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Immigration Reform Update by Katie Pavlich

By: RightSightings

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Immigration Reform Update by Katie Pavlich - Video

Rep. Raul Labrador On Prospects For Immigration Reform
During a visit to the Statesman Editorial Board Monday, March 17, Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, says immigration reform is not likely to happen in this electi...

By: Idaho Statesman

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Rep. Raul Labrador On Prospects For Immigration Reform - Video

Washington

As frustration grows over the lack of progress on immigration reform and protests about the high number of deportations become more widespread and dramatic, President Barack Obama on March 13 and 14 told activists he would consider ways to ease the effects of strict enforcement.

The announcement came as immigrants facing deportation have been waging hunger strikes in detention centers and religious leaders, immigrants and other activists have been participating in advocacy campaigns involving fasting, prayer and public actions. Meanwhile, the House passed two bills aimed at reining in the kind of administrative steps Obama might take.

In a meeting at the White House with congressional Hispanic leaders March 13, Obama said he would ask Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to "do an inventory" of current practices related to deportation and "see how it can conduct enforcement more humanely within the confines of the law," said a readout on the session from the White House.

A day later, Obama, Johnson and other key administration officials met with representatives of more than a dozen organizations working for comprehensive immigration reform. The president reiterated his concern for the pain faced by families affected by deportation, but said a permanent solution to the problems of the immigration system must come through "meaningful comprehensive legislation," according to the White House.

Some participants in the meeting told reporters or issued statements saying that while they encouraged administrative actions to ease the effects of deportation, they also agree it's up to Congress to fix the whole system.

The Associated Press said Frank Sharry, director of America's Voice, said he encouraged the president to "go bold, go big, go now."

"The president has the ability to step into the vacuum created by the House Republican inaction to protect millions of people who are low priority, use his executive authority in an expansive way," he said.

Two years ago, Obama created the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which provides a way for young adults who came to the United States as minors to avoid deportation and get permission to work, as long as they attend school and meet other requirements. While more than half a million people have been approved for DACA, the administration also has been deporting people at record rates -- about 2 million have been deported since Obama took office.

Without specifying what policies might be affected, Obama had previously said that if he continues to be unable to get legislation passed in Congress, he would seek remedies through administrative actions.

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Frustrations over inertia on immigration law bring pressure for fixes

Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) is getting a boost on air from the conservative arm of the Mark Zuckerberg-backed group advocating an overhaul of the immigration system.

The radio and television ads from Americans for a Conservative Direction come after a contentious interview last week with Ellmers by radio host Laura Ingraham, who accused the second-term lawmaker of parroting liberal talking points in her defense of immigration reform. The initial ad buy is $150,000 and could be increased, according to a source familiar with the buy.

The pair of ads, which will go on air for 10 days starting Tuesday, refer to Ellmers as a conservative fighter for North Carolina. The ads open by saying that she backed a balanced budget amendment, favored cutting government spending and worked to protect key military bases in her district, then launch into a defense of her stance on immigration reform.

(Also on POLITICO: Renee Ellmers: Laura Ingrahams ignorant stand)

On illegal immigration, Renee Ellmers is opposed to amnesty, the 60-second radio ad says. Shes working hard to secure the border and fix our broken immigration system once and for all.

The 30-second television ad says of Ellmers: No amnesty. Period.

Ingraham, a high-profile conservative critic of immigration reform, and Ellmers got into a heated exchange on a radio show last week, when Ingraham told the lawmaker that her immigration comments were infuriating to my listeners and Ellmers told the radio host that she held an ignorant position on the issue.

Advocates of reform have long viewed Ellmers as a gettable vote on immigration overhaul efforts in Congress. She penned an op-ed in the Fayetteville Observer outlining her position, which includes an earned legal status for undocumented immigrants that could be obtained by paying fines, admitting to breaking the law and having their identities identified.

Those stances have earned her a challenger, Frank Roche, in North Carolinas May 6 primary.

Americans for a Conservative Direction is a subsidiary of FWD.us, the group backed by Facebook founder Zuckerberg that has been pushing immigration reform efforts on Capitol Hill. The conservative affiliate has launched ads backing GOP lawmakers such as Reps. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Mike Coffman of Colorado, and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida who favor some kind of immigration reform.

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Immigration group defends Ellmers

WASHINGTON -- A year after Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus commissioned a report that suggested sweeping changes in how the party operates, he touted progress on many fronts -- but distanced himself from a key recommendation to increase its appeal to the Latino community: support for comprehensive immigration reform.

In a breakfast with reporters Tuesday tied to the anniversary of the release of the "Growth and Opportunity Project," Priebus detailed structural changes he said have "fundamentally reshaped the way we do business at the RNC." They include a major investment to eliminate a technology gap Democrats have enjoyed, largely because of the sophisticated data operation of President Obama's reelection campaign, as well as the deployment of a "permanent, coast-to-coast, year-round ground game" intended to spread the Republican message in communities Priebus said the party had long ignored.

Appealing to growing demographic groups, such as the Latino community, was a major component of the 100-page document, with its authors noting how "precarious" the party's position has become. Its first recommendation was for Republicans to engage with ethnic minority voters and "show our sincerity." Second was to "embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform."

"If we do not, our Party's appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies only," the authors stated.

Asked about that recommendation at the breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, Priebus said he "generally" supports the idea but that there were disagreements in both parties about exactly what comprehensive reform should look like. He also noted that leading GOP figures have talked about the need for immigration reform, as Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky did in a speech to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

"I think we do need to tackle this issue. And I think there's general agreement in the party that that needs to happen. But I would say that there's not agreement as to what exactly that package looks like," he said.

He downplayed the role of immigration reform as a gateway issue for Latino voters, saying it was more important for the party to simply engage with the community to share its message on other key issues.

"Showing up is a big part of the battle," he said. "Actually 37% of Hispanics identify themselves as conservatives. But if we don't go into Hispanic communities on a year-round basis and explain what it is that we believe as a party, then those dots can never be connected."

Asked by a reporter after the breakfast to discuss when immigration reform ought to be taken up, Priebus said it was a question better posed to congressional leadership. And when challenged on the issue, he went further in seeming to distance himself from the recommendation.

"This is not the RNC's report," he said. "It was a report that the RNC asked these people to put together. And the report speaks to an array of issues that partly affect us and partly affect other people. And you're asking me about a particular issue in the report that speaks to the legislature."

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A year after 'autopsy,' GOP still struggles on immigration reform