America's Voice Blog

Posted 12/14/11 at 11:47am By Pili Tobar

How the First Caucus State is Offering a Sensible—and Popular—Solution on Immigration Reform

iowa compactOn Tuesday, December 13th, community, business, and religious leaders in Iowa launched the Iowa Compact, which charts a sensible course on immigration policy – a welcome contrast to the “papers, please” crackdowns passed in Arizona and Alabama. And, as Iowans well know, ugly immigration rhetoric has been a standard component from most of the GOP 2012 presidential contenders.  But, according to a raft of new polling, the sentiment behind the Compact is far more in line with the wishes of Iowans and other Americans across the ideological spectrum than the approach championed by most Republican presidential candidates.   

The Iowa Compact is supported by a range of business, civic, political, and religious leaders across the state and across the partisan spectrum who believe that “immigration policy falls under the purview of federal, not state government” and requires a federal solution.  As the Des Moines Register writes, “Republican presidential candidates should abandon sound bites about building walls along the U.S. border and deporting undocumented workers, and look to immigration as part of the solution to the nation’s economic challenges, says a group of business and civic leaders…The compact calls for smart immigration enforcement, keeping families together and consideration for the role immigrants play in the U.S. and Iowa economies.  Similar compacts have been adopted in other states, including Indiana and Utah.  The group hopes to use the national attention surrounding Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses to drive middle-ground discussions of immigration reform.”

Voters in Iowa, including most likely Republican caucus-goers, are not as rabidly anti-immigrant and animated by the issue as some politicians seem to believe.  America’s Voice has produced a recap of recent Iowa polling, which you can find here.  Among the highlights:

A Washington Post-ABC News poll of likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers finds that Newt Gingrich’s immigration stance attracts twice as many caucus-goers as it repels.  The poll listed a series of controversies that had arisen during the primary campaign, asking respondents if they considered each issue a major factor to support the candidate in question, oppose the candidate, or if it was not a major factor. When asked about “Newt Gingrich’s position on illegal immigration,” which includes a path to legal status for some longtime undocumented immigrants, 34% of potential caucus-goers and 38% of likely caucus-goers said it was a major reason to support Gingrich, while only 16% of potential caucus-goers and 15% of likely caucus-goers said it was a major reason to oppose him.

Public Policy Polling (PPP) polling of Iowa Republican caucus-goers found that there is “not much evidence that Gingrich's immigration stance will prove to be an issue.  Only 29% of caucus voters think illegal immigrants who have been in the country for 25 years and paid their taxes and obeyed the law should be deported, to 44% who think they should not be.  Something may sink Newt's campaign in the next month, but it's not likely to be that issue.”  Like the Post/ABC poll, PPP also found that immigration was far from a driving force for Republican caucus-goers, as only 3 percent ranked “illegal immigration” as their most important issue when deciding their vote.  In comparison, 43 percent named “government spending, reducing the debt,” 27 percent “jobs/economy,” 9 percent “social issues,” and 4 percent “taxes.”

Polling conducted for the Partnership for a New American Economy by Iowa-based pollsters Selzer & Co. found that “likely caucus-goers in Iowa support legal immigration reform and rank illegal immigration as a lower priority than most other issues polled.”  Though the poll showed concern among Iowans about the issue of illegal immigration and support for a variety of enforcement measures, it did not specifically explore support for a path to legalization or citizenship or ask about voters’ support for the specific candidates’ immigration platforms.  The Selzer & Co. poll did show that immigration isn’t the driving force for Republican voters that some portray it as: 46% labeled “Halting Illegal Immigration” as “critical,” 27% as “important,” and 16% as “somewhat important.”  Comparatively, immigration ranked much lower on the “critical” scale than such issues as “Reforming government spending and debt” (85% labeled as “critical”), “Creating jobs in the U.S.” (70% “critical”), “Encouraging the creation of new businesses in the U.S.” (64% “critical”), and “Reforming taxes” (52% “critical”).  The remainder of the poll showed broad support for a range of proposals designed to increase legal immigration.

