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Despite decades of Congressional stalemate and avoidance of passing meaningful immigration reform, Americans overwhelmingly support immigration reform happening right now and especially before the November midterms.

The urgency is felt not only by Democrats but also by majorities of independents and Republicans, according to a new national survey by the National Immigration Forum.

In Congress, Republican leadership repeatedly has blocked attempts to address immigration reform, while using immigration as a campaign issue. Donald Trump was elected president on an America First platform that was heavily anti-immigrant.

The most recent significant immigration reform bill passed in Congress was the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which made it illegal to hire or recruit illegal immigrants. President Barack Obama called for major reform but was blocked by then House Speaker Paul Ryan.

The most recent significant immigration reform bill passed in Congress was the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, which made it illegal to hire or recruit illegal immigrants.

Yet despite the stereotype of all Republicans opposing immigration reform, this is not the reality among a majority of Republican voters, the Forum reported.

New polling shows that an overwhelming majority of Republicans, independents and Democrats want lawmakers to work together on key immigration reforms and want action now, the group said.

The national poll included two questions on this topic. The first: Would you support or oppose Republicans and Democrats working together on immigration reforms that strengthen border security, create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, and ensure a legal, reliable workforce for Americas farmers and ranchers?

Among the national sample, 79% said yes, as did 84% of Democrats, 78% of independents and 76% of Republicans.

The second question: Thinking about immigration reforms such as strengthening border security, creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, and ensuring a legal, reliable workforce for Americas farmers and ranchers, do you support or oppose Democrats and Republicans acting on these measures before the November 2022 midterm elections?

Among the national sample, 72% said yes, as did 80% of Democrats, 71% of independents and 65% of Republicans.

An overwhelming majority of Americans want Democrats and Republicans to pass actual solutions that restore a sense of order at the border, protect immigrants brought here as children, and stabilize the farm workforce, saidAli Noorani, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum. These are solutions that will help Americans and strengthen our nation, and Americans are tired of waiting.

An overwhelming majority of Americans want Democrats and Republicans to pass actual solutions that restore a sense of order at the border, protect immigrants brought here as children, and stabilize the farm workforce.

Republicans and Democrats have an opportunity to bring the country together as they work together to address some of our thorniest challenges. In so doing, they can offer certainty to thousands of immigrant workers whose futures are in limbo, and to the Americans who depend on them.

Even when sorted by religious affiliation, there is a relatively small gap in opinions on the urgent need for meaningful immigration reform that achieves some of the goals of both parties. On most other social issues today, white evangelicals remain outliers compared the rest of the nation. Not so on immigration reform.

The new study found 77% of born-again Christians agree with the first question and 68% agree with the second question. That compares to 84% of all Protestants on the first question and 74% on the second question.

The poll was done in partnership with The Bullfinch Group Feb. 19-23, 2022.

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Majorities of all Americans want something Congress refuses to do: Meaningful immigration reform now - Baptist News Global

The government has boasted of its plans to deter illegal immigration, sparking a furious backlash as Ukrainians seek refuge amid a deadly war with Russia.

In a tweet, the Home Office announced that the controversial Borders Bill has passed eight of 12 stages before it becomes British law.

Tweeting under a banner proclaiming that the UK stands with Ukraine, the Home Office said: Fixing the UKs broken asylum system involves major reforms, but we are making good progress.

Tomorrow our firm but fair #BordersBill reaches the report stage in the UK House of Lords. This is how it will deter illegal migration.

The post directs people to the government website, where the Home Office promises the new law will introduce new and tougher criminal offences for those attempting to enter the UK illegally.

The website says the government would raise the penalty for illegal entry from six months to four years imprisonment and introduce life sentences for people smugglers.

It then goes on to say the UK may remove people including criminals to a safe third country where the asylum seekers could have claimed asylum.

But it insists we stand by our moral and legal obligations to help innocent people fleeing cruelty from around the world.

The announcement is bad immigration policy and even worse timing, according to migrant rights campaigner Alexandra Bulat.

Yes, todays exactly the day you want to tweet out a big graphic about how youre making it harder for people fleeing wars to claim asylum in the UK, you hollow-chested ghouls, comedy writer Nathaniel Tapley added.

