Episode 5 - Immigration Reform
WTF is "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" and why does it seem to be the most contested issue in 21st Century America? We explain what the Senate meant by it in their 2013 bill. Read more...
By: MasPOLITICA
Original post:
Episode 5 - Immigration Reform - Video
By Ashley Killough, CNN
updated 9:38 PM EDT, Thu September 4, 2014
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Washington (CNN) -- Gov. Chris Christie, who has long avoided wading into the immigration debate, said Thursday in Mexico City that he won't lay out his position on immigration reform unless he decides to run for president.
"Until that time I have no role in the immigration debate, except for how it may affect the individual citizens of New Jersey, which I'll deal with as governor," the New Jersey Republican told reporters.
"But I won't have anything to say on immigration unless and until I become a candidate for president of the United States," he continued. "If that happens, then I will articulate a full position on it."
Third of Mexicans would migrate to the U.S., survey finds
His comments came on the second of a three-day trip to Mexico, where the governor is meeting with Mexican dignitaries and business leaders to build economic and education partnerships.
While Christie has repeatedly criticized President Obama for his handling of security enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border, the governor has yet to detail his own position on legislation reform.
"I know you guys are begging to have me focus on immigration, and let me put you to rest: I'm not going to," he said, referring to the news media. "You can ask in 18 different ways ... I'm not giving you the story, so you can move on to whatever your next questions are."
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Christie won't take stand on immigration
By Everard Meade & Mary Meg McCarthy5:55 p.m.Sept. 4, 2014
Sensible, bipartisan immigration reform isnt dead. But if we dont get back to basic constitutional principles, it will drown in cultural politics.
Throughout the Cold War, federal judges of all different stripes blasted the summary and/or arbitrary detention and deportation of noncitizens. They accused the government of trampling the Constitution. Many cited the battle for hearts and minds and the reign of arbitrary imprisonment behind the Iron Curtain.
With less chest-thumping, the federal courts have continued to issue blistering rebukes of U.S. immigration courts and law enforcement, calling upon them to mind the process and the facts of a particular case, not its presumed policy implications.
But the vast majority of immigration claims in the United States are not reviewed by the federal courts. They are litigated and decided entirely within the executive branch, and they are subject to very little public or judicial scrutiny.
Immigrants do not have a right to court-appointed counsel. They are often detained in remote jails, far from family, social, and legal support. If they win relief, the government can appeal, and the attorney general can overrule the Board of Immigration Appeals.
The immigration court system is totally overwhelmed. The current backlog stands at 375,000 cases. This translates into waits of five or more years for a hearing, and a bureaucracy in which many individuals simply get lost.
We spend $18 billion per year on immigration enforcement, but only $360 million on the adjudicatory system. Only 263 immigration judges serve our nation of immigrants.
Casual observers assume that immigration status is more or less obvious. They imagine a person captured by the Border Patrol while sneaking through the desert and wonder why they need much of a hearing.
People in these situations are summarily returned every day. But, in most cases, the circumstances are more complex.
The rest is here:
Fairness should be focus of bipartisan immigration reform
By Puneet Kollipara September 4 at 8:28 AM
Welcome to Wonkbook, Wonkblogs morning policy news primer by Puneet Kollipara (@pkollipara). To subscribe by e-mail, clickhere. Send comments, criticism or ideas to Wonkbook at Washpost dot com. To read more by the Wonkblog team, clickhere.Follow uson Twitter and Facebook.
Wonkbooks Number of the Day:More than 1,900. That's the number of people who have died in the most recent Ebola outbreak, surpassing the death toll in all previous outbreaks combined.
Wonkbooks Chart of the Day:Growth in theunauthorizedimmigrant population has leveled off, a new survey finds.
Wonkbook's Top 5 Stories:(1) The tricky timing of immigration reform; (2) U.S.'s versus others'economies; (3) a new era for health spending?; (4) banking regulators keep regulating; and (5)many Americans aren't eating well despite more jobs.
To delay or not: Timing on immigration reform holds risks for Obama."White House officials calculated earlier this summer that immigration would not play a major role in the elections, except perhaps for the sizable Hispanic population in Colorado, where executive action could boost Democratic Senator Mark Udall. Now other Democratic candidates in tough Senate races are asking the White House to delay. But immigration rights advocates...warn that Hispanics could stay away from the polls in protest if Obama postpones a decision....Obama must weigh the drawbacks of losing support in Latino-heavy states such as Colorado against the risk of energizing right-leaning Republican voters in states such as Alaska, North Carolina, Louisiana, Kentucky, and New Hampshire."Jeff Mason and Julia Edwards in Reuters.
ICYMI:
Obama may or may not act on immigration reform this summer. Steven T. Dennis in Roll Call.
Immigration reform hasn't been such a hot-button issue on the campaign trail lately in pivotal Colorado.Jake Sherman in Politico.
Top Latino Democrat, activists pushObama on immigration reform."Rep. Luis V. Gutirrez and a group of immigrant-rights activists urged President Barack Obama Wednesday to unilaterally reduce deportations before the November elections, despite concerns such action could hurt vulnerable Democrats at the polls....The Illinois Democrat and representatives from several activist groups said the political pluses for the Democratic Party far outweigh the minuses....He said Democrats who are publicly and privately urging caution from the White House have the political calculus wrong."David Eldridge in Roll Call.
Read more:
Wonkblog: Wonkbook: Will Obama delay immigration reform?
Need Some Inspiration for our VLInnovators Challenge?
See how one group of immigrants created a web-based app that tells you where your representative stands on immigration reform. Do you have a tech idea? Apply for the #VLInnovators challenge...
By: Voto Latino
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Need Some Inspiration for our VLInnovators Challenge? - Video