Immigration reform rally held in California,called "March of the Stars"

HOLLYWOOD -  The issue of immigration reform brought hundreds of people to the streets of Hollywood Saturday.<br /><br /><a data-cthref="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=W0IKEB1yG5ZWtM&tbnid=zwuDRYLHT7CAOM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sunjournal.com%2Fnode%2F1433005&ei=JsBRUvzeI4Ka9gSKk4HgCA&psig=AFQjCNFCtoINqBE5-RIFDZw2l1NSehL9Rg&ust=1381175518370398" data-ved="0CAUQjRw" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=W0IKEB1yG5ZWtM&tbnid=zwuDRYLHT7CAOM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sunjournal.com%2Fnode%2F1433005&ei=JsBRUvzeI4Ka9gSKk4HgCA&psig=AFQjCNFCtoINqBE5-RIFDZw2l1NSehL9Rg&ust=1381175518370398" id="irc_mil" style="border: 0px currentcolor;"><img height="413" id="irc_mi" src="http://www.sunjournal.com/files/imagecache/medium/2013/10/04/WIRimmigrationP100513.jpg" style="margin-top: 8px;" width="620" /></a><br /><br /><br />The Los Angeles demonstration called "March of the Stars" was one of several rallies held nationwide.<br /><br /><br />Organizers deemed Saturday the "National Day for Dignity and Respect". It all leads up to a rally and free concert on the National Mall in Washington Tuesday.<br /><br />Their message to Congress was pass immigration reform legislation that includes a path to citizenship. Saturday's rally and march was organized by religious and immigration rights groups.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a data-cthref="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=qJuOYQmgaGlGMM&tbnid=D7TFZpsbz2OfqM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fabclocal.go.com%2Fkabc%2Fvideo%3Fid%3D7173389&ei=i79RUrnyOIXk9gTq_oHwBQ&psig=AFQjCNFCtoINqBE5-RIFDZw2l1NSehL9Rg&ust=1381175518370398" data-ved="0CAUQjRw" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=qJuOYQmgaGlGMM&tbnid=D7TFZpsbz2OfqM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fabclocal.go.com%2Fkabc%2Fvideo%3Fid%3D7173389&ei=i79RUrnyOIXk9gTq_oHwBQ&psig=AFQjCNFCtoINqBE5-RIFDZw2l1NSehL9Rg&ust=1381175518370398" id="irc_mil" style="border: 0px currentcolor; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="338" id="irc_mi" src="http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/images/kabc/cms_exf_2007/_video_wn_images/7173204_600x338.jpg" style="margin-top: 45px;" width="600" /></a></div><br />"There are millions of Americans in the United States that have been for years and are not treated equally," said Michael Schuvert of Salesians. "We really want them to be able to have a fair chance in our country and become citizens of the United States."<br /><br />"We got to try our best and keep fighting forward to succeed and make this immigration reform be official law," said Vanessa Romero of the Salvadoran Association of Los Angeles.<br /><br />One of the marchers was a gentleman from Honduras who told Eyewitness News he entered the country illegally more than 15 years ago.<br /><a abp="406" class="rg_l" href="http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-ContextMenu&biw=1366&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=iamFM1b_c5oo_M:&imgrefurl=http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story%3Fsection%3Dnews/local/los_angeles%26id%3D9276516&docid=6cvWnPg06l4sPM&imgurl=http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/images/kabc/cms_exf_2007/news/9276410_600x338.jpg&w=600&h=338&ei=Xb9RUvP3IYe-9QTEnIHgDA&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:0,s:0,i:82&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=168&tbnw=299&start=0&ndsp=14&tx=107&ty=85" style="clear: left; float: left; height: 168px; left: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 299px;"><img abp="407" class="rg_i" data-sz="f" name="iamFM1b_c5oo_M:" 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" style="height: 168px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 299px;" /></a><br />Pedro Maldonado says he has the following message for Congress: "Tell them please, it's not only me. It's 11 million persons waiting for the same solution."<br /><br />One marcher says she hopes that after the partial government shutdown is over, Congress makes immigration reform a priority.<br /><br />The Alliance for Citizenship, a brad coalition of organizations that includes the AFL-CIO, the ACLU, and the Southern Poverty Law Center, is driving the mobilization.<br /><br />Twenty cities in California were staging different events Saturday to show their support.<br /><div><br /></div>

Immigration reform rally held in California,called "March of the Stars"

HOLLYWOOD -  The issue of immigration reform brought hundreds of people to the streets of Hollywood Saturday. The Los Angeles demonstration ...

UK anti-illegal immigrant ads face stiff criticism:‘Go home or face arrest’

