05/21/13 Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the immigration legislation by a bipartisan vote (13-5).  The vote concludes the committee markup process in the Senate and signifies the clearing of the first official legislative hurdle for immigration reform’s passage in 2013 (see here for a list of “good and bad” amendments added to the Senate bill [...]
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05/21/13 Below is a press statement from the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, about President Obama’s meeting with DREAMers and their families today: Families part of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement Share Personal Stories of Broken Immigration System and the Impact on Their Lives (WASHINGTON) – This morning, President Obama and Vice President Biden met with seven [...]
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05/21/13 A cross-post by DREAMer Eric Balderas, initially posted at the Hill: I have much in common with my home state’s junior senator, Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Like Cruz, I was not born in the U.S. Like Cruz, I moved to Texas at the age of 4 and grew up pledging allegiance to the American flag. Like [...]
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05/21/13 Today is the last day of markup in the Senate Judiciary Committee–and advocates from around the country have been pumped up waiting for the Senators to pass the immigration bill out of committee.  Below is a picture of some of the advocates in the hearing room–DREAMers, moms, dads, union supporters, business interests, faith leaders, immigrants, [...]
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05/21/13 Update: Cruz 3 has just been rejected on a 5-13 vote. Senators supporting a permanent, second-class status: Sessions, Lee, Grassley, Cruz, Cornyn. Right now the Senate Judiciary Committee (#CIRmarkup) is considering Sen. Ted Cruz’s amendment 3, one of the worst amendments that has been proposed to the Senate Gang of 8 immigration bill.  Cruz seems [...]
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05/21/13 Having worked through a majority of its amendments, the Senate Judiciary Committee is in the final stages of marking up the bipartisan immigration reform bill.  According to Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who led the process thoughtfully and fairly, the markup is likely to finish today. The biggest takeaway?  Although some call the path [...]
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05/21/13 Watch live-stream here. Here’s what happened today in the Senate Judiciary Committee markup, from the Senate Judiciary Committee majority staff: Day Five Recap: Committee Concludes Consideration of Immigration Reform Bill The Senate Judiciary Committee today completed consideration of S.744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.  The immigration reform bill will make the [...]
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05/21/13 The rest of the world is learning something we’ve known for awhile: Alabama Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is extremely and obsessively anti-immigrant. And his behavior being noticed.  During the mark-up of the Senate’s “Gang of 8″ bill, Sessions has stood out – often on his own. Dana Milbank at the Washington Post wrote: Not since [...]
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05/21/13 Last week, more than 140 civil and immigrant rights organizations signed a letter asking the Senate Judiciary Committee to PROTECT and EXTEND the path to citizenship they are currently debating in markup. As the letter states: Allowing the 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country to become citizens after meeting appropriate requirements will make America stronger. It [...]
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05/21/13 The Hill: Senate Democrats work to woo Cornyn, Hatch on immigration reform By Alexander Bolton NBC Latino: Singular focus on scandals can doom both parties By Sandra Lilley PolicyMic: Immigration Reform 2013: Slowed Down By IRS, AP, Benghazi Scandals? By Taylor Hom SENATE MARKUP RECAP & PREVIEW OF TODAY Associated Press: Judiciary Committee nearing final [...]
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05/20/13 Watch live-stream here. And follow the conversation on Twitter at #CIRMarkup. 9:15 PM: the following is a press release from the Senate Judiciary Committee majority staff: Day Four Recap: More Than 165 Amendments Considered to Immigration Bill The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday continued consideration of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.  The [...]
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05/20/13 If you think the Senate Judiciary Committee’s markup of the Gang of 8 bill has been intense so far, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. As the SJC moves into Titles II and III of the bill—which cover everything from E-Verify to detention policy to family immigration to agricultural workers, not to mention the path to [...]
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05/20/13 A coalition of immigration reform opponents called Ban Amnesty Now has announced a number of anti-immigrant events for tomorrow, May 21, at Senators’ offices and state capitols around the country.  They haven’t announced that 20,000 people nationwide will be participating, perhaps because that would be hard to believe considering the support their social media numbers [...]
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05/20/13 Today, as the Senate Judiciary Committee continues its markup of the Gang of 8 immigration bill, the committee may consider one of the most nefarious amendments filed: Ted Cruz’s amendment 3, which (as we’ve written) “would prohibit anyone who had been undocumented for any period of time ever from becoming a United States citizen in the future.  [...]
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05/20/13 If you think the Senate Judiciary Committee’s markup of the Gang of 8 bill has been intense so far, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. As the SJC moves into Titles II and III of the bill—which cover everything from E-Verify to detention policy to family immigration to agricultural workers, not to mention the path to [...]
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