Archive for the ‘Immigration Reform’ Category

GOP, your chance to lead

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Editor's note: Sally Kohn is an activist, columnist and television commentator. Follow her on Twitter: @sallykohn. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- Whether or not we reform our nation's immigration laws may all come down to cantaloupes versus cojones.

Last year, Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King attacked undocumented immigrant children in America, saying, "for every one who is a valedictorian, there's another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they have calves the size of cantaloupes because they're hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert."

Sally Kohn

Colorful though it might have been, that characterization is not only insulting but completely incorrect. Still, it reflects the underlying sentiment of many Americans who oppose immigration reform not just on rational grounds, but based on a deeper, emotional bias.

Then you have everyone else in fact, the strong majority of Americans who support comprehensive immigration reform, including a workable path to citizenship. This crowd certainly includes President Obama and Democrats, who have reiterated that passing immigration reform is one of their key legislative priorities. And it presumably includes leaders in the Republican Party, who want to curry favor with business interests and Latino voters who support fixing our nation's broken immigration system. So the question is: Do Republicans have the cojones to ignore the "cantaloupe caucus" and do the right thing?

As a refresher, here's where things stood before the election: In 2013, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed bipartisan legislation that would create a workable path to citizenship for America's undocumented immigrants while at the same time ensuring our immigration system and borders works as they're supposed to for the future. Although Republicans controlled the House of Representatives, the measure reportedly had enough support from individual Republicans, as well as Democrats, to pass. But House Speaker John Boehner wouldn't allow the measure to come up for a vote. And so it stalled.

In the wake of Republicans failing to take leadership, President Obama said he would consider executive action to do what he could on his own, under his constitutional authority, to provide relief to millions of undocumented immigrants. The President held off such action before the election. Now, if Republicans again fail to act, executive action is back on the table.

At a press conference following this year's midterm elections, President Obama said: "I feel obliged to do everything I can lawfully with my executive authority to make sure that we don't keep on making the system worse, but that whatever executive actions that I take will be replaced and supplanted by action by Congress. You send me a bill that I can sign, and those executive actions go away."

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GOP, your chance to lead

US Immigration reform may begin next week

There are reports in the United States that President Barack Obama could move on immigration reform as early as next week.

The President's plan would potentially protect up to five million undocumented immigrants from deportation.

President Obama has repeatedly said that he would take executive action to "fix" the country's "broken" immigration system, if Congress did not pass a bill to do so.

Speaking after the midterm elections last week, Barack Obama warned that he would issue an Executive Order before the end of the year.

The Republican party - which now controls both houses of Congress - warned that if he did so, he would destroy any relationship with them.

It is understood that the main part of the President's order would allow undocumented immigrants who are the parents of American citizens or legal residents to stay in the United States, by issuing them with legal work papers.

Any such plan would be retro-active and would only apply to undocumented people who had been living illegally in the United States for a set number of years, reportedly anywhere between 5 or 10 years.

The President has also spoken in the past about changing the visa system to make it easier for immigrants with high-tech skills to work in the United States, and it is understood that his Executive Action will also address this.

Mr Obama has previously said that he does not want to "just wait" when he could take action to improve the situation for millions of people who had travelled to the United States for a better life, and were anxious to play a full part in US society.

The President is currently travelling through Asia and will return to the United States on Sunday, so an announcement is not expected before then.

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US Immigration reform may begin next week

The immigration waiting game will end soon

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Washington (CNN) -- Months after President Barack Obama announced he would bypass lawmakers to take immigration action on his own, the time is nearing when millions of undocumented immigrants will learn their new fate.

The White House has vowed to take action before the end of the year, meaning Obama's immigration announcement could come as soon as he returns from a diplomatic trip to Asia early next week. But with lame duck legislative wrangling underway on Capitol Hill, the president's advisers could also wait until next month.

While not specifying when Obama might make his move, the White House said Thursday he's nearing a final decision on how to repair a system both Republicans and Democrats admit needs fixing.

And while officials say the specifics of what he will announce haven't been finalized, the broad contours of a potential plan that eases deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants have been floated by immigration groups for months.

For the multitude of groups who are watching the process unfold, the moment is charged.

"Without hesitation I can say the level of anticipation is intense. We were hoping this would happen in September," said Clarissa Martinez, deputy vice president of the National Council of La Raza. "It's long overdue. The sooner the better."

Millions affected

An expansion of Obama's "deferred action" program (DACA) that went into place in the summer of 2012 is considered by immigration activists a likely component of Obama's immigration action. DACA delayed deportation proceedings for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States by their parents as children.

READ: Could immigration reform cause another government shutdown?

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The immigration waiting game will end soon

Rep. Grijalva Discusses Immigration Reform with Ronan Farrow – Video


Rep. Grijalva Discusses Immigration Reform with Ronan Farrow

By: RaulGrijalvaAZ07

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Rep. Grijalva Discusses Immigration Reform with Ronan Farrow - Video

Obama: If Republicans Want to Pass Immigration Reform, ‘Nobody Is Stopping Them’ – Video


Obama: If Republicans Want to Pass Immigration Reform, #39;Nobody Is Stopping Them #39;
President Barack Obama, Face the Nation, 11-09-2014.

By: National Review

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Obama: If Republicans Want to Pass Immigration Reform, 'Nobody Is Stopping Them' - Video