Fixing Our Broken Immigration System

Daily Border Bulletin is up! Stories of today include:

Immigration bill includes Department of Labor's oversight- An immigration bill that proposes to end the national origin cap for the employment-based green cards got new amendments to get stricter oversight from the Department of Labor

Mexican boy with massive receives treatment in the U.S.- A 9-year-old boy with a massive tumor was whisked from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico in an armored vehicle by U.S. federal agents and taken across the border for treatment in New Mexico.

President Calderon urges the U.S. to review gun laws- Mexican President Felipe Calderon condemned U.S. gun laws as “mistaken” and urged Washington to review them after a shooter killed 12 people and injured more than 50 others at a U.S. movie theater on Friday.

Daily Border Bulletin is up! Today's stories include:

California Attorney General supports undocumented immigrant who wants to practice law- California Supreme Court will decide if an undocumented immigrant should be allowed to practice law even though his immigration status makes employing him illegal. That is the case of  Sergio Garcia, an undocumented immigrant who passed California’s law exam but was denied admission to the state bar.

GM to invest $420 million in Mexico- U.S. carmaker General Motors Co. announced investment of $420 million in Mexico that would create 1,000 new jobs at current plants.

Texas requests access to immigration database for election purposes- Texas elections officials have joined a growing number of states seeking access to a massive immigration database to check voter rolls for possible noncitizens.

Daily Border Bulletin is up! Stories of today include:

Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio faces trial on racial profiling complaints- A class action lawsuit in federal court in Phoenix against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio begins Thursday in a case that will test whether this sheriff can target the undocumented in immigration “sweeps” without racially profiling Latino citizens.

Border officers try new interrogation machine- Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers are experimenting a new machine to interrogate travelers on the border in Nogales, Arizona.

Mexico has big plans for its aerospace industry- More than 260 aerospace companies operate in Mexico, exporting some $4.3 billion in aircraft and parts last year, but the Mexican government has set a target of $12 billion in such exports by 2020, a figure that would surpass aerospace exports from Brazil and Spain.

Daily Border Bulletin is up! Today's stories include:

States want access to immigration database to purge lists of voters- Several presidential battleground states are moving quickly to reach agreements with federal officials to access a U.S. immigration database to purge noncitizens from voter rolls.

Tourist visa applications from Mexico increase 36 percent- China and Mexico are the only two U.S. Missions that process more than one million visa applications each year, according to a State Department’s press release.

Border crossing are at the lowest level- The government says apprehensions of people for federal immigration violations have dropped to the lowest level in 40 years, reflecting a decline in the northbound traffic of undocumented immigrants from Mexico.

Participants in the first of a new series Rethinking Immigration Reform at NDN were optimistic on the prospects of a solution to our broken immigration system in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision regarding Arizona anti-immigrant law SB 1070 and President Obama’s bold decision to grant deferred action to DREAM Act eligible youth. Frank Sharry, president of America’s Voice; Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF); and Tamar Jacoby, president and CEO of Immigration Works discussed what has changed in the political landscape around the immigration debate at NDN headquarters on Wednesday, July 18th.

The pro immigration movement has become strong enough to compel politicians to action, said Frank Sharry. As an example, President Obama granted relief from deportation to undocumented immigrants who arrived to the U.S. before the age of 16 and who complete high school on June 15.

Panelists recognized this presidential measure as an enormous step towards fixing the immigration system. “Most of the debate was around whether the president had the authority to do it not a discussion on whether he should or not do it,” explained Thomas Saenz. In his opinion, there is a critical stabilization of the political debate around immigration issues in which public opinion recognizes that undocumented immigrants would eventually get legal status and continue contributing to the U.S. economy. Immigrants like DREAM Act eligible youth have become agents and subjects of the debate and changed the framework from victimization to an inspirational militancy, according to Sharry. "But they are also the face of their parents," he said.

