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The first Latino to be the sheriff of a major city recently announced her re-election campaign with a bit of a twist: Her office would no longer by complying with a federal law that requires law enforcement agencies to hold arrested undocumented immigrants beyond the dates theyre to be released.

Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez decided to change the policy for her department that was mandated by the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement to detain undocumented immigrants arrested on minor charges for an additional two days, the Dallas Morning Newsreported. Hundreds of other jurisdictions in other states with heavy undocumented immigrant populations have already taken similar action, but Texas has come under scrutiny because itbordersCentral America, where the U.S. government has been deporting the immigrant group, according to a new report by the Guardian.

Valdez made the decision with her departments best interests at heart, she said, knowing that it may not make her more popular, especially during an election year. No matter what we do, someone is going to get upset, she told the Dallas Morning News.We cant base our decisions on who is going to get upset with us. We have to base our decisions on what is best for the whole.

There has been an increased emphasis on immigration in the U.S., especially as it pertains to next years presidential election. Current Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, who has campaigned to Make America Great Again by ramping up rhetoric as it pertains to immigration, has famously saidof Mexicans: They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists.

Trump last month visited Dallas, where he proclaimed, We are a dumping ground for the rest of the world, referring to the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. He has proposed to build a wall to keep immigrants from illegally entering the U.S.

The policy change in Dallas was based on the needs of Valdez's jurisdiction and not federal needs, shesaid. She would rather exercise discretion instead of being forced to comply with an ICE law that she says focuses more on committing civil or administrative violations instead of actual crimes.

Immigration is a federal law. I dont know why they keep expecting me to take care of federal issues, she said. We make our decisions based on reason, safety and whats best for the community.

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Immigration Reform In Texas: Undocumented Immigrants In ...

President Barack Obama promised Hispanic leaders on Thursday he'll continue to champion a comprehensive change to the nation's immigration laws and said America's greatness comes from building opportunities, not walls.

While prospects for an immigration overhaul are negligible during the remainder of his presidency, Obama used the speech to highlight differences with several of the Republican presidential candidates on the issue, which will help define the 2016 elections.

Obama said he wishes GOP lawmakers had followed the lead of former President George W. Bush when he sought changes that would have provided legal status and a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He noted that Bush had said that uniting the country cannot be done by inciting people to anger.

"Think how much better our economy would be if the rest of his party got the message," Obama told about 2,000 people during an awards dinner for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, which seeks to open the halls of Congress to more Latinos.

Obama said he believes in changes in the law that would allow people here illegally to pay a fine, pay their fair share of taxes and then "go to the back of the line" before they earn citizenship. He contrasted that message to some GOP candidates calling for more walls on the U.S. border with Mexico.

"You can't just feed on fear," he said. "You should be feeding hope."

Obama used the speech to highlight gains he said Hispanics have made under his presidency, noting that 4 million more Latinos have health insurance and that the unemployment rate for the group has about fallen in half from 13 percent to about 6.4 percent.

Prior to Obama's arrival, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke briefly, saying that too many people in the U.S. don't see how vital Latinos are to the nation.

"It's a problem when a leading Republican candidate for president says that immigrants from Mexico are rapists and drug dealers," Clinton said, referencing comments that Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump made last summer.

She said it was a problem when candidates "use offensive terms like 'anchor babies,'" a phrase that Republican Jeb Bush used to describe infants whose parents come to America specifically so their children are born in the U.S. and granted automatic citizenship. Bush has said he was referring mostly to the so-called birth tourism industry.

To that, Clinton said, "Basta. Enough. End this," using the Spanish term for "enough."

Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

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Obama Touts Immigration Reform in Speech to Hispanic ...

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama reserved his harshest criticism on immigration Thursday not for GOP presidential frontrunnerDonald Trump, but for the other Republican candidates who he said know what's right, but are bending to politics.

Obama didn't use names during his speech to a 2,000-person crowd at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute gala. But some of hisreferences were obvious, particularly to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who helped draft a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013 and has since tied himself in knotsover whether he still supports it.

