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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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, [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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.  [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

05/20/13 Daily Beast: How the White House Scandals Help Immigration Reform Move Forward By Patricia Murphy The Guardian: US lawmakers reach deal on pathway to citizenship for undocumented migrants By Ed Pilkington SENATE MARKUP PREVIEW AND ADDITIONAL SENATE DEVELOPMENTS Associated Press: Senate Committee Moves Toward Vote on Immigration By Erica Werner Bloomberg: Immigration Encounters Business-Labor Rift [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

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 [...]
Read More »

05/17/13 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 [...]
Read More »

05/17/13 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 [...]
Read More »

05/17/13 Today, America’s Voice Education Fund and fellow immigration experts held the twelfth in a series of weekly press briefings, or Immigration Reform “Office Hours.”  Each week, a different and diverse group of speakers shares the latest information on the players, politics, legislation and other developments in the debate in Washington and around the nation. Moderated [...]
Read More »

05/17/13 Title II is intended to provide the undocumented the chance to earn their way to citizenship. To be sure, the road will be long and arduous--full of rigorous, yet even-handed, requirements. S.744 gives nothing to anyone. The right to remain permanently in the U.S. will have to be earned. But that’s not enough for Senators Grassley, Cornyn and Sessions. They’ve offered amendments to Title II designed to keep as many undocumented immigrants as possible in the shadows.
Read More »

05/17/13 On her radio show yesterday, conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham said that immigration reform would turn the US into a “third world,” if passed. Ingraham was commenting on a clip of Marco Rubio describing the IRS news as “things you typically see in the third world.”  Ingraham added, “Well, we’re going to become a [...]
Read More »

05/17/13 The news that a bipartisan working group in the House of Representatives has reached an agreement in principle on immigration legislation, alongside the continued steady legislative progress on the Senate’s immigration bill, underscores our optimism about immigration reform’s prospects in 2013. According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice: This is a major breakthrough.  [...]
Read More »

05/17/13 Cross-posted at Latino Decisions, Latino Vote Matters, and Daily Kos: It’s no secret that the Republican Party has a serious problem with immigration.  But in this instance I’m talking about their problem with Latinos migrating out of their own party. Republicans are trading in the elephant for the donkey, or at the very least just [...]
Read More »

05/17/13 USA Today: Immigration plan continues moving through Senate By Alan Gomez NATIONAL Washington Post: Bipartisan House Group Reaches Preliminary Immigration Deal By Ashley Parker Reuters: House lawmakers reach tentative deal to revamp immigration By Richard Cowan and Rachelle Younglai Washington Post: Hatch negotiates to expand H-1B visas as part of Senate immigration bill By David [...]
Read More »

05/16/13 While most countries accept the return of their citizens if the United States orders them deported, several refuse to take back them back, either because of a lack of formal relations with the U.S. (Cuba, for example), or simply because of slow background check processes.
Read More »