As a result, there are more bills to fix the legal immigration system in Congress, said Tamar Jacoby. Currently, U.S. Congress discusses visas for entrepreneurs, for graduate students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), and for agricultural workers. Jacoby also recognized that some Republicans endorsed Obama’s decision on the DREAM Act eligible students but that a true solution should be approved through the U.S. Congress in a bi-partisan effort.

Panelists considered the decision by the Supreme Court on federal preemption of several provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070 as a victory for immigration activists. States who pursue their own legislation on immigration issues will face expensive attorney fees, a decrease in tourism and a potential economic crisis while “it would be impossible if not difficult to implement the ‘papers, please’ provision,” said Saenz.

At the end of the panel, Simon Rosenberg, president of NDN, highlighted the increasing safety levels in the U.S. border communities and the decline of Mexican immigrants to the U.S. as an opportunity to fix the immigration system. “Rehabilitating Mexico’s image in the U.S. as a fast growing economy and not a crime ridden country is key to any immigration reform,” Rosenberg said.

Participants of the first panel of the series Rethinking Immigration Reform at NDN were optimistic on the prospects of a solution to our broken immigration system in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision regarding Arizona anti-immigrant law SB 1070 and President Obama’s bold decision to grant deferred action to DREAM Act eligible youth. Frank Sharry, president of America’s Voice; Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF); and Tamar Jacoby, president and CEO of Immigration Works discussed what has changed in the political landscape around the immigration debate at NDN headquarters on Wednesday, July 18th.

The pro immigration movement has become strong enough to compel politicians to action, said Frank Sharry. As an example, President Obama granted relief from deportation to undocumented immigrants who arrived to the U.S. before the age of 16 and who complete high school on June 15.

Panelists recognized this presidential measure as an enormous step towards fixing the immigration system. “Most of the debate was around whether the president had the authority to do it not a discussion on whether he should or not do it,” explained Thomas Saenz. In his opinion, there is a critical stabilization of the political debate around immigration issues in which public opinion recognizes that undocumented immigrants would eventually get legal status and continue contributing to the U.S. economy. Immigrants like DREAM Act eligible youth have become agents and subjects of the debate and changed the framework from victimization to an inspirational militancy, according to Sharry. "But they are also the face of their parents," he said.

As a result, there are more bills to fix the legal immigration system in Congress, said Tamar Jacoby. Currently, U.S. Congress discusses visas for entrepreneurs, for graduate students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), and for agricultural workers. Jacoby also recognized that some Republicans endorsed Obama’s decision on the DREAM Act eligible students but that a true solution should be approved through the U.S. Congress in a bi-partisan effort.

Panelists considered the decision by the Supreme Court on federal preemption of several provisions of Arizona’s SB 1070 as a victory for immigration activists. States who pursue their own legislation on immigration issues will face expensive attorney fees, a decrease in tourism and a potential economic crisis while “it would be impossible if not difficult to implement the ‘papers, please’ provision,” said Saenz.

At the end of the panel, Simon Rosenberg, president of NDN, highlighted the increasing safety levels in the U.S. border communities and the decline of Mexican immigrants to the U.S. as an opportunity to fix the immigration system. “Rehabilitating Mexico’s image in the U.S. as a fast growing economy and not a crime ridden country is key to any immigration reform,” Rosenberg said.

Daily Border Bulletin is up! Today's stories include:

Bill seeks to keep immigrant families together- The Help Separated Families Act, H.R. 6128, authored by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, addresses the growing number of U.S. born children placed in foster care as a result of immigration enforcement actions, with the intent to keep children of detained or removed parents united with their families.

Latinos in New Mexico file racial profiling complaints- Six people filed racial profiling complaints against the Farmington Police Department and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department over accusations that the agencies used race and ethnicity to inquire about immigration status.

Latinos are majority of strawberry growers in California- Latinos now comprise two-thirds of strawberry growers in California, where 90 percent of the nation’s strawberries are grown.

Since Senators John McCain and Ted Kennedy built the framework for what is called Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2005, the policy and political landscape has changed a great deal.  Pieces of CIR have been enacted, others stalled, others need updating.  In the aftermath of a tumultuous few weeks in the immigration reform debate we found ourselves asking – so if a bill were to move in the next Congress, what would it look like? What problems are we trying to solve now, and where should the emphasis be? Is the original McCain-Kennedy framework still applicable or just something else need to be constructed?  

