The Made-Up Numbers Dominating the Immigration Debate

May 11, 2013 Leave a comment

Reblogged from Business & Money:

The Heritage Foundation made a splash early this week with a report predicting that the current immigration reform bill being debated in the Senate would cost the U.S. government $6.3 trillion dollars in benefits like Social Security, Medicare, means-tested welfare, and other programs over 50 years. The basic logic behind the study is that undocumented immigrants are far lower skilled and less educated than the average American, and therefore these folks will, on average, take more in benefits than they will contribute in taxes.

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The co-author of the report, Jason Richwine, resigned yesterday in disgrace after economists attacked the report's flawed methodology and his racist assumptions (Richwine believes Latinos have lower IQs than whites). So why does the Heritage Foundation continue to defend the Richwine/Rector immigration report?

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The Gang Reaches Across the Aisle as Senate Immigration Debate Kicks Off

May 10, 2013 Leave a comment

Reblogged from Swampland:

Near the end of the first day of Senate debate on a sweeping bill to overhaul U.S. immigration laws, one of the measure's top immigration supporters hugged one of its most vocal foes.

Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the committee charged with debating and amending the bill, had been sparring for much of the day with Jeff Sessions, a Republican who opposes comprehensive reform.

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Four Additional Hurdles for Immigration Reform

May 7, 2013 Leave a comment

Reblogged from Swampland:

Back when the Senate's Gang of Eight was haggling over the details of its immigration-reform bill, TIME dug into four major hurdles the bill would have to clear. But now the dynamics have changed. The gang has published its proposal, and the details are now being debated in public. With the legislation now headed for mark up in the Judiciary Committee on May 9, here are four new obstacles around which supporters will have to navigate:

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Conservative groups blast Heritage foundation's $6.3 trillion "amnesty" cost

May 6, 2013 Leave a comment

Reblogged from NBC Latino:

In 2007, when Ted Kennedy and John McCain were pushing comprehensive immigration reform, an outside player helped to torpedo the bill. The culprit was The Heritage Foundation, a public policy research institute esteemed in conservative circles. It's study on the effects of the legislation were widely cited and gave ammunition to opponents of reform.

Now Heritage is back with a similar study, which finds that the costs of undocumented immigrants becoming citizens over the next 50 years would be a whopping $6.3 trillion.

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#Immigration Headlines For May 2, 2013

May 2, 2013 Leave a comment

New York Times: Failure of Gun Legislation Shadows Immigration Bill

By Jennifer Steinhauer

May 1, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/us/politics/gun-legislations-failure-shadows-immigration-bill.html?pagewanted=all

 

New York Times (Blog): How to Weaken a President

By David Firestone

May 1, 2013

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/01/how-to-weaken-a-president/

 

NATIONAL

 

Washington Post: Obama prods liberals to give-and-take on Senate immigration bill

By David Nakamura

May 1, 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-tries-to-set-realistic-expectations-on-senate-immigration-bill/2013/05/01/b5f30a80-b276-11e2-bbf2-a6f9e9d79e19_story.html

 

Associated Press: Obama To Pitch Immigration Overhaul In Mexico

May 2, 2013

http://www.npr.org/2013/05/02/180485455/obama-to-pitch-immigration-overhaul-in-mexico

 

Washington Post: Immigration to be part of Obama’s trip to Mexico

By Zachary Goldfarb and Nick Miroff

May 1, 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/immigration-to-be-part-of-obamas-trip-to-mexico/2013/05/01/5366d776-b275-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html

 

Washington Post (The Fix): Why is immigration going so much better for Obama than the budget?

By Zachardy Goldfarb and Scott Clement

May 2, 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/05/02/why-is-immigration-going-so-much-better-for-obama-than-the-budget/

 

New York Times: Americans’ Unity on Big Issues Doesn’t Bridge Partisan Gap

By Ashley Parker

May 1, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/us/politics/poll-finds-strong-support-for-tightened-gun-laws-and-path-to-citizenship.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

Politico: Poll: Citizenship support slips

By Kevin Cirilli

May 2, 2013

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/citizenship-support-slips-poll-90856.html

 

Politico: Poll: Obama gets negative ratings on immigration, guns

By Donovan Slack

May 1, 2013

http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/05/poll-obama-gets-negative-ratings-on-immigration-guns-163063.html

 

NPR: Poll: Most African-Americans Support Immigration Reform

May 1, 2013

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/01/180413665/poll-most-african-americans-support-immigration-reform

 

ABC News: Most Americans Don’t Know Much About Immigration Bill

By Serena Marshall and Jim Avila

May 1, 2013

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2013/05/most-americans-dont-know-much-about-immigration-bill/

 

Reuters: Most Americans say Boston attack not an immigration issue: Poll

By Susan Heavey

May 1, 2013

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/01/us-usa-immigration-poll-idUSBRE9400VF20130501

 

Washington Post (The Fix): Washington is deeply engaged with immigration. The public? Not so much.

