08/24/11 | The Obama Administration's announcement that it will bring its deportation practices in line with common sense law enforcement priorities has generated overwhelmingly positive reactions from editorial boards across the nation. They are lauding this step as sensible, humane, and smart law enforcement policy—and reminding Congress that it needs to do its job and pass comprehensive immigration reform. | Read More »
Press Releases
08/23/11 | Florida's freshman Senator Marco Rubio (R) is scheduled to give a speech at the Ronald Reagan Library tonight. As the Miami Herald notes, "two weeks after Rubio speaks at the Reagan library, it will play host to a Republican presidential debate. It begs the question of whether Rubio's speech there — and his overall strategy — is calculated bait for an eventual vice presidential nod." The September 7th debate will also feature questioning from a Telemundo reporter. Immigration—and Reagan's legacy on the issue—is likely to be a topic of discussion at that debate. | Read More »
08/19/11 | Yesterday's announcement of the Obama Administration's important step towards bringing deportation practices in line with its enforcement priorities already is generating predictable responses from many Republicans and their mass-deportation allies. Typical of the reaction was the statement from Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ), who noted, "This plan amounts to backdoor amnesty for hundreds of thousands -- if not millions -- of illegal aliens." | Read More »
08/19/11 | Yesterday's announcement of the Obama Administration's important step towards bringing deportation practices in line with its enforcement priorities already is generating predictable responses from many Republicans and their mass-deportation allies. Typical of the reaction was the statement from Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ), who noted, "This plan amounts to backdoor amnesty for hundreds of thousands -- if not millions -- of illegal aliens." | Read More »
08/18/11 | Below is a statement from Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America's Voice Education Fund, on today's announcement from the Obama Administration about bringing deportation practices in line with enforcement priorities. | Read More »
08/16/11 | Criticism of the Obama Administration's Secure Communities deportation program has reached a new apex, as elected officials and law enforcement leaders offer serious rebukes of the program and immigrant communities and newspaper editorial boards call for it to be scrapped altogether. Among the recent developments... | Read More »
08/15/11 | Just as they have in past election cycles, Republican presidential candidates are struggling with the issue of immigration. Judging from early lessons from the burgeoning 2012 race, the Republicans' strategy appears to be: stick to their border security sound bites and avoid the other immigration issues at all costs. Yet such a balancing act remains increasingly tenuous for any of the 2012 candidates – including the newest entry into the field, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX). Unless leading Republicans change their anti-immigrant ways, they will have a hard time winning a national election. | Read More »
08/15/11 | Just as they have in past election cycles, Republican presidential candidates are struggling with the issue of immigration. Judging from early lessons from the burgeoning 2012 race, the Republicans' strategy appears to be: stick to their border security sound bites and avoid the other immigration issues at all costs. Yet such a balancing act remains increasingly tenuous for any of the 2012 candidates – including the newest entry into the field, Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX). Unless leading Republicans change their anti-immigrant ways, they will have a hard time winning a national election. | Read More »
08/08/11 | On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security unilaterally cancelled its Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) on Secure Communities (S-COMM), an immigration enforcement program of the Obama administration that was sold to state governments as a way to identify and deport serious criminals. Over the past several months, Governor Patrick Quinn (IL), Governor Andrew Cuomo (NY) and Governor Deval Patrick (MA) suspended their involvement with S-COMM, citing data that the program is deporting large numbers of non-criminals and thus negatively impacting public safety. | Read More »
08/03/11 | In anticipation of yesterday's meeting with President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, the Obama Administration announced policy changes earlier this week designed to facilitate foreign entrepreneurs' entry and permanent residency in the U.S. Unsurprisingly, elite technology and business leaders from Silicon Valley reacted positively to the developments. | Read More »
07/28/11 | New comments by the head of the Republican Party demonstrate that when it comes to appealing to Latino voters, the GOP still just doesn't get it. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairperson Reince Priebus "dismissed the idea that the party's support among Latinos will be hurt over immigration," according to the Associated Press, saying, "It's not going to hurt us one bit." | Read More »
07/28/11 | New comments by the head of the Republican Party demonstrate that when it comes to appealing to Latino voters, the GOP still just doesn't get it. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairperson Reince Priebus "dismissed the idea that the party's support among Latinos will be hurt over immigration," according to the Associated Press, saying, "It's not going to hurt us one bit." | Read More »
07/25/11 | One of the things people hate most about Washington is when Members of Congress attack imaginary problems instead of solving real ones. Case in point: Rep. Lamar Smith's (R-TX) "HALT Act" will get a hearing in the House Immigration Subcommittee on Tuesday, July 26th. Also known as the "Hinder the Administration's Legalization Temptation Act," this bill would eliminate some of the few remaining safety valves in our immigration laws, stripping out provisions that allow a small number of undocumented immigrants with extremely compelling cases to remain in the United States. | Read More »
07/25/11 | One of the things people hate most about Washington is when Members of Congress attack imaginary problems instead of solving real ones. Case in point: Rep. Lamar Smith's (R-TX) "HALT Act" will get a hearing in the House Immigration Subcommittee on Tuesday, July 26th. Also known as the "Hinder the Administration's Legalization Temptation Act," this bill would eliminate some of the few remaining safety valves in our immigration laws, stripping out provisions that allow a small number of undocumented immigrants with extremely compelling cases to remain in the United States. | Read More »
07/25/11 | In a closely-watched speech at the NCLR conference, President Obama reiterated his support for comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act, and then proceeded to say that because of the way our government works, he could not simply take matters into his own hands and act unilaterally. In a remarkable and spontaneous response, the audience began chanting, "Yes You Can! Yes You Can!" | Read More »
07/18/11 | New public opinion analysis by Latino Decisions demonstrates that immigration remains salient and motivating for Latino voters in the United States due to their personal connection to the debate. As the polling makes clear, the rise in deportations and ongoing inaction on comprehensive immigration reform will directly affect Latino voters' political choices in 2012. | Read More »
07/15/11 | Following a major USA Today story analyzing crime in U.S. cities along the border with Mexico, Governor Jan Brewer (R-AZ) and Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and John McCain (R-AZ) would do well to heed the famous advice of Daniel Patrick Moynihan – "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts." | Read More »
07/13/11 | Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) is at it again, introducing new legislation that reveals his own political agenda and hypocrisy while promising to make the already broken immigration system even worse. The Hinder the Administration's Legalization Temptation Act, or HALT Act, would strip the Obama Administration's ability to set immigration enforcement priorities and exercise prosecutorial discretion in even the most compelling of cases. | Read More »
