Tag Archives: Illegal immigration

Bush is Gone, But His Judges Are Here to Stay


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Filibuster Wars Return

Following a brief detente over executive branch nominations over the past few months, Republicans yesterday went back to their same old obstructionist ways.

First, Republicans used the filibuster to block an up-or-down vote on Rep. Mel Watt, who has been nominated to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, an important agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is the first time since the Reconstruction Era that a sitting Member of Congress has been denied confirmation. Watt is also the first African-American FHFA nominee.

Republicans then filibustered the nomination of Patricia Millett for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, despite her sterling credentials as one of the most well-respected members of the Supreme Court bar, previous experience in both Democratic and Republican administrations, and the support of conservative legal luminaries like Ken Starr and Ted Olson.

The D.C. Circuit is second only to the Supreme Court in importance. It hears cases involving key national security issues and federal regulations like environmental and labor rules. During the Bush administration, all 11 seats on the court were happily filled by Republicans. But now that three vacancies have opened up, they are refusing to allow votes on President Obama’s nominees.

It’s no secret why — conservatives currently have a stranglehold on this important court and Republicans want to keep it that way. Of the eight current judges, four were appointed by Republicans and four were appointed by Democrats; however, five of six semi-retired senior judges who still hear cases were appointed by Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) indicated that Obama’s nominees will be voted on again and not-so-subtly threatened to change the filibuster rules if Republicans continue their blockade.

Why Courts Matter

The last 24 hours have provided important reminders about why the courts — and federal appeals courts in particular — matter.

In Texas, a three-judge panel of conservative Bush-appointed judges overruled an earlier ruling and reinstated Texas’ draconian new restrictions on abortion. The restrictions forced about one-third of Texas abortion clinics to close. Today.

And then this morning, D.C. Circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown, one of Bush’s most radical appointees, issued a ruling against the Obamacare mandate that requires insurers to offer no-cost birth control.

Both of these vital cases will likely head to the Supreme Court, which also continues to be controlled by Republican-appointed justices, where they will face an uncertain fate.

BOTTOM LINE: The courts matter and it’s important that President Obama be allowed to exercise his constitutional duty to fill vacancies on the D.C. Circuit, other federal appeals courts, and district courts. Unless more progressive judges make it on to the bench, radical judges appointed by Bush and other Republicans will continue to try and drag the country backward and undermine hard won progressive victories.

Had enough? Click HERE to tell your senators that enough is enough and it’s time to allow a vote on the president’s nominees.

Become a Charter Member


NMAAHC -- National Museum of African American History and Culture

Join NowThank you for spreading the word about the Smithsonian’s newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). However, not a roof beam can be raised, a nail hammered, or a window set into place without the steadfast commitment from friends like you.
That is why I hope you’ll become a Charter Member of the Museum. Every dollar you can give brings us one step closer to the day we open the doors on what will truly be a great addition to the Smithsonian’s family of museums.
The NMAAHC will present the dark days of slavery and also celebrate individual heroism and collective resiliency that was the Civil Rights Movement to the triumph of the election of the first African American president and beyond. But this history is not solely for African Americans. This history is America’s history.
Our challenge now is to raise the money we need to build this exciting addition to the American cultural landscape. Of the $500 million needed, Congress has committed to provide half of the funds required to build the Museum. This means we need your help to raise the additional $250 million in private donations to open the doors of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2015.
We broke ground in February 2012, but to continue construction, your generous support of the Museum as a Charter Member is critical. In return, you’ll be eligible for many special benefits:

  • For your gift of $25, you will receive a 10% discount at all Smithsonian gift shops and online, special E-updates about Museum events, programs and exhibitions, and your name added to the Museum’s prestigious electronic Honor Roll of Charter Members to be displayed at the Museum.
  • For your gift of $40, you will also receive a beautiful 8.5″ x 11″ Certificate of Appreciation, perfect for framing and proudly displaying your support of the Museum.
  • For your gift of $100, you will also receive the double CD Every Tone a Testimony, a fascinating aural history of African Americans in words, music and poetry.
  • For your gift of $250, you will also receive the book Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits, a beautiful collection of portraits and stories of prominent African Americans.

Please don’t delay in becoming a Charter Member. We need your help to build this great Museum. . With your help, we’ll build this important museum to honor the great legacy of the African American experience.
Sincerely,


Lonnie Bunch
Director
National Museu

Stand with the President in the fight for smart immigration policy … BarackObama.com


President Obama and his administration just proposed a common-sense change to our country’s immigration system in order to keep American families together.

This isn’t just a historic step for the hundreds of thousands of families who would be affected by this policy—it’s also a defining moment for this campaign.

Let the President know you stand with him in the fight for a smart, fair immigration system.

Under current law, undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens must leave the country to complete the immigration process—meaning thousands of families are separated every year while trying to pursue a legal path to citizenship.

The President’s plan would cut bureaucratic wait times and relieve an unfair burden on U.S. citizens who are unfairly separated from their loved ones during the legal immigration process. This proposal would build on other common-sense immigration reforms the President has put in place to help keep hardworking American families, who have played by the rules, together.

That’s why we need to have the President’s back in this fight—and the fights to come—in this election. Say you’ll stand with him today.

BREAKING: Administra​tion takes step forward with family unity waiver


 
 
 
New procedure change could keep more families together
Last month, we resolved to make 2012 the year for immigrant families — the year we show our united strength to defend our communities from the threats of the broken, unjust American immigration system.Today, the administration is proposing changes that would keep hundreds of thousands of families together.Imagine this scenario: your father leaves home to apply for his US visa — and finds himself barred from returning. Or your wife, finalizing her application to gain a visa, is stuck waiting months across the border, with no form of recourse.