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

The Iowa Compact is a tangible reminder that there is another way on immigration that is more sensible and more popular than pretending we can enforce our way to a controlled and orderly immigration system.  The leaders who put forth this Compact are right – the solution must come from Washington, not the states.  Polling shows that voters in Iowa and across the country want common sense, federal reform.  It’s time for Washington to catch up.

Read about the Iowa Compact

Access recent immigration-related polling of likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers

Posted 12/02/11 at 04:58pm By Pili Tobar

GOP Voters, Like Most Americans, Want Smart Solutions on Immigration (Not Sound Bites)

immigration reform nowWhile analysts try to make sense of the political implications of the ongoing Republican presidential primary dustup over immigration, conventional wisdom seems to be that Republican voters are relentlessly hard line on immigration matters.  Polls that present false choices over immigration only serve to confirm that analysis.  However, numerous polls conducted by a variety of reputable organizations make it clear that Republican voters’ views – and all Americans’ views on immigration – are far more nuanced than that. 

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

When public opinion researchers dig deep into the views of voters regarding illegal immigration, the majority of all voters, including the majority of Republican voters, wants a ‘both/and’ approach – one that combines a path to legal status and citizenship for the undocumented with strong enforcement.  Indeed, that’s the entire point of comprehensive immigration reform – to combine smart enforcement with earned citizenship so that a dysfunctional system is transitioned into a legal and orderly one.  The bottom line is that voters want Washington to figure out how to walk and chew gum at the same time.  The commonly-held notion that most Republicans are rabid anti-immigrant zealots is simply false.

Below are some recent assessments of public opinion on immigration, with a particular focus on Republican audiences. 

According to Pew Research Center polling in May 2011, the vast majority of the public and the majority of Republicans support both an earned path to citizenship and stronger border security.  When asked directly about the question of the moment in the Republican race – what to do with the 11 million undocumented immigrants – respondents are in favor of legal status and citizenship: “Thinking about illegal immigration in the United States, do you favor or oppose providing a way for illegal immigrants currently in the country to gain legal citizenship if they pass background checks, pay fines, and have jobs?”  By a 72%-24% margin overall, voters support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.  

When broken up by political typology, of the two Republican-heavy groups, Main Street Republicans support a path to citizenship 58%-39% while staunch conservatives are split 49%-49.  Of swing groups, Libertarians support it 66%-32%, while Democrats support it 80%-12%.  When the same voters are asked if they support stronger enforcement of immigration laws and border security, they say yes by a margin of 78%-19%, with both Main Street Republicans and staunch conservatives strongly in favor.  The point is that all voters, including the majority of Republicans, support a “both/and” rather than an “either/or approach. 

New poll from Latino Decisions shows Republicans favor policies that allow undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. over deportation by more than a 2-1 margin.  Latino Decisions polling for Univision in November 2011 found several insightful ways to capture voters’ nuanced positions.  The pollsters asked voters, “which comes closest to your view about what government policy should be toward undocumented immigrants currently residing in the United States?  Should the government...Make all undocumented immigrants felons and send them back to their home country, Have a guest worker program that allows immigrants to remain in the United States in order to work, but only for a limited amount of time, or Allow undocumented immigrants to remain in the United States and eventually qualify for U.S. citizenship, but only if they meet certain requirements like paying back taxes and fines, learning English, and passing a background check?”  Overwhelmingly, the public – including Republicans – favored the path to citizenship option: 58% of all voters, including 53% of Republican voters, supported the path to citizenship option, 13% of all voters and 13% of Republicans who favored the guest worker option, and only 25% of all voters and 30% of Republicans who favored the deportation and felony option and only.  In sum, Republicans favor policies that allow undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. over deportation by 66% to 30%.

