up enough about next year, check out this short (but fabulous) interview that United We Dream’s Cristina Jimenez did on Al Punto last Sunday, in which she explains to Jorge Ramos how and why UWD has resolved to push for citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants [...]
Read More »

12/14/12 A new video from America’s Voice Education Fund, “From the Latino Vote in 2012 to Immigration Reform in 2013,” captures the Republican Party’s challenge with respect to Latino voters and the GOP’s need to push for immigration reform. The video starts with Ronald Reagan arguing for “amnesty,” followed by Mitt Romney announcing hardline immigration positions [...]
Read More »

12/13/12 Latinos and the Republican Party haven’t seen eye-to-eye much recently.  However, leaders of prominent Latino-focused organizations and leading Republican pollsters each made news yesterday and reached a similar conclusion: the Republican Party needs to play ball on real immigration reform or else pay an escalating political price.  There’s a consensus that changing demographics and the [...]
Read More »

12/13/12 This is a headline we like to see: Arizona Sheriff Arpaio Loses Bid to Dismiss U.S. Bias Lawsuit The loss against Sheriff Joe means the lawsuit against him will proceed: Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa County, lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department that accuses him and his officers [...]
Read More »

12/13/12 The momentum for winning immigration reform in 2013 seems to be growing every day. Yesterday, Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) announced he was “more optimistic today” about passing significant reform than before the election. And he should know. Not only is Sen. Bennet a member of the bipartisan Gang of 8 Senators who are crafting a [...]
Read More »

12/13/12 Since last month, we at America’s Voice have for good reason spent much time lifting up the Latino vote and its pivotal role in the 2012 election.  But another key voting bloc—Asian Americans—has also been making headlines, and the Republican failure to court it means even more trouble for the GOP in a diversifying future. [...]
Read More »

12/13/12 You have to love a press release that includes a line like this: UC Berkeley is leading the nation in assisting its students who are undocumented. It’s especially great to read when it’s true. There’s a lot happening at the University of California-Berkeley — including $1,000,000 gift for DREAMers scholarships, thanks to the Evelyn and Walter [...]
Read More »