Immigration

Comprehensive immigration reform the next battle in Congress

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

"President Obama, fresh off a trouncing of congressional Republicans over
the government shutdown, plans to renew his push for immigration
legislation in the House while also pressing ahead with climate change
policies and efforts to fix problems plaguing his signature health-care
program." Obama
plans to renew immigration, climate change efforts.

Earlier this month, House Democrats introduced their own immigration reform bill sans the "border surge" of the Senate's "Gang of Eight" bill, with a positive reception from some Republican House members. House immigration bill — minus the surge – Politico:

The legislation released Wednesday is meant to build
pressure on House Republican leaders who have so far shown little public
urgency on the issue of immigration reform. And already, some GOP
lawmakers — particularly those who hail from competitive districts or
areas with large concentrations of Latino residents — are expressing
some openness to the Democrats’ proposal.

Their plan is to take the comprehensive immigration reform
legislation that passed the Senate with wide bipartisan margins in June,
but without the so-called border surge amendment added in the final
days of the floor debate. In its place, Democrats have inserted a
bipartisan border-security bill whose chief sponsor is House Homeland
Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas).

[That bill, crafted by Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas), passed with unanimous bipartisan support in the House Homeland Security Committee in May. It gives the Department of Homeland Security two years to come up with a
plan to apprehend at last 90 percent of individuals who cross the border
illegally.]

“The biggest issue I had with the Senate bill was the border-security
piece. I support the McCaul bill,” said California Rep. Jeff Denham,
one of a handful of House Republicans who have voiced support for
immigration reform. “It sounds very positive, but I will always wait to
see what those details are.”

UPDATE: Oct 16 PDA Tucson Fall Membership Meeting Postponed until Nov 14

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October 15 Update:
Yesterday, I posted a notice about the Fall Membership Meeting of PDA Tucson. The headline speaker was to be Congressman Raul Grijalva.
The Congressman had to cancel, so the PDA meeting is being postponed until Thursday, Nov. 14. 
Here is a link to the event on Facebook. You can find updates there or on this blog. We had hoped that Grijalva canceled because he was called back to DC to vote on lifting the shutdown and the debt ceiling, but given this afternoon's headlines that vote appears to be a distant dream.
October 14 Blog Post:
With the government shutdown, historic gridlock in Congress, and multiple protests errupting, Washington DC has been a hotbed of political activity.

While some Arizona Democrats are cozying up to the Republicans, Congressman Raul Grijalva continues to be a leader of the progressive movement. Last week, he and other progressive Congressmen were arrested at a recent immigration reform protest in DC (above). He also spoke with Democracy Now about the shutdown and immigration reform.

This Wednesday, October 16, Grijalva will give a Washington update at the Fall Membership Meeting of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) Tucson Chapter at the Ward 6 midtown office.  

Immigration Reform NOW: Protestors Blockade Entrance to Eloy Detention Center

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From the arrest of Congressman Raul Grijalva and other progressive representatives last week at an immigration reform rally to protesters chaining themselves to immigration detention center buses to the blockade of the Eloy Detention Center today, immigration reform advocates are turning up the pressure.

The Eloy blockade began this morning. For background information go here and for dramatic photos go here.

From the National Day Laborer Organizing Network…

Just now, protestors chained themselves in front of the Eloy Detention Center. Their action calls on the President to stop deportations and the criminalization of immigrants. Through civil disobedience they say they’re exposing the inhumane imprisonment at the center of current immigration policy and the needless warehousing of the undocumented who could benefit from reform.

Many of those inside Eloy have committed no major offense and instead are victims of Congress’ 34,000 minimum detention bed mandate and the profiling of Sheriffs like Arpaio and Border Patrol required to fulfill the arbitrary quota.

 

Grijalva, other legislators arrested at immigration rally

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by David Safier Raul Grijalva was one of nine of legislators who allowed themselves to be arrested at today's immigration rally (official name: “Camino Americano” [“American Road”]). Another was John Lewis, who said, “I’ve been arrested a few times, and I don’t mind getting arrested again for something that is right and fair and just." … Read more