Fox News Channel poll shows Republicans support a “both/and” approach.  In an August 2010 Fox poll, Opinion Dynamics found the following: “Do you favor or oppose giving illegal immigrants who pay taxes and obey the law a second chance and allowing them to stay in the United States?”  All voters favored allowing undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. by a margin of 68%-27%; Republicans favored it 63%-33%.  “Thinking about the issue of immigration, do you think the federal government’s top priority should be securing the country’s borders, or passing new immigration legislation, or should both be done at the same time?”  All voters favored securing the border first by a margin of 21%-7% over passing new immigration legislation, but 68% favored doing both simultaneously; Republicans favored securing the border first by 28%-4% over new legislation, but 65% favored doing both simultaneously.   Again, when presented with the option of enforcement and path to legal status, the majority of all voters and the majority of Republicans support doing both.

This stands in contrast to CNN polling, which consistently presents a false choice on immigration policy.  For example, polling released in late November 2011 by CNN/ORC asked, “What should be the main focus of the U.S. government in dealing with the issue of illegal immigration -- developing a plan that would allow illegal immigrants who have jobs to become legal U.S. residents, or developing a plan for stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. and for deporting those already here?”  By a 55% - 42% margin, voters support the option that involves stopping illegal immigration – a margin that is 71%-27% among Republicans.  This “either/or” proposition completely misses the more nuanced and complex views held by voters.

Concluded Sharry:

Without a doubt, there is a group of anti-immigrant Republican voters.  However, pundits and candidates alike often mistake their size and significance.  The polling is quite clear.  A majority of Republican voters want the same things that most Americans want on immigration – smart solutions rather than simplistic sound bites.

Posted 07/01/10 at 10:35am By Jackie Mahendra

President To Call for Comprehensive Immigration Reform at National Townhall—Join Round Table Talk

Here is a rundown of what's happening today, from the White House media team:

Today, President Obama will deliver remarks on the need to fix our broken immigration system through comprehensive immigration reform at the American Univeristy School of International Service. The speech will be streamed live at WhiteHouse.gov at 10:45AM EDT (www.whitehouse.gov/live). If you miss it, at 1:00 PM EST you can still join Cecilia Muñoz, one of the President's closest advisors on this issue, who will be taking questions from Americans all over the country in a unique online roundtable. Or join Administration officials for a conference call at 4pm EST to discuss the President's speech.

Join the "Open for Questions Roundtable" at 1:00 via Facebook

You can watch here:

Let us know what you think of President Obama's speech in the comments, and check back later today for Frank Sharry's take.

Posted 04/29/10 at 07:18pm By Jackie Mahendra

White House Statement: “We can no longer wait to fix our broken immigration system”

The White House responds swiftly to the new Senate proposal in the following statement. The statement reaffirms the President's commitment to work actively to gain bipartisan support for comprehensive immigration reform after yesterday's comments, but it provides no explicit timeline for federal action.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_______________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 29, 2010

 

Statement by the President on Senate Proposal Outlined Today to Fix Our Nation’s Broken Immigration System

“It is the federal government's responsibility to enforce the law and secure our borders, as well as to set clear rules and priorities for future immigration. The continued failure of the federal government to fix the broken immigration system will leave the door open to a patchwork of actions at the state and local level that are inconsistent and as we have seen recently, often misguided.

The proposal outlined today in the Senate is a very important step in the process of fixing our nation’s broken immigration system. I am especially pleased to see that this detailed outline is consistent with the bipartisan framework presented by Senators Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham last month, and is grounded in the principles of responsibility and accountability.

What has become increasingly clear is that we can no longer wait to fix our broken immigration system, which Democrats and Republicans alike agree doesn’t work. It’s unacceptable to have 11 million people in the United States who are living here illegally and outside of the system. I have repeatedly said that there are some essential components that must be in immigration legislation. It must call for stronger border security measures, tougher penalties for employers who hire illegal immigrants and clearer rules for controlling future immigration. And it must require those who are here illegally to get right with the law, pay penalties and taxes, learn English, pass criminal background checks and admit responsibility before they are allowed to get in line and eventually earn citizenship. The outline presented today includes many of these elements. The next critical step is to iron out the details of a bill. We welcome that discussion, and my Administration will play an active role in engaging partners on both sides of the aisle to work toward a bipartisan solution that is based on the fundamental concept of accountability that the American people expect and deserve.”

