Zuckerberg Comes to D.C. to Push Amnesty
“Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg spoke before a packed room Wednesday at the Newseum, where he fielded questions about his company, his politics and the larger role of the tech community in Washington, D.C. The CEO spoke for about an hour with interviewer James Bennet of the Atlantic, and also fielded questions from the audience, a mix of journalists, tech policy experts and local entrepreneurs,” the Washington Post writes.
“Comprehensive immigration reform, Zuckerberg said, is as vital to this country’s economy as reforming the rules to allow highly skilled workers to work in the U.S., and he believes it makes sense to do both at the same time.”
Entry/Exit Tracking is Possible Today
“One of the reasons the amnesty-first crowd has opposed making legalization contingent on the complete implementation of enforcement measures is that they think it would take too long. Whatever you think of that argument, its factual basis has been eliminated by a new report from my colleague Janice Kephart. She took a close look at the options for biometric recording of the departures of legal foreign visitors at airports and seaports and found that, contrary to administration claims, it’s both technically feasible and cost-effective,” says CIS Executive Director Mark Krikorian.
“Kephart found that off-the-shelf technology exists to do airport and seaport exit-tracking right now, without having to wait until the 2020s. Furthermore, no massive reworking of airport infrastructure is required, the costs are much more modest than the anti-enforcement bureaucrats have estimated, and those costs can be entirely covered by modest increases in visa fees.”
Arizona Extends Ban on Licenses for Illegal Aliens
“Arizona, long at odds with President Barack Obama’s administration over immigration reform, is expanding a ban on giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants to include all those who have been granted relief from deportation, in a move rights advocates criticized as “vindictive.” The state’s Republican governor, Jan Brewer, announced a year ago that Arizona would deny licenses to young illegal immigrants granted a deportation reprieve under a federal program approved as Obama pushed for a broader immigration overhaul,” Reuters writes.
Illegal Aliens Chain Themselves to White House Fence
“As Congress prepares to resume debate on a possible overhaul of immigration laws, [Maria] Crespo was among seven undocumented immigrants who chained themselves to the gates outside the White House on Wednesday to protest deportations of people here illegally who had hoped to be legalized by now. One was her son,” USA Today writes.
“Crespo and the others chained themselves to the fence Wednesday morning on the north side of the White House — a popular area where tourists flock to snap pictures and security is high.”
“An organizer working with the group said all seven were released by early Wednesday afternoon. Officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not comment on their release, but the agency has generally not initiated deportation proceedings against other undocumented protesters in Washington in recent years, saying they prefer to focus their deportation efforts on those with extensive criminal records or pose a national security threat.”