This 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.”
On April 15, thousands of people associated with the Tea Party movement are expected to rally around the nation, demanding lower taxes and less government. These so-called “tea parties” stand in stark contrast to larger rallies and other events that have cropped up across the nation calling for comprehensive immigration reform and a rational solution to our broken immigration system.
The immigration reform events provide an interesting contrast to the Tea Party movement because comprehensive immigration reform is about getting more people into the tax system, not less.
In fact, several studies have shown that comprehensive immigration reform would create millions of new taxpayers and bring in billions of new tax dollars, strengthening Social Security and growing the economy by $1.5 trillion without raising tax rates.
Below are some key facts that the Tea Party may want to keep in mind:
- $1.5 trillion – the amount by which comprehensive immigration reform legislation would grow the economy over the next 10 years according to a recent study by Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda for the Immigration Policy Center and the Center for American Progress.
- $4.5 – $5.5 billion – the amount of new tax revenue that would be generated over the next three years by passing comprehensive immigration reform legislation, according to the same report.
- $180 billion – the amount that U.S. household income would increase from passing comprehensive immigration reform, according to the conservative CATO Institute.
- $285 billion – the cost to implement the mass deportation policy favored by opponents to comprehensive immigration reform, according to a new study by the Center for American Progress. This eye popping amount would pay the annual salaries of every elementary school teacher in America for three and a half years.
- $1.757 trillion – the amount in annual lost spending if we were to eliminate the undocumented immigrant population from the United States, according to a 2008 study by the Perryman Group.
- $2.6 trillion – the amount the nation’s economy will lose in GDP if a policy of mass deportation were to be implemented according to the Center for American Progress.
Many eyes in the Spanish-language media are turned to Arizona, which is one step away from passing a bill criminalizing undocumented immigrants. Meanwhile, comments from Harry Reid about immigration reform in the Senate garner attention, and a trial for the murder of undocumented immigrant Marcelo Lucero is coming to a close.
AZ bill about to pass? EFE and La Opinión have more on the bill’s passage yesterday by the Arizona House of Representatives. Weekly papers Al Día (Philadelphia) and Hoy (Delaware) reprint the column “Malevolent ideas” by Rafael Prieto of America’s Voice, discussing the bill—which now requires only the governor’s signature to be passed into law.
Today, the Spanish-language press covers a Center for American Progress report on the state of the U.S.-Mexico border; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) remarks from Saturday continue to make news; and some “malevolent ideas” are coming out of Arizona lately.
Border report. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) spoke at a press conference held at the Center of American Progress, promoting the release of a report from the think tank about border security. The Spanish-language press notes some of the report’s conclusions: EFE’s article is titled “United States should rethink border security,” while El Financiero writes, “More cooperation with Mexico recommended.”
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.
The Spanish-language media highlights mobilizations performed during the weekend for immigration reform in Las Vegas, Seattle, Chicago, El Paso, Fort Worth, Philadelphia, Brooklyn and San Diego. In an analysis, El Diario-La Prensa pointed out that during the demonstration in Las Vegas, Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid said:
“We will enter the session. We will have immigration reform now” and added, “We must do it this year. We cannot wait”.
Other Headlines include:
“Pro-Reform Groups Strengthen Pressure”, 7 Días
“Thousands of People Demand Immigration Reform in the United States”, The Houston Chronicle
“Philadelphia Today Called for Immigration Reform”, Ponte al Día
“Hundreds of People March in San Diego for Immigration Reform”, Notimex
“This Saturday, Pro-Immigrant March in El Paso”, El Paso Times
