Immigration Poll: Most Favor Path to Citizenship

The Wall Street Journal, 3/21/2013

A majority of Americans believe the estimated 11 million of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be allowed to become citizens, a new survey shows. Some 63% of nearly 4,500 surveyed supported a path to citizenship “provided they meet certain requirements,” the poll by the Public Religion Research Institute and the Brookings Institution showed. The survey, released Thursday, adds public support to bipartisan immigration plans being hashed out in both the House and Senate that are expected to include a path to citizenship.

Support for citizenship spanned the political spectrum, though the idea was far more popular among Democrats. Some 71% of Democrats in the poll supported the citizenship option as well as 64% of independents. More than half of Republicans surveyed, 53%, supported a path to citizenship.

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Four Hurdles That Could Block Immigration Reform

TIME, 3/20/2013

The next few months offer the best chance in a generation for the two parties to solve a problem that has bedeviled Congress like few others. Both sides agree the U.S. immigration system is broken. Both would seem to gain from a deal that clears a pathway out of legal oblivion for the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants. Support is building for a landmark pact. But while negotiations are progressing in both the House and Senate, an agreement is a long way off. As the talks grow more detailed, obstacles to a deal may begin to emerge:

The first snag lurks in the Senate, where the so-called Gang of Eight has huddled privately since the election in hopes of hammering out a bill. Members have crafted a set of measures that would create a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants within about 13 years while requiring them to register with federal authorities, pay back taxes and fines, learn English and undergo background checks. The deal, both sides agree, would also beef up border security and determine how the future flow of immigrants will be regulated to match the needs of the economy.

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5 Republicans who matter on immigration

Politico, 12/10/2012

They lack the stature of the Big Three Republicans in the immigration reform debate: Marco Rubio, John McCain and Lindsey Graham.

But just below that senatorial trio, there’s another group of lesser-known GOP lawmakers expected to play an outsize role — both within the party and negotiating with Democrats — as Congress delves into an issue that could consume much of its bandwidth next year.

“Each of them has a unique connection to the issue,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum. “And they all have the intellect to create a rational compromise.”

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Julian Castro: Latinos Could Give Dems Boost in Texas in Coming Years

National Journal, 11/08/2012

With the growing number of Latino voters, San Antonio Mayor and rising Democratic star Julian Castro said Texas will be competitive for Democrats in the next six to eight years.

Latinos have given Democrats a boost in several Western states in recent years, as President Obama secured victories in New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado in the 2008 and 2012 elections. With the Latino population growing in the Lone Star state, Democratic candidates could benefit in statewide elections, Castro said.

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Op-Ed: What Democrats owe Latinos: Passing the Dream Act

The Washington Post, 11/18/2010

Latinos are fed up with congressional delays over comprehensive immigration reform. The time has come for President Obama and the Democrats to man up in the lame-duck session and at least fight to pass the Dream Act.

Otherwise, the Democrats risk Latino withdrawal, rebellion – or both. This is a threat and a demand to be taken seriously from the Americans who best understand that the immigration system doesn’t work, which is why so many people are here illegally.

Sure, there are other priorities, such as extending tax cuts and unemployment insurance. But there always are. Only squeaky wheels get the oil, and the squeak among Hispanics is getting loud and angry.

Obama is partly listening – saying after a meeting Tuesday with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that the current Congress should pass the Dream Act, which would allow children of illegal immigrants to become citizens after they complete college or serve in the armed forces. But he must act; words are no longer enough.

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Democrat’s immigration ad creates stir

The Houston Chronicle, 10/10/2010

“We have to crack down on illegal immigrants who break our laws, escape unpunished and take jobs away from Texans.”

Is it a campaign ad by a Republican lawmaker who favors bringing an Arizona-style immigration crackdown to Texas? By GOP Gov. Rick Perry?

Nope. It’s by state Rep. Patrick Rose, a Dripping Springs Democrat who belongs to the Mexican American Legislative Caucus — and that’s why it’s raising some eyebrows.

Caucus chairman Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, said the group wants to take a “measured look” at the matter. (He describes caucus membership criteria as “you either have to be brown or have a brown heart.”)

“We have very diverse views when it comes to the issue of immigration,” he said. “But there’s one thing that we’re unanimous on: We don’t allow people to kick immigrants around like a political football so they can make political hay.”

It’s clear immigration is a key issue. The nonprofit, nonpartisan Texas Lyceum is the most recent to release a survey (margin of error plus-or-minus 3.75 percentage points) showing that 25 percent of Texans cite jobs and the economy as the most important issues facing Texas, but 21 percent call immigration more important.

“Immigration is going to be the issue that’s going to determine, for instance, the next president of the United States, for heaven’s sake,” said political scientist Henry Flores of St. Mary’s University.

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Obama Set for First Step on Immigration Reform

Photo by Flickr user Scott Ableman

Ginger Thompson and David M. Herszenhorn, 6/24/2009

President Obama is expected to meet with Congressional leaders of both parties on Thursday to begin laying the political groundwork for sweeping immigration legislation, even though its passage this year is considered very unlikely.

With lawmakers already immersed in health care, financial regulation and energy policy, and with the Senate set to hold hearings soon on Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court, administration officials and many in Congress say it is improbable that they will be able to add anything as challenging as an immigration overhaul.

And the clock is not the only obstacle. While there is a consensus that the immigration system is broken, Republicans and Democrats, politically burned over the issue in the recent past, remain divided even within their own parties over how to fix it.

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Democrats Face Crucial Immigration Test

POLITICO, 6/17/2009

After twice postponing a highly anticipated meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders on immigration reform, the White House is under increasing pressure to get legislation done this year.

Winning congressional approval of an immigration measure by December is a steep climb, with the economy, health care and energy higher on the president’s agenda. So far, Obama has promised only to begin the discussion at the summit set for next week.

But if the president does not move quickly, he will suffer the same fate as his predecessor, President George W. Bush, who left office acknowledging that failure to overhaul immigration laws was a top personal disappointment.

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Editorial – State of Fear

New York Times, 12/8/2008

U.S. Census Map

If Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona is confirmed as homeland security secretary, she will leave behind a state in full Republican control, with immigration zealots embedded in both houses of the Legislature, and not enough moderates to go around.

That is the down side of President-elect Barack Obama’s decision to bring Ms. Napolitano to Washington. For years, she has been the most powerful voice of reason in a state that continues to hatch some of the dumbest, cruelest ideas anywhere for getting tough on immigrants. This is the border state that brought us the Minutemen, where duly elected Yosemite Sams keep thinking up new ways to brand illegal immigrants as a class of undesirables and criminals.

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