Green Party London Assembly Member Zack Polanski said Russias invasion of Ukraine should end the Conservatives awful Borders Bill once and for all.

He said: It was totally unacceptable to demonise refugees this time last week. And do the British public really want to give Ukrainians another kick despite seeing hourly updated of their trauma?

Policy expert Pauline Castres sarcastically repeated the governments firm but fair claim: Were talking about a Bill that would criminalise asylum seekers who arrive in the UK without a visa if they have passed through another safe country along the way. Like many Ukrainians who are currently seeking sanctuary.

Human rights advocate Pinar Aksu slammed the governments move as a great violation of Human Rights and international protection.

One Twitter user talked against using UK taxpayers money to promote legislation breaking international law.

And another said the Bill is anything but fair. And by firm, they mean making things many of us think are fair illegal. If the Ukraine situation has had you questioning immigration policy, learn more about this and write to your MP.

Related: UKs unacceptable visa offer to fleeing Ukrainians slammed

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Home Office boasts of deterring illegal immigration as Ukrainians flee war - The London Economic

The crisis at our southern border is raging on, although you wouldnt know it from watching the evening news or looking at the front pages of the papers. Along with attorneys general from other states, I recently visited the Rio Grande Valley Sector in Texas to see the border for myself and hear directly from public safety officials who are dealing with the crisis every day. What I saw and heard was eye-opening -- and its harming Montana communities.

At the behest of President Biden and his administration, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is playing catch-and-release with migrants who have criminal records. Federal data shows that more than 270,000 illegal immigrants were released into our country without a court date in a span of just five months last year. While law enforcement is intercepting a staggering amount of dangerous drugs like methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin at the border, an even greater amount is making it across.

Once drugs enter the country, they can be smuggled into Montana within 48 hours. Data from our Forensic Science Division show fentanyl-linked deaths increased 116% in Montana in 2020, while the number of postmortem cases with identified methamphetamine in the blood also more than doubled that year.

As Montanas attorney general, Im taking action to force President Biden to uphold the law and lessen the impacts of drugs and crime on Montana communities.

First, were fighting President Bidens dangerous immigration policies in court. In November, I filed a lawsuit to stop the non-enforcement policy that ties the hands of immigration officers and halts nearly all deportations even for criminals and when federal immigration courts have already ordered their removal from the United States. Immigration arrests and deportations were slashed and deportable criminal aliens were released from jails.

Last month, we filed a lawsuit against the Central American Minor (CAM) program that incentivizes illegal immigration. This Obama-era program which President Trump eliminated was sold as a means to decrease the number of children coming to the border, but it failed to do so. If the Obama policy opened the door, President Bidens reincarnation blows the door off the hinges by releasing illegal immigrants and then allowing them to bring additional people here.

Every man hour that Customs and Border Patrol agents spend apprehending and processing illegal border crossers is time they dont spend on stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the country. As a result of the increase, states like Texas have stepped up by building their own sections of a border wall and patrolling the Rio Grande themselves.

Montana is also having to fight our share of the battle here. The increase in violent crime over the last several years is directly linked to the proliferation of drugs in our state. As head of the Montana Department of Justice, I'm also getting additional resources into the field to help law enforcement across our state.

Weve converted two desk jobs at a regulatory division into slots for narcotics agents to increase capacity for investigations and work with multi-agency anti-drug task forces. A proposal signed last month by Governor Greg Gianforte will fund three more investigators at our agency. Last year, I advocated and secured $300,000 from the state legislature for a grant program to replace drug-detecting canines. As a result, 23 new canines and their handlers will soon be on patrol in Montana with police departments, county sheriffs offices, and a tribal law enforcement agency.

Law enforcement officers in Montana are doing what they can to combat drugs trafficked across the southern border and the resulting crime, but were fighting an uphill battle until the federal government does its job to secure the border and enforce immigration laws. I am not deterred by President Bidens indifference to the border crisis and the fallout in our state. Ill keep fighting in court to reverse his dangerous immigration policies and working with other Montana law enforcement agencies to keep our communities safe.

Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Montana Department of Justice

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Biden's indifference to the border crisis, crime is hurting Montana - whitefishpilot.com

Photo: Sample of a Massachusetts commercial drivers license. (Credit: mass.gov/rmv)

By Will Brownsberger

Current Massachusetts law provides that no [drivers] license of any type may be issued to any person who does not have lawful presence in the United States.

