Archive for the ‘Immigration Reform’ Category

Don’t expect immigration reform before November, Catholic expert says – Crux Now

NEW YORK With bipartisan immigration legislation again unable to garner enough support in the Senate to pass last week, the head of the U.S. Bishops Conference Migration and Refugee Services said he doesnt expect immigration reform before the presidential election this November.

As were running up to this election, we dont expect that any concerted or results-oriented immigration bills will come forward, William Canny, the executive director of the Migration and Refugee Services of the USCCB told Crux.

What we do hope is that those who are willing to discuss and negotiate continue to do that regardless of whether its an election year or not, Canny said.

Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has made the crisis at the southern border a centerpiece of his re-election campaign, and has encouraged GOP lawmakers not to support any border legislation deal with Democrats that wasnt perfect.

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has touted his own proposal as the toughest border enforcement in history. The legislation, which mirrors border legislation that was rejected in February when it was attached to a foreign aid package to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, failed in a 43-50 vote in late May.

60 votes were needed for the legislation to proceed.

Among other things, Canny said the new bill, like the previous one, would mandate rushed proceedings for people seeking protection and not give people due process to asylum. The bill would have also heightened the credible fear standard for migrants, and essentially shut down the border by virtually expelling without due process anyone who didnt cross into the United States at a designated border point, which Canny said the committee also doesnt support.

The bill also would have given the president power to shut down the border if certain migration thresholds are met.

We were essentially against this bill, as we were the immigration aspects of the previous bill, Canny said. [Aspects of this bill] were definitely against the teachings of the Church, and while we respect a countrys sovereign right to control its borders, it needs to be done in the context of the common good and it needs to be humanitarianly fair.

Canny noted, however, that the committee welcomes the bipartisan effort that went into the bill. The legislation was negotiated by Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Independent Senator Krysten Sinema of Arizona.

In a May 23 statement, Biden took aim at Congressional Republicans for the bills failure, saying they do not care about securing the border or fixing Americas broken immigration system.

Biden said the legislation would have hired more border patrol agents and asylum officers to process cases faster, implement new technology to stop fentanyl from entering the United States, provide resources to go after drug traffickers, expand access to lawful immigration pathways, and expedite work authorization to those who are eligible.

Congressional Republicans do not care about securing the border or fixing Americas broken immigration system, Biden said. If they did, they would have voted for the toughest border enforcement in history. Instead, today, they put partisan politics ahead of our countrys national security.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said in a May 23 statement that Congress should instead adopt the GOPs partisan, stricter, immigration legislation proposal.

After more than three years of claiming the situation at our southern border was not a crisis while millions of illegals poured in, Congressional Democrats are attempting to throw an election year Hail Mary to cover for their embrace of President Bidens open border policies, Johnson said.

Through the political stalemate, Canny said the USCCB will continue to work to educate Catholics and others on the plight of migrants who come to the United States, and the nations current immigration laws and what aspects of them need to change.

Canny said the committee is also focused on its work resettling refugees coming to the United States from other countries who have been vetted, and are joining American communities with an eventual path to citizenship across the country in conjunction with other agencies, and the government.

Further, Canny added that the committee is continuing its advocacy to and conversations with Congress on root causes and creating programs to aid those countries people predominantly migrate from that respect a persons and families right to stay home.

People should be able to stay in their homes. We know people want to stay. They dont want to leave, Canny explained. So, we are looking at those situations and are talking to leadership in our government and the administration and congress about programs that could help folks stay in their countries and not feel forced to migrate.

Follow John Lavenburg on X:@johnlavenburg

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Don't expect immigration reform before November, Catholic expert says - Crux Now

A Century of Immigration-Control Failure The Future of Freedom Foundation – The Future of Freedom Foundation

On the 28th of last month, the United States celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Border Patrol. According to the website of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrol was established for the purpose of securing the borders between inspection stations. In 1925 its duties were expanded to patrol the seacoast.

If there is anything everyone in the United States can agree on, it is that during the past 100 years, the Border Patrol has failed to fulfill its mission. Today, everyone agrees that the Border Patrol has failed to prevent the illegal entry of people into the United States and especially on Americas southern border.

Yet, for immigration statists, hope springs eternal. Despite 100 continuous years of failure, immigration statists are convinced that someone will somehow figure out a way to make their immigration-control system succeed. In fact, one of the most amusing mantras during the past century has been, If only Congress would just enact comprehensive immigration reform, we would finally finally! end Americas perpetual immigration crisis.

