The specific measure, written by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), “was one of the most hard-line of the proposals,” according to a Los Angeles Times article by Lisa Mascaro. Many party leaders are urging members of Congress to soften their polarized opinions in order to come up with a reasonable compromise. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is working intently to find this middle ground. Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, is also making sure to emphasize that it is important for the Republican Party to reach out to the Latino population, especially since the Republican Party lost a large amount of Latino votes to President Obama in the 2012 Presidential Elections. Share your thoughts by writing to us!

Therefore, The National Immigration Forum has been sending individuals to various congressional offices to lobby for reform that would finally and comprehensively fix the broken immigration system. Because the bill is being heavily debated, many groups have started to make appearances in Washington D.C., hoping to influence the debate. Labor unions, as well, are stepping up their game.

Also, because there are a wide range of amendments on the table, advocates for the proposed amendments will be doing their best to make their voices heard. For example, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has pushed for immigration equality for same-sex couples. This being noted, many gay rights organizations will be demonstrating their support for Sen. Leahy’s amendment.

As the proposed amendments to the comprehensive immigration bill take center stage, the influence of lobbyists will definitely exercise a significant role in what transpires in the upcoming days. Share your thoughts by writing to us!

On May 23rd, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced that instead of passing the Senate’s immigration bill, the House will create and debate its own bill. Boehner said, “The House remains committed to fixing our broken immigration system, but we will not simply take up and accept the bill that is emerging in the Senate if it passes. Rather, through regular order, the House will work its will and produce its own legislation.”

This announcement, if taken into action, can put a damper on the fast-pace at which the bill has been moving thus far. Full debate is set to begin in Senate next month and it is speculated that a decision will be reached by the end of June. If Speaker Boehner intends on putting his words to action, then the House will have to craft its own bill and eventually reconcile the Senate bill and the House bill. This process would, needless to note, take longer for comprehensive immigration reform to come to fruition.

By this time next month, intentions, both in the House and in Senate, will be clearer. In the meanwhile, keep an eye on where the bill stands by visiting http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s744. Share your thoughts by writing to us!

This announcement seems to have created a buzz as reporters search for an alternative. The term “undocumented immigrant” is most commonly used; however, Kent argues that this term is too broad and imprecise, “after all, an ‘undocumented’ immigrant could have all sorts of documents, like a driver’s license or a birth certificate from their home country.”

When presented with another alternative, “out-of-status,” Kent argues that this term is a no-go as well – “everybody has some status.” This leaves fewer alternatives. However, for immigration activists who are anti-i-word, the fact that the AP has set this new requirement to avoid the term “illegal” still remains an event to celebrate. Share your thoughts about this action by writing to us!

Many talks have already taken place, namely by the bipartisan Gang of Eight; however, it is important that the President has made a public demand to Congress to “finish the job”. The bill that the Gang of Eight has devised might serve as a guiding light for a compromised between Congress and the White House. The bill will potentially answer the questions of a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented individuals, a guest-worker program, and an increase in STEM visas. What precisely is covered in the bill will only be known after the Gang of Eight makes public its bill after Spring Break. Spring Break ends on April 8^th, which is right around the bend. Until then, we must play the waiting game. 

Such has been the case recently – as immigration and same-sex marriage have been issues in the foreground of politics, it only makes sense that the two groups would overlap at some point. Though there are no official statistics, it can easily be assumed that there is a relatively large number of undocumented immigrants who are members of the LGBT community. Additionally, it must also be noted that a large portion of the LGBT community are children or grandchildren of immigrants.

Gay rights advocacy groups are adamant to maintain cohesiveness, ensuring that no member is left behind. Similarly, immigrants’ rights groups support individuals from all walks of life. This ideology is one of the reasons that gay-rights groups are actively becoming involved in immigrants-rights movements, and in many case, vice versa. In the elections in November, it was calculated that there was overwhelming and unprecedented support from the LGBT community for immigrants’ rights and vice versa – while the LGBT community showed support for undocumented immigrants being treated no differently from other students in regard to paying equal tuition, the immigrant community showed support for LGBT issues such as same-sex marriage.