Posted 04/14/10 at 03:53pm By Jackie Mahendra

Reid Says He’s Got “56”, Kos Counts Senate Votes for Immigration Reform

KosThis week the progressive blogosphere (see: Kos on the politics, including Reid's statement that he had 56 votes, (and the Senate picture), Atrios for the skeptics, and Digby with the arithmetic) began commenting on the resurgence of immigration reform, after Majority Leader Reid's statements at a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday:

“We are going to pass comprehensive immigration reform,” Reid told the crowd. “We need to do this this year. We can’t let excuses like a Supreme Court nomination get in the way.”

Reid promised the legislation would include provisions to secure both the north and

south borders, revisions to a guest worker program, and provisions to deal with illegal immigrants already in the country.

“There are no excuses. This is something America needs,” Reid said. “We’re going to do immigration reform just like we did health care reform.”

Those were welcome words to the crowd gathered in Las Vegas and to millions of Voters around the country.

Yesterday, Reid, back in DC, put his comments into the Senate schedule, stating that the Senate won’t take up the bill before Memorial Day:

But Reid also noted that two top priorities would not be on the agenda before Memorial Day: comprehensive immigration reform, and moving forward on a nominee for the Supreme Court.

"We won't get to immigration reform this work period," he said. "We won't get to the Supreme Court justice."

Click here to read more.
Posted 04/12/10 at 12:46pm By Jackie Mahendra

Senators Reid and Durbin Pledge Action on Immigration This Year at Nationwide Rallies

In case you missed the major rallies for immigration reform over the weekend, check out the New York Times' "From Senate Majority Leader, a Promise to Take Up Immigration Overhaul:"

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, told an exuberant crowd at an immigration rally Saturday in Las Vegas that Congress would start work on an immigration overhaul as soon as lawmakers return this week from a recess.

“We’re going to come back, we’re going to have comprehensive immigration reform now,” he said in a speech to more than 6,000 people, mostly immigrants, gathered downtown.

“We need to do this this year,” Mr. Reid said, drawing cheers from the crowd, which included many Latinos. “We cannot wait.”

Organizers of the Las Vegas rally, including the Reform Immigration For America coalition, estimated 10,000 people attended Saturday's rally, cheering Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for his commitment to passing much-needed immigration reform this year. 

At a rally in Chicago, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) pledged to move on immigration reform and to recruit Senate Republicans to support reform legislation. He compared this effort to the dedication that helped pass healthcare legislation and called for:

"...that same determination and that same commitment to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year.”

The tens of thousands of people who gathered at rallies across the country on Saturday came after 200,000 people descended on Washington, D.C., for the March 21st "March for America," the latest major call for concrete action on an immigration. The pledges of support also come at a time when Latino voter enthusiasm about the November mid-term elections is looking dismal and concerns over a slipping timeline for reform have grown louder.

Ezra Klein writes, in The Political Case for Immigration Reform:

The cynical take, of course, is that Reid is running for reelection in a state that's about 20 percent Hispanic. But that suggests an important change in the political reality: The cynical thing for Democrats to do in an election year might be to pursue immigration reform. And that would make immigration reform a much likelier addition to the agenda.

Click here to read more.
Posted 03/08/10 at 11:15am By Jackie Mahendra

Obama to Meet With Schumer, Graham Amidst Calls for Concrete Action on Immigration

Note: updated and cross-posted at Daily Kos.

Over the weekend, news broke that the President intends to meet with Senators Schumer and Graham this evening at the White House:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama plans to focus attention on immigration next week by meeting at the White House with two senators crafting a bill on the issue.

White House spokesman Nicholas Shapiro said Obama will meet with Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Monday.

The president is "looking forward to hearing more about their efforts toward producing a bipartisan bill," Shapiro said Friday.

