Mediaboss Marketing

By Elizabeth Aranda and Isabel Sousa-Rodriguez

updated 5:27 PM EST, Tue November 18, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Editor's note: Elizabeth Aranda is an associate professor and chairwoman of the department of sociology at the University of South Florida, and Isabel Sousa-Rodriguez is a central Florida organizer with the Florida Immigrant Coalition and a research assistant at the University of South Florida. The views expressed are their own.

(CNN) -- Back in 2010, one of us -- Isabel -- was faced with the question of whether to shake the President's hand. And, despite having been invited to the White House, he decided not to. Why? Because the families and communities of 11 million U.S. residents were still waiting years for President Obama to fulfill his promise of immigration reform. And they are still waiting, and have been left feeling betrayed by the failure of this administration to act.

Isabel Sousa-Rodriguez

Elizabeth Aranda

The meeting to discuss U.S. immigration policy in 2010 followed what was dubbed the "Trail of Dreams" walk by four immigrant college students, including Sousa-Rodriguez, from Miami to Washington to call attention to the plight of the undocumented in the United States. The 1,500 mile walk took place as the number of deportations was hitting historic highs, numbers that have resulted in some 2 million immigrants being deported. Why are we still waiting for change? The recent election results are sufficient proof of the folly of the Obama administration's approach.

After all, the Congressional Budget Office determined in June 2013 that immigration reform would boost economic output and could help cut federal budget deficits by $197 billion over the next 10 years. But just as important as the lost economic benefits of the failure to act is the human cost. In our ongoing research on undocumented youth and their mothers living in Florida, we find harrowing patterns of fear, exploitation and dehumanization. Denying opportunities for lawful status results in barriers to employment, physical and social mobility, education and health, and the lack of opportunities has a particularly troubling impact on immigrants' mental and emotional well-being.

True, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, has helped those young adults who are eligible. But our research suggests their families need relief from deportation, too, and cannot afford to continue waiting for the President to deliver on his promises.

Link:
Immigration reform will save lives (Opinion) - CNN.com

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama, who will act on immigration reform by the end of the year, and his administration have not finalized plans on the issue, but he's aware of the general details in the expected plan, according to sources in the government and elsewhere who have been briefed on the White House plans.

At the end of the day it will all come down to what the legal team thinks can be defended in court, in addition to some political considerations, sources say.

"It's not like this is the Academy Awards," one official told CNN recently, meaning that the contents of the envelope are not a surprise.

Citing his legal authority as chief executive of the United States, Obama said in a press conference in Myanmar Friday that he would act on immigration reform by the end of the year.

"I believe that America is a nation of immigrants," the President said. Everybody agrees that the system is broken; there has been ample opportunity for Congress to pass a bipartisan immigration bill that would strengthen our borders, improve the legal immigration system and lift millions of people out of the shadows so that they are paying taxes and getting right by the law."

The senior White House official who spoke to CNN said that any executive action could come as soon as this week. The White House is also not going to yield to threats of a shutdown.

Asked Tuesday about a potential scenario in which Congressional Republicans would try to defund Obama's immigration action in an upcoming spending bill. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Wednesday that the president's actions would be within the law.

"We would consider it to be unwarranted for Republicans in Congress to try to undo that executive action using the budget process," Earnest told reporters, casting doubt that such an a move would "determine the outcome at all" of Obama's actions.

Warnings from Republicans are not affecting White House plans, according to the official, who said the White House is not going to command less in the executive action order just to appease furious lawmakers. Obama Friday encouraged Congress to act on immigration and said he told Republican congressional leaders that he was interested in working on a legislative solution, but without that he would act.

Continue reading here:
Clock counts down on immigration

More ABC US news | ABC World NewsCopy

It has been a long road to immigration reform -- and quite a transition for President Obama.

It all started during a 2008 town hall with Univision anchor Jorge Ramos.

"I cannot guarantee that it is going to be in the first 100 days," Obama said. "But what I can guarantee is that we will have in the first year an immigration bill that I strongly support and that I'm promoting. And I want to move that forward as quickly as possible."

Six years later, with President Obama set to deliver a prime time address to announce his executive action on immigration, here is a look at how we got here:

Robert Giroux/MCT/Getty Images

PHOTO: President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address to Congress on Capitol Hill, Jan. 27, 2010 in Washington.

