A new estimate from the Migration Policy Institute puts the number of illegal aliens who could receive amnesty from the Obama Administration's deferred action policy at 1.8 million. The number is up 500,000 from the institute's initial estimate, but takes the policy's procedures into account. The procedures were made public by the Department of Homeland Security late last week.
The ranking GOP members of the Senate Budget, Finance, Judiciary and Agriculture Committees accused the State and Homeland Security departments of prohibiting officials from considering the likelihood an individual would receive welfare benefits in determining whether to grant admission to an immigrant or change their immigration status.
Today marks the start of the month-long recess in Congress. Things may be slowing down here in Washington, but around the country some lawmakers have a busy few weeks planned. August is prime time for town hall meetings. Everyday I send out alerts for town halls, mobile office hours, and campaign events. Little may be going on in Washington, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make an impact this month.
Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas), who also sits on the House Judiciary Committee that oversees immigration, told Newsmax yesterday that Pres. Obama's immigration enforcement policies endanger Americans. Rep. Poe spoke out after the Judiciary Committee released a report earlier this week that found that of all criminal illegal aliens that the Administration was made aware of between 2008 and 2011, 17% were arrested after committing another crime.
Former Texas State Solicitor Ted Cruz overwhelmingly defeated Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst on Tuesday in the GOP runoff for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by long-time Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. Cruz completed a NumbersUSA immigration-reduction survey answering "yes" to all questions earning him "True Reformer" status.
A report issued today by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) has found that criminal illegal aliens released by the Obama Administration's lax enforcement of immigration laws committed more crimes after their release, including murder, rape, kidnapping and child molestation.
Border Patrol Union heads slammed the Obama administration yesterday over its' executive amnesty policy that they claim is forcing officials to ignore the law and allow illegal aliens to exploit the system. President of the union representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, Chris Crane said the executive amnesty policy ends up allowing illegal aliens to avoid detention without any proof.
Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), told The Hill on Thursday that he's open to taking legal action against the Obama Administration over its massive use of prosecutorial discretion to offer amnesty to at least 1.4 million illegal aliens. Sen. Grassley told The Hill he's still exploring options, but he hasn't ruled out legal action.
On Thursday, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano faced Members of the House Judiciary Committee who are likely the most outspoken critics of her policy memorandum that provides amnesty through the use of prosecutorial discretion to at least 1.4 million illegal aliens. When the policy was first announced, several questions were left unanswered due to its ambiguity. While Members of the committee asked for answers to many of those questions, Secretary Napolitano dodged, avoided, and redirected her way through the more than two hour hearing.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) approved flight training for 25 illegal aliens at a Boston-area flight school that was owned by another illegal alien, according to the Government Accountability Office. The illegal-alien flight-school attendees included eight who had entered the country illegally and 17 who had overstayed their allowed period of admission into the United States, according to an audit by the GAO.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said this week that the Obama Administration's termination of the county's 287(g) agreement combined with its new policy to grant amnesty to illegal aliens who meet certain criteria is resulting in what he calls a "roadside amnesty" in his county. Under the new conditions, county officers can no longer apprehend illegal aliens they lawfully come in contact with, but instead must call Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ask if the agency wants to take action.
New data from the federal government show a significant decrease in apprehensions for federal immigration violations, dropping to a 40-year low. The report from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics shows apprehensions at just over half a million in 2010 down from 1.8 million in 2000.
The Massachusetts Senate yesterday followed the House’s lead in rejecting Gov. Deval Patrick’s amendments to legislation that requires proof of legal residence when registering a vehicle. The Senate, which overrode the governor’s changes on a voice vote, is overwhelmingly controlled by Democrats who have shown an increased interest in addressing the traffic fatalities caused by illegal aliens.
Massachusetts representatives rejected Gov. Deval Patrick's attempt to neuter legislation designed to ban illegal aliens from registering vehicles in the Commonwealth. The measure -- a part of the state budget bill -- now goes to the Senate for consideration.
The Milford, Mass. town council voted unanimously this week to join the ICE Mutual Agreement between Government and Employers (IMAGE) program. A partnership with ICE under IMAGE helps public and private sector employers to avoid hiring illegal aliens and maintain legal work forces.
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision on Arizona's SB 1070 law and the Obama Administration’s executive “DREAM” amnesty, two-thirds of likely voters say they want their own states to enact police immigration status check laws. The Washington Times/JZ Analytics poll also found that 49 percent think illegal aliens should be "given a chance to get their affairs in order then sent home.”
A few weeks after the Supreme Court upheld a key provision of Arizona's immigration enforcement law, a neighboring state is looking at legislation following Arizona's lead. Nevada Assemblyman Ira Hansen has submitted bill draft requests that would include the portions of Arizona's laws upheld by the Supreme Court. The bills would be considered during the 2013 legislative session.
