Tag Archives: immigration

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The current immigration reform bill marks a new phase in the fight for immigrant rights in the United States. However, with some minimal gains there are some major losses with this bill. A coalition initiated by black immigrant rights groups, civil rights organizations and faith groups have decided to coordinate a day of action to demand fair, just and inclusive immigration reform that addresses the needs of a diverse group of immigrant groups including Blacks, Asians and Eastern Europeans. In the coming weeks, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be making changes to the proposed bill. Tomorrow, these immigrant groups are standing together to ensure that their needs and concerns are addressed in the bill.

Tomorrow, The Black Institute joins black immigrant rights groups, civil organizations and faith groups across the country in a National Day of Action to demand fair and inclusive immigration reform bill that includes the needs of all immigrant groups.

The Black Institute http://www.theblackinstitute.org/

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A Clear Path

05/13/2013 Nativegrl77

By ThinkProgress War Room

So Far, So Good on Immigration Bill

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee began historic work on a bipartisan immigration reform bill. The centerpiece of the bill is a path to earned citizenship for the 11 MILLION undocumented immigrants already present in this country.

As far as today’s proceedings went, it’s so far, so good:

Modest improvements were made to the bill, including a provision mandating that law enforcement determine whether deporting an individual would raise humanitarian concerns with regard to the individual and/or his or her family.
GOP extremists attempted three separate times today to put up roadblocks to a pathway to earned citizenship that would have essentially guaranteed that the 11 MILLION undocumented would remain in the shadows for decades, if not forever. Fortunately, all three of these attempts were roundly defeated by Democrats and pro-reform Republicans.

Nearly three dozen amendments from both Republicans and Democrats were cleared during the largely amicable legislative markup, with 21 approved — and all but one of those on a bipartisan basis. The committee will continue working over the next two weeks until all 300+ amendments filed have been dealt with, though many of these will not actually be brought up by their sponsors or receive vote.

Today’s action only adds further positive momentum to the bill and a pathway to earned citizenship, which is supported by a whopping 83 percent of Americans.

BOTTOM LINE: The Senate immigration bill is a strong bill, but already represents a compromise for both sides. A bipartisan group of senators is making sure to hold the line on the bill and maintain a clear path to earned citizenship, despite the best efforts of some extreme, anti-reform Republicans to throw up roadblock after roadblock.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

GOP senators vote to spend tens of billions of dollars to militarize the border.

Minnesota House passes marriage equality.

Ex-official: Heritage Foundation has betrayed Reagan.

Heritage Foundation may be forced to hire PR firm to deal with backlash from anti-immigration report.

Racist author of Heritage Foundation’s anti-immigration report also wrote for white nationalist website.

Leader of GOP witch hunt on Benghazi admits he learned nothing new in hours-long hearing.

GOP Senate nominee caught using $281,500 “tax scam.”

GOP senator tries to impose anti-woman agenda on citizens of Washington, D.C.

Unemployment would be a point lower had we not been fixated on the deficit for the past two years

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Immigration : An American Story

05/09/2013 Nativegrl77

Cecilia Muñoz Director,

Domestic Policy Council

The White House

Hi, everyone —

This is the start of a national debate. Across the country, we’re having a serious discussion about how we can build a fair and effective immigration system that lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.

And we need your help to make sure that genuine, personal perspectives are part of the conversation. The truth is, that if we go back far enough, nearly every American story begins somewhere else — so often with ancestors setting out in search of a different life, carving out a future for their children in this place that all of us now call home.

We want to make sure that idea isn’t far from the minds of policymakers here in Washington as we work to reach an agreement to reform immigration.

To kick things off, one of the President’s senior advisors sat down to share his story with you.

Watch David Simas tell his American story, then tell us yours.

When Americans from all over the country — each with different backgrounds, each from different circumstances — all speak out with the same voice, it’s powerful in a way that’s hard to ignore. We’ve seen it again and again, in debate after debate.

And this is the kind of issue where putting a face on the push for reform takes an abstract concept and makes it real. So share your American stories with us, and we’ll put them to use.

We’ll publish them on the White House website. We’ll share them on Facebook and Twitter. We’ll do everything we can to make sure they’re part of the debate around immigration reform.

