Reform
Immigration and the Environment: Why the “Over-Population” Argument Doesn’t Hold Water
A new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) thoroughly debunks the simplistic claims of nativist groups that immigration to the United States fuels the destruction of the U.S. environment by contributing to “over-population” of the country. The report, entitled From a “Green Farce” to a Green Future: Refuting False Claims About Immigrants and the Environment, points out that the “over-population” argument of the nativists is based on the false premise that more people automatically produce more pollution. However, the truth of the matter is that “more people do not necessarily equal more stress on the planet, and stopping the flow of immigrants to this country will not solve our environmental challenges.” In fact, the report finds that “immigrants actually live greener than most Americans and they can play a critical role in solving our environmental challenges.” Read More
From Bad to Worse: Immigrant Smearing in a Time of Midterm Cholera
Well it’s finally here—open season on immigrants. You don’t even have to stare into the headlights of campaign politics to observe how blithely some candidates have taken aim at their opponents and managed to catch immigrants in their crosshairs. Two recent campaign ads portray undocumented immigrants as darkly-clothed thieves—like in one of those overly-dramatized alarm system commercials where just when you turn your back, Hispanic immigrants apparently come sneaking across the border, receive over-sized checks, and steal your children’s college tuition. Right. Read More
Why is the Obama Administration So Afraid of Administrative Fixes to Our Immigration System?
This week, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano was clearly channeling her predecessor, Michael Chertoff, as she touted her Department’s remarkable progress in enforcing immigration laws. Not only did she proudly announce that DHS had a record-breaking year for deportations, but she clarified that local law enforcement cannot opt out of the Secure Communities program once it’s in place. Moreover, she made it clear that DHS is not a warm and fuzzy place, noting that the separation of families couldn’t be helped until we had comprehensive immigration reform. She also gave a resounding “no” when asked if the Department contemplated any major deferral of removal programs as suggested by a series of leaked memos. And, virtually repeating the mantra of Secretary Chertoff, Napolitano insisted, “This department is about enforcing the law that we have." But concerning administrative fixes to our immigration system, Secretary Napolitano and the Obama Administrative should be taking their cue from the Bush administration. Read More
Sen. Menendez Aims for Lame Duck, Urges Advocates to Focus on Policy of CIR 2010
There can be advantages to going it alone. Despite two years of repeated attempts to get a bipartisan immigration reform bill in the Senate, Senators Menendez (D-NJ) and Leahy (D-VT) finally said “enough” and introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 (CIR 2010) last week. Plenty of people have pointed out that the bill was introduced just as Congress left Washington to go into full-time campaign mode, leaving Sens. Menendez and Leahy virtually alone in Washington to promote their new bill. On a conference call Friday, however, Sen. Menendez said he aims at moving the bill during lame duck session or next Congress, but urged advocates and the media to focus on the merits of the bill, rather than the timing. (Other immigration bills passed during lame duck include the LIFE Act and NACARA.) Read More
Titans of Industry Bloomberg and Murdoch Remind Congress How to Do Their Jobs in Immigration Hearing
Today, the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law Membership held a hearing on the "Role of Immigration in Strengthening America's Economy" featuring New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Fox owner Rupert Murdoch (an immigrant himself). The two media moguls formed a new coalition earlier this year to press for immigration reform. They asked lawmakers to make it easier for skilled immigrants to get visas to work in the U.S. to keep the U.S. competitive and decried deporting the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States, calling it “impossible.” Read More
Senators Menendez and Leahy Introduce the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010
Last night, Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 (SB 3932), a bill which takes a broad approach to fixing the wide range of problems plaguing our outdated immigration system. Earlier this month, Sen. Menendez threw his support behind the DREAM Act (which failed in a cloture vote 54-46) and vowed to introduce his own immigration bill in the Senate. While immigration advocates are calling the Menendez-Leahy bill a “step in the right direction,” many remain skeptical whether Congress can muster the political courage to pick up the bill and tackle immigration once and for all. The Menendez-Leahy bill is preceded by a House immigration bill, CIR ASAP (HR 4321), introduced by Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) last year. Read More
Polls Show Latinos and Republicans Still Drifting Apart
As Congress’ attention to lawmaking wanes in place of politicking and mid-term elections, a string of new polls are emerging that further depict the strained relationship between Latinos and Republicans. The GOP strategy of alienating the fastest growing demographic through harsh rhetoric and the blockage of immigration reform is starting to reap results. Much like polls that emerged after the failure of comprehensive immigration reform in 2007, Latinos are steadily edging away from the GOP. Read More
Congressional Committee Attempts to Tackle AgJOBS, Again
Last week, the House Immigration Subcommittee held a hearing on immigration and farm labor. The substance of the hearing is likely to be eclipsed by the presence of Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert, who testified about his participation in United Farm Workers’ (UFW) “Take Our Jobs” campaign. While Colbert's presence insured that it wasn’t your ordinary committee hearing, in many ways this hearing was simply more of the same rhetoric which demonstrated Congress’s inability to get beyond partisan sniping and sound bites and pass any type of immigration reform. Read More
Colin Powell, Military Personnel Make Case for the DREAM Act
Yesterday, former Secretary of State and retired General, Colin Powell, not only called for Republicans to stop driving the anti-immigrant bandwagon, but made an economic case for immigration as well as the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act is attached to the Department of Defense (DOD) authorization bill; the Senate votes tomorrow on whether to proceed to debate on the floor with the DOD bill. Meanwhile, as critics of the DREAM Act—which provides legal status to qualifying undocumented youth who have graduated high school and want to attend college or join the military—continue to decry that it is “extraneous” and “has nothing to do” with the military, a host of former military personnel heralded the DREAM Act as a smart way to recruit capable, mission-ready soldiers. Read More
President Obama Throws White House Support Behind DREAM Act
Today, President Obama met with Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) members, chairwoman Nydia Velázquez (D-NY) and Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) to discuss movement of the DREAM Act. In a lead up to the meeting, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced plans earlier this week to bring the DREAM Act to a vote, attaching the measure to the Defense Authorization bill to be voted on next week. While GOP opposition to this bipartisan immigration amendment remains high, President Obama pledged his support at an event last night, despite previous concerns that passing the DREAM Act will detract from a larger immigration overhaul. Read More
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