In the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling on Arizona's local immigration enforcement law, the executive director of the ACLU "said the group and its allies have amassed an $8.7 million war chest to fight state immigration enforcement," according to the Washington Post.
In WTHR’s latest report on Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) abuse and fraud, the Indianapolis NBC affiliate discussed revelations brought forward by an IRS whistleblower - "We were being told by upper management to ignore fraud, to assign ITIN numbers and...pay out refunds to people who are lying…It's a license to steal when you allow that."
The Obama Administration has rejected the application submitted by the Virginia State Police to join the Department of Homeland Security's 287(g) program. The program allows local law enforcement agents to be trained by federal immigration enforcement officials in order to help enforce federal laws at the state and local level. Earlier this week, the administration suspended all 287(g) agreements that DHS had with agencies in Arizona.
Most voters continue to believe the federal government encourages rather than discourages illegal immigration. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% of likely U.S. voters think the policies and practices of the federal government encourage illegal immigration.
In light of yesterday's Supreme Court ruling, the Obama Administration has suspended the 287(g) program in Arizona. The 287(g) program is an official partnership between local law enforcement agencies and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help enforce federal immigration laws at the local level. Federal officials said the program is no longer needed in Arizona now that the Court has upheld the section of the state's immigration-enforcement law requiring all police to check immigration status.
In all the analysis of whether Arizona or Pres. Obama came out on top in the Supreme Court’s ruling on S.B. 1070 today, the key question is: how well did unemployed Americans fare? And the answer is: Very well.
Since Pres. Obama’s announcement last week to offer an Executive Amnesty to at least 1.4 million illegal aliens, the three agencies most effected have been scrambling to fill in the many holes that exist within the new policy. A week later, it appears the heads at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Patrol are no closer to closing up those holes.
Freshman Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) has cosponsored Chairman Lamar Smith's Legal Workforce Act (H.R.2885) that would require 100% of businesses to use E-Verify within two years. The bill also requires all federal, state, and local governments to E-Verify their entire workforce.
House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith has sent two letters - one to Pres. Barack Obama and another to USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas - asking for answers to several questions regarding last week's policy announcement. Pres. Obama announced that the Department of Homeland Security will begin using deferred action to adjust the status and extend work permits to illegal aliens who would qualify under the provisions of the DREAM Act. The Pew Hispanic Research Center estimates that the policy could provide an amnesty for at least 1.4 million individuals.
Twenty GOP Senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, have sent a letter to Pres. Barack Obama looking for answers to several pressing questions regarding the administration's new plan to offer an ExecutiveAmnesty to certain illegal aliens. Last Friday, Pres. Obama announced that his administration would amnesty illegal aliens aged 30 or younger who attend school or have been honorably discharged from the military using deferred action and/or prosecutorial discretion.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the Conservation and Economic Growth Act, H.R.2578, that included a section to allow the Border Patrol to fully operate on federally-owned lands with 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border Patrol section was originally part of Rep. Rob Bishop's (R-Utah) National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act. Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) offered an amendment to strip Bishop's section from the larger bill, but the House voted down the amendment.
President Obama thwarted the will of Congress and shunned the 20 million under-employed and unemployed Americans by announcing he will grant work permits to 2 million to 3 million illegal immigrants.This appears to be an unconstitutional fiat that not only usurps congressional authority to set immigration policy but directly contradicts what Congress has already decided on three separate occasions.
The L.A. Times oped “Fixing Immigration” perpetuates the class myopia which often colors mainline media’s perspective on immigration. Once again, we’re told to “fix” immigration with another legalization scheme for the 11 million illegal aliens who are currently here (amnesty number 8), that Americans won’t do menial labor, that “self deportation” is a “fantasy”, that enforcing immigration laws is “draconian” and will cause our crops to rot on the ground, and that we need a “comprehensive” solution that leads to legalization (again) and more visas (again). Let’s examine the facts.
With the recent introduction of Rep. David Rivera's STARS Act that would provide amnesty to some illegal aliens brought to the U.S. at a young age and reports of a bill being drafted in the Senate by Sen. Marco Rubio, the vice chairman for the House Immigration Subcommittee Steve King told Fox News Latino that any DREAM Act alternative would be considered an amnesty and would have a hard time getting through the House Judiciary Committee.
Opponents of Arizona's immigration-enforcement law are planning their strategy in case the Supreme Court upholds sections of the law. The high court listened to arguments for and against several provisions of the law in April and a decision on the case is expected by the end of June.
