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Funding for children, climate change and a new conservation corps are part of the package.

United States Capitol at dusk. (Courtesy/ Wikimedia Commons)

WASHINGTON President Joe Biden met with congressional Democrats on Capitol Hill Thursday morning to pitch lawmakers ona new slimmed-down frameworkfor what would be included in a massive social reform package.

The $1.75 trillion blueprint that Biden presented to Democrats includes a universal pre-K program for 3-and-4 year-olds, limits child care costs so that families do not pay more than 7% of their income, and extends funding for both for six years. Those two programs are estimated to cost $400 billion.

It would also extend for a year the expanded child tax credit; improve long-term care for seniors and people with disabilities; extend expanded tax credits for the Affordable Care Act; and provide the tax credits to 4 million uninsured people in states where Medicaid has not been expanded.

Notably Bidens new plan does not include paid family and medical leave, a major initiative which had been included in earlier versions of the Build Back Better plan before it was trimmed to meet demands from moderate Democrats.

Paid leave would set groundbreaking policy in the U.S., which is one of six wealthy countries in the world where no national paid parental policy exists. Most daycare centers dont accept newborns until they are six weeks old.

The White House said that Bidendeveloped the new plan after hearing input from all sides and negotiating in good faith with Senators Manchin and Sinema, Congressional Leadership, and a broad swath of Members of Congress and is confident his plan could pass Congress.

Biden also spoke to the nation Thursday morning, just before he left for a long-planned trip to Europe and a major climate conference.

The framework he presented to Democrats also provides $550 billion for climate change policy, ranging from tax credits for clean energy to investments in making communities climate resilient through a civilian climate corps.

The plan would be paid for witha 15% minimum tax on the corporate profits that large corporationsthose with over $1 billion in profitsreport to shareholders, as well as a new surtax on the income of multi-millionaires and billionaires, the wealthiest 0.02 percent of Americans, the White House said. It would apply a 5 percent rate above income of $10 million, and an additional 3 percent surtax on income above $25 million.

Its unclear if Democrats will support the new framework, particularly two Senate Democrats, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, who have objected to tax raises on corporations and four weeks of paid parental leave.

House progressives have also warned that they want to see the bills legislative text before making a decision to vote on the package.

The leader of the House Progressive Caucus, Rep.Pramila Jayapal, (D-Wash.), said that she has an idea of whats in the framework, but wants to see the bills text, according to Capitol Hill pool reports.

We want to see the actual text because we dont want any confusion and misunderstandings, she said. My understanding is that the framework is very general. So lets turn it into legislative text. If 90% of the text is already written as the speaker has said, then it should be very quickwe can do anywhere from two to seven days.

Several major policy initiatives that Biden campaigned on have been stripped from the framework, such as paid parental leave, free community college, and climate change policy such as the Clean Energy Performance Program, which incentivized utilities to switch to clean energy and penalized those who dont.

Democrats also tried to include an expansion of the Affordable Care Act to include dental benefits in Medicare. The framework Biden is expected to show to lawmakers would help reduce premiums and have Medicare cover hearing services.

Democrats have also struggled to include immigration policy in the package after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that lawmakers cannot create a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented people through reconciliation, the process being used for Build Back Better that requires just a simple majority vote in the evenly divided Senate.

The White House specifies thatit would reform our broken immigration system, consistent with the Senates reconciliation rules. Some advocates have pushed for lawmakers to overturn the parliamentarians ruling in the interests of getting immigration reform enacted.

The framework Biden is presenting to lawmakers would provide $100 billion to help reduce immigration backlogs, expand legal representation and help with processing at the border.

Oregon Capital Chronicleis part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Les Zaitz for questions:[emailprotected]Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle onFacebookandTwitter.

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IN D.C.: Biden pitches new $1.75 trillion spending blueprint to Dems that drops paid family leave - Salem Reporter

University of New England President James D. Herbert, Ph.D., joined fellow University and business leaders at a virtual press conference on Monday, Aug. 30, in which he called on Congress to ensure immigration reforms are included within the upcoming budget reconciliation package.

Such reforms would create pathways to citizenship for those with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status so-called Dreamers farmworkers, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, and essential workers.

Herbert was joined by James S. Dlugos, Ph.D., president of St. Josephs College of Maine; David Barber of Tyson Foods, board member of the American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), board president of the Maine Business Immigration Coalition (MeBIC), and UNE trustee; Adele Masengo Ngoy, owner/entrepreneur, Adele Masengo Designs and Antoines Formal Wear and Tailor Shop; and Beth Stickney, Esq., executive director of MeBIC.

Herbert spoke to the need for immigrants to sustain Maines population and economy. Through his work as co-chair of the Workforce Development Subcommittee of Gov. Janet Mills Economic Recovery Committee, Herbert said, he learned how badly Maine needs immigrants.

It's basically a matter of simple arithmetic: if we don't bring in immigrants, our population will decline. The only reason Maine hasn't lost population given current demographic trends is because of immigration, Herbert remarked. We not only need immigrants coming in through our existing legal channels, but we need the Dreamers, farm workers, and asylum seekers, and those who are here on temporary protective status in order to continue contributing to our economy.

