On the floor of the House of Representatives Wednesday night, Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa), Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), and Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) voiced their opposition to the amnesty bills being drafted in both the House and the Senate. The three have been mostly silent, but decided it was time to speak out with news that legislation is likely to be introduced next week.
San Antonio's WOAI radio is reporting a surge in illegal border crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, and Border Patrol agents say the detained border crossers are asking for amnesty. Border Patrol agents say the number of illegal border corssers being found dead in the Texas brush country is also up and on path to beat last year's record mark.
Three members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights have sent a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus urging them to oppose amnesty. In their letter, the Commissioners ask if there are currently enough jobs in the country for minorities and they say no.
Sens. Jeff Sessions, Chuck Grassley and Pat Roberts wrote the Republican members of the “Gang of Eight” to ask for information about the long-term costs once millions of illegal aliens become eligible for major entitlements and approximately 80 different means-tested welfare and low-income assistance programs.
Separately, groups like Numbers USA, which calls for lower levels of immigration, are preparing to step up their campaign urging lawmakers to vote against reform....
Meanwhile, Numbers USA plans to start a new radio campaign as soon as the debate over control has been concluded. This would increase the pressure it is already applying to lawmakers, having sent 2m faxes objecting to legalisation, said Roy Beck, chief executive.
“The difference between now and 2007 is that there weren’t 20m Americans looking for jobs who couldn’t find work then,” Mr Beck said.
The Senate returned from a two-week recess today, and most of us were bracing for the Gang of Eight's introduction of a "comprehensive immigration reform" bill that would grant amnesty to at least 11 million illegal aliens. As the new Senate work session begins, the good news is that there's still no bill. The bad news is that we know a bill is right around the corner.
Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires that legal immigrants demonstrate that they won't be a public charge before they're granted entry into the United States. However, according to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) the bill being drafted by the Gang of Eight that will offer instant legal status and work permits to the 11-19 million illegal aliens living in the country won't subject amnestied illegal aliens to the public charge rule, which could cost taxpayers trillions of dollars.
A story in the Los Angeles Times reports that a sophisticated airborne radar system being used along the border has found that more individuals trying to cross the border illegally elude Border Patrol agents than what has been traditionally thought. According to the story, between Oct. 1, 2012 and Jan. 17, 2013, the radar helped Border Patrol detain 1,874 people, but another 1,962 people were able to elude capture.
A new poll from Rasmussen finds that likely voters overwhelmingly favor border security before legalization for 11 million illegal aliens, and 53% of respondents don't think it's likely that the federal government will actually secure the border to prevent future illegal immigration.
President of the National ICE Council, Chris Crane, hosted a conference call with the media on Wednesday and said the current plan being drawn up by the Senate Gang of Eight will do nothing to fix our broken immigration system. Crane referred to a statement made by Sen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" when he said that legalization will come before enforcement.
Over the weekend, Gang of Eight Members, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) urging him to have an open and transparent process when the Committee begins work on the Gang's soon-to-be-released legislation. On Tuesday, Sen. Leahy responded to Rubio with his own letter and stated that he plans to move "quickly and decisively" on the bill.
This ad is running across Alaska and asks voters there who Sen. Mark Begich represents. A Gang of Eight Senators are putting together a "comprehensive immigration reform" bill that would grant amnesty to 11-19 million illegal aliens. Sen. Begich has not said whether or not he supports the proposal.
Ever since the Senate's Gang of Eight began work on legislation that would reform the nation's immigration system and grant amnesty to 11-19 million illegal aliens, the union that represents the 7,600 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have asked for a seat at the table. But a spokesman for the one of the Gang of Eight members has said the Gang has officially snubbed the union.
Last week, Senate Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy said the Committee would move the Gang of Eight's anticipated "comprehensive immigration reform" bill with "deliberate speed." But this weekend, Gang of Eight Member, Sen. Marco Rubio, sent a letter to Sen. Leahy calling for an open and transparent consideration of immigration legislation.
In a late-night vote, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) offered an amendment on Friday to a budget bill passed by the Senate that would have prevented any illegal aliens that receive amnesty from accessing taxpayer-funded healthcare, including Medicaid or subsidized plans provided as part of the Affordable Health Care Act. The amendment was voted down 43-to-56, including being voted down by four Members of the Gang of Eight.
The Obama Administration admitted on Thursday that it resisted efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to create a way to measure border security because it was concerned the measurement would be used to block immigration reform that provides an amnesty to the nation's 11-19 million illegal aliens. The news came after a House Committee hearing on Wednesday where DHS officials said they failed to create a measurement system after telling Congress that it would two years ago.
Earlier this week, ICE Director John Morton told a House Committee that the release of more than 2,200 illegal aliens was necessary in light of the sequester. DHS has also said that Border Patrol agents could face salary cuts because of the sequester. But a new report says the detention centers that hold illegal-alien detainees, which contain many perks for detainees, won't see any cuts.
As the Senate Gang of Eight try to complete their "comprehensive immigration reform" bill that will include an amnesty for the nation's 11 million illegal aliens, an expansive guest worker program that would include visas for construction workers is the latest stumbling block. Business groups are concerned that the GOP Members of the Gang have given in too much to union demands.
Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), called out the Obama Administration on the Senate floor for misleading the public on the recent release of illegal-alien detainees because of the sequester budget cuts. Sen. Grassley said the Obama Administration first said that it was only a few hundred detainees that had been released, but ICE Director John Morton told Congress that the number is more than 2,000 detainees that have been released.
