And rejects others, including Grassley4, which would have held off legalization until impossible border security measures had been met.  Here are some of the security amendments that have been passed: Grassley2 – Adds Senate and House Judiciary Committees to list of bodies Secretary reports to on Border Strategy, implementation... Continue »
Senator Jeff Sessions has established himself as one of the leading opponents of immigration reform. We expect him to put on quite a show against immigration reform as markup continues over the next few weeks. Today, Sessions began challenging Chuck Schumer over aspects of the “Gang of Eight” bill.... Continue »
The mark up of the Senate immigration reform bill is underway. At the start of their meeting today, the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and the Ranking Republican, Chuck Grassley (R-IA), gave opening statements that set the tone for what’s to come. Leahy, who is... Continue »
When Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said the security provisions contained in the bipartisan Senate bill are “weak” in his opening statement today, he completely ignored reality and the real state of border security: As a nation, we have mounted an aggressive “enforcement-first” strategy for the past 20 years.  Currently, according... Continue »
The Republican Party has embarked on a major overhaul of its recent anti-immigrant stance, spurred in large part by historically low levels of support from Latino voters in the 2012 elections.  Yet judging from the witnesses that Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) called at yesterday’s immigration... Continue »
The Senate Judiciary committee held an all-day hearing on immigration and the newly-released Senate bill today, but one of the most stirring moments came from DREAMer Gaby Pacheco, who talked about her personal story and shared stories from other immigrants.  Her testimony was a beautiful, thoughtful counter to statements... Continue »
Today, at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigration reform, the Ranking Minority member, Chuck Grassley, invited Kris Kobach, the former General Counsel of FAIR, the author of Arizona’s SB 1070, the architect of self-deportation and the immigration advisor to Mitt Romney, to testify. Senator Dick Durbin asked Kobach... Continue »
Today, former Congressman Jim Kolbe gave powerful testimony at the Senate Judiciary Committee about the need to make sure the immigration reform legislation includes all families, including his own. The “Gang of Eight” bill did not include the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which has the support of America’s... Continue »
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on the immigration reform legislation drafted by the “Gang of Eight.” As we noted in the post below, the anti-immigrant Senators, led by Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and leader of the “Gang of Hate” Jefferson Beauregard Sessions (R-AL) on the panel... Continue »
Edit: Steve Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies testified today as well.  That makes THREE CIS-related witnesses, and two other Tanton-network witnesses, for a total of five. Today’s Senate Judiciary committee hearing on immigration and the bill released last week will be a jam-packed event, featuring four panels filled... Continue »