The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is touting a new report from the American Farm Bureau in response to House Speaker John Boehner's recent statement that "immigration reform" is in jeopardy until Pres. Obama enforces existing immigration laws. The report's supposed shock factor is based on the claim that food prices in the United States will increase 5-6% over the next 5 years with an enforcement-first strategy.
According to new data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, nearly 50,000 more illegal aliens were granted deferred action through the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but the New York Times is reporting that the good news for illegal aliens means bad news for foreign citizens trying to come to the United States the legal way. According to the Times, thousands of green cards for foreign spouses or other immediate family members of U.S. citizens have been delayed while USCIS processes DACA applications.
The neoconservative publication, The Weekly Standard, and its editors have a history of supporting immigration reform with amnesty and massive increases in foreign workers. But in the ongoing debate, they've changed their analysis, and it may have helped slow House Speaker John Boehner's most recent push. While most of their recent analysis has strayed from the details and focused more on the strategy and timing for immigration reform, the cover story for their December 2, 2013 issue exposed the true motivation behind Silicon Valley's massive push for reform.
In a new report on the state of the economy, the Congressional Budget Office has revised some of its initial projections for Pres. Obama's health care law. The CBO now says that the number of work hours lost due to the law is three times more than their initial estimate. So, if the CBO got Obamacare wrong, it begs the question: could they be wrong on immigration too?
The Mark Zuckerberg-funded group, Americans for a Conservative Direction, has launched another television ad with the hope of advancing the immigration principles that were unveiled at last week's GOP retreat. Zuckerberg is the founder of both Facebook and the pro-amnesty group FWD.us, which helps subsidize Americans for a Conservative Direction. The ads make an enthusiastic push on behalf of the GOP principles, but the information is vaguely presented in an attempt to mislead the American people.
In their January 28 story, "Backing in G.O.P. for Legal Status for Immigrants" for the New York Times, Jonathan Weisman and Ashley Parker provide a nuanced look into the division between the corporatist and populist wings of the Republican Party over immigration. But their good reporting is marred by an inaccurate description of the Senate bill that has the effect (intended or not) of transforming an otherwise well-reported story into an advocacy piece.
House GOP Leaders have relased their principles for immigration reform, which include a plan to legalize at least 11-18 million illegal aliens. The principles do not call for a path to citizenship for illegal aliens except for those who were brought to the country by their parents through no fault of their own so long as they earn a college degree or serve in the military. The priniciples call for border security, mandatory workplace verification, and a biometric entry/exit system, but it's unclear whether those things would have to be in place before legalization is granted.
The president of the union that represents Immigration Service Officers has sent a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) warning of the problems a mass amnesty bill would create for the agency that process immigration applications. Ken Palinkas said that officers are currently forced to "rubber-stamp applications and have been denied the resources and mission support necessary to carfully screen and vet each application." Palinkas warns that immigration reform would "overload the system."
As House Republicans prepared to leave Washington for a three-day retreat, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has sent them a 30-page memo entitled "Immigration and the GOP Agenda." In it, Sessions argues against House action on immigration reform for any number of reasons that include a lack of trust in the Obama administration, the already high levels of legal immigration, wage stagnation, and the enormous growth in social welfare programs.
One phrase that stood out last week - amidst all the immigration reporting - comes from a description of the Senate bill claiming that it establishes (among other things) a "minimum 13-year pathway to citizenship." Setting aside the poll-tested, pro-legalization activist-approved use of "pathway to citizenship," the main problem here is the factually errant depiction that the minimum amount of time a newly legalized foreign national would have to wait to naturalize is 13 years.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., published an op-ed in USA Today that criticizes President Obama for pushing Republicans to pass an immigration reform plan that hurts American workers while claiming to be concerned about their plight. He called upon Republicans to set aside the demands of business groups and “stand alone as the one party defending the legitimate interests of American workers” in the immigration context.
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), the third-ranking House Republican, said in an interview that he backs granting illegal aliens legal status and the ability to work, but not a “new pathway to citizenship.” Since Republican leaders have not released their immigration principles yet, McCarthy’s statement is seen as a trial balloon for measuring public reaction on including a legalization component.
An estimated 6.5 million illegal aliens could receive amnesty under ideas being publicly shared by House Republican leaders, according to a nonpartisan research group. The National Foundation for American Policy based its estimate mostly on statements made by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).
On Sunday, January 5th, National Economic Council director Gene Sperling and CNBC's Mad Money host Jim Cramer briefly touched on immigration on Meet The Press with David Gregory. Cramer charged that the U.S. government cares more about finding jobs for new foreign workers than for unemployed Americans, and the government data backs him up.
The owner of a Dayton, Ohio roofing company pleaded guilty last week to conspiring to bring illegal aliens to work for his company, and to conspiring to commit wire fraud by sending fraudulent invoices to insurance companies for his company’s work. The plea agreement includes imprisonment for up to 57 months, restitution in an amount to be determined by a court, and forfeiture of nearly $2 million in assets.
