Cross-posted at The Hill: I think it’s time that Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) , Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, and Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted had a meeting on immigration.  They seem a bit scattered when it comes to the policy—although they do seem united on the political... Continue »
The AP has a piece out today arguing that a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security may not be such a big deal, because critical programs and personnel would have to keep working even if the latter aren’t getting paid. The piece misses the obvious point—the national... Continue »
Immigration reform champion Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) has been taking to the Senate floor regularly to describe the transformative impact the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is having on people’s lives.  You’d think that policymakers from all political ideologies would support allowing smart, talented, and driven Americans... Continue »
The nativists at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), a key component of the Tanton network, have launched another attack on immigrants and their families in a new “study” that exposes what is for them a startling revelation: Some people in the United States are bilingual. Apparently, CIS believes... Continue »
It might be a symbolic gesture at this point, but in the immigration debate symbolism matters.  California’s notoriously anti-immigrant Proposition 187—the ballot initiative that spawned a movement and inspired untold numbers of leaders to enter organizing and politics—has been removed from California state law. It was already unenforceable thanks... Continue »
In a long-awaited article, Brian Bennett of the Los Angeles Times calls my friend and fellow Ohioan, Veronica Dahlberg, the “guardian angel” of northeast Ohio’s immigrants.  That’s her, exactly.  But Veronica’s not a passive angel, whispering thoughts in your ear and fluttering her wings.  She’s a fired up angel who... Continue »
Tomorrow, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing where Republicans will grill DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson.  The hearing will no doubt cover a range of immigration policy issues as Republicans see them, including Steve-King-caucus-priorities such as criminal activity by immigrants, the Obama Administration’s lack of respect for the law, criminal... Continue »
Cross-posted from The Hill: Attorney General Eric Holder pushed back on Republicans’ attempt to micromanage the administration at a House Judiciary Committee hearing.  He said: “There is a vast amount of discretion that a president has — and, more specifically, that an attorney general has.  But that discretion has to... Continue »
In today’s Washington Post, former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff trots out the typical Republican complaints about President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program: “I understand when the decision was made not to deport the so-called ‘Dreamers’ it was seen as very humane. But for people skeptical and... Continue »
As Congress returns to work next week, one thing is clear: the immigration reform movement has never been stronger. And the movement gets stronger every day. We continue to build political power while our opponents continue to lose credibility. After the August recess, another thing is clear: we now have the... Continue »