America's Voice Blog

Posted 08/27/10 at 03:44pm By Dara Lind

ICE Won’t Deport People Already About To Get Legal Status. “Free Pass,” Or Common Sense?

For a year and a half, Immigration and Customs Enforcement chief John Morton has been saying that he wants his agency to target “the worst of the worst” when it comes to immigration enforcement.  In recent weeks, we've finally begun to see this stance reflected in policy, though there’s still more to be done.

Last week, the agency issued new guidance directing field offices to halt the deportations of a narrow group of immigrants who have “active applications in the system” and are about to become legal residents, according to the New York Times:

“The memo encourages ICE officers and lawyers to use their authority to dismiss those cases, canceling the deportation proceedings, if they determine that the immigrants have no criminal records and stand a strong chance of having their residence applications approved.

“The policy is intended to address a 'major inefficiency' that has led to an unnecessary pileup of cases in the immigration courts, Mr. Morton said. The courts have reported at least 17,000 cases that could be eliminated from their docket if ICE dismissed deportations of immigrants, like those married to United States citizens, who were very likely to win legal status, the memo says.”

The rationale here is good law enforcement policy, but it also happens to jive with common sense.  Surely everyone in America would think it’s smarter to spend ICE resources going after dangerous criminals than immigrants who have applied for residency under the current system and are about to be granted a green card, right?

Well, apparently, not everyone.  Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is seeing red when it comes to the new memo.  Despite his reputation as a budget hawk, he’s bound and determined to oppose every change in immigration policy the Obama Administration makes, even one that would make efficient use of taxpayer resources.

Here's what Grassley told the Times:

“Actions like this demoralize ICE agents who are trying to do their job and enforce the law. Unfortunately, it appears this is more evidence that the Obama administration would rather circumvent Congress and give a free pass to illegal immigrants who have already broken our law.”

It's important to understand that this memo covers only a small fraction of immigrants in the U.S. illegally — the 17,000 who are in active deportation proceedings and have also applied for immigration status through existing laws, like the family-based immigration system.  It won’t give a benefit to anyone who doesn’t qualify for one already; it won’t prevent anyone whose application is denied from being deported in the future; and it won’t end deportation proceedings for the majority of people who are in them.

The policy change simply says that we’re not going to tie up deportation resources going after someone who’s about to become a legal, taxpaying resident —something that most Americans would agree makes good sense.

Most, that is, except Senator Grassley and his crew.  Grassley also doesn’t agree with the vast majority of Americans who support congressional passage of comprehensive immigration reform that requires undocumented immigrants to register with the government, undergo background checks, and get in line for legal status. Americans don’t call that “amnesty,” they call it “accountability.” And they like it.

What they don’t like are leaders who pretend we can deport our way to an immigration solution, or whose strategy on immigration is to block progress at every turn and label every change pursued by the Administration as “amnesty.”

Posted 08/25/10 at 03:12pm By Dara Lind

Updated Report Highlights “Cross-Currents” Facing Latinos at the Polls

After primaries yesterday in Florida and Arizona, the 2010 general election cycle is in full swing -- and one of the most important questions facing political observers is what the nation's fastest-growing voter bloc will do. We won't know the answer to that question until November, of course, but in America's Voice's updated report on "The Power of the Latino Vote" -- and on a telephonic press conference featuring a panel of experts held today in conjunction with the report's release -- it's clear that the immigration debate continues to be a driving factor behind Latino political engagement.. In all, the report examines the role of immigration and the potential influence of Latino voters in 41 key races in 12 states across the country – including potential battleground locations such as Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, and Nevada.  The report – and the analysis featured on today’s call – make clear that Latino voters could make a difference in dozens of 2010 races.

As Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), said on today's call:

"The current debate around immigration is playing a big role in what Latino voters say.  We recently conducted a poll among Latino voters in key states and they told us the issue of immigration increases their likelihood of voting and even influences their selection of candidates.  In fact, when asked what are their top concerns, most of the respondents told us ‘immigration.'  That's ahead of jobs, the economy, and healthcare, among others.  This is the first time we've ever seen immigration top the list of concerns among Latino voters and that is very significant."