Mobile billboards calling on illegal immigrants to leave the UK have been criticized as a step too far by politicians.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHAOLTzlyBkdZhU1Frijx39c2rUeLhPi_3zeGg8U5bphKw395Av0gF7pWyuBAmk87_ompZAv6q28d0xr1nMTZa8hB8O1qsQJm0BhTExfRwAN3QV1tP6u912pgs2sahDXRjn8_lxIbn20/s1600/uk-vans-campaign-arrest-immigrants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhHAOLTzlyBkdZhU1Frijx39c2rUeLhPi_3zeGg8U5bphKw395Av0gF7pWyuBAmk87_ompZAv6q28d0xr1nMTZa8hB8O1qsQJm0BhTExfRwAN3QV1tP6u912pgs2sahDXRjn8_lxIbn20/s1600/uk-vans-campaign-arrest-immigrants.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Campaign backers have hailed the initiative as an “alternative to arrest,” while critics decry the adverts as outright “intimidation.”<br /><br />As part of a pilot scheme to help reduce illegal immigration in Britain, vans with billboards emblazoned with the slogan “Go home or face arrest” will be driven around London boroughs.<br /><br />The message in full reads: “In the UK illegally? Go home or face arrest.”<br /><br />A hotline number is also shown where illegal immigrants may receive help and advice with travel documents. Leaflets and posters will be distributed in tandem with the billboard vans in the targeted boroughs.<br /><br />British Immigration Minister Mark Harper has described the new initiative as “an alternative to being led away in handcuffs.”<br /><br />“Every single day our enforcement officers are arresting, detaining and removing people with no right to be in the UK,” said Harper, adding that the mobile billboards are part of a new push to make it more difficult for people to live and work in the UK illegally.<br /><br />According to UK government figures 28,000 illegal arrivals voluntarily left the UK last year.<br /><br />In conjunction with the billboards numbers of reforms are set to be introduced to combat illegal immigration in the UK.<br /><br />They will include a $4,600 bond which selected visitors from certain countries will be required to pay upon applying for a British visa.<br /><br />The bond will be returned to visitors from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nigeria and Ghana when they leave the country.<br /><br />The new policy will come into effect this November of this year.<br /><br /><br /><b>‘Radicalization and isolation’</b><br /><br />The new measures have triggered debate in UK society with many politicians up in arms over what they have condemned as “intimidation” from the British government.<br /><br />Ex-minister Sarah Teather attacked the Home Office, decrying the measures as "nothing less than straightforward intimidation.”<br /><br />“I fear that the only impact of this deeply divisive form of politics will be to create tension and mistrust to anyone who looks and sounds foreign,” she told UK newspaper the Guardian.<br /><br />Minister Baroness Hanham defended the measures on Wednesday in the House of Lords, maintaining that they tackle “the reality of the situation that there are people coming here without jobs and without accommodation."<br /><br />The billboard vans will be deployed in some of London’s more diverse boroughs, including Hounslow, Barking and Dagenham, Ealing, Barnet, Brent and Redbridge.<br /><br />These communities were chosen because they have a below average number of voluntary returns according to the Home Office.<br /><br />Muhhamed Butt, a counselor in the London borough of Brent, told RT said that the measures are likely to backfire on the Home Office and push illegal immigrants “further underground.”<br /><br />“I just cannot see how this trick they are trying to use to flush out people is going to work,” Butt told.<br /><br /> “There is bound to be some impact on the community where people feel stigmatized, isolated and divided.”<br /><br />He went on to stress that there would be backlash that could result in illegal immigrants resorting to criminality.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfNB1BF-mWsCTNblVr3RByEI4BP6vok7qGGvobOfM_4r4bf6d_3KYqJ64Zv0sgyvuxl5ixRmCZauQTBMkcTCM3ob1itKxG-5ri0-mizIGYeChOPLShYXBnkKqU7hhnzbfMfiNP_pt0J4/s1600/putin-cameron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVfNB1BF-mWsCTNblVr3RByEI4BP6vok7qGGvobOfM_4r4bf6d_3KYqJ64Zv0sgyvuxl5ixRmCZauQTBMkcTCM3ob1itKxG-5ri0-mizIGYeChOPLShYXBnkKqU7hhnzbfMfiNP_pt0J4/s1600/putin-cameron.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Putin and  ?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />

UK anti-illegal immigrant ads face stiff criticism:‘Go home or face arrest’

Mobile billboards calling on illegal immigrants to leave the UK have been criticized as a step too far by politicians. Campaign backers have...

GOP wrestles with immigration reform consequences

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTuKL3VwkvBfDllyEVovnptEFC-YCkFUFPwftT6aInOcw0HXASm2ND34tJ02g3ohdG2XCAhyphenhyphenwYx8rYlQ3t_sew9DifAtTDFHqNFmVrt5HDgtgGnwFIUzWOFnqgJSBlA_NemwJX6RwJ0RQ/s1600/gop.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTuKL3VwkvBfDllyEVovnptEFC-YCkFUFPwftT6aInOcw0HXASm2ND34tJ02g3ohdG2XCAhyphenhyphenwYx8rYlQ3t_sew9DifAtTDFHqNFmVrt5HDgtgGnwFIUzWOFnqgJSBlA_NemwJX6RwJ0RQ/s1600/gop.png" width="320" /></a>Some Republican lawmakers are increasingly facing a tough choice – support a comprehensive immigration bill and face a backlash from their own voters or oppose efforts to provide a path to citizenship for undocumented workers and contribute to larger GOP losses in the future.   <br /><br />Republican strategists are already fretting about the long-term implications for the party if they reject a comprehensive immigration bill, but that’s a bitter pill for conservative activists to swallow, who are promising primary challenges and substantial blowback if lawmakers back reform.<br /><br />With fewer and fewer competitive House districts and Senate lawmakers who voted for the reform bill passed last week already facing threats of primary challenges, conservative activists are threatening to kill the effort, and it’s one reason GOP leadership and House Speaker John Boehner has been hesitant to even bring up the Senate bill for a vote.<br /><br />Practically speaking, immigration’s failure or success will likely have little bearing on the partisan outcome of the 2014 midterms. Lawmakers’ individual primary re-election concerns, mostly in the House, is what’s driving much of the resistance to a bipartisan immigration bill that would provide a path to citizenship for 11 million illegal immigrants.<br /><br />But Republican leaders, who began pushing for reform after they lost the White House in 2012, know the bill’s demise could be a greater omen for 2016, when the GOP faces a growing Hispanic electorate that’s sure to be even more important in the next presidential election.<br /><br />One national GOP strategist called the current debate “a mild short-term headache for which the party can take two Advil,” and noted it wasn’t as contentious as 2006, when another attempt at reform fell flat. Back then, a bill passed the Senate – when 23 GOP senators voted for it, compared to 14 last week --  but the bill died in an even less-conservative House controlled by Democrats.<br /><br />Without a majority of the caucus behind the bill the Senate passed last week with a 68-32 vote, Boehner has said he won’t bring the bill to the floor. Many Republicans still remain optimistic the bill still has a path forward, whether in conference committee or through a new bill from a bipartisan working group in the House.<br /><br />But with the conservative base now abuzz in opposition to an immigration bill they say is akin to amnesty -- despite the 10 years it would take to get a green card, and another three-year waiting period before immigrants can apply for citizenship-- lawmakers in safe districts could especially feel the pull in 2014 -- and that’s fueling much of their skepticism.<br /><br />“These people aren’t controlled. They’re doing their own thing,” said another national Republican consultant of House members already up in arms against the bill. “Primary challenges come from conservative districts, and they don’t care if they upset leadership because there’s no consequences.”<br /><br />Party leaders know immigration is a problem they must come up with a solution too before demographics move even further away from them in the coming decade. In their post-2012 autopsy, the Republican National Committee wrote that the GOP “must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform” to reach out to the Hispanic community, and  “if we do not, our Party’s appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies only.”<br /><br />Potential 2016 hopefuls have had to do a delicate dance, too. Former House firebrand Allen West has threatened a primary challenge against Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Another possible candidate, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, voted against the measure, saying it wasn’t tough enough on border security though he’s indicated in the past he could support a pathway to citizenship.<br /><br />Further alienating Hispanic voters could have a bigger impact in a presidential year for the GOP though. In 2012, Latinos made up 10% of the electorate -- and voted 71% for Obama, according to national exit polls. That’s an uptick from 2008, when 9% of the national electorate was Hispanic, and voted 67% for Obama.<br /><br />In 2010, a GOP midterm wave year though, the numbers were better for Republicans. Latino voters made up just 8% of the electorate, and 60% of those said they supported Democrats. But with the economy and health care dominating the conversation, just 8% of all voters said illegal immigration was the most important issue.<br /><br />Democrats see it as another issue where they can point to a dysfunctional Republican Congress, hoping that positioning themselves as the party of compromise can help their brand even as they face fewer competitive House seats.<br /><br />Last week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent a memo to its caucus pointing out 23 “persuadable” GOP lawmakers who represent significant Hispanic populations and would be “out-of-step with major groups in their districts if House Republicans fail to deliver a solution.”<br /><br />Many of those are in competitive or potentially competitive House seats, including California Republicans Gary Miller, David Valadao and Jeff Denham. Miller, arguably the most vulnerable GOP incumbent, sits in the most Democratic seat held by Republican, and only won re-election with help from an election fluke after no Democrat advanced past the state’s new top-two primary. Other vulnerable incumbents, including Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman, New York Rep. Michael Grimm and Nevada Rep. Joe Heck, are also targeted<br /><br />A coalition of immigrant and labor groups are also <a class="opennew" href="http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/immigration-campaign-to-target-11-house-republicans/#more-246083" target="_blank">targeting House leadership with radio ads and on social media</a>,hoping to push the House to a vote.<br /><br />But Democrats aren’t just looking for a solution -- they’re looking for ammunition too. This week the DCCC also launched RepublicansInTheirOwnWords.com -- inviting submissions for outlandish GOP statements “so members of the public can peruse House Republicans’ positions on immigration – in their own words.”<br /><br />These races likely won’t be won or lost on immigration alone, with the economy, health care, and a variety of other important issues coming into play -- and there’s no guarantee even Latino voters will base their vote solely on an immigration vote, but to Democrats it plays into a greater message of a worsening GOP brand.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8pcjf9950imtKfusqxG98JPo1fcEo9ZENqOVOVAHQ6k3_lZRfCq-yp3M03v8NsR5jzBTg2ryn6rMXituOLUg7j-ShyIRqKTk87l5ZEGHvoNuKL_BtTSPzLVuFHyw4nC4CRjSjkf7g2Rz/s1600/mexicousa.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8pcjf9950imtKfusqxG98JPo1fcEo9ZENqOVOVAHQ6k3_lZRfCq-yp3M03v8NsR5jzBTg2ryn6rMXituOLUg7j-ShyIRqKTk87l5ZEGHvoNuKL_BtTSPzLVuFHyw4nC4CRjSjkf7g2Rz/s1600/mexicousa.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>

