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This week'sOpinion article by Representatives Goodlatte and Labrador begins: One of the most important aspects of immigration reform is bolstering enforcement of existing immigration law. I and other immigration reformers agree with that statement, as far as it goes. The article then tries to make the case for legislation being marked up in the House Judiciary Committee, the Davis-Oliver Act. This proposed legislation doubles down on the enforcement-only strategy for immigration control first tried in California in Proposition 187 and enacted at the federal level twenty years ago. Lest we Republicans forget, the result of the first experiment was twenty years of Democrat dominance of state politics in California, and of the second was 11 million undocumented immigrants, two-thirds of whom have lived in the United States for at least 10 years.

Representatives Goodlatte and Labrador acknowledge at the outset that most unlawful immigrants come to the U.S. seeking a better life for themselves and their families. Their bill, however, does not deal with the reality created by the 1996 enforcement bill signed by President Clinton: for those who wish to immigrate legally, most paths to legal status were closed off, even if they were desirable immigrants who worked hard, payed taxes and supported U.S. citizen families. The authors of the 1996 closed off loopholes that were actually important safety valves in the immigration system. From the 1950s to 1996, for example, the law recognized that long-term illegal residents who had US family members that would suffer hardship if they were deported should be given legal status. The 1996 massively restricted the discretion of immigration officers and judges. The end result is millions of people in the United States who pay taxes and have families here, but who have no way to get legal because of the 1996 law.

Communities around the heartland are now getting a crash course in the consequences of the 1996 law. In Granger, Indiana, a woman who voted for Trump saw her husband detained and removed from the United States by ICE. Provisions of the 1996 law prevented her familys lawyers from getting her petition on his behalf considered. In Beaver, West Virginia, three men one married to a local woman and in the country for 20 years were detained for removal. By the time these detentions take place, it is likely too late for US citizen relatives to do anything for their loved ones.

The Davis-Oliver Act does nothing to try to help sort out the situation of these US families, or of other immigrants like those brought by their parents to the US at a young age, now grown up in the US but without status. Congress could address our outdated system to provide a path to legal status for people like medical students, servicemembers, and entrepreneurs brought here illegally through no fault of their own.

The House Judiciary Committees bill tries to ratchet up the failed promise of the 1996 Act: if only taxpayers spend even more money, allow even more incarceration, and permit assault-rifle-wielding federal officers in their communities, that people from other countries who share our values and have contributed to our country will no longer want to stay here. The Davis-Oliver Act would add 12,000 officers to the federal payroll and mandate arming them with assault rifles, nearly doubling the size of the largest armed police force in the federal government. It would increase detention mandates and enrich the private prison industry with further taxpayer millions. It would mandate that states and localities spend their resources to do the federal governments job, violating the Tenth Amendment more extremely than the Brady gun control bill that was struck down by the Supreme Court. It would also criminalize all immigration violations, a provision rejected by the Senate in 2005.

DHS Secretary Kelly recently stated that DHS has already substantially reduced illegal immigration merely by executing the laws Congress has already enacted. ICE has all the legal tools it needs to round up criminals, as well as immigrants whose only violation was to come seeking to become American. The real tools Congress needs to provide are paths back to legal status for those given no options by our outdated immigration system. Congress needs to provide that path to the majority of hardworking, honest immigrants who just want the chance to continue contributing economically to our country. Enforcement resources can then be focused on real dangers to our communities.

William A. Stock is an attorney and president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

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Our immigration mess needs real solutions not militarized enforcement - Fox News

May 18, 2017 by Kristen De Pea and Matthew La Corte

Congress has proven unable to fix our outdated and ineffective immigration system for decades. As the issue of immigration becomes increasingly divisive in this country, it is paramount that Congress prioritizes its repair.

Instead of focusing on some of the largest and most controversial aspects of immigration policylike building a border wallfocusing on narrow, pragmatic, and incremental immigration reforms that transcend partisan politicking is a good first step to reform.

To this end, the Niskanen Center authored a list of 20 smaller changes toimprove the way our country manages immigration policy. All lawmakers can find at least one reform to champion. The 20 reforms outlined in this paper provide a blueprint for a productive start to that process. We explore pragmatic fixes to legal immigration processes, simplifications of our humanitarian immigration system, and improvements to the cost effectiveness ofvarious immigration channels.

Clickhereto view the report.

The rest is here:
Immigration Reform Catalog: 20 Changes To Improve U.S. ... - Niskanen Center (press release) (blog)

Brooklyn, N.Y.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark said he led a rally in support of Mexican immigrant Catalino Guerrero, who was threatened with possible deportation in March, because as a Christian he believes that "God has shared his solidarity with every human situation" through the example of Jesus.

Standing with those threatened with deportation "puts a face on people who are frequently dehumanized," he told hundreds of Catholic journalists and media professionals gathered for the annual World Communications Day sponsored by the Diocese of Brooklyn's De Sales Media Group May 17.

