America's Voice Blog

Posted 07/01/10 at 09:35am 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 06:18pm 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 02:53pm 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 11:46am 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 10:15am 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 04:02pm 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 10:23am 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 04:29pm 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.

Posted 01/21/10 at 09:48am By Jackie Mahendra

Event Today: Comprehensive Immigration Reform- How We Will Make It Happen

Update: Check out video from the event here.

NN AV CAP

Today, the Center for American Progress, in collaboration with Netroots Nation and America’s Voice, will host a roundtable discussion about the policy and politics of immigration reform entitled, “Next Up, Comprehensive Immigration Reform: How We Will Make It Happen.”

Panelists include Nico Pitney, National Editor of Huffington Post; Markos Moulitsas Zúñiga (Kos), Founder and Editor, Daily Kos; María Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO; and Andrea Nill, Immigration Blogger and Researcher, Think Progress. Kicking off the event are Faiz Shakir, Editor-in-Chief of Think Progress, and Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL), who recently introduced comprehensive immigration reform legislation, H.R. 4321, into the U.S. House of Representatives.

For those of you can't make it in person (the event is already full), the discussion will be streamed live. Catch it here. 

Also, here's a short list of resources that document the various ways in which immigration reform will benefit America:

1. Fact Sheet: How Immigration Reform Would Help the Economy
by the Center for American Progress

A fact sheet summarizing recent research on the benefits of legalization.

2. “The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform”
By Raul Hinojosa for the Center for American Progress and the Immigration Policy Center

This report finds that comprehensive immigration reform that includes a legalization program for unauthorized immigrants and enables a future flow of legal workers would result in a large economic benefit—a cumulative $1.5 trillion in added U.S. gross domestic product over 10 years. In stark contrast, a deportation-only policy would result in a loss of $2.6 trillion in GDP over 10 years.

3. Restriction or Legalization? Measuring the Economic Benefits of Immigration Reform
by Peter B. Dixon and Maureen T. Rimmer for the CATO Institute

A report which finds that legalization of low-skilled immigrant workers would yield significant income gains for American workers and households. It would also allow immigrants to have higher productivity and create more openings for Americans in higherskilled occupations. The positive impact for U.S. households of legalization under an optimal visa tax would be 1.27 percent of GDP or $180 billion. 

4. The Economics of Immigration Reform: Legalizing Undocumented Workers a Key to Economic Recovery
by the Immigration Policy Center

April 2009 analysis of how legalization would protect our workers, raise wages, and get our economy moving again.

5. Policy Brief: New Immigration Reform Bill Supports America’s Middle Class
Drum Major Institute for Public Policy

A Legislative Analysis of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (H.R. 4321) sponsored by Representative Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and 92other co-sponsors

6. The Labor Movement’s Framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
AFL-CIO and Change to Win

Announced in April 2009, this is the labor movements unified framework for comprehensive immigration reform.  This framework is a critical sign of support for the Administration and Congress to address immigration reform -- and to ensure that it remains a priority on the legislative calendar. It is also an important sign that immigration reform is an important part of economic recovery.

7. Loving Thy Neighbor: Immigration Reform and Communities of Faith
by Sam Fulwood III for the Center for American Progress

This report documents how  a wide range of faith groups are showing a new, unexpected, and grassroots-led social activism that’s rooted in theological and moral ground. While loud and shrill anti-immigrant voices dominate much of the media attention regarding immigrants and especially the undocumented, faith community activists are caring and praying in the shadows of public attention.

8. The Role of Local Police: Striking a Balance Between Immigration Enforcement and Civil Liberties
By Anita Khashu for the Police Executive Research Foundation

While this report focuses on and provides critique of the role of local police and immigration enforcement, one of the major findings is the need for enactment of comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

Click here to read more.
Posted 01/15/10 at 12:22pm By Frank Sharry

Don’t Leave it to the Pundits, Even Palin Proves Them Wrong on Immigration

Inside-the-beltway conventional wisdom, which is usually wrong, is way off on immigration reform. 

Pundits and unnamed politicos have long been arguing that Congress won’t deal with reform in 2010. But, according to an article in today’s Politico, not only is immigration reform in the mix, it’s got a pretty fierce champion in the Senate:

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is heading for a collision with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) over whose pet issue will get top billing in the Senate later this year.

Schumer is taking a lead role in immigration — and is pushing Democrats to prioritize a potentially toxic issue leading up to the November elections. Kerry is a lead negotiator on climate change and is demanding that a climate bill get pushed to the front of the line.

Kerry and Schumer — who have a history of competitive tensions — are maneuvering behind the scenes to get White House and Senate leadership to promise to give their respective issues time this spring.

At America’s Voice, we don’t know if the premise of the article – a conflict between two leading Democrats on two crucial progressive priorities – is true. We do know that Chuck Schumer has taken the lead on pushing comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

And, that should capture the attention of pundits.

Schumer is well-known for his political acumen. He helped lead the Democrats from a caucus of 45 in 2006 to the majority of 60 they now have.  Last year, one of the geniuses at FOX News regurgitated the blatantly inaccurate, yet widely held, assessment of the issue:

This radioactive topic always lights the Republican fires as well, a dangerous political weapon against Democrats.

But, since that “fire” was lit back in 2006 Schumer led the Democrats into their majority, Democrats took control of the House and Barack Obama was elected with the help of a huge Latino turnout in formerly red states of Florida, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. Some fire. But, that’s what D.C. insiders – and Fox News -- think.

Click here to read more.

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