America's Voice Blog

Posted 05/31/11 at 02:12pm By Mahwish Khan

Ruben Navarrette: Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) “Creates His Own Reality” on Immigration

Ruben Navarett and Lamar SmithThis in from Ruben Navarrette last night:

You would think that the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee would have better things to do than respond to every column that mentions him.

(Ouch).

Navarrette’s column focuses on Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), one of the most anti-immigrant members of the U.S. House and vocal member of the GOP Mass Deportation Caucus, as the Congressman continues to challenge the columnist (and those who publish him), defending his hard-right position on immigration.

According to the columnist, this is the third time Lamar Smith has responded to one of his columns. And while Navarrette claims to have no problem with Smith defending himself, it seems he might have one – as do we – with Lamar Smith trying to "create his own reality." From the piece:

In a recent letter, Smith accused the Obama administration of "not enforcing the immigration laws on the books."

That will come as news to the more than 800,000 people who have been deported since Barack Obama took office, at the rate of about 1,000 per day. Just as it will to the hundreds of thousands of employers who have been pressured by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to fire illegal immigrant workers. With a record like this, it's absurd for anyone to accuse the administration of going soft on immigration enforcement.

Yet, on that issue, the Texas congressman has mastered absurdity.

As when Smith wrote to editors that illegal immigrants "take jobs from lawful workers."

Someone should check the expiration date on that carton of milk. How many Americans do you know who complain that it was their life's dream to pick strawberries, or tar roofs, or clean horse stalls, or do some other hard and dirty job but, darn it, an illegal immigrant got there first?

Or when Smith suggested that "the mass amnesty" of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act only "encouraged" more illegal immigration.

If he spoke to more immigrants, he'd know that there is only one thing that encourages them to leave their family and friends and trek north: jobs. And they come courtesy of the folks that Republicans consider untouchable: employers.

Navarrette continues to list Smith's argument on various immigration related issues -- like framing the DREAM Act as "amnesty for 2 million people" (it isn't)  or claiming that E-verify works (it doesn't) -- and expertly rips them apart. The article is definitely worth a read-through and a tweet.

We look forward to Lamar Smith's response.

Posted 05/09/11 at 05:32pm By Mahwish Khan

Florida Provides Perfect Case Study for the Politics of Immigration

Aniteres Flores (Florida)The fact that Florida’s state legislature will not advance Arizona-style anti-immigration legislation this year is a welcome development – and one that should puncture several myths that surround the politics of immigration. 

For one, the developments in Florida should make Republican strategists think twice as they seek to use immigration as a wedge issue and advance the notion that pushing Arizona copycat laws is a smart political strategy for the GOP (It’s not).

Here’s why:

State senate president Mike Haridopolous, running for the Republican nomination to U.S. Senate, made a deal with the Tea Party to do what he could to pass an anti-immigration bill in the Sunshine State.  After Spanish-language radio advertisements highlighted the role key Hispanic legislators were playing in providing cover to Haridopolous as he rammed through the legislation, Sen. Anitere Flores and House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera came under intense scrutiny.  They denounced the legislation, and it finally died. 

The zeal of this fringe group of Republican hard-liners proved to be no match for the power of the Hispanic vote in Florida and the state’s business community, which was extremely worried that the law would negatively impact Florida agriculture, tourism, and reputation on the world stage -- just like SB 1070 did for Arizona.      

The developments in Florida also tested the idea — popular among anti-immigration restrictionists like Rep. Lamar Smith — that the GOP can court Latino voters with a few tweaks in their overall brand. 

According to Lamar Smith, an outspoken member of the "Mass Deportation Caucus," there is no need to change the Republican Party position on immigration reform, just change the "tone" of the debate. All they need, according to Mr. Smith, is to run a few more Latino candidates.  As our report from earlier this year makes clear, adding more Latino Republicans to the GOP ticket is not enough to win Latino voters. In fact, neither Governors Brian Sandoval of Nevada or Susana Martinez of New Mexico came even close to winning the Latino vote.  

To win over the Latino vote, the Republican Party really does have to move away from a mass deportation strategy to embrace comprehensive immigration reform. They apparently didn't get the memo. 

Click here to read more.
Posted 01/20/11 at 06:27pm By Jackie Mahendra

Immigration Policy Center: Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) in Trouble With the Facts

Check out this interesting piece on Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) from Michele Waslin at Immigration Impact:

(Note: emphasis added/edited slightly)

 

fire alam immigrationDear Mr. Smith, Your Pants are on Fire. Sincerely, The Facts

In response to a recent Roll Call article calling out the nativist lobby, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith wrote a letter to the editor making a series of claims—many of which he’s been making for the last 20 years—which simply don’t stack up to the facts. These myths also conveniently obscure the lack of any denial of ties to the nativist lobby. While many of Smith’s easy-to-swallow myths may stir the extreme end of a conservative base, they serve as a yet another distraction from having an open and honest immigration debate.

