Kolken & Kolken Immigration News

Four immigration officials charged with bribery, fraud

My Contact (Victoria Kim, Los Angeles Times) — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:00:00 -0400

"On Wednesday, federal prosecutors announced charges against Anders, Figueroa, Lovingood, Dominguez and a client of Lee's, Mirei Gia Hofmann. The current and former immigration officials were indicted Tuesday on charges including conspiracy, bribery, fraud and misuse of government seals. Hofmann faces a single count of immigration fraud."

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Immigration Bill Faces Hundreds Of Amendments, Including On LGBT Rights

My Contact (Elise Foley) — Wed, 08 May 2013 08:00:00 -0400

"Some of the potential pitfalls for the bipartisan Senate immigration reform bill came into focus on Tuesday when Judiciary Committee members filed 300 amendments, ranging from worker visa changes to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The 18-member committee will begin discussion Thursday on those amendments to the so-called gang of eight's "Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act." As they do, some tough votes will come up for both opponents and supporters of the bill -- particularly members of the group who drafted it.

Senators in the immigration group have said they will stick together to defeat amendments they view as poison pills to the bill, but they also expressed openness -- in vague terms -- to supporting other amendments they see as more beneficial."

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U.S. think tank's immigration study draws conservative fire

My Contact (Thomas Ferraro and Richard Cowan) — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:00:00 -0400

"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leading U.S. think tank headed by former Republican Senator Jim DeMint drew fire from fellow conservatives Monday for concluding that the citizenship proposals in a sweeping immigration reform bill would cost taxpayers trillions.

The clash underscored divisions within the Republican Party over bipartisan immigration legislation in the Senate backed by Democratic President Barack Obama.

The Heritage Foundation, in a report, warned that a proposed pathway toward U.S. citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants would cost $6.3 trillion over the next 50 years."

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Immigration Plan Assailed in New Attack on Cost by DeMint

My Contact (Heidi Przybyla - Bloomberg) — Fri, 03 May 2013 07:30:00 -0400

"The most significant revision of U.S. immigration laws in a generation will come under a new line of attack for its potential costs to public programs including Social Security and Medicare.

Jim DeMint, a former Republican senator from South Carolina and now president of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, will lead the assault with a report from his Republican-leaning institute as early as next week on the costs government would bear in offering a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the U.S."

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Push to Include Gay Couples in Immigration Bill

My Contact (Julia Preston - N.Y. Times) — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:00:00 -0400

"But under a 1996 federal law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, Americans cannot apply for green cards for foreign spouses of the same sex. In addition, the immigration code does not recognize same-sex partners.

Last Wednesday, about 40 gay and lesbian families from 27 states fanned out across Capitol Hill in a lobbying blitz, hoping to show lawmakers why they cared about the issue.

“I was troubled to hear hesitation from Senate Democrats,” said Rachel B. Tiven, executive director of Immigration Equality, a gay rights group that organized the Washington visits. “When Democrats are falling over one another to say how they support marriage equality, why are they abandoning gay families when actual legislation is on the table?”"

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House group nears immigration deal

My Contact (JAKE SHERMAN - Politico) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:30:00 -0400

"A small, bipartisan House group is nearly finished with its immigration reform plan, which it hopes to announce the week of April 8 when Congress returns from recess.

But lawmakers and leadership are carefully eying several significant lingering technical issues to bring it across the finish line.

The key issues causing concern are fears about the price tag of immigration reform, the pathway to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million illegal immigrants and the process by which a slow-moving House Republican Conference might introduce and vote on a bill that would overhaul the system."

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Obama 'confident' immigration bill could pass by summer

My Contact (Associated Press) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 08:00:00 -0400

"President Barack Obama pressed for swift action on a sweeping immigration bill Wednesday, saying last-minute obstacles are "resolvable" and predicting Congress could pass historic legislation by the end of the summer.

In back-to-back interviews with Spanish-language television networks, Obama repeatedly voiced confidence in a bipartisan Senate group that appears to be on the cusp of unveiling a draft bill. And he said that while he is still prepared to step in with his own bill if talks break down, he doesn't expect that step to be necessary."

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Chuck Schumer: ?Gang of 8? close to immigration deal

My Contact (KATE NOCERA ) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:00:00 -0400

"The New York Democrat told Hispanic media outlets Thursday he was confident a deal would be reached in the days ahead, although the group is unlikely to be unveiled before the end of the Easter recess.

“About 90 percent of the issues, including the path to citizenship, are settled,” Schumer said, adding that the group was meeting “hours” a day, and he was putting “more time into this than any other single issue.”

He expects the Senate Judiciary Committee to take up the bill in April before floor debate in the late spring or early summer."

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Luis Guti�rrez: GOP and Dems Agree on Path to Citizenship

My Contact ( JORDAN FABIAN) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0400

"Many key House Republicans would support a pathway to full citizenship under a comprehensive immigration reform plan, according to Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, a Democratic negotiator on immigration and member of the House "Gang of Eight."

Gutiérrez (Ill.) told reporters on Tuesday that he is optimistic about the chances of comprehensive immigration reform passing the House and praised Republican lawmakers for supporting the effort after an election in which the party's presidential nominee Mitt Romney adopted a hawkish stance on the issue."

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GOP backs immigration overhaul to woo Hispanics

My Contact (Catalina Camia, USA TODAY) — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 08:00:00 -0400

"The Republican Party is embracing a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, as part of an effort to rebrand itself and attract more Hispanic voters who supported President Obama and Democrats in the last election.

The support for an immigration overhaul is part of a $10 million outreach effort that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus formally unveiled Monday.

The outreach will begin this year, well ahead of the 2014 midterm elections. The outreach proposal, which will include women and young people, is one of many recommendations that come out of a major post-election report aimed at showing how the GOP can reverse its poor showing at the ballot box in 2008 and 2012. In both campaigns, the Republican Party failed to take the White House and did not gain power in the Senate."

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