Sen. Sessions Slams Closed-Door Amnesty Bargaining
“Sen. Jeff Sessions is slamming President Barack Obama’s closed-door meetings with lobbyists pushing greater immigration, including the business interests that profit from low-wage labor by skilled and unskilled immigrants,” the Daily Caller says.
“‘Obama is meeting privately with the most powerful men in finance and business to discuss how to bring in more low-wage labor at a time when millions of Americans can’t earn enough to pay their bills,’ Sessions said in a statement to The Daily Caller.”
House GOP Splits on Citizenship Issue
“House Republicans split Tuesday from their counterparts in the Senate on the issue of immigration reform, arguing that a plan to give millions of undocumented immigrants citizenship is as ‘extreme’ as ‘mass deportation,'” Buzzfeed says.
“Although a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators — including Republicans Marco Rubio of Florida and John McCain of Arizona — have agreed to include citizenship in their immigration proposal, conservative members present at Tuesday’s Judiciary Committee hearing pushed back repeatedly against the measure, which Republican committee chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte called ‘the question of the day.'”
Rep. Cantor Endorses DREAM Act?
“House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., today endorsed the basic principles of the “Dream Act,” a long-sought after piece of immigration legislation that would create a pathway to citizenship for certain undocumented youth. Cantor’s embrace of the idea is the latest demonstration of the GOP’s renewed interest in pursuing bipartisan immigration reform,” CBS News reports.
“In a wide-ranging speech at the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute, Cantor said that when it comes to immigration reform, ‘A good place to start is with the kids.'”
Rep. Labrador Says Softer Stance on Immigration Better
“Rep. Raul R. Labrador is the only Puerto Rican, Mormon, tea party immigration lawyer in Congress, which the Idaho Republican figures makes him the perfect bridge between hard-line GOP resistance to an immigration overhaul and the urgent sense among Democrats that the November election won them a free hand on the issue. Labrador spent his first two years on Capitol Hill earning and burnishing a reputation as not just a ‘no’ but a ‘hell no’ vote on nearly every spending and fiscal bill that came across his desk. But on immigration, he is seeking a different role,” the Washington Post says.
Big Ag Looks for Guest Worers
“At Chandler Farms, just outside of Selma, Calif., in the San Joaquin Valley, about three dozen workers are needed each season to pick acres of delicate peaches, plums, nectarines and citrus. In recent years, however, owners Carol and Bill Chandler have struggled to find laborers as immigration from Mexico has slowed to a near-standstill,” the Seattle Times writes.
“Immigration reform has been a rallying cry among farm groups for years. Farmers have long reported chronic labor shortages that predate the recession. During the housing boom, for instance, contractors persuaded farm workers to work in construction.”