There are currently 1,500 immigrant youth in Maine who would become eligible for permanent residency through the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, Stickney said, who could begin building permanent careers in the state with their protections ensured.

Herbert also spoke directly about the health care workforce crisis. As president of UNE, Maines largest provider of health care professionals, Herbert said immigrants serve a dual purpose in the health care workforce.

These dreamers are going to be our future doctors, nurses, dentists, and other medical professionals. It is also important to consider that, in order to really provide the access to health care that Mainers need, we need more health care providers who look like the populations they serve, he said. I urge our federal Congressional delegation to strongly consider supporting the reconciliation process and the inclusion of these protections.

Additionally, Herbert and Dlugos, who is president of the Maine Independent Colleges Association (MICA), released a letter signed by the association to Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, urging them to renew their previous ardent support for DACA permit holders and Dreamers in current congressional discussions on immigration reform.

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UNE President James Herbert calls for inclusion of immigration reform in Budget Reconciliation Package at virtual press conference - University of New...

GRAND RAPIDS It's an effort to create a portrait of America one individual picture at a time. And on Monday, the Inside Out Project made a stop in Grand Rapids.

The Inside Out 11M project is part of a nationwide, participatory art initiative to create a portrait of America that includes immigrants and their descendants.

"Grand Rapids is an incredible city to promote art with ArtPrize, and I totally agree with this project. So I wanted to come out and support it," said participant Robert Amaya.

The photo project, which allowed people to take their pictures in Grand Rapids Monday, is part of the larger Inside Out Project, which focuses on various actions such as climate change and education.

"So Inside Out project was created in 2011, when JR, the French artist was granted a wish, and his wish was that art could change the world. So basically, he is giving the world the use of paper, and black white photography, so anyone can stand up for what they believe using their their portraits," said project manager, Jaine Scatena.

In the 10 years since the project's inception, they've printed more than 400,000 portraits in 138 different countries.

Organizers say the 11M project highlights the need for immigration reform, and supports the 11 million undocumented people wanting to make America home.

The issue is a timely one, with Congress set to vote on immigration legislation this fall, which would enable millions to earn citizenship.

"The reason why we're doing efforts like this, because right now, we believe that it might be possible to pass a pathway to citizenship to the for the undocumented community that has been working tirelessly to keep America running through the pandemic," said Danny Caracheo Teniente, an immigrant rights organization with the Michigan People's Campaign.

After photos were taken at a special truck Monday, they were placed on the Blue Bridge.

"I'm really glad, again, that efforts like this are happening, because art has power to, you know, open up people's minds," said Caracheo Teniente.

The project will be in Lansing on Tuesday and in Metro Detroit later in the week as part of a 16-city tour.

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Portraying America through the use of photos - Fox17

WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --The following statements were issued by Dan Stein, President of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), and Mark Morgan, former Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and FAIR Senior Fellow, in response to last night's Supreme Court ruling requiring the Biden administration to reinstate the highly effective Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program

Dan Stein, President of FAIR

"MPP was the most successful tool in stemming the flood of migrants attempting to reach the United States and defraud our asylum system. It deterred those with specious claims from attempting to abuse our asylum system by sending a clear message that they would not succeed which is precisely why the Biden administration, driven by radical left extremists, put an end to it.

"It is now up to the Judiciary to make sure that the Biden administration complies with both the letter and the spirit of the Supreme Court's ruling. Given the magnitude of the crisis this administration created by canceling MPP, and ominous warnings by the Pentagon of increased threats from international terrorist organizations in the aftermath of the administration's debacle in Afghanistan, it is imperative that the Biden administration comply fully and hastily with the Court's ruling."

Mark Morgan, former Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and FAIR Senior Fellow

"The evidence of MPP's effectiveness was the 75% reduction in the flow of illegal alien families crossing our southern border. The message was clear - no longer would a child be exploited to be used as a passport to gain entry into the US.

"Deterrence is the most effective and humane form of law enforcement. The number of people making the trek to our border began to increase exponentially immediately after the Biden administration arbitrarily canceled MPP. This politically-driven and, in the eyes of the Supreme Court, illegal act has resulted in needless deaths in the wilderness, the exploitation of children, the enrichment of criminal cartels, and growing threats to the health and safety of the American public.

"Based on this administration's track record, there is every reason to believe they will invent countless reasons to drag their feet in response to the Court's order that they reinstate MPP. Having been part of the team that created MPP in 2019, I can attest to the fact that it can be restarted quickly with the cooperation of our partners in Mexico who have as much reason as we do to want to end the chaos that the Biden administration has created at the border.

"Many of us who were involved in the creation of MPP have served in both Republican and Democratic administrations. All Secretary Mayorkas needs to do is call us if he needs our help again. This is not a political issue. Ending the chaos at the border is in the interests of the United States, Mexico, and those who truly deserve political asylum in our country."

