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HOLLAND Immigration reform in the U.S. is a hotly contested topic, one that often leads to polarization within the two major political parties.

The LIBRE Initiative is a nonprofit organization that aims to promote "small government" immigration solutions to benefit Latino immigrants. The group hosted an event in Holland, Tuesday, June 15, discussing how Americans and Latin Americansinterested in immigration reform can push their elected officials for compromise.

Daniel Garza, president and founder of LIBRE, spoke to a small group at Beechwood Grill in Holland about his support for the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act of 2021 legislation backed by Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Tony Gonzalez, R-Texas, in the House and Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Krysten Sinema, D-Arizona, in the Senate.

The Act would bolster the amount of judges, case workers and enforcement staff at the border, while also creating four new permanent processing centers to address surges in migrants attempting to enter the U.S. at its southern border with Mexico. Both versions of the bills remain in their respective committees in each chamber.

Garza, a Republican who worked in the administration of former President George W. Bush, said by advancing common ground reforms, the U.S. can achieve progress toward re the current immigration system.

"Two extreme positions on immigration reform are untenable," Garza said. "We need to advance to a position where bipartisan reform can happen.

"... (Extreme positions) only represent a small portion of Americans. The majority of Americans support a common ground solution."

Garza said opening legal channels for those in Latin America looking to emigrate to the U.S. would create opportunities for immigrants to prosper in America. He noted migrant workers, like many in his family before they fully settled in the U.S. Garza said it's these types of people who work hard and contribute to the American economy, often creating opportunities for future generations of family members.

"A lot of my family moved on and up," he said. "Who replaces the folks who went on and up? Immigrants. We need legal channels."

Garza said he hopes Latinos feel empowered to use their voices to lobby their elected officials, no matter which party they belong to.

"These discussions are direct ways to bring the community to the elected official," he said. "Engaging the Latino community so they feel included. When they feel engaged, they feel encouraged to participate.

Contact reporter Arpan Lobo at alobo@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo.

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Holland event aims at mobilizing bipartisan approaches to immigration reform - HollandSentinel.com

WASHINGTONAttempted migration at the U.S.-Mexico border is typically higher in the spring than other times of the year. But border apprehensions in the last three months have gone beyond the seasonal crush, reaching a 15-year high that has placed stress on the system and tested the Biden administration. In March, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents encountered 171,000 migrants, a number that ticked up to 180,000 by May, according to Department of Homeland Security data. A record 18,960 unaccompanied minors attempted to cross the border in March, and while the number has decreased slightly since, shelters are overcrowded and ill-equipped to meet childrens needs.

The Biden administration has called the border situation a challenge, while critics have called it a crisis. Either way, the chances of an immigration reform package clearing both chambers of Congress this summer seem to be waning despite ongoing bipartisan talks on the Hill and efforts from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to craft consensus bills.

The biggest impediment to immigration reform, some lawmakers say, is the border. The numbers of asylum-seekers ticked up steadily when the Biden administration took office, perhaps unsurprising after his numerous campaign pledges to carve out a fair and humane approach to immigration by ending practices such as forcing asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico and holding kids in detention facilities.

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden announced a pause on construction of the border wall, something Republicans have pointed to as exacerbating the flow of migrants.

During the last three months of 2020, the number of people apprehended by Border Patrol hovered around 72,000 each month. In January, it increased to more than 78,000 and has risen steadily since. David Bier, a research fellow with a focus on immigration at the Cato Institute, told The Dispatch that the number of apprehensions are likely inflated due to repeat crossers.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Trump invoked an emergency health declaration, Section 256 of Title 42, that allowed Border Patrol to return migrants to Mexico without considering asylum requests.

When Biden took office, many thought he would reverse course.

Lots of people showed up when Biden was inaugurated thinking that the policy would change, Bier said.

Biden did suspend new construction on the border wall (though some already paid-for construction has continued), revoke Trumps travel bans, and establish a Family Reunification Task Force to seek to reunite children who remain separated from their families, among other measures. But he did not back away from all the immigration measures implemented by his predecessor. Notably, he kept Title 42 in place and the policy of still expelling migrants due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden has proposed the U.S. Citizenship Act, a sweeping plan to set approximately 11 million illegal immigrants on the path to citizenship. The proposal also calls for addressing the backlogs facing the legal immigration system. There are currently more than 1.3 million people awaiting decisions from immigration judges over whether they can remain in the United States, according to Syracuse Universitys Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a database focused on immigration.