Rep. Diane Black (R-Tenn.) has introduced legislation that would permanently eliminate the "public advocate" position within the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The position has been defunded through continuing resolutions passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law by Pres. Obama, but the agency has found other ways to keep the position intact. According to Rep. Black, the "public advocate acts as a lobbyist for illegal aliens by serving as a special point of contact."
The House of Representatives returns from its winter recess this week, and according to a memo sent to House Republicans by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), immigration, while on the to-do list, will not be a priority at the start of the session. Instead, the House will focus most of its attention on a farm bill, the 2014 budget, health care, and Iran.
According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, the number of people granted temporary asylum jumped from 13,931 to 36,026 in the last fiscal year. This tripling of claims has lawmakers worried that illegal border crossers, including members of drug cartels, may be filing fraudulent claims to slow their deportation.
Illegal aliens in Georgia and Virginia are suing higher education agencies in their states to win access to taxpayer-subsidized in-state tuition rates. The illegal aliens claim they are eligible for the lower rates because they were granted a two-year stay of deportation under the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood (DACA) Arrivals program.
This is the time of year when many pro-amnesty advocates in the pulpit and the press misuse the Bible to try to try to advance their cause. This year, churchgoers are fortunate to have access to a much different explanation of scripture, thanks to the emergence of a group called Evangelicals for Biblical Immigration and to a fascinating panel recently sponsored by the Heritage Foundation to inform congressional staffers and the media.
In a court order, Federal District Judge Andrew Hanen accused the Department of Homeland Security of helping to smuggle an illegal-alien girl into the U.S. to live with her mother. Judge Hanen said this was the fourth recent case in which the Border Patrol apprehended a “coyote” smuggling a child, then delivered the child to illegal-alien parents. In each case, taxpayers covered the expense.
A new Quinnipiac poll finds that Iowa voters would be less likely to support candidates who support amnesty. The poll specifically asks about candidates for the United States Senate, but the results are revealing since Iowa is typically the first state to hold a presidential primary. The poll surveyed 1,617 registered voters and 46% said they would be less likely to support a candidate who supports amnesty, while only 24% said they would be more likely.
A legalized citizen has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit to prevent the state of California from asking job applicants if they have used multiple Social Security numbers, a common sign of identity theft. It's reminiscent of an exchange between Senators Schumer and Grassley during the Senate Judiciary Committee's markup of Schumer's amnesty bill earlier this year.
In an interview with Telemundo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said the Obama Administration’s deportations were “totally unjustified” in her hometown of San Francisco. “Our view of the law is, if somebody is here without sufficient documentation, that is not reason for deportation,” Pelosi said. “If someone has broken the law or committed a felony or something, that is a different story.”
With the House approving a budget deal before its December 13 deadline, some are trying to predict how the deal, and the process of getting to a deal, will impact immigration in 2014. House Speaker John Boehner took a harsh tone with some of the conservative groups that oppose the deal, and many of those groups also oppose an amnesty. Still, 70% of his caucus approved the deal, making it much less controversial than amnesty.
A bill being considered in the New Jersey legislature that would allow illegal-alien students who meet certain requirements to receive in-state tuition rates and access to financial aid at state universities and colleges cleared its final hurdle before it will move to the Assembly floor for a final vote. If passed by the Assembly, which is expected, it will advance to Gov. Chris Christie's desk for his approval.
Chairwoman for the bipartisan immigration commission Barbara Jordan said the United States can't have a credible immigration system without controlling illegal immigration. A new poll from Rasmussen finds that the vast majority of Americans agree with her statement. Asked if the U.S. government is "too aggressive or not aggressive enough in deporting those that are in the country illegally," 60% said the country isn't aggressive enough.
Yesterday, Judicial Watch hosted an Amnesty panel, featuring Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), the Center for Immigration Studies' Mark Krikorian, and NumbersUSA's Rosemary Jenks. The panel discussed the impact of passing and amnesty, who's really behind the push, and provided an update on the the prospects of passage in the 113th Congress.
On Wednesday, Pres. Obama spoke at length about his desire to address an issue NumbersUSA has been talking about since its inception -- income inequality in the United States. But, the President choses to ignore the impact of adding 33 million (NumbersUSA's estimate) new workers, who are mostly low-skilled, will have on wages.
Multiple reports indicate that House leaders plan to bring immigration bills to the House floor after the primary filing deadlines pass. Breitbart News cites a nonpartisan political news website in Texas, Quorum Report, that is reporting that House Speaker John Boehner told Texas business leaders about his timeline. It's unknown if Boehner was referring to the Texas primary filing deadline, which is in January, or to another deadline. Speculation of the House moving on immigration has increased this week with Boehner's hiring of a pro-amnesty immigration advisor.
