Elections & Voting
The growth in the immigrant population has helped to strengthen and remake America over the last two decades. Today, as thousands of baby boomers retire each day, working-age immigrants are filling gaps in the labor market, paying billions of dollars in taxes that help our entitlement programs survive, and buying homes in communities that would otherwise be in decline. Millions of immigrants have also earned U.S. citizenship and the right to vote while millions more are estimated to be eligible to naturalize.
The Immigration Debate Goes South: Politicians Make $600 Million Dollar Investment in their Political Futures
Today, after months of political wagering from both Republicans and Democrats, the Senate unanimously passed a $600 million dollar bill marked for border security which is now headed to President Obama’s desk for signature. While the sequence of events leading to this most recent capitulation to the enforcement-first crowd is a little dizzying, the bill’s unanimous passage was partly a product of a bluff called on the Senate floor. Although the substance of the bill could have been much worse, the mere fact that the only major immigration legislation passed thus far in the 111th Congress was another border bill shows how far we are from treating immigration as a serious issue, rather than a political game. Read More
Arizona Senators Decry DOJ Lawsuit Yet Refuse to Support Immigration Reform
Yesterday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against the state of Arizona, challenging the state’s immigration enforcement law (SB 1070). The DOJ lawsuit—which seeks to stop the law from going into effect on July 29th—argues that Arizona’s law is unconstitutional since it claims state authority over federal immigration policy. While political opposition in Arizona to DOJ’s legal challenge has come from both parties, some of the most laughable comments have come from Arizona’s Republican Senators who have used the lawsuit as yet another opportunity to claim that the Obama administration has failed to do anything on immigration. Only Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) has been willing to engage the Democrats on immigration at all this year and even still, Sen. Graham back peddled after health care reform was passed. To date, ZERO Republicans are willing to step forward and play ball on an actual immigration reform bill—which makes the political finger-pointing from those unwilling to meet the President halfway all the more infuriating. Read More
1,200 National Guard Troops to the Border: A Bargaining Chip or More Political Pandering?
Yesterday, President Obama met with Senate Republicans to discuss, among other things, moving forward with comprehensive immigration reform. But what came out of the meeting was a letter to Senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, requesting 1,200 troops to be sent to the U.S.-Mexican border and a $500 million request for additional border personnel and technology as part of the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill. While the President’s intentions to address the real sources of violence and crime along the border—that is, drug cartels and gun traffickers, not immigrants—is duly noted, the President is being perceived as piling enforcement on enforcement and pandering to Republicans with no real forward movement on reform. Read More
Riding the Anti-Immigration Wave: The Short- and Long-Term Political Implications
Despite the mounting pressure (boycotts, legal challenges, protests) to repeal Arizona’s enforcement law (SB 1070), polls indicate that the majority of Americans support the law by almost two to one—and, at last count, as many as 17 other states are considering similar legislation. However, while it may seem advantageous for some in the GOP to use this anti-immigrant wave as political momentum for re-election, the long-term political impact may be larger and more harmful than they realize. Can the Republican Party (once the 'Party of No," then the "Party of Hell No" and now the "Party of Papers Please?") really afford to further alienate the fastest-growing U.S. voting bloc—Latinos? Read More
2010 Congressional Primaries, Immigration and an Appetite for Change
As the dust is settling from yesterday’s primary elections, many politicians and pundits will try to interpret what the American public is thinking. The reactions and responses are likely to span the ideological and political scales. Whether Democrats aren’t Democratic enough, or Republicans aren’t Republican enough, or seats held by one party should be replaced by the other, one thing is clear: Americans are frustrated with their current leaders and want new representation. Read More
Digging Immigration Out of Midterm Election Politics
The world of immigration reform can seem, at times, a lot like being stuck in an avalanche—it’s difficult to know which way is up. The closer we get to midterm elections, the more political drift and white noise we have to dig through to discern whether immigration reform is actually going to see the light of day. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the lone Republican co-sponsoring a forthcoming immigration bill with Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), buried his head in the snow this week when he threatened to walk away from his own climate bill if immigration legislation moves forward this year. Meanwhile, Arizona’s new immigration enforcement law—which continues to draw national attention—has united Senate Democrats (and a few GOPers) to speak out against the law and provided the political momentum for some Democrats to forge ahead on a comprehensive reform outline. The President, for his part, remains supportive of the forward movement, but is also looking to engage in a more serious, bipartisan discussion on reform. Read More
Supporting Immigration Reform in Nevada is More Pragmatic than Political
In Sunday’s local Las Vegas newspaper, the Review Journal, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reiterated his support for immigration reform and pushed back on the paper’s editorial staff who have long rallied against fixing our broken immigration system. Senator Reid’s reiterated support came on the heels of a speech he gave a week earlier in Nevada where he called for immigration reform to be completed this year and a later comment stating a timeframe for moving legislation. There is, however, more to Senator Reid’s recent support for immigration reform than mere political gains. Read More
Support for Immigration Reform Picks Up Steam
Congress certainly has a lot on their plate as they reconvene from a long recess this week—a jobs bill, financial reform and now the confirmation of a new Supreme Court Justice. Over the weekend, however, congressional leaders put immigration reform at the top of their legislative to-do lists, calling for bipartisan cooperation to pass reform this year. Thousands of immigration supporters flocked to rallies in cities all over the country this weekend—in Las Vegas, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Providence, El Paso, New York and Lakewood—all calling on President Obama and Congress to fix our broken immigration system. The question remains, however, with midterm elections around the corner and a projected lower Latino turnout, will Congress have the courage to put aside partisan politics and actually tackle reform this year? Read More
Courting the Latino Vote? The Republican Push for Immigration Reform
In the past few weeks, new voices have been added to the call for immigration reform—Republicans who recognize that ignoring immigration is ignoring the future of their own party. Their message isn’t that simple, however. Instead of simply calling for immigration reform, they blame President Obama for failing to keep his campaign promise of passing immigration reform in his first year. This serves two useful purposes—courting the Latino vote without necessarily alienating the base—many of whom are all too happy to lay the blame for healthcare, the economy, and every other issue at the President’s feet. The real question, however, is whether recent Republican support for immigration reform is political grandstanding or genuine support Latino voters and countless other Americans who care about immigration reform can count on when immigration legislation is on the floor. Read More
After White House Meetings, What’s Next for Immigration Reform?
In the midst of trying to wrap up health care, President Obama carved time out of his schedule yesterday to meet with reformers and key Senators on comprehensive immigration reform (CIR). After yesterday’s meetings, some are reporting that the President is again committed to moving CIR this year. Supporters of immigration reform are wary, but hopeful, that this time he means business. Read More
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No one should face the immigration system alone
