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US Civil Rights Commissioner: Amnesty Means Special, Not Equal, Treatment

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Peter Kirsanow, a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, told Breitbart News that Attorney General Eric Holder’s claims that amnesty for illegal immigrants is a civil rights issue “profoundly ahistorical.”

“If you take a look at the basis of the civil rights movement, it was to have blacks treated in all respects the same as whites or everybody else,” Kirsanow (pictured) said in a phone interview. “What amnesty is doing is setting aside a special class of individuals who are going to put forward and treated more favorably than others. In other words, they’ve already broken the law and are being given amnesty.

“In terms of immigration policy… it would severely affect the rights of blacks generally and all low-income Americans. What it is going to do is displace those individuals from the labor market.”

The U.S. Civil Rights Commission, Kirsanow said, has held extensive hearings in recent years detailing how amnesty would economically impact American workers, especially the black community.

“We had a hearing before the Civil Rights Commission on the effects of illegal immigration on black employment levels, both wage levels and unemployment rates,” Kirsanow said. “What we had were a number of experts from just about every sphere you can think of: business, academia and immigration experts in general. They spanned the ideological spectrum. We had individuals from the far left, individuals in the middle, individuals on the right.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sebelius Says Amnesty Needed to Increase Obamacare Enrollment

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Speaking Thursday at an event in Philadelphia, hosted by a Latino community service group, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius revealed that the success of ObamaCare is dependent upon the passage of comprehensive immigration reform and amnesty.

Susan Jones at CNS News reported Friday that, when asked if the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) will help “undocumented individuals,” Sebelius responded that it would not, and that this is the reason why immigration reform is so important.

“Well, the (Obamacare) bill is crafted in such a way that those who are undocumented will not have access to the tax credits or shopping in the (health insurance) marketplace,” Sebelius told Latinos at an event sponsored by Congreso. “That has been limited, which is, frankly, why — another very keen reason why we need comprehensive immigration reform.”

Sebelius went on to say, “Unfortunately, you can’t fix – we won’t fix the immigration system, unfortunately, through the health care bill, but I think having the immigration bill that passed the Senate, pass the House, would be a huge step.”

The immigration bill that passed the Senate would allow at least 11 million illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. First, however, they would gain provisional legal status.

Read more from this story HERE.

Reid on Immigration Reform: ‘If We Go to Conference, We Will Win’

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Friday that if House Republicans end up sending their collection of immigration bills to a conference with the Senate, Democrats and illegal immigration advocates would win.

“If we go to conference, we would win,” Reid told a Nevada radio station.

Reid’s comments are the latest in a long line of Senate Democrats and House Republicans openly stating that the plan for amnesty for all of America’s illegal aliens rests in the House passing a group of immigration bills, then going to a conference with the Senate “Gang of Eight” bill.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), a member of the Gang of Eight, said on Wednesday that the House GOP piecemeal strategy is “OK by us” because the Senate would combine all the bills in a conference.

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GOP House Leadership to Support Amnesty?

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On Fox News Sunday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) did not deny the House Republican leadership will support an “overall path to legalization” for all of the country’s illegal immigrants. Though not offering specifics, Cantor told host Chris Wallace that the House would be addressing the immigration issue and “would take a position” on the question after the August recess.

When repeatedly asked whether the House will vote on a bill to put at least 11 million illegal immigrants on a “path to legalization,” Cantor said the House Republican leadership has not made “any announcements about the schedule” and emphasized the House was “not going to be bringing the Senate bill up.” He also said the House Republican leadership was “going to take a position” “because we know the system is broken” and “we want to fix it.”

Cantor acknowledged that Committees in the House have already passed piecemeal immigration bills that deal with things like border security and guest workers and said, “we will have a vote on a series of bills at some point, and it will deal with a variety of issues.”

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House Republicans Feel Summer Recess Heat on Immigration

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Photo Credit: APHouse Republicans are facing heavy pressure from both sides of the immigration debate as they return to their home districts for August recess with no clear indication as to how they’ll vote on the issue.

The decision to pass comprehensive immigration reform has essentially been in the hands of the Republican-controlled House since the Democrat-led Senate passed such a bill in June.

House Republicans were under pressure before they even left their Capitol Hill offices to start the five-week recess, which is traditionally dedicated to face-to-face talks with hometown voters.

The American Federation of Government Employees sent a letter Tuesday to House lawmakers urging them not to work with senators on their “dangerous” bill.

Among the major concerns is that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is not equipped to process the potential onslaught of new applications.

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Dozens Arrested in Pro-Amnesty Protest in DC

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Photo Credit: Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCTDozens of leaders in the immigration movement were arrested Thursday after they blocked a major intersection near the Capitol in a protest of Republican opposition to an immigration overhaul that would include a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million immigrants who are in the country illegally.