Repeating the same myths over and over again doesn’t make them true. Here are a few recently cited immigration myths and the facts that refute them:

MYTH: The American people want enforcement-only “solutions.”

FACT: Voters still strongly support comprehensive immigration reform. According to a November 2010 nationwide poll, support for comprehensive immigration reform is broad-based and crosses party lines. When comprehensive immigration reform was described to voters, 81% of voters supported the measure. Republicans were the most intense supporters, with fully 72% strongly supporting comprehensive reform. Additionally, 76% (62% strongly) agree with the statement that “deporting all 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the United States is unrealistic.”

Click here to read more.
Posted 09/10/10 at 12:35pm By Mahwish Khan

New Report: 14th Amendment Repeal Would Leave Millions More Undocumented

File this one under "more good reasons not to repeal the 14th amendment."

Yesterday, the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute released a report entitled, “The Demographic Impact of Repealing Birthright Citizenship,” which found that the controversial idea birthed by some GOP senators -- that of repealing the 14th amendment-- would, over the next ten years, actually exacerbate the illegal immigration crisis by increasing the undocumented population by about 5 million people.  According to the report:

"Under a constitutional repeal of the birthright citizenship language of the 14th Amendment or the proposed Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009, these U.S.-born descendents of unauthorized immigrants would be denied legal status in the United States, even though in all likelihood they would be thoroughly American in other respects… In short, the repeal of the 14th Amendment or enactment of the Birthright Citizenship Act would lead to the establishment of a permanent class of unauthorized persons."

Early in August, some members of the GOP decided that they would rather re-write the Constitution for political purposes than do the hard -- but necessary  -- work of fixing America’s broken immigration system. Started by former reform champion Senator Lindsay Graham, the idea quickly caught fire within the Republican party, as top GOP leaders called for hearings on the 14th amendment. Unfortunately for certain elements of the GOP, busy raising the spectre of surging "birth tourism," the idea turned out to lack evidence -- "birth tourism" was not quite reality-based:

…immigration experts say it's extraordinarily rare for immigrants to come to the U.S. just so they can have babies and get citizenship.

Click here to read more.
Posted 09/03/10 at 12:18pm By Guest Blogger

Weekly Diaspora: The High Cost of Cheap Labor

by Catherine A. Traywick, Media Consortium blogger:

A new study about the effects of immigration on U.S. employment supports the long-standing arguments of immigration advocates: Rather than displacing American workers, immigrant labor actually makes our economy stronger. Kevin Drum has the details at Mother Jones.

Now, with reports that undocumented laborers are a mainstay of disaster relief efforts all over the country, Americans are beginning to get a sense of the unsavory work relegated to many immigrants, and the high price immigrants pay for the simple privilege of employment.

Undocumented workers driving wages up

Going back to Mother Jones, new research examining the relationship between immigration and U.S. employment found that—contrary to conventional anti-immigrant wisdom—immigration does not negatively affect American employment. Instead, immigration drives wages up by pushing low-wage American workers into higher-paying jobs.

Here’s how it works: As less-educated immigrants gravitate towards work that requires fewer English language skills (like manual labor), their less-educated American counterparts move on to higher-paying, communications-intensive work that capitalizes on their comparatively better English language skills. This naturally drives wages up, and makes for a more productive economy overall.

The irony, as Drum notes, is that those who complain about immigrants stealing American jobs are the same people who want immigrants to learn English and assimilate as quickly as possible. “If they did,” Drum argues, “then they’d just start competing for the higher paying jobs that natives now monopolize.”

Click here to read more.
Posted 04/08/10 at 03:48pm By Guest Blogger

Weekly Diaspora: Busting Immigration Myths

This post is a weekly feature by Erin Rosa, Media Consortium Blogger:

According to a recent study described by New America Media, passing comprehensive immigration reform and providing a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants  wouldn’t negatively impact the job market for those who are already citizens. This is one of many myths promoted by anti-immigration groups that have recently been busted wide open.

In an interview with Public Policy Institute of California research fellow Laura Hill, New America Media editor Sandip Roy notes, “People say in the current economy with 10 percent unemployment we cannot afford immigration reforms because native born Americans would lose out on jobs. Is that borne out by your study? ”

The answer is no, the study shows. “It won’t cause competitive hardship for native born workers because there is not suddenly mobility among the people being legalized,” Hill tells New America Media. “So this is not a sudden new adverse competition for those already in the workforce.”

