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Bilbray praises National Guard on the border
As National Guard troops leave the U.S.-Mexico border, Rep. Brian Bilbray introduced a resolution Tuesday praising the soldiers.
It also says the soldiers have “assisted in the rescue of over 100 illegal aliens.”
“For the past two years, courageous members of our National Guard have braved extreme weather conditions along the southwest border and worked tirelessly to stem the flow of illegal immigration and reduce drug and human smuggling,” said Bilbray, chair of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, which seeks stronger border enforcement.
The National Guard has been at the Southern border for two years under “Operation Jump Start.” Read more here.
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Conservatives to fight McCain’s GOP platform on immigration
The story says immigration is a main concern.
The current GOP platform calls for a temporary-worker program, which President Bush and McCain have supported, but many conservatives oppose. Many Republicans would like a much tougher position on immigration, the Post says.
Read more here.
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McCain birth stirs “natural-born” citizen debate
Sen. John McCain’s birth in the Panama Canal Zone has revived a long-standing debate over the constitutional requirement that limits the presidency to “natural born” citizens.
The problem is that the Framers never defined the term.
At least two lawsuits filed in federal court claim that McCain’s birthplace disqualifies him from becoming president. The issue has been simmering in the blogosphere for months, including discussions on prestigious legal forums. A Google search for “John McCain” and “natural born citizen” yields 57,000 hits.
McCain’s campaign advisers say they are not worried. The campaign commissioned prominent scholars from the political left and right to research the question and say they are confident that the senator from Arizona qualifies for the nation’s highest office.
His Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, agrees. So does the U.S. Senate, which passed a nonbinding resolution declaring that McCain is a natural born citizen, constitutionally eligible to run for president.
But Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said the question of McCain’s eligibility is a serious one.
“It is not clear whether a Panamanian-born citizen is a natural born citizen,” Turley said. “The meaning of the term ‘natural born’ is unresolved.”
Turley also said, however, that the current lawsuits questioning McCain’s eligibility will likely be dismissed as frivolous or premature.
Read more here.
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San Francisco rethinks “sanctuary city” policy
Mayor Gavin Newsom (pictured) announced this week that the city “would begin handing over for deportation juvenile illegal immigrants with drug convictions, reversing a controversial policy of flying the youths back to their home countries at the city’s expense,” the Post said.
The paper also said that the flights were rooted in a 1989 ordinance declaring the city a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants and that they stopped this spring after a U.S. attorney threatened to prosecute city officials for harboring criminals.
Read more here.
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McCain releases ad in Spanish on Colombia trade
As Sen. John McCain continued his jaunt through Latin America Wednesday, his campaign released a new radio ad in Spanish touting a proposed trade agreement between the United States and Colombia.
The ad, which will air in Florida, features Tony Villamil, former director of the state’s Office of Tourism, Commerce and Economic Affairs.
In the spot, Villamil says that commercial trade with Latin America is crucial for Florida.
“Last year Florida’s exports to Latin America reached almost $45 billion dollars. Colombia is Florida’s third most important export market and this trade agreement would create almost 5,000 new jobs,” he says. “John McCain supports the Colombian Agreement, knows about our alliances with our hemisphere and understands our economy grows thanks to trade.”
The ad also refers to Democratic nominee Barrack Obama, although not by name.
It says: “In this election, there are some that talk about revising the Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada and oppose the Agreement with Colombia. This would hurt our economic future.”
Listen to the ad here.
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Gallup Poll: Obama strong with Latino voters
Registered Latino voters favor Democrat Barack Obama over Republican John McCain by about a 2 to 1 margin, according to a new Gallup Poll.
Obama had struggled with Latino voters during the primaries where they strongly favored his main rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton.
However, recent polls show that Hispanic voters have “shown little difficulty in transferring their loyalties from Clinton to Obama,” Gallup says.
Latinos are considered a critical voting bloc in several swing states such as Florida, Colorado and New Mexico.
Read more here.
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McCain in Colombia; pushes trade agreement
Sen. John McCain, the likely GOP candidate for president, met late Tuesday with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe as part of a swing through Latin America.
McCain is a strong supporter of the proposed agreement.
