04/26/13 Cross-posted at the Hill: The first 100 days of President Obama’s second term has already delivered more progress on immigration reform than the 1,000-plus days of his first term. The first four years were dominated by Republican obstruction, Democrats’ inability to deliver on their pro-reform promises and the Obama administration’s record deportations. This term, thanks [...]
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04/12/13 Cross-posted at Huffington Post and Burnt Orange Report: As a group of eight senators, four Republicans and four Democrats, work together to make progress on immigration reform, there’s one senator not in the group to keep an eye on.  His name is John Cornyn. In fact, Cornyn is famous for posing as reformer even as he [...]
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03/08/13 Cross-posted at Huffington Post. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to…be part of a permanent underclass in American society…”? Oops. Wrong America. While the italicized words above are mine, the opening words come from the inspiring poem by Emma Lazarus. Inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and written [...]
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01/29/13 Cross-posted at USA Today: If immigration reform is to succeed, Congress needs to create a road map to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants who want to be full-fledged Americans. That road map should consist of: Reasonable requirements. Immigrants must pass background checks, pay taxes, study English and be of good moral character. A reasonable [...]
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01/23/13 Cross-posted at Daily Kos: Happy anniversary! One year ago today, January 23, at a GOP presidential debate in Florida, Mitt Romney first announced his support for self-deportation and set the stage for his loss in November.  To jog your memory, here’s how Romney responded to a question from co-moderator Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times about how a President [...]
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01/15/13 Cross-posted at Huffington Post. After the president’s resounding reelection over his Massachusetts-based challenger, many pointed to the president’s performance among Latino voters as critical. The president had won close to a record percentage of Latino voters for a candidate from his party, a crucial fact in an election featuring the greatest-ever number of Latino voters. [...]
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12/04/12 Cross-posted at Huffington Post and Daily Kos. After the drubbing Republicans took from Latino voters in the 2012 elections, some of the party’s leaders began to talk openly about the stark choice they face: appeal to a diversifying America, or risk extinction as a national party. This isn’t just a political choice, it’s a policy choice too. Already we’re [...]
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11/05/12 The Wall Street Journal‘s front-page headline on November 1st read “Election May Hinge on Latino Turnout.” If true, Mitt Romney should start working on his concession speech. With respect to Latino voters, the two key factors to consider are margin and mobilization. Regarding margin, the most recent impreMedia/Latino Decisions tracking poll shows that Obama is crushing Romney by 73 percent [...]
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09/21/12 TO: Ruben Navarrette FROM:  Frank Sharry RE:  Thanks for the shout out Hey Ruben, I read your nationally-syndicated column today.  Thanks for the shout out to America’s Voice and me.  As is always the case, your column is a must-read.  I don’t always agree with you, but especially during non-election years it’s my humble opinion [...]
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09/17/12 Follow Frank Sharry on Twitter: www.twitter.com/franksharry Boston, you have a problem. Your guy, Mitt Romney, is losing badly with Latinos and it could cost him the election. Battleground states such as Nevada, Colorado, Florida and even Virginia are likely to swing Obama’s way if he keeps his current 66 percent – 29 percent lead among Latinos. And Boston, [...]
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09/14/12 President Obama, next week, you and Mitt Romney will sit down for interviews with Univision’s Jorge Ramos. No doubt, immigration will be a topic during both discussions. We’d like to encourage you to have a better answer than the one you gave to Agencia EFE yesterday, as reported by FOX News Latino: When asked if he regretted not [...]
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07/12/12 Cross-Posted at California Progress Report Years ago, California tried to take the punitive and xenophobic approach to immigration with Prop 187 — a 1994 ballot initiative whose stated goal was to keep undocumented immigrants from receiving public benefits, but would have essentially turned California into a police state for immigrants. Fortunately, Proposition 187 was invalidated [...]
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06/29/12 Cross-Posted at Huffington Post: The June 27th headline in the Wall Street Journaltrumpeted the arrival of a new era in the politics of immigration. “Obama Gains Among Latinos: Poll Finds Strong Support Among Public for Softer Stance on Youth Deportations.” The piece noted: “Americans by a wide margin favor President Barack Obama’s new policy of halting [...]
