Gutierrez Says Obama Missing in Action on Amnesty
“Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who campaigned for the president in swing states with large populations of Latino voters, said Obama is missing in action from the discussions that are taking place on Capitol Hill,” The Hill reports.
“‘Who’s missing from these conversations is the president of the United States,’ Gutierrez told The Hill. ‘When senators from both parties and members of the House are talking, when you have the Senate majority leader and Speaker Boehner both saying that this is an important priority. Who’s the one missing? The president.'”
Amnesty Push Expected in January
“The word out of Washington is that the Obama administration is gearing up for a January push to get a comprehensive immigration reform bill through Congress. As soon as the fiscal cliff crisis is resolved, Democrats will be mounting a campaign on social networks to gather support for reform,” says Dan Moffett with About.com.
“President Obama has said that the failure to fix the nation’s immigration system was the biggest disappointment during his first term. He wants to capitalize on his momentum from the election to get a bill passed during the first half of next year.”
Time to Follow the Jordan Commission on Immigration
“In 1995, a bipartisan commission on immigration appointed by President Clinton and headed by the late Barbara Jordan issued comprehensive recommendations that would be a solid foundation for current reform efforts. Jordan summed up how an immigration system should work: ‘Those who should get in, get in; those who should be kept out, are kept out; and those who should not be here will be required to leave,'” says Steven Camarota of CIS.
“With 30 million legal immigrants living in the country, and with an illegal immigrant population that has soared to 10-12 million, the Jordan Commission’s recommendations remain a template for responsible reform.”
Democrats Divided on Secure Communities
“Now the division within the party [over Secure Communities]has spread to California, where the top two statewide officials – both Democrats – are at odds over the program. State Attorney General Kamala Harris recently told local and state law enforcement agencies that they are free not to comply with Secure Communities,” says Ruber Navarrette Jr.
“On the other side of this issue is California Gov. Jerry Brown, who in early fall outraged immigration rights activists by vetoing a piece of legislation called the TRUST Act. Authored by Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, the bill would have barred local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agents unless the detainees in question were charged with serious or violent felonies.”
Maternity Hotels Reignite Debate Over Birthright Citizenship
“The discovery of at least two alleged “maternity hotels” in Chino Hills is motivating the area’s assemblyman to craft a bill creating new penalties for those who he believes are exploiting a loophole in immigration laws.
The state Legislature does not have power over immigration, but Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, wants to find a way within the state’s powers to attack the issue,” the Daily Bulletin writes.
“Hagman wants to create new punishments for anyone who breaks state or local law while running maternity hotels, which are semi-underground facilities for women who travel to the United States specifically to obtain American citizenship for their newborns.”