He also favors the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has become an issue in the presidential campaign. Many blame the agreement for a loss of jobs in the Midwest and it is unpopular in key swing states such as Ohio.
McCain is headed to Mexico next, where he plans to talk to Mexican President Felipe Calderon about trade agreements, the fight against drug cartels and illegal immigration.
Read more here.
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Dems: McCain “flip-flopped” on immigration
A group of state and local Hispanic lawmakers on Friday accused presumptive GOP nominee Sen. John McCain of “flip-flopping” on immigration.
The comments came at a press conference during the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) annual gathering.
A McCain spokesperson denounced the accusations as “a pathetic, partisan ploy.”
McCain and presumptive Democratic nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, are scheduled to appear before the NALEO convention separately on Saturday as they wage an aggressive battle for Latino voters.
McCain has been popular with Hispanics in large part because he championed a measure that would have given many illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. The measure died in the Senate last year, after strong opposition from conservatives.
However, McCain has backed away from his immigration bill during the campaign, saying that the border must be secure before any legalization efforts.
Ana Navarro, who co-chairs McCain’s Hispanic avisory board, said that the charges are false.
“John McCain risked his political skin” on the immigration bill and is committed to immigration reform, she said.
McCain recognizes that a new bill must be crafted to accomplish that goal and to regain the confidence of the American people, she said.
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Another federal police official killed in Mexico.
A high-ranking federal police official and his bodyguard were assassinated in Mexico City Thursday, the latest in a string of killings attributed to drug cartels seeking revenge against law enforcement agencies, the Washington Post reported Friday.
“The killings appear to be part of a recent coordinated effort by drug cartels to go after the federal police agency, which is generally thought to be less corrupt than most state and local police forces,” the story days.
Read more here.
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NALEO: Clinton “our sister, defender of Hispanics”
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials scored some big name speakers at its annual convention Thursday, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Adolfo Carrion, NALEO president, introduced Clinton in Spanish as “our friend, our sister, the defender of Hispanics in the United States” and “the champion of Hispanics.”
Clinton thanked Latinos for their support during her hard fought yet unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination and urged them to vote for her rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois.
“I was moved by the millions of Latinos who participated, from New York and New Jersey to South Texas and California,” Clinton said. “There was an activism and involvement that I haven’t seen before.”
She also said that the lives of Latinos and all Americans will improve if Obama is elected president and called him a man of “passion and determination.”
“We have to win this,” she said. “We cannot allow for four more years of the same. It won’t be good for any of us.”
Clinton also vowed that an Obama presidency would bring an immigration reform that includes an “earned path to citizenship” for illegal immigrants, stronger border security, and worker protections against possible exploitation.
As she spoke, a woman in the crowd screamed, “We love you, Hillary.” She answered, “I love you, too.”
Both major party presumptive nominees — Obama and Republican John McCain of Arizona — will speak at the convention on Saturday.
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NALEO: 9.2 million Latinos to vote in November
A record 9.2 million Latino voters will cast ballots in this year’s November election, according to projections released Thursday by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
The influential group — known as NALEO — also released a report which showed Hispanic voters are most concerned about the economy, the Iraq war, access to affordable healthcare, education issues, and immigration reform.
The expected surge in Hispanic voters follows an aggressive campaign by NALEO and other Latino groups and Spanish-language networks to promote citizenship and voter registration.
“We are at the turning point of history,” said Adolfo Carrion, president of NALEO. “We are the fastest-growing sector of this country.”
The group kicked off its annual conference in the nation’s capital with big-name speakers, showing the growing importance of Hispanics in the election.
Both major party presumptive nominees — Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois and Republican John McCain of Arizona — will speak at the convention on Saturday.
Political analysts say that Latinos could be a crucial voting bloc in several contested states such as Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Florida.
“Latinos hold the key to the White House,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “Latinos will decide who will be the next president of the United States.”
Pelosi squeaked out a speech despite a major case of laryngitis.
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Increased funding nixed for immigration enforcement by localities
The Democratic majority among House appropriators rejected attempts Tuesday to boost spending for a program that trains local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws.
Rep. John Carter, a Texas Republican, tried to add $12 million for the controversial program, named “278-g” for a section of federal immigration law. Fans say partnering with localities is the way to combat illegal immigrant gangs and serious crime, but foes say the program results in ethnic profiling and intimidates the immigrant community.