Tobin, a member of the Redemptorist community who was named Newark cardinal by Pope Francis last November, criticized media portrayals of immigrants that exploit "fear-based news" which highlights violent criminals.

"Fear cannot have the final word," he said.

Tobin criticized President Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress, who he said have the power to enact an immigration reform that would provide a path for citizenship for people like Guerrero, a 59-year-old father of four and grandfather of four. He is a resident of Union City, New Jersey, and has diabetes.

"You have to believe they are inflicting cruelty on innocent people," he said. "Congress and the president could pass comprehensive immigration reform tomorrow if they wanted to. They could bring 12 million people out of the shadows if they wanted to," he said.

He acknowledged that his support for Guerrero, who entered the United States from Mexico in 1991, was made more powerful by his position as Newark's new cardinal. But he emphasized that it was a stance he took as a parish priest in Chicago and his native Detroit. Tobin challenged other church leaders and politicians to do the same. Guerrero, who has never been charged with a criminal offense other than violating immigration laws, was granted a year's reprieve from deportation.

Standing in public support of Guerrero, said Tobin, was "a symbol that communicates hope, that the church does not live in an ivory tower, that our faith has not been privatized."

Church leaders who stand with immigrants are following the example of Francis, he said, noting that the pope's first official trip as pope was to the isolated Italian island of Lampedusa, a temporary home for refugees. The waters near the island are where thousands of immigrants from Africa have died in efforts to reach Europe. The island has become a symbol of the world refugee crisis which Francis has frequently addressed.

[Peter Feuerherd is a correspondent for NCR's Field Hospital series on parish life and is a professor of journalism at St. John's University, New York.]

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Cardinal Tobin calls for immigration reform | National Catholic ... - National Catholic Reporter

Catholic Church By David Gibson | May 17, 2017

Catalino Guerrero, 59, greets Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Catholic Archdiocese of Newark during the Faith in New Jersey program at Bethany Baptist Church on May 4, 2017, in Newark, N.J. Photo courtesy of NJ Advance Media/Aristide Economopoulos

NEW YORK (RNS) As the nations capital buzzed about President Trumps latest tweets and political fate, a Catholic cardinal who is one of the hierarchys most visible champions of undocumented immigrants blasted Republicans for ignoring immigration reform and inflicting cruelty on innocent people.

Now think about it, especially right now, with apparent one-party rule in our government: Congress and the president could pass comprehensive immigration reform tomorrow if they wanted to, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark told an audience of journalists meeting in Brooklyn on Wednesday (May 17). They could bring nearly 12 million people out of the shadows if they wanted to.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin discusses immigration in Brooklyn, N.Y., on May 17, 2017. Photo by Ian West courtesy of DeSales Media/Diocese of Brooklyn

Because after all and lets be serious this isnt about border security. This is about being attentive to the reality of people who are already in our communities, most of whom are functioning even in their marginal shadow existence and making contributions to their communities, said Tobin at aconference sponsored by the Diocese of Brooklyn to mark the Catholic Churchs annual World Communications Day.

A person unbound by Christian charity, he added, would say that you really have to believe in inflicting cruelty on innocent people to choose to support the policies (on immigration) weve seen in recent months while possessing the power to change the law.

Last October, Pope Francis stunned church observers and Tobin himself when he named Tobin, then archbishop of Indianapolis, a cardinal. Francis next transferred Tobin to Newark, a much larger archdiocese in terms of population but one that had never had a cardinal.

READ: New Jerseys first cardinal evokes Pope Francis as he takes helm

The moves wereviewed as putting a churchman who is very much in the pastoral mold of Francis himself in a more prominent and influential role.

Tobin has always made it a priority to help the marginalized, and in 2015 he clashed with then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence now Donald Trumps vice president over Pences effort to stop the settlement of Syrian refugees in the U.S. Tobin ignored Pences order and continued to resettle refugees who had gone through a rigorous screening process.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin processes into Sacred Heart Cathedral on Jan. 6, 2017, in Newark, N.J., for his installation Mass as the new archbishop of Newark. RNS photo by Tom Gallagher

Tobins move to the New York media marketplusTrumps harsh rhetoric on immigrants have combined to give the cardinals statements and actions even greater resonance.

That was demonstrated in March when Tobin joined an interfaith delegation accompanying Catalino Guerrero, a 59-year-old Mexican native who had lived and worked in the U.S. for much of his life after entering illegally as a young man, to a hearing to determine if Guerrero would be deported.

Guerrero, who is ill, was eventually granted an extension.

Tobin said Wednesday that one purpose of that effort was to put a face on people who are frequently dehumanized or simply viewed indifferently, if at all, by the rest of society.

Racism today is not a bunch of people riding on horses dressed in bedsheets, burning crosses and annoying people, he said. Racism, he said, is just not seeing. Or, if you see, you dont understand.

But Tobin said the other purpose of the demonstration on Guerreros behalf was to put a face on us and the call to solidarity that is, on the witness of people of faith.