GOP wrestles with immigration reform consequences

Some Republican lawmakers are increasingly facing a tough choice – support a comprehensive immigration bill and face a backlash from their o...

Gay green card petition approval is U.S.first -lawyer

A Bulgarian student who is married to an American has become the first gay man to have his application for a green card granted, says their lawyer.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Julian Marsh, left, and Traian Popov and their Yorkshire Terriers at their home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 1 July 2013 " height="360" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/68492000/jpg/_68492980_68492616.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julian Marsh, left, and Traian Popov at their home in Fort Lauderdale</td></tr></tbody></table>The approval is seen as proof of U.S. visa policies quickly adapting to last week's historic Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage.<br /><br /><div><div>Traian Popov, who wed Julian Marsh in New York, may now apply for immigration benefits and a permanent resident visa.</div><div><br /></div><div>But their union is still not legal in the state of Florida, where they live.</div><div><br /></div><div>Last week the Supreme Court threw out a law banning gay couples from receiving benefits available to other couples.</div><div><br /></div><div>The justices ruled that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act discriminated against same-sex couples.</div><div><br /></div><h4>'Second-class citizen'</h4></div><div><br /></div><div>Mr Marsh and Mr Popov were informed on Friday by Citizenship and Immigration Services that their green card petition had been approved, two days after the landmark ruling.</div><div> </div><div><div>Mr Popov is currently able to stay in the U.S. on a student visa, as he is enrolled in college. But he would have had to leave the country once he graduated.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Department of Homeland Security could not confirm that their case was the first of its kind to be approved.</div><div><br /></div><div>Mr Marsh said it is still troubling that their union is not recognised in Florida.</div><div><br /></div><div>"They make you feel more and more like a second-class citizen, and they don't want you," he told the Associated Press news agency. </div><div><br /></div><div>"And that's how I feel about Florida."</div><div><br /></div><div>Mr Marsh explained that before last week's Supreme Court ruling, he and his husband had started to consider other options that would allow them to remain together, but they wanted to keep living in Fort Lauderdale.</div><div><br /></div><div>"We would like our marriage to be recognised even in a state where it wasn't performed," Mr Marsh added.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are about 36,000 same-sex couples in the US in which one partner is not a citizen, according to the non-profit immigration group Immigration Equality.</div><div><br /></div><div>Before last week's rulings, under the Defense of Marriage Act legally married same-sex couples were denied federal benefits available to opposite-sex couples.</div><div><br /></div><div>These include tax, health and pension benefits and family hospital visits. </div></div><div><blockquote class="tr_bq">We would like our marriage to be recognised even in a state where it wasn't performed in”<br />End Quote<br />Julian Marsh<br /><br />Florida resident</blockquote></div>

Gay green card petition approval is U.S.first -lawyer

A Bulgarian student who is married to an American has become the first gay man to have his application for a green card granted, says their ...

