05/09/13 And rejects others, including Grassley4, which would have held off legalization until impossible border security measures had been met.  Here are some of the security amendments that have been passed: Grassley2 – Adds Senate and House Judiciary Committees to list of bodies Secretary reports to on Border Strategy, implementation of strategy, Ombudsman reporting on Interagency [...]
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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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05/09/13 When Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said the security provisions contained in the bipartisan Senate bill are “weak” in his opening statement today, he completely ignored reality and the real state of border security: As a nation, we have mounted an aggressive “enforcement-first” strategy for the past 20 years.  Currently, according to the Migration Policy Institute, we [...]
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05/09/13 Cross-posted at Latino Decisions, Latino Vote Matters, and Daily Kos: New data from the November 2012 U.S. Census Current Population Survey (CPS) reveals a major shift in the U.S. voting population, with the number of White, non-Hispanic voters declining by more than 2 million from 2008 to 2012.  In contrast, the number of Latino, African American and [...]
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05/09/13 TIME: Immigration Bill Faces First Major Test By Alex Altman Talking Points Memo: Poison Pills And Deal Breakers: Senate Panel Considers 300 Amendments To Immigration Reform Bill By Benjy Sarlin Arizona Republic: Immigration-reform bill faces 1st major test By Erin Kelly Bloomberg: Social Security Agency Says Immigration Bill Would Boost Revenue By Lisa Lerer Washington [...]
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05/08/13 See what the immigration news world has been talking about today: Wall Street Journal: Social Security: Immigration Overhaul Helps By Sara Murray Mother Jones: The 5 Most Ridiculous GOP Immigration Reform Amendments By Adam Serwer ABC News: The Immigration Amendments You Need to Know By Jordan Fabian and Ted Hesson Think Progress: The 11 Most [...]
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05/08/13 Below is a press release from the Alliance for Citizenship: On a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, national leaders and immigrant advocates outlined expectations for the Senate Judiciary mark-up of S. 744: Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. The Alliance for Citizenship, a national campaign working with hundreds of groups around the country [...]
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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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05/08/13 Ahead of the start of the legislative markup tomorrow in the Senate Judiciary Committee, immigration reform supporters and opponents on the Senate Judiciary Committee have filed over 300 amendments to the bipartisan reform bill. Below is a snapshot of some of the most telling and important amendments filed.  In light of the fact that reform [...]
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05/08/13 The Heritage Report has had a rough week, after being criticized by everyone from Paul Ryan to Marco Rubio to Jeff Flake.  Co-author of the report Robert Rector admitted that he hasn’t even examined the full immigration bill that his study critiques, and told Larry Kudlow that the report didn’t bother to calculate the economic benefits from immigrants. Keep in mind, this Heritage Report [...]
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05/08/13 Associated Press: Immigration bill confronts hundreds of amendments By Erica Werner PBS Newshour: Chambliss’ Hole-in-One Puts Obama in Play on Budget Talks By Christina Bellatoni and Katelyn Polanz SENATE JUDICIARY MARK-UP PREVIEW & AMENDMENT ANALYSIS Washington Post: Senate immigration bill elicits a flood of amendments By David Nakamura and Ed O’Keefe Wall Street Journal: Immigrant [...]
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05/07/13 Buzzfeed: Senator Patrick Leahy Files Amendments To Include Gay Couples In Immigration Bill By Chris Geidner NBC News: GOP spotlights border security as immigration fight looms By Carrie Dann US News: GOP Throws Up Road Block on Immigration Reform By Lauren Fox Huffington Post: Senate Immigration Bill Will Help Border Security, Homeland Security Officials Say [...]
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05/07/13 Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the anti-immigrant Center for Immigration Studies and the intellectual author of the GOP’s “self-deportation” policy, again made it clear last week that he’s out to kill immigration reform—and he’s attacking everyone who supports it. Krikorian recently made headlines for encouraging Republicans to give up on immigration reform altogether because Latinos [...]
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05/07/13 Federal legislation to improve the nation’s immigration system is taking a step forward this week, when the Senate Gang of 8 immigration bill goes into markup, but advocates today are reminding President Obama of the high cost of strict immigration enforcement and what he can do to alleviate the problem. A new study from Lake [...]
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05/07/13 Today, over 100 high profile artists, musicians, writers, filmmakers, comedians, directors, producers, and performers are joining the growing movement for immigration reform, and  calling on President Obama and Congress to pass legislation with a pathway to citizenship. Members of the creative community who are speaking out for humane reform include Russell Banks, W. Kamau Bell, [...]
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05/07/13 New York Times: G.O.P. Opponents Plan Immigration Bill Attack By Ashley Parker Reuters: Former Senator DeMint takes center stage in immigration debate By Caren Bohan Washington Post: On immigration legislation, fissures emerge within conservative ranks By David Nakamura Huffington Post: Heritage Immigration Report Predicts Huge Cost, Draws Ire By Elise Foley Talking Points Memo: Heritage [...]
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05/06/13 As the Senate’s bipartisan Gang of 8 immigration bill moves toward markup later this week in the Senate Judiciary Committee, immigration reform opponents are increasingly public and vocal. Current Heritage Foundation president and former Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), whose reputation as a researcher is, um, questionable, is claiming reform will cost zillions and zillions over decades and decades. [...]
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05/06/13 Now that you’re familiar with the members of the bipartisan Senate Gang of Eight, get ready to meet the Senate “Gang of Hate.” With the Senate immigration mark-up set to kick off this week, new profiles by America’s Voice Education Fund shed light on key immigration reform opponents in the Senate – Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Chuck Grassley [...]
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05/06/13 New York Times: Obama’s Defender of Borders Is Again a Voice for Migrants By Michael Shear Reuters: Lawmakers struggle over guest workers in immigration bill By Caren Bohan Politico: Senators to offer changes to immigration bill By Seung Min Kim The Hill: Immigration reform faces Senate gauntlet, uncertain House outlook By Russell Berman NBC Latino: [...]
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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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05/03/13 Today, America’s Voice Education Fund and other political and policy experts held the tenth in a series of weekly “Office Hours” press briefings.  Each week, a different and diverse group of speakers from a range of backgrounds shares the latest information on the players, politics, legislation and developments as the debate in Congress moves forward, [...]
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05/03/13 Cross-posted at Latino Decisions, Latino Vote Matters, and Daily Kos: Recent elections demonstrate that immigration is a mobilizing issue for Latino voters. We can be sure that Congressional action, or inaction, on the current comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) bill will factor in to Latino voting decisions in 2014 and beyond. Our recent polling finds a majority of Latino voters, 58%, cite [...]
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05/03/13 The Wall Street Journal today editorializes against the recycled “border security first” talking points emanating from some conservatives who are intent to attack the progress and momentum behind immigration reform legislation in the U.S. Senate. According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice Education Fund: This is a leadership moment for the true backers [...]
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05/03/13 Politico: Marco Rubio: Right must ‘lead’ on immigration By Katie Glueck The Hill: McCain sees support among House Republicans for immigration bill By Daniel Strauss Patch: Sen. Ron Johnson Open to Path to Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants By Adam McCoy ABC News: In Mexico, President Obama Says Immigration Reform Is Critical to Trade By Mary [...]
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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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