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Arizona Sen. John McCain said in the battle of isolationists and realists, the isolionalists are winning.

McCains comments came during a podcast with David Axelrod, the former senior advisor for President Barack Obama and current senior political commentator for CNN.

After Axelrod asked McCain about relations with Mexico, McCain responded by saying that the finance minister of Mexico told him that the country does more business with Arizona than it does with Spain. He warned of a potential for dire consequences if the United States were to cut off border trade between Arizona and the Mexican state of Sonora.

Im telling you that you would have a serious and deep recession, McCain told Axelrod. There are a couple 100-thousandjobs that are directlynot indirectly, but directlyrelated to our trade with Mexico. By the way, if we continue to do this poisoning of the environmentbetween the United States and Mexico, they will elect a far-left president and you think we have problems with Mexico now.

Besides relations with Mexico, Axelrod asked McCain a number of questions on a variety of issues including immigration, the possible Russian influence on the elections, and attacks on the press and fake news.

Asked if McCain has had communication with President Donald Trump regarding his number of concerns, the senator said he had two brief phone conversations with the president, but hes talked to people around him, including his national security team and the vice president.

On immigration, McCain said that he believes there needs to be immigration reform because, You are never going to have 11 million in the country illegally without having some tough, hard path to to citizenship.

He added that the border needed to be secured and enforced, and saidtheres a flood of Mexican manufactured heroin that is coming into the United States that is killing people.

I think sooner or later we are going to have to address it, and I dont know what this presidents priorities are, McCain said. But if he said that we have to, Build a Wall, which I take in the most figurative sense not literally build a wall, but at the same time, lets do immigration reform with E-Verifywhere you have to have documentation that proves you are in the country legally.Where we enforce the border. Where we let STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) studentsstay in this country. Where you provide people a long hard path to citizenship. Those kinds of things could all be put into a package, and I would hope the president would consider it.

Besides immigration and relations with Mexico, McCain also talked about possible ties the Russian governmenthad with the election, in which he said are certain fundamentals of the rule of law and one of them is the freedom tolegitimately elect leadership.

If you destroy that, then you have destroyed democracy, McCain said. Its one thing to destroya building with a bomb and inflict damage. But if you destroy the fundamentals of a free and open society, which is what democracy is all about, you inflict heavydamage.

McCain has been vocal about the need for a bipartisan congressional committee to investigate any and all possible leaks from claims that Trump said Obama had wiretapped his New York office, to possible collusion between Trump campaign officialsand the Russian government to fix the election.

Axelrod asked McCain if an American citizen was found to be working with the Russians to interfere with the election, should they be tried for treason?

McCain responded by saying: I think you would have to gauge the circumstances. Its one thing to have a conversation, its another thing to plot together. I think it would be something that individual would have to be held accountable.

McCain, who was held as a prisonerof war during the Vietnam War, said during his capture he missed reading information that was free and decensored. Its something that he added is under attack today with the emergence of fake news and the questioning the credibility of ligament news organization.

I was on with Chuck Todd and I said, Look, I hate you. I hate Meet the Press. But the fact iswithout a legitimate press and a respected media in this country, then you have destroyedthe real important part of the press, McCain said. Its not an accident that its a part of our Bill or Rights. Because you have to have a media to watch what governments do. You can appoint all the judges and all of that, but its the media that informs the American people. Now with this false media,Im really very concerned about Americans receiving unbiased, objectiveviews on the issues.

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McCain calls for immigration reform, Russian leak investigation - KTAR.com

Morici

Posted: Monday, April 3, 2017 12:00 am

Peter Morici: Immigration reform could be the win Trump and the economy need By Peter Morici TulsaWorld.com |

President Donald Trump needs a win, and immigration reform is a good candidate that could help rev up the economy.

Economists estimate potential growth by forecasting the sum of labor-force growth and productivity. Both have been declining in recent decades causing the profession to doubt the economy can expand at much more than the 2.1 percent annual pace accomplished during the recent recovery.

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Immigration reform could help on both fronts.

The United States has about 43 million immigrants and adds about 1.5 million each year but unlike Canada and several other industrialized countries, the United States places a much larger emphasis on family reunification in granting visas. The net number of illegal immigrants has remained unchanged in recent years, owing mostly to declining birth rates and strong economic growth in developing countries.

The United States grants green cards fairly automatically to spouses, children under 21 and parents of U.S. citizens. Subject to limits set by Congress and the president, it grants preferences to other relatives of citizens and legal immigrants, refugees, and those with job offers or who would make significant investments or contribute to economic growth.