But immigration advocates say something comprehensive is unlikely to pass.

A change in dynamic this year is [that there is] a growing understanding that incremental reform is probably the way to go, Danilo Zak, a senior policy advisor for National Immigration Reform told The Dispatch. Zak said he believes there is more political willpower to start with smaller pieces that can garner bipartisanship.

A smaller bipartisan group, led by Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, has met weekly in hopes of reaching consensus.

Theyve been very constructive, Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a member of the group, told The Dispatch.

So far, the senators are focusing their efforts on something smaller than Bidens plan.

The group is considering three main bills. Two have already passed the House: One would offer a path to citizenship for as many as 2.3 million people brought to the United States illegally as children and another population of immigrants that have temporary protected status to stay in the United States. The other House-passed bill would create a path to citizenship for farmworkers. The group is also considering a border security proposal from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat, and Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn that would, among other provisions, send more resources to the border.

The dynamic favors a piece-by-piece approach, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal said. And I think that path offers some real promise.

Lawmakers are trying to build support for other bipartisan proposals related to immigration as well: One would recapture unused visas to bring more nurses and physicians to the United States, one would make it easier for family members of legal immigrants to visit their relatives, and another would allocate more visas to Afghan nationals who aided the U.S. military during the war in Afghanistan.

Adding pressure to the talks is a legal challenge to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that former President Barack Obama created in 2012 via an executive memorandum. A federal judge in Texas is currently considering a court challenge that would strike down the program over questions about its constitutionality. The decision could mean DACA recipients would be deported back to their countries of origin. Legal challenges to the DACA program are nothing newin response to one challenge, the Supreme Court a year ago chose to leave the program in place. The justices urged Congress to carve out a more permanent legislative solution, but lawmakers have been unable to find common ground.

To mark the ninth anniversary of DACAs creation, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday where members heard from DACA recipients, as well as former Trump and Obama officials. The hearing revealed the daylight that remains between Republicans and Democrats on the issue. GOP members of the committee largely focused on the dysfunction at the southern border while Democrats argued it is long past time for Congress to resolve Dreamers legal limbo.

But time is just what Congress is short on. Immigration reform is competing with a host of other policy priorities such as infrastructure and voting reform. June is rapidly drawing to an end, and both chambers will be in session only for a couple weeks of July. Then comes the August recess. So far, other priorities seem to be taking precedence on Capitol Hill and in the White House.

Fall is more likely, much as I would prefer doing something before the August recess, Blumenthal, told The Dispatch Monday. Once we get beyond infrastructurethe immediate demands of infrastructure and perhaps voting rightssometime this year theres going to be a moment of opportunity.

Elizabeth Neumann, a former Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism official, expressed concerns that if lawmakers wait until later in the year, primary season will swamp any chance of passing legislation: It almost becomes impossible to do anything, she said.

Republicans are emphasizing their priorities, with some pointing to the influx of migrants at the border as something that will stymie immigration legislation.

Until theres something done at the border, I dont think youll have any immigration [reform,] Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley told The Dispatch.

The house is on fire and we're discussing new tires for the firetruck, Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican, said of border security. Now, it's important that firetrucks have good tires. But in the meantime, we're not going to make any progress on designing a sensible, rational immigration system until we solve the crisis at the border. And only President Biden can do that.

If bipartisan talks dont lead to a breakthrough, Democrats may shift gears to another strategy: Trying to pass something on a party-line basis using the budget reconciliation process.

Reconciliation would allow Democrats to advance legislation without winning support from Republicans in the Senate. Democrats used the process to approve their massive coronavirus relief package earlier this year, and they are laying the groundwork now to build another reconciliation vehicle that could advance some of Bidens sweeping social investments, including child care provisions and free community college.

Lawmakers and activists have called for Democratic leaders to incorporate immigration measures in such a package, noting that making a pathway to citizenship for millions of people would have effects on the federal budget as is required of reconciliation measures. Still, whether all of the immigration priorities Democrats hope to pass would survive the Senate parliamentarians scrutiny is unclear.

"Anytime there's been a CBO examination on immigration reform, it produces a significant increase in the GDP without really costing much money," Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, told Insider on Wednesday, referring to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. He suggested immigration measures could boost the economy and federal tax revenue, offsetting the cost of some of the other provisions in the larger package.

That may not be a traditional pay-for, but if we feel like there's something we could do within a reconciliation vehicle that could produce significant economic growth... that could be a very legitimate way to look at trying to find a balanced package, Kaine said.