Speaker John Boehner has announced the hiring of Rebecca Tallent to serve as immigration advisor in his Speaker's office. Tallent worked as a staffer and later as Chief of Staff for Sen. John McCain. She left McCain's office earlier this year to become the immigration policy director for the Bipartisan Policy Center where she also chaired the organization's immigration task force.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced he would veto a Senate-passed bill (S2479) that would offer taxpayer-subsidized in-state tuition and financial assistance to illegal aliens. Christie objects to the financial aid aspect of the bill, but supports so-called tuition equity for illegal aliens.
Rep. Paul Gosar, who represents a district in Arizona much impacted by illegal immigration, has challenged Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to tour the border after he called immigration reform "one of the biggest civil rights issues of our time" and called for immigration reform that included more foreign workers.
The Senate bill does not say what President Obama thinks it says, but he has probably read similar language in immigration polling. Most polls that find support for a "path to citizenship" use language just like Obama has. One of the problems with those polls is that, like Obama's statements, they don't describe the actual legislation that Congress is considering.
Roy appeared on Jorge Ramos' primetime news program on the new television network Fusion where the two discussed legal immigration numbers, the employment situation in the United States, and the Congressional debate on immigration reform.
New data released by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reveals that only 2.1% of the beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program were denied a work permit. DACA was a program designed and implemented last summer by the Obama Administration to grant deferred action to young illegal aliens who met certain requirements. The program allowed DACA recipients to apply for work permits if they could demonstrate a financial hardship.
Of the 465,033 individuals who have been granted deferred action, only 9,578 have been denied a work permit.
A new, non-partisan group based in Washington D.C., Americans4Work, is shedding some light on the impact that both legal and illegal immigration have on America's most vulnerable, especially minority groups, the disabled, and post-9/11 veterans. Earlier today, the group held its first public event at the National Press Club with Senator Jeff Sessions, former Rep. and Lt. Col. Allen West, and Temple University Law Prof. Jan Ting. While most of the discussion was spent on how to get jobless Americans back to work, the immigration issue was a recurring theme.
Six GOP Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary nominee Jeh Johnson about the administration's lack of enforcing immigration laws. The Senators posed more than 50 questions asking Johnson for his opinion on how former Secretary, Janet Napolitano, dealt with enforcement and whether or not he would pursue a more aggressive approach to enforcement.
Roger Daltrey, the lead singer of the Who, has blasted the former Labour-led government of the United Kingdom for allowing in large numbers of foreign workers. Daltrey, who has also criticized the current government for failing to tackle high immigration numbers said immigration has "undercut" workers.
In honor of Veterans Day earlier this week, Walmart CEO, Bill Simon, announced that his company would help put veterans returning from the Middle East back to work. However, Walmart has pushed all year for passage of a comprehensive amnesty bill that would double annual legal immigration numbers and grant amnesty with work permits to more than 11 million illegal aliens.
While Speaker Boehner has made a lot of helpful promises through this year -- as he has been pounded with citizen opposition to the Senate's amnesty bill -- he had steadfastly resisted any pledge that he would never engage Senate leaders in a joint conference that included their S. 744 legislation.
House Speaker John Boehner told reporters this morning that the House will not conference with the Schumer-Rubio amnesty bill. Speaker Boehner has repeatedly said that they House will take a piecemeal approach to immigration reform, but this is the first time he has publicly said that the Chamber will not consider the Senate bill in any capacity.
The overall jobless rate has remained steady over the past several months, but veterans returning from the Middle East are finding it increasingly more difficult to find work. In September, the jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans was 10.1% - nearly 50% higher than the national rate, and more than a million veterans are expected to return from overseas and join the job market by 2016.
It didn't take long for some in the mainstream media to attribute the results of Tuesday's two gubernatorial elections to the immigration positions, and the support or lack thereof from Hispanics, of the Republican candidates. Shortly after both the races in New Jersey and Virginia were called, the New York Times and others, were ready with their post-election analysis.
With only 16 legislative days left in 2013, several House GOP lawmakers say that immigration won't make it to the floor by the end of the year, including House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, the third-ranking House Republican.
An employee at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles plead guilty on Wednesday for her role in a operation that created more than 300 driver's licenses and state-issued IDs for illegal aliens. Maria Cavallaro worked with Jose Calderon to issue driver's licenses, learner's permits, and identification cards to illegal aliens, knowing the illegal aliens were prohibited to obtain the documents under state law.
The AFL-CIO is pushing to add 33 million permanent job seekers via legalization and increased immigration over the next decade. Union leadership surely hopes the increase in foreign workers will also boost their membership (and revenue), but if that is their sole justification they aren't saying.
President of the union that represents the nation's 7,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Chris Crane, sent a letter to CEOs of the companies that are actively pushing a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would grant amnesty to 11-18 million illegal aliens. In the letter, Crane challenged the business executives as to why they would support a bill that would jeopardize public safety and requested a meeting. About a dozen CEOs met with Pres. Obama at the White House on Tuesday.