The rules are complex but the upshot is that about 65 percent of immigrant visas are granted based on family ties, 15 percent on the basis of employment, and the remainder are mostly refugees or applicants who qualify for a provision for an underrepresented country.

The immigrant population tends to be considerably older than the native-born population, places a disproportionate burden on entitlements programs about half qualify for means-tested programs such as free school lunches and have less education, on average, than the native-born population.

According to an authoritative National Academy of Sciences study, immigrants in the workforce tend to be concentrated among two groups: those with less than a high school education folks who often do the jobs Americans wont take and those with more than a four-year college education new arrivals doing jobs that not enough Americans are not trained to do in information technology, science and engineering or requiring other advanced degrees.

The negative impact on wages of lower skilled workers is not profound. One likely reason is that the economy already has a considerable surplus of able-bodied adults not participating in the labor force, who could be encouraged to seek employment, if wages for unattractive jobs were not already hammered down to the barest levels for workers to subsist when supplemented by benefits like food stamps, Medicaid and the like.

However, the overall impact on growth is positive after all the potential of the information technology, medical, university and other R&D-intensive sectors is enhanced by the influx of high-skilled foreign workers and creates a net benefit by overwhelming the costs imposed by lower wages to unskilled workers.

Also, immigration stresses social cohesion. This tends to be concentrated in blue-collar communities that voted for Trump. However, visits to the office towers housing Manhattans financial industries or technology parks in California and the communities where their workers live attests to the notion that cultural affinities binding together professional groups tend to overwhelm ethnic differences among highly-skilled immigrant and native workers.

New technologies in robots and artificial intelligence await to dramatically boost productivity but those require more skilled workers than we have our native population simply does not train for the skills needed in sufficient number and the IT, manufacturing and several other sectors face a constant challenge to find enough skilled workers.

Hence, a better mix of immigrants could boost productivity and growth

Sen. Tom Cotton from Arkansas has introduced a bill that would limit family reunification visas to children and spouses but leave the employment quota unchanged. Thats a good start, but granting a visa to anyone with a college degree or technical skill, has a solid job offer and would not displace an incumbent legal worker would most positively boost the U.S. labor force as baby boomers retire.

A better balance of immigrants would accelerate the development and deployment of new technologies, reduce social stress associated with new arrivals and keep the Golden Door open to those it has always welcomed the ambitious who can make the most of America.

Peter Morici is an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, and a national columnist.

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Posted in Othervoices on Monday, April 3, 2017 12:00 am. | Tags: Demography, Immigration Law, Human Migration, Donald Trump, Peter Morici, United States, Immigration To Australia, Foreign Worker, Immigration To The United States, Skilled Worker, Immigration, Illegal Immigration To The United States, Illegal Immigration, Population, California, National Academy Of Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, National Columnist, Canada, Food Stamps, Arkansas, Information Technology, Economist And Business Professor, America, Tom Cotton, Congress, Maryland, Incumbent Legal Worker, Technology Parks, University Of Maryland, President, Tulsa World, Editorial, Economics, Immigrant, Politics, Sociology, Labor Force, Work, Visa, Reform, Employment, Productivity

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Peter Morici: Immigration reform could be the win Trump and the economy need - Tulsa World

The American Dairy Coalition is just one of the many national groups calling for immigration reform as soon as possible. CEO Laurie Fischer says dairy farmers are facing an unprecedented labor shortage. She says with the crisis the administration needs to relieve pressure on the border and provide a lawful path for foreign workers to enter the U.S. on a non-immigrant basis.

Fischer says the H-2A visa program is not working for the dairy industry because they need year-round workers and so a guest worker or similar program is needed.

She says immigrants make up from 50 to 75-percent of the U.S. dairy industry workforce. Theyre often doing jobs domestic workers dont want to do and are positively contributing to their local economy, which needs to be communicated to lawmakers.

Last week 70 groups, part of the Agriculture Workforce Coalition, emphasized the importance of immigration reform in a letter sent to President Donald Trump. The letter says the labor shortage negatively impacts economic competitiveness, local economies and jobs.

Link:
Dairy Groups Calls Labor Shortage a Crisis, Wants Immigration Reform - WNAX

From the moment of Donald Trumps election, immigration advocates in Illinois have been looking for ways to not just survive the next four years but to keep advancing an immigrant-friendly agenda.