Durbin, who is leading the bipartisan talks, said leaders are keeping their options open.

Were working on two approaches. One approach is direct negotiation with Republicans. That's underway, it's been going on for weeks...I hope it will lead to a bipartisan bill, Durbin told The Dispatch. Whether it does or doesn't, there's still reconciliation as an option until the parliamentarian rules in one way or the other. We're entertaining the possibility.

Read more here:
Immigration Reform Hopes Wane Amid Influx of Migrants at the Border - The Dispatch

After a meeting on prospects for passage of a farm labor immigration bill today, June 17, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that he had made a commitment to Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and farm lobbyists on the part of the president to get this done.

Vilsack made the statement to reporters after he met with Bennet, Crapo and the lobbyists in the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing room to discuss how to push through the Senate a bill to allow current undocumented farmworkers to stay in the country and to bring in more workers. The House has passed a bill, but the Senate has been resistant to passing the House bill and no Senate bill has been released.

Vilsack said that both farmers and agribusiness executives, already in a very stressful time for many reasons, are increasingly concerned about their current and future workforce.

Bennet, who appeared with Vilsack to speak to reporters after the meeting, said that it was impressive that both the industry and the United Farm Workers had come together on the House bill. Its so rare to reach a consensus, Bennet said.

Bennet and Vilsack appeared together at the news conference, but Crapo did not speak to the press. Bennet and the lobbyists who met with reporters after Vilsack left said that Crapo said he would help gather support for the bill. Bennet said at the meeting that he needs help to convince 60 senators to vote for the bill.

A Crapo spokesperson said the reason Crapo did not join in the news conference is that he had to go to a Senate Finance Committee meeting.

In a statement, Crapo said, There is no question we must deal with the insufficiencies of the existing agriculture guest worker program in order to ensure a stable and high-quality food supply across our country. Todays bipartisan roundtable with Secretary Vilsack, Sen. Bennet and stakeholder groups was a meaningful, collaborative discussion. It was an opportunity to engage in robust dialogue on the best path forward for legislation in the Senate.

Farm lobbyists told reporters they are focused on getting a bill through the Senate this year.

David Puglia, president and CEO of Western Growers, which represents produce growers in California and other western states, said he is more optimistic about passing the bill this year than in the previous 16 years in which he has worked in the produce industry.

The combination of Bennet and Crapo along with the Biden administration that clearly wants this to get done is a powerful start, Puglia said in an interview.

Puglia said his members are increasingly investing in operations in Mexico and Central America because they cant get labor in the United States and that those investments leaving the country are not good for their companies or rural communities. It is important to pass the bill this year, Puglia said, because it would be harder to pass the bill during the 2022 election year. Whats needed, Puglia said, is a formula to get 60 votes in the Senate.

Puglia said the effort to get the bill through the House means the policy has been vetted thoroughly, although the American Farm Bureau Federation did not support the bill.

Allison Crittenden, director of congressional relations for Farm Bureau, who attended the meeting today, said Farm Bureau nationally wants more year-long visas, and is concerned about wage rates and farmers legal exposure. But the California Farm Bureau supported the House bill, and Crittenden noted the American Farm Bureau said it did not support the bill but did not use the word oppose.

United Fresh Produce Association President and CEO Tom Stenzel said in an interview that the farm labor issue affects every state and that United Fresh will talk to senators from every state to encourage support for the bill.

United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, who attended the meeting, said in an interview that she also believes Crapos support is a strong signal that passage is possible this year.

Speaking of the continued lack of support from Farm Bureau, Romero noted that neither the industry nor the farmworkers got everything they wanted in the House bill.

We are committed to getting this bill passed, Romero said, adding that farmworkers had been declared essential during the coronavirus pandemic and made sure the country got fed.

National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles said the meeting was very positive. During the roundtable, the industry partners committed to working with them in supporting a bill in the Senate that will secure a bipartisan 60-vote majority. We must act immediately as the current broken system means higher costs for family farms, more uncertainty for essential farmworkers, and a less secure immigration system for all Americans.

National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jim Mulhern was out of town and could not attend the meeting, but said in an email, The agricultural workforce crisis is intensifying and is especially severe for dairy farmers, who cannot supplement their domestic workforce with guest workers. The Senate must act on its own ag labor reform measure so we can continue moving toward a solution that addresses the needs of our farmers and workers.