By Sean Sullivan

May 1, 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/05/01/washington-is-deeply-engaged-with-immigration-the-public-not-so-much/

 

National Journal: Why Lindsey Graham’s Support for Immigration Reform Isn’t Popular in South Carolina

By Beth Reinhard

May 2, 2013

http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/why-lindsey-graham-s-support-for-immigration-reform-isn-t-popular-in-south-carolina-20130502

 

Roll Call: Reid Vows Vigorous Immigration Bill Push

By Humberto Sanchez

May 1, 2013

http://www.rollcall.com/news/reid_vows_vigorous_immigration_bill_push-224480-1.html

 

Daily Caller: DeMint: Gang of 8 immigration proposal ‘unfair,’ ‘costs too much’ and will ‘make the problem worse’

By Jeff Poor

May 1, 2013

http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/01/demint-gang-of-8-immigration-proposal-unfair-costs-too-much-and-will-make-the-problem-worse/#ixzz2S8eJvKsO

 

Journal Times (Wisconsin): Ryan pushes for reform

By Alison Bauter

May 1, 2013

http://journaltimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/ryan-pushes-for-reform/article_9bd4679c-b2bd-11e2-8491-0019bb2963f4.html

 

Charlotte Observer: Mulvaney talks immigration, jobs in Fort Mill

By John Marks

May 2, 2013

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/05/02/4016407/mulvaney-talks-jobs-immigration.html#storylink=cpy

 

Politico: What Ted Cruz knows

By Alexander Burns

May 2, 2013

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/ted-cruz-2016-president-90843.html

 

National Journal: The Twisted Route to Immigration Reform

By Rebecca Kaplan and Joey Carolino

May 1, 2013

http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/the-twisted-route-to-immigration-reform-20130501?mrefid=site_search

 

Christian Science Monitor: A part of immigration reform even critics like: integrating new Americans (+video)

By David Grant

May 1, 2013

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2013/0501/A-part-of-immigration-reform-even-critics-like-integrating-new-Americans-video

 

CBS News: Illegal border crossings rise in South Texas as Congress debates immigration reform

May 1, 2013

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57582463/illegal-border-crossings-rise-in-south-texas-as-congress-debates-immigration-reform/

 

NBC Latino: 8-year-old fights for immigration reform to be reunited with parents

By Damian Trujillo

April 30, 2013

http://nbclatino.com/2013/04/30/8-year-old-fights-for-immigration-reform-to-be-reunited-with-parents/#.UYEboPzMUJc.twitter

 

New York Times: Across the Country, Supporters Rally for Immigration Overhaul

By Julia Preston

May 1, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/us/across-the-country-supporters-rally-for-immigration-overhaul.html

 

CBS News: May Day demonstrators across U.S. demand immigration reform

May 2, 2013

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57582343/may-day-demonstrators-across-u.s-demand-immigration-reform/

 

Los Angeles Times: May Day observer asks: ‘Are things changing in their favor?’

By Cindy Chang

May 1, 2013

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-may-day-bystanders-20130501,0,2340957.story

 

Arizona Republic: Phoenix march for migrant rights reflects progress, long road ahead

By Alia Beard Rau

May 1, 2013

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20130501phoenix-march-migrants-rights-progress-long-road.html

 

Associated Press (Colorado): About 200 rally for immigration reform in Denver

By Alexandra Tisley

May 1, 2013

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/About-200-rally-for-immigration-reform-in-Denver-4479882.php#ixzz2S8YBQBey

 

ABC/Univision: Cesar Chavez’s Complex History on Immigration

By Ted Hesson

May 1, 2013

http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/Politics/cesar-chavezs-complex-history-immigration/story?id=19083496#.UYGBMqKG18E

 

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Times updates guidelines for covering immigration

By Deirdre Edgar

May 1, 2013

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/readers-rep/la-me-rr-la-times-guidelines-immigration-20130501,0,5876110.story

 

Fox News Latino: Immigration Court Hearing For Two Boston Bombing Suspects

May 1, 2013

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2013/05/01/immigration-court-hearing-for-two-boston-bombing-suspects/#ixzz2S4rA7jjc

 

Washington Post (Letter to the Editor): Creating a better immigration bill

By Rep. Bob Goodlatte

May 1, 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/creating-a-better-immigration-bill/2013/05/01/9a0946ae-b1d1-11e2-9fb1-62de9581c946_story.html

