“With time running out in a lame-duck Congress, California Democrats are fighting against Republicans\u2019 second attempt to pass what they call a \u201cgimmick\u201d to earn Latino support. San Antonio Rep. Lamar Smith is making a final push for legislation designed to increase visas for high-skilled immigrants. The legislation failed to win House passage earlier this year, but Smith is hoping to win more Democratic votes this time tacking on a provision that allows families of high-skilled workers to remain in the U.S. while awaiting their own green cards,” the San Franciso Chronicle reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n “A North Carolina judge on Tuesday ordered three U.S.-born children to be reunited with their deported Mexican father, a move toward resolving a 2-year legal fight that has drawn international attention. Social services officials in rural Alleghany County had sought to terminate the parental rights of Felipe Montes, who crossed the border illegally in 2003 to work on Christmas tree farms near the mountain town of Sparta. Montes later married a U.S. citizen and the couple had three sons,” the Huffington Post reports.<\/p>\n “Montes was deported to Mexico and the boys were placed in state custody after social workers determined his wife, Marie Montes, was unable to properly care for them on her own. Marie Montes collects federal disability payments for a mental illness.”<\/p>\n “President Obama practices some hemispheric diplomacy Tuesday, meeting with the incoming president of Mexico and taking about a major U.S. domestic issue: immigration. President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto stops by the White House late Tuesday afternoon,” USA Today says<\/a>. “The White House wants an agreement that provides better border security as well as a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants who are already in the United States. Republicans have insisted on a security-only bill but may more amenable to new citizenship rules in an effort to build support with Hispanics.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Calif. Democrats Oppose Tech Worker Bill “With time running out in a lame-duck Congress, California Democrats are fighting against Republicans\u2019 second attempt to pass what they call a \u201cgimmick\u201d to earn Latino support. San Antonio Rep. Lamar Smith is making a final push for legislation designed to increase visas for high-skilled immigrants. The legislation failed<\/p>\nCustody Awarded to Deported Father<\/h3>\n
Obama to Meet Mexican President for Immigration Talk<\/h3>\n