So are a lot of people, it looks like. The news generated 9,026 comments on The Huffington Post (it was the front page story for a time on Saturday), and has come amidst growing pressure on the administration to show concrete progress on immigration reform in advance of the upcoming "March for America: Change Takes Courage" in Washington, D.C. on March 21st.

Momentum is building rapidly for the march. Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Reform, writes:

Today, a caravan of faith leaders, day laborers and others is leaving from Phoenix, Arizona. Greeted by crowds of up to a 1,000 in places like Houston and New Orleans, this caravan will grow to dozens of vehicles and hundreds of people to arrive in DC on March 21st.

In Michigan, Ohio, California, Wisconsin and states across the country, communities are raising money and organizing buses to bring African American workers, small business owners, immigrant families and others to Washington DC on March 21st.

These communities on the move will meet in Washington DC to joins tens of thousands of Americans to March FOR America on Sunday, March 21, 2010, and remind our elected leaders that Change Takes Courage.

Indeed, tens of thousands of people will be marching to Washington to stand up for that vision of change-- for crafting an immigration system that is once again rooted in America's most deeply-held values of fairness, dignity, and hard work. Clarissa Martinez, Director of Immigration and National Campaigns at the nation's leading Latino advocacy organization, NCLR, argues that the President must help move the process forward after tonight's meeting:

But let's be clear. If the meeting is just to "hear more," it's not going to cut it. The president had a meeting with Republican and Democratic members of both chambers in June 2009, and in August held a White House summit, hosted by Secretary Janet Napolitano, with a large number of representatives from faith, labor, business, law enforcement, immigrant, ethnic, and civil rights groups. Around that time, Schumer and Graham started working on a bipartisan proposal, and Schumer announced he would have the parameters of a proposal ready by Labor Day 2009.

With the Congressional legislative runway getting crowded and time running out before the November elections, it is time to land this plane. Monday's meeting must be followed by a clear, bipartisan proposal and a firm timeline for Senate action. Anything less will be regarded as more stalling by the tens of thousands coming to DC to march in two weeks.

In case you missed this new video from NCLR, a reminder of the President's own promise and stated vision to reform immigration:

"They're counting us to rise above fear, the demagoguery, the pettiness, the partisanship, and finally enact comprehensive immigration reform... In this country, change does not come from the top down. Change comes from the bottom up."

Click here to read more.
Posted 02/04/10 at 05:02pm By Mahwish Khan

Congressman Mike Honda: This Is the Year for Reform

Representative Mike Honda and Sonia Manzano, who most people know as Maria on Sesame Street, wrote an article, which was published today in the Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, voicing their support for comprehensive immigration reform. They write:

The tide seems to be turning in favor of comprehensive immigration reform, despite populist trends that might suggest otherwise.

As the political dust settles, Rep. Honda kindly reminds his colleagues that voters expect their leaders to solve tough problems, not run away from them.  Polls show that the majority of Americans – including Republican and independent voters – support comprehensive immigration reform.

And it is the right thing to do for our economic recovery by generating billions in new tax revenues, helping American workers and honest employers, and replacing our current broken system with a functional approach that restores the rule of law.

It’s a little premature, we think, for anyone to be writing immigration reform’s obituary and we’re glad that the authors of the article are battling the rumor that immigration reform can’t happen this year. In fact, they clearly state otherwise: 

This is the year for comprehensive immigration reform. Left to future presidents or future Congresses, the number of undocumented immigrants will only increase and the visa waits will only get longer. Meanwhile, we lose an opportunity to do what’s right economically, politically and morally. On all accounts the case is clear: Reform now.

‘Nuff said? 

Posted 01/30/10 at 11:23am By Jackie Mahendra

Senator Graham: Deporting 12 Million Won’t Work, Need a Comprehensive Immigration Fix

Yesterday Lindsey Graham, Republican Senator from South Carolina, stood up for a comprehensive fix to our badly damaged immigration system. Graham has been crafting bipartisan legislation with Senator Schumer for some time now, and details of the bill are expected soon.