"Some of the very same Republican politicians who championed reform, some of whom sponsored these efforts, suddenly they want nothing to do with it," Obama said, with a dramatic pause. "Hmm."

"In these circumstances, I always say, 'Don't boo, vote,'" he continued. "They can't hear the boos, but they can hear your vote."

The Latino vote helped Obama win in 2012, and may do the same for the 2016 Democratic nominee. Latinos lean Democratic, and there are even more eligible voters in the next election than in the last, meaning the GOP candidate may need to attract more than47 percent of them in order to win the presidency.

On immigration, though, most Republican candidates don't seem to be heedingthe lessons of 2012, when Mitt Romney was widely condemned for calling for undocumented immigrants to self-deport.

Instead, Republicans have been eager to say they're tough on immigration, whether by calling for a border wall or decrying amnesty. Like Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has said he does not support a path to citizenship, and stirredcontroversy for using the term "anchor babies."

"That's not leadership, turning against what's right the moment the politics of your base gets tough," Obama said. "Leadership is not fanning the flames of intolerance and then acting all surprised when the fire breaks out. Saying clearly inflammatory things and then saying, 'Well, that's not what I meant,' until you do it again, and again, and again."

Obama said the American people need to decide whether they will stand up to bigotry -- a common theme of the evening. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Chairwoman Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) told members of the crowd earlier that they must show they will organize against candidates who disrespect Latinos.

"We can't just sit on the sidelines hoping that things will get better," Sanchez said.

For most of the conference, the top target was Trump, one of the only 2016 candidates not invited to speak because of his statements on Latinos, which include calling for mass deportation, a border wall and an end to birthright citizenship for babies born in the U.S. He also has claimed Mexico is sending rapists and other criminals into the U.S.

"We need people who will stand up to this ugly rhetoric and extreme thinking, who will say with our words and our actions, basta, enough," Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton said.

A 22-year-old undocumented immigrant activist,Juan Carlos Ramos with the advocacy group United We Dream Action,stood during Clinton's remarks to protest her for taking contributions from lobbyists for private prison companies, which operate many immigrant detention centers. It was not clear whether Clinton heard the man, and she continued speaking.

Obama was interrupted by an immigration activist at last year's CHCI gala, which took place about a month after he put off plans for executive action on immigration until after the 2014 election.

This year, things were decidedly friendlier for the president. He promised to continue fighting for the sweeping deportation relief he announced last November, which has been blocked by courts.

"Although it is taking us longer than we hoped, I know we are on the right side of the law," Obama said. "We are going to keep fighting to prove it."

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Obama: Backing Away From Immigration Reform Is 'Not ...

People rally in support of immigration reform October 8, 2013 on the National Mall in Washington D.C.

CHRIS KLEPONIS/AFP/Getty Images

Of the many issues left unfinished by Congress when they left town for the holiday break, an overhaul of the nations immigration laws is one that is certainly not going away.

2013 saw the first major attempt at a comprehensive immigration reform bill since 2006-2007, when it was a top priority for President George W. Bush. Anger from the right and the left helped kill several pieces of legislation, shelving the issue for several years.

After the 2012 presidential election, when Republican nominee Mitt Romney recorded a dismal 27 percent to President Obamas 71 percent among Hispanic voters, there was widespread speculation bolstered by an endorsement for comprehensive immigration reform from the Republican National Committee that 2013 was the year with the best hope at tackling a contentious issue.

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The bill the Senate passed today attempts to tackle nearly every problem with the nation's outdated immigration system. The bill had eight author...

The bill, for all its bipartisan bonhomie, was dead on arrival in the House of Representatives, where many in the Republican majority oppose either the idea of passing a massive, comprehensive piece of legislation in the style of Obamacare or rewarding immigrants who had crossed the border illegally or overstayed visas with anything that might be perceived by their base as amnesty.

A bipartisan group in the House working on a comprehensive bill collapsed in the fall. Democrats introduced a version of the Senate bill that has a few Republican cosponsors, but is still the hefty kind of legislation House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has rejected. The Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, helped usher a series of smaller bills through his committee, none of which dealt with the illegal population and none of which had Democratic support. Despite several public exhortations by Mr. Obama this fall, no immigration bills were put to a vote on the floor of the House. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said before lawmakers left town that Boehner told her immigration would have to wait until next year.

