There's been growing pressure on President Obama to use his executive powers to provide relief to undocumented immigrants, particularly DREAM students. The White House maintains that the President does not have the power to take those actions, but he really does. On Friday, several top lawyers in the... Continue »
As we wrote last month, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been grilling Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano about her Department's deportation practices. Grassley seems particularly agitated about the "threat" of Napolitano using prosecutorial discretion and allowing some individuals with compelling cases to delay their deportations through... Continue »
After six hours of testimony, Republicans in the Colorado House Education Committee voted down the Colorado ASSET bill on Monday. If passed, the legislation would have granted unsubsidized in-state tuition to undocumented youth. While the vote results weren't surprising, the biggest disappointment came from Colorado's lone Republican Robert Ramirez.... Continue »
For a sense of the challenges that both parties will have in winning over Hispanic voters in 2012, look no further than New Mexico, the state with the highest percentage of Latinos in the country. In the state's Senate race, Democrats and Republicans are facing the likelihood of heated... Continue »
There's more news for those naysayers who claim that undocumented immigrants don't pay taxes, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary. Last week, the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) estimated that in 2010, the state and local taxes paid by households that are headed by undocumented immigrants came... Continue »
On Friday, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-16) asked that federal immigration officials be investigated, claiming that they lied about whether counties and states had the right to opt out of the Secure Communities program. Continue »
On April 21st, the editorial page of La Opinión offered its take on President Obama's latest meeting on immigration reform. Like many of us, the editorial notes that they, and the Latino community in particular, want "more than just meetings." Continue »
Last week, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy (D) wrote to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requesting deferred action on behalf of DREAM-eligible student Mariano Cardoso. Cardoso, who has been living in the U.S. since he was a year old, is currently facing deportation and is merely months away... Continue »
Newt Gingrich has come a long way since criticizing Latinos a few years ago for continuing to speak "the language of living in a ghetto." He's taking Spanish lessons, reaching out to Hispanic community leaders, and supports "finding a way for residency" for some illegal immigrants. Continue »
Last Friday afternoon, on a press call, DREAM Act youth and immigration experts spoke about the legal authority that the President has to halt the jailing and deportation of DREAM Act eligible youth. Continue »