Chuck Conner, president of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and a longtime organizer of agriculture leaders in favor of immigration, said in a statement after the meeting, The past 15 months have shown just how essential those who harvest crops and care for farm animals are to all of us. With negotiations getting under way on immigration reform in the Senate, now is the time to act. Id also like to commend Sens. Bennet and Crapo for taking the lead on developing a companion bill to the Farm Workforce Modernization Act that passed the House earlier this year. While additional improvements are needed, the FWMA represents a good first step toward fixing agricultures long-standing labor problems. We urge all senators to support their efforts on behalf of Americas farmers and ranchers.

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Vilsack pledges Biden will help pass ag immigration bill - Fence Post

Chris Lisinski| State House News Service

BOSTON Nearly 20 years after an advocacy group first pushed to make in-state public college tuition rates accessible to undocumented immigrants, supporters are hopeful Massachusetts will catch up to other states that have such policies on the books.

Legislation before the Higher Education Committee would extend in-state tuition rates which are thousands of dollars per year lower than out-of-state rates to undocumented immigrants who already reside in Massachusetts and attend its high schools. It'sa change that backers say would help students secure a more stable financial footing and mitigate declining enrollment.

The latest push has the backing of one of the state higher education system's most prominent figures: UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suarez-Orozco, who emigrated from Argentina as a teenager and whose academic work has focused on migration and education.

Suarez-Orozco warned lawmakers that requiring undocumented Massachusetts residents, many of whom were brought to the United States at a young age, to pay out-of-state tuition rates "imposes a tremendous undertow to students who are already often disadvantaged in a number of ways."

"They're often, though not always, the first generation to go to college. They usually come from low-income families and hold multiple family responsibilities. They are not eligible for any kind of federal financial aid, and there are very limited scholarship opportunities available for them," Suarez-Orozco said.

"These students come up through our educational system and have worked hard to move on to college," he later added. "They value education and often offer an untold potential to our commonwealth. An act that affords them the same financial relief and the opportunity for tuition equity with their peers will go a long way to eliminating some of the negative consequences our unauthorized immigrant youth students face day in and day out."

At UMass Boston, tuition and mandatory fees for the 2021-22 school year total $14,697 for in-state students and $35,159 for out-of-state students. Fitchburg State University will charge an annual tuition of $970 for in-state students and $7,050 for out-of-state students next year, roughly similar to out-of-state rates at the other state universities and community colleges.

The bills before the committee continue to draw criticism from undocumented immigration opponents who contend that the change would incentivize and reward the practice. State Rep. Marc Lombardo, R-Billerica, has a bill before the panel that would prohibit an undocumented resident from accessing in-state tuition.

Henry Barbaro, of Newton, recently testified in opposition to the proposals, telling lawmakers that the bills "encourage further illegal immigration" and are "unfair" to those who have migrated legally.

"Why would anyone go through the bother of legally immigrating to Massachusetts when they can sidestep the process and gain the same benefits?" Barbaro said.

Under the latest legislation filed by Democrats Rep. Michael Moran of Brighton and Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz of Jamaica Plain, an undocumented resident must have attended a Massachusetts high school for at least three years and graduated or achieved similar results in a Bay State adult education program to qualify for in-state tuition.

In 2018, Massachusetts was home to about 13,000 undocumented children under the age of 17 who were enrolled in public K-12 schools, according to Amy Grunder, director of legislative affairs for the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition.

"We know or should know that these young people are fully integrated into our commonwealth and they're not going anywhere," Grunder said. "We do not benefit from excluding talented, motivated young people from higher education."

Grunder told lawmakers thatsince MIRA began advocating in 2003 for an earlier version of the legislation, 21 states and Washington, D.C., have extended in-state tuition eligibility to graduates of their high schools regardless of immigration status. That list includes neighboring Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York.

"These states are not outliers," Grunder said. "They are pragmatic and they are fair, and it's past time that we join them."

Several participants at a recentcommittee hearing, including Grunder and state Rep. Carmine Gentile, D-Sudbury, noted that enrollment at state colleges and universities has been declining for years. Offering in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants, they said, could help mitigate that trend by attracting more students for whom higher education is currently too expensive.

None of the filers of the three major immigrant tuition bills Moran, the House's assistant majority leader; Chang-Diaz, who has been floated as a possible gubernatorial candidate; and Lombardo, the Republican who proposed legislation banning in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants testified at the hearing.