Immigration reform bill passes Senate, moves to skeptical House

The Senate passed a sweeping immigration reform bill on Thursday afternoon, after a recently hashed-out compromise on border security helped persuade a total of 14 Republicans to vote for the measure.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCGW-z7jpAqNS9qBIECA364lzq_OPSi82BKD9kd8K8SDa5Q_BvbS1LNwhIn5g1RuL0sQy49EbQpzEnLqKYQTLAayaesApzG1IqkmM4ADYfgLmi_HS3k8klPTPlWjSdDZi6PQM2KI8VWc/s553/XZ97.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCGW-z7jpAqNS9qBIECA364lzq_OPSi82BKD9kd8K8SDa5Q_BvbS1LNwhIn5g1RuL0sQy49EbQpzEnLqKYQTLAayaesApzG1IqkmM4ADYfgLmi_HS3k8klPTPlWjSdDZi6PQM2KI8VWc/s553/XZ97.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br />The bill, which passed 68-32, could face a steep uphill climb in the Republican-controlled House.<br /><br />The vote brings Congress a step closer to passing its first major immigration reform since the 1986 amnesty bill that legalized more than 3 million immigrants under President Ronald Reagan.<br /><br />Moments before the vote, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said on the Senate floor that the "historic legislation recognizes that today's immigrants came for the right reason, the same reason as the generations before them ... the right to live in a land that's free."<br /><br />Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa spoke against the measure on the floor, arguing that it does not do enough to increase interior immigration enforcement. "The bill won't ensure that a future Congress isn't back here in 25 years dealing with the very same problems," Grassley said.<br /><br /><br />The "Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of senators who drafted the bill, had hoped to get 70 out of 100 senators to vote to pass the bill and send a strong signal to the House that the legislation is bipartisan. The bill fell just two votes short of that goal. Republican Sens. Lamar Alexander, Kelly Ayotte, Jeffrey Chiesa, Susan Collins, Bob Corker, Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, Orrin Hatch, Dean Heller, John Hoeven, Mark Kirk, John McCain, Lisa Murkowski and Marco Rubio joined the entire Democratic caucus in voting for the measure.<br /><br />The reform will implement a mandatory, national employment verification system; allow for more legal immigration of low- and high-skilled workers; beef up border security; and eventually give green cards to most of the nation's 11 million unauthorized immigrants who pass background checks and pay fines.<br /><br />The bill has moved to the right in the Senate on border security, thanks to an amendment adopted last week that will double the number of Border Patrol officers and increase fencing on the southern border by hundreds of miles before any unauthorized immigrants are offered permanent legal status.<br /><br />But House members working on their own version of immigration reform told The Hill this is not enough: They would prefer that no unauthorized immigrant be offered even temporary legal status until all the border security measures of the bill are fully implemented. Republican Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam told reporters Thursday the bill is a "pipe dream" that will never pass the House.<br /><br />Union leaders representing both Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers say they oppose the bill, and groups that seek lower immigration levels have tried to rally members to call and write senators asking them to kill the bill. But so far, the critics of the bill have been outnumbered.<br /><br />Rubio, of Florida, has worked as a conservative ambassador for the legislation. Rubio highlighted his immigrant parents' journey to the United States in a speech on the floor on Thursday. "Here, in America, generations of unfulfilled dreams will finally come to pass," he said.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8pcjf9950imtKfusqxG98JPo1fcEo9ZENqOVOVAHQ6k3_lZRfCq-yp3M03v8NsR5jzBTg2ryn6rMXituOLUg7j-ShyIRqKTk87l5ZEGHvoNuKL_BtTSPzLVuFHyw4nC4CRjSjkf7g2Rz/s360/mexicousa.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8pcjf9950imtKfusqxG98JPo1fcEo9ZENqOVOVAHQ6k3_lZRfCq-yp3M03v8NsR5jzBTg2ryn6rMXituOLUg7j-ShyIRqKTk87l5ZEGHvoNuKL_BtTSPzLVuFHyw4nC4CRjSjkf7g2Rz/s360/mexicousa.png" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>

Immigration reform bill passes Senate, moves to skeptical House

The Senate passed a sweeping immigration reform bill on Thursday afternoon, after a recently hashed-out compromise on border security helped...

Disorder among U.S.Republicans over immigration bill

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMGovkdBJmy7epploPxPkwLBknTF-nBaw96sGtXN3mLJvzd1evSY3hkkj5RU5YbtDwKsYS04TnuMjuQ_wwJBvUT9jqZeV5cddRlZ5C9LLmguuZ5Ei_p1CucS4uCDzgUmnAXbumSATfJs/s128/P-USA.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMGovkdBJmy7epploPxPkwLBknTF-nBaw96sGtXN3mLJvzd1evSY3hkkj5RU5YbtDwKsYS04TnuMjuQ_wwJBvUT9jqZeV5cddRlZ5C9LLmguuZ5Ei_p1CucS4uCDzgUmnAXbumSATfJs/s128/P-USA.png" /></a>WASHINGTON, July 27 - U.S. Republicans are in disarray over an immigration overhaul bill that is making its way through Congress, with some hailing the legislation and others lampooning it.<br /><br />The bill includes plans to spend more than 40 billion U.S. dollars to beef up the U.S.-Mexico border with thousands of additional law enforcement personnel. It also provides a 13-year path to citizenship for roughly 11 million illegal immigrants, whereby they would pay fines and back taxes before becoming eligible for legal status.<br /><br />Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua that House Speaker John Boehner does not control his Republican caucus. He noted that many Republicans oppose the bill, including the pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.<br /><br />Another major disagreement among Republicans is border security. Republican opponents of the bill argue that securing the border will take time, if not years, and contend that border security must happen before undocumented workers are provided a path to citizenship.<br /><br />But the bill's GOP supporters contend that the legislation's provision to provide an additional 20,000 border agents will significantly ratchet up border security.<br /><br />Republican Senator John McCain has come out strongly in favor of the bill. He told CNN's "New Day" program on Tuesday that the legislation would "militarize" the U.S.-Mexico border.<br /><br />The statement came on the heels of comments by Senator Rand Paul, a member of the Tea Party movement, who said Sunday that the bill was "dead on arrival" in the House, arguing that border security must precede immigration reform.<br /><br />Critics also said allowing a path to citizenship would lower wages for the lower middle class and working class, as unskilled, new immigrants from developing countries are more likely to accept lower wages. Others dismiss that argument, countering there will be little impact on wages.<br /><br />Former GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan on Tuesday told CBS' "This Morning" that the bill's provisions, which toughen border security with new agents and billions of dollars worth of high tech equipment including infrared cameras, "obviously makes final legislation more likely."<br /><br />In sharp contrast to Republicans, Democrats have remained unified on the bill, with President Barack Obama touting the legislation as key to ensuring continued success for the world's largest economy.<br /><br />The bill is expected to sail through the Senate this week, but will have a tougher time getting through he House, experts said.<br /><br />Some senators, however, questioned the urgency of passing the bill so soon. Senator Paul said Wednesday that he would have liked to introduce an amendment that would prohibit undocumented workers from receiving welfare payments. He questioned Congress' need to push the bill through the Senate this week.

Disorder among U.S.Republicans over immigration bill

WASHINGTON, July 27 - U.S. Republicans are in disarray over an immigration overhaul bill that is making its way through Congress, with some ...