Click here to read more.
Posted 01/12/10 at 04:23pm By Mahwish Khan

Washington Post: Growing Number of Wealthy Immigrants Investing in American Business

Here's an interesting story you don't hear every day -- yet another way in which immigration is a vital piece of our economic recovery.

Under the EB-5 visa program, which was established in 1990, immigrants who have created at least 10 US jobs with their investment of $500,000 - $1 million can be granted legal permanent residency. An appropriate thank you, don’t you think, for those who are creating jobs in a country desperately in need of them?

According to the Washington Post , the number of immigrants taking advantage of the program tripled from 1,443 in 2008 to 4,218 in 2009, partly because the recession motivated the government to streamline often slow-moving procedures -- and the benefits of doing so have been tremendous. The Washington Post reports:

Statistics on the total invested through the EB-5 program are not available, but the capital infusion has been a boon to Washington area businesses. The Capitol Area Regional Center, a real estate investment fund based in the District, has been working to raise a projected $250 million from immigrant investors for use in Washington area construction projects. …"Normally, to get equity capital to these areas is almost impossible," said Michael Wallach, chief operating officer of the corporation.

Though a city benefits monetarily, it’s not always true or likely that the investor does. In fact, the Post reports it as "unlikely" that Eric Canal-Forgues, a participant in the EB-5 program who invested half a million in a regional center that funded the construction of a Philadelphia-based project, "will get more than a 1 percent return by the five-year point at which he will be allowed to withdraw his money. That will barely cover the roughly $50,000 in administrative costs of his investment, let alone the loss of value because of inflation."

This example pokes yet another hole in the stubborn myth that immigrants and immigration reform would hurt American workers, as does a report released earlier this week by the Center for American Progress and the Immigration Policy Center.  The report finds that legalizing undocumented immigrants would create revenue of $1.5 trillion over 10 years, and support 750,000-900,000 jobs.  And a month ago, both Labor Secretary Locke and Commerce Secretary Solis stated that comprehensive immigration reform would strengthen the US economy.

As Seth Hoy at Immigration Impact writes, commenting on the recent uptick in investments:

While state and local governments continue to dig themselves out of the current economic recession, the message here is clear -- immigrants are not only an economic benefit, but an economic necessity.

Posted 09/30/09 at 02:43pm By Jackie Mahendra

Extreme Groups Push Amendments to Bar Legal Immigrants, Block Millions from Buying Insurance

UPDATE:  The Sen. Kyl amendment for tax credits, which would have undermined the confidentiality of tax information, went down after a brief debate. Senator Rockefeller called it dreadful, and Sen. Bingaman repeated that it was a solution looking for a problem that doesn't exist.  Thanks to all who have made phone calls already.

nasty graphicToday the Senate Finance Committee is considering several key amendments on immigration to the current health insurance reform legislation.   The worst amendments are sponsored by Senators Kyl (R-AZ), Grassley (R-IA) and Ensign (R-NV).

Check out this alert by reform advocates working on the intersection of healthcare and immigration policy -- please take a moment to call your Senators now to oppose amendments that are bad policy for all Americans.

As you’d expect, anti-immigrant organizations are calling on their members to light up the phones. FAIR, the leading anti-immigraton lobbying organization, which is recognized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is urging its activists today to oppose any inclusion of legal immigrants in health insurance reform. Hate groups like FAIR will continue to spread lies about immigrants and health care.  And, they’ll continue to feed misinformation to their allies on Capitol Hill. 

We’ve reached a point in the health care debate where yesterday we had to ask legislators who support such measures, "What part of LEGAL don't you understand?"

Senator Steve King (R-IA), as blogger Dave Neiwert pointed out at Crooks and Liars, was so eager to throw immigrants under the bus this week that he even eschewed traditional conservative values of the free market:

In typical fashion, Rep. King read the word “immigrant” and jumped on it, telling the Washington Times: "If anybody can, with a straight face, advocate that we should provide health insurance for people who broke into our country, broke our law and for the most part are criminals, I don't know where they ever would draw the line.”  Never mind the fact that no one was advocating taxpayer assistance to undocumented workers, but simply the right to purchase health insurance with their own money.  Since when were Republicans like King so opposed to the free market?  Oh right – when it involves undocumented immigrants, who “for the most part are criminals,” according to King.

Free-market Steve King vs. Anti-immigrant Steve King. That pretty much sums up how absurd this debate has become.

