Immigration

Gridlock reigns on the question of immigration reform. After a two-hour meeting on Wednesday to discuss the GOP’s approach on immigration, Republicans rejected the Senate bill and its path to citizenship for the undocumented and indicated it would continue to consider small bills reflecting the priorities of its most conservative members.

The former president spoke today about immigration reform at a naturalization ceremony at his newly minted presidential library in Dallas, but stopped short of offering policy recommendations, saying he didn't want to "get involved in the politics or the specifics of policy".

William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, and Rich Lowry, who edits the National Review, called the Senate’s immigration reform bill a “comprehensive mistake” and wrote that House Republicans should “kill it without reservation” in an op-ed published in the National Review on Tuesday.

Democrats from the House of Representatives met on Tuesday with the four Senate Democrats who helped write the Senate’s immigration reform legislation to discuss the party’s strategy in handling the issue. They told reporters afterward that they would not support any major bill that does not include a path to citizenship for the nation’s undocumented.

Opponents of immigration reform point to economic reasons for why the bill should not be passed. However,comprehensive immigration reform could provide many economic benefits.

“These illegal aliens are criminals and we need to treat them as such,” says Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) in a clip used for the ads.

In an interview with ABC’s “This Week” taped in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where the former president is helping renovate a cervical cancer screening and treatment center, George W. Bush said he thought a comprehensive immigration reform bill could “fix a system that’s broken”.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has repeatedly said that he would not introduce the Senate immigration reform bill to the House floor, citing opposition from the majority of his party. Can a rare legislative mechanism force a vote on it anyway?

The House is slated to unveil its own bipartisan, comprehensive take on immigration reform after the July 4th Congressional recess. It will reportedly offer legal status to many of the nation's 11 million undocumented, but it remains to be seen whether it will offer a path to citizenship.

The Congressional Budget Office says provisions called for by Senate bill's last amendment would help cut down on illegal entries as well as visa overstays, cutting the number of undocumented entering the country from 33 to 50 percent.

"The real solution is a healthy Mexican economy and a Mexico which is free of cartel violence," wrote Vela in a Twitlonger post explaining his decision. "The US-Mexico border should not remind us of places like East Berlin, West Berlin, North Korea and South Korea."

Professional wrestler Blue Demon Jr.'s battles with the tag-team "Border Patrol" have precedent in his 2012 matches against a wrestler who claimed to be the son of conservative Arizona governor Jan Brewer.

Influential conservative groups have begun ad campaigns asking voters to "stand with Rubio" even as Tea Partiers and conservative commentators rail against him for his support of a path to citizenship for the undocumented. Glenn Beck has called him "a piece of garbage".

"Piecemeal is no deal. Piecemeal is a deal-breaker," says Rep. Al Green (D-Texas). But privately, House Democrats may see working with GOP members as the only way to get the comprehensive Senate bill considered in the House farther down the line.

Study finds Latinos and white population are the same in California.

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin posted a photo on Friday to her Facebook page attacking GOP members who supported the immigration reform bill which just passed in the Senate. Her opposition to the bill's proposed path of citizenship stands in contrast to her position in 2008, when she told Univision anchor Jorge Ramos that she supported the idea, although she did not favor "total amnesty".

The Latin Times surveyed three opponents of the "border surge" -- an amendment to the immigration bill calling for increased militarization of the US-Mexico border -- on why they oppose it and what border security ought to mean.

Mexican politicians, intellectuals and media figures have expressed their opposition to the "border surge" and its call for increased militarization of the US-Mexico border. In El Pais, four prominent intellectuals agreed that it constituted an "affront" to Mexico.

The comprehensive immigration reform bill passed the Senate with 68 votes on Thursday afternoon, but House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reiterated his earlier refusal to introduce any legislation on the House floor unless the majority of Republicans supported it.

Californian Juan Rivera, an undocumented immigrant who married US citizen Eric Manríquez in 2008, told the Latin Times that he and Eric had been “jumping up and down” at the news. “Yesterday was the best day of my life,” he said.

Mai Nhu Nguyen, 47, allegedly accepted 200 egg rolls from citizenship applicants in addition to thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for immigration-status favors as a citizenship and immigration services officer in Santa Ana, California.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), a longtime advocate for the rights of same-sex marriages, had earlier tried to introduce an amendment to the immigration reform bill extending green card rights to foreign-born spouses. The Supreme Court's ruling on DOMA effectively does what Leahy had sought to codify in his amendment.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said House Speaker John Boehner had been influenced by conservative "crazies" in reiterating that he would not introduce the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill for consideration in the House.

Mexico's foreign relations secretary criticized the $30 billion "border surge" called for by the last amendment to the immigration reform bill and suggested the United States modernize bridge infrastructure along the border instead. The American Society of Civil Engineers gave the United States' bridges a C+ rating for 2013.

The US Senate voted 67-27 to end debate on the "border surge" amendment. The bill will come to a final vote in the Senate this week.

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who opposes the reform bill, said it would be "dead on arrival" when it got to the House. Why?

The Senate will vote today to proceed to debate on the Corker-Hoeven amendment, which provides for an extra 700 miles of fencing along the border, over 20,000 more Border Patrol agents, and $3.2 billion in funding for surveillance and detection technology.

The "border surge" amendment which will increase surveillance and create a "virtual human fence" of law enforcement along the US-Mexico border may also lead to a surge in migrant deaths, experts say.

An amendment to the immigration reform bill worked out by a bipartisan group of Senators will allocate more funds to VADER, a drone-mounted sensor initially developed for use in the Afghanistan war.

A small group of Republican and Democratic senators have drawn up an amendment to the immigration reform bill which could double spending for border security, including more Border Patrol agents and more surveillance and apprehension technologies.