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05/30/12 Cross-Posted at The Huffington Post: Having alienated Latino voters in the primary with hard right immigration positions and dehumanizing anti-immigrant rhetoric, what will GOP nominee Mitt Romney and his surrogates do in the general election to attract the 40% of Latino votes experts say he needs to win the presidency? Many have argued that Romney [...]
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04/24/12 With the Supreme Court set to hear arguments for and against Arizona’s anti-immigration law on Wednesday, April 25th, we turn to another court for its ruling—the court of public opinion.  In advance of tomorrow’s proceedings, America’s Voice Education Fund analyzed how immigration and SB 1070-type laws are play out  among the American people. The results might be [...]
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04/23/12 This week, all eyes will once again be on SB 1070. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the Arizona law and will soon decide whether to strike it down forever, or open the door to Arizona laws across the country. Exactly two years ago today, Governor Jan Brewer signed Arizona’s now-infamous “show [...]
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03/22/12 Congressional Quarterly reports that Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) is planning to introduce a dramatically stripped down version of the DREAM Act -- and it doesn't pass the legislative or political laugh test.
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03/22/12 Congressional Quarterly reports that Rep. David Rivera (R-FL) is planning to introduce a dramatically stripped down version of the DREAM Act -- and it doesn't pass the legislative or political laugh test.
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02/08/12 Does anyone (besides Mitt Romney) listen to the chair of the House Judiciary Committee anymore?
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09/07/11 The latest Republican presidential debate, being held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, will undoubtedly feature endless paeans from the candidates to our nation's 40th President. Yet on the issue of immigration, the Republican 2012 field has a lot to learn from the Gipper.
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07/25/11 At the NCLR Conference, President Obama's claim that he couldn't use his authority to prevent deportations was met with the chant, "Yes, You Can!"
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07/24/11 On Monday, President Barack Obama will make a luncheon speech at the National Conference of La Raza's (NCLR) annual conference in Washington, DC. While most of the political class is mesmerized by the debt ceiling negotiations, millions of Latinos will be focused on what the President says – or doesn't say – about immigration reform.
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07/21/11 Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) has really thin skin. He just can't help himself and has to respond to any article that mentions him and/or immigration policy. These are not baseless allegations. Even well-known news columnist, Ruben Navarrette, called him out on it, writing that Lamar Smith "creates his own reality on immigration." Navarrette didn't have to wait long before Rep. Smith had drafted and published a response in the Ventura County Star.
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05/23/11 Imagine if Democrats proposed legislation that would cause the loss of almost 800,000 jobs, force 4 million more workers into an administrative quagmire, cause an undue burden on small businesses, nearly wipe out the agricultural workforce, result in the loss of tax revenue – and had a failure rate of over 50%.
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05/06/11 The President needs to take a detour. Heading into 2012, he can't allow his legacy on immigration to be defined by a record number of deportations and no relief for any of the undocumented immigrants he pledged to legalize. It's great that the President is using his megaphone to put more pressure on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. We need it. But we also need the Administration to take bold action to reform its enforcement policies and bring them more in line with their stated priorities.
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04/29/11 Yesterday, the President met with Latino celebrities and news personalities to talk about his push for comprehensive immigration reform. This followed a similar meeting with other leaders last week, a meeting which I attended. As many have pointed out, these aren't the first meetings the White House has held on immigration, and they certainly won't be the last.
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04/13/11 In California's 2010 race for Governor, Meg Whitman (R) lost -- and lost the Latino vote to Jerry Brown (D) by a stunning margin of 86-13%. She's now expressing concerns about her party's stance on immigration. Yet, a fellow California, Rep. Elton Gallegly, who chairs the U.S. House Subcommittee on Immigration, is defining the GOP through his hard-line anti-immigration views. His efforts to pass a mass deportation strategy, couched as "attrition through enforcement," could ruin the state's economy – and his party's prospects with Latino voters.
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