03/10/13 The past seven days have been quite a ride for Jeb Bush. He began the week by recanting his earlier support for immigration reform with  a path to citizenship.  That’s because Jeb wrote a book last year when it didn’t seem like a path to citizenship would be the mainstream Republican position. But, the 2012 [...]
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03/06/13 Editor’s note: This column by Maribel Hastings was originally published in Spanish at La Opinion and Huffington Post Voces. The Spanish language version can be viewed here. WASHINGTON, DC – In an interview on NBC’s Today Show Monday, former Florida governor Jeb Bush said it’s premature to declare whether he’ll aspire to the Republican presidential nomination [...]
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02/27/13 Further evidence of the nation’s dysfunctional immigration system was on display this week, when ICE–in anticipation of the upcoming sequester–released several hundred immigrants from their detention facilities.  It’s unclear where this policy came from, but immigrants–who have been the focus of decades of political battles–are now being used as a weapon in the debate over [...]
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02/25/13 This weekend, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and one of the key players in the effort to pass immigration reform, appeared on CNN’s State of the Union. He expressed hope that a reform bill can be passed, noting “The time is now.”  Chairman Leahy is a longtime immigration reform champion [...]
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02/22/13 This afternoon the Washington Post published an article “Immigrants, advocates grow impatient with Obama on pace of changes to laws“, which explores the frustration immigration advocates have for the Administration’s record-breaking deportations.  From the article: The anger at President Obama’s deportation polices among some of his otherwise most ardent allies could pose a surprising complication [...]
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02/13/13 Today was another milestone in the fight for immigration reform with a clear path to citizenship. The U.S. Senate held its first hearing. And, the pro-reform side showed its political muscle with a massive petition drive whose names were inserted into the record at the hearing. Nearly 300,000 Americans made their voices heard, calling on [...]
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02/05/13 As the House Judiciary Committee holds its first hearing on immigration reform, the two top Republicans in the House are talking about the issue. In a widely publicized event, House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor is giving a policy speech today at the American Enterprise Institute, following an interview today with CBS’ “This Morning” where the Congressman previewed his [...]
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02/05/13 If you can’t watch today’s hearing on immigration in the House Judiciary Committee, follow along on twitter. Tweets by @americasvoice
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02/05/13 Immigration articles from Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, Plum Line, Huffington Post, CNN, USA Today, Politico, New York Times, the Hill, Wall Street Journal, and NPR.
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02/03/13 Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was on ABC’s “This Week” where he talked about the prospects for immigration reform in Congress this year. When host George Stephanopoulos asked if immigration reform will pass the Senate and pass the House, Reid said, “Well, it’s certainly going to pass the Senate. And it would be a [...]
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02/01/13 In Washington, many of the usual suspects want to have the same old debate about border security. Today, we get further proof that the border is more secure than ever. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) released a new report, “Border Security: Moving Beyond Past Benchmarks”: The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) released a report this [...]
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01/27/13 This morning, Senators John McCain and Robert Menendez appeared on ABC’s “This Week.” Both are part of the so-called “Gang of Six” working on immigration legislation, so what they say really matters as the debate unfolds. McCain and Menendez both emphasized that path to citizenship for the 11 million is a key part of their [...]
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01/18/13 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has established himself as a champion of immigration reform–and he reaffirmed his commitment to real reform this week while talking to reporters in his home state of Nevada: “There will be nothing done in my Senate (on immigration reform) without a pathway to citizenship,” he said. The Majority Leader also [...]
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01/14/13 At Crooks and Liars, Dave Neiwert has an excellent post titled “The Coming Fight on Immigration Reform: What Progressives Want.”  He lays out a very clear agenda, setting the stage for the upcoming immigration debate from a position of strength. Given the results of the 2012 election, the fact that the American people want reform, Democrats [...]