Situations like these are reality for hundreds of thousands of immigrants and their families. It’s a catch-22 in the American immigration system: if you return to your country of origin to apply for a visa, you trigger a bar of 3 or even 10 years that prevents you from coming back to the US.

The administration is proposing family unity waivers that would allow spouses and children of US citizens to file for visas while remaining in the US.

Today’s announcement is welcome news. This reform could prevent parents from missing a decade of their children’s lives, and spouses from facing years without the support and care of their partners. There’s nothing abstract about potentially sparing hundreds of thousands of individuals from being separated from their families for years.

Read more about what these changes mean and how you can join in our commitment to make 2012 the year for even more common-sense reform to keep families together.

With hope,

Donna De La Cruz
Reform Immigration FOR America

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hump day and some News …


just another rant …but it’s not mine

featured picture is of WA’s 520bridge, which will be under construction…or retrofitted …it is from the DOT website

In my effort to help give more awareness to immigration, reform and what it means to America, which, as we all know is not just sensitive but a controversial topic, it tends to get responses that are very supportive or are extremely negative  . Please don’t get me wrong, i appreciate the responses. So , if we agree to disagree but feel passionate about a topic or two … so be it!  So, just to give a background; originally i posted the announcement given by email to all who support immigration reform and President Obama, an adjustment to immigration rules:below you can find the statement from Katherine Archuleta, a link to sign the petition and a call to stand with President Obama  …also, the  repsonse and objection to immigration as well as reform which some feel is a disguise for amnesty… sigh. My response was that i did not respond well to statements in CAPITAL LETTERS and a rundown of my racial background …

In a smart, strategic change to our immigration policy, President Obama is making sure that our immigration courts will focus on cases involving people who have committed crimes or are a security risk, rather than on “low-priority” cases involving young people who were brought here as small children and know no other home, or veterans and military spouses. Show you stand with him by passing on this good news to your friends:

http://my.barackobama.com/Common-Sense-Immigration

Katherine Archuleta
National Political Director
Obama for America

**********************

Dave Francis

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LIED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN 1986, WHEN THEY ENACTED THE IMMIGRATION CONTROL AND REFORM ACT. What makes you think they are not lying to us again?

Millions were given Amnesty under the Simpson/Mazzoli bill, with an outcome of 6 million and a path to citizenship. A good many had rushed processing, with major problems they way it was originally performed. On top of this was CHAIN MIGRATION, which added even more family members, which ended up eating away at Social Security safety net, with not a dime coming from their pockets. Each year taxpayers are forced by the court to care financially for illegal aliens and their children. Over a 100 billion a year is drained from the US treasury and States, with no end in sight. President Obama cannot survive the 2012 election campaign, without the vote of maximum number of minorities, legal and illegal.

In America since the immigration lax enforcement, the criminals from the dregs of the gutters have been turning up here. Hit and run drivers have been escalating, along with drunken foreigners who have been mowing down innocent citizens. The worst states on the borders are full of drug dealers, people smugglers, children and women molesters and heinous murders. This is the abject time when E-verify must be mandated for every workplace and “Secure Communities” must be enforced to its full capability.

The Democratic parties, with Liberal undertones are unconcerned that–ONLY—U.S. citizens can vote? Learn about widespread voter fraud, that the US government pretends is negligible–it’s not? More is available to read at “Judicial Watch” that illustrates that both Washington and certain states are rife with corruption. Our last hope is the TEA PARTY, THE PEOPLE’S PARTY of all Americans, who will turn the tide of Obama’s executive order to limit the flow of illegal alien deportations. Just like the President Obama’s health care program, his executive order is full of gaping loopholes, so there is convincing probability that illegal aliens will be returned to the streets.

Rest assured the word is already out about Obama’s clemency campaign that will invigorate millions to arrive from around the world; but mostly from countries south of the US border.

THE ONLY STATES THAT ARE SAFE FROM ECONOMICAL OCCUPATION OF ILLEGAL ALIENS IS ARIZONA, ALABAMA AND GEORGIA. THEIR LEGISLATORS DECIDED TO ENACT POLICING LAWS, SO THEIR CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS DIDN’T GET STUCK WITH UNFUNDED MANDATE BILLS FROM WASHINGTON. STATES THAT REMAIN UNCONCERNED ABOUT THEIR LEGAL POPULATIONS, SUCH AS CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA, WHO ARE NOW DEMANDING MORE TAXES TO PAY FOR THESE INCURSIONS. BOTH STATES ARE STRAINING AGAINST LIBERAL POLITICIANS, GIVING UNHEARD OF WELFARE PAYMENTS.

Taxpayers are already being forced to pay for the education, medical care and welfare for illegal migrants and immigrants? So how much more money is citizens and residents expected to pay from their dwindling wages? Illegal alien children are well taken care of with your tax dollars that includes food stamps and cash payments. While many American citizens live in dire poverty. Something is seriously wrong with this picture?

The TEA PARTY has become a mammoth grassroots movement of tens of millions of one- minded Americans from all racial and religious backgrounds, political parties, no matter what the Leftists party blabber? The TEA PARTY members have the shared focused values of limited government, individual freedoms, personal responsibility, “fair” free markets and above all else returning authority to the States and the people. We need a flat tax system, so that everybody whose domain is the United States-pays. No more IRS loopholes to escape through? The TEA PARTY is about reforming all political parties and control, so the key principles of our US Constitution, once again is the foundation on which this nation stands. The TEA PARTY is the hope of America’s future; for without it the rot will continue to eat away in House & Senate. The TEA PARTY will enforce the 1986 (ICRA), with no further Amnesties, ever.
MY EARLIER BLOGS: http://brittanicus-enoughisenough.blogspot.com/

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