“Immigration reform” on The Daily Caller

In a 2004 interview with Chicago Public Radio then Senator Obama, speaking about President Bush’s push for immigration reform, says the ‘trade-off’ for added border security should be amnesty for illegal immigrants. (more)

When first criticized by the public for trying to take on too many initiatives early in 2009, the Obama administration responded that they had the power of the White House behind them, so it should be expected that they would be able to multi-task from the nation’s capital. (more)

President Obama will dispatch an official to sit down with Jan Brewer in the next month but the Arizona governor said Thursday she got few other results from her meeting with the commander-in-chief, including any details about where 1,200 National Guard troops will be deployed along the U.S.-Mexico border. (more)

The “Day without Mexicans” occurred last week, but it went little-noticed. Intended to protest Arizona’s notorious new immigration law, the boycott called on Mexicans to abandon their jobs in such towns as Laredo, Texas, America’s largest inland port, and not to shop north of the border for one day. (more)

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) will turn its attention from healthcare to immigration reform ahead of the 2010 midterm elections. (more)

In the lead-up to the health care reform debate, some observers argued that the White House should focus on passing smaller and more manageable pieces of legislation rather than pushing “comprehensive” reform. We may never know if this more modest strategic approach—endorsed by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel but rejected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi— might have proven more effective, and ultimately more popular, than Obama Care. But the issue of legislative method—and its efficacy in a bitterly divided, partisan Congress—is instructive because Obama faces a similar challenge on another first-term policy initiative—immigration reform—with the strong possibility that another legislative debacle could occur. (more)

Rep. John Boehner declined to join a chorus of angry opponents of a state law in Arizona that, among other stipulations, requires that law enforcement asks residents for paperwork to prove they aren’t illegal immigrants. (more)

WASHINGTON — “Misguided and irresponsible” is how Arizona’s new law pertaining to illegal immigration is characterized by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She represents San Francisco, which calls itself a “sanctuary city,” an exercise in exhibitionism that means it will be essentially uncooperative regarding enforcement of immigration laws. Yet as many states go to court to challenge the constitutionality of the federal mandate to buy health insurance, scandalized liberals invoke 19th-century specters of “nullification” and “interposition,” anarchy and disunion. Strange. (more)

WASHINGTON – Sen. John McCain says Arizona had to pass a tough immigration law because the Obama administration has failed to “secure our borders.” (more)

Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed the toughest illegal immigration bill in the country into law on Friday, aimed at identifying, prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants. The governor’s move unleashed immediate protests and reignited the divisive battle over immigration reform nationally. (more)

So what exactly happened when the chairman of the Republican National Committee met with immigration activists Wednesday? According to a news release put out by the activists, he said he would try and recruit Republican support for comprehensive immigration legislation. (more)

President Barack Obama, facing criticism from advocates of immigration reform, pledged Thursday “to do everything in my power” to get immigration legislation moving in Congress this year. (more)

In November 2008, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel famously said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” The Obama White House has followed this Rahmism to a tee. (more)

Democrats and Republicans continue to be at loggerheads over immigration policy. The central bone of contention is the insistence by Senate Democrats that the estimated 12 million illegal aliens currently residing in the U.S. be granted a path to citizenship. House Republicans decry the Democrats’ legalization plan as an “amnesty,” and want to see border and workplace enforcement systems strengthened. They don’t come right out and say that they want to see all illegal aliens deported en masse. It’s not politically popular and the government lacks the means to do it. But the idea is, once an effective workplace verification system is in place, those without legal papers would be identified quickly, fired, and then reported to immigration. Lacking access to work, and under threat of deportation, most would have no choice but to “voluntarily” return to their native land. (more)

Apparently, not everyone on the left was listening to the Scott heard ’round the world. Topping the list is Markos Moulitsas of the Daily Kos. He wrote a commentary for The Hill declaring that “Immigration is Dems’ key.” Moulitas says the best way for the Democrats to regain momentum is to push through a massive amnesty bill. Apparently, he has not heard of Einstein’s definition of insanity—doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Moulitsas’ advice could not be more wrongheaded—and here is why. (more)