When I accompanied Mr. Guerrero to his deportation hearing, its impossible to deny that I brought with me the trappings of the office [that] Pope Francis sprang on me last fall, Tobin said.

Whatever those trappings are, he continued, delivering an implicit challenge to his peers in the church, it doesnt change the nature of grace. What if every cardinal accompanied an undocumented person who crossed our paths to the deportation hearing? What if everybishop did? Every pastor? Every mayor?

Of course, he said, these arent the people in our society who have been vested with real power to make a positive difference in our countrys immigration policy. Those would be the members of our Congress and our president.

David Gibson is a national reporter for RNS and an award-winning religion journalist, author and filmmaker. He has written several books on Catholic topics. His latest book is on biblical artifacts: "Finding Jesus: Faith. Fact. Forgery," which was also the basis of a popular CNN series.

The rest is here:
New Jersey cardinal blasts GOP for ignoring immigration reform ... - Religion News Service

One of the most important aspects of immigration reform is bolstering enforcement of existing immigration law. While most unlawful immigrants come to the U.S. seeking a better life for themselves and their families, there are too many others who commit crimes against Americans, including murder. These crimes are especially devastating for the victims loved ones because they could have been prevented if our laws were actually enforced.

We have recently introduced legislation, the Davis-Oliver Act, to give law enforcement at all levels the tools and resources they need to keep America safe and secure. This is a vital first step but not the only step in modernizing our broken immigration system.

Under President Obama, interior enforcement deteriorated dramatically as his administration refused to enforce immigration laws, rewrote the law through executive action, and implemented policies that enabled millions of unlawful and criminal aliens to remain in the United States free from any possibility of removal.

These policies hadand continue to havedramatic consequences. The rule of law was undermined as hundreds of thousands of Central American unaccompanied minors and families arrived at the Southwest border during the Obama years and were released into the U.S. And too many Americans were killed or seriously harmed at the hands of unlawful immigrants who joined gangs and/or committed crimes.

The Trump administration has begun to reverse the Obama Administrations disastrous policies and is enforcing the law as written. President Trump has issued executive orders to strengthen the interior enforcement and implement strong border security measures. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are already implementing these executive orders and there have been quick results. Illegal border crossings at the Southwest border have dropped dramatically in 2017, due in large part to consistent enforcement of the law and the strong message that the U.S. no longer tolerates illegal immigration.

Despite the progress made within the Executive Branch, our laws still need to be improved to provide the Trump administration with the additional tools it needs and to ensure that all future administrations continue to enforce the law.

This week, the House Judiciary Committee will take up a bill to improve the interior enforcement of our immigration laws to prevent criminal aliens from roaming free in our communities.

The Davis-Oliver Act is named after Placer County Detective Michael Davis, Jr., and Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver, who were murdered by an unlawful immigrant in California in October 2014.

The bill removes the ability of any president to unilaterally shut down immigration enforcement by granting states and localities the authority to enforce federal immigration laws consistent with federal practices. Local law enforcement officers are trusted to enforce many federal laws, including homicide, rape, and drug laws but not immigration laws. The Davis-Oliver Act would change that.

The Davis-Oliver Act also ensures that unlawful immigrants convicted of drunk driving are deported. Drunk driving is currently not a deportable offense and many offenders have been released into communities, even when their recklessness results in the death of Americans. For example, in January 2016, 21-year-old Sarah Root was killed in Omaha, Neb., after an unlawful immigrant driving drunk struck her car. She had just graduated from college. To make matters worse, the person responsible was released from custody and is still on the loose.

This common sense bill also protects public safety by enhancing penalties for deported felons who return to the United States. And it also strengthens current law to penalize sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. These changes are desperately needed.

In 2015, Kate Steinle was murdered in San Francisco, a known sanctuary city, by an unlawful immigrant, Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, who had previously been deported five times and was convicted of multiple felonies.

Another criminal immigrant, also deported at least five times, Nicodemo Coria-Gonzales, is suspected of being responsible for nearly a dozen sexual assaults in Austin, Texas. He allegedly kidnapped a woman and attempted to light her on fire using gasoline, and kidnapped and raped a 68-year old woman.We cannot allow dangerous unlawful immigrants to repeatedly enter the U.S. without consequence.

The Davis-Oliver Act is not the end of the House Judiciary Committees efforts to improve our nations immigration system, but it is a critical first step.

The most important duty of the federal government is to keep Americans safe, and for far too long our immigration laws and lack of enforcement have been failing the American people and harming too many lives.

The Republican Congress is working with the Trump administration hand in hand to ensure our laws are enforced and improved, and to enhance public safety. We have much work to do and are committed to ensuring our immigration system is enforced in order to better protect the American people.

Republican Bob Goodlatte represents Virginia's 6th congressional district in the House of Representatives. He is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has primary jurisdiction over intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Representative Raul Labrador represents Idahos 1st congressional district in the House of Representatives and is Vice Chairman of the Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee.

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Reps. Goodlatte, Labrador: Immigration reform starts with US enforcing its own laws - Fox News