TheRepublic.com - Immigration policy News

Key senators tightly control immigration debate

Sat, 25 May 2013 09:53:32 -0400

WASHINGTON - For all the soothing words she heard from fellow Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii never had a chance to win a relatively modest change to far-reaching immigration legislation.

Judge: Ariz. sheriff's office profiles Latinos

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:28:26 -0400

PHOENIX - A federal judge ruled Friday that the office of America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff systematically singled out Latinos in its trademark immigration patrols, marking the first finding by a court that the agency racially profiles people.

Leahy disappointed on gay, bi-national couples

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:23:07 -0400

MONTPELIER, Vermont - Sen. Patrick Leahy said Friday he was disappointed he was unsuccessful in his bid to amend immigration reform legislation to protect same-sex couples in which one of the partners is foreign-born.

ND chamber officials support immigration reform

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:05:31 -0400

BISMARCK, North Dakota - Chamber of commerce officials in North Dakota are lobbying in support of federal immigration reform.

State asks judge to dismiss referendum challenge

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:07:35 -0400

HELENA, Montana - Montana officials asked a judge Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a voter-approved law that requires people seeking state services to prove they are eligible to receive them.

Sweden's riots raise questions about inequality

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:36:24 -0400

HUSBY, Sweden - Sweden has long been a bastion of generous social welfare and an egalitarian political culture. So many people were shocked when scores of youths hurled rocks at police and set cars ablaze during rioting in several largely immigrant areas near Stockholm this week.

House approves drivers licenses for immigrants

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:13:53 -0400

HARTFORD, Connecticut - Connecticut's House of Representatives approved a bill Thursday morning that would allow immigrants to obtain driver's licenses regardless of their legal status.

Born in Mexico, Lopez learns English, graduates

Thu, 23 May 2013 10:23:29 -0400

DECATUR, Alabama - Feeling frustrated and unwelcome, Nain Lopez wanted to leave Decatur after state lawmakers passed one of the toughest illegal-immigration laws in the nation in 2011.

Portland mayor meets with immigrant businessmen

Thu, 23 May 2013 04:34:04 -0400

PORTLAND, Maine - Portland's mayor is meeting with immigrant business owners to discuss the role that immigrants play in the city's economy.

Feds argue immigrant shouldn't get law license

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:37:08 -0400

TALLAHASSEE, Florida - A Florida's man bid to obtain a law license despite questions about his immigration status could be coming to an end.

Amid immigration reform, calls to change asylums

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:30:37 -0400

SEATTLE - As Congress debates legalizing about 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, immigration advocates are pushing plans they say will open the asylum process for thousands of more people who flee persecution in their home countries.

Obama voices support for Senate immigration bill

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:41:05 -0400

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says a far-reaching immigration overhaul approved by a Senate panel is largely consistent with his own principles.

Senate panel approves immigration bill

Tue, 21 May 2013 20:38:43 -0400

WASHINGTON - Far-reaching legislation to grant a chance at citizenship to millions of immigrants living illegally in the United States cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a solid bipartisan vote Tuesday night after supporters somberly sidestepped a controversy over the rights of gay spouses.

Minn. session '13: What got done, what didn't

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:25:36 -0400

ST. PAUL, Minnesota - Minnesota state lawmakers promised when the legislative session began that their top priority was setting a new state budget. To that end, they produced a $38.3 billion two-year spending plan that hikes taxes on top income earners and on cigarettes, and distributes hefty spending increases to public schools, freezes tuition at state colleges and steers new money to job-creation programs.

AP Sources: Obama ok punting gay immigration idea

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:34:12 -0400

WASHINGTON - Two people familiar with the Senate immigration deliberations say the White House has suggested to Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy that it would be best to put off a controversy over gay marriage until a bill goes before the full Senate.

NC immigration bill advances to House floor

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:59:03 -0400

RALEIGH, North Carolina - A bill granting driving privileges to North Carolina residents who are living in the country illegally is headed to the state House floor.

Exhibit on US Jews who helped refugees from Nazis

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:42:17 -0400

NEW YORK - An exhibition opens Tuesday at a museum in Lower Manhattan about efforts by American Jews to bring refugees to the U.S. from Europe during the Nazi era.

Cartel towns pose challenge for immigration reform

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:38:30 -0400

MATAMOROS, Mexico - Just across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas, stands a dormitory-style shelter filled with people recently deported from the U.S. and other migrants waiting to cross the border.

GOP ponders how to capitalize on Obama's woes

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:31:28 -0400

WASHINGTON - The scandals dogging President Barack Obama are a political gift to Republicans, who could use some good luck after recent election losses. It's not clear, however, how Republicans can best capitalize on Democrats' woes, legislatively or politically.

GOP US Senate candidates denounce immigration bill

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:41:43 -0400

ATHENS, Georgia - The four Georgia Republicans running for U.S. Senate said Saturday they are united in opposing a comprehensive immigration reform bill, because it doesn't do enough for border security.

Canada trying to lure Silicon Valley tech workers

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:24:09 -0400

SAN JOSE, California - The Canadian government has launched an aggressive campaign to lure Silicon Valley tech workers frustrated by U.S. visa policies northward, just as Congress wrestles with a long-sought overhaul of America's immigration system.

Problems surface over Ariz.'s 2007 immigration law

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:34:25 -0400

PHOENIX - The immigration debate in Arizona reached a boiling point in 2007 when the state passed a groundbreaking law targeting those often blamed with fueling the nation's border woes: Employers who hire immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

Judge lets Ariz. immigrant license policy stand

Thu, 16 May 2013 21:12:26 -0400

PHOENIX - A judge on Thursday refused to halt Gov. Jan Brewer's order that denies driver's licenses for young immigrants in Arizona who have gotten work permits and avoided deportation under an Obama administration policy.

Calif. bill would limit local immigrant detentions

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:41:16 -0400

SACRAMENTO, California - People living in the country illegally could not be detained for deportation if they are arrested for a minor crime, under a bill passed Thursday by the California Assembly.

INFLUENCE GAME: Tech, labor spar on immigration

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:40:45 -0400

WASHINGTON - To the U.S. technology industry, there's a dramatic shortfall in the number of Americans skilled in computer programming and engineering that is hampering business. To unions and some Democrats, it's more sinister: The push by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to expand the number of visas for high-tech foreign workers is an attempt to dilute a lucrative job market with cheap, indentured labor.