In the past, as the report details, the immigration debate shifted Latino voters closer to the Democrats. But the lack of action on comprehensive immigration reform could hurt Democrats who need high motivation and high turnout from all segments of their base—including Latino voters--in order to stem big losses. The report explains:

"The story of the November 2010 election is still to be written, and there are tremendous cross-currents at play that will impact the way Latino voters perform in individual races.  While the lack of action on comprehensive immigration reform could contribute to Latino voter apathy this cycle, recent polls make it clear that the combination of national attention to Arizona’s anti-immigration law and the way many Republicans have wholeheartedly embraced an anti-immigrant agenda could energize Latinos to turn out and vote against Republicans."

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/06/10 at 01:17pm By Jackie Mahendra

Newsflash: Slogans (and Predator Drones) Won’t Fix Immigration

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate approved $600 million in funding for additional security measures along the border with Mexico, including new technology, personnel, and even a couple of the unmanned predator drones pictured at right (feel safer yet?). I blogged about the proposal yesterday in "Democrats Bow to Republican Border Security Lies, Spend $600 Million On Non-Solutions."

This latest development represents not a reasoned response to some massive crime increase on our Southern border (thank goodness) but election year politics at their worst. Senate Democrats and Republicans both know that the only route to true border security is real, comprehensive immigration reform.

According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice:

Congress has now delivered on the latest request for extra funds and personnel that the ‘border security first’ crowd, such as Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ), have been advocating for.  Will these former champions of comprehensive immigration reform keep moving the security goalposts and sticking with their ‘border first’ talking points?  Or will they recognize that Republican primaries will soon be over and the time is right to deliver an actual, lasting solution to fix the broken immigration system?

Here's hoping that's the case. If not, Senate Democrats have handed certain Arizona Republicans just what they were looking for: validation for their absurd claims about crime and illegal immigration to justify blocking real, comprehensive immigration reform.

As Sam Seder argues, that's BS (WARNING- language may not be suitable for work):

(h/t John Aravosis, AMERICABlog).

Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, has argued that "it's time for lawmakers to reconsider what they'd like to see happening in the region." According to Alden:

"Border security has become the most overused, and least understood, concept in the struggle over what to do about our broken immigration system," he said. "While an election year may not be the best time, the United States finally needs an honest debate over what it means to secure the country's borders."

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/06/10 at 12:42pm By Maribel Hastings

Graham and McCain: Once Upon a Time…

Translated from America's Voice en Español.

Once upon a time, it looked like two Republican senators had enough common sense to want to fix their party’s relationship with Latino voters and the Hispanic community. These senators frequently faced attacks from their Republican companions for standing up for their “principles” on such an explosive issue as immigration.

But now, it’s clear that Lindsey Graham and John McCain—Republican senators from South Carolina and Arizona, respectively—have stalled their support for a comprehensive immigration reform bill, refusing to budge despite repeated requests for support, and started parroting the Republican refrain “secure the border first.”

At least they’d steered clear of proposing that the Fourteenth Amendment be changed to deny birthright citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants. The section guaranteeing that anyone born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction is a citizen is part of the bedrock of the Constitution.

Until recently, when Graham said that the amendment might have to be brought up to date: “I’m looking at the laws that exist and see if it makes sense today.”

Of course, it seems that Graham had one message in English for Fox News, and another in Spanish for Univisión, where he said he would only consider the proposal once Congress has addressed what to do with the millions of undocumented immigrants already living among us.

McCain, for his part, supports “the idea” of holding hearings on the topic—an idea that has been proposed by a growing number of members of the Republican congressional leadership.

Click here to read more.
Posted 08/02/10 at 02:36pm By Jackie Mahendra

Sarah Palin’s “Cojones” (and the Immigration Debate)

Yep, I went there.

Maybe it’s because I would expect better from one of the leading women in politics, but I found former Alaska Governor and GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s recent “analysis” of the immigration crisis in our country particularly obnoxious.

CBS reports Palin’s latest headline-grabber: "Palin: Obama Doesn't Have the 'Cojones' for Immigration Reform". That pretty much sums up the level of the discourse here. See, it comes down to whose "balls" are bigger – Palin’s, Brewer’s, or Obama’s. There’s certainly more than enough testosterone in this debate to go around. Not to mention botox.

