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U.S. Senate Democrats blocked Tuesday a $39.7 billion funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. The 51-48 vote killed House-passed proposals to undo President Barack Obama's executive actions on immigration, Politico reported. There are just three weeks remaining for Obama and congressional Republicans to hammer out a compromise that funds the agency in charge of protecting U.S. residents from terrorist attacks and regulating immigration, among other functions. DHS only recently emerged as a wedge issue to between the White House and the GOP, whose members want to defund parts of the agency that would carry out Obamas plan to defer deportation for several million undocumented immigrants.

The department will run out of money after Feb. 27, Reuters reported, but the agency would continue its national security functions. Obama, in a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, warned that inaction would endanger the paychecks of front-line federal workers in the agency formed as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York and Washington.

Homeland Security is made up of 22 different federal departments and agencies that were streamlined to control immigration at the countrys ports and borders and to defend against and respond to terrorist attacks. The agency also manages federal response to man-made and natural disasters. In 2002, after Congress passed the Homeland Security Act, the department became its own, cabinet-level entity. It officially opened its doors on March 1, 2003, according to the DHS website, and soon absorbed the functions of the immigration and naturalization services. Those services were divided into two subagencies, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is also under DHS. Famously criticized for its response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, FEMA absorbed the functions of four other disaster response offices. In 2005, DHS began the first of a few rounds of reorganization to further streamline its functions. Today, the DHS boasts a more than 240,000 person work force and had a budget of $39.2 billion for the fiscal year 2014. The president requested $38.2 billion for 2015.

The U.S. House of Representatives last month passed a separate Homeland Security bill that funds everything except the executive actions on immigration. House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, urged the Republican-controlled Senate to pass the measure ahead of Tuesday's vote.

But Democrats stood with Obama who, in his cabinet meeting on Tuesday, stressed the potential risks of sending thousands of national security personnel to work without pay. I talked about this yesterday [and] I want to re-emphasize it today: The Department of Homeland Security contains numerous agencies that, every single day, are keeping the American people safe, Obama said at the top of the meeting, according to a White House pool report. [The employees] need certainty in order to do their jobs. The notion that we would risk the effectiveness of the department that is charged with preventing terrorism and patrolling our borders, making sure the American people are safe makes absolutely no sense.

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Immigration Reform 2015: GOP Plan To Defund Obama Immigrant Actions Could Hurt Department Of Homeland Security, Border ...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- We are proud that Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate rejected the attempt to hold the Department of Homeland Security hostage in order to reverse President Obama's executive order on immigration. Protecting immigrants from exploitation and uncalled-for deportation honors the spirit and principle of our nation and can help raise living standards for all workers.

Congress should focus on the country's needs. That means funding the Department of Homeland Security and passing true comprehensive immigration reform rather than using either in a repulsive political game.

As an organization founded by immigrants, LIUNA has long been a fierce advocate for comprehensive immigration reform which secures our borders, provides a path to citizenship, levels the playing field for honest employers and allows everyone in America immigrants and non-immigrants to work free from harassment, intimidation or exploitation.

The half-million members of LIUNA the Laborers' International Union of North America are on the forefront of the construction industry, a powerhouse of workers who are proud to build America.

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SOURCE Laborers' International Union of North America

RELATED LINKS http://www.liuna.org

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Immigration Reform and Homeland Security: Statement of LIUNA General President Terry O'Sullivan

Scammers in one the largest immigrant hubs in the U.S. will now face stiffer penalties for defrauding people who are seeking legal assistance with immigration matters. New York states Immigration Assistance Service Enforcement Act, which went into effect on Monday, establishes new protections and rights for immigrants who use the services of a notario pblico, which are generally individuals or businesses that falsely represent themselves as qualified legal advisers for new arrivals and other citizenship issues. The law makes it a felony to defraud people seeking assistance of more than $1,000.

The effort by immigration reform advocates is designed to protect immigrants from becoming victims of fraud. President Barack Obama in 2012 began taking executive action on immigration, deferring deportation actions against undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and later offering work permits to millions of other people who came into the country illegally, which caused an uptick in reported frauds against immigrants.

Notarios, which traditionally take advantage of cultural differences, are not permitted to give legal advice nor are they licensed to represent cases that are pending in immigration courts or the Department of Labor. They also may not threaten to report undocumented immigrants to authorities over complaints about bad service. In Latin American countries, notario pblico is an attorney or trusted member of the community who is authorized to give legal advice.

All 50 U.S. states and several U.S. territories have some form of protection against this costly fraud, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Last year, the Federal Trade Commissionwon a $616,000 judgment againsta Maryland couple over deceptive immigration services. The agency said it registered 891 complaints of immigration services fraud in 2013.

New Yorks law is unique in that it is the only one to establish permanentlythe state Office of New Americans, which is dedicated to promoting and enhancing the welfare of immigrant communities, according to the New York Immigration Coalition. The Immigration Assistance Service EnforcementAct, for which state Sen. Rubn Daz and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo advocated, was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last August.

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Immigration Reform 2015: Law Against Citizenship Scams In New York State Goes Into Effect

Will Common Sense Rule on Immigration Reform?
"The proposed amendment would prioritize deportation for illegals convicted of sex abuse and domestic violence. It also would promote the hiring of U.S. citi...

By: bethepeopletv

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Will Common Sense Rule on Immigration Reform? - Video

A "Conservative and Compassionate" Approach to Immigration Reform | "Dana"
Dana Loesch interviews Alberto Gonzales and David Strange about their new immigration ideas. Watch full episodes of Dana weeknights, live at 6pm ET, or on demand with a subscription to TheBlaze.

By: TheBlaze

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A "Conservative and Compassionate" Approach to Immigration Reform | "Dana" - Video