USA TODAY reports The National Association of Evangelicals on Thursday endorsed comprehensive immigration reform, saying new policies should reflect “biblical grace to the stranger.” “We seek fair and human treatment for those who are immigrants,” NAE President Leith Anderson told reporters on Capitol Hill, shortly before testifying with other religious leaders at a Senate subcommittee hearing on faith-based perspectives on immigration reform.
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Aug 162009
The recession and beefed-up enforcement have temporarily slowed illegal immigration, but the problem is far from fixed. As President Obama and congressional leaders prepare to tackle immigration once again, they should learn from the past and create a system that accommodates the future needs of a recovering economy. Even with fewer immigrants entering the country illegally, the number already here remains at nearly 12 million. One in 20 workers is here without authorization. When the economy begins to grow, that number will inevitably climb again despite our best efforts to enforce the current, broken system. Underlying forces in our economy are simply too strong to be thwarted by piecemeal federal efforts. In nonrecession years, the U.S. economy creates hundreds of MORE
WASHINGTON – At a recent meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee, lawmakers implored Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to make sure new passport requirements don’t get in the way of French-Canadian grandparents crossing the U.S.-Canadian border to visit their grandchildren. There was no mention of how those new rules might hurt Mexican grandparents trying to cross the U.S.-Mexican border to visit their grandkids in Arizona, California, New Mexico or Texas. “There’s been very much a double standard in dealing with the two borders,” said Jim Kolbe, the former Republican congressman who represented the Tucson border area for more than 20 years and is considered an expert on immigration issues. He said Northern border residents would be “aghast” if the federal MORE
Feb 202009
REMEMBER WHEN STATE and local officials couldn’t wait to get their 15 minutes of fame by cracking down on illegal immigration? Well, thank goodness, that trend might be coming to an end — in part because of the economic crisis. According to a recent article in USA Today, some of these saber-rattlers have lost their appetite, moved on to other issues, or simply confronted the economic reality that local enforcement measures cost money — something that is suddenly in short supply. Others figured out that one consequence of tackling the immigration issue locally is that you foster divisions and wind up — in the words of one local official quoted in the article — “pitting neighbor against neighbor.” Still others MORE
Wednesday, Senator Harry Reid introduced legislation entitled “Stronger Economy, Stronger Borders Act of 2009″ which hopefull will stop construction of the ill advised border wall and put some sanity into the immigration debate. And boy, do the neo cons have their panties in a bunch over this one. It is the sense of Congress that Congress should enact, and the President should sign, legislation to strengthen the economy, recognize the heritage of the United States as a nation of immigrants, and amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) by– providing more effective border and employment enforcement ;preventing illegal immigration; and reforming and rationalizing avenues for legal immigration. A tall order but doable if the MORE
Getting Immigration Right for a Change
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Dec 262008
It’s way too early to tell whether the United States under President-elect Barack Obama will restore realism, sanity and lawfulness to its immigration system. But it’s never too early to hope, and the stars seem to be lining up, at least among his cabinet nominees. If Mr. Obama’s team is confirmed, the country will have a homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano of Arizona, and a commerce secretary, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who understand the border region and share a well-informed disdain for foolish, inadequate enforcement schemes like the Bush administration’s border fence. And it will have a labor secretary, Hilda Solis of California, who, as a state senator and congresswoman, has built a reputation as a staunch defender of MORE
Keep the Pressure on the Obama Administration for Comprehensive and Fair Immigration Reform
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Dec 092008
President-elect Barack Obama pledged to make comprehensive immigration reform a priority in his first term in the White House, but the nation’s worsening economic woes may force delays on the campaign promise, experts said. Some members of Congress also said the timetable for reform may have to await a better economy and a more receptive political climate to providing legal status to illegal immigrants in the U.S. Other Congressional leaders urged quick action on immigration reform, which has stalled in recent years amid fierce opposition. “The downturn in the economy does represent a new environment,” said U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that favors early action on immigration reform. “The economy is a MORE
The hypocrisy of the Anti Immigrant Movement
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Dec 082008
Immigration officials and anti immigrant lawmakers breaking the law? It can’t be. but in this article, they certainly appear to be. The Chief Border Patrol Officer in New England was charged with hiring undocumented immigrants and will probably go to jail. Big deal, Mitt Romney (twice!), Tom Tancredo, and Gordon Smith all hired undocumented immigrants. Are any of them going to jail? Nope.That smells of hypocrisy! The Damned Mexican makes this astute observation; All of these people strongly believe poor and desperate immigrants who risk their lives to come looking for work so they can to feed their families should follow the law even if it means watching their children starve. Wonder how they feel about their own less noble MORE
Fresh Blood for Immigration Reform
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Dec 022008
The election results are good news for immigration reform. It’s not just the election of Barack Obama. From the Senate to the House, immigration failed as a wedge issue. And some anti-immigrant candidates have lost their seats. Representatives of immigration rights groups recently discussed how the ethnic vote swayed the presidential and congressional races in battleground states and why they perceive the changing landscape of the federal government as a victory for immigration reform supporters. “Immigration is not just a Latino or Asian or immigrant issue,” proclaimed Angela Kelley, director of the Immigration Policy Center. “This is an issue of America.” Candidates spent $27.5 million on 253 advertisements on immigration issues, reported Lynn Tramonte, policy director of America’s Voice, a MORE
