Tag Archive Immigration Reform

ByPhillip Kim

Mathematical Approach to Immigration Reform Predictions

Tom Wong, an assistance professor at UC San Diego who grew up being an illegal immigrant, formulates statistics to predict how many “yes” and “no” there will be from Congress regarding the immigration reform bill. To read more about his predictions, please read Cindy Chang’s article below:

Immigration Reform Predictions Are Mathematical and Personal

Tom Wong sat in the parking lot of a San Diego McDonald’s, scarfing a double cheeseburger and listening to the Senate’s roll-call vote on immigration as it live-streamed over his iPhone.

Landrieu, aye. Leahy, aye. Lee, no.

Just as he had predicted.

Finally, the 100th name: Wyden, aye. Relieved and smiling broadly, he called his wife with the good news. Not only had the bill passed, but his statistical models had worked nearly perfectly. He was right about all but a few senators.

As the immigration battle shifts to the House, word has spread among activists that Wong might be the Nate Silver of immigration reform — the go-to data geek with the crystal ball.

But Wong doesn’t just want to predict the future. He also wants to change it, by giving immigrant-rights advocates the statistical ammunition they need to influence lawmakers.

Click here to continue reading the article from LA Times.

ByPhillip Kim

GOP Donors Press on for Immigration Reform

Top GOP donors are now pressuring the House to pass the immigration reform legislation and fix the broken system. To learn more about the updates of immigration reform and what GOP donors are doing to convince the House, please read Meghashyam Mali’s article below:

Top GOP Donors Press Lawmakers to Act on Immigration Reform

More than 100 top Republican donors and fundraisers are pressing GOP lawmakers to act on immigration reform, according to a report from The New York Times.
The donors sent a letter to Republican lawmakers on Tuesday urging them to “take action to fix our broken immigration system.”

Among the prominent signatories are Karl Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush and a top GOP strategist, and former Vice President Dan Quayle.
The letter calls for measures to “secure our borders,” a system for U.S. companies to “hire the workers they need while making it impossible to hire workers here illegally,” and a “path to legal status for undocumented immigrants.”

The effort was organized by former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who served in the George W. Bush’s administration and is the founder of the group Republicans for Immigration Reform.
Gutierrez told the Times that the group would lobby GOP lawmakers over the August recess.

Click here to continue reading the article.

ByPhillip Kim

Cecilia Muñoz Behind Obama’s Immigration Reform

Cecilia Munoz has been behind the efforts of Obama’s immigration reform since the early beginning. Activists now question whether she can move bipartisan legislation to approve immigration reform.

To read more about immigration reform, please read Eleanor Clift’s article below:

Cecilia Munoz, Quarterback of Obama’s Immigration Reform Efforts

Her friends wondered why she didn’t quit when President Obama failed to push immigration reform in his first term, and now they’re wondering if Cecilia Muñoz, the president’s point person on immigration, has the political muscle to move bipartisan legislation to fix the broken system across a finish line blocked by House Republicans. An activist with the National Council of La Raza before joining the White House in 2009, Muñoz, who turns 51 on Saturday, got roughed up pretty badly in her community when she defended Obama’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, which resulted in a record number of deportations. Her friends are convinced she wouldn’t have signed on for a second term unless she had Obama’s unqualified backing and commitment.

Click here to continue reading the article.

ByPhillip Kim

Latinos Take Action for Immigration Reform: Will You Join?

As the House continues to debate over the issue of immigration reform, the Latino community is rallying to take action and have their voices heard.

To learn more about the updates of immigration reform and how the Latino community is advocating for undocumented immigrants, please read Bary Alyssa Johnson’s article below:

Immigration Reform News 2013: Latino Community Uniting to Fight House Over Immigration Reform

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights advocacy organization in the U.S., is hosting its annual conference this week, and a key topic being addressed shouldn’t be surprising: immigration reform.

Over 5,000 Latinos from all across the country have gathered together to unite in the fight for immigration reform, vowing to use their increasing political clout to push the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the comprehensive Senate reform bill, according to NCLR.

A town hall held this week at the conference focused on the moral, economic and political imperatives for winning reform. The discussion was headlined by Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., and brought together experts, advocates and political strategists to make the case for reform and to discuss the efforts underway to get Congress to deliver tangible solutions.

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ByPhillip Kim

Immigration Reform Receives Support from Farm Owners

Local farmers are banding together to voice their support for the passage of the new immigration reform bill. They emphasize the crucial contribution of immigrant workers, and their opinions are projected to have an impact on the House decision.