As you remind me, my biggest failure is that we havent gotten comprehensive immigration reform done, Obama responded. So were going to be continuing to work on that. But its not for lack of trying or desire.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP Photo, File

PHOTO: This July 16, 2014, file photo shows the U.S. Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Visit link:
Obama's Evolution On Immigration In 60 Seconds

This story was updated around 1:59 p.m. EST:President Obama in a speech Thursday night is expected to lay out changes that would relax U.S. immigration policy, followed by an event in Las Vegas Friday, according to unnamed administration sources who spoke with CNBC. White House officials haven't publicly confirmed the trip or the timing of the executive orders.

Original story:

U.S. President Barack Obama has faced plenty of criticism this year from both sides of the aisle over his approach to immigration reform, which has remained in limbo. But after months of backtracking and delays, Obama is set to act unilaterally on immigration any day now -- and it looks like he may go big. Five million people in total may be shielded from deportation under one of the options the president may choose.

Unnamed White House sources who spoke with the New York Times and Fox Newssaid the president is expected to expand deportation relief to undocumented family members of immigrants who are already legally in the U.S., a move that addresses many immigration advocates complaints that existing deportation policy jeopardizes family unity. His most-anticipated measure is a potential extension of relief to undocumented parents of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents who have lived in the U.S. for a certain number of years. That protection would likely be very similar to the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which granted two-year renewable reprieves from deportation and work permits to certain undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.

While around 500,000 of the estimated 1.2 million eligible immigrants have received protection under DACA to date, extending that program to parents of U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have been in the U.S. for at least 10 years would cover around 2.5 million additional immigrants, according to estimates by the Migration Policy Institute. A more liberal program that would require only five years residence in the U.S. would cover up to 3.3 million immigrants.

The president is reportedly also considering extending that relief to undocumented parents of DACA recipients, which could bump up the number of protected immigrants by an additional 40,000 to 80,000, depending on the requirements for length of stay in the U.S. White House sources told Bloomberg News on Tuesday that the plan wouldlikely not include parentsof DACA recipients, however.

DACA itself may also be expanded: According to Fox News, which cited a source close to the White House last week, Obama could adjust some requirements to expand protections for childhood arrivals. Currently, those eligible for DACA must have arrived in the U.S. before June 2007 and have been under the age of 31 as of June 2012. Obama is reportedly mulling over changes that would move the cutoff date to June 2010 and shift the age requirement to cover those who entered the U.S. before the age of 16.

If Obama takes the broadest option, it could mean that 5 million immigrants, including those currently eligible for DACA, could be shielded from deportation -- around 40 percent of the nations 11.7 million unauthorized immigrant population. It would certainly be Obamas boldest move on immigration during his time as president, although it would still be a modest measure in the larger scheme of immigration reform. Even though undocumented immigrants would get temporary deportation relief and authorization to work in the U.S., they would still not have a pathway to legal status. By contrast, the comprehensive immigration bill passed in the Senate last year provided paths to legal status for some 8 million immigrants.

Obama may also heed the growing call of immigration reform advocates to make changes to the controversial Secure Communities program that partners local law enforcement with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Secure Communities has been at the heart of backlash against Obamas deportation policies, with immigrants rights groups saying it has too often swept up low-priority immigrants -- those with strong ties to U.S. communities and clean or minor criminal records -- in the deportation net and widened mistrust between immigrants and local police.

Its unclear what a revamp of Secure Communities might look like, but Obama has reiterated a call to focus deportations on those with serious criminal backgrounds. Were deporting people that shouldnt be deported, he said during an appearance on CBS "Face the Nation" last week. Were not deporting folks that are dangerous and need to be deported.

Read more:
Immigration Reform 2014: Obama's Executive Action Could Shield 5 Million From Deportation

Laura Ingraham Batters Bill O #39;Reilly Over Immigration Reform 11/12/14
November 12th, 2014 In a contentious interview, Laura Ingraham accused Fox News host Bill O #39;Reilly of adopting a #39;fanatical #39; position on immigration reform...

By: iizthatiiz

Follow this link:
Laura Ingraham Batters Bill O'Reilly Over Immigration Reform 11/12/14 - Video