The House Appropriations Committee, working on spending levels for the 2009 fiscal year that begins next September, voted to keep funding at the current level, which is $42 million. That would be enough to continue the training for up to 176 localities, said Rep. David Price, D-N.C., who noted the program has grown sevenfold since 2006.
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Clinton to speak to Latino conference
In her first major public appearance since suspending her presidential campaign, Sen. Hillary Clinton will speak Thursday to about a thousand members of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).
The event will take place in Washington at the group’s annual conference, according to a press release.
“Senator Clinton has been a real champion for our community,” said Adolfo Carrion, Jr., NALEO president. “We’re excited to continue the conversation about how we move the country forward on the issues we all care about.”
Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama, the presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees, will also speak at the convention in separate forums on Saturday, June 28.
On the same night, NALEO will give an award for outstanding public service to New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, often mentioned as a possible running mate for Obama.
Read more about the convention here.
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More visas for fashion models
Tall, thin and beautiful foreigners could get their own visa category under legislation moving on Capitol Hill.
Weiner contends that the models are vital to the fashion industry, particularly in his home state of New York and that the current system forces models to compete for visas with high tech workers and others.
“A simple way to create and protect jobs in New York City is to fix the glitch in the law that has lumped high tech workers with fashion models,” said Weiner, who is considered a possible future contender for mayor of the Big Apple.
The measure was recently approved by the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 20-3.
Currently, fashion models have to compete with engineers and other high tech workers for H-1B visas which are given to well educated foreign citizens.
Despite intense lobbying by power house companies such as Microsoft, the mandated cap on H-1B visas has remained at 65,000 for years. Another 20,000 are given to foreign citizens with advanced degrees from American universities.
This year, requests for the permits reached an all-time high with nearly 163,000 applications received in the first five days the process was open. After that, requests were sent back.
In fiscal year 2007, fashion models received 349 of the H-1B visas, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In fiscal year 2006, they received 438. Earlier in the decade, fashion models received about twice as many.
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Democrats pushing more immigration enforcement money
Going into November’s elections, House and Senate Democrats are outbidding the White House on spending for immigration enforcement, Politico reported Tuesday.
The lawmakers are putting a “special emphasis” on deporting people convicted of drug offenses and violent crimes, the story says.
Although Democrats are divided on the immigration issue, “targeting convicted criminals is seen as safe ground for the party,” according to Politico.
Read the story here.
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Clinton’s former chief of staff joins Obama campaign
Solis Doyle has a high profile in the Latino community. As Clinton’s campaign manager, she received much favorable press in the Spanish-language media including long profiles where she lavished praise on her boss.
The Washington Post says that Doyle and Clinton now have a “strained relationship.”
Doyle will be chief of staff to Obama’s future vice presidential pick.
Read more here.
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Hispanic Caucus pushes Obama on immigration
Hispanic lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pressuring Sen. Barack Obama to commit to helping illegal immigrants achieve citizenship or else risk losing the vital Latino vote in the general election, according to The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress.
“Hillary holds the entire Latino community in the palm of her hand,” Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y., told The Hill.
Obama has said that he supports a “comprehensive” immigration reform that includes a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
Meanwhile, Congressional Quarterly reported that some female Hispanic House members, who supported Clinton in the primary, are angry that Obama has not reached out to them.
“We were told that he was going to make some approach to us to join the fold,” Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif., told CQ on Thursday. “I haven’t heard from Mr. Obama.”
Read The Hill story here.
Read the Congressional Quarterly story here.
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ICE opens info sharing office in Mexico City
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has teamed up with the Mexican government to open an office in Mexico City to share information and cooperate on investigations.
The office — known as a Trade Transparency Unit — will help “identify and eliminate trade-based money laundering systems, which facilitate the illegal movement of criminal proceeds across international borders,” said ICE, in a press release Thursday.
The money often fuels drug smuggling, human trafficking and terrorism, ICE said.
The announcement was made by Julie Myers (pictured), who heads ICE, and her Mexican counterpart, Juan Jose Bravo Moises, administrator general for Mexico Customs.
ICE said that Mexico Customs provided “an incredible volume of trade data - three full years worth of transactions.”