To take a look at these questions NDN/NPI is launching a new series of events we call “Rethinking Immigration Reform.”  Our first in the series is with a terrific and thoughtful group of experts and advocates from across the political spectrum:

Tamar Jacoby, President and CEO, ImmigrationWorks USA
Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
Frank Sharry, Executive Director, America's Voice

The first in our series of events will take place July 18th, at NDN/NPI's event space, 729 15th St, NW.  Lunch will be served at noon and the program will begin at 1215pm.   Seating is very limited for this event so please RSVP today.

Below please find some background material to help contextualize our conversation.

Politics of the SB 1070 ahead of the 2012 General Elections

Simon's Statement on SCOTUS Immigration Decision Simon Rosenberg 6/25/2012

Simon's take on the politics of SB1070 and the decision by the Department of Justice to declare the law unconstitutional.  The national GOP has gone into big time spin mode on this, declaring that the DOJ suit is political death for "Democrats in the West."   While that scenario is possible of course,  Simon looks at what we know about how this debate has played out in recent years.

Is Immigration a Desert Mirage for the GOP?  by Kristian Ramos, 7/27/2010

This special report acts as an excellent primer on the politics around SB1070. It also explores the idea that many Republican's see the popularity of SB1070 as an opportunity to create a wedge issue out of immigration. The report also focuses on the potential political gains and losses for Democrats in the Fall.

Why Jan Brewer Should Re-Consider Enforcing "Papers Please" Section of SB1070 Kristian Ramos 6/25/2012

Even though the Supreme Court upheld the provision that police officers check immigration status of individuals stopped for ordinary traffic violations, it is increasingly unlikely that Governor Brewer will ever be able enforce the law for a sustained amount of time facing the economic costs and more civil rights' lawsuits.

Moving forward to fix our broken immigration system

NDN MEMO: With Pres Obama Our Border is Safer, Our Immigration System Better  Simon Rosenberg 6/22/2012

This memo highlights the achievements of President Obama of making the U.S. border regions safer; strenghtening workplace enforcement; and the new bold policy to relieve from deportation immigrants who would be eligible to legal status under the DREAM Act proposal in order to focus resources in the removal of immigrants with criminal background.

Simon Weighs In on Current Immigration Debate  Anjani Nadadur 6/22/2012

This report is a comparison on the Obama's and Romney's vision to address the need for an immigration reform and appeal to Hispanic voters at the convention of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

Daily Border Bulletin is up! Today's stories include:

International visitors spent $13.9 billion in May in the U.S.- New data released by the U.S. Commerce Department shows that international visitors spent nearly $13.9 billion on travel to, and tourism-related activities within, the United States in May—$1 billion more than was spent in May 2011.

First lady advocates for an immigration reform- First lady Michelle Obama advocated for an immigration reform and to pass the DREAM Act during her visit to Florida in which she met with Latina women and she had an interview with Spanish-language TV station Univision.

Immigrant seeks legal status through same-sex marriage- An immigrant from the Philippines filed a lawsuit seeking legal right to stay in the United States based on her same-sex marriage to an American citizen.

Daily Border Bulletin is up! Stories of today include:

University of Houston creates research center for Mexico-U.S. law- The state of cross-border legal services between the United States and Mexico is the subject of the first research project of the new Center for U.S. and Mexican Law at the University of Houston Law Center.

Chicago Mayor proposes to bar immigration status checks- Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he would propose an ordinance that would bar police officers from turning over undocumented immigrants to federal agents if the immigrants do not have serious criminal convictions or outstanding criminal warrants.

D.C. approves bill against Secure Communities- In a unanimous vote, the D.C. Council approved a bill on Tuesday that will limit the ability of the federal government to enforce immigration laws by restricting the circumstances in which individuals can be held in the custody of local law enforcement at the request of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement