This afternoon, the House Judiciary Committee is continuing their markup of the SAFE Act (known on twitter as #HATEAct), which is already the worst anti-immigrant bill in recent history.  (View the press conference denouncing it here.) Rep. Steve King (R-IA), however, apparently just can’t help himself: King just attempted to... Continue »
This week, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has begun to talk tough about how he plans to move immigration through the House—with a majority of the majority, he says, and no violation of the Hastert rule. At a closed-door meeting with conservatives today and a press conference after, Boehner... Continue »
House Members, DREAMers & National Immigration Leaders Denounce the SAFE Act Leaders Call on the House to Get Behind Real Immigration Reform with Citizenship at the Heart Washington, DC – Today, the House Judiciary Committee began marking-up a new immigration bill, HR 2278, introduced by Rep. Trey Gowdy and... Continue »
National Journal reports that anti-immigrant House members are asking why Republicans should pass legislation that would give citizenship to “11 million undocumented Democrats.”  This fear of citizenship – and future voting behavior – courses through much of the immigration debate and underscores many Republican amendments designed to make the... Continue »
The House Judiciary Committee is meeting today to markup H.R. 2278, the so-called “SAFE Act,” an extremist anti-immigrant bill which would criminalize all undocumented immigrants.  Below is a collection of responses to the bill: Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL): The Arizona SB1070 law was substantially struck down by the Supreme... Continue »
USA Today: House proposal to further criminalize illegal immigration criticized By Alan Gomez National Journal: Sens. Hoeven, Corker Push New Border-Security Amendment By Rebecca Kaplan NBC Latino: Legislation to criminalize undocumented immigrants takes center stage today By Sandra Lilley Houston Chronicle (Editorial): Cornyn: The Great Pretender? Associated Press: House... Continue »
Below are remarks from Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), who delivered a speech on the House floor about today’s markup of the SAFE Act in the House Judiciary Committee: Remarks on Immigration, U.S. Congress, June 18, 2013 Mr. Speaker — Later today, the Judiciary Committee will mark-up the first immigration-reform... Continue »
Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) voted twice against the Gang of 8 immigration bill working its way through the Senate last week, and immigration reform advocates have been calling him out on it ever since. “Sen. Mark Kirk, where are you?” asked a Chicago Tribune editorial of his position on immigration... Continue »
Today, director of ICE John Morton announced that he would be leaving his position at the end of July to take a position at a private company. Morton has held his position since May 2009, and ICE has deported more than a million people during his tenure. Below is... Continue »
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... Continue »