Details of Senate plan begin to leak out, bill expected to be unveiled by Thursday

After much speculation that a plan would be coming out this week, or possibly delayed for a few weeks, the word inside the beltway is that a plan may be unveiled in the Senate on Thursday.  Meanwhile the House continues to work on a plan, and there is no timeline yet for a proposal.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a Senate immigration plan would set a high bar for border security:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323820304578413063272797112.html?mod=djemalertNEWS


A Senate plan may be put forward by the "Gang of Eight" by Thursday:
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/292679-senators-aiming-to-unveil-immigration-reform-bill-by-Thursday

Opponents of reform are arguing that the costs may be prohibitive:
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/immigration-reform-budget-price-tag-cbo-89785.html

There are reports of conservative infighting between the Heritage Foundation and pro-immigration reform organizations like the CATO Institute and Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/johnstanton/conservative-infighting-erupts-over-immigration-reform

The top 5 hurdles to immigration reform

Thousands of activists were heading to DC for a rally on immigration reform on Wednesday:
http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/thousands-travel-dc-pro-immigration-reform-rally/story?id=18918060#.UWTdP1eOV_M


Latest word on the House bill is that it is stuck:
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/house-immigration-bill-stuck-on-workers-89835.html

Immigration politics heat up in UK and US

David Cameron takes a hard line on immigration to the UK in a speech today:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/25/us-britain-immigration-cameron-idUSBRE92O00C20130325

But the prime minister's office was having trouble backing up claims of the cost of immigrants to the National Health Service (NHS): http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/mar/25/david-cameron-immigration-speech-trouble

Cameron's speech was also critiqued in the Daily Telegraph: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jameskirkup/100208823/immigration-if-only-politicians-would-lead-not-follow/

Meanwhile, in the U.S., Facebook found Mark Zuckerberg is forming a group to push for immigration reform: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2013/03/25/facebook-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-forming-group-to-push-immigration-reform/

And President Obama gave a speech today calling for debate on an immigration reform bill by April:
http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2013/03/25/obama-calls-for-april-debate-on-immigration-bill

However, there are reports that a dispute between labor and business interests may hold up the Senate reform bill: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/03/23/senate-gang-8-close-finalizing-immigration-reform-deal/

ICE releases detainees as sequestration approaches

Wasteful spending on "low priority" detainees? http://politic365.com/wasteful-spending-immigrant-detainees-released-due-to-sequestration/

USA Today reports that "hundreds" were released to allow ICE to stay within its current budget: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/02/26/illegal-immigrants-released-sequester/1949151/

Meanwhile, Senators McCain and Graham met with President Obama: http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/Politics/mccain-graham-obama-committed-immigration-reform/story?id=18601967

NumbersUSA is planning tv ads against Senator Graham's push for immigration reform: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/02/26/group-opposed-to-immigration-reform-targets-sen-graham/

Immigration Reform Debate Continues

The immigration debate continues, even in the midst of the approaching sequester deadline: Fox news Latino reports that Senator John McCain will meet with President Obama to discuss immigration reform on Tuesday -- this is after charges were exchanged last week between the White House and Marco Rubio that the President hadn't consulted with Senators on an immigration reform bill.

Meanwhile, the immigration reform issue is a hot topic at the state level:
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro will be the guest speaker in Miami:

Miami group lauds immigration reform efforts

 

A recent poll shows a major shift in California attitudes on illegal immigration since the passage of Prop. 187

 

And Bloomberg reports on Republican Governor's silence on the immigration issue after years of crackdowns   

 

 Last week saw marches around the country supporting immigration reform, including in Austin:

 Hundreds march to Capitol for immigration rally

A tale of two committees…

Terri E. Givens

The history of immigration reform in the United States has shown that Congressional committees and their chairs often play a key role in determining whether legislation makes it to the floor, and the nature of that legislation. This is certainly true now that immigration reform is high on the agenda for both political parties, and the President in particular. Over the last few weeks both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees held their first hearing on immigration reform.  Both committees focused on immigration reform, but the people who testified are a good indicator of the direction that the legislation will likely go in each house. 

The House Judiciary Committee held its first hearing on Tuesday, February 5^th, well before the Senate Judiciary Committee which held its first hearing on Wednesday, February 13^th.  Although expectations are that the Senate will be first to introduce a bill, it’s clear that the House intends to play a key role in the upcoming debate as well. The hearing was titled “America’s Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration.” The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Robert W. Goodlatte of Virginia, has a record of opposing any kind of “amnesty” for undocumented immigrants and the list of witnesses for this first hearing was a clear indicator that it will be a tough road for those pushing for amnesty and a path to citizenship. Witnesses like Michael Teitelbaum of the Sloan Foundation, Chris Crane from an ICE employee union, Julie Meyers Wood a former Bush era ICE administrator and Jessica Vaughn of the Center for Immigration Studies are considered to be opposed to immigration reform (article), and focused on border security and the pitfalls of the 1986 amnesty and immigration reform.  Only one witness was considered to be coming from a pro-reform perspective, Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio, TX, but Muzaffar Chishti of the Migration Policy Institute presented material which supported the administration’s contention that an “enforcement first” set of policies has already put the country on the path to a secure border. Several House members sounded skeptical of a broad, comprehensive bill and some have called for a focus on less contentious issues such as skilled migration. It is clear that border security will be a crucial issue alongside legalization.