 

Houston Chronicle (Opinion): Aiming for successful reform

By Sen. John Cornyn

April 30, 2013

http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Cornyn-Aiming-for-successful-reform-4477377.php

 

Al.com (Opinion): Sen. Jeff Sessions’ failed approach has no place in immigration debate

By Victor Palafox and Cesar Vargas

May 1, 2013

http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/05/sen_jeff_sessions_failed_appro.html#incart_river

 

Daily Beast (Opinion): Ted Cruz, the Anti-Rubio Who Is Determined to Stop Immigration Reform

By David Cantanese

May 2, 2013

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/05/02/ted-cruz-the-anti-rubio-who-is-determined-to-stop-immigration-reform.html

 

Washington Post (Blog): Immigration reform proponents on offense, Rubio quarterbacks

By Jennifer Rubin

May 1, 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2013/05/01/immigration-reform-proponents-on-offense-rubio-quarterbacks/

 

Chicago Tribune (Opinion): Immigration deformed

By Cal Thomas

May 2, 2013

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/sns-201305011600–tms–cthomastq–b-a20130502-20130502,0,63654.column

 

Wall Street Journal (Opinion): Jobs Italians Won’t Do

By Jason Riley

May 1, 2013

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323528404578455672729793196.html?KEYWORDS=immigration

 

Boston Globe (Opinion): Immigration reform stays on US soil

By Juliette Kayyem

May 2, 2013

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2013/05/02/mexico-and-share-border/ttPSLt8BE8GcnockDaDx0K/story.html

 

The Hill (Blog): Remembering needs of immigrant workers on May Day

By Gregory Cendana

May 1, 2013

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/297167-remembering-needs-of-immigrant-workers-on-may-day#ixzz2S4mTPuW7

 

CNN (Opinion): May Day is for immigrants, too

By Gabriel Camacho and Arnie Alpert

May 1, 2013

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/01/opinion/camacho-alpert-immigration-may-day/index.html

 

LOCAL

 

Washington Post: Illegal immigrants could apply for D.C. driver’s licenses under Gray proposal

By Mike DeBonis

May 1, 2013

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/illegal-immigrants-could-apply-for-dc-drivers-licenses-under-gray-proposal/2013/05/01/cfe6ce02-b27d-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html

 

New York Times: Failure of Gun Legislation Shadows Immigration Bill

By Jennifer Steinhauer

May 1, 2013

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/02/us/politics/gun-legislations-failure-shadows-immigration-bill.html?pagewanted=all

 

As a gun safety bill dissolved on the Senate floor last month, a group of eight senators — some who had supported the failed measure — had already moved on to a policy battle they found more promising: reinventing the nation’s troubled immigration system.

 

 

But despite broader Republican support for an immigration overhaul, the inability of Congress to pass modest gun legislation involving background checks is a warning for the immigration bill’s journey.

 

Consider that on paper, immigration is actually a harder sell back home to voters. Although 86 percent of adults in a Washington Post/ABC News nationwide poll last month said they favored background checks for people buying guns at guns shows or online, a poll by the same news organizations found that only 64 percent said they supported a program giving illegal immigrants the right to live here legally if certain requirements were met.

 

The warning does not mean failure, especially since most Republicans believe that immigration changes, unlike gun legislation, would help them politically. But it does indicate that the road to consensus on immigration will be far bumpier than the narrative on Capitol Hill suggests.

 

“There was a lot of Washington talk about the gun bill’s possibilities, but I never saw that reflected in the people at home,” said Representative Jack Kingston, Republican of Georgia, who has served since 1993. “Now there is all this buzz about the immigration reform, and that is not reflected, either.”

Filed under Uncategorized Tagged with

Don’t Panic, #DACA Is Alive And Well, But Congress Needs To Pass #Immigration Reform Now

April 24, 2013 Leave a comment

Originally posted on Huffington Post

Yesterday afternoon a federal judge in Texas indicated he was likely to block President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process. The order, written by Judge Reed O’Connor, came in a lawsuit challenging DACA and prosecutorial discretion filed by nativist lawyer and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach on behalf of ICE Union Boss Christopher Crane. The judge found that the DACA process, which gives eligible DREAMERs a temporary reprieve from deportation, likely, violates the law.

So what does this mean for DREAMERs and others granted deferred action? In the end probably very little.

Here’s why:

First, nothing has happened yet. The judge has not issued an injunction blocking DACA. In fact, he is still considering the Department of Justice’s argument that Crane’s lawsuit is really a federal employment dispute that should be dealt with administratively. For now all the judge has done is order the lawyers to file legal briefs on the jurisdictional issue by May 6, 2013.

