Tag: Immigration Reform

Coverage of the advance (or lack thereof) of a comprehensive immigration reform bill through Congress and its implementation.

Cautious Optimism Despite Another Delay in White House Immigration Reform Talks

President Obama - Photo: WhiteHouse.gov

There is no new date set for the immigration meeting. (Photo: WhiteHouse.gov)

Friday afternoons are often when bad news is made public in Washington D.C. Pro-immigration advocates were reminded of this last week when they learned that President Barack Obama for the second time postponed a bipartisan meeting on immigration reform due to “scheduling conflicts.”

But activists are keeping a sunny outlook in the face of increasing doubts about the White House’s commitment to have significant work done on the issue this year.

We’re disappointed at the delay, but this does not diminish the importance of passing comprehensive immigration reform this year,” Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D.-N.Y.), president of the Hispanic Caucus in Congress, told Los Angeles newspaper La Opinión.

The bipartisan meeting, which is expected to include members of both houses of Congress, was scheduled initially for June 8th, then rescheduled for Wed. June 17th. Now, there’s no certainty about the new date.

Univisión.com‘s Jorge Cancino quotes an unidentified White House official as saying the meeting would take place this week, although the source mentions no date or time. La Opinión reports it has been pushed to next week.

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Senate Leader Reid Says He Can Find Enough Votes to Pass Immigration Reform

By Diego Graglia, FI2W web editor
Sen. Harry Reid - Photo: reid.senate.gov

Sen. Harry Reid - Photo: reid.senate.gov

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) says that even if a dozen Democratic senators decide not to back an immigration reform bill, he is “sure” the votes can come from Republicans.

Reid –who’s becoming ever more vocal about this issue — said that he was willing to put “the Democratic Party’s reputation on the line for immigration reform,” Univision.com reported. His comments are being closely monitored by Spanish-language media around the country.

The leader has acknowledged that not all 59 Democratic senators may back a comprehensive reform bill. Losing 10 or 12 votes from his own ranks, he added, “would leave us at 48. But I am sure that we will find 12 Republicans. I have no doubts this will be the case.”

Sixty votes are needed in the Senate to end a filibuster.

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How can communities manage undocumented immigrants? Keep an eye on Connecticut.

This Thursday, New Haven, Connecticut will mark its one-year anniversary as the first city in the nation to provide identification cards to undocumented immigrants which allow them access to local government services.

Despite harsh criticism and legal challenges the city has issued more than 6,000 Elm City Resident Cards since the program began last summer. Kica Matos, an administrator for New Haven’s Community Development Dept., says that the city has benefited along with immigrants, especially in crime prevention, because immigrants no longer fear that local police will turn them over to federal immigration authorities if they come forward with information about a crime. She has also taken New Haven’s program on the road. Matos just returned from a trip to California, where she advised cities including Los Angeles, on how to create their own identity cards.

Hartford, Connecticut is also considering a proposal that would allow the city to qualify as a so-called “sanctuary city” for undocumented immigrants.

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AudioStories

Feet in Two Worlds Town Hall Focuses on Proposed Immigration Bill in Washington

At a May 24, 2007, event, Same News Different Views, Bridging the Gap Between Ethnic and Mainstream Media, co-sponsored by the Center for New York City Affairs and WNYC, New York Public Radio, leading ethnic and mainstream media journalists brought new perspectives to the immigration policy debate in Washington.

You can listen to the radio broadcast of the town hall on WNYC’s website or you can press play for the two segments below.

[audio:http://audio.wnyc.org/bl/bl052507a.mp3] [audio:http://audio.wnyc.org/bl/bl052507b.mp3] More than 200 journalists, community organizers and members of the public attended the event hosted by WNYC’s Brian Lehrer.

Speakers included: Alberto Vourvoulias-Bush, executive editor of El Diario/LA PRENSA; Sree Sreenivasan, dean of students at Columbia Journalism School, tech reporter for WNBC-TV and co-founder of the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA); Ti-Hua Chang, reporter for WCBS-TV; and Elaine Rivera, reporter for WNYC; Julia Preston, national immigration reporter for the New York Times; Roberto Lovato, writer for New America Media; Leon Wynter, writer and author of American Skin: Big Business, Pop Culture and the End of White America; and Muzaffar Chishti, director of the Migration Policy Institute’s office at the NYU School of Law.