More states let undocumented immigrants drive.

A group of states are green lighting driver's licenses for young people brought to the U.S. illegally.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" Illegal immigrant driver's licenses: A new North Carolina driver''s license set to be issued to some illegal immigrants has a bright pink stripe and the bold words "NO LAWFUL STATUS." " class="image" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/69/b7d87e18b86b667047bf3265f96c7/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title=" Illegal immigrant driver's licenses: A new North Carolina driver''s license set to be issued to some illegal immigrants has a bright pink stripe and the bold words "NO LAWFUL STATUS." (AP Photo: North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles)" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AP Photo: North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. States such as North Carolina and Oregon have begun granting special driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. </td></tr></tbody></table>SEATTLE — A year ago, Washington was one of just three states granting driver's licenses to any person living in the U.S. illegally — holding firm against a nationwide trend.<br /><br />But across the country this year, a curious thing has happened: A growing number of states are reversing course and seven have now joined the three.<br /><div><div>In recent months, all but two states have tweaked their policies to give driver's licenses to tens of thousands of young people who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children and granted reprieve from deportation and permission to work.</div><div><br /></div><div>On top of that, measures to allow driver's licenses or driving-privilege cards to millions of undocumented immigrants were introduced in about 18 states this year. While most are pending, seven bills have been enacted into law, to become effective over the next two years or so.</div><div><br /></div><div>Among the seven states is Oregon, where Gov. John Kitzhaber signed legislation to allow state residents in the country unlawfully to be allowed to legally drive, reversing an action his predecessor took six years earlier.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oregon next year will begin issuing the four-year driver's cards, which also can be used as ID in some cases, though not to access federal buildings or board commercial flights.</div><div><br /></div><div>Immigrant advocates say the turn of events reflects a shift in the national conversation around immigration and acknowledgment by some that licensed and insured drivers are safer on the roads. Additionally, many states have also recognized that it's possible to allow undocumented immigrants to legally drive, while still conforming to stricter federal requirements for government-issued licenses and IDs.</div><div><br /></div><div>"This is a far cry from when Washington was facing several bills to take access away from these working men and women," said Charlie McAteer, with OneAmerica, a Seattle-based immigrant-advocacy group.</div><div><br /></div><div>A bill to deny driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants was introduced this year in the Legislature but didn't receive a hearing.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Now in 2013 we are excited that several states are signifying momentum in the other direction," McAteer said.</div></div><div><div>Without having to pass a driving test or buy auto insurance, immigrants in states where they are unable to get licenses drive anyway. And a recent study in California by the state Department of Motor Vehicles showed that unlicensed drivers are nearly three times as likely to cause a crash.</div><div><br /></div><div>Craig Keller heads a group called Respect Washington, which for years has tried but failed to collect enough signatures for an initiative to deny certain benefits, including driver's licenses, to those in the country illegally.</div><div><br /></div><div>He's collecting signatures for another initiative this year as well as for a referendum to help repeal the Oregon law.</div><div><br /></div><div>"There is no doubt America and many states are now under attack by those who wish to amnesty and legitimize millions of illegal alien lawbreakers," Keller said. "Loosening of driver's license standards is just one prong in this attack."</div></div><div><br /></div>

More states let undocumented immigrants drive.

A group of states are green lighting driver's licenses for young people brought to the U.S. illegally. AP Photo: North Carolina Division...

US immigration bill clears Senate test

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8pcjf9950imtKfusqxG98JPo1fcEo9ZENqOVOVAHQ6k3_lZRfCq-yp3M03v8NsR5jzBTg2ryn6rMXituOLUg7j-ShyIRqKTk87l5ZEGHvoNuKL_BtTSPzLVuFHyw4nC4CRjSjkf7g2Rz/s1600/mexicousa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8pcjf9950imtKfusqxG98JPo1fcEo9ZENqOVOVAHQ6k3_lZRfCq-yp3M03v8NsR5jzBTg2ryn6rMXituOLUg7j-ShyIRqKTk87l5ZEGHvoNuKL_BtTSPzLVuFHyw4nC4CRjSjkf7g2Rz/s1600/mexicousa.png" width="320" /></a><b>The bill would update the United States visa system and achieve the broadest immigration reforms since 1986.</b><br /><br /><br /><br />WASHINGTON — Historic U.S. immigration legislation cleared a key Senate hurdle with votes to spare on Monday, pointing the way to near-certain passage within days for stepped up security along the border with Mexico and a chance at citizenship for millions living in the country illegally.<br /><br />The vote was 67-27, seven more than the 60 needed, with 15 Republicans voting to advance legislation at the top of President Barack Obama's second-term domestic agenda.<br /><br />The vote came as Obama campaigned from the White House for the bill, saying, "now is the time" to overhaul an immigration system that even critics of the legislation agree needs reform.<br /><br />Immigration reform is possibly Obama's best chance at a major domestic accomplishment during his second term, following setbacks for his administration on gun control and fiscal issues.<br /><br />But with Republicans divided on the issue, the immigration bill faces a tough battle in the House of Representatives, even if it passes in the Senate later this week.<br /><br />Many Republicans say the immigration bill offers the party a chance to show a more welcoming face to Hispanic voters, an increasingly vital constituency that largely supported Obama and the Democrats in the November elections.<br /><br />Many conservative Republicans in the House majority, however, assail as amnesty for those who have violated the law.<br /><br />Last-minute frustration was evident among opponents. In an unusual slap at members of his own party as well as Democrats, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said it appeared that lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle "very much want a fig leaf" on border security to justify a vote forimmigration.<br /><br />Some Republican lawmakers have appealed to the leader of the House, Speaker John Boehner, not to permit any immigration legislation to come to a vote for fear that whatever its contents, it would open the door to an unpalatable compromise with the Senate. At the same time, the House Judiciary Committee is in the midst of approving a handful of measures related to immigration, action that ordinarily is a prelude to votes in the full House.<br /><br />Obama made clear he hoped that a big victory for immigration in the Senate would ease its passage in the House.<br /><br />"Now is the time to do it," Obama said at the White House before meeting with nine business executives who support a change in immigration laws. He added, "I hope that we can get the strongest possible vote out of the Senate so that we can then move to the House and get this done before the summer break" beginning in early August.<br /><br />He said the measure would be good for the economy, for business and for workers who are "oftentimes exploited at low wages."<br /><br />Opponents saw it otherwise. "It will encourage more illegal immigration and must be stopped," Cruz exhorted supporters via email, urging them to contact their own senators with a plea to defeat the measure.<br /><br />The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the legislation will reduce the deficit and increase economic growth in each of the next two decades. It is also predicting unemployment will rise slightly through 2020, and that average wages will move lower over a decade.<br /><br />At its core, the legislation in the Senate would create a 13-year pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States. It also calls for billions of dollars to be spent on manpower and technology to secure the 2,000-mile border with Mexico, including a doubling of the Border Patrol with 20,000 new agents.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdpO5XSQD7Y4gkPl9xiqtUbrLrCQb4chL24sh2z-vZO0MbrLE2RJuyUUrf_z6T1XJPtD9pGLVOhlVqlwYZyLUwCbG8zbQb_dIzy6AbYKu1O9WUUsR3lNm7MIVsyN-ho3U2G2zkeEBw-Ok/s1600/56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdpO5XSQD7Y4gkPl9xiqtUbrLrCQb4chL24sh2z-vZO0MbrLE2RJuyUUrf_z6T1XJPtD9pGLVOhlVqlwYZyLUwCbG8zbQb_dIzy6AbYKu1O9WUUsR3lNm7MIVsyN-ho3U2G2zkeEBw-Ok/s1600/56.jpg" width="320" /></a>The measure also would create a new program for temporary farm laborers to come into the country, and another for lower-skilled workers to emigrate permanently. At the same time, it calls for an expansion of an existing visa program for highly-skilled workers, a gesture to high tech companies that rely heavily on foreigners.<br /><br />In addition to border security, the measure phases in a mandatory program for employers to verify the legal status of potential workers, and separate effort to track the comings and goings of foreigners at some of the nation's airports.<br /><br />The legislation was originally drafted by a bipartisan Gang of 8, four senators from each party who negotiated a series of political tradeoffs over several months.<br /><div><br /></div>

