Immigration

By Karl Reiner

Although it is of little concern in the state capital, Arizona's exporters had a good first quarter of 2013.  U.S. merchandise exports to Mexico totaled $53.5 billion, an increase of $487 million over the same period last year. Texas was the leading state with $24.16 billion, followed by California, Michigan and Louisiana.  Arizona ranked fifth with $1.65 billion, up $132 million over the previous year's first quarter.

Mexico's stock market hit an eight-month low in May.  Sluggish sales to the U.S. (Mexico's largest export market) during the first quarter of 2013 slowed the economy.  Mexico's economic growth forecast was reduced to 3.1% from 3.5%.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

I have said before my theory is that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) wanted on the "Gang og
Eight" so that the GOP could have a Latino blow up the negotiations on
comprehensive immigration reform. This way the GOP can say "See! A Latino is opposed to the legislation, not just us old white guys,"
as if using a token Cuban-American is going to insulate the lily white
GOP from the electoral backlash of Latino voters nationwide.

It appears that we may now have arrived at the point Marco Rubio is preapred to blow up the negotiations on
comprehensive immigration reform. Marco Rubio: I will vote against my own immigration bill unless changes are made:

Sen. Marco Rubio, the leading Republican behind the Gang of Eight
comprehensive immigration reform bill, says he will not vote for the
legislation he helped write and has staked his political future on,
unless substantial changes are made before final Senate consideration.

By Tom Prezelski

Re-Blogged from Rum, Romanism and Rebellion.

I try to make a point not to read the Arizona Republic for a variety of reasons, but David Safier’s post over here prompted me to check out yesterday’s eloquent op-ed by Senator Alfredo Gutierrez.

Because I am a masochist, I checked out the comments and found them
to be mostly positive. The exception would be a thread started by former
State Senator Jack Harper, who disparaged Gutierrez as a “race baiter,”
though his own record as a demagogue gives him little room to criticize
anybody, particularly given that Gutierrez has far more to show for his
legislative career than the clownish Harper does. Predictably, this
prompted a number of comments citing the same out-of-context quote that
always gets repeated by his detractors whenever Gutierrez makes a public
appearance these days. Of course, this all helps prove Gutierrez’s
point.

Senator Gutierrez mostly discusses his personal experience growing up
in Miami (not Globe), one of the central Arizona Copper camps that
birthed so much of the state’s Mexican-American political leadership
from the 1970s to the 1990s. Along the way, he makes a passing reference
to a “wealthy Californio” of the 19th century named Pablo de la Guerra.
Though de la Guerra is tangential to the story that Gutierrez is
telling, some elaboration is called for.

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The “Nuns on the Bus” are revving up their engines for another national
campaign, only this time the Catholic sisters are taking their mobile
platform for social justice along the country’s Southern border to push
Congress to pass immigration reform. Nuns on the Bus – Religion News Service:

“The ‘Nuns on the Bus’ is going on the road again!”

“This time we’re going out for common-sense immigration reform,” Sister Simone Campbell said to rousing applause.

Details of the latest tour are still to be announced, but the bus
trip is expected to start at the end of the month, beginning in New York
and winding up in California by way of Florida and the U.S. border with
Mexico.

Nuns on the Bus – Washington, DC – Organization | Facebook

Campbell believes the right moment and the right issue are coinciding
again, and like many longtime immigration reform advocates she is
willing to back the current bill despite reservations.

“We want to amend it, yes, but we want to pass it. We don’t want to
nitpick it to death. That’s what we did in 2007,” she said, referring to
the previous attempt to overhaul immigration, which ended in failure.