Obama Immigration Reform 2014 Speech: Announcing Executives
Obama Immigration Reform 2014 Speech: Announcing Executive.
By: Brayn Amg
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Obama Immigration Reform 2014 Speech: Announcing Executives - Video
TIME Politics Immigration Hispanic Voters Think Opposing Immigration is Disqualifier, Poll Says Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, speaks at an event at Illuminating Technologies Inc., in Greensboro, N.C. on Sept. 24, 2014. Tom WilliamsCQ-Roll Call Poll confirms findings of GOP "autopsy" on 2012 election
Immigration reform is a threshold issue for most Hispanic voters, a new poll out Thursday finds, putting the Republican Party at a disadvantage heading into 2016.
The poll conducted by Democratic and Republican pollsters for the Michael Bloomberg-backed immigration reform group Partnership for a New American Economy, finds broad support for immigration reform among the Hispanic community, in particular providing a path to citizenship for the more than 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
The poll confirms many Republicans worst fears, including the party own autopsy into the 2012 election results which warned that the GOP must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform in order to win national elections. House Republicans blocked a bipartisan Senate-passed comprehensive immigration reform bill this Congress, and the prospects of a similar bill passing in the Republican-controlled Congress beginning in January are slim to none.
Illustrating the problem for the GOP was a hypothetical matchup between a liberal candidate opposed to immigration reform and a conservative candidate who supports it. While Hispanic voters have consistently voted with Democrats, 51 percent of those polled said they would support the conservative who supports immigration reform, compared to 31 percent who would support the liberal. In practice, Republicans wont have that opportunity, with likely Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton supporting comprehensive immigration reform.
Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, is the most outspoken potential Republican candidate on immigration issues, but his calls for reform have put him out of step with his partys primary voters. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who backed the Senate immigration bill, has since cooled on the issue. Other Republicans have either remained silent on immigration issues or opposed immigration reform efforts.
The poll found that jobs and the economy are still the most important issues for Hispanic voters at the polls, but that opposing immigration reform could be an immediate disqualifier for a candidate.
Nearly twice as many Hispanic voters in the battleground states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, and Nevada would vote for the Democratic nominee over the Republican, 52 percent to 28 percent, if the 2016 Presidential election were held today, with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton holding even larger margins in head-to-head match-ups with likely Republican candidates.
The poll was conducted by The Tarrance Group and Bendixen & Amandi International nationally and the five battleground states from November 16-18 and surveyed 1,684 Hispanic voters. The poll has a margin of error of 2.45 percent.
The poll results are below:
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Hispanic Voters Think Opposing Immigration is Disqualifier, Poll Says
Two Colorado Republican congressmen who campaigned as advocates for immigration reform have split on their votes for a symbolic measure to overturn President Obama's recent executive orders on immigration.
Current Congressman and Senator-elect Cory Gardner voted Thursday with most House Republicans in support of the Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act. Rep. Mike Coffman broke ranks and voted against the measure, H.R. 5759, which was introduced by Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Florida. Coffman was one of only seven House Republicans to oppose the bill.
Coffman, once a hard-liner on immigration, softened his stance last year.
But in a statement on his nay vote on the Yoho bill, Coffman made clear his vote had nothing to do with support for Obama's executive orders.
"I voted against H.R. 5797 because, although I strongly believe it is unconstitutional to have immigration policy made through executive orders and without consent of Congress, this legislation will only mislead the American people into believing that we are taking care of the problem when the only way to address President Obama's overreach is either through the U.S. Supreme Court or through the appropriations process," Coffman's statement read.
A spokesman for Coffman's office said that does not mean he supports a government shutdown.
Gardner, who represents the 4th Congressional District where nearly 29 percent of the voters are Latino, quickly followed his vote with a statement stressing he still favors immigration reform.
"Congress must act on immigration reform and both sides have to set aside political gamesmanship to achieve real solutions. ... We owe it to generations past and generations to come to find a solution to our broken immigration system," Gardner's statement read.
Obama's executive orders that prompted the Yoho bill would give protection to about 5 million migrants who are in the country without legal permission. That includes more than 60,000 in Colorado. The orders are planned to go into effect next spring.