Second, regardless of what the judge decides, there is no question that prosecutorial discretion, the legal tradition that is the basis for DACA, is enshrined in the law. As the U.S. Supreme Court said recently inArizona v. United States – the case challenging the Arizona immigration law — “a principal feature of the removal system is the broad discretion exercised by immigration officials.”

Third, even if this judge rules in Crane’s favor — which appears likely — and even if his ruling is later sustained all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, at most the Department of Homeland Security will have to add another unnecessary bureaucratic process — at taxpayer expense — to the DACA process and the exercise of prosecutorial discretion. As the judge wrote, “However, DHS’s ability to exercise its discretion at later stages in the removal process by, for example, cancelling the Notice to Appear or moving to dismiss the removal proceedings is not at issue in the present case, and nothing in this Order limits DHS’s discretion at later stages of the removal process.”

In other words, the question is not whether ICE can exercise discretion, but when.

Fourth, the impact will be limited to geographic location. In fact, it’s worth asking Kobach and Crane why they chose to file their lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas. Certainly, the federal court in Washington, D.C., which routinely considers many difficult administrative law questions, might have provided the best venue to handle the plaintiffs’ claims.

So rest assured, DACA is alive and well. The administration has unquestionable authority to set policy and enforcement priorities. And, however many lawsuits these anti-immigration restrictionists file, prosecutorial discretion is enshrined in law, and it’s obvious their real motive is to undermine any vaguely pro-discretion, pro-migrant policies.

This case unmasks the ugly side of the immigration debate, including the antics of restrictionist immigration attorney Kris Kobach and ICE Union Boss Chris Crane. Kobach’s claim to fame is that he authored the draconian Arizona immigration law, the guts of which were thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. Crane, the union boss, has been a vocal opponent of DACA and prosecutorial discretion in general. As I’ve said before, maybe someone should remind him that he is president of the ICE Union, not President of the United States. Both Crane and Kobach testified in opposition to immigration reform before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this week.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the lawsuit filed by Kobach and Crane underscores the need for Congress to enact immigration reform. What kind of America do they and others in the dark corner of the restrictionist fringe envision? Kobach didn’t even have the decency answer Senator Durbin directly when he asked him at the Senate Judiciary hearing whether he thought DREAMERs should be deported. How many more promising high school graduates will be denied a chance to dream and relegated to immigration limbo — not accepted in the country they have struggled against all odds to enrich — and forced to fear being handcuffed and jailed boarding a train or a plane without proper papers?

The system is badly broken and it won’t be fixed through litigation or administrative policy alone. What’s needed is congressional action.

The time to act is NOW.

Filed under DACA, Deferred Action, Dream Act, Immigration Reform, Uncategorized

Wall Street Journal - Tax Group Tries Pre-Emptive Strike on Immigration Study

April 9, 2013 Leave a comment

Reblogged from 21st Century Border:

Click to visit the original post

A prominent conservative group is taking a pre-emptive swipe against opponents who say an immigration overhaul could blow a hole in the federal budget. Josh Culling, the government affairs manager for Americans for Tax Reform, sent a memo to some 800 GOP staffers on Capitol Hill, urging them to take a careful look at the research about the fiscal impact of immigration.

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Politico - Immigration deal in farm sector's hands

April 9, 2013 Leave a comment

Reblogged from 21st Century Border:

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Senate efforts to overhaul immigration law now mainly hinge on a major sector certain to be impacted by the plan: Agriculture. After a bitter fight between interest groups late last week, Republican and Democrats are closely monitoring sensitive talks between labor and industry over a new program to woo foreign farmworkers.

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ABC News - Why Tomorrows Immigration Rally Will Matter

April 9, 2013 Leave a comment

Reblogged from 21st Century Border:

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On Wednesday, tens of thousands of people will flock to the nation's capital to rally in support of immigration reform, an event organized by immigrant rights groups. What's the point of bringing busloads of people from around the country to Washington, D.C. for a day? The rally comes at the same time that Republicans and Democrats in the Congress are working on an immigration reform bill.

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House members optimistic about immigration overhaul

April 7, 2013 Leave a comment

Reblogged from CNN Political Ticker:

(CNN) -- Two House members working on immigration reform sounded confident Sunday that their upcoming proposal will ultimately mesh well with the Senate's proposal, despite expected battles over the issue in both chambers in the months ahead.

"I am very, very optimistic that the House of Representatives is going to have a plan that is going to be able to go to a conference with the Senate in which we're going to be able to resolve differences," Rep.

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