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 [...]
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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.  [...]
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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 [...]
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05/16/13 Update: According to the DRM Action Coalition, Sen. Heller is liking the Gang of 8 immigration bill so far: @americasvoice @senatorreid @sendeanheller said tday he is supportive & likes #Gangof8 proposal so far. @astrid_nv twitter.com/DRMAction/stat… — DRM Action Coalition (@DRMAction) May 16, 2013 Today on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spoke about [...]
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05/14/13 The anti-immigrant ProEnglish, founded by white nationalist John Tanton, is now running ads against the immigration reform bill. And, this time, the extreme opponents of immigration reform are being seen for what they are. Buzzfeed’s headline reads: Controversial “Pro-English” Group Launches Ad Campaign To Take Down Immigration Reform. The subtitle is even more on point: “Group tied to [...]
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05/09/13 It’s happening. Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is meeting to propose edits to the “Gang of Eight’s” immigration bill. For months we’ve known that anti-immigrant legislators would use this opportunity to narrow — or even try to kill – the pathway to citizenship, but now we know how truly ugly some of their proposals are.  You won’t believe this: Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) wants [...]
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05/09/13 Senator Jeff Sessions has established himself as one of the leading opponents of immigration reform. We expect him to put on quite a show against immigration reform as markup continues over the next few weeks. Today, Sessions began challenging Chuck Schumer over aspects of the “Gang of Eight” bill. But Schumer was having none of [...]
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05/09/13 The mark up of the Senate immigration reform bill is underway. At the start of their meeting today, the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and the Ranking Republican, Chuck Grassley (R-IA), gave opening statements that set the tone for what’s to come. Leahy, who is a champion for immigration reform, made [...]
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05/08/13 As the mark-up of the Senate immigration begins in the Judiciary Committee tomorrow, advocates for reform got some very significant news today on the economic benefits of the bill. Via the WSJ’s Washington Wire: The Senate immigration bill will help improve Social Security’s long-term solvency and reduce the number of immigrants entering the U.S. illegally, [...]
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05/06/13 Eloisa Haynes wants nothing more than to be a US citizen and build her life with her husband in Texas. But because of one small mistake when she was undocumented, her chance at citizenship is in question. Just a few months ago, Eloisa was excited about finally being able to apply for citizenship. Brought to the US by [...]
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05/03/13 Outside of a few right-wing outlets, like National Review, Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions doesn’t have a lot of allies in his quest to stop immigration reform these days. This week, he took to the airwaves in Boston to spew his vitriol about immigrants and immigration with notorious radio host Howie Carr. In the twenty minute [...]
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05/02/13 Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appeared at an immigration reform rally in Las Vegas. He has for years been an outspoken advocate for immigration reform – and made that clear again yesterday: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., promised Wednesday to use the power of his office to get immigration overhaul legislation through Congress. “I pledge [...]
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05/01/13 Check out this great Storify from Reform Immigration FOR America: [View the story "May Day 2013" on Storify]
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04/26/13 Cross-posted at Burnt Orange Report Today, The Houston Chronicle published a searing op-ed from Cesar Vargas of the DREAM Action Coalition, which targeted Texas Senator John Cornyn on immigration. At America’s Voice, we consider Cornyn to a big hypocrite on immigration, so big of a hypocrite that we even gave him an award for it. You’ll like this [...]
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04/25/13 In 2010, NCLR found that 43% of immigrants who have the drive and commitment to become fully naturalized citizens cannot due so simply because they do not have the money for it. For months, we’ve been fighting for an inclusive pathway to citizenship for the 11 million aspiring Americans currently without documentation. So if we [...]
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04/23/13 Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee holds its third hearing on “The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, S.744.” The only witness today is Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. We’ll be livetweeting from @americasvoice, as will many of our colleagues and allies, using the hashtag #SJC.  You can watch the hearing [...]
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04/22/13 Today, former Congressman Jim Kolbe gave powerful testimony at the Senate Judiciary Committee about the need to make sure the immigration reform legislation includes all families, including his own. The “Gang of Eight” bill did not include the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which has the support of America’s Voice and many of our allies. From [...]
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04/22/13 Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the immigration reform legislation drafted by the “Gang of Eight.” As we noted in the post below, the anti-immigrant Senators, led by Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and leader of the “Gang of Hate” Jefferson Beauregard Sessions (R-AL) on the panel invited several witnesses from the Tanton [...]
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04/18/13 Yesterday, the Senate Gang of 8 introduced its long-awaited bipartisan immigration bill. Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing on the bill, with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The hearing will probably double as our first chance to see the anti-immigrant “Gang of Hate” in action on the Senate bill. [...]
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04/17/13 Some people never learn. After the 2012 elections, in which Republicans lost Hispanic voters by more than a 3-1 margin, many Republicans started coming around on immigration reform and accepting the need to move forward on legislation.  The Republican National Committee admitted the party needed to rebrand itself with Latinos and released a whole “autopsy” [...]
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04/11/13 Colorado DREAMer Fabian Dominguez wrote a great op-ed in the Denver Post about what the Colorado ASSET bill means to him: Last month, when I sat in the gallery of the state Capitol to see the Colorado ASSET bill finally pass after 10 years of trying, it was one of the most amazing feelings in the world. [...]
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04/11/13 New polling from NBC News/Wall Street Journal underscores the fact that an earned path to citizenship is the mainstream position in the immigration debate.  Additionally, yesterday’s jubilant rally on the Capitol lawn demonstrates that the energy and enthusiasm in the debate is also on the side of citizenship. According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice [...]
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04/11/13 You’ve heard us say many times that when it comes to immigration reform with a path to citizenship: the American people want it, Democrats promised it and Republicans need it. Today, we get conclusive proof from the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll that the American people — including Republicans — do want citizenship for the [...]
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04/08/13 This next few days will be pivotal in the effort to reform immigration. There’s a major rally in front of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, April 10. And we’re expecting to see actual legislation soon–with language from both the House and Senate that includes a path to citizenship. But Ted Hesson at ABC News/Univision notes, “the path [...]
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03/28/13 A range of developments underscores the momentum behind immigration reform, while highlighting the newfound support for reform from both traditional and non-traditional backers.  Even the spate of stories last week that asked if business and labor disputes would help scuttle the overall reform effort were overblown, as the talks there are moving forward and the [...]
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03/26/13 SEIU will begin to air $300,000 in ads nationwide on Wednesday, calling for immigration reform with a path to citizenship.  The ad is part of a seven-figure television ad campaign from SEIU, according to the Washington Post. As the ad intones: Our immigration system is broken, and Congress has a chance to fix it the fair and [...]
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03/22/13 We’re winning — and people are starting to notice. This week, a New York Times story summarized our momentum: “Republican opposition to legalizing the status of millions of illegal immigrants is crumbling.”[1] The examples keep coming. Last month, Jeb Bush was widely panned — even within his own party — for suggesting reform that stopped short of a [...]
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