The Crossfire Kids - Immigration Front Lines
The Crossfire Kids is an original online series from WPBT2. Please watch, share and subscribe. This original mini-doc examines the battle for immigration reform and the effect it has on those...
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The Crossfire Kids - Immigration Front Lines - Video
GWEN IFILL: Tonights outcomes could broaden the definition of winner and loser. There are also major issues hanging in the balance. Tonight, we look at prospects for two of them, first, immigration.
Joining us are two activists intimately on both sides of the issue of who gets to come to the U.S., who gets to stay and who gets sent back.
Brad Botwin is director of Help Save Maryland, a group that wants to tighten the nations borders. And Cristina Jimenez is co-founder of United We Dream, which works on behalf of undocumented immigrants.
Welcome to you both.
Ms. Jimenez, the movement on immigration reform has basically ground to a halt in Congress and at the White House. What would this election do to change that?
CRISTINA JIMENEZ, United We Dream: Well, I think that whats going to be critical here is that whatever the outcomes are for these elections will have a lot of impact for 2016.
So the question is, would Democrats and the president continue to deport people? Will the president take administrative or executive action on immigration, as he promised on June 30, and/or will the Republicans continue to promote the mass deportation agenda, as they did with Mitt Romney and have continued to do so?
GWEN IFILL: Brad Botwin, is it a mass deportation agenda were talking about?
BRAD BOTWIN, Help Save Maryland: I dont believe so.
I think, tonight, we will see the Senate flip to Republican, which is actually a good thing for the immigration issue, because you will have a more logical approach. I think the president and the Democrats in the Senate tried to do effectively another Obamacare for immigration, just a mass bill.
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What the election means for the future of immigration reform
President Obamas executive amnesty policies and failure to enforce immigration laws give conservatives an opening to unite on immigration in a way that appeals to all Americans. By holding to the principles of rule of law and fairness, immigration policy can be firm, fair and in the best interests of citizens and immigrants alike.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Under Obama
President Obama failed to pursue any immigration reform while his party had a commanding majority in both houses of Congress. Following the 2012 election, many Republicans reached for the panic button and concluded that immigration reform (including amnesty) had to be done to increase support among Hispanic voters.
Liberals took notice when a Republican National Committee report called for comprehensive immigration reform. The president and his allies used it as a classic wedge issue to split conservatives. Pro-comprehensive immigration reform Senate Republicans teamed up with every Democrat to support S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. The bill, which became known as the Gang of Eight bill, increased legal immigration limits threefold, created a guest-worker program and granted amnesty to some 11 million illegal immigrants. The measure passed the Senate with sixty-eight votes.
Rule-of-law conservatives opposed the measure. A majority of Republicans in the Senate had opposed the bill, and the Speaker of the House pledged that the bill would not come up for a vote unless a majority of Republicans supported it. It turns out that support for the measure was very shallow, even if it appeared widespread.
Almost immediately, conservatives aimed their attacks at President Obama and his unwillingness to enforce the law with respect to Obamacare, the WARN Act and immigration itself. Mistrust of the president was enough to deny the pro-comprehensive forces a majority within the Republican conference in the House. Facts on the Ground Change: Influx Dooms Amnesty
In spring 2014, a mass of adults and children, including many unaccompanied minors, flooded across the U.S. southern border. Rule-of-law conservatives won the public debate about the cause of this influx, tracing it in large part to lax enforcement of existing law and talk of amnesty by President Obama. Polling on immigration showed a major increase in intensity as the issue dominated the news for weeks. And those who cared shared the rights view.
The American people are increasingly wary of any amnesty policy. Candidates for office in the 2014 elections are using their opposition to the presidents policy in their campaigns. Those who ignored these trends did so at their own peril, and even prominent political leaders were not immune. Rep. Eric Cantor, then the House Majority Leader, found himself ousted in a June primary where immigration was a central issue. President Obama has postponed his executive action until after the 2014 elections. The tables have turned. Conservatives Should Stand Their Ground, United
This is not to say that policies exemplified by the Gang of Eight bill and the presidents unilateral executive amnesty are dead in the next Congress. House Republican leaderships statement of principles released in early 2014 shows they ultimately wanted amnesty with little guarantee of greater enforcement or border security. Supporters of amnesty know that there is very limited time after the election to pass any reform. That is because prospective conservative presidential candidates will take a hard line to build support among base voters.
A comprehensive bill that includes amnesty is precisely the wrong approach. Conservatives will reject it, meaning that it will have to draw liberal support to pass, thereby ensuring that the bill will be further left than it needs to be.
Excerpt from:
A Conservative Pathway for Immigration Reform
Neil Foley "Mexican Immigration and the Politics of Immigration Reform"
By: UMassHistory
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Neil Foley "Mexican Immigration and the Politics of Immigration Reform" - Video
BRIDGEPORT, Conn., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama faced criticism in what was supposed to be friendly territory, as supporters of immigration reform repeatedly disrupted a campaign appearance in Connecticut Sunday.
While stumping for Gov. Daniel Malloy, pro-immigration reform activists referring to themselves as Dreamers heckled the president for not using executive action to bypass Congress and pass the senate's proposed legislation.
"The Republicans are blocking immigration reform," countered Obama.
"That's one more reason we need a Democratic Senate. So I support you. I'm with you. And you need to go protest the Republicans, because I'm not the one blocking it!"
The heckler was removed by security, but within moments of Obama declaring "Let's try again," another woman interrupted him to express her frustration with Washington's gridlock on the issue. Again, the president told her to heckle the Republicans.
"That's why we fought for immigration reform. It's the other party that's blocking. Unfortunately, folks get frustrated, and they yell at everybody."
Later in the speech, the president was interrupted for a third time after saying, "Republicans are patriots. They love their country."
"No, they don't!" a heckler shot back.
"Listen, just because folks are good folks doesn't mean they've got good ideas," offered Obama.
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Obama heckled over immigration reform in Connecticut