US immigration bill clears Senate test

The bill would update the United States visa system and achieve the broadest immigration reforms since 1986. WASHINGTON — Historic U.S. immi...

Jeb Bush: America will decline without immigrants

Jeb Bush said Friday that if Americans don't allow more immigrants to pursue their dreams in the United States, "we will be in decline."<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt=" Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks in Dallas in April. " class="image" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/1b/d8227bde14a6679e11a5ad7577da/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title=" Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush speaks in Dallas in April. (AP Photo: Tony Gutierrez, File)" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AP Photo: Tony Gutierrez, File. Speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's conference in Washington on Friday, Jeb Bush said America will decline without immigrants. </td></tr></tbody></table>WASHINGTON — Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says the future of the American economy depends on immigrants.<br /><br />Speaking Friday to religious conservatives, Bush said immigrants are particularly important to help create more taxpayers to fund the safety net for the large, retiring baby boomer generation.<br /><div><div>"Immigrants create far more businesses than native-born Americans over the last 20 years," he said, adding that immigrants also have more "intact families."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Immigrants are more fertile, and they love families," he said.</div><div><br /></div><div>Bush, brother of former President George W. Bush, is thought to be weighing a presidential bid. He is among several potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's annual conference in Washington.</div><div><br /></div><div>As Congress debates changing the nation's immigration laws, many conservatives are reluctant to support a new system that grants so-called amnesty to millions of immigrants in the country illegally. Before being granted legal status, Bush said, they should pay a fine, learn English and be blocked from receiving welfare benefits.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>He said the nation must allow more immigrants "to pursue their dreams in our country with a vengeance to create more opportunities for all of us."</div><div><br /></div><div>"If we don't do it, we will be in decline," he told evangelical Christian activists.</div><div><br /></div><div>"They bring a younger population," Bush continued. "Immigrants create an engine of economic prosperity."<img alt="AP" class="image" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/e3/12e7ff08bf55a6d7449b766b4e23c/_h17_w0_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" title="AP" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiucx7_-knnilA3_rQsv-1fyWO9ixEFCvK73ah0uNIScNqZ-gFxcPTZGX5SyTTQJIQJuqKI9VnzrOHW01bUWClrMfzVCN7LKVvwVSK33cYpPMKjBTJ_pOT4JBDWNw_oWO4k9YFAVCHQ5dU/s1600/index.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiucx7_-knnilA3_rQsv-1fyWO9ixEFCvK73ah0uNIScNqZ-gFxcPTZGX5SyTTQJIQJuqKI9VnzrOHW01bUWClrMfzVCN7LKVvwVSK33cYpPMKjBTJ_pOT4JBDWNw_oWO4k9YFAVCHQ5dU/s1600/index.png" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>

Jeb Bush: America will decline without immigrants

Jeb Bush said Friday that if Americans don't allow more immigrants to pursue their dreams in the United States, "we will be in decl...

Senate rejects Republican effort to gut immigration bill

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="US Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) listens to a question during the 2009 Reuters Washington Summit in Washington, October 19, 2009. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst" height="425" src="http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20130613&t=2&i=740908415&w=460&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE95C14ZC00" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">US Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) listens to a question during the 2009 Reuters Washington Summit in Washington, October 19, 2009.</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br />The Democratic-led U.S. Senate on Thursday rejected a Republican amendment that foes said would have undermined a key element of the White House-backed bill that aims to provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants.<br />Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa said the defeat of his amendment, 57-43, broke a promise by President Barack Obama's Democrats to permit an "open debate" on the landmark immigration legislation. Democrats forced a vote after little discussion.<br /><br />Grassley's amendment would have required the Obama administration to certify "effective control" of the entire southwestern border of the United States before any of the 11 million undocumented residents now here could begin applying for legal status.<br /><br />As written, the legislation would allow those living in the United States illegally to apply for legal status within six months of enactment. Democrats and some Republicans have made this provision a core element, and bipartisan support is considered essential for passage of the bill.<br /><br />Referring to Grassley's amendment, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York said, "We all know that will take years and years and years" for the federal government to certify that no illegal entries were happening at the U.S.-Mexico border.<br /><br />But Grassley argued that his amendment would strengthen the immigration bill by ensuring there is "true border security before legalization (of the undocumented) and that's what the people of this country want."<br /><br />Grassley said the Democratic leadership's use of a procedural maneuver to quickly dispose of his amendment showed that the promised "fair and open process is a farce."<br /><br />The vote marked the first skirmish on a bill that is expected to be debated through the end of this month.<br /><br />Later on Thursday, the Senate is expected to tackle additional amendments to the bill.<br /><br />Meanwhile, behind the scenes, a bipartisan group of senators was trying to negotiate a deal on how to toughen border security measures without offending the delicate coalition of senators now supporting the bill.<br /><br />In this first vote on an amendment, five Republicans joined 50 Democrats and two independents in voting to reject it. Two Democrats and 41 Republicans opposed the procedural move to kill it.<br /><br />The entire "Gang of Eight" senators, four Democrats and four Republicans who wrote the bipartisan bill, helped reject the amendment.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PwF5z-WOvcbrC1YyLOqZMu2W3lQ319Q8DN6U56O_sHjjHz_U4q9d8GxhBE2ITqpuuq0JSZiscmXMf3Xoe1lkzDsIS85K2t4GQBgc-1Npv23dkarlfPrpnReTW-tQvIqTdZaILXNqEWg/s1600/index.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PwF5z-WOvcbrC1YyLOqZMu2W3lQ319Q8DN6U56O_sHjjHz_U4q9d8GxhBE2ITqpuuq0JSZiscmXMf3Xoe1lkzDsIS85K2t4GQBgc-1Npv23dkarlfPrpnReTW-tQvIqTdZaILXNqEWg/s1600/index.png" /></a></div><br />