While Democrats in Massachusetts have been outspoken on national immigration issues, Beacon Hill legislative leaders have often steered clear of bills favored by immigration reform activists.

The Legislature approved language as part of its 2004 budget that would have provided in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants, but Republican Gov. Mitt Romney vetoed that sectionand lawmakers opted not to override it.

A year and a half later, the House brought a bill to the floor that would have opened in-state tuition to undocumented students who attended a Massachusetts high school for at least three years, graduated and submit proof they have filed for U.S. citizenship. Representativesrejected the bill, 57-97.

Presented with vocal support and opposition, lawmakers have opted more recently not to advance bills allowing undocumented immigrants to secure driver's licenses or limiting law enforcement interaction with federal immigration authorities.

Supporters of those proposalsexpressed hopeearlier this year that the first session under Speaker Ronald Mariano could produce results, but so far none of the bills has advanced beyond the committee stage.

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Immigrant tuition bills catching on but not in Mass. - MetroWest Daily News

Immigrants are a significant part of Marin County, as a percentage of our population and in contribution to our economy and culture.

To ensure a complete and vibrant recovery from the pandemic, we must thoughtfully include immigrants in our policies, practices and decision-making.

Immigrants in Marin County have successfully integrated into the education system and workforce, as well as our culture and arts, but far too many continue to be affected by deep structural inequities. Despite high participation in the labor market, policies related to housing, income inequality, poverty and federal immigration hinder our socioeconomic stability and mobility, especially for low-income immigrants of color.

COVID-19 further exposed dire health and economic inequities in Marin. Immigrants from Latin America, and particularly those living in San Rafaels Canal neighborhood, bore an inordinate weight of the pandemic.

Although immigrants are disproportionately represented in essential roles critical to our economy and continue to play a vital role in the recovery, we are often overlooked by federal economic relief efforts and local policies. To bridge this gap, community-based organizations (CBOs)are providing financial assistance, legal representation, eviction defense and mental-health services.

At the local level, we dont have the ability to implement immigration reform or offer a path to citizenship for DREAM Act children. But we can use this unique opportunity to enact thoughtful policies to reduce disparities, prioritize strategic investments to support immigrants and the immigrant community throughout Marin County and actively pursue all state and federal opportunities for funding.

An equitable recovery depends on determined actions in many sectors:

Economy: As our local recovery begins, we must safeguard fair employment opportunities, fair wages and benefits for all residents. We must ensure that recovery funds are truly open and available to all deserving recipients and that the immigrant community is deliberately included.

Housing: I am thankful to the Marin County Board of Supervisors for enacting a rent freeze through the end of 2021 and extending the moratorium on evictions through Sept. 30. A next step must be providing affordable housing options to the immigrants and all low-income residents who keep our economy running.

Health care: A joint effort by Marin County Health and Human Services CBOs and community outreach workers has led to the incredibly high vaccination rates among immigrant groups. We must replicate these partnerships to address other critical health care needs, such as benefit enrollment and food security.

Legal services: Immigrants have a variety of needs for legal support, including eviction defense, housing discrimination and immigration representation, which are hard to access due to cost and language barriers.

Education: As a San Rafael School Board Trustee and one of a handful of immigrants holding public office in Marin I had the privilege to attend graduation ceremonies last week where immigrant students celebrated their collective success and felt the joy of their academic accomplishments during a tremendously challenging year. It is clear to me that immigrant students and English learners can overcome all odds and succeed academically when foundational systems are in place, and it is our obligation to provide that foundation.

Above all, our immigrant residents and their families have basic human rights and are deserving of fair treatment and justice in our county and in our country.

Immigrants are grateful for the many opportunities in Marin and across the nation, especially for those of us originally from countries that failed to protect us. But we can and we must do better.

A new coalition of organizations has been formed to do just that.

Marin Immigrant Rights and Justice is a group of government agencies and local service providers committed to information-sharing, advocacy and support for immigrants in Marin. We want to ensure immigrants have a seat at the table and a place on the agenda.

We invite you to learn more at a free forum on June 24. To register for this event, email Michelle@FirstMarin.org.

I am so proud to be a part of a community that cares one that stands up and speaks up for immigrants and for inclusion, and believes in a Marin where we all can thrive.

Lucia Martel-Dow is the director of immigration and social services at Canal Alliance. She serves on the San Rafael City Schools Board and on the First 5 Marin Children and Families Commission.

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Marin Voice: Immigrants will continue to be vital to our county after the pandemic - Marin Independent Journal