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While few believe the next two years are going to see much in the way of big, consequential legislation, there is still hope among some Republicans that Congress can pass comprehensive immigration reform, and thus show Hispanic voters that the GOP is not intractably hostile to them. The other day, Senator Lindsey Graham said, If we dont at least make a down payment on solving the problem and rationally dealing with the 11 million, if we become the party of self-deportation in 2015 and 2016, then the chance of winning the White House I think is almost non-existent.

But in this coming Sundays New York Times Magazine, Marco Rubio the Republican most closely associated with comprehensive reform shows decidedly less urgency about the issue. Heres an excerpt from the interview note the last part in particular:

You suffered politically for trying to push a sweeping immigration overhaul with a pathway to citizenship. What lesson did you draw from that?

That there now exists an incredible level of mistrust on anything massive that the government does.

In your book, you propose a piecemeal approach starting with more border security and ending with permanent residency. Are you dropping the idea of citizenship for those who came here illegally?

Once you have permanent residency, which is a green card, existing law allows you to apply for citizenship.

What about members of Congress who say they cannot vote for anything that would allow a pathway to citizenship?

We might prohibit people who came here illegally and got green cards under this process from ever becoming citizens. And if thats what we have to do to get this thing passed, I would be open to it. But I dont think thats a wise thing to do.

Do you think the Republicans need to have some sort of immigration solution before 2016?

No. Those who argue that this will be a bonanza for Republicans are not telling the truth. Those who argue that we should do it for the purpose of politics are also mis-analyzing the issue.

Read more here:
Why GOP wont pass real immigration reform anytime soon ...

While few believe the next two years are going to see much in the way of big, consequential legislation, there is still hope among some Republicans that Congress can pass comprehensive immigration reform, and thus show Hispanic voters that the GOP is not intractably hostile to them. The other day, Senator Lindsey Graham said, If we dont at least make a down payment on solving the problem and rationally dealing with the 11 million, if we become the party of self-deportation in 2015 and 2016, then the chance of winning the White House I think is almost non-existent.

But in this coming Sundays New York Times Magazine, Marco Rubio the Republican most closely associated with comprehensive reform shows decidedly less urgency about the issue. Heres an excerpt from the interview note the last part in particular:

You suffered politically for trying to push a sweeping immigration overhaul with a pathway to citizenship. What lesson did you draw from that?

That there now exists an incredible level of mistrust on anything massive that the government does.

In your book, you propose a piecemeal approach starting with more border security and ending with permanent residency. Are you dropping the idea of citizenship for those who came here illegally?

Once you have permanent residency, which is a green card, existing law allows you to apply for citizenship.

What about members of Congress who say they cannot vote for anything that would allow a pathway to citizenship?

We might prohibit people who came here illegally and got green cards under this process from ever becoming citizens. And if thats what we have to do to get this thing passed, I would be open to it. But I dont think thats a wise thing to do.

Do you think the Republicans need to have some sort of immigration solution before 2016?

No. Those who argue that this will be a bonanza for Republicans are not telling the truth. Those who argue that we should do it for the purpose of politics are also mis-analyzing the issue.

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Sargent: Why GOP wont pass real immigration reform anytime soon

This fall President Obama issued an executive order as part of an initiative to address immigration issues around the country. The executive order took place on Nov. 20, but for many the plan has only increased the confusion surrounding an already complex issue. This was apparent at a recent informational forum held at the regional high school. Almost every seat was filled and one hand after another was raised as people asked questions about their individual situations.

At the podium, Rebecca McCarthy, an immigration attorney who recently returned to work on the Island, fielded each question, responding when necessary through a translator.

Executive order on immigration law has created lots of confusion. Alison L. Mead

Before I go into the details of President Obamas administrative action, its important to understand the difference between administrative action and immigration reform, she said. As of today, Congress has not passed an immigration reform bill. The reason why this is important to understand is that executive actions are temporary actions. Ms. McCarthy went on to explain some key pieces of the presidents executive order as it pertains to immigrants currently living in the U.S., focusing particularly on deferred action for parents and children.