To segue off of same-sex marriage, it must be noted that there are an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 same-sex couples who would benefit from not only same-sex marriage, but also immigration reform – currently, if one half of the same-sex couple is an American citizen and the other is foreign-born, the former may not sponsor the latter, as would be the case for straight couples. This discrepancy is unsettling to advocates of both groups.

With these two groups joining forces, movement towards equality for both parties is expected. President Obama has proposed a plan that would overhaul our nation’s broken immigration system, and part of this proposal addresses immigration benefits for same-sex couples. While this proposal might be supported by certain left-wing individuals, what the right has to say remains uncertain. Therefore, while the success of the President’s proposal remains to be seen and can only be told by time, one must remain hopeful as the two groups continue to unite and grow in the struggle for equality.

This bipartisan group of senators have joined forces so our nation’s broken immigration system can finally be fixed – together, they have devised a plan for overhaul. This legislation focuses on improving border security and a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented individuals. Additionally, if implemented, this plan would improve legal immigration into the country and would also make it difficult for employers to conduct unethical and illegal business in regard to foreign employees.

It has been noted by some members of the Gang of Eight that while there is a consensus amongst them about border security and pathway to citizenship, devising a plan to efficiently address the problems legal immigration and future workers has been difficult. The Gang of Eight has imposed a deadline for the end of March/ beginning of April to release their legislation, however. Once the legislation has been released, the Judiciary Committee will vote on it, followed by full Senate’s vote, and then, the House vote.

How successful each round of voting will be is uncertain and it should be noted that regardless of how well-crafted the Gang of Eight’s legislation is, this could fail at any point. One must remain hopeful, however, that each party involved will realize how essential it is to finally fix our immigration system. 

While a recent report from the Migration Policy Institute has shown that in the last fiscal year, the administration has spent more money on immigration enforcement than on the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Secret Service combined, undocumented immigration is still in existence. This may be because while immigration enforcement has such final backing, it does not seem to be at its utmost efficiency.

Undocumented immigration harms not only the economy, but also the individuals partaking in it. They are forced to live their lives in metaphorical dark alleyways and have the constant fear of an eventual deportation. Thusly, a clear path to citizenship will not only benefit the economy but also the millions of individuals who are undocumented.

That being noted, what the President claims to be two major aspects of comprehensive immigration reform, what are the other aspects involved? Share your thoughts by writing to us. 

Late last year, the GOP-controlled House passed a bill that would have granted 55,000 new STEM visas. However, this effort was opposed by Democrats who opposed the fact that these new visas were eliminated from the diversity green card lottery system, which grants visas to people from underrepresented countries in our nation’s immigration system. As a result, the bill did not advance in the Senate.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fl) recently said that one of the primary reasons to pass immigration reform is to keep high tech jobs in the country. Granting more STEM visas ensures that the talent that our higher education institutes invests time and resources in stay in the country, rather than what has been occurring as of late where graduates of higher education institutes are unable to legally stay in the country and have to resort to emigrating to competing countries where they are much more able to secure gainful employment and residency.

While Senator Rubio’s push for immigration reform has such a heavy focus on STEM visas, it does not seem as though his plans for reformation are as comprehensive as they ought to or could be. Share your thoughts about Senator Rubio’s view by writing to us!

This bill would have provided approximately 55,000 visas to eligible candidates. While Democrats are not discounting the beneficial outcome of providing visas to these candidates, they are disgruntled by the fact that, under this Republican bill, new visas would not be created. Instead, the creation of the STEM visas would be a result of removing the diversity visa lottery program.

The Republican STEM bill, however, did attempt to concede to the concern posed by many Democrats in regard to spouses and minor children. The bill included a provision that would allow these family members to live in the United States while they waited for their own green card applications to be processed. While one might assume that this concession to Democrats would appease them, Democrats were disconcerted by the fact that these family members would not be allowed to legally find employment during their wait.

The GOP’s first attempt at achieving some sort of immigration reform has been unsuccessful. Hopefully this loss will not be reason to stop trying, however. Share your thoughts about this attempt and the response from Democrats with us.