All the while, advocates who want to see Congress pass legislation that includes a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants havegotten more aggressivein their efforts to convince the House Republican leadership to put a bill to a vote, stopping by their homes, offices and evenbreakfast spots, uninvited, to visit, pray, and demand a vote.

But the pressure isnt limited to House Republicans, who advocates view as the main obstacle to legislation passing Congress. As the year comes to a close with no resolution in sight, they have also stepped up criticism of Mr. Obama, whose administration has deported record numbers of immigrants in recent years. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that in 2013, they deported 368,644 people, the majority of whom were apprehended while or shortly after attempting to illegally enter the United States. Thats a 10-percent drop from 2011, when 410,000 were deported.

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A member of the audience interrupted President Obama during his remarks on immigration reform Monday. Instead of having the heckler removed, the ...

I respect the passion of these young people because they feel deeply about the concerns for their families, he told the protestor at the speech. If in fact I could solve all these problems without passing laws in Congress, then I would do so. But were also a nation of laws -- thats part of our tradition -- and so the easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws.

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Can immigration reform pass in 2014? - CBS News

Members of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles hold signs reading, "DAPA now!" referring to the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability program, and chant near an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Los Angeles, California, April 16, 2015. Immigration advocates have held numerous protests and vigils as the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals deliberates on President Barack Obama's immigration relief programs. With the case stalling and an appeal to the Supreme Court expected no matter which way it is decided, the lawsuit could drag out for months to come, possibly past the end of Obamas presidency. REUTERS/David McNew

When a Texas judge froze Barack Obamas executive actions on immigration in February, pro-immigrant groups tried to reassure immigrants in the country illegally that they would ultimately win protection from deportation. Obamas policy changes could have given as many as 5 million under DACA and DAPA, programs that promised indefinite legal status and work permits to certain immigrant children and their parents. That promise has turned into uncertainty as millions of immigrants await the outcome of a protracted legal battle.

It has been over seven months since Texas District Judge Hanen issued an injunction barring the White House programs from proceeding. Despite a ruling against it, the Obama administration has been able to avoid or at least reduce deportations. But it cant do anything about the work permits.

It has been three months since the U.S. 5th Circuit Court took the case on appeal. They upheld Hanens injunction. No matter which way that conservative court decides, the case is likely to be decided by the Supreme Court.

Obama, a former constitutional law professor, is confident that his immigration actions will be upheld. Conservatives disagree. But with the status quo in place, it is unclear if the final showdown will take place while he is in office.

Immigration advocates have tried to keep their constituents upbeat, hoping that the 5th Circuit Court would issue a ruling soon. Immigration advocacy group United We Dream has kept a message on their website for months saying that the case would be decided today.

The same judges are hearing the case and can expect a decision no later than September 2015, the group stated in an informational blog post as late as September 30th, adding this lawsuit is not permanent."

The 5th Circuit is not expected to issue its ruling today. If the court drags its feet for long enough, the legality of DACA and DAPA could be decided too late for it to make any difference for immigrants.

The lawsuit may have "no legal merit," as UWD argues, but the injunction still has th force of law. Conservative legal scholars, meanwhile, thinkthat some of the objections might stick.

Whatever the eventual legal verdict,Barack Obama leaves the White House in January of 2017.

Democrats running for president in 2016 have all pledged to uphold his executive actions or even expand them. A victory for Obama at the Supreme Court would allow them to carry the immigration programs forward.

A loss for Obama would restrict executive actions on immigration in the future. Meanwhile, most Republican candidates have pledged to undo DAPA and DACA.

In other words, Republicans have two ways to win: through the courts OR by winning the election. But Democrats only have one way to win: they must prevail in the lawsuit AND win in 2016.

While immigration advocacy groups want immigrants to prepare for a win, immigrants covered by the policies cant do much but wait.

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Immigration Reform 2015: Lawsuit Could Outlast Obama ...