Senate rejects Republican effort to gut immigration bill

US Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) listens to a question during the 2009 Reuters Washington Summit in Washington, October 19, 2009. The Demo...

Immigration reform bill largely untouched going into fifth day of debate

<b>A bipartisan group of senators begins a fifth full day of debating changes to the immigration reform bill Tuesday. </b><br /><b><br /></b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-72636" height="405" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/BoAKi1Uql_cP5D9p_R_.tg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/theticket/168395469.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks on May 9. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)" width="630" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks on May 9.</td></tr></tbody></table>So far, the so-called mark-up process has left the sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws—which would legalize most of the country's 11 million undocumented immigrants—largely untouched.<br /><br />On Tuesday, the senators will address some of the final controversial changes to the bill, including increasing the number of visas for the high tech industry and whether to allow people in same-sex marriages to apply for green cards for their spouses. A final vote is expected by the end of the week.<br /><br />Republicans are outnumbered on the 18-member Senate Judiciary Committee, and two of them—Sens. Jeff Flake and Lindsey Graham—helped draft the original bipartisan bill in the first place. Nonetheless, Republican senators have been able to push through a few amendments that they say will strengthen the enforcement portion of the bill.<br /><br />On Monday, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced an amendment that would require officials at 30 major airports to take the fingerprints of departing foreign visitors as a way to better keep track of which people on temporary visas had left the country when they were supposed to. Graham, meanwhile, passed an amendment that would prevent people applying for asylum from returning to their home countries to visit unless they showed there was good cause to do so. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, also passed an amendment that would bar unauthorized immigrants with three drunken driving convictions from legalizing.<br /><br />Attempts by Republican senators to levy tougher criminal penalties on people who illegally enter the country or to prevent unauthorized immigrants from ever becoming citizens have failed, to the disappointment of groups that oppose the reform bill.<br /><br />"We don't think the changes are very meaningful," said Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that promotes lower levels of immigration.<br /><br />Mark Krikorian, executive director of the center, said the group wants the greater enforcement of the border and employment verification portions of the bill to take place before any undocumented immigrant is eligible to legalize his or her status. Efforts to change the bill to do so in the committee have failed.<br /><br />Meanwhile, immigrant rights groups are cautiously optimistic. "So far, so good," said Lynn Tramonte, deputy director of America's Voice, an immigrant advocacy group. "It's clear that the opponents of immigration reform are just trying to find every little way to pick apart the bill in hopes of destabilizing the coalition," but haven't been successful, she added.<br /><br />Democrats successfully passed amendments that would allow unauthorized immigrants to pay their legalization fees in installments and would restrict the circumstances when immigration detainees could be put in solitary confinement.<br /><br />Advocates expect the mark-up process to end this week, with the full bill introduced on the Senate floor sometime after the Senate's Memorial Day recess in early June. The House, which is working on its own version of a bill, is expected to release its draft version in early June, as well.<br /><div><br /></div>

Immigration reform bill largely untouched going into fifth day of debate

A bipartisan group of senators begins a fifth full day of debating changes to the immigration reform bill Tuesday.  Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, ...