A bill currently before the senatewould change that sentence to read: An applicant for a [drivers] license who does not provide proof of lawful presence, , shall be eligible if the applicant meets all other qualifications for licensure and provides satisfactory proof to the registrar of their identity, date of birth and Massachusetts residency.

In other words, the bill would give licenses to people who cannot prove lawful presence in the United States, provided they can prove their residence and identity and pass the same tests that everyone else has to pass.

I plan to support the bill.

My fundamental view about immigration policy is that it is up to the federal government. It is not the concern of state and local government. However, one of the top concerns of state and local government is to assure that all drivers know the rules of the road and how to operate a vehicle safely. It is often necessary to drive and we are all safer if more of the people on our roads have the required training and insurance.

Some argue that to discourage illegal immigration, we should make life in Massachusetts as inconvenient and uncomfortable as possible for people without lawful immigrant status. I do not agree with that approach. We hurt ourselves when we isolate people in our midst. We benefit from immigrant labor in many occupations and we should treat all workers as well as we can.

Others express the valid concern that a drivers license is an identification card and we do not want to facilitate the creation of false credentials. The bill gives this concern careful attention in two different ways.

First, the bill does not allow persons who cannot prove lawful presence to get a Real-ID which would get them into federal buildings and on to planes. Instead, they will get a card that is valid as a license to drive but is not valid for federal identification.

Second, applicants for a license who do not possess United States identity credentials like a U.S. passport will have to provide similarly rigorous foreign credentials a foreign passport or anidentity card issued by their consulate. In addition, they will have to provide a corroborating document like a license from another state or a birth certificate. At least one of the proferred documents must be a photo ID and at least one must include birth date.

Some have expressed the concern that since one can register to vote through the drivers license application process, the new law would allow non-citizens to vote. Again, the law specifically speaks to this, requiring the Registry of Motor Vehicles to establish procedures to ensure that an applicant for a Massachusetts license who does not provide proof of lawful presence shall not be automatically registered to vote. The law would not take effect for a year, allowing time to assure that these procedures are in place.

While the new law cements the requirement of procedures to protect the voter rolls, procedures are already in place according to the Secretary of State. He stateson his website that The RMV collect[s] information about lawful presence in the United States and they will not submit names to local election officials of any persons they have determined are not U.S. citizens. This is not a new concern. Currently many people who are not citizens but are lawfully present in the United States have drivers licenses: for example, a green card holder can get a license.

Similar legislation has been passed in 16 other states. The bill has the support ofmany law enforcement officers, including the Sheriffs of Middlesex County and Suffolk County, and the police chiefs of Cambridge, Belmont, and Watertown.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives has already voted for this bill by 120-36. I expect the Senate to take it up and I hope we are able to give it a similar strong endorsement and send it to the Governors desk.

Belmont resident Will Brownsberger is a Massachusetts state senator representing the Second Suffolk and Middlesex District that includes Belmont.

Read more:
Opinion: My Support For Bill To Allow Drivers' Licenses To Residents Without Lawful Immigrant Status - The Belmontonian

WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today released the following statement regarding reports of federal contractors flying illegal immigrants from the southern border to other points across the country late at night:

The recent reports of immigrants being driven and flown across the country in the dead of night are truly breathtaking, Wicker said. The crisis at our border has steadily worsened since President Biden took office and shows no signs of slowing down. Strong countries need strong borders. The constant surge of migrants across our border threatens to undermine American national security and the rule of law. President Biden should act now to restore confidence in our border and reinstitute the tough policies of the last administration.

Until the President acts to get this crisis under control, Congress should cut off funding for this transportation in any future appropriation and investigate the wholesale failure of the Biden Administration to prevent this crisis.

The flights, which have been widely reported after months of surging illegal migration, regularly distribute illegal immigrants who are awaiting trial to communities across the country with little to no notice given to local authorities.

Wicker called out the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in August when a group of 90 migrants were dropped off at a bus station in Natchez, Miss.

Read more about Senator Wickers recent work on the border issue here.

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Wicker Statement on Illegal Immigration Surge - US Senator Roger Wicker - Senator Roger Wicker