The Senate judiciary committee’s hearing, led by Democrat and comprehensive immigration reform proponent Patrick Leahy of Vermont, was held a week after the House hearing.  The Chairman opened the hearing by stating “In my view it is time to pass a good bill, a fair bill, a comprehensive bill ... Too many have been waiting too long for fairness." On the Republican side, Sen. John Cornyn ofTexas, said the focus must be border security, "I do not believe the border is secure and I still believe we have a long, long way to go” (see article). The simple hearing title “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” belied the many issues discussed during the hearing such as border enforcement, legalization, employer sanctions, skilled migration, and even shouting protestors calling for an end to deportations. The first witness was Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who made an argument for the administration’s enforcement efforts. The Senate witness list also included Chris Crane and Jessica Vaughn, however, there were many clear distinctions from the House hearing – one of the main witnesses, for example, was Jose Antonio Vargas, an undocumented immigrant whose story of being brought to the U.S. as a child has galvanized the immigration reform movement since he made his story public in a New York Times magazine article in June of 2011. The Senate committee also heard from Janet Murguia of the National Council of La Raza and Steve Case, an advocate for increased skilled migration.

The differences in these two hearings make clear the challenges that an immigration reform bill will face in getting through Congress.  The administration has “leaked” a copy of its immigration reform program (see article), and it’s clear that the White House will be ready to move forward with a bill if nothing is forthcoming from the House or Senate (Senator Marco Rubio has already called the administration's proposal "dead on arrival"). It seems that a bill which the administration can support is more likely to come from the Senate, and that a bill that includes a path to citizenship is unlikely to make it out of the House judiciary committee. However, only time will tell, and future hearings will be indicators of the direction that legislation is going. I will continue to watch the witness lists…

Jose Antonio Vargas testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/14/jose-antonio-vargas-at-se_n_2685872.html

 

Senate Judiciary Committee holds first hearing on immigration reform

From the San Francisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/1st-Senate-immigration-hearing-is-heated-4277207.php

The hearing focused on border security, undocumented immigration, and how to get to a path to citizenship: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02/13/senate-opens-immigration-hearings-with-republicans-grilling-napolitano-on/

Grover Norquist was in Austin to discuss immigration reform with moderate conservatives: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/national-govt-politics/conservatives-at-austin-summit-push-bibles-badges-/nWN26/


The STEM Act 3.0, focusing on high-skilled migration was introduced in the Senate: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_22583833/u-s-senators-introduce-high-skill-immigration-bill

The Washington Post reports on internal battles in the GOP with immigration control advocacy groups: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/effort-to-change-immigration-law-sparks-internal-battle-within-gop/2013/02/13/2916d164-740a-11e2-aa12-e6cf1d31106b_story.html

Obama on immigration in the State of the Union address

What President Obama said during his State of the Union Speech on immigration:

"Our economy is stronger when we harness the talents and ingenuity of striving, hopeful immigrants. And right now, leaders from the business, labor, law enforcement, and faith communities all agree that the time has come to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Real reform means strong border security, and we can build on the progress my Administration has already made – putting more boots on the southern border than at any time in our history, and reducing illegal crossings to their lowest levels in 40 years.

Real reform means establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship – a path that includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful penalty, learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the folks trying to come here legally.

And real reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods, reduce bureaucracy, and attract the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs and grow our economy.

In other words, we know what needs to be done. As we speak, bipartisan groups in both chambers are working diligently to draft a bill, and I applaud their efforts. Now let’s get this done. Send me a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the next few months, and I will sign it right away."

h/t Immigration Policy Center

From the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/12/state-of-the-union-speech-2013_n_2641382.html

ABC News: Anti-'amnesty' Activists Prepared for Immigration Fight

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/immigration-reform-opponents-prepare-fight-amnesty/story?id=18468175

Perry's silence versus evangelical support for immigration reform

Texas Gov. Rick Perry Keeps Silent As Immigration Reform Debate Moves Forward    

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/10/texas-gov-rick-perry-keep_n_2657388.html


From Reuters:

Among U.S. evangelicals, surprising support for immigration reform

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/10/us-usa-immigration-church-idUSBRE91901U20130210

Another view of immigration and undocumented immigrants from the San Francisco Chronicle:

The many faces of immigration reform

http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/openforum/article/The-many-faces-of-immigration-reform-4267204.php