02/01/13 In Washington, many of the usual suspects want to have the same old debate about border security. Today, we get further proof that the border is more secure than ever. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) released a new report, “Border Security: Moving Beyond Past Benchmarks”: The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) released a report this [...]
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01/31/13 You’ve heard it from us over and over: there’s a new politics of immigration reform, shaped by the 2012 elections. That new politics means immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for the 11 million, is under serious consideration in Congress. The Democrats promised it. And the Republicans need it. E.J. Dionne, one of the [...]
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01/30/13 This week, eight Senators unveiled their plans for immigration reform, and one thing noticed by many advocates was the continued emphasis on border security. For many, it’s a replay of the 2007 debate, which was mostly focused on border security and immigration enforcement. As Suzy Khimm at the Washington Post notes, while the 2007 bill [...]
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01/22/13 Last week, we learned that since President Obama announced the deferred action (DACA) program last June, 154,404  eligible DREAMers have made it through the process and been approved. Via Univision: To date, 154,404 young undocumented immigrants have been approved for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama administration program active since August. The program gives [...]
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01/18/13 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has established himself as a champion of immigration reform–and he reaffirmed his commitment to real reform this week while talking to reporters in his home state of Nevada: “There will be nothing done in my Senate (on immigration reform) without a pathway to citizenship,” he said. The Majority Leader also [...]
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01/11/13  Earlier this week, the Migration Policy Institute published a report, Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The Rise of a Formidable Machinery. The headline of MPI’s press release summed up its findings, “U.S. Spends More on Immigration Enforcement than on FBI, DEA, Secret Service & All Other Federal Criminal Law Enforcement Agencies Combined.” Of course, [...]
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01/07/13 As momentum grows for a real debate on immigration reform with a path to citizenship, we expect the usual suspects (mostly Republicans) to adhere to their worn out “border security first” talking point as a way to thwart progress. Today, the Migration Policy Institute is releasing a new report, Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The [...]
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01/04/13 Today, the above-the-fold headline in the Washington Post reads: ”Obama prioritizing immigrant issues” (which matters because many people here still get the Post delivered).  The headline of the online version of the article is: “White House pushes forward on immigration ahead of bigger reform fight.” There is a new conventional wisdom for immigration reform, and the Obama [...]
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01/03/13 With the passage of SB 1070 in 2010, Arizona became the first state in the nation to sanction the kind of ugly anti-immigrant politics that states like Alabama and Georgia now also practice.  Despite warnings about its racial profiling provisions and the potential for negative impact on the state, the anti-immigrant zealots in Arizona were [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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12/12/12 In the wake of Arizona’s SB 1070, Georgia’s legislature got caught up in the anti-immigrant frenzy and passed a harsh “show me your papers” law. This week, that provision took effect: Georgia state and local police may start enforcing one of the most controversial parts of the state’s immigration law for the first time now [...]
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12/12/12 Over the past couple of weeks, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and United We DREAM have made it clear that real immigration reform (and by real we all mean reform that includes a clear path to citizenship) must also include LGBT families. Yesterday, Republican Senator Susan Collins (ME) reiterated her commitment to passing the Uniting American [...]
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12/11/12 At The Fix, the Washington Post’s political blogger Chris Cillizza, took a close look at the new Politico/George Washington University Battleground Poll (which we wrote about yesterday.) Cillizza came up with a number of “takeaways,” including this one on immigration: People are ready for immigration reform. While it’s not a top-of-mind issue (see point No. [...]
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12/10/12 As politicians begin discussing immigration reform legislation for next year, one thing is crystal clear: citizenship is the solution. And according to a new national poll, a majority of the American people support it: A new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground poll finds that 62 percent of those surveyed support an immigration reform proposal that would allow illegal or [...]
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12/07/12 Since the 2012 election results rolled in, it’s been hard to keep track of all the momentum behind real immigration reform.  The immediate post-election developments included supportive comments from Republican Senators for real reform, such as Sens. Lindsey Graham (SC) and Rand Paul (KY), and the surprising backing of earned citizenship from Fox News television [...]
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12/07/12 Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio has been talking about immigration lately. But, he’s not making himself very clear. This week, he told an inside-the-beltway breakfast hosted by Politico that he we need comprehensive reform, but can’t do it comprehensively — or something like that. The headline of the post at the San Francisco Chronicle sums [...]
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12/03/12 Former California Governor Pete Wilson created the path to Latino power in his state when he aggressively pursued Proposition 187 back in 1984. He dug a deep hole for the GOP — and they’ve only continued to dig it deeper since then. This year, Wilson was a co-chair of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign. When it [...]
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11/27/12 At Crooks and Liars yesterday, our friend David Neiwert eviscerated columnist Ruben Navarratte’s latest column for trying to rewrite the history and politics of immigration. Dave, who follows the issue very closely, is having none of it. You have to read the whole thing to fully appreciate Dave’s work, but here’s how it begins: Ruben Navarrette, [...]
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11/27/12 Sheriff Joe Arpaio is one of the worst anti-immigrant extremists our movement has ever had to contend with — and you and other activists on our side have officially voted him Turkey of the Year! With his history of racial profiling and corruption, we all probably have worse names for Sheriff Joe Arpaio –but in [...]
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11/26/12 When Rahm Emanuel served in Congress, he was also the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He was not particularly helpful when it came to immigration reform–in fact, he was often hostile. Here’s what then-Congressman Emanuel said about the issue back in October of 2007: For the American people, and therefore all of us, [...]
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11/21/12 This Thanksgiving, there’s a lot to be thankful for – family, food, and the growing movement for citizenship that we are all a part of. But while Thanksgiving means giving thanks, it also means turkey. That’s why we’re holding a contest to elect one lucky anti-immigrant extremist as our “Turkey of the Year!” We’ll announce [...]
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11/21/12 Last weekend, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC)  criticized Mitt Romney’s post-election “gift” comments and offered advice to the Republican Party regarding its lurch to the right on immigration policy and its thumping by Latino voters: “When you’re in a hole, stop digging.  He [Romney] keeps digging.” Added Senator Graham, “The Hispanic community, 71 percent voted for [...]
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11/19/12 During the fall, we wrote several times about the race between the race between Republican incumbent Rep. Mary Bono Mack (CA) and Democrat Raul Ruiz. America’s Voice included this match-up in our spotlight of fifteen competitive House races important to Latino and Asian voters — and all those who care about common-sense immigration reform. Ruiz won. Today, [...]
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11/14/12 Over the past week, there’s been an avalanche of punditry and discussion about the new, post-election politics of immigration reform. Much of the focus has been on the Republican Party’s serious problems on the issue, caused by chronic catering to its anti-immigrant nativist wing, led by the likes of Rep. Steve King (R-IA), Rep. Lamar [...]
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11/13/12 Last week, we reported on the alarming number of provisional ballots left over from last week’s election that still to be counted in Arizona.  Here’s a quick recap from the Arizona chapter of the ACLU: According to the Arizona Secretary of State, as of November 8 there were more than 630,000 ballots yet to be [...]
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