Blogger Prerna Lal writes at Change.org:

Cojones is a vulgar Spanish word for testicles, which translates to "balls" in English. Yes, Brewer has plenty of nuts in her administration, but that's probably not what Palin meant. Her words were intended to emasculate President Obama, who Palin and her adherents see as not doing enough to "secure the border." [...]

Let's take a few steps back here. When did manhood become a prerequisite for "securing the border" — itself empty rhetoric that serves as an excuse for inaction on immigration reform? It doesn't take "balls" to make a sound immigration policy.

But seriously, ignore the fact that the Obama administration has paralleled and even outspent the get-tough era of the Bush administration on immigration enforcement per year. Ignore the fact that Obama’s Administration is on track to deport 400,000 immigrants this year, the majority of whom have no criminal record and are mainly working hard at menial jobs to feed their families. Ignore all of that -- not to mention the fact that Sarah Palin just used a “Mexican” word on national television (blasphemy!).

It’s clear that our immigration system is dysfunctional, but our immigration debate is just plain irrational at this point. More guards, fences, and drones on the border hasn’t worked to date, and we would be insane to think it will work in the future -- any attempt to promote border-only immigration policy is pure political pandering, plain and simple.

What would work would be smarter immigration policy that allows for an ebb and flow of workers during times of demand; that makes sure businesses hire the right way; and that provides a way for workers without papers to come forward, meet requirements, pay a fine, and become legal taxpayers and citizens. In other words, an immigration policy that lives up to our tradition as both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.

Click here to read more.
Posted 07/26/10 at 03:11pm By Lynn Tramonte

GOP on Immigration: Talking Tough While Stonewalling Attempts to Fix the Problem

As anti-immigrant ringleaders whip themselves into a frenzy over illegal immigration, and continue a strategy that is both bad for the Republican Party and bad for the country, some Republicans are suggesting another way.

As reported in Think Progress, the latest anti-immigrant meme states that President Obama should be impeached due to his "failure" to enforce immigration laws.  Never mind the actual facts on immigration enforcement – that Obama’s numbers are even higher than Bush’s.  According to a Washington Post piece today:

" [the Obama Administration] expects to deport about 400,000 people this fiscal year, nearly 10 percent above the Bush administration's 2008 total and 25 percent more than were deported in 2007," and the "pace of company audits has roughly quadrupled since President George W. Bush's final year in office."

It’s “metrics” like these that have gotten the Obama Administration in trouble with immigrant community leaders, who are concerned about the record pace of deportations and glacial pace of action on comprehensive immigration reform.

Click here to read more.
Posted 07/14/10 at 10:35am By Guest Blogger

Conservative Leaders Call on Congress to Follow the Bible, Reform Immigration

As conservative Republicans in Congress continue to tack right on immigration before the November mid-terms, conservative leaders outside of Washington are coming together, calling on Republicans to work with Democrats on comprehensive immigration reform.

Conservative religious leaders from across the country and across the religious spectrum have united in a cohesive effort to push for a just and compassionate solution to our broken immigration system. A handful of these leaders went to Congress today to make their case for comprehensive immigration reform at a hearing dubbed, “The Ethical Imperative for Reform of Our Immigration System.”

The voices of support for comprehensive immigration reform among those of faith have been growing louder and more unified.  The “Interfaith Platform on Humane Immigration Reform” has over 500 signatures from a variety of religious groups and leaders and the National Association of Evangelicals recently expressed their support for a just immigration system. Not only do the leaders of these various and diverse religious organizations agree with the cause for just immigration reform, but recent polls show that majorities of Catholics, mainline Protestants and Evangelicals are behind them.

Click here to read more.
Posted 06/23/10 at 02:48pm By Adam Luna

In CA and TX Governor’s Races, GOP in Real Danger Because of AZ and Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric

GOP primary politics could potentially doom their chances to retain control of the Governor’s mansions in Texas and California.  Governor Jan Brewer’s signature on SB 1070 and the constant anti-immigrant rhetoric coming from GOP Congressmen is downright offensive to Latinos for whom the Republican brand name is increasingly becoming synonymous with being anti-Latino. 

Here’s a rundown of the latest from the races for Governor in that nation’s two largest states, California and Texas. 

CALIFORNIA

In his column in The Hill, Markos Moulitsas explains why immigration matters in his state:

Between 2000 and 2008, Latino turnout in California has grown 85.41 percent, from 1.6 million to just shy of 3 million — over 21 percent of the total, and growing.

