Blog: Immigration - Page 21

In a Gallup poll taken in late June, before S.744 passed in the Senate, a survey asked American adults if they would vote for or against several proposals made by the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill. Surprisingly, the poll showed that the majority of Americans would vote for all of the six main proposals included in …

Arrests of Illegal Immigrants Crossing the U.S. Border Fall By More than One-Third This week I came upon an article in the Washington Post regarding the arrests of illegal migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border that truly surprised me. The article cited that only 327,000 people were apprehended by U.S. Border patrol in fiscal year 2011. …

Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, announced last Friday that she will be resigning from her position in September. Secretary Napolitano will take a new position as the President of the University of California system. She has been the Secretary of DHS since January, 2009. During her time as the head …

The future of Immigration reform is uncertain as S.744 Comprehensive Immigration Reform lies with the House of Representatives. The bills fate depends one whether or not House Speaker John Boehner permits the House to vote on the bill. Boehner has ruled out passing the bill, saying he will only bring it to a vote if …

Last Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled to strike down a key component of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which barred gay and lesbian marriages from being federally recognized, therefore denying them the same marriage rights of straight couples. Now, gay couples finally have the same marriage rights as straight couples, and that includes immigration …

This is a great victory and a historical moment for Immigration advocates. After approximately six months of deliberation, on Thursday evening, the Senate has finally passed S.744 Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill with a bipartisan vote of 68-32. The vote was just short of the 70 votes the Gang of Eight was hoping for to pressure …

Monday night, the Senate voted on a key amendment of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill, to increase Border Security along the southern border. The amendment passed with a bipartisan vote of 67-27. The bill will increase fencing and number of border agents, as well as implement a surveillance system. The border security increase is seen …

Last Monday, the Supreme Court ruled an Arizona law that requires voting applicants to submit proof of citizenship unconstitutional. Supreme Court Justices voted 7-2 to strike down the voter requirement. Under Proposition 200, enacted in 2004, Arizona voters must show documentation of U.S. citizenship to use the voter registration form produced under a federal law …

Immigration officials will soon be answering to a new boss. John Morton, the director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Monday that he will be stepping down from his current position at the end of July. ICE is an agency of the Department of Homeland Security that deals with enforcing immigration …

The Senate Immigration Reform bill, S.744, has been a hot topic of conversation this week since passing its first vote, early this week. Journalists and people on social media have been buzzing about new amendments, controversies, and who supports what. Perhaps one of the most interesting events on the Senate floor, however, was a speech …

Connecticut legislature has passed a bill that will limit the state’s participation in the Secure Communities program and protect immigrants from deportation. The federal Secure Communities program is a nationwide legal program that has local police detain witnesses and victims of crimes. Last year, a New Haven resident, Josemaria Islas, was arrested for stealing a …

So far, we have seen many positive changes in immigration law in the year 2013. The national Comprehensive Immigration Reform is currently being debated on the Senate floor, but the states are also beginning to take certain immigration matters into their own hands. One of these matters is driver licenses. Here in Connecticut, for example, …