ICE Director John Morton was forced to defend his agency's decision to release thousands of illegal aliens from custody during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday. Morton said he could have requested a reprogramming of department funds from the Appropriations Committee to prevent the release, and he also couldn't say with certainty that the illegal aliens released don't pose a threat to the safety of the American public.
A group of six GOP Senators that sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Committee Chairman Pat Leahy on Tuesday urging him to hold more committee hearings before marking up the Gang of Eight's legislation when it's introduced. The letter was signed by Ranking Member Chuck Grassley and Senators Jeff Sessions, Mike Lee, John Cornyn, Orrin Hatch, and Ted Cruz.
The Republican National Committee endorsed amnesty on Monday through its report entitled "Growth & Opportunity" that analyzes the 2012 election results. In the report, the Party concluded that it needs to do a better job reaching out to minorities and young people, and comprehensive immigration reform that includes an amnesty for 11 million illegal aliens is one way to do just that.
The organizers of this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held just outside of Washington, D.C. embraced amnesty, but judging by the reaction of the attendees, it wasn't exactly well received. After the three-day conference, it became clear that if the GOP wants to also embrace amnesty, it risks losing its base.
In his new Center for Immigration Studies backgrounder, "Sulzberger's Voice," former Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist Jerry Kammer details how the New York Times editorial page became a destructive voice in the immigration debate by taking an intolerant view of - and casting aspersions on - those who disagree with their policy preferences. Kammer has also written backgrounders on the immigration advocacy of the Carnegie Corporation ("The Carnegie Corporation and Immigration: How a Noble Vision Lost Its Way," March, 2011) and the Southern Poverty Law Center ("Immigration and the SPLC," March, 2010). You can find them all at www.cis.org.
The director of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement admitted today during a House appropriations subcommittee hearing that the Obama administration did indeed release thousands of illegal aliens from immigration jails in February, some of whom were categorized as the highest level criminal offenders.
More than 40 lawmakers sent a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano urging her to stop releasing detained illegal aliens because of budget cuts caused by the sequester. The group of lawmakers said that releasing the illegal aliens "under the guise of saving money is extraordinary, unprecedented and dangerous."
A new report shows that immigration is costing the Miami-Dade public school district $22 million more per year. The report says that 1,000 new immigrant students enter the school district each month, adding 11,000 new students per year at a cost of $2,000 per student than those that already live in the county. Miami-Dade is the nation's 4th largest school district with more than 353,000 students.
The U.S. tech industry has been a central part of the "comprehensive immigration reform" debate in Congress this year. Representatives from the tech community have testified before both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees speaking to the need for an increase in tech-trained foreign workers, but a new report from Politico reveals that a few tech firms may be more interested in satisying its immigration needs than pushing for an amnesty for the nation's 11 million illegal aliens.
In February, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO released a joint press release stating that the two sides have agreed to principles for immigration reform. But after recent meetings on Capitol Hill, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says he's unsure the two sides can agree on legislative language.
Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Hal Rogers, has offered a continuing resolution that would provide funding for the federal government for the rest of FY2013 that would maintain current immigration enforcement efforts. Funding for the federal government expires at the end of March unless a continuing resolution is passed.
A new study conducted by Senior Quantitative Analyst Jason Arvelo with Bloomberg Government has found that there is evidence to support E-Verify's ability to deter the hiring of unauthorized workers. The study evaluates the impact that state-passed E-Verify laws had on different industries within those states.
In a recent op-ed published by The Hill newspaper in Washington, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte wrote that it's important not to shove immigration reform through Congress without a full debate. Rep. Goodlatte urges Congress to seek feedback from the American public, and discusses the vast number of issues that could fall within a comprehensive immigration reform bill.
Rosemary Jenks, the director of government affairs for NumbersUSA, said the the government’s move to release the illegal immigrants is a tactic in the deficit-reduction talks.
“They are picking the most obnoxious places wherever they can cut to try to force Republicans into giving in,” said Jenks, whose group supports lower immigration levels.
Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) introduced the SAVE Act (H.R.830) on Tuesday - a bill that would mandate E-Verify nationwide, strengthen border security, and improve interior enforcement. The SAVE Act was previously introduced by Deomcrat Rep. Heath Shuler who retired at the end of the last Congress. Rep. Graves bill is identical to the legislation offered by Rep. Shuler.
The Department of Homeland Security has announced it will release up to 10,000 illegalaliens who are currently in custody due to the budget cuts expected to kick in at the end of this week. While DHS did say they prioritized based on who would pose a significant threat to public safety, the move has some lawmakers and law enforcement agents nervous.
Our new television ad that challenges Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for his support of the Gang of Eight's amnesty plan has been featured in today's Wall Street Journal. The story appears on both the front pages of the paper and the website. The article, "The GOP's Immigration Dilemma", reports on the disconnect between Republican Gang of Eight Members, particularly Sen. Graham who will seek re-election next year, and their constituents that oppose amnesty.
At the 94th national convention of the American Legion last August, the organization passed a resolution stating that the Legion "support the strict enforcement of immigration laws already in existence" and "[t]hat government benefits of any kind should not be granted to any alien who has entered the United States without government permission or stayed beyond the termination date of a visa." The American Legion is standing behind that resoultion now by opposing new amnesty proposals.