More than 40 leaders were taken into custody after they walked onto Independence Avenue and locked arms, chanting in Spanish “Si, se puede” – “Yes, we can.” Another, smaller group of activists were arrested later in the afternoon after they blocked the hallway outside the office of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

As members of Congress prepared to leave Washington for a long summer recess, organizers said they wanted to send the “strongest message possible” to Republican leaders in the House of Representatives that they’re dissatisfied with progress on immigration and they’ll continue to fight for a comprehensive overhaul that includes a path to citizenship.

“We have to turn up the heat,” Jess George, the executive director of the Latin American Coalition in Charlotte, N.C., said minutes before she was arrested. “We have to let the House of Representatives know that America deserves a vote on citizenship. The vast majority of Americans want this. It’s democracy, and we need to make (House leaders) pay attention.”

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DHS Loses Track of One Million Foreigners, Puts Amnesty Bill at Risk

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Photo Credit: APThe Homeland Security Department has lost track of more than 1 million people who it knows arrived in the U.S. but who it cannot prove left the country, according to an audit Tuesday that also found the department probably won’t meet its own goals for deploying an entry-exit system.

The findings were revealed as Congress debates an immigration bill, and the Government Accountability Office’s report could throw up another hurdle because lawmakers in the House and Senate have said that any final deal must include a workable system to track entries and exits and cut down on so-called visa overstays.

The government does track arrivals, but is years overdue in setting up a system to track departures — a goal set in a 1996 immigration law and reaffirmed in 2004, but which has eluded Republican and Democratic administrations.

“DHS has not yet fulfilled the 2004 statutory requirement to implement a biometric exit capability, but has planning efforts under way to report to Congress in time for the fiscal year 2016 budget cycle on the costs and benefits of such a capability at airports and seaports,” GAO investigators wrote.

Outside business groups and Republican donors are trying to breathe life into the push for getting an immigration bill through Congress this year.

Read more from this story HERE.

While We Consider Amnesty, Mexico’s Draconian Immigration Laws Have “Zero Tolerance”

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Photo Credit: National Review Until 2011, when it passed reforms, Mexico had among the most draconian immigration laws in the world. Guatemala has criticized Mexico for initiating construction of a fence along its southern border.

Mexico has zero tolerance for illegal immigrants who seek to work in Mexico, happen to break Mexican law, or go on public assistance — and zero tolerance for any citizens who aid them.

In Mexico, legal immigration is aimed at privileging new arrivals who have skill sets that will aid the Mexican economy and, according to the country’s immigration law, who have the “necessary funds for their sustenance” — while denying entry to those who are not healthy or would upset the “equilibrium of the national demographics.” Translated, this apparently means that Mexico tries to withhold legal residency from those who do not look like Mexicans or do not have the skills needed to make money.

If the United States were to treat Mexican nationals in the same way that Mexico treats Central American nationals, there would be humanitarian outrage.

In 2005, the Mexican government published a Guide for the Mexican Migrant — in comic-book form. The pictographic manual instructed the country’s own citizens on how best to cross illegally into, and stay within, the United States. Did Mexico assume that its departing citizens were both largely illiterate and unworried about violating the laws of a foreign country?

Read more from this story HERE.

Democrats Pin Their Hopes for Obama’s Amnesty Bill on Rep. Paul Ryan

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Photo Credit: Gage SkidmoreDemocrats doggedly pursuing a far-reaching immigration bill are counting on help from Republican Rep. Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s running mate last year and an unlikely candidate for delivering the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s second-term agenda.

Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman who is frequently mentioned in the GOP lineup of possible 2016 presidential candidates, stands apart from many fellow House Republicans in favoring a way out of the shadows for the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. in violation of the law.

He casts sweeping overhaul as a necessity to ensure both economic and national security — a fitting argument for an acolyte of Jack Kemp, the late Republican congressman and 1996 vice presidential candidate who backed an ill-fated effort in 2006 to overhaul the immigration system.

‘‘Paul Ryan says we cannot have a permanent underclass of Americans, that there needs to be a pathway to citizenship,’’ says Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., who has been working relentlessly on immigration legislation. ‘‘He is my guiding light. I know I get him in trouble every time I say it.’’

Senior White House aides often mention the Wisconsin Republican as crucial to the prospects for legislation this year, hoping the Republican with impeccable conservative credentials will sway recalcitrant House members. Ryan also is a reminder of two other powerful forces backing an overhaul of immigration laws — the Catholic Church and business.

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Stymied by Tea Party on Main Bill, Boehner Now Shifts to Backing Amnesty for Minors (+video)

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Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Wednesday offered an endorsement for a proposal to grant citizenship to children who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents.

“This is about basic fairness,” Boehner said one week after convening a two-hour meeting to discuss immigration with his conference.

“These children were brought here of no accord of their own, and frankly they’re in a very difficult position,” he said. “And I think many of our members believe that this issue needs to be addressed.”

Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) are crafting a bill to deal with children brought to the U.S. illegally. They have said it will differ from the Dream Act in the Senate, which would grant citizenship to children brought to the U.S. illegally who meet certain requirements.

The Judiciary Committee plans to hold an initial hearing on the issue next week.

Read more from this story HERE.