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Eliseo Medinaof Fast for Families greets the crowd of Young American Dreamers and other supporters as he steps off the bus during a stop at the Farmworker Center in Auburndale on Tuesday.

AUBURNDALE | Many in the Auburndale neighborhood might not have understood the cries of "Si, se puede" coming from a crowd of several dozen people about 1 p.m. Tuesday.

They probably would have understood the English version: Yes, we can.

A crowd of mostly young people met a bus from Fast for Families: A Call for Immigration Reform and Citizenship, a nationwide advocacy group that stopped in Polk County to promote its cause. It included an earlier stop at the Lakeland office of U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, to press for action in the U.S. House of Representatives on comprehensive immigration reform.

The welcome rally assembled outside 318 W. Bridgers Ave., the headquarters for Centro Campesino, a social services ministry for local farmworkers, where they ate a lunch of tacos, beans and rice. Most of the welcomers were from Young American Dreamers, an Auburndale-based organization advocating for young people denied education and other benefits because their parents brought them to the U.S. illegally as children.

The nationwide tour started on Feb. 24 with two buses, this one on a southern route and the other through northern states, according to its website, http://fast4families.org. The tour will end April 9 at a Washington, D.C., rally.

Eliseo Medina, a tour organizer and former secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, said they asked Ross to take one of three actions:

Call for a vote on the U.S. Senate immigration reform bill that passed last year but has stalled in the House.

Call for a vote on H.R. 15, a House measure similar to the Senate bill but with different language on border security issues.

Support a bill based on an agreement reached last year by the House "Gang of Eight," a bipartisan group of representatives.

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Advocacy Group, Pushing for Reform on Immigration, Stops in Polk During Bus Tour

House Democrats Hold a Press Conference to Push For Immigration Reform
Chairman Xavier Becerra (CA-34) and Vice Chair Joe Crowley (NY-14) will be joined by Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Judy Chu (CA-27...

By: HouseDems

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House Democrats Hold a Press Conference to Push For Immigration Reform - Video

by John Lantigua | March 25th, 2014

With immigration reform legislation blocked by the GOP leadership in the U.S. House, Democrats are trying a legislative maneuver to bring to the floor HR 15, a bill that resembles the comprehensive reform legislation passed by the Senate last June. The maneuver is called a discharge petition and it is a way to go around the committee process and bring a bill directly to the floor. The GOP controls the House Judiciary Committee and that is where immigration legislation is stuck. The problem for the minority Democrats is that they control 199 seats while Republicans hold 233 and it is doubtful they will attract enough GOP members to make it work. In fact, they may not attract any because even Republicans in favor of immigration reform wont anger their leadership by voting for the petition. Without much chance of success, what Democrats may be trying to accomplish is to demonstrate to their Latino supporters that it is, in fact, the Republicans who are blocking immigration reform. Republicans have said they are wary of passing immigration legislation because they dont trust President Barack Obama to enforce parts of any law he doesnt like. That position has angered some reform activists. Republicans can try to blame the president for the lack of progress on legislation, but their response to the discharge petition makes it clear that the obstacle to legislation is with them, said Frank Sharry, executive director of Americas voice, a pro-reform group. But not all reform activists are sympathetic to the Democrats maneuver. Cristina Jimenez of United We Dream launched an attack this week in The Huffington Post. Without dozens of Republicans on board, a discharge petition isnt a viable political strategy to break the logjam in Congress, Jimenez wrote. House Democrats should instead focus 100 percent of their energy on pressuring the White House to halt deportations They cannot simply seek political cover by gathering meaningless petition signatures.. Lately, many Latino political organizations have been voicing their discontent with the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama, because of the high number of undocumented people being deported almost 2 million since Obama took office in 2009. Obama won 71 percent of the Latino vote in 2012, but some leaders have warned Democrats they are risking Latino support if the deportations continue. We cannot continue to push legislative strategies with the slimmest of possibilities of success while our families are torn apart at a rate never before experienced, Jimenez wrote. The reckless enforcement machine presided over by President Obama exists not just because of Republican extremism and obstructionism, but also because of Democratic posturing and complicity.

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Tim Burke, Publisher, The Palm Beach Post.

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Immigration reform activists at odds on Democrat maneuver to bring bill to the House floor

CREATED Mar. 24, 2014

Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- Over the next few weeks, people across the country will be fasting to show their hunger for immigration reform.

On Monday, a demonstration was held outside republican Congressman Joe Heck's Las Vegas office.

Only four people stood, holding signs, calling for a comprehensive immigration reform bill. But they said they represent only a portion of the 40 people in the valley who pledged to fast for 24 hours to make a point.

"We want to see a pathway to citizenship for those who are already here. Again, those folks are in the shadows, they're afraid to become productive members of the society," said Rob Telles.

Telles said it's that fear that brought out only a few people on Monday, but he said many others support change.

He pointed to last week's meeting at North Las Vegas City Hall,where about 200 people packed the room at a hearing before democratic Congressman Steven Horsford, focused on comprehensive immigration reform.

The group didn't just stand in the parking lot on Monday, they tried to take their message to Congressman Heck, visiting his office upstairs. But hewasn't in.

Behind closed doors, staff did meet with the group.

"I think we were able to get what our viewpoints were on the table," said Emily Ross with Fast for Families by Immigration Reform for Nevada.

Originally posted here:

Immigration reform demonstration held at Joe Heck's office

Politics 2014 Election

A new survey could ease Republican fears that proceeding with immigration reform would alienate GOP voters.

The poll, conducted by Texas Republican firm Baselice & Associates and paid for by the Michael Bloomberg-sponsored pro-reform group Partnership for a New American Economy, found that there is no measurable drop in voter turnout when comparing the immigration positions of three Texas congressional Republicans. The poll focused on three districts with GOP incumbents: Rep. Sam Johnson, who is supportive of immigration reform, Rep. Lamar Smith, who is against it, and Rep. Kevin Brady, who is on the fence. Support of or opposition to immigration reform didnt impact voter support at the polls, according to the survey.

The results cut against Republican concerns that passing immigration reform will keep their base voters away from the polls this fall, and indicates that the economy and the health care reform law are the key issues driving voters.

What we saw in the polling was that Texas Republican primary voters werent motivated to go to the polls on the issue of immigration reformfor or against. They were far more motivated to vote on Obamacare, said John Feinblatt, who chairs the Partnership for a New American Economy. But when they were asked their views on immigration reform very specifically, they were overwhelmingly supportive. This strikes directly at the myth that conservative GOP primary voters are anti-immigration reform,

But despite the findings, it remains incredibly unlikely that lawmakers will proceed with immigration reform before the midterm elections. House Republicans have declined to take up the comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate last year. Immigration reform was the sole policy recommendation from the authors of the Republican Partys so-called autopsy after the GOPs humbling 2012 defeats. The authors argued passage was needed to maintain the long-term viability of the GOP.

The full poll results are below:

Originally posted here:

Poll: Immigration Reform Wont Hurt Republicans