Immigration

President Obama’s statement on Senate passage of immigration reform

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

From the White House: Statement by President Obama on Senate Passage of Immigration Reform:

Statement by President Obama on Senate Passage of Immigration Reform

Today, with a strong bipartisan vote, the United States Senate
delivered for the American people, bringing us a critical step closer to
fixing our broken immigration system once and for all.

I thank Majority Leader Reid, Senator Leahy, Senator
Schumer, and every member of the ‘Gang of Eight’ for their leadership,
and I commend all Senators who worked across party lines to get this
done.

The bipartisan bill that passed today was a compromise.
By definition, nobody got everything they wanted.  Not Democrats.  Not
Republicans.  Not me.  But the Senate bill is consistent with the key
principles for commonsense reform that I – and many others – have
repeatedly laid out.

If enacted, the Senate bill would establish the most
aggressive border security plan in our history.  It would offer a
pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million individuals who are in
this country illegally – a pathway that includes passing a background
check, learning English, paying taxes and a penalty, and then going to
the back of the line behind everyone who’s playing by the rules and
trying to come here legally.  It would modernize the legal immigration
system so that it once again reflects our values as a nation and
addresses the urgent needs of our time.  And it would provide a big
boost to our recovery, by shrinking our deficits and growing our
economy.

Today, the Senate did its job.  It’s now up to the House to do the same. 

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‘Gang of Eight’ comprehensive immigration reform bill approved by U.S. Senate

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

This afternoon the U.S. Senate passed the “Gang of Eight” comprehensive immigration reform bill. Steve Benen reports, Senate approves comprehensive immigration reform, 68 to 32:

Following months of bipartisan negotiations, the U.S. Senate easily
approved landmark immigration legislation with a 68-to-32 vote. In
recognition of the seriousness with which Senate leaders took the issue,
members took the unusual step of voting from their desks.

In the
end, 14 Senate Republicans joined Senate Democrats in support of the
proposal. Despite the so-called “border surge” and other provisions
secured by GOP senators, 32 of the 46 Senate Republicans — about 70% of
the caucus — still voted against the bill. (In 2006, 21 GOP senators voted for comprehensive immigration reform, suggesting, despite electoral pressures, the party is slowly becoming more hostile on the issue, not less.)

Immediately
after the Gang of Eight’s bill was approved, Dream Act kids in the
Senate gallery could be heard chanting, “Yes we can.”

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John Nichols: US Needs 3 Constitutional Amendments to Save Our Democracy (video)

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Flag-99-862-sig-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

One hundred years ago, at the dawn of the last American Progressive Era, the United States was a very different place– a place of inequality, discrimination, and wealth disparity, author and historian John Nichols told a gathering of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) in June.

Although slavery had been abolished in 1865 (#13), the rights of citizens were established in 1868 (#14), and the right to vote for all men was established in 1870 (#15), the majority of Americans could not vote.

At the turn of the last century, women and adults 18-21 years of age were barred from voting, and because of racist, state-level machinations and poll taxes, many African Americans and poor Americans of any color also were kept from voting. In addition, citizens didn’t have representation in the US Senate, since Senators were chosen by robber barons in back room deals (not elected by the people).

This sounds all too familiar, doesn’t it? Are Republicans trying to take our country back to 1900? Consider these current scenarios:

The energy and activism of the Progressive Era (1900-1929) brought many positive changes and new Constitutional Amendments; it’s up to those of us in the New Progressive Movementto fight back against new regressive and discriminatory laws to save our country. 

Videos and details after the jump.

Governor Brewer calls wasteful ‘border surge’ a ‘victory for Arizona’

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I posted about the "border surge" amendment from Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and John Hoeven (R-SD) to the "Gang of Eight" comprehensive immigration bill last week. The price for GOP nativism and racism: $30+ billion wasted dollars. As Chris Hayes pointed out:

Now when you were evaluating — you right now watching this — the American

voter, the American citizen, the American taxpayer, you`re thinking: is

this a smart way to spend money?

I would like you to keep in mind these two important things. The Migration

Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, found that in 2012 we spent $18

billion on immigration enforcement agencies, a 43 percent increase from

2006. Here`s the kicker. That $18 billion, that`s more than we spent on

all other law enforcement agencies combined by 24 percent.

And do you happen to know what the net migration between Mexico and the

United States currently is? It is zero. Zero.

The price for GOP nativism and racism: $30+ billion wasted dollars

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Tea-Publicans love to rail against government spending, the federal deficit, and the national debt, and loudly proclaim that they are fiscally conservative. Bullshit.

Ronald Reagan quadrupled the national debt in eight years. George W. Bush doubled it again during his eight years, and left office with the economy cratered from the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression.

These "deficit peacocks" like to preen that they are against wasteful government spending, except when they are not.

The latest example: the border security "surge" proposed by Tea-Publican Senators Bob Corker and John Hoeven to secure more votes in the U.S. Senate for the "Gang of Eight" comprehensive immigration bill. They propose to waste $30 billion dollars or more to buy off nativists and racists in the anti-immigrant wing of the GOP — a dubious proposition — hatred is priceless; it defines who they are, and is their only reason for living.

MSNBC host Chris Hayes did an impressive job laying out the particulars on his program All In on Thursday evening. Transcript Thursday, June 20:

in order to stabilize and further build support from their side of the

aisle, Republican Senators Bob Corker and John Hoeven struck a deal with

the gang of eight, a deal that suddenly makes comprehensive immigration

reform seem more possible, more likely to actually happen than it has in

weeks.

That is the progress. That`s progress. It`s excellent news. And it`s

also infuriating because of how they are luring Republicans into the fold.

Corker and Hoeven have an amendment where they are calling for a border,

quote, "surge."