Senate Immigration Bill Could Set Off Fierce Backlash Again

<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8pcjf9950imtKfusqxG98JPo1fcEo9ZENqOVOVAHQ6k3_lZRfCq-yp3M03v8NsR5jzBTg2ryn6rMXituOLUg7j-ShyIRqKTk87l5ZEGHvoNuKL_BtTSPzLVuFHyw4nC4CRjSjkf7g2Rz/s1600/mexicousa.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8pcjf9950imtKfusqxG98JPo1fcEo9ZENqOVOVAHQ6k3_lZRfCq-yp3M03v8NsR5jzBTg2ryn6rMXituOLUg7j-ShyIRqKTk87l5ZEGHvoNuKL_BtTSPzLVuFHyw4nC4CRjSjkf7g2Rz/s1600/mexicousa.png" width="320" /></a>WASHINGTON -- As a Senate committee prepares to begin voting this week on far-reaching immigration legislation, advocates are watching warily to see whether relatively tame opposition balloons into the kind of fierce resistance that killed Congress' last attempt to overhaul the system.<br /><br />Last time around, in 2007, angry calls overwhelmed the Senate switchboard and lawmakers endured raging town hall meetings and threats from incensed constituents. The legislation ultimately collapsed on the Senate floor.<br /><br />"I've been through this battle, and it's ugly," said former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., who supported the bill. "My phones were jammed for three weeks and I got three death threats, one of which I turned over to the FBI. So it's rough business."<br /><br />Supporters of the immigration bill brought forward last month by a group of four Republican and four Democratic senators have been cautiously optimistic about their prospects because of factors including public support for giving citizenship to immigrants, a large and diverse coalition in support of the bill, and a growing sentiment among Republican leaders that immigration must be dealt with if they are to regain the backing of Hispanic voters.<br /><br />Backers have been working hard to build alliances and strategies aimed at avoiding the mistakes of 2007, when critics largely defined the bill and some supporters ended up turning against it.<br /><br />Opponents acknowledge that supporters started out better organized and mobilized than last time around, and they also anticipate that outside groups pushing the legislation – including efforts headed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg – will outspend them. Supporters include large and influential groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO and the Catholic Church, while opponents include lesser-known think tanks or advocacy organizations such as NumbersUSA, the Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Center for Immigration Studies. Both sides have already begun running ads.<br /><br />But critics also have important grass-roots influence, including from talk radio hosts who were instrumental in defeating the bill in 2007, and opponents argue that as the public absorbs the content of the legislation, the tide will turn against it. They say that there are already signs that it's happening. Although conservative commentators on Fox News Channel and elsewhere have been more muted so far than in 2007, some talk radio hosts including Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh have begun to voice deep unease about the bill despite the efforts of its conservative standard bearer, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to sell the legislation to them and other conservative opinion leaders.<br /><br />"The supporters promoted the bill aggressively before anybody saw the language, and certain Republicans and conservative voices sort of held their fire, but that's beginning to change," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who was a leading voice in the Senate against the bill in 2007 and is reprising that role this time around, making floor speeches, issuing press releases and holding briefing calls with reporters to argue that the bill would unlock a much larger volume of immigration into the U.S. than advertised, to the detriment of U.S. workers and jobs.<br /><br />"It's going to be like that mackerel in the sunshine – the longer it's out there the worse it smells," Sessions said.<br /><br />The bill would aim to boost border security, fix legal immigration and worker programs, require all employers to check their workers' legal status and offer eventual citizenship to the estimated 11 million immigrants already living in the country illegally.<br /><br />Joyce Kaufman, a host on a Florida radio station, WFTL, said that opposition to the bill was soft at first but grows daily.<br /><br />"Yes, we believe this is amnesty," Kaufman said. "Citizen activists are outraged."<br /><br />Lott said that supporters of the legislation still haven't come up with an argument as concise and effective as that one word – "amnesty" – from opponents. He said he's spoken with Rubio, among others, to make clear that supporters of the bill need to hone their arguments.<br /><br />"Last time our explanation was three paragraphs. Theirs was a word," Lott said. When that happens, he said, "You're dead."<br /><br />The Democratic-led Senate, where the Judiciary Committee takes up the bill on Thursday, is already going to be a tough challenge. But if the bill does pass the Senate, opponents are betting it gets stopped in the Republican-led House. A bipartisan group of House lawmakers has been promising for months to release their own bill mirroring elements of the Senate legislation but taking a tougher tack. So far they haven't delivered.<br /><br />Meanwhile, to the dismay of immigration advocates, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has announced plans to move forward with individual, single-issue immigration bills, rejecting the comprehensive approach in the Senate that's backed by President Barack Obama, who's made immigration legislation a top second-term priority. The legislation was also a priority in 2007 for then-President George W. Bush, but he was unsuccessful in persuading Republican lawmakers to get behind the bill, and Democrats who at the time controlled Congress were divided, too.<br /><br />In the 2007 debate, a turning point came when the conservative Heritage Foundation released a report saying that the legislation would cost taxpayers $2.6 trillion, including benefits to immigrants and other expenditures. Although the analysis was disputed it carried weight with GOP lawmakers. Now under the leadership of former Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., another lead opponent of the legislation in 2007, Heritage was preparing to release an updated version of that report on Monday. DeMint already has warned costs of the bill could be even greater this time.<br /><br />In a sign of how supporters of the bill are working hard not to repeat mistakes from the past, conservative groups that support the legislation have already sought to pre-empt the Heritage report, with the Cato Institute deriding it ahead of time as "fatally flawed," and Cato and others arguing that immigration reform would boost the economy by growing the labor market. Nonetheless officials with Heritage argue their report could have the same impact this time around as in 2007.<br /><br />"There's been a lot of posturing, a lot of talk. We haven't really gotten to the heart of the debate yet," said Dan Holler, communications director for Heritage Action for America, the Heritage Foundation's activist arm. "We have the right policy, the numbers are going to be there, and the debate is going to shift. And no amount of ads will be able to shift it back."<br /><br />

Senate Immigration Bill Could Set Off Fierce Backlash Again

WASHINGTON -- As a Senate committee prepares to begin voting this week on far-reaching immigration legislation, advocates are watching waril...

Rubio says,"Adios Amigos",immigration law not 'amnesty'

<h4>"There will be consequences for having violated the laws," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said of illegal immigrants. </h4><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyM53oVVFHtnaI8m8pF_CNHvzs1kXLyipY_fIP8O8XcuiJnD9BjDojl8_n-pgM6x02-pgfb35753LDG_f6W6Wk3v637e0fCDHkUcPhUpJPrK-r9ojQDL65GuMzvaKlSTjCDYWxCv3PspUw/s1600/rubio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyM53oVVFHtnaI8m8pF_CNHvzs1kXLyipY_fIP8O8XcuiJnD9BjDojl8_n-pgM6x02-pgfb35753LDG_f6W6Wk3v637e0fCDHkUcPhUpJPrK-r9ojQDL65GuMzvaKlSTjCDYWxCv3PspUw/s1600/rubio.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />WASHINGTON — Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., says a proposed immigration bill expected to be introduced this week won't offer amnesty to those who entered the United States illegally.<br /><br />Speaking on the Sunday news shows, Rubio said, "There will be consequences for having violated the laws."<br /><br />Rubio's proposal would require people to pass a "rigorous background check" and pay fines and application fees to receive a permit that would allow them to "work, travel and pay taxes." <br /><br />After 10 years they would be able to apply for legal immigration status and an eventual path to citizenship.<br /><br />Under the proposal, the applicants would not be eligible for any federal benefits such as health care.<br /><h4>Rubio said, "There will be consequences for having violated the laws."<br />Rubio says immigration law not 'amnesty'</h4><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZOoROBlVQxIT2l0wYYzqD07otQf2kI-L652WQKrkfundmolnjIgWglNykmvMnVmC6YeY3_jJxYQhP133VkHstmwtwRL7EBpY8RMW5UeW1U_YKp2zXyIvkbAUSq1kkTvRhsxQyoG6Lr-v/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="40" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZOoROBlVQxIT2l0wYYzqD07otQf2kI-L652WQKrkfundmolnjIgWglNykmvMnVmC6YeY3_jJxYQhP133VkHstmwtwRL7EBpY8RMW5UeW1U_YKp2zXyIvkbAUSq1kkTvRhsxQyoG6Lr-v/s1600/%2540publimetro.png" width="320" /></a></div>

Rubio says,"Adios Amigos",immigration law not 'amnesty'

"There will be consequences for having violated the laws," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said of illegal immigrants. WASHINGTON — Sen....