05/26/10 | Republican Senators are busy offering a number of border-related amendments today to the emergency supplemental appropriations bill for new jobs, disaster relief and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, continuing their recent steadfast advocacy of the immigration status quo. Instead of proposing steps toward a lasting fix of the immigration system, the Republican "border security first" mantra and its related amendments amount to an endorsement of the failed immigration policies of the past two decades. | Read More »

05/25/10 | President Obama went into the Lion's Den today and challenged Republicans to work with him on comprehensive immigration reform. So far, so good. But he left the Lion's Den having given into the key GOP demand of "border security first" without getting anything in return. Say what? Talk about one step forward and two steps back. | Read More »

05/25/10 | New bipartisan polling on immigration released today shows that Americans of all political persuasions -- including those who favor the new Arizona immigration law -- strongly favor national action on immigration reform and overwhelmingly support comprehensive immigration reform. The research, conducted by Democratic polling firm Lake Research Partners and Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, shows that the conventional wisdom since the passage of Arizona's law – that it represents a nationwide anti-immigrant wave and that it hurts the chances of passage of comprehensive reform – is wrong. | Read More »

05/20/10 | Yesterday's heartbreaking conversation between a second-grade student and First Lady Michelle Obama highlighted the fear and deportation rampant under the broken immigration system. The conversation also drew attention to an underreported fact – that the Obama administration is deporting more immigrants than the Bush administration. | Read More »

05/19/10 | Today President Obama and President Calderon of Mexico held a press conference in the Rose Garden. They both spoke about the need for immigration reform and about concerns about the new anti-immigrant law in Arizona. Important but not especially newsworthy. Meanwhile, First Lady Michelle Obama and Mexico's First Lady Margarita Zavala visited the New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD to speak with second graders. | Read More »

05/18/10 | A series of recent actions by courageous young immigrants has highlighted one of the most egregious parts of our broken immigration system. Under current law, young immigrants who arrive in the U.S. at a young age and grow up as Americans in all but paperwork are denied a shot at the American Dream and threatened with being deported to countries they barely remember. | Read More »

05/17/10 | Most in the GOP just cannot help themselves. They seem determined to drive their Party off a political cliff by supporting the Arizona anti-immigrant law and vacuous, "border security first" positioning at the national level. This past weekend, Sarah Palin became the latest prominent Republican to both support the Arizona anti-immigrant law and the "border first" position. At a Phoenix rally with Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) on Saturday, Palin said, "It's time for Americans across this great country to stand up and say 'We're all Arizonans now and, in clear unity, we say, 'Mr. President, do your job, secure our border." | Read More »

05/13/10 | New polling released by America's Voice in moderate-to-conservative states shows that comprehensive immigration reform remains more popular than enforcement-only alternatives – even after subjecting reform proposals to the toughest "amnesty" attacks. Conducted by Hart Research Associates in AR, CO, MO, and OH, the poll also demonstrates the importance for Democrats to address the immigration issue head on. Public confidence in Democrats' ability to handle the immigration issue grows after voters hear the details of a comprehensive reform plan, the related attacks, and subsequent debate over the issue. | Read More »

05/13/10 | On a telephonic conference call yesterday also featuring Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Evangelical leaders including Dr. Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; Rev. Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals; Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; and Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty University School of Law, called on Congress to fashion a bi-partisan reform of the immigration system. | Read More »

05/12/10 | Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, whose jurisdiction of Pima County, AZ includes Tucson and 123 miles of border with Mexico, is the latest in a chorus of law enforcement voices to oppose the new Arizona anti-immigrant law and to call for sensible federal immigration reform. According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America's Voice, "Border Sheriff Clarence Dupnik joins a growing list of prominent law enforcement professionals who are saying no to the Arizona immigration law and yes to comprehensive immigration reform. Meanwhile Arizona's two Republican senators are saying yes to the Arizona law and no to comprehensive immigration reform..." | Read More »

05/11/10 | Immigrant and Latino advocacy organizations joined with progressive advocates and bloggers today to call on Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to move the 2011 All-Star Game from Phoenix, AZ. In addition, the groups are urging that teams re-locate spring training games from locations within the state. A letter was sent to Selig today making these requests. | Read More »

05/10/10 | Prominent organizations fighting against the discriminatory and damaging Arizona anti-immigration law will send a letter tomorrow to Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Bud Selig urging him to remove the 2011 All-Star Game from its scheduled location in Phoenix, AZ and to pressure teams to re-locate spring training games from locations within the state. | Read More »

05/10/10 | As the Tea Party movement increasingly acts as a Party Whip for Republicans, new developments show that this source of pressure is already having consequences for ongoing GOP outreach to Latinos and the prospects for bipartisan immigration reform. As TIME magazine noted, the halls of Congress could feature "Wanted" signs for "a Republican senator willing to reach across the aisle and work with Democrats and the Administration on a bipartisan bill that's already half done on immigration reform." | Read More »

05/07/10 | Arizona's controversial new immigration law has sparked unprecedented criticism and activism from leaders in the National Basketball Association, especially in Arizona. As an important social institution in American life, they have decided to stand up for American values and speak up against intolerance. This stands in sharp contrast to most Republican policymakers, especially in Arizona. As an important institution in American political life, Arizona's GOP has decided to stand up for a law that puts a target on every Latino in Arizona, and speak up only for a riled up base. | Read More »

05/06/10 | At a White House reception celebrating Cinco De Mayo last night, President Barack Obama deflated momentum on the prospects of immigration reform in the near future, stating only that he wants to "begin work this year" on reform and warning the audience that securing the legislation will be difficult. | Read More »

05/04/10 | New analysis of the role Latino voters will play in contested races this November and new independent polling by the New York Times and CBS News point to the fact that moving forward on immigration reform would be both good politics for Democrats and broadly supported by the public. | Read More »

04/30/10 | Senate Democratic leaders yesterday released a centrist and serious immigration reform proposal. Much of the proposal draws on bipartisan negotiations that had been underway between Senators Schumer and Graham. They made a sincere invitation to Senate Republicans to join with them to get a comprehensive bill done this year. With Arizona and other states lining up to take matters into their own hands, the urgency could not be clearer | Read More »

04/29/10 | A new framework for legislation by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) represents an important step forward in the immigration debate. As the controversy over the Draconian, anti-immigrant law in Arizona continues to build, the initiative by Senate Democratic leaders provides a workable path forward for both parties to come together and enact a lasting federal fix to the problem this year. | Read More »