Immigration

“It’s just a bunch of Mexican kids. Why should I pay for them?”

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Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

There’s something that feels very inevitable about the way this Arizona school funding “settlement” is playing out.

The plan ends a lawsuit filed by schools in 2010 after the Legislature stopped giving required yearly inflation increases to basic school funding. It would funnel $3.5 billion to K-12 schools over 10 years. About $2 billion comes from increasing land trust withdrawals, and the $1.4 billion from the state’s general fund. The deal also contained several triggers that would allow the Legislature to stop mandatory inflation boosts in tough economic times.

If passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor, voters would have to approve the changes in a May special election.

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Senate Democrats block sanctuary cities bill

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The Debt Limit, Highways Bill Wait as Republicans Tackle Sanctuary Cities, a pre-election gift from Mitch McConnell to Sen. David Vitter, who is running for governor of Louisiana. Your Tea-Publican Congress not at work again.

Senate Democrats were not going to play along with this GOP electioneering stunt. Senate Dems block ‘sanctuary cities’ bill:

Image: Latinos protest in favor of comprehensive immigration reform while on West side of Capitol Hill in WashingtonSenate Democrats on Tuesday blocked legislation to crack down on cities that don’t comply with federal immigration law.

Senators voted 54-45 on a measure to end debate on legislation from Sen. David Vitter. Sixty votes were needed to overcome the procedural hurdle and move toward a vote on the bill itself.

Two Democrats broke rank and sided with Republicans in the vote. [Joe Donnelly (D-IN) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). Only one Republican, Mark Kirk (R-IL) voted against cloture.]

The Louisiana Republican’s legislation would have limited federal grants to so-called “sanctuary cities” and increased penalties for undocumented immigrants who reenter the United States illegally after being deported.

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Russell Pearce misuses county resources: gets “admonished”

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By Craig McDermott, crossposted from Random Musings From the Arizona Republic, written by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez – Russell Pearce, the former Republican state Senate president known for his hard-line stance on illegal immigration and controversial remarks about Latinos and women, appears to be violating the Maricopa County’s e-mail policy. On late Tuesday afternoon, he sent an e-mail from … Read more

Along the Arizona-Mexico Border

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Donald Trump, one of the leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, has suggested building a huge wall along the almost 2,000 mile U.S. border with Mexico to control illegal immigration and drug smuggling. MostAZ border serious analysts believe the wall project with its $6 billion price tag would be mostly ineffectual. During his strident commentary on border problems, Mr. Trump neglected to mention that the immigration reform bill passed by the U.S. Senate (S.744) in June 2013 contained many of the provisions for improving border security recommended by conservatives. In the spirit of continuing Washington’s political gridlock, the House of Representatives has studiously ignored the Senate bill.

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Pope Francis Addresses Congress

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PopeFrancis.2The big question preceding Pope Francis’ address to a joint session of Congress was whether anyone opposed to his views would be so disrespectful as to disrupt the Pontiff’s speech.

It appears that only Arizona’s Rep. Paul Gosar behaved badly, by boycotting the Popes’ speech.

Best headline of the day: Congress mostly behaved during the Pope’s speech. And of course, Boehner cried. So much so, it became distracting.

Vatican officials had asked lawmakers to remain seated and quiet during the address, but our Congress critters ignored them. The Pope was interrupted by applause and standing ovations as if this was a State of The Union Address. This may have given the appearance of partisanship at times. It was not the fault of  Pope Francis. Blame the usual suspects.

Here are some highlights from Pope Francis’ address to a joint session of Congress, the first ever by a Pope. Transcript: Pope Francis’s speech to Congress:

I am most grateful for your invitation to address this Joint Session of Congress in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

First interruption by a standing ovation. The Vatican’s protocols were immediately disregarded.

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