Its going to still be a long process, she said. So the best thing to do is get your documents together. If you believe that you qualify, contact an immigration attorney to make sure that you qualify and stay on top of whats happening with the government.

The forum was one of several that Ms. McCarthy will be hosting to help educate the Islands immigrant population on how the executive order may or may not change their current situation.

Ms. McCarthy, 36, was born on the Island, well, Falmouth actually, a debate that continues in her family as to whether she is a true Islander or not. She spent her first three years here before her parents moved to Storrs, Conn., where her father, Michael McCarthy, worked as a football coach and guidance counselor. Her father is now the director of the guidance department at the Marthas Vineyard Regional High School.

Ms. McCarthy majored in human development and family relations at the University of Connecticut. In her sophomore year she took a year off to serve in an AmeriCorps program in South Carolina, traveling around the southeast performing community service. After graduation she moved to New York city.

I went to New York and I was trying to figure out what to do next. Because of my AmeriCorps experience I had always been interested in law and public service, she said. And so I decided to apply to law school.

The next couple of years she spent clerking at the Paul, Weiss law firm full time and going to New York Law School at night. I didnt sleep much. The job in itself was pretty intense. It was also a good learning experience and gave me a good foundation.

Originally posted here:
Your Passport to Immigration Reform

In a speech Wednesday on the floor of the U.S. House, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) declared immigration reform dead.

He chastised and baited Republicans in Congress for blocking reform, and declared that winning the White House without the support of a growing Hispanic population will become mathematically impossible. "The Republican Presidential nominee, whoever he or she may be, will enter the race with an electoral college deficit they cannot make up," said Gutierrez.

Gutierrez didn't mention the H-1B visa in the speech, but if he's right, and comprehensive immigration reform is indeed dead, so is raising the cap on H-1B visas.

Immigration reform advocates have successfully blocked any effort to take up the immigration issue piecemeal. They don't want support for broader reform to peel away.

For the next few weeks, the tech industry and other supporters of such legislation will continue to push ahead on immigration reform.

While tech lobbyists agree that the odds of passing immigration legislation are slim and shrinking, they still aren't ruling it out. So far, it's been mostly the Democrats who are declaring immigration dead. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has yet to say so definitively.

There really isn't that much time left.

The long August recess will soon be here, and post-recess lawmakers will be spending a lot time in their districts campaigning for reelection. It's not too early to start thinking about what the next Congress might do, and if the Republicans take control of the Senate, the tech industry will face a new obstacle: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

Grassley is the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the immigration issue. He is the leading critic of the H-1B program in Congress, and in line to be the committee chairman in a Republican victory. "The H-1B program is so popular that it's now replacing the U.S. labor force," he said in 2007.

Grassley has been a consistent critic of the H-1B program. One year ago this week, the Senate passed its bipartisan immigration bill that would more than double the H-1B cap, increasing it from 85,000 to 180,000 annually. "Let's peel back the onion and see how much this stinks," said Grassley, as his efforts to add H-1B restrictions to the bill failed.

Continue reading here:
If immigration reform is dead, so is raising the H-1B cap

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We dont want our workers deported. Thats the bottom line.

Kim Shanahan, Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association

Welcome to the other side of illegal immigration.

Its the flip side of secure our borders first, the side that depends on the labor of folks from somewhere else to deliver products to Americans.

Like homes.

And restaurant meals.

And any number of services that used to provide the jobs that used to provide preparation for or membership in the countrys now-shrinking middle class.

Lets face it. Many Americans just wont work as carpenters, framers, drywall installers, bricklayers, roofers and painters. They wont pour concrete or lay adobe. Its honest work, and the pay is pretty good. But its just too hard. Its easier to collect government bennies, play video games and get subsidized insurance.

Thats the system weve allowed to develop, and weve filled the void with immigrant labor. No case better illustrates this than the need to import tens of thousands of mostly undocumented Hispanic workers to rebuild New Orleans after Katrina. And this need for immigrant labor has been in the face of high unemployment and record low workforce participation numbers in the U.S., especially among people under 35.

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Editorial: Immigration reform must factor in workforce needs