Elections
Condoleezza Rice Wants Undocumented Immigrants Out of the Shadows
Like many in the Bush administration who recently recognized that comprehensive immigration reform is not a roadblock but a vehicle to America’s economic recovery, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice highlighted the need for comprehensive reform last week as an economic and social imperative at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research summit. Now a political science professor at Stanford and senior fellow at the Hoover Institute, Rice put the Bush administration’s failure to achieve real reform of our immigration laws ahead of the Middle East conflict in terms of her “deepest regret” as secretary of state. Read More
CIS’ Dubious Data Deflects Rational Immigration Debate
The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), as well as the Heritage Foundation, have recently claimed that up to 300,000 construction jobs created by the economic stimulus bill could be filled by undocumented immigrants. CIS arrives at this scary number by using a job-creation formula designed for highway expenditures in 2007, and then tacking on an estimate of the undocumented construction workforce from 2005—before the mass layoffs that have plagued the construction industry. Read More
What Can the GOP Learn from the Boy Scouts and M&Ms?
What have the Boy Scouts of America and the candy company that brings us M&M's figured out that the GOP leadership has yet to come to terms with?--That Hispanics are the fastest growing share of the American population and they need a plan to engage them. This week NBC aired a series of stories on the growing Hispanic population in America with one segment featuring the "marketing might" of Hispanics, noting that spending in the commercial Hispanic market is rising at "4 times the industry rate." The head of the Boy Scouts of America, Bob Muzzuca, calls his efforts to reach out to the Hispanic community a "no brainer" and a representative from Mars Snack Company characterized their market growth among Hispanics as faster than any other. Read More
CIS Stokes Terrorism Fears to Promote Anti-Immigration Agenda
In yet another attempt to use the “t” word to promote its restrictionist agenda, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has recently put out a video blurring the line between violent terrorists and hard-working immigrants who come to this country with hope -- not hostility -- towards the American Dream. The video, narrated by former 9/11 Commission border counsel Janice Kephart, claims that “terrorist travel” is “indistinguishable” from undocumented immigration. Yet it’s Kephart who fails to distinguish between terrorists and busboys entering the country. The 9/11 Report itself contradicts Kephart’s loaded comparison. In Staff Statement No. 1 Entry of the 9/11 Highjackers into the United States, the Commission's staff detailed how the 9/11 terrorists got their visas to come here. Read More
New Americans: A Springboard for California’s Economy
Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported that analysts across the country have been worried that the economic crisis has fueled an increase in hate groups and racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric. With its large immigrant population and current economic woes, California is in the belly of the beast. Yet, while many restrictionists and anti-immigrant groups are exploiting the recession and using immigrants as scapegoats, an undeniable truth lies beneath their feeble facts: California's immigrants and their children climb up the socioeconomic ladder over time and most Californians have economically benefited as a result. California exemplifies not only the enormous political and economic clout of immigrants, but also accounts for innumerable stories of immigrants who experience remarkable upward mobility over time, master English, and own their own homes, according to a new Immigration Policy Center report. Immigrant workers and entrepreneurs make up a large part of taxpayers and are vital when it comes to the success of California's new budget. Read More
ICE Raids in Bellingham, WA Raise More Than Just Eyebrows
Yesterday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials raided Yamato Engine Specialists Ltd. in Bellingham, WA, where 28 workers, including three women, were detained and placed in deportation proceedings. This is the first workplace raid conducted by ICE we are aware of since President Obama took office. Under the Bush Administration, ICE raided nearly 5,173 immigrants in 2008 alone. Read More
McCain Discusses Immigration and Arpaio on CNN
This past Sunday, John McCain appeared on CNN's State of the Union and had an extensive conversation with news anchor John King in which he once again expounded the need for comprehensive immigration reform: Read More
Steele Rewords, not Redefines GOP’s Immigration Stance
New RNC Chairman, Michael Steele declared in his acceptance speech that it's "time for something completely different." Yet when it comes to immigration, Steele is side-stepping pragmatic politics and choosing to stick with the same hard-line position that soured Latino and immigrant voters and contributed to the GOP's devastating losses this past election year. When pressed by Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, who asked Steele if the GOP needs to change its position on immigration reform and reach out to Hispanics and let them know that they have a home in the Republican Party, Steele replied: Read More
NY’s Gillibrand Softens on Immigration
"In a lot of these [immigration] issues, it's a case of learning more and expanding my view," said Kirsten Gillibrand-the new Senator of New York who has recently indicated that she's rethinking her hard-line approach to immigration and opting for more pragmatic solutions. Gillibrand's change of heart in part has to do with the 8,142,871 votes of New Americans who will be flocking to NY polls with immigration as one of the issues at the forefront of their minds in 2010. However, Gillibrand has also shown that having access to bonafide facts and information is critical to understanding the issue. And with an overwhelming number of myths and misinformation pervading the immigration debate, it's not always easy to differentiate fact from fiction. Read More
Anti-Immigrant Groups Invite GOP to Join Their Sinking Ship
This week at the National Press Club, anti-immigrant groups Team America PAC and American Cause (chaired by regular CNN and MSNBC contributors Bay Buchanan and Pat Buchanan) hosted an event to discuss why the GOP should continue to use an anti-immigrant platform in order to save their party and bring them back to majority status. Their basic premise is that America (for now) is still a majority white nation and the only way to win back majority status is to focus on and win the "White" vote. Participant Peter Brimelow went as far as to pine about the idea that, had this last presidential election taken place in 1975, and had McCain won the same percentage of the white vote he won against Obama, then McCain would have beaten Jimmy Carter. Read More
