Time is of the essence for immigration reform
April 30, 2014 - Rep. Luis V. Gutirrez reminded the House Republicans they now have 25 legislative days left to act on immigration before the July 4th recess. While some Republicans have...
By: RepLuisGutierrez
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Time is of the essence for immigration reform - Video
Immigrant rights demonstration may be first of many
By Jessica De Nova/KTVL.com Southern Ore.-Shouts in support of a Comprehensive Immigration Reform with a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants in the country,...
By: news10ktvl1
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Immigrant rights demonstration may be first of many - Video
The Minuteman Project, which had civilians guard the border, has all but disappeared. But it stoked a movement that continues to influence the immigration reform debate.
In just a few years, perhaps the most visible civilian attempt to stop illegal immigration has all but disappeared amid the changing dynamics of the debate.
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A little less than a decade ago, the Minuteman Project and the copycats it spawned arrived at the Arizona border with binoculars and American flags, vowing to defend the country from what they described as an invasion. At their height, the Minutemen were the face of a conservative insurgency that would later lend its energy to the emergence of the tea party.
To like-minded Americans, they were patriots. To critics, they were dangerous vigilantes.
Today, however, they have largely vanished. The recession took its toll, it seems, making an expensive enterprise impractical for workaday crusaders. So did infighting within the groups, as well as shifts in immigration patterns.
But the Minutemen were also victims of their own success, helping to forge a strident new movement against illegal immigration that continues to shape the political debate today. In a very real way, the Minuteman Project has lost momentum because politicians in state capitols and Congress have taken the lead. While several states from Arizona to Alabama have passed strong anti-illegal immigration laws, Republicans in the US House of Representatives have blocked comprehensive immigration reform legislation.
"The energy passed from the so-called citizen border patrol groups to state legislatures," says Mark Potok, an expert on militias and antigovernment groups at the Southern Law Poverty Center, in Birmingham, Ala.
In 2010, the center documented 319 groups active in Arizona and other parts of the Southwest border that, often armed, confronted people suspected of being in the country illegally. By 2013, the number had dwindled to 33.
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What happened to Minuteman Project? It's still roiling immigration reform.
CREATED May. 1, 2014
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- Dozens of protesters gathered in downtown Las Vegas this May Day, to draw attention to what they call a "broken immigration system."
The protesters armed themselves with signs and blow horns, demanding change on immigration reform.
Organizers said more than 400,000 people are deported from the United States every year, but they said only a few thousand of those cases actually go through the court process.
On Thursday evening, the group went for a march through downtown following a rally.
"Immigration reform is a human rights issue. Undocumented folks are humans, they are workers, so it affects every area of the economy," said Jasmine Rubalcava, rally organizer.
For the first time, organizers included the LGBT community, making the point that reform is about freedom and keeping families together who are often separated by their immigration status.
Angie Morelli said, "We're spending over $600 million to secure our borders, and that's just completely ridiculous."
The protesters marched down Las Vegas Boulevard through the Fremont Street Experience, accompanied by several Las Vegas police officers.
But the march remained peaceful.
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Immigration reform rally held in downtown Las Vegas
Rep. Aaron Schock Appears on Morning Joe to Discuss Asia and Immigration
Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) appears on MSNBC #39;s "Morning Joe" discuss what he learned on his trip to Asia and immigration reform #39;s chances in the House on April 28, 2014.
By: repaaronschock
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Rep. Aaron Schock Appears on Morning Joe to Discuss Asia and Immigration - Video