I'm no health policy expert, but it makes sense that immigrants should have access to affordable health care.  Even Fox news anchors agree that it pays to let undocumented immigrants buy their own health insurance, instead of blocking them from doing so.

On a positive note, common sense has triumphed in some areas of the debate today. Senator Grassley proposed a new verification requirement that would have caused problems for U.S. citizens and immigrants alike.  Fortunately, It was defeated by a 10- 13 margin. All the Republicans, including Olympia Snowe (ME), on the Finance Committee voted with Grassley. All the Democrats opposed his amendment.

Your phone calls to Congress do matter -- so don't forget to tell Congress where you stand.

Note: Cross-posted at Daily Kos.

Posted 09/10/09 at 03:19pm By Jackie Mahendra

Action: Fight FAIR- Fewer “Lies!” and More Solutions

Last night Rep. Joe Wilson from South Carolina shouted “YOU LIE” at President Barack Obama during the President's Congressional health care address. And what was the issue that had him so riled up?

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, of course.

In last night’s televised address, President Obama was denouncing myths spread by cable news, talk radio, and anti-immigrant politicians that immigrants living in the U.S. illegally would receive free coverage under his health care plan. In fact, they are barred from doing so, as CNN, the Associated Press, FactCheck.org, and others have highlighted repeatedly.

Many of our email supporters have written in to express their concerns about this very exclusion:

"It troubles me that illegal immigrants will not be eligible for health care.  Are they not human beings, also?  They pay taxes like everybody else.  What reason is there to deny health care to somebody merely on the basis of where they were born?" --- John Wheat Gibson, Sr, Texas

"I would have hoped illegal immigrants would not be banned from receiving health care." ---Eldon R.

 "I support President Obama and health care reform. I'm a liberal Democrat. But I'm not very happy that undocumented immigrants cannot access our health care system except for emergencies. We need to extend our compassion to them also!" ---Rev. Aja, Kentucky

It's obvious that the specter of ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION is being used by politicians like Rep. Joe Wilson as a divisive wedge issue-- he has become a mouthpiece for groups whose main agendas are rooted in white nationalism, fear, and xenophobia. 

One such organization is the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), classified as a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center. FAIR has been lobbying Congress for years now and is storming DC this week for its annual "Hold Their Feet To The Fire" lobby days. FAIR's founder, John Tanton, has been quoted:

"As Whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?"

To be clear, these folks don't care about the facts, when it comes to immigration policy. They're looking to block any kind of comprehensive solution. Their solution? The mass deportation of 12 million people. Fewer rights for workers. More people living in the shadows.

The facts didn’t stop Rep. Wilson from shouting angrily at the President of the United States yesterday about “benefits for ILLEGALS.” Isn't it time we stop giving extremism a free pass?

Watch our "What is FAIR?" video and help us send a message to Congress about who this hate group really is. Together, we can fight FAIR.

Posted 09/09/09 at 10:17pm By Jackie Mahendra

“LIES” on Health Care and Immigration, Which Way Forward for the GOP?

Taking a cue from the "tea parties" and rowdy townhalls this summer, perhaps, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) shouted, "You lie!" at President Obama during his speech last night. The topic? "ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS" of course...

According to the Associated Press: 

OBAMA: "The reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally." One congressman, South Carolina Republican Joe Wilson, shouted "You lie!" from his seat in the House chamber when Obama made this assertion. Wilson later apologized.

THE FACTS: The facts back up Obama. The House version of the health care bill explicitly prohibits spending any federal money to help illegal immigrants get health care coverage. Illegal immigrants could buy private health insurance, as many do now, but wouldn't get tax subsidies to help them...

Watch the clip:

Wilson also made it clear that the immigration wedge strategy Republican politicians have used unsuccessfully during so many policy debates and so many elections just won't die.  Already this year, Republicans have tried to use the ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS bogeyman to derail progress on a number of issues, from SCHIP expansion, to the flu pandemic, to economic recovery, but they've only succeeded in further marginalizing themselves among Latino voters and other swing demographics who want policymakers to solve tough problems-- not pander with cheap scare tactics.

A range of tweets shone the spotlight on Wilson -- he's become the top "trending" topic on Twitter since last night's outburst:

RT @politicalbaron: I applaud Congressman Joe Wilson and his brave battle with Tourettes.

RT @blakerutherford: RT @TheFix: Donations to Joe Wilson's D opponent -- Rob Miller -- now over $200K since "You Lie". within two hours after Joe Wilson yelled out 'You lie' to the president, his opponent Rob Miller raised $25,000 from people via Twitter!

RT @lancole NEWS: Lou Dobbs apologizes for ventriloquism prank involving Congressman Joe Wilson.

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