As the second week of debate on the Gang of 8 immigration bill got underway today, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, began his floor speech outlining the week ahead. As he said, “I hope we can make more progress on this vital legislation.” Leahy went...
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This week, the Senate began debate on the immigration reform bill. If you’ve been watching, you’re seeing just how complicated the process in the Senate can be. It’s subject to a lot of delaying tactics and procedural games. As you can imagine, opponents of reform–led by Senator Jefferson Beauregard...
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Today, on the Senate floor, we saw something we hadn’t seen yet in the immigration debate: A Senator actually invoked the Heritage Foundation’s infamous anti-immigrant report. Sure, Rep. Steve King has cited the report, but he’s so extreme we’d expect it from him. But Utah’s Mike Lee seemed unfazed by the controversy...
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Earlier today, as we noted, Majority Leader Harry Reid said: I am concerned that some who oppose the very idea of reform see these triggers as a backdoor way to undermine the legislation. And I believe some Republicans with no intention of voting for the final bill – regardless...
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Watch this morning’s speech below: Here’s the transcript of the President’s remarks on immigration reform: 10:38 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the White House. It is a pleasure to have so many distinguished Americans today from so many different walks of life. We’ve got Democrats...
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Once again, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) is leading the charge to undermine immigration reform. As our Executive Director here at America’s Voice Frank Sharry has noted, Cornyn has played that role before, the last time immigration reform legislation was debated in 2006-2007. This time, Cornyn is planning to introduce a...
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There’s been a lot of news about Senator John Cornyn’s plans to introduce a poison pill border security amendment when the Gang of 8 immigration bill hits the floor next week. This afternoon, Greg Sargent reports on a very important development: Senate Democrats aren’t going along with Cornyn. They...
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Yesterday at DailyKos, Markos Moulitsas took a look at the amendments Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is proposing to the Senate immigration reform bill. Markos examines Hatch’s strategy in relation to the GOP’s fumbling attempts to attract Latino voters, and concludes that Hatch’s amendments could have negative impact on the GOP effort:...
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Roll Call: Reid: 60 Votes on Immigration ‘Pretty Easy’ By Niels Lesniewski Wall Street Journal: Immigration Bill Slow to Stir Foes’ Passion By Miriam Jordan US News and World Report: Anti-Amnesty Groups Face Mounting Odds in Immigration Fight By Lauren Fox Bloomberg: Senate Democrats Plan June 10 Start on Immigration Bill...
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The rest of the world is learning something we’ve known for awhile: Alabama Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is extremely and obsessively anti-immigrant. And his behavior being noticed. During the mark-up of the Senate’s “Gang of 8” bill, Sessions has stood out – often on his own. Dana Milbank at...
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