This morning, we’ll be live-tweeting this event at the Center for American Progress.
UPDATE 10:00 AM EST: We’ll have a recap of the event up soon. For now, here are a couple of (cleaned up) tweets from the event:
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Napolitano: we can fix this, immigration is a fixable problem, we look forward to honestly dealing with it
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Napolitano: need new laws 2 go after smugglers, be sure employers aren’t creating constant demand 4 workers 2 cross dangerously thru desert
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Napolitano gets Q on US jobs vs. H1b visas – A: need better US edu. programs 4math&science, get past notion that it’s 1 or other; it’s both
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Napolitano: immigration has been debated since 1912 (crowd at CAP laughs) 
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Napolitano: hopes for immigration reform legislation in 2010, says Congress sees need to get it done
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Napolitano: US companies need legal workers so they don’t have to move oversees
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Napolitano: best way to uphold our laws is to make sure they’re rational and enforceable; we need immigration reform
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Napolitano: b/c of economy and enforcement illegal flow of workers cut in half
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Napolitano: landcape has changed since 07- reform is far more attainable.
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Napolitano talks about mtgs with faith, business, law enforcement- same conclusion; need CIR
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Napolitano: illegal immigration is wrong, status quo is unacceptable
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Napolitano takes stage, after intro from John Podesta detailing our broken immigration system
Here are the event details, from CAP:
A Discussion on Immigration Policy with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
November 13, 2009, 9:00am – 10:00am
Streaming Video
Click here to watch the event live.
About This Event
As Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano brings to her job a deep understanding of immigration and border issues from her experience as Governor, Attorney General, and U.S. Attorney in the State of Arizona.
President Barack Obama has asked Secretary Napolitano to play a lead role on immigration reform. As the United States looks to fix its broken immigration system, Secretary Napolitano has been speaking with congressional leaders, law enforcement officials, business, labor, and faith leaders, and advocates from across the country—and across the political spectrum. At CAP, Secretary Napolitano will make a case why immigration reform is more needed—and more realistic—than ever before.
Join us to hear Secretary Napolitano discuss the work her department has been doing to prepare for broader immigration reform, and her unique perspective on this matter of vital importance to America’s future. A Q & A session will follow her remarks.
Introduction by:
John Podesta, President and Chief Executive Officer, Center for American Progress
Featured speaker:
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano
Moderated by:
Angela M. Kelley, Vice President for Immigration Policy and Advocacy, Center for American Progress
Last night, Lou Dobbs aired his final broadcast on CNN.
Tonight, when viewers tune in to CNN primetime, the hate TV will be gone. According to the New York Times, CNN President Jonathan Klein said:
Lou Dobbs will carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere.
In other words: Dobbs’ hate speech will no longer carry the CNN stamp of approval.
Thank you for speaking out and being a part of this victory. You helped us raise money to put an ad on TV called “CNN: Drop the Hate, Drop Dobbs,” which argued that 260 hours a year of extreme, anti-immigrant programming was simply unacceptable. Your hard work surely helped CNN cancel “Lou Dobbs Tonight.”
Lou Dobbs gave the Minutemen vigilante group a national platform, spread lies that immigrants bring leprosy to the U.S., and implied that President Barack Obama is an undocumented immigrant from Kenya. He was one of the main forces of fear, lies, and hatred in the immigration debate.
Thanks to your voices, Dobbs will no longer be on CNN — please spread the word.
Unfortunately, there are still plenty of Lou Dobbs copy cats crowding out the conversation on immigration in Washington. We’re going to need every voice we can get to fight their extremism and stand up for a better America in the months ahead, with immigration reform on the horizon.
Help us spread the word and grow our movement for change!
Note: Cross-posted at Daily Kos.
Via the New York Times Media Decoder Blog today, news of Dobbs’ replacement:
John King will replace Lou Dobbs as the new 7 p.m. anchor on CNN, the network told its employees Thursday morning.
Mr. King is currently the anchor of “State of the Union,” CNN’s Sunday political news show.
With Mr. King, CNN will seek to improve its dismal evening ratings. According to Nielsen, CNN ranked third among cable news channels in the 7 p.m. hour in October, mirroring its network-wide declines.
Perhaps also to restore its credibility. The article concludes:
“John embodies what we are striving for at CNN – he is steadfast in his objective and non-partisan political reporting and has the passion for chasing down stories that really matter to Americans,” Mr. Klein said in an e-mail message to colleagues.
Stay tuned for ongoing Dobbs coverage.
We told you Dobbs was resigning… well, here’s the proof. Via Media Matters, video of Dobbs’ resignation:
It will be interesting to see what Dobbs’ next “contribution” to public life might be.
If you haven’t yet, check out what our friends at DropDobbs.com and BastaDobbs.com have been up to, and skim this rundown of Dobbs’ greatest hits on our blog:
The Hispanic Institute minced no words in a statement this evening, saying:
The announcement by CNN that Lou Dobbs will be leaving the cable news channel is welcome news for all Americans who value fair-minded journalism. As the host of a nationally telecast program of commentary, news and interviews, Dobbs has engaged in the worst kind of xenophobic, race-baiting interpretations of the issues surrounding immigration policy, legitimized by the imprimatur of CNN. It was past time for it to end, and we’re glad it has.
This just in, from the New York Times Media Decoder Blog today, very big news for those of us who’ve been calling on CNN to drop its anti-immigrant anchor, Lou Dobbs. In Update: Lou Dobbs to Quit CNN, Brian Stelter and Bill Carter report:
Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, plans to announce Wednesday that he is leaving the network, two network employees said.
A CNN executive confirmed that Mr. Dobbs will announce his resignation plans on his 7 p.m. program. His resignation is effective immediately; tonight’s program will be his last on CNN. His contract was not set to expire until the end of 2011.
We want to say thank you to everyone who participated and donated to our campaign to hold CNN accountable for its anti-immigrant programming.
Here’s the ad you helped put on the air this month:
This is simply incredible news.
Thanks for being part of it.
I wanted to share this powerful story featured at The Sanctuary today, in honor of Veteran’s Day and all of the men and women who serve our country in uniform.
The story is from U.S. Army veteran, Ethiopian refugee, and American citizen Alemayehu Addis, and it includes a call to action. He asks us to support new legislation that would protect immigrant military families from the kind of hardships so many face when their loved ones return home from duty and try to navigate our broken immigration system.
Here’s a snippet of Alemayehu’s story — check it out:
I came to the United States when I was 11 years old. I remember the day I first set foot on American soil as if it were yesterday: May 23, 1991. The oppressive humidity of a Washington D.C. summer made it even more memorable. Ethiopia is a warm country, but I had never experienced such a combination of swamp-like humidity and searing heat before. We stayed in Washington DC for about a month before we moved to Philadelphia where my family and I live now.
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My story is similar to that of thousands of other immigrants in the United States Armed Services. They love this country, the freedom it enjoys, and the unparalleled opportunity it represents. It has been my experience that immigrant service members are the most eager to prove how much they love this country with their service because they are keenly aware of how unique and special our country is. According to a report released this week by the Immigration Policy Center, there are over 114,000 immigrants currently serving, and over 10,000 were naturalized as U.S. citizens last year. Since September 11th, over 53,000 men and women in the armed services have become U.S. citizens.
Yesterday, Senator Bob Menendez from New Jersey introduced a bill to provide immigration relief to the thousands of immigrants and their families serving overseas. Simply, the bill aims to keep the families of US service members together while they fight for our freedom. At the very least, service members have earned the right to be united with their closest family members on a permanent basis without fearing that they will face unfair and unexpected deportation.
