Justin's Political Corner
Mainstream media outlets should be aware of damaging economic attacks leveled by anti-immigrant groups in an attempt to derail comprehensive immigration reform. In reality, research indicates that comprehensive immigration reform would improve the U.S. economy, create jobs and boost American wages. Moreover, new findings show that immigrants are less likely to rely on public benefits than native-born Americans.
Full Story: MMFA
Former Florida governor Jeb Bush (R) surprised immigration observers by reversing his own recent position and coming out against a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. According to excerpts of his new book, obtained by the Huffington Post, Bush’s position is a hard “no” on citizenship, except for certain undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country before they were 18. He does, however, leave open the prospect that undocumented immigrants could return to their native countries and apply for a green card through revamped legal channels, a route that could eventually lead to citizenship.
Angling for 2016, perhaps?
h/t: TPM LiveWire
WASHINGTON — A draft of a White House immigration proposal obtained by USA TODAY would allow illegal immigrants to become legal permanent residents within eight years.
The plan also would provide for more security funding and require business owners to check the immigration status of new hires within four years. In addition, the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants could apply for a newly created “Lawful Prospective Immigrant” visa, under the draft bill being written by the White House.
If approved, they could then apply for the same provisional legal status for their spouse or children living outside the country, according to the draft.
The bill is being developed as members in both chambers of Congress are drafting their own immigration bills. In the House, a bipartisan group of representatives has been negotiating an immigration proposal for years and are writing their own bill. Last month, four Republican senators joined with four Democratic senators to announce their agreement on the general outlines of an immigration plan.
One of those senators, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Obama’s bill repeats the failures of past legislation and would be “dead on arrival” in Congress.
“It fails to follow through on previously broken promises to secure our borders, (and) creates a special pathway that puts those who broke our immigration laws at an advantage over those who chose to do things the right way and come here legally,” Rubio said. “It would actually make our immigration problems worse.”
The draft was obtained from an Obama administration official who said it was being distributed to various agencies. The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to release the proposal publicly.
In his first term, Obama often deferred to Congress on drafting and advancing major legislation, including the Affordable Care Act. He has openly supported the efforts in Congress to take the lead on immigration legislation, and just this week met with Democratic senators to discuss their proposals.
But two weeks ago in Las Vegas, while outlining his immigration plans, Obama made clear that he would not wait too long for Congress to get moving.
According to the White House draft, people would need to pass a criminal background check, submit biometric information and pay fees to qualify for the new visa. If approved, they would be allowed to legally reside in the U.S. for four years, work and leave the country for short periods of time. After the four years, they could then reapply for an extension.
Illegal immigrants would be disqualified from the program if they were convicted of a crime that led to a prison term of at least one year, three or more different crimes that resulted in a total of 90 days in jail, or if they committed any offense abroad that “if committed in the United States would render the alien inadmissible or removable from the United States.”
People currently in federal custody or facing deportation proceedings also could be allowed to apply for the Lawful Prospective Immigrant visa. Application forms and instructions would be provided in “the most common languages spoken by persons in the United States,” but the application and all supporting evidence submitted to the federal government would have to be in English.
They would also be given a new identification card to show as proof of their legal status in the country.
The immigrants could then apply for legal permanent residence, commonly known as a green card, within eight years if they learn English and “the history and government of the United States” and pay back taxes. That would then clear the path for them to apply for U.S. citizenship.
To combat fraud, the draft proposes a new Social Security card be developed that is “fraud-resistant, tamper-resistant and wear-resistant.” The Social Security Administration would be required to issue the new cards within two years.
A major requirement for many Republicans is enhanced border security. The bill calls for an unspecified increase in the Border Patrol, allows the Department of Homeland Security to expand technological improvements along the border and adds 140 new immigration judges to process the heavy flow of people who violate immigration laws.
The draft also expands the E-Verify program that checks the immigration status of people seeking new jobs. Businesses with more than 1,000 employees must begin using the system within two years, businesses with more than 250 employees within three years and all businesses within four years.
Homeland Security, working with the U.S. departments of Labor and Agriculture, the attorney general and other agencies, would engage in a $40 million-a-year program to educate business owners and workers about the program.
The draft obtained by USA TODAY does not include sections that would alter the nation’s legal immigration system to adjust the future flow of legal immigrants, which is expected to be a critical component of any immigration overhaul.
H/T: USAToday.com
Senators sent a rare bipartisan — and bilingual — message on Monday, urging the White House and Congress to join them in enacting comprehensive immigration reform that would legalize many of the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), one of eight Senators announcing a new legislative framework, confidently set a goal of passing a bill by late spring or early summer.
“We still have a long way to go but this bipartisan blueprint is a major breakthrough,” Schumer said. “We do not want immigration as a wedge issue, we want a bipartisan bill that solves the problem.”
Or as Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) put it: “En Espanol: ‘¡Vámonos!’”
No one better embodied the shifting politics on this issue than McCain, who led the 2007 immigration push with the late Ted Kennedy only to follow his party to the right and oppose even a bill granting a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants, the DREAM Act, in 2010. Now he’s on the side of reform once again, and publicly welcoming support from former opponent President Obama, who will deliver his own remarks on immigration reform Tuesday in Nevada.
Asked why he felt he had a better chance of success this time, McCain offered a blunt response.
“Elections,” he said. “Elections. The Republican Party is losing the support of our Hispanic citizens.”
Schumer and McCain were joined by Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin (IL) and Robert Menendez (NJ), as well as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the latter of whom is considered a critical ambassador on the right in selling the plan. Menendez and Rubio spoke at significant length in Spanish at the event, directly addressing the many Hispanic media outlets present for their remarks.
“We are dealing with 11 million human beings who are here undocumented, the vast and enormous majority of whom have come here here in pursuit of what all of us would recognize as the American dream,” Rubio said.
Major questions remain as negotiations continue to fill out a fuller bill. There are still limited details as to how easily undocumented immigrants would be able to eventually apply for a green card and then citizenship. Experts warn the existing legal immigration system’s quotas and backlogs would make it impossible to naturalize the undocumented population. Menendez told TPM afterwards that issues like whether to expand the number of green cards available to help move the process along would be left to future negotiations.
The nation needs a comprehensive immigration plan, and it is clear from a recent poll that most Americans support reforming the U.S.’s immigration system. In a new poll, nearly two-thirds of people surveyed are in favor of a measure that allows undocumented immigrants to earn citizenship over several years, while only 35 percent oppose such a plan. And President Obama is expected to “begin an all-out drive for comprehensive immigration reform, including seeking a path to citizenship” in January.
Here are the top 10 reasons why the U.S. needs comprehensive immigration reform:
1. Legalizing the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States would boost the nation’s economy. It would add a cumulative $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product—the largest measure of economic growth—over 10 years. That’s because immigration reform that puts all workers on a level playing field would create a virtuous cycle in which legal status and labor rights exert upward pressure on the wages of both American and immigrant workers. Higher wages and even better jobs would translate into increased consumer purchasing power, which would benefit the U.S. economy as a whole.
2. Tax revenues would increase. The federal government would accrue $4.5 billion to $5.4 billion in additional net tax revenue over just three years if the 11 million undocumented immigrants were legalized. And states would benefit. Texas, for example, would see a $4.1 billion gain in tax revenue and the creation of 193,000 new jobs if its approximately 1.6 million undocumented immigrants were legalized.
3. Harmful state immigration laws are damaging state economies. States that have passed stringent immigration measures in an effort to curb the number of undocumented immigrants living in the state have hurt some of their key industries, which are held back due to inadequate access to qualified workers. A farmer in Alabama, where the state legislature passed the anti-immigration law HB 56 in 2011, for example, estimated that he lost up to $300,000 in produce in 2011 because the undocumented farmworkers who had skillfully picked tomatoes from his vines in years prior had been forced to flee the state.
4. A path to citizenship would help families access health care. About a quarter of families where at least one parent is an undocumented immigrant are uninsured, but undocumented immigrants do not qualify for coverage under the Affordable Care Act, leaving them dependent on so-called safety net hospitals that will see their funding reduced as health care reforms are implemented. Without being able to apply for legal status and gain health care coverage, the health care options for undocumented immigrants and their families will shrink.
5. U.S. employers need a legalized workforce. Nearly half of agricultural workers, 17 percent of construction workers, and 12 percent of food preparation workers nationwide lacking legal immigration status. But business owners—from farmers to hotel chain owners—benefit from reliable and skilled laborers, and a legalization program would ensure that they have them.
6. In 2011, immigrant entrepreneurs were responsible for more than one in four new U.S. businesses. Additionally, immigrant businesses employ one in every 10 people working for private companies. Immigrants and their children founded 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies, which collectively generated $4.2 trillion in revenue in 2010—more than the GDP of every country in the world except the United States, China, and Japan. Reforms that enhance legal immigration channels for high-skilled immigrants and entrepreneurs while protecting American workers and placing all high-skilled workers on a level playing field will promote economic growth, innovation, and workforce stability in the United States.7. Letting undocumented immigrants gain legal status would keep families together. More than 5,100 children whose parents are undocumented immigrants are in the U.S. foster care system, according to a 2011 report, because their parents have either been detained by immigration officials or deported and unable to reunite with their children. If undocumented immigrants continue to be deported without a path to citizenship enabling them to remain in the U.S. with their families, up to 15,000 children could be in the foster care system by 2016 because their parents were deported, and most child welfare departments do not have the resources to handle this increase.
8. Young undocumented immigrants would add billions to the economy if they gained legal status. Passing the DREAM Act—legislation that proposes to create a roadmap to citizenship for immigrants who came to the United States as children—would put 2.1 million young people on a pathway to legal status, adding $329 billion to the American economy over the next two decades.
9. And DREAMers would boost employment and wages. Legal status and the pursuit of higher education would create an aggregate 19 percent increase in earnings for young undocumented immigrants who would benefit from the DREAM Act by 2030. The ripple effects of these increased wages would create $181 billion in induced economic impact, 1.4 million new jobs, and $10 billion in increased federal revenue.
10. Significant reform of the high-skilled immigration system would benefit certain industries that require high-skilled workers. Immigrants make up 23 percent of the labor force in high-tech manufacturing and information technology industries, and immigrants more highly educated, on average, than the native-born Americans working in these industries. For every immigrant who earns an advanced degree in one of these fields at a U.S. university, 2.62 American jobs are created.
President Obama will “begin an all-out drive for comprehensive immigration reform, including seeking a path to citizenship” for 11 million undocumented immigrants, after Congress addresses the fiscal cliff, the Los Angeles Times reports. The revelation comes just as a top Hispanic Democrat, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-IL), is calling on Obama to step-up his involvement on the issue and engage in discussions with lawmakers.
During the presidential campaign, Obama identified the lack of immigration reform as his “biggest failure,” telling a Univision “Meet The Candidates” forum in September that “after the election … if they (the Republicans) have seen that people who care about this issue have turned out in strong numbers, that they will rethink it, if not because it’s the right thing to do, at least because it’s in their political interest to do so.”
Since Obama won 72 percent of the Hispanic vote in the November election, a growing number of Republicans have indeed softened their opposition to comprehensive immigration reform. Last month, the House GOP advanced a bill that would add visas for highly skilled workers while reducing legal immigration overall. The STEM Act expands the number of visas available to international students who earn masters and doctorates in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) fields at U.S. universities, while also cutting the Diversity Visa program and reducing the number of total visas available.
For the first time since 1910, Asian immigrants now outnumber Hispanic immigrants.
WASHINGTON (AP) — After two years of getting pummeled in Wisconsin, Indiana and other battleground states, leaders of the nation’s big labor unions were beaming on election night.
Labor’s massive voter turnout effort played a major role in helpingPresident Barack Obama win Ohio, Nevada and Wisconsin, according to exit polls, and its leaders are now looking for a more liberal, pro-union agenda from the White House.
“There are things the president can do, and we’ll be expecting that leadership from President Obama,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters after the election.
Topping labor’s wish list — for now — is a push to raise taxes on wealthy Americans and discouraging Obama from agreeing to any deal with Republicans over the looming “fiscal cliff” that cuts into Social Security and Medicare.
But unions are also pressing for new measures that might help boost their sagging membership rolls. New investment in infrastructure would bring construction jobs for trade unions. Immigration reform — and a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented Latino immigrants — would create a vast new pool of potential union members. And new regulations could remove some obstacles to union organizing.
Business groups that have vigorously opposed efforts to help unions draw new members say they will keep playing defense.
“My primary concern is in the regulations,” said Randel Johnson, vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for labor issues. “We are afraid that on employment issues, the administration will stay firmly to the left and follow the lead of the unions.”
A new rule expected from the Labor Department would force companies to reveal relationships with so-called union-busting consulting companies even if the companies have no contact with workers. The National Labor Relations Board is expected to start work on a rule that would force businesses to turn over workers’ phone numbers, emails and shift times to union organizers.
The Obama administration might even consider a plan that would give an advantage in bidding on government contracts to companies that offer workers a higher living wage and generous benefits.
Unlike four years ago, unions have not made passage of card-check legislation a centerpiece of their agenda. The long-stalled measure that would require companies to recognize a union once more than half its eligible employees signed union cards instead of putting the question to a secret-ballot vote went nowhere in Obama’ first term, to the chagrin of many union activists.
Card check remains a dead end with Republicans in firm control of the House. Amy Dean, a former head of the AFL-CIO in California’s Silicon Valley, said unions are being more realistic about what they can get.
In addition to measures that may help increase union numbers, labor leaders are also expecting the Obama administration to issue more regulations targeting workplace safety. Proposed rules to protect workers from cancer-causing and lung-damaging silica, often found in the dust at construction sites and glass manufacturing operations, have languished at the White House for more than a year. The administration also has delayed new standards for combustible dust that can cause explosions.
Business groups have opposed the regulations, saying they overreach and would raise employers’ costs by millions of dollars.
h/t: Yahoo! News
7:14PM EDT October 12. 2012 - The Obama administration has granted 4,591 young undocumented immigrants a two-year deportation reprieve under a new program created two months ago, according to statistics released by the Department of Homeland Security on Friday.
The administration began receiving applications for the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” program in August, and they have since taken in 179,794 applications, according to the Department of Homeland Security. They have scheduled 158,408 of those for biometric appointments, where officials will take applicants’ fingerprints to conduct criminal background checks.
Up to 1.7 million young undocumented immigrants could qualify for the program, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
No applicants have been officially denied yet. But DHS has sent 1,825 applicants that don’t appear to qualify a “Notice of Intent to Deny” form, which gives them 30 days to provide more evidence or correct mistakes, or a “Request for Evidence,” which gives them 84 days to fill in gaps in their application.
Under the program, undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. before their 16th birthday, who are currently in school, have graduated high school or have served in the military, and have a clean criminal record can receive a two-year deferment of their deportation. They can also apply for a work permit during that period. After the two years, they can reapply for another two-year deferment.
The program has been criticized by some, including House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, for inviting fraud by moving too quickly, for its timing — starting just three months before the November elections — and for granting work permits to undocumented immigrants when unemployment remains high in the USA.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told the Denver Post earlier this month he would honor any deferments approved by the Obama administration, but would then push for a comprehensive immigration law that would address all undocumented immigrants living in the country.
President Obama has called the program “the right thing to do.” The president has pushed Congress to pass the Dream Act, which would grant legal status to young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children. When that failed, Obama used his executive authority to start the deferred deportation program for that population of young undocumented immigrants, known as DREAMers.
h/t: USAtoday.com
The DREAM Act was first introduced as a bipartisan measure in 2001, but has languished in Congress ever since. Republicans have blocked the bill, which would help young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children gain citizenship. President Obama says he supports the policy and issued a directive in June to help protect DREAMers from deportation by giving those who qualify temporary legal status.
But if Congress passed the DREAM Act and granted legal status to eligible undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, it would add an additional $329 billion to the U.S. economy and 1.4 million more jobs by 2030, according to a new report from the Center for American Progress and the Partnership for a New American Economy. Enacting the DREAM Act would boost the economy first by improving the education and job opportunities for young undocumented immigrants in the U.S. A legal status and education contribute to higher earnings:
MARION — The biggest applause lines during the first minutes of the debate Thursday night among 12th U.S. House District candidates occurred during an exchange between Democratic nominee Bill Enyart and GOP nominee Jason Plummer.
The question they were responding to centered on whether tax increases on wealthier Americans would cut the nation’s $16 trillion national debt.
Enyart blamed the debt on what he described as the “millionaire tax cuts” that occurred under former President George W. Bush.
“Because they’re not paying their fair share of taxes,” Enyart said.
Enyart then pivoted to the issue of Plummer’s refusal to disclose his income tax returns — a step Enyart had taken back in July when he disclosed 11 years of his personal tax returns.
“I don’t care how much Mr. Plummer made,” Enyart said. “I care how much he paid. If Mr. Plummer wants to go to Congress and if he wants to write tax policy, don’t you think it’s fair that he disclose what his tax returns are?”
When the debate turned to the issue of immigration. Candidates had different opinions on the Dream Act, which would provide citizenship to children of illegal immigrants currently living in the United States.
“If they are already here and have kids here, they should become citizens,” Bradshaw said.
Enyart said he supports the Dream Act. He highlighted the portion of the act that permits immigrants who enter the military service to obtain citizenship. He also said farmers and orchard owners wouldn’t be able to produce the food they do without its migrant workers, who obtain agricultural visas to work in the United States.
“If they pay taxes and pay into Social Security, I see no reason they shouldn’t be allowed to legally work,” Enyart said.
Plummer said he doesn’t support the Dream Act. He said he’s in favor of providing “a pathway to citizenship for people who are here for the right reason.”
