Reform
Obama Reasserts Support of Immigration Reform at Summit of the Americas
This past weekend, at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his commitment to reforming the broken U.S. immigration system. Obama met with the Central American Integration System (Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana), and was "especially receptive" to the requests coming from the presidents of Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Belize for a workable immigration system that advances the economic and humanitarian interests of both sending and receiving nations. According to the Latin American Herald Tribune: On the immigration issue, which completely dominated the meeting, the leaders also discussed matters like the possibilities for ensuring family reunification, quotas for agricultural jobs and the fight against drug trafficking, all within a friendly atmosphere amid which the leaders agreed in general terms on almost everything they talked about. 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
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
“Progressive” Peddlers of Fear 2.0
This just in: “Immigrants are breathing all our American air,” or so the new anti-immigrant front group, Progressives for Immigration Reform (PFIR), would have you believe. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it’s not too far off from the laundry list of anti-immigrant topics posing as economic, environmental and social justice issues on PFIR’s website. In a recent post on Imagine2050, Center for New Community’s National Field Director Eric Ward lambastes PFIR for being yet “another addition to a growing list of anti-immigrant groups being set up under the Tanton Network to give the illusion that the anti-immigrant movement is broader than it really is.” 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
A Comprehensive Solution to Order on the Border
As the national spotlight turns toward U.S. border activity, local border town police face a difficult challenge in balancing their role as both police officers and immigration officers within a broken immigration system. In a recent Washington Post editorial, Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris asserts that focusing his attention on real criminals rather than economic migrants has not only lowered the city’s crime rate, it has also enabled police to maintain a closer relationship with the communities they serve. For Harris, who likened border enforcement to bailing an ocean with a thimble, "the answer is not in Phoenix. The answer is in Washington." Don’t give me 50 more officers to deal with the symptoms. Rather, give me comprehensive immigration reform that controls the borders, provides for whatever seasonal immigration the nation wants, and one way or another settles the status of the 12 million who are here illegally — 55 percent of whom have been here at least eight years. For those whose profession it is, law enforcement sometimes seems like bailing an ocean with a thimble. Read More
New CIS Study: Easy Answers and Half-Baked Solutions
Photo from flickr. BY: AMBER SPARKS, UFCW A new report by the Center for Immigration Studies is a perfect illustration of the misinterpretation and manipulation of data to reach a totally biased and flawed conclusion-and clearly demonstrates a complete lack of understanding about the history of the meatpacking industry. Immigrants worldwide have been essential in strengthening the U.S. meatpacking industry, by organizing around increased wages and improved industry standards. But during the ‘80's, something happened. Consolidation, mergers, and company-induced strikes helped drive down wages for meatpackers. During the strikes, companies aggressively recruited strike breakers-not immigrants but individuals who came from the decimated farm industry-to cross the picket lines. Read More
Hispanic Caucus Gets Optimistic Forecast from President Obama
Yesterday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met with President Obama to discuss the prospects for advancing such a reform this year. Obama had made a commitment to reforming the broken immigration system during his campaign, and has sent many signals that he remains enthusiastic about its prospects. At yesterday's meeting, the President echoed the affirmative call for comprehensive immigration reform already made by Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Read More
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