Of course, lost in this process of eternal hope is that there have been all sorts of comprehensive immigration reforms during the past 100 years. The problem is that they have all failed.

Domestic highway checkpoints. Roving Border Patrol checkpoints. Warrantless searches of ranches and farms within 100 miles of U.S. borders. The criminalization of hiring, transporting, harboring, or caring for illegal immigrants. The boarding of Greyhound buses to check for peoples papers. The building of a Berlin Wall through eminent domain stealing of peoples property. The use of underwater concertina wire designed to cut people up. Forced deportations. Violent government raids on private businesses. Forcible separation of children from parents. The use of the U.S. military to secure the border.

It all adds up to a massive immigration police state along the border, one that has destroyed the liberty and privacy of people, including Americans. And none of it has worked to bring an end to illegal immigration. In fact, from the standpoint of advocates of this failed system, the illegal immigration problem is worse than ever.

Another favorite longtime mantra of advocates of immigration controls is, The system is broken. We need to fix it. If that is true, then why hasnt anyone fixed it? After all, theyve had 100 years a full century! to do so. Why hasnt anyone fixed what is supposedly a broken system?

The answer is: Because the system isnt broken. Instead, it is inherently defective. Something that is inherently defective cant be fixed. Thats what advocates of immigration controls simply cannot confront. No matter what they do no matter what comprehensive immigration reform they adopt it will still not work. Their system will continue to fail, just as it has for 100 years. In the process, they just continue destroying life, liberty, and privacy through the immigration police state that enforces their failed system.

The reason that their system is inherently defective is that it is based on the core socialist principle of central planning. Government officials plan, in a top-down, command-and-control, manner, the movements of millions of people in one of the most sophisticated and complex labor markets in history. It simply cannot be done at least not without the planned chaos that Ludwig von Mises pointed out comes with socialist central planning.

I have said it for 34 years here at FFF, but it bears repeating: There is only one solution to Americas decades-old failed, deadly, and destructive immigration morass. That solution lies not in the continuation of socialism and the continuation of death, suffering, rapes, kidnappings, Berlin Wall, concertina wire, highway checkpoints, warrantless searches, and other aspects of the immigration police state that comes with immigration socialism. The only solution to Americas 100 years of immigration-control failure is freedom, free markets, and limited government. That necessarily means the abolition of the Border Patrol, ICE, and all controls over the free movements of people across borders that is, the same system we have inside the United States with respect to state borders.

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Bipartisan Struggle: The Stalled US Immigration Reform | National World News | bhpioneer.com – Black Hills Pioneer

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Bipartisan Struggle: The Stalled US Immigration Reform | National World News | bhpioneer.com - Black Hills Pioneer

I navigated a complex immigration system: Pramila Jayapal – The American Bazaar

Recalling her own immigration journey from India to the US at the age of 16, Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has reiterated her call for immigration reform.

I navigated a complex immigration system, Jayapal said in a video posted on X joining #SpreadAAPILove campaign started by STOP AAPI Hate as part of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) heritage month.

READ: Bridging Histories, Shaping Our Future theme for AANHPI Heritage Month (April 25, 2024)

Coming to the US with $5,000 given by her parents to sustain her American dream, it took her 17 years to navigate a complex immigration system to become a US citizen 20 years ago.

Emphasizing their belief in her potential and in the opportunities America could offer, she said, They (Jayapals parents) made the ultimate sacrifice of living on a different continent than their child.

Pointing out that many people today face an even more difficult journey, Jayapal reiterated her call for immigration reform.

Having gained US citizenship over two decades ago, she underscored her pride in representing her constituents and serving in Congress.

Today, more than two decades after I gained my citizenship, I speak to you as the first South Asian American woman ever elected to the House of Representatives, as one of only two dozen naturalized citizens to serve in the United States Congress, she said.

As the ranking member of the Immigration Subcommittee, I have fought to give back to immigrant communities and ensure that their rights are always protected, Jayapal stated.

Her efforts include promoting policies to improve AAPI health, protecting civil liberties, and advocating for a just and humane immigration system.

I am always going to work to help all those who want to achieve the American dream, the possibility of doing that, just like I had, she said with a call to action for solidarity and storytelling within the AAPI community.