Contact: Matthew Tragesser, 202-328-7004 or [emailprotected]

ABOUT FAIR

Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 3 million members and supporters nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

http://www.fairus.org

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FAIR: Supreme Court Ruling Ordering the Biden Administration to Reinstate Migrant Protection Protocols is a Big Win for the Health and Safety of the...

The more power government has, the more weapons that are available for officials to wield against people who rub them the wrong way. That's true when it involves the (thankfully former) governor of New York abusing regulatory powers to cut gun-rights groups off from banks and insurance, and it's also true when immigration officers selectively target activists for arrest and mistreatment in order to silence them and intimidate their allies.

"For years, activist Maru Mora-Villalpando has organized hunger strikes to protest conditions at an immigrant detention center in Washington state," NPR noted in a recent story. "By 2017, she'd gotten the attention of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One high-ranking ICE officer described her as an 'instigator' in an internal email. Another responded that Mora-Villalpando was a 'well-known local illegal alien,' and suggested that trying to deport her might 'take away some of her 'clout.'"

Targeting immigration enforcement efforts directly against people who protest and organize for changes in immigration law is an overtly politicized use of government power. Even those who like the law just the way it is, or who favor changes directly opposed to those advocated by Mora-Villalpando, should recognize the dangers of using enforcement as punishment. That's especially true since her case is far from isolated.

"Federal immigration officers have long engaged in a pattern of surveillance ofand outright retaliation againstindividuals advocating for immigrants across the country," according to a recent report from the University of Washington School of Law Immigration Clinic. "Court filings, internal government records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and related litigation, and interviews with five immigrants' rights organizations across the countryOrganized Communities Against Deportation (OCAD) in Chicago, IL; La Resistencia in Washington State; Grassroots Leadership in Austin, TX; Comunidad Colectiva in Charlotte, NC; and Migrant Justice in Vermontreveal a sustained campaign of ICE surveillance and repression against advocacy groups and activists."

The report goes on to detail the measures authorities take to identify and penalize activists, including placing them under close observation, harassing them, circulating their photographs, and barring them from facilities. Informants are called upon to identify people associated with activist groups. And, of course, activists are targeted for arrest and deportation.

Targeting can take a more brutal turn, too, according to the report. After a woman identified only as Laura alleged that she'd been sexually assaulted at the T. Don Hutto Detention Center in Texas, "Hutto guards assaulted, threatened, and isolated Laura, denied her medical attention, and attempted to force her to recant her accusations."

Laura's treatment involves clear acts of criminality by the authorities, but most cases revolve around selective enforcement. One such case resulted in the deportation to Argentina of Claudio Rojas, who lived, worked, and raised a family in the United States for years while going through the process to legalize his status. Then, he publicly criticized immigration policy.

"Everything changed suddenly when I was featured in a documentary film," Rojas wrote earlier this year for the Daily Beast. "The Infiltrators premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2019. Weeks after the film (and my name) was in the national news, I was suddenly deported. I had been in the United States for almost 20 years. To justify the sudden deportation, ICE falsely accused me of 'crimes.' It was clear that the true motivation was to punish me for speaking out."

Questioned in April about such cases of retaliation, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas grandly answered that "retaliation in response to the constitutionally protected right of free speech and, quite frankly, the obligation, the civic obligation, to protest government positions with which one disagrees, that's just unacceptable."

When specifically asked whether Rojas and those like him might be returned to the U.S., Mayorkas vaguely offered to check with DHS's Family Reunification Taskforce, created earlier this year, "about the community of people who might have claims of retaliation and to see if we can look into those as part of our overarching effort."

Being charitable, that's probably about as much as can be expected from an official unfamiliar with specific cases who doesn't want to commit to a course of action on abuses inherited from previous administrations. But it's cold comfort to even relatively prominent figures like Rojas whose case was brought before the head of DHS, and like Maru Mora-Villalpando, who has support from the United Nations, and still live in limbo. The many lesser-known activists targeted because they angered immigration officials by criticizing government conduct have even less hope for respect for their rights by government agents accustomed to punishing people for standing out.

Selective enforcement against people not for being in violation of the law, but for ticking-off government officials by advocating for changes in the law, should frighten even those who pride themselves as hardliners on immigration. After all, the United States isn't short on hot-button policy disagreements that divide supporters of enforcement from advocates of reform. From guns to drugs to sexual expression to free speech itself, Americans are at odds with government and each other on a host of issues. If speaking out against the law is enough to paint targets on our backs, then many people are at risk well beyond the world of immigration reform activists.

"Where federal agencies targeted an individual because they were engaging in protected speech critical of the government, they should restore them to their prior status," the University of Washington immigration clinic report urges the Biden administration with regard to immigration activists. That's excellent advice on any issuecriticizing official policy of any sort shouldn't be grounds for surveillance, arrest, and abuse.

But admonitions that government shouldn't target critics for special attention is also a reminder that law is always dangerous in ways that extend well beyond its intended application. Any opportunity for wielding coercive power will ultimately be used as a weapon by government agents against people they don't like.

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Immigration Activists Targeted for Deportation and Harassment - Reason