During the GOP primary, Meg Whitman appealed to the hard-core anti-immigrant wing of her party. She’s been trying to scramble back ever since. But, as Markos notes, it won’t be easy:

Whitman is a little more worried about Latino voters, telling The New York Times that she would “move away from immigration to broaden her appeal” after the primary, while running ads on Spanish-language TV during World Cup broadcasts, claiming, implausibly, that “She respects our community.” Democratic groups won’t let that happen. The California Nurses Association paid to re-air a Whitman primary ad on Spanish-language radio:

Meg Whitman: Don’t be fooled by misleading ads; my position on immigration is crystal-clear. Illegal immigrants are just that, illegal. I am 100 percent against amnesty for illegal immigrants. Period. As governor, I will crack down on so-called sanctuary cities like San Francisco who thumb their nose at our laws. Illegal immigrants should not expect benefits from the state of California. No driver’s license and no admission to state-funded institutions of higher education. And I’ll create an economic fence to crack down on employers who break the law by using illegal labor.

Pete Wilson: This is former Gov. Pete Wilson. I know how important it is to stop illegal immigration and I know Meg Whitman. Meg will be tough as nails on illegal immigration. She’ll fight to secure our border and go after sanctuary cities.

[GOP Senate nominee Carly] Fiorina has already given up on the Latino vote, and Whitman probably should as well, because the fastest-growing portion of California’s electorate knows exactly what the GOP is selling.

Whitman is going to be running against her own words on immigration until November.

Click here to read more.
Posted 06/17/10 at 01:34pm By Jackie Mahendra

WATCH: “Steve King’s Sixth Sense” – New Immigrant Horror Flick

Representatives Steve King (R-IA) and Brian Bilbray (R-CA) have staked out roles as two of the most vehement and controversial anti-immigrant mouthpieces in Congress.   Recently, they have offered their collective expertise to Arizona law enforcement, who have spoken out strongly against the state’s new profiling law, SB 1070, because of the way that it inhibits community policing and fighting real crime.

The Representatives' advice to worried police has been simple: “just check their shoes!”

Shoe fetish aside, Rep. King also made the absurd statement Monday that law enforcement could spot those here illegally by either noting indicators such as, “What kind of clothes people wear…what kind of shoes people wear, what kind of accent they have, the type of grooming that they might have…” or:

“…just a sixth sense...”  

We decided to have some fun envisioning King’s worldview as a horror flick.

Watch it:

If you find this as ridiculous as we do, please sign the petition to Obama to stop Arizona-style profiling and help spread the word!

Posted 06/14/10 at 09:07am By Jackie Mahendra

Arizona Could Face Foreclosure Crisis Because of Controversial Immigration Law, SB 1070

Via AZ Central, real estate is the latest business in Arizona to suffer from the state's new Draconian immigration law, SB 1070. 

The law has does not go into effect until late July, but it is already wreaking havoc on the state's economy:

The impact of Arizona's tough new immigration law is rippling through the state, six weeks before the law is scheduled to go into effect.

One area where SB 1070 could hurt Arizona, but take many months to manifest, is metropolitan Phoenix's housing market. [...]

"The immigration law creates a difficult situation for both legal and illegal residents," said Jay Butler, director of realty studies at Arizona State University. "Some illegal residents may have planned on leaving the Valley anyway because they can't find jobs. But I have talked to young Hispanics who are residents and so are their parents and grandparents. And those Hispanics plan on moving to other states because they don't want to be perceived as second-class citizens."

It turns out many tens of thousands of undocumented residents are Arizona homeowners, and SB 1070 encourages them to up and leave -- which could upset an already fragile AZ housing market:

There's a misconception among some Arizona residents that illegal immigrants don't own homes in the state. Housing advocates say thousands if not tens of thousands of people who are not legal residents have purchased houses here. [...]

That cold reality isn't keeping GOP state lawmakers from looking into ever-harsher ways to appear tough on illegal immigration, without actually solving the problem. These legislators' latest move? Vowing to revoke the 14th amendment... rolling back citizenship rights for the children of undocumented immigrants.

Stay tuned. Unless federal immigration reform somehow makes it back to Congress' To Do list this summer, things are going to get even uglier before we see real reform.

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