Republicans
Senators Close To Introducing Immigration Reform Bill
After months of negotiations, the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” is ready to introduce the Senate immigration reform bill this week. Details about the measure—like the billions it would earmark for border security and the new visa program it would create based on work skills—have been leaking ahead of an expected announcement. And the proposal would create a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants who already are living in the United States. Read More
Why Are Some Still UnDACAmented?
The latest USCIS DACA numbers from March show that the agency has received roughly 470,000 applications, which means that just under half of those estimated to be eligible have applied. While the success reflected by the 470,000 figure is not to be downplayed, the new numbers beg the question: What about the other half million? Why are they still unDACAmented? Read More
The Charismatic Leaders Behind Immigration Reform
The tens of thousands of people who gathered Wednesday in front of the Capitol to rally for comprehensive immigration reform had two clear messages for Congress: reform must include a direct path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States, and “The Time Is Now.” Read More
U.S. Border-Enforcement Programs Target Immigrants Who Aren’t a Threat to Anyone
Since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in 2003, its immigration-enforcement agencies—Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—have been officially devoted to the protection of U.S. national security and the prevention of terrorist attacks. However, the bulk of the work done by CBP and ICE on a day-to-day basis involves apprehending and deporting non-violent immigrants who have only committed immigration offenses such as unlawful entry or re-entry into the United States. The highly punitive treatment of these immigration offenders serves no national-security purpose and is not an effective deterrent. Read More
Facebook Founder “Likes” Comprehensive Immigration Reform
While immigration reform has long been important to Silicon Valley, for the most part the advocacy has focused on high tech issues such as expanded immigration for workers in science and technology fields and increased access to H-1B temporary visas. The breadth of support for more comprehensive reform, however, has been growing, as it becomes increasingly clear that issues like family-based immigration, enforcement, training the next generation of Americans for the next generation of jobs, and a pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants are actually deeply connected. Read More
Immigration Watchdogs: Keep Calm and Press On
We’ve hit a point in the life cycle of the long awaited Senate immigration reform bill that a lot of parents will remember well. It’s those last few days before the baby is born, when anxiety and excitement are present in equal measure. Rather than speculating about the baby’s eye color or who the baby will resemble, however, speculation on the Senate immigration bill revolves around the bill’s substance. Will it carry through on the promise of a reasonable path to citizenship for the undocumented? How will it balance the interests of business and labor in a temporary worker program? Will there be additional STEM visas? Are there really going to be cuts to the family system in favor of some new mechanism for admitting employment and family based immigrants? There have been a host of media reports this past week fueling speculation on these questions and others, but the bottom line is that we simply won’t know until we see the text of the bill. Read More
Hearing and Report Highlight Lack of Due Process in Immigration System
This week, Senator Christopher Coons of Delaware presided over a public hearing to discuss what so many of us know: the immigration courts are failing to provide a fair, efficient, and effective system of justice. Many of the concerns raised by Senator Coons, as well as some of the witnesses, during Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, “Building an Immigration System Worthy of American Values,” are discussed in more detail in a report issued by the American Immigration Council this week, Two Systems of Justice: How the Immigration System Falls Short of the Ideals of Justice. Read More
Supporting STEM Education Where It’s Most Needed
Geography is a topic often lost in national-level immigration policy and the ensuing conversations around comprehensive reform. We frequently hear statistics cited at the national level. However, all too often, data at the metropolitan and local level – where the challenges and opportunities of immigration policy play out – are overlooked in policy debates. Read More
Republican Party Officially Backs Immigration Reform
Today, the Republican National Committee formally endorsed comprehensive immigration reform, bringing its position back in line with the Republican Party platform of 2004. Championing immigration reform was among the suggestions offered in a report released today about how the RNC can reinvent itself as part of a $10 million plan to reach out to minority groups. "We must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform," says one recommendation in the 100-page report, according to the Associated Press. "If we do not, our party's appeal will continue to shrink." Read More
Jeb Bush Backs Away From Mainstream With His Opposition To A Path To Citizenship
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) has been a longtime supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, so it caught many off guard this week when, in his new book, Bush came out against a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. “It is absolutely vital to the integrity of our immigration system that actions have consequences -- in this case, that those who violated the law can remain but cannot obtain the cherished fruits of citizenship," Bush argues in the book, Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution, which was co-authored with lawyer Clint Bolick. “To do otherwise would signal once again that people who circumvent the system can still obtain the full benefits of American citizenship.” Instead, Bush and Bolick write, undocumented immigrants should not be allowed to apply for citizenship until they return to their countries of origins. Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
