Cross-posted at Left in Alabama A lower court’s ruling striking down most of Alabama’s HB 56 law will stand, we learned when the Supreme Court announced it would not not hear the state’s appeal to revive its worst-in-the-nation anti-immigrant law. It was two years ago that Alabama passed HB 56, a horribly strict... Continue »
Cross-posted at Daily Kos. This was a big week in anti-immigrant ranting for Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions (R-AL), the leader of the “Gang of Hate.” It’s becoming more and more clear that Sessions is on a mission to defeat immigration reform. You might even call it an obsession. At... Continue »
Yesterday, the Senate Gang of 8 introduced its long-awaited bipartisan immigration bill. Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing on the bill, with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The hearing will probably double as our first chance to see the anti-immigrant “Gang of Hate”... Continue »
Over the weekend, the notoriously anti-immigrant Senator from Alabama, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions (R), appeared on ABC’s “This Week” to assert his role as the leading opponent of the Senate bipartisan reform bill. As Think Progress noted, the main thrust of Sessions’ economic claim wasn’t even true – and was... Continue »
Yesterday, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Joey Kennedy took a whack at Senator Jeff Sessions for trying to stall immigration reform in their home state* newspaper, with a column entitled “Do Nothing? Now that’s something Sen. Jeff Sessions can do.” As Kennedy writes: I guess it makes sense that U.S. Sen.... Continue »
At today’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on ICE’s recent release of hundreds of immigrants from detention, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R – AL) asked Director Morton a question that immigrant rights advocates have been asking for years: “Is it possible that you are detaining more people than you need to?…... Continue »
President Obama nominated Thomas E. Perez, the nation’s top civil rights enforcer, as the new secretary of Labor today, another sign of immigration reform’s current significance on the national stage. Perez is the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, and has led the Administration’s efforts against... Continue »
Many members of Congress have been at home this week, meeting with their constituents and speaking about–among other things–immigration reform legislation currently being considered in Congress. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), one of the most anti-immigrant members of the Senate, encountered some of his pro-immigration reform constituents yesterday, at a fish fry... Continue »
This week, NPR is airing a series of reports on the state of US immigration and the prospects for reform in 2013.  In the latest segment, Debbie Elliott looks at Alabama’s worst-in-the-nation anti-immigrant law HB 56, which was first implemented just over a year ago and still has consequences... Continue »