He said America needs to be protective of it’s borders and ensure American citizens have the opportunity for jobs before providing citizenship for illegal immigrants.
h/t: bnd.com
Rubio said he was ready to present an alternative to the DREAM Act by September.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) criticized the Obama administration for failing to pass comprehensive immigration reform during an interview with Jorge Ramos.
The anchor of Univsion’s nightly newscast sat down for a quick interview with the Cuban-American senator at the Republican National Convention in Tampa on Monday.
(CNN) — The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services began accepting requests Wednesday for consideration of deferred action for young undocumented immigrants who arrived in America as children.
1. What is it?
The policy is a “temporary” measure that allows eligible immigrants to apply for work permits and deportation deferral for a two-year period. Supporters stress it does not grant immunity or a provide a shortcut to citizenship but affords undocumented immigrant children a chance to be productive workers — with a promise they won’t be deported for two years. Opponents see the policy as granting backdoor amnesty to people who came to America illegally and tightening an already poor job market for young Americans.
2. Who is eligible?
As many as 1.7 million youths may qualify for the program, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. To be eligible to apply, you must have arrived in America when you were 16 or younger and must be under 30 now. You must also have lived continuously in the United States for five years and must be currently in school or already graduated from high school or have served in the military. You cannot apply if you have been convicted of a felony or major misdemeanor.
3. What does it cost?
The application fee is $465, which funds the administrative costs of the program, including a biometric check and the issuance of a secure work-authorization document.
4. Is there a risk?
Homeland Security officials have assured people that information in applications will be confidential and will not be used to round up other undocumented people. Immigration lawyers are advising applicants to inform themselves before making a decision. The measure is temporary and requires a renewal in two years, but there is no guarantee the policy will still be around then, especially if Obama is no longer in the White House.
5. Is it political?
The deferred deportation policy addresses a great concern of the Latino community and includes some of the provisions of a Democratic proposal called the DREAM Act that failed to win enough Republican support to become law. In this year’s presidential election, Latino votes are critical in several battleground states, including Florida and Nevada.
h/t: FOX2NOW.com
WASHINGTON — In an appeal to Latino voters, three Senate candidates in the Southwest are calling on delegates to the Democratic National Convention to make support of a bill to help young undocumented immigrants gain citizenship a part of the party platform.
The Democratic-led House approved the DREAM Act – the acronym stands for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors – in December 2010, but Republicans blocked it in the Senate. While the bill has not been approved by either the House or the Senate since, Obama has supported it as part of his immigration reform efforts.
Democratic officials believe that the growing Hispanic population in key battleground states such as New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada gives those who embrace the DREAM Act a competitive edge in this fall’s elections. A Pew Hispanic Center survey conducted in late 2011 found that more than 9 in 10 Hispanics support the DREAM Act.
It’s unclear whether the Democratic Party’s platform committee will add support of the bill to the platform.
h/t: Huffington Post
Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), a tea-party-backed freshman lawmaker, recently branded President Barack Obama “a tyrant” for announcing that the Department of Homeland Security would stop deporting certain young illegal immigrants who entered the United States as children. Then, doubling down on his criticism of the president, Walsh took back his use of the word “tyrant”—because, he said, Obama “really isn’t smart enough to know what that means.”
Walsh’s remarks were captured by Credo Super-PAC, a political arm of the phone company Credo Mobile. The Huffington Post first reported Walsh’s “tyrant” rant.
This isn’t the first time Credo caught Walsh stuffing his foot into his mouth. Last month, Walsh was caught on camera saying that the Democratic Party wants Hispanics to be “dependent on government just like African Americans. Activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson,” Walsh said, “would be out of work if [African Americans] weren’t dependent on government.”
Criticizing President Obama’s decision to grant immunity and temporary legal status to some young undocumented immigrants, Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) told CNN’s Soledad O’Brien Monday that undocumented teens “had a say” in their family’s decision to travel to the U.S. illegally.
“Well, you are also talking about people that came over at 16 years of age,” Farenthold said. “At that point you had a say in it and that looks more like amnesty.”
“You think a 16-year-old whose parents are coming across the border has a say in whether or not they’re just going to stay behind in their country?” Soledad asked.
“They’re certainly in a position to have a conversation with their parents about it,” Farenthold said.
“A 16-year-old is in a position to have a conversation with their parents about coming across the border, do you think?” said Soledad, skeptically.
“Believe me, my 16-year-old daughter has given me input on everything — pretty much everything the family wants to do,” said the Texas Republican.
“They were brought to this country by their parents — sometimes even as infants — and often have no idea that they’re undocumented until they apply for a job or a driver’s license, or a college scholarship,” he said.
H/T: Igor Bobic at TPM
