Immigration

Senate Bill Would Cut Funds that Arizona's House Delegation Fought to Protect

15 October 2009 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep Harry Mitchell today called on the U.S. Senate to block a $172 million cut to the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) that reimburses state and local law enforcement agencies for the cost of arresting and jailing illegal immigrants. Mitchell and other members of Arizona's delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives have led the fight in the House to protect the program.    » read more »

House Passes the Homeland Security Appropriations Act

October 15, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Rep. John Hall (D-Dover) helped the House pass crucial investments in priority homeland security programs. The Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 2892), which passed the House of Representatives today with broad bipartisan support, increases federal funding for securing America's borders, ports and airports.    » read more »

10/15/2009 -- WASHINGTON – Congressman Parker Griffith voted today to pass the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010 and to increase funding for border security and immigration law enforcement. H.R. 2892 passed the House Floor Friday and will be sent to the Senate before being signed into law by the President.

“Congress has taken a step in the right direction toward a serious and sustained effort to secure our borders,” Griffith said. “The security of this nation is priority number one, and this legislation provides critical funding to secure our borders, train our local first responders and safeguard the American people.”    » read more »

House approves $42.7 billion for Homeland Security, including provisions inserted by Giffords

October 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – A provision by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to improve and extend operation of an employee verification system was part of a $42.7 billion national security appropriation bill approved today by the House of Representatives.

“Employers must be held responsible if they knowingly hire illegal immigrants,” Giffords said. “But employers must also be able to rely on the federal government to provide a reliable system for determining a potential employee’s legal status.”    » read more »

October 13, 2009 -- (Washington DC) At a rally today on the west lawn of the United States Capitol, U.S. Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) addressed a crowd of thousands who demanded change to our nation's broken immigration system. Rep. Gutierrez' address responded to a recent call from the immigration advocacy community to introduce comprehensive immigration reform in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Gutierrez has been actively talking to advocacy and civil rights groups, faith-based groups, labor groups and his colleagues on the Hill to identify the most essential components of such a comprehensive bill. Today he outlined some of those core principles.

In a statement, Rep. Gutierrez said:    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Secretary John Morton today announced new initiatives as part of the Department's ongoing immigration detention reform efforts—enhancing the security and efficiency of ICE's nationwide detention system while prioritizing the health and safety of detainees.

"These new initiatives will improve accountability and safety in our detention facilities as we continue to engage in smart and effective enforcement of our nation's immigration laws," said Secretary Napolitano.    » read more »

October 07, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today formally issued a final rule rescinding the Social Security “no match” rule. The “no match” rule, which was never implemented, would have forced employers to fire workers based on discrepancies in their Social Security records. DHS first announced its plan to rescind the rule in July, and with today’s publication of a final rule in the Federal Register, the rescission will go into effect in 30 days.    » read more »

October 7, 2009 -- Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) sweeping changes to the Immigration Detention System:

“I commend the Obama Administration and Secretary Napolitano for establishing new initiatives to begin reforming our nation’s broken immigration detention system,” stated Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. “I pleased to see that DHS is taking the additional steps necessary to address these concerns.”    » read more »

Patrick-Murray Administration maintains commitment to health care reform in face of unprecedented budget challenges

BOSTON – Monday, August 31, 2009 – Massachusetts Governor Patrick today announced that the Patrick-Murray Administration has successfully developed a plan to provide comprehensive health insurance to the 31,000 legal immigrants who were previously enrolled in Commonwealth Care and scheduled to lose their coverage because of budget reductions.

"We must maintain our commitment to the promise of health care reform in Massachusetts," said Governor Patrick. "This innovative solution ensures hard-working individuals and families have access to the care they need."    » read more »

Passage of the DREAM Act will allow next generation of leaders to achieve their own American dream

June 23, 2009 -- Washington, DC --Today, with the U.S. Capitol's Statue of Freedom reaching to the sky behind them, more than 500 students from across the country took part in a symbolic graduation ceremony to urge Congress to support our nation's future leaders by passing the DREAM Act. The National DREAM Graduation ceremony was hosted by labor organizations like SEIU, education, faith, business, immigrant and civil rights groups through the United We Dream Coalition.    » read more »

June 9, 2009 -- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today granted deferred action for two years to widows and widowers of U.S. citizens—as well as their unmarried children under 18 years old—who reside in the United States and who were married for less than two years prior to their spouse’s death.    » read more »

Schumer Unveils New Analysis Showing Sotomayor's Moderate Record On Immigration Cases; Review Of Close To 850 Cases Shows She Ruled Against Asylum Claims 83 Percent Of Time

June 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), the chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, released a new analysis Tuesday of Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial record on immigration-related cases, showing she ruled against asylum claims 83 percent of the time, a rate that places President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee squarely in the judicial mainstream.

Schumer said the figures, which had not previously been compiled, undercut attempts by Sotomayor’s critics to paint her as a judge whose decision-making is influenced by factors other than the rule of law.    » read more »

Initiates New Rulemaking to Govern Immigration Removal Proceedings

June 3, 2009 -- Attorney General Eric Holder today vacated the order issued in Matter of Compean by Attorney General Mukasey in January and announced his intention to initiate a new rulemaking proceeding for regulations to govern claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in removal proceedings.    » read more »

Comments On Administration’s Proposals Regarding SCAAP and Secure Communities Program

May 19, 2009 -- U.S. Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee's Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee, today issued the following statement regarding President Obama's request to expand the Secure Communities program, which seeks to check the immigration status of every person booked into local jails.

"Checking the immigration status of every incarcerated individual is a laudable goal. In an ideal world, this would already be the status quo. But the reality is our immigration system is deeply flawed and in need of a major overhaul and infusion of resources--which I have been pushing for since I was first elected to the Senate.    » read more »

May 7, 2009 -- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano unveiled the Department’s $55.1 billion FY 2010 budget request today, focused around five major priorities—counterterrorism; border security; enforcement of immigration laws; disaster preparedness, response and recovery; and Department unification—designed to create a leaner, smarter, more effective agency.    » read more »