Immigration Reform
Data Supports Benefits of Immigration Reform in a Bear Market Economy
Last week, the White House reaffirmed President Obama's commitment to working on immigration reform during his first year as president. While Obama has made clear that fixing the economy is his number one priority, a summary of recent research released by the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) shows that fixing the broken immigration system could bring us one step closer to economic recovery. As right-wing pundits falsely claim that immigration reform would cost the American public ""billions," available research suggests that -- had the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 passed -- it would have generated a much needed $66 billion in new revenue during 2007-2016 from income and payroll taxes, as well as various administrative fees. Workers with legal status earn and spend more, as evidenced by the effects of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). According to Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, Director of the UCLA North American Integration and Development Center, IRCA: Read More
Pay Attention to that Man behind the Curtain
As right-wing political pundits questioned the Obama administrations’ renewed commitment to comprehensive immigration reform yesterday, the Wall Street Journal pulled back the curtain to reveal White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, as a new committed ally in the fight for immigration reform. Billed as a brilliant political strategist by Janet Murguia of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Rahm Emanuel has taken a new direction in setting the political stage for comprehensive immigration reform to pass. Most recently, Emanuel had a heavy hand in ushering the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill through Congress. SCHIP is a program which extends health care benefits to legal immigrant children and pregnant women. Read More
Obama to Make Good on Promise of Immigration Reform This Year
Today, the New York Times reported that the Obama administration has reiterated its intention to tackle comprehensive immigration reform this year. Immigration restrictionists have been working under the assumption that President Obama's promise to reform the dysfunctional U.S. immigration system during his first year in office would be sidelined by the current recession. But the White House made clear yesterday that the President intends to make good on his promise. "He intends to start the debate this year," affirmed Cecilia Muñoz, deputy assistant to the president and director of intergovernmental affairs in the White House. Read More
Utah Police Say “Local Agencies Can’t Solve the Immigration Problem”
Salt Lake City's local NBC channel reports that many residents are up in arms about a new state immigration law (SB 81) that would allow police to question individuals' legal status, among other stringent requirements on everyone from employers to landlords. The Salt Lake Police Department's Chief Burbank has been opposed to the immigration bill from the beginning and, according to some sources, has said he will not participate in its enforcement. There have been growing national concerns about the involvement of local police in the enforcement of immigration law. Sheriff Joe Arpaio is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for civil rights infractions associated with his police department's partnership with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Burbank is justifiably cautious in his opposition to enforcing a law that he believes requires law enforcement to racially profile individuals to determine whether they are undocumented or not. Read More
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Who would have believed a year ago that a conservative New York legislator named Kirsten Gillibrand, who formerly opposed immigration reform, would become the junior New York Senator and co-sponsor the Dream Act, giving the children of the undocumented a shot at higher education, in her first few months… Read More
House Hearing Shows 287(g) “Sets Police Profession Back to 1950’s”
In response to evidence piling up suggesting that the 287(g) program is experiencing an array of problems, the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law and the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing today to learn more about the program's alarming effects. Members of the Subcommittees heard testimony from Julio Cesar Mora, a 19 year old native-born US citizen who told of how he and his father (who has had his green card since 1976) were stopped in their car on the way to work, patted down, handcuffed and taken to a place where many workers were being held by officers in black uniform and ski masks. After several hours Julio and his father were released after proving their legal immigration status. Mora said: Read More
LIVE: Joint Hearing on Local Immigration Enforcement
In response to a growing array of alleged civil rights infractions and incidences of racial profiling associated with the the 287(g) program, the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law and the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties are holding a hearing investigating… Read More
Congress Flexes Muscle for Broader Immigration Reform with DREAM Act
Yesterday, the House and Senate delivered yet another signal that the political tide for immigration reform is getting stronger with their introduction of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act [Senate] and the American Dream Act [House]. The bill is a strong bipartisan effort and a sign that the muscle for comprehensive immigration reform is getting stronger on both sides of the aisle as momentum builds. The bill would would provide a path to U.S. citizenship for undocumented immigrants who entered the country more than five years ago while they were under the age of 16 and who complete two years of college or 2 years of military service. It aims at giving hard-working undocumented children who have always considered America "home" the opportunity to fix their status and contribute to our economy and their communities. According to the National Immigration Forum: Read More
Obama Tells Univision Viewers that He Will “Always Be Listening”
Tonight, President Obama appeared on "Premio Lo Nuestro," a popular Latin music awards show which aired on the Spanish-language channel, Univision. Obama thanked the mostly Latino audience for voting in November and encouraged them to stay involved and "make your voices heard": Read More
Congress Introduces DREAM Act as Momentum for Immigration Reform Escalates
Today, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Lincoln Díaz-Balart (R-FL), along with several other Republican and Democratic Representatives introduced in both chambers the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (DREAM) Act. These bipartisan bills would allow immigrant students who… Read More
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