To read more about immigration reform, please read Heidi Przybyla’s article below:

Cantaloupe Growers Lobby Congress on Immigration Reform

Mornings for Bruce Frasier, an onion and cantaloupe grower in southwest Texas, are tinged with anxiety over whether enough day laborers will arrive in vans to harvest his crops.

“It’s a heck of a way for a businessman to start his day,” said Frasier, who visited Washington to express his concerns about a dwindling labor force as he sought to persuade members of his Republican Party to revise U.S. immigration laws.

Frasier’s initiative emphasizes the crucial role business owners, in particular agricultural producers and technology companies that rely on immigrants, will play in the U.S. House debate over easing current restrictions. The industries’ voices may serve as a counterweight to Tea Party advocates who oppose revamping U.S. immigration policy, particularly Republicans from conservative-voting districts in states such as Texas.

Click here to continue reading the article from Bloomberg.

ByPhillip Kim

Immigration Reform – 15 Vacancies in the Department of Homeland Security…Will It Affect You?

Will you be affected by the vacancies in the DHS? It was just announced that there will be 15 vacancies in September. This can have a large impact on immigration reform since top leaders are leaving. If you’d like to learn more, here’s some quick information from Lisa Barron of Newsmax.

Vacancies at DHS Could Impact Immigration Reform

The Department of Homeland Security, the largest agency in the federal government, soon will have at least 15 vacancies in top posts once Secretary Janet Napolitano leaves in September.

Lawmakers are concerned not only about the departure of Napolitano, but also of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton and other directors of various immigration departments, according to The Washington Times.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul of Texas told the Times that Napolitano’s departure “is a substantial addition to the growing list of unfilled key leadership positions within the department, and the administration should move swiftly to fill the gaping holes in its management.”

But as Congress continues to work on overhauling the immigration system, Morton’s departure is drawing the most attention. Once he leaves, immigration enforcement efforts will be without top leaders not only at ICE but also at Customs and Border Protection and at Citizenship and Immigration Services.

To read more, click here >>

ByPhillip Kim

Immigration Reform Gets Delayed

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It appears that the passage of President Obama’s new immigration reform bill will be delayed once again. The president wanted the decision to be made in August, but House Republicans have not yet reached an agreement regarding their piecemeal approach. President Obama agrees that America needs to make a decision on the immigration issue once and for all—we cannot afford putting it off again.

The immigration reform bill was designed to strengthen border security, provide a pathway for citizenship, expand programs for skilled workers, and set up guest worker permits. Republicans, however, are hesitant on the part of the bill that includes citizenship for the 11 million undocumented citizens. Instead, they want to focus on the Dream Act for legalization of those who were brought into the United States illegally as children. The chances of reaching an agreement by the August deadline are slim, but Republicans will have to come to an agreement sooner or later.

ByPhillip Kim

Obama to Appear on Spanish TV for Immigration Reform

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There are four television interviews scheduled for Spanish television networks this week by President Obama to discuss the matters of immigration reform. He will be using the Spanish network as a platform to stress the importance of passing the immigration reform bill by discussing its benefits to our nation’s economy.

The Congressional Budget Office and President Obama agree that the immigration reform bill will help reduce the nation’s deficits and improve the economy. By appearing on Spanish television, he hopes to gain support of the Hispanic population and push Republicans to come on board as well. Republican John McCain defends Obama and says he believes the president would be willing to work with Republicans to reach a compromise.

ByPhillip Kim

GOP Against Immigration Reform

The new immigration reform bill allowing a pathway for citizenship and legal status for 11 million undocumented immigrants faces challenges as it awaits for approval in the House. GOP’s reasoning for its opposition is that reforming the immigration law is not necessary to repair the party’s problems with Hispanic voters and they are unwilling to hand Obama an easy victory. Republican sentiments are the only components preventing the bill from passing at this point. They are opposed to the idea of letting those who came illegally gain citizenship while others who try for many years waiting in line to get citizenship legally still don’t have citizenship. As the debate continues, Democrats continue pushing to pass the immigration reform bill this summer.

ByPhillip Kim

Immigration Reform 2013 Faces Challenges in House

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With the passage of the new immigration reform bill in the Senate, the challenge now is whether or not it will pass in the House because Republicans hold the majority in the House and they are opposed to the new bill. Some say Republicans may not approve it because the bill does not strengthen border security and rewards undocumented immigrants by granting citizenship.

Republicans also favor the piecemeal approach rather than the holistic idea. The House bill was planned to be released in June, but now is expected to be released sometime during this month. On July 10, the House Republican Conference will meet up in the Capitol basement to discuss the immigration reform bill.