“Mexico’s cooperation has proven unprecedented and is the largest such initiative ICE has undertaken in our efforts to combat the rise in complex and sophisticated financial and trade crimes around the world,” Myers said.
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Is Lou Dobbs running for governor of New Jersey?
The New Jersey Star-Ledger said today that CNN commentator Lou Dobbs might be considering a run for governor of New Jersey, the state where he lives.
The paper called Dobbs at his home, a 300-acre horse farm.
“Dobbs would not say whether he has any such plans. Asked if he wanted to deny it, Dobbs said, ‘I’m just not going to comment,’” the paper said.
A Dobbs’ run for governor would surely be controversial.
The CNN anchor has angered Hispanic groups with his constant coverage of illegal immigration. They say Dobbs’ program is one-sided and offensive to Latinos.
Dobbs has denied charges of xenophobia.
Read the Star-Ledger story here.
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McCain releases another Spanish language ad, titled “Cuba prisoners”
Sen. John McCain released another Spanish-language radio ad Wednesday which features the voice of Roberto Martin Perez, who spent 28 years as a political prisoner in Cuba.
Perez says in the spot that “while some support a dialogue with Raul Castro, John McCain believes we should support the the courageous men and women who continue to stand up for freedom in Cuba.”
Perez also says that McCain “knows that freedom in Cuba won’t be achieved with concessions to dictatorships.”
Here is a translation of the entire ad provided by the McCain campaign:
ROBERTO MARTIN PEREZ: This is Roberto Martin Perez, Cuban political prisoner for 28 years. The harsh reality is that millions of my fellow Cuban citizens are prisoners in their own country.
Despite this, our spirit remains resilient; and John McCain knows that Raul Castro is like his brother, a man that does almost anything to stay in power, violating the fundamental rights of Cubans.
Now, he allows them to use cell phones and computers, but at the same time, censors the right to speak.
While some support a dialogue with Raul Castro, John McCain believes we should support the courageous men and women who continue to stand up for freedom in Cuba.
Rather than resume relations with Raul Castro, John McCain wants first and foremost for all political prisoners to be released.
As someone who has survived the harsh conditions of the Vietnamese prisons, John McCain knows that freedom in Cuba won’t be achieved with concessions to dictatorships.
JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approve this message.
Listen to the ad in Spanish here.
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Bush administration defends E-Verify
The nation’s top immigration official on Tuesday defended a federal system — known as E-Verify — that allows businesses to check the legal status of workers.
Scharfen testified before the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, amid growing concerns that the verification system could mistakenly reject legal residents and citizens.
Scharfen said that 99.5 percent of all people authorized to work are verified immediately through the E-Verify system.
E-Verify is currently voluntary in most states, but several proposals in Congress would make it a requirement for all U.S. businesses.
In addition, the White House announced Monday that President Bush has signed an executive order that requires all future government contractors to verify whether their employees are in the United States legally.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who chairs the committee, pointed to the case of Traci Hong, a naturalized citizen who is an attorney that works for the panel. Hong was run through the E-Verify system last year and was not immediately approved.
It took six separate trips to the Social Security office to fix the problem, Lofgren said. “And she is an immigration lawyer working for the chair of the immigration subcommittee.”
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... read the full comment by nicxon | Comment on Bilbray praises National Guard on the border Read Bilbray praises National Guard on the border
I agree with Delaware Bob. Illegal means what it says, “by means other than legal”. Pathway to “legal” should be through the courts and involve proof of a legal entry into the country. We can’t send them all back but the anchor
... read the full comment by Gregg | Comment on Hispanic Caucus pushes Obama on immigration Read Hispanic Caucus pushes Obama on immigration
Its time for the Federal government to prosecute state and local officials for their conspiracy to violate Federal law. Both aiding and abeting illegal aliens.
... read the full comment by fred | Comment on San Francisco rethinks "sanctuary city" policy Read San Francisco rethinks "sanctuary city" policy
McCain is a traitor to America just like many politicians, he is catering to the hispanic vote and the racist organizations that promote illegal immigration and “special rights” for their particular organization.
... read the full comment by Fred | Comment on Dems: McCain "flip-flopped" on immigration Read Dems: McCain "flip-flopped" on immigration
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