Immigration and human rights groups expressed disappointment with those who supported the Yoho measure.
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Gardner and Coffman split votes on symbolic immigration bill
Speaker of the House John Boehner urged passage of a bill to condemn President Obama's action on immigration during a news conference on Thursday. (AP)
House Republicans voted to rebuke President Obama for his unilateral overhaul of the nations immigration system Thursday, passing legislation to curb the White Houses ability to protect millions from being deported.
But the effort was largely symbolic: The Democratic-controlled Senate plans to ignore the bill, and the White House has said it would veto it.
Still, the political consequence of the bill that passed by a 219-to-197 vote (three Republicans voted present) is the bolstered standing of House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), leaving him well-positioned to pass an omnibus spending bill next week that would fund the government beyond Dec. 11, when current funds will expire. Some of the most conservative GOP members wanted to tie the immigration defunding measure to the larger government spending bill.
But Boehners ease so far in persuading his unruly conference to forgo a politically risky showdown underscores a new pragmatic streak in his ranks since the GOPs big gains in the midterm elections.
Rather than governing by crisis as they have in recent years, House Republicans seem eager to move past the tumultuous lame-duck session and look ahead to January, when they will take control of both congressional chambers. They hope to pass bills on tax issues, energy policy and their own versions of immigration reform.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) defended President Obama's plan for immigration and urged members of Congress to vote on legislative reforms during a news conference on Thursday. (AP)
Weve learned some hard lessons since the government shutdown last year, said Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), a Boehner ally. People are swallowing things that are difficult to swallow on all sides of the conference.
Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), a firebrand who voted against Boehner in the speaker election two years ago, authored the legislation that passed the House on Thursday. It was included as part of the GOPs response in order to signal to hard-liners that Boehner was listening to their pleas to repudiate the president. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), a new member of the leadership team trusted by many conservatives, orchestrated its consideration and passage.
We think this is the most practical way to fight the presidents action, Boehner said at a Thursday news conference. Frankly, we listened to our members, and we listened to some members who were frankly griping the most. This was their idea of how to proceed.
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House Republicans repudiate Obamas immigration actions
Immigration anger fuels House vote - CNN Approved by the House today, the "Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act" states that the executive branch "does not have the authority to stop deportations of certain categories of undocumented workers in the United States." The bill was introduced by Rep. Ted Yoho, a Republican from Florida, and passed by a 219-197 vote along party lines. But it's viewed as mostly symbolic and can't undo President Obama's recent executive order on immigration.
White House, Democrats teaming up on Immigration Strike Team - Washington Post The project is to "serve as a better-organized rapid response force to counter whatever Republicans do or say about immigration reform in the coming months." Aides familiar with the plan said the team will be bilingual, "ensuring that Democrats continue to use their connections to Spanish-media outlets like Univision, Telemundo and popular radio stations in several states to spread their message."
White House pushes back on Abbott-led, 17-state immigration lawsuit - Dallas Morning News From the story: "A day after Texas Governor-elect Greg Abbott unveiled a 17-state lawsuit challenging President Obamas immigration policies and one day before Abbott meets with Obama the White House forcefully rejected claims the president overreached his authority...Abbott, the states attorney general, has boasted to voters that he views his job as an ongoing effort to use the courts to roll back regulations and federal power."
Gov. Jerry Brown considering expanding Medi-Cal to immigrants - Los Angeles Times A policy aide for California Gov. Jerry Brown said the governor is considering expanding state Medi-Cal coverage to immigrants who would be protected from deportation under President Obama's new executive order. The idea "is under review by the Brown administration, but implied that the potential cost would be a factor in the decision," according to the aide.
Under Executive Action, Immigrants Are Entitled To Social Security Benefits - NPR After initial confusion, the White House is now saying that immigrants allowed to receive temporary legal status under President Obama's new immigration plan may receive Social Security benefits. A White House official confirmed that they would have to work and pay taxes for a decade to become eligible for Social Security; the same rules apply to regular taxpayers.