Senator Graham makes the case, in an interview with Brian Goldsmith, that the frenzied attempts to define comprehensive reform as "Amnesty" are as ludicrous as the enforcement-only alternative to real reform: the dangerous (and costly) notion that we can deport or jail twelve million people-- the number of unauthorized immigrants currently in the U.S.

Marc Ambinder reports for The Atlantic:

BRIAN GOLDSMITH: You're one of the few Republicans fighting for comprehensive immigration reform, which most Republicans have called amnesty. Where do you think that stands?

SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Well I think the idea of border security as a confidence builder is the way to start. Most Americans are very practical and reasonable. They're upset about broken borders and our out-of-control immigration system. They will buy into a comprehensive solution if we can prove to them, and only if we can prove to them, we don't have twenty million more illegal immigrants, ten years, twenty years down the road.

And when it comes to the illegal alien population, if the definition of amnesty is you got to deport twelve million people, or put twelve million people in jail, then we'll never have a comprehensive solution, because that's just not workable, it's not practical.

To me, amnesty would be forgiving people, like Ronald Reagan did, with no consequence, and not repairing the system. Amnesty is what we have today. What I would like to see is the illegal immigrant population come out of the shadows, be biometrically identified, be required to learn English, pay the fines for their crime, and get right with the law. If they want to be a citizen, get in the back of the line, not break into line.

And to my Republican colleagues, I can understand the politics of this is difficult. Big things are hard to do. But I believe in 2008, we lost a lot of ground with the Hispanic community because of the rhetoric and the tone we set on immigration.

The cost of deporting these 12 million unauthorized immigrants has been pegged at anywhere from $100 billion (an estimate by ICE, Immigration Customs and Enforcement) to $230 billion dollars over 5 years (according to a Center for American Progress analysis cited in  the Washington Post), with a loss of 2.6 billion to our GDP. On the other hand, new studies show that immigration reform would bring about a $1.5 trillion boon to our economy.

Markos Moulitsas, founder of the progressive political blog Daily Kos, argues in "Immigration reform would be good for the economy:"

Anti-immigrant forces are hoping the bad economy gives them ammo to scuttle the common-sense legalization of 10-15 million undocumented workers in this country. The thinking goes, since so many Americans have no jobs, there would be little appetite to grant "illegals" the right to stay and work.

That may have some rhetorical power, even if few Americans are lining up to work in slaughterhouses or as day laborers. But fact is, normalizing their status would be a huge boost to the economy.

Bottom line is that the Senator is right: when it comes to immigration reform, we can't afford to wait. Or to take the simplistic "No Amnesty!" bait.

Posted 01/26/10 at 05:29pm By Jackie Mahendra

Gibbs: Immigration Likely to be Mentioned During Tomorrow’s State of the Union

According to the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, immigration is a topic likely to be mentioned during tomorrow's nationally-televised State of the Union address, the first of Obama's presidency. 

Via USA Today:

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs confirmed a few more subjects that may surface in the State of the Union tomorrow night, including immigration and gays in the military -- but he provided few details and noted that the address is still being edited.

"Let's wait for tomorrow's speech," Gibbs said at one point.

The same article notes that Gibbs had little new to say about specific details of reform. While he mentioned that work is already underway by the Administration, he placed most of the onus on Congress to get immigration reform moving.

From the White House transcript of Gibbs' comments:

MR. GIBBS:  "Well, I think one of the things the President will -- has talked about and one of the things you'll hear him mention tomorrow and in the coming days, similar to what I've said on cap and trade, and that is that if -- we've started a process on this and if Congress can put together the way forward, a coalition to get the way forward, then it's something we'll work through."

No matter what President Obama says during the State of the Union tomorrow, one thing is certain: it will take real leadership from both the President and from bipartisan members of Congress to tackle this pressing issue. Independent, Republican, and Democratic voters alike want it solved. A growing, major demographic in this country expects it solved. Moreover, a strong bipartisan effort is gearing up to do just that.

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