New Mexico investigators busted a large and sophisticated fraud ring that allegedly produced fake documents for illegal aliens who wanted to obtain a state driver's license. The scheme was initially uncovered when a Brazilian illegal alien living in Georgia called the N.M. Motor Vehicles Division to ask about her license.
A recent story in the New York Times, "Deportations Continue Despite U.S. Review of Backlog," reported that DHS officials expect to suspend the deportation orders of at least 20,600 people by the end of 2012. In one striking sentence, the story depicts a president caught between his obligation to enforce the law and his desire to change law: "The court review is the administration’s most important effort to ease the impact on immigrant communities of tough enforcement by Mr. Obama."
Last night, the House passed the Department of Homeland Security Approprations Act of 2013, and with it, eight amendments focused on increasing interior enforcement and securing the border were approved and added to the final bill. Under House Leadership of the last few Congresses, it's been tough to get recorded votes from the full House, but the DHS spending bill is annual measure we can count on!
A new poll released today by CNN revealed that three-quarters of Americans support Arizona’s SB 1070 law, which allows police to check the immigration status of suspected illegal aliens after a lawful stop. Another poll by CBS News found that sixty-two percent of Americans believe that both the federal government and state governments should be able to determine laws regarding illegal aliens.
The House of Representatives is currently debating H.R. 5855, a bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security for the 2013 fiscal year. This bill includes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Services. There are several immigration amendments that would strengthen interior enforcement and increase border security.
The CEO of the New Jersey-based PC Tech computer training school and the owner of a consulting firm have been charged by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for student visa fraud. The two companies worked together under the cover of the tech school to help foreign students receive student visas, but never verified the information of the foreign nationals.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, who serves as the Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Lamar Smith, who serves as the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, have sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security asking for more specific data on illegal aliens living in the United States that have been ordered deported. The request was prompted by the arrest of a foreign national in San Francisco who was ordered to be deported but hasn't because his home country did not cooperate with U.S. officials.
Has anyone in Alabama read HB 56? The answer is surely "yes," but none of them appear to have been involved in the story "Hundreds from across state protest immigration law," published May 28 in the Montgomery Advertiser, which describes people protesting Alabama's immigration law as wanting "others to understand their frustrations, concerns, and in some cases, pleas" - chief among them, according to story, is a provision that allows police "to stop those based on whether they appear to be in the country illegally."
On Wednesday, the House passed two border security measures with little resistance. Both, the Secure Border Act (H.R.1299) and the Jamie Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act (H.R.915), were passed under suspension of the rules, meaning there would be no debate and no amendments, but the bills needed at least a 2/3rds vote to pass.
A new report indicates that deportations of illegal aliens is down 9% compared to the same period in 2011. The Obama Administration boasted about its record-level deportations in 2011 bringing criticism from open-borders advocates that said the numbers were too high and immigration-reduction groups that said the numbers were inflated.
On Tuesday, Sen. Vitter (R-La.) took the fight to end a massive tax loophole that allows illegal aliens to receive thousands of dollars in tax refunds to the Senate floor. The loophole allows anyone who has an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to claim children on their income tax filings, enabling them to receive up to a $1,000 tax credit for every child they list. Sen. Vitter's bill (S.577) would require anyone who claims the credit to have a valid Social Security number.
On May 18th Governor Robert Bentley signed HB 658, a bill that amends Alabama’s 2011 immigration enforcement law. Although marketed as a “tweak” of existing law, HB 658 as passed by the House would have seriously undermined it before courts had a chance to rule on pending lawsuits. Fortunately, NumbersUSA members were able to convince the Senate to delete many harmful provisions and persuade House members to accept the changes.
ABC Professional Tree Services, based in Houston, Texas, has agreed to pay $2 million in fines after a Department of Homeland Security investigation found that the company had been hiring illegal-alien workers. DHS found that 30% of the company's workforce was made up of illegal aliens. The company agreed to pay the fines in lieu of criminal charges.
The Supreme Court decided unanimously today that the immigration status of parents can't help their adult-aged, illegal-alien children convicted of a crime. In the case Holder v. Martinez, the Court overturned a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled that Carlos Martinez Gutierrez, who had been ordered deported, couldn't use his father's status as a lawful permanent resident to stay in the country.
This past week, three bills have been introduced by Senators from both sides of the aisle aimed at bringing more foreign STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workers to the U.S. What the politicians and pundits are forgetting to mention is that there are eligible, U.S. workers out there to fill these jobs. I personally have friends who graduated this past week with engineering degrees and no job offers in sight.
Last week, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling for an end to the Child Tax Care loophole that allows illegal aliens to receive thousands of dollars in tax refunds by filing with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. Sen. Sessions also criticized the administration's refusal to include mandatory E-Verify provisions in any of its jobs bills.
