During a speech at Georgetown University Law Center yesterday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) announced plans to make immigration reform a top priority for his Committee in 2013.  As the starting gate for consideration of immigration reform in Congress, Leahy’s Judiciary Committee will play a crucial role in... Continue »
New developments in the immigration debate offer fresh evidence that immigration reform that creates a roadmap to citizenship for 11 million immigrants is going to be a top priority in 2013. Among the key developments: White House Gears Up:  A front-page piece from Julia Preston in the Sunday New... Continue »
The Illinois General Assembly passed a bill yesterday that will grant temporary drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants, moving the bill to the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn (D-IL) who plans to sign it into law.  The legislation passed due to the tireless work of advocates like the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant... Continue »
Two new studies on immigration enforcement show that the border first/border only immigration policy is not enough.  After spending more on immigration enforcement than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined, and achieving record levels of enforcement, the immigration system remains broken.  The missing piece—and the centerpiece of the... Continue »
Today, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) announced that he will join the House Judiciary Committee, stepping away from a plum post as the third ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, so that he can fight for immigration reform.  As Rep. Gutierrez stated, “passing comprehensive immigration reform is... Continue »
The Huffington Post reports that President Obama is planning to move “full steam ahead” on immigration reform this January, with the White House planning “to push forward quickly.”  Meanwhile, both movement conservatives and Republican leaders are calling for Republicans to engage in a new way on immigration.  As a new America’s Voice report makes clear, this... Continue »
Ruben Navarrette is a syndicated columnist for CNN, a conservative, and a self-proclaimed supporter of immigration reform. With such a platform and agenda, we would hope and expect him to use his column to promote citizenship for the undocumented in our country or to push his GOP friends to come... Continue »
New data on the deportations of the parents of U.S. citizen children remind us why family unity has to be the cornerstone of the upcoming immigration reform debate in Congress. Colorlines reports that the “federal government conducted more than 200,000 deportations of parents who said their children are U.S. citizens in... Continue »
A new video from America’s Voice Education Fund, “From the Latino Vote in 2012 to Immigration Reform in 2013,” captures the Republican Party’s challenge with respect to Latino voters and the GOP’s need to push for immigration reform. The video starts with Ronald Reagan arguing for “amnesty,” followed by... Continue »
The ramp-up to the upcoming immigration reform legislative battle has started and will continue to play out in public over the coming months.  As America’s Voice Education Fund’s Executive Director Frank Sharry told USA Today, the legislative “measures that pass are those are litigated in public, in a loud... Continue »