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01/07/13 As momentum grows for a real debate on immigration reform with a path to citizenship, we expect the usual suspects (mostly Republicans) to adhere to their worn out “border security first” talking point as a way to thwart progress. Today, the Migration Policy Institute is releasing a new report, Immigration Enforcement in the United States: The [...]
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12/17/12 As the Tampa Bay Times reports, two Florida Republicans, Senator Marco Rubio and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, are engaging in the upcoming debate over immigration reform. They have different approaches–Rubio’s for an incremental strategy while Diaz-Balart wants a comprehensive approach.  From the Tampa Bay Times: Immigration — one of the most complex and divisive issues facing [...]
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12/07/12 Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio has been talking about immigration lately. But, he’s not making himself very clear. This week, he told an inside-the-beltway breakfast hosted by Politico that he we need comprehensive reform, but can’t do it comprehensively — or something like that. The headline of the post at the San Francisco Chronicle sums [...]
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11/27/12 At Crooks and Liars yesterday, our friend David Neiwert eviscerated columnist Ruben Navarratte’s latest column for trying to rewrite the history and politics of immigration. Dave, who follows the issue very closely, is having none of it. You have to read the whole thing to fully appreciate Dave’s work, but here’s how it begins: Ruben Navarrette, [...]
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11/26/12 When Rahm Emanuel served in Congress, he was also the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He was not particularly helpful when it came to immigration reform–in fact, he was often hostile. Here’s what then-Congressman Emanuel said about the issue back in October of 2007: For the American people, and therefore all of us, [...]
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11/14/12 Over the past week, there’s been an avalanche of punditry and discussion about the new, post-election politics of immigration reform. Much of the focus has been on the Republican Party’s serious problems on the issue, caused by chronic catering to its anti-immigrant nativist wing, led by the likes of Rep. Steve King (R-IA), Rep. Lamar [...]
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11/02/12 Maribel Hastings is a senior adviser to America’s Voice: Barely a month ago, I started attending a Methodist church in my neighborhood. Like other majority-black churches here in Washington, D.C., the topic of the election was never far from anyone’s minds–or their prayers. The foremost request: the reelection of President Barack Obama. I haven’t gone [...]
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11/02/12 National Journal’s Ron Brownstein writes about the changing demographics in the United States — and how that impacts elections. He notes that Latinos, the fastest growing voting bloc, are a key to the future. And a number of Republican strategists are deeply worried about their party’s chances in that diverse future, unless something changes on [...]
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10/19/12 President Ronald Reagan famously said, “Latinos are Republicans — they just don’t know it yet.”  With respect to the Gipper, we’d like to tweak his adage a bit: “Some Latinos lean Republican — they just won’t vote for Republicans until the GOP moves away from its hardline immigration stance.” While our change makes the phrase [...]
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10/19/12 UPDATED: Univision just published a fact-check on this ad.  Here’s an excerpt: “And to achieve permanent solutions for undocumented youth.” During the primaries, Romney said he would veto the current version of the DREAM Act, which would have given undocumented youth a special path to citizenship for those that serve in the military or pursue [...]
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10/17/12 Following the presidential debate last night, we put together a Twitter roundup of our favorite comments on the debate.  Today, we’re putting together a blog roundup of responses commenting on who did better during the immigration segment of the debate, hitting Romney for his repeated use of the slur “illegals,” lifting up how Romney wants [...]
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10/17/12 Today, at a live streamed panel at the University of New Mexico’s main campus, national political analysts, advocates, and community leaders from New Mexico discussed how Latino voters and the immigration issue will shape the presidential and Senate races in this state and beyond.  Gabriel Sanchez, Associate Professor at the University of New Mexico and Director of Research [...]
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10/17/12 First of all, the public owes Lorraine Osario, the person who asked the immigration question at last night’s debate, many thanks.  She asked the central question regarding our nation’s immigration policy: “what do you plan on doing with immigrants without their green cards that are currently living here as productive members of society?” According to [...]
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