Being an immigrant is part of who I am. Its something that I am incredibly proud of. America was built by immigrants, and without us, this country would come to a standstill, Jayapal asserted.

So lets all continue sharing our stories, standing together, and spreading AAPI love. Happy AANHPI Heritage Month.

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I navigated a complex immigration system: Pramila Jayapal - The American Bazaar

Byron York: The effect of immigration reform on American workers – Washington Examiner

Talk about out-of-touch Washington. At a time when the unemployment rate is 7.6 percent and would be far higher had not millions of jobless Americans become discouraged and left the workforce the topic of debate among many Democratic and Republican lawmakers is how many guest workers should be allowed into the U.S. each year.

Should it be 20,000? Ten times that number? How much new labor, most of it unskilled, should come to a country where millions already cant find a job? Those are the issues on the table in the bipartisan Gang of Eights immigration reform proposal.

When debate over the plan begins in earnest, it will set off an intense argument over the economic consequences of reform. That argument will come despite reports the AFL-CIO and top business organizations have already agreed on guest workers. The unions, of course, represent fewer than 7 percent of private-sector workers in the U.S., and the Chamber of Commerce doesnt have a mandate to speak for all of American business.

It will be a debate in which the public hears doubts about the economic wisdom of reform from voices as disparate as Jeff Sessions, the conservative Republican senator from Alabama, and Paul Krugman, the liberal New York Times columnist.

The comprehensive immigration bill being drafted right now would provide nearly immediate work authorization to millions of illegal immigrants while substantially increasing the future flow of workers, Sessions said April 5, when the latest unemployment numbers were released. Our first priority must be to help American citizens, and current legal immigrants, find good employment. The alternative, Sessions argued, would be a system in which a large and growing share of our population is permanently unemployed while jobs are filled by a constant supply of foreign workers.

In recent days, with reform on the agenda of a Democratic president, Krugman has said positive things about immigration. But back in 2006, when Republican President George W. Bush was behind reform, Krugman expressed serious concerns.

A review of serious, nonpartisan research reveals some uncomfortable facts about the economics of modern immigration, and immigration from Mexico in particular, Krugman wrote at the time. Among those uncomfortable facts, he explained, were 1) the net benefits to the U.S. economy from immigration, aside from the large gains to the immigrants themselves, are small; 2) many of the worst-off native-born Americans are hurt by immigration; and 3) modern America is a welfare state and low-skill immigrants threaten to unravel that safety net.

When Krugman wrote those words, the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent. Now it is nearly three points higher. The economic concerns about immigration reform are more serious than ever.

Back in 2007, reform died in part because some Democrats, backed by unions, opposed it. This bill will flood the U.S. job market with millions of workers who will compete, at low wages, for jobs Americans are now doing, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., wrote in 2007. I believe it will drive down American wages and living standards.

Dorgan is now gone from the Senate. Like Krugman, it was easier for him to oppose immigration reform in 06 and 07 because it was sponsored by a Republican president. This time, will any Democrats stand up to a president of their own party?

The question might be particularly acute for Democrats because of reforms expected effect on minority workers. Last week, three members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights wrote to Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, arguing that legalizing currently illegal immigrants will have far-reaching effects on African-Americans.

Such grant of legal status will likely disproportionately harm lower-skilled African-Americans by making it more difficult for them to obtain employment and depressing their wages when they do obtain employment, the commissioners wrote. The increased employment difficulties will likely have negative consequences that extend far beyond economics. Among those consequences, according to the commissioners: increased crime, incarceration, family breakdown, and more.

Finally, the issue extends beyond the impact of legalizing the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in the U.S. Recently the Los Angeles Times reported that one of the biggest immediate impacts of the reform proposal under consideration in Congress would be a sudden, large surge in legal migration.

The U.S. admits about 1 million legal immigrants per year, more than any other country, the newspaper reported. That number could jump by more than 50 percent over the next decade under the terms of the immigration reform bill.

That will have economic consequences. And the coming debate could be difficult for supporters of comprehensive immigration reform.

Byron York, The Washington Examiners chief political correspondent, can be contacted at [emailprotected]. His column appears on Tuesday and Friday, and his stories and blogposts appear on washingtonexaminer.com.

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Byron York: The effect of immigration reform on American workers - Washington Examiner