Get started here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration/stories

Thanks, Cecilia

Cecilia Muñoz Director, Domestic Policy Council The White House

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100 Billion More Reasons for Immigration Reform – TP

04/23/2013 Nativegrl77

ThinkProgress War Room

New Deficit Reduction Plan: Immigration Reform

Last week, we discussed how immigration reform including a roadmap to earned citizenship for the 11 MILLION undocumented immigrants already here would be an $832 BILLION cumulative boost to the economy over the next ten years. Today, there’s even more evidence that immigration reform is just what the economy needs.

Official government estimates show that reforming our immigration system to increase legal immigration will be a huge boost to deficit reduction efforts. A chart highlighted today by ThinkProgress and Quartz shows why immigration reform might be one of the smartest and most effective deficit reduction plans out there:

The OMB estimates (pdf, p. 56) that increasing immigration by 300,000 people a year, to 1.3 million, would be the equivalent of 0.6% of GDP in deficit reduction, or about $100 billion, each year between 2014 and 2088. Sounds like plan to tackle the debt to me.

In addition to underscoring the benefits of immigration reform, this also shows that deficit reduction does not have to come exclusively from the kind of painful austerity spending cuts championed by the GOP. Smart policy changes in areas like immigration can also help reduce our deficit and grow the economy.

BOTTOM LINE: Immigration reform will boost the economy, reduce the deficit, and help create new opportunities for all Americans, no matter where they were born.

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Sequester cuts start causing massive delays at major airports, so of course the GOP unfairly blames President Obama.

Top Senate opponent of immigration reform loses it during hearing.

Amazing New York Times interactive on the Boston bombings.

Republicans who voted against Sandy aid now want it for West, TX explosion.

Kansas governor signs sweeping anti-abortion law, writes “JESUS + Mary” in his notes on the bill.

Former White House chief of staff, Chicago mayor: Sen. Heitkamp (D-ND) betrayed me on gun bill.

White House backs online sales tax plan.

GOP immigration dead-ender says DREAMers should self-deport.

Canadian police derail terror plot targeting New York-Toronto rail line.

Today is Earth Day — and the last day for comments on a draft environmental assessment of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

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A Trillion Dollar Boost

03/21/2013 Nativegrl77

By ThinkProgress War Room

How a Path to Citizenship Will Boost the Economy

Reforming our broken immigration system and offering the 11 million undocumented immigrants already here a path to earned citizenship is morally right thing to do, but it’s also the economically smart thing. A new report out today from our colleagues at the Center for American Progress outlines how immigration reform will offer a tremendous boost to the economy — especially if reform includes the vital pathway to citizenship.

Here are some of the key numbers to know:

Cumulative increase in GDP of $1.1 TRILLION.
Cumulative increase in the income of all Americans of $618 BILLION.
Increase in federal taxes paid by undocumented immigrants of $91 BILLION.
Increase in state and local taxes paid by undocumented immigrants of $53 BILLION.
Earnings of undocumented immigrants would increase by 25.1 percent, a cumulative increase in earnings of $515 BILLION.
Average annual increase in jobs of 159,000.

(All figures are the gains over ten years based on undocumented immigrants acquiring legal status in 2013 and citizenship 5 years later.)

As this handy chart shows, the sooner undocumented immigrants become citizens, the bigger the boost to the economy:

It’s hard to appreciate what some of these figures mean in real life, so here are some examples of the economic benefits of immigration reform:

Education: The GOP budget cuts education funding per capita by 47 percent; taxes from new citizens would fund 1.5 MILLION special education teachers.
Infrastructure: While the GOP budget slashes spending on roads, bridges, schools, airports, and other infrastructure, taxes from new citizens could rebuild the San Francisco Bay Bridge 23 times over.
College Affordability: The $91 BILLION in additional federal tax revenue paid by new citizens would fund more than 16 MILLION additional Pell grants over the next ten years.
Teachers: The $53 BILLION in additional state revenue paid by new citizens would fund more than 1 MILLION new K-12 teachers over the next years.

For more information on how immigration reform will boost the economy, check out the full report HERE.

BOTTOM LINE: Undocumented immigrants are makers not takers and putting them on a path to earned citizenship will help these new citizens and their communities and boost the economy by over $1 TRILLION.