Horsford Hosts Immigration Hearing (KSNV)
Representative Steven Horsford (NV-4) hosted an Ad Hoc immigration reform hearing with Congressman Gutierrez and Congressman Hinojosa.
By: Rep. Steven Horsford
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US group hopes to convince Pope to support immigration reform
A Los Angeles-based coalition of immigrant advocates is headed to the Vatican, hoping that Pope Francis will help convince the US government to pass immigrat...
By: TFCBalitangAmerica
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US group hopes to convince Pope to support immigration reform - Video
WASHINGTON, March 19 -- Its not that the House Republicans dont want to pass immigration reform, they say. Its just that they cant right now.
If you ask GOP lawmakers, theyll tell you the time just isnt right. The midterm elections are fast approaching. They dont trust President Barack Obama to implement a law as written. The border needs to be secured.
But behind these issues lie massive roadblocks that could prevent reform from happening before 2017. There hasnt been enough leadership within the party to form a consensus, some say. Theyre hoping the midterms will bring a GOP-controlled Senate. There is massive split in the party over the idea of a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants.
A deal could happen at the beginning of next year, sandwiched between the start of a new Congress and the start of the 2016 presidential race. But even if those who predict reform legislation will be front and center in 2015 are right, its not entirely clear if the Republicans will be able to overcome their own obstacles to cut a deal with the Democrats.
"It will be disastrous for the Republican Party, if immigration reform isnt passed, said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., whos been one for the most forceful leaders in the party on the issue.
But what will it take for House Republicans to move toward immigration reform? It might just be solving a problem thats haunted them since 2010: figuring out a way to balance a staunch conservative base with difficult demographic changes, all while trying to work with the president they tried and failed to limit to one term.
A balancing act
Since the Tea Party movement kicked off shortly after first Obamas inauguration in January 2009, Republicans have been forced to reconcile -- or at least try to reconcile -- the influx of staunch conservative populism with the moderate party old guard. Doing so has led them to debt ceiling showdowns, peeking over the edge of a fiscal cliff, a government shutdown and plenty of congressional gridlock.
House Republicans say that there are significant differences in opinion between the two factions. However, most agree that something does need to be done.
"Immigration reform needs to occur, said Republican National Congressional Committee chairman Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., in an interview. I think most of us agree with that. Not everybody, but it is a federal issue and it needs a federal solution.
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Republicans all dressed up for immigration reform, but nowhere to go
Actor and director Diego Luna says its ridiculous that immigration reform hasnt happened in the U.S. and that the work of labor leader Cesar Chavez the subject of Lunas latest film can help draw attention to the issue.
It makes no sense that this country has 11 million workers feeding, building this country, making America what it is and they dont share the same rights of those who are consuming the fruit of their labor, Luna said Tuesday at the D.C. premiere of his film Cesar Chavez, a film he directed. It makes no sense and I hope it happens. I dont see why there should even be a debate.
Its ridiculous that it hasnt happened, Luna added.
The film, which had its D.C. premiere Tuesday at the Newseum at an event co-hosted by Voto Latino and is scheduled to be screened at the White House on Wednesday, depicts the efforts of Chavez, played by Michael Pea, during the late 1960s to organize farm workers and lead a strike to seek higher pay. Luna said that movement sounded way more difficult to achieve than what it would take to pass immigration reform. He said as many as 80 percent of the workers in the fields are undocumented and that if his film can draw attention to that community, then we are talking about the necessity of immigration reform.
I do believe that if reform does not come soon, were going to regret it, he added.
Echoing Luna, was actress America Ferrera, who portrays Chavezs wife Helen in the film and who has been a vocal proponent of immigration reform herself.
Ferrera said the issue of immigration reform is still a battle, but that like Chavez connecting the farm workers struggle, it is an issue that has extends beyond the Latino community.
We need to a better job of telling that story about how the issue affects every single American, Ferrera said.
The role and importance of women in politics is also illustrated in the film, says actress Rosario Dawson, who portrays Dolores Huerta, the co-founder alongside Chavez of what is now known as the United Farm Workers.
Dawson said more youth and women need to mobilize and feel that they are a part of that conversation by looking at candidates like Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Wendy Davis.
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Compete America, a lobbying group that counts Microsoft, Intel and Google among its members, launched an online clock Wednesday that keeps count of its estimate of jobs lost due to immigration policy.
The Washington, D.C. lobbying group says restrictions on H-1B skilled visas translate into U.S. job lossesbetween the immigrants who arent permitted to the U.S. to fill open jobs, plus the potential resulting jobs.
Compete America Executive Director Scott Corley says the clock counts from a start date of April 1, 2013. April 1 is the day U.S. Customs begins to accept H-1B visa applications for the coming year. Inspired by the U.S. national debt clock, Corley says the Compete America clock is updated every 43 seconds to indicate that another job has been lost.
Corley and Dartmouth Tuck School of Business economist Dr. Matthew Slaughter, who designed the job loss clock, estimates that the U.S. loses out on approximately 500,000 jobs each year because of the cap on H-1B visas. Currently, only 85,000 H-1B visas are approved each year. From there, Dr. Slaughter says he uses a multiplier of four, which represents the number of jobs that he predicts would be created to support each H-1B worker.
This is based on existing research H-1B jobs tend to create a multiplier, both for the companies that hire these workers and for the suppliers in the supply chain, says Dr. Slaughter.
But Federation for American Immigration Reform Media Director Ira Mehlman says its not the governments role to be a personnel service for companies.
There are a lot of qualified engineers with STEM degrees in this company who are available for those jobs. Theyre just not the foreign workers that these companies prefer, says Mehlman.
He says these companies who say theyre unable to fill their open spots with domestic workers just arent trying hard enough.
If somebody doesnt meet 100% of the requirements, but they meet 95%, it should be the obligation of the employer to work on the other 5%, says Mehlman.
Corley says the theatrical element was strategic, as the group is looking for attention on the growing debate.
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