Immigration Legislation/News Update...

Mexicans Fear Immigration Plan Moving Through Congress
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273718,00.html

Missouri Lawmakers OKS English As Official Language of Government
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,273813,00.html

President Bush Participates in Roundtable on Employment Eligibility Verification System
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070516-1.html

Immigration backers beat key challenges
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070524/ap_on_go_co/congress_immigration

View C-Span’s section on immigration. Includes newspaper articles, legislation, news videos, related links, etc. Of special interest: Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (Draft - For Discussion Purposes Only) http://www.c-span.org/special/immigration.asp

How Would Your Presidential Candidate Vote on Immigration
http://diversityinc.com/public/1909.cfm

Bush Defends Immigration Reform
http://www.matt.org/editorial/view.jsp?id=356

Hold the Emotions: A Rational Approach to Immigration
http://www.matt.org/espanol/editorial/355_hold_the_emotions_a_rational_approach_to_immigration.htmlImmigration

Reform Debate Begins in the Senate
http://www.matt.org/espanol/editorial/350_immigration_reform_debate_begins_in_the_senate.htmlImmigration

Bill Suffers a Big Setback
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20070608/D8PKCEOO0.html

National Latino Groups Call Bill 'Immigrant Apartheid'
http://diversityinc.com/public/2016.cfm

In some US cities, a revived push to let immigrants vote
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0618/p03s03-ussc.html

Senate immigration bill clears hurdle by handful of votes
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/26/immigration.congress.ap/index.html

Was the KKK Behind Ugly Anti-Immigrant Rally in L.A. Neighborhood
http://www.diversityinc.com/public/2023.cfm

NCLR News Release
May 22, 2007

NCLR APPLAUDS SENATE ON MOVING IMMIGRATION REFORM FORWARD AND WILL ENGAGE IN DEBATE ON IMPROVING SENATE BILL
Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., applauded the vote by the U.S. Senate to move the immigration debate forward. NCLR has urged the Senate to pass the strongest bill possible so that the process can proceed to its next step in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"The bipartisan group of senators who brought an agreement forward should be commended for getting the process started," said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. "This bill contains many promising provisions that are vital to the Latino community and to the nation. While we also have a number of serious concerns about the specifics of the bill, we believe we can address them as the bill moves through the legislative process."

Murguía highlighted the bill's path to citizenship for the 12 million undocumented workers currently living and working in the U.S. as a major accomplishment that must be preserved and strengthened as the legislation moves through the U.S. Congress.
"This bill represents our best chance to achieve immigration reform that addresses the undocumented population," Murguía said. She also highlighted the "DREAM Act," which benefits immigrant students, and the "AgJOBS" bill, which benefits farmworkers, as the major positive features of the immigration bill.

"Our community has also made it clear that we intend to address critical concerns in this legislation such as providing a path to citizenship for temporary workers and preserving the reunification of families as the cornerstone of our immigration laws," Murguía continued. "Now that this agreement has left the back room and is subject to the legislative process, we believe we will have opportunities to improve it in both the Senate and the House."

Murguía concluded by urging Congress to move expeditiously on immigration reform legislation. "The country is hungry for a policy that will work; Congress must turn this momentum into action and pass the best possible immigration reform."
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All Content © 2007 NCLR. All Rights Reserved

Cloture Motion; Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act
The weeklong debate over this comprehensive immigration reform bill ended with a failed cloture motion to end debate and proceed to a final vote. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) pulled the bill from the floor following the vote. The Senate twice earlier rejected motions to end debate by votes of 61-34 (Roll Call 204) and 63-33 (Roll Call 203). Republican opponents objected to not being permitted to bring the amendments of their choosing to the floor. The bill was negotiated between the White House and a small group of senators and would have created a path to citizenship for illegal aliens in exchange for increased border enforcement. Supporters from both parties say they will keep working on the bill.
http://www3.capwiz.com/mygov/issues/votes/?votenum=206&chamber=S&congress=1101

BREAKING NEWS: Senate Revives Immigration Bill
By a slim margin, the Senate voted Tuesday to resuscitate a long-stalled immigration-reform bill that would grant a path to citizenship for the 12-million-plus undocumented immigrants already in the United States. Proponents of the bill needed 60 signatures to clear procedural hurdles. They got 64 (to opponents' 35 votes), which is 15 votes more than they received for a similar measure in early June. President Bush is confident the bill, which still must overcome another 60-minimum vote as early as Thursday, will pass by the end of the week. Others are less optimistic. What will happen next?

Breaking News: Immigration Bill Suffers Defeat
The immigration-reform bill suffered a deadening blow today as the Senate voted against advancing the controversial "grand bargain." The Senate came up 14 votes short of 60, the number which would have led to the end of the debate and the beginning of serious moves to pass the bill. This is not unexpected, however, since its opponents hailed from both sides of the political aisle and included most of the major Latino groups. Supporters and opponents of the controversial legislation said that it probably won't be resurrected until after the 2008 elections. How long will the debate continue?

Senate drives stake through immigration
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070628/ap_on_go_co/congress_immigration

Senate immigration bill suffers crushing defeat
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/06/28/immigration.congress/index.html

NCLR News Release
June 28, 2007

TODAY'S VOTE A SETBACK, NOT THE END, FOR COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM
Washington, DC – The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., expressed deep disappointment with today's vote to end Senate consideration of comprehensive immigration reform.

"Today's action is a victory for the status quo, and no one should be happy about that. But the Senate vote is a setback, not the death knell, for comprehensive immigration reform. We are not giving up on getting a real, effective, and fair solution to the immigration issue," stated Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO.

"Despite today's vote, the country still needs leadership on this issue. There is bipartisan immigration reform legislation awaiting action in the U.S. House of Representatives, and supporters of comprehensive immigration reform will be looking to the House to take action as soon as possible," continued Murguía.

"Finally, we believe that whatever political gain people think may come out of this vote will be short-lived, especially in light of the growing and increasingly energized Latino electorate. In the long run, legislators should and will be held accountable for not moving a solution forward," concluded Murguía.
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All Content © 2007 NCLR. All Rights Reserved