On Monday, they unveiled the Illinois TRUST Act, which seeks to extend some of the same local protections enjoyed by undocumented immigrants in Chicago and Cook County to the rest of the state.

A key provision in the legislation would bar state and local police in Illinois from engaging in immigration enforcement unless presented by federal immigration agents with a warrant issued by a judge, supporters said.

Another provision would bar federal immigration agents from entering schools or hospitals without a court-issued warrant.

OPINION

The legislation will likely be portrayed by opponents as an attempt to make Illinois a sanctuary state that runsthe risk of being susceptible to Trumps threats to withhold federal funding.

For that reason, organizers led by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights intentionally avoided use of the word sanctuary and argued the legislation would not violate federal law.

The TRUST Act takes its name from the idea that immigrant communities are more likely to report crimes and cooperate with police if they trust their immigration status will not be made an issue.

Similar legislation has failed in the past because of concerns from local law enforcement officials, conceded Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago, the bills chief sponsor.

This time, Cullerton said, were hopeful the law enforcement community will be supportive, rather than wary.

Cullerton argued the measure would free up police to fight crime instead of enforcing immigration.

But many local jurisdictions are only too happy for their police to aid in the effort to remove those who entered the country illegally.

Cullerton was joined for the announcement by a handful of Democratic senators from the Chicago metro area, including Sen. Daniel Biss of Evanston, an announced candidate for governor.

Biss said he would welcome Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner joining the group at its next press conference to take credit for helping to pass the bill.

But Democrats would probably be just as happy if they could blame Rauner if the legislation fails.

Rauner has declared himself a supporter of comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

But the governor has been cautious about spending political capital on immigration issues, especially in the wake of Trumps anti-immigrant campaign, and Democrats have been looking to flush him out.

As of late Monday, the actual legislation had yet to be filed, so I must rely on supporters descriptions of what it would do.

In addition to barring local police from enforcing immigration laws, the measure would also prohibit state or local governments from participating in any federal registry based on national origin or religion.

That is aimed at the Muslim registry Trump promised during the campaign but has since avoided.

Another part of the bill would require law enforcement agencies to complete paperwork certifying some undocumented immigrants as crime victims. The certification allows immigrants to apply for legal status in the U.S. if they can also show they also cooperated in the investigation of the crime.

Immigrant rights advocates, looking for legal ways to protect immigrants in the face of Trumps deportation threats, say many local law enforcement agencies either refuse to prepare the certifications or do so slowly.

This particular type of visa was originally intended to protect victims of domestic abuse. Ill admit Im puzzled by the logic of giving crime victims a leg up in the immigration process.

Lawrence Benito, the coalitions chief executive officer, said the group wants to make Illinois the most welcoming state for immigrants and refugees in the country.

The problem may be that part of Illinois is welcoming, and part of it isnt.

More here:
Brown: Advocates say TRUST us, immigrant bill gives no sanctuary - Chicago Sun-Times

I hope Coloradans can count on Sens. Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet and Rep. Jared Polis to refuse to pass any budget appropriating money toward President Donald Trump's wall. Using our money to build a wall is an irresponsible diversion of resources from real and important immigration issues impacting economic growth.

The executive order to build the wall is based on false premises. It assumes Mexicans come over the border in droves, when fewer Mexicans are immigrating than ever before due to fewer available jobs, increased border security during the Obama administration and changing demographics. The order assumes a wall is going to stop the flow of immigrants when 40 percent of immigrants enter the U.S. legally by air and overstay their visas. Finally, it assumes Mexicans are violent offenders and terrorists. Of 11 million undocumented immigrants, 2.7 percent have been convicted of a felony compared to 8.5 percent in the overall U.S. population. There are no documented acts of terror committed by Mexican nationals.

A real immigration issue is that our economy relies on immigrants to provide a flexible source of labor in many low-paying service jobs, yet there is no easy path to legal status for low-skilled workers. It is a myth that immigrants drain the system. In addition to filling low-paying jobs that keep down prices, undocumented immigrants contribute $139.5 million annually to Colorado's economy in state and local income taxes.

Immigration policy based on building a wall and deporting 11 million undocumented immigrants will take 20 years, cost $425 billion, and shrink GDP by $1.6 trillion. A policy based on sensible immigration reform providing a path to legalization for undocumented low-skilled workers would produce an annual increase in $25 billion for government coffers and increase GDP by $1.4 trillion over 10 years. It just makes sense.

Shelly Wells

Fort Collins

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Immigration reform needed, but a wall certainly isn't - Loveland Reporter-Herald