Keith Rushing: Black Immigrants Demand Humane Immigration Reform That Protects Civil Rights

Keith Rushing: Black Immigrants Demand Humane Immigration Reform That Protects Civil Rights: "Overlooked in the national dialogue and media coverage of immigration reform are the lives and experiences of Black immigrants.

This week that changed a bit when hundreds of Black immigrants, mostly from Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America rallied at the U.S. Capitol, participated in a Hill briefing organized by the Congressional Tri-Caucus and lobbied Congress to demand fairness and inclusion in immigration reform while highlighting the Black immigrant experience."

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Forming Group to Push Immigration Reform | Fox News Latino

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Forming Group to Push Immigration Reform | Fox News Latino: "Mexico has the most people on the waiting list, with more than 138,000 people, or 43 percent of  all people on the list, according to the U.S. State Department. The Dominican Republic is next, with nearly 31,000, followed by Cuba, with 16,000.

Wadhwa, the Duke University researcher, said immigrants are major contributors to the U.S. innovation and competitiveness.

That contribution, however, is in jeopardy as the growth rate of immigrant-founded companies has stagnated because of visa policies, bureaucracy and immigration laws.

"We're choking off the pipeline here," Wadhwa said. "We are boosting the economies of our competitors, in other words, the people that we'd want here starting companies and building innovation here are doing it in ... India, China, Brazil and Mexico," where researchers are seeing the most innovation because of U.S.-educated returnees."

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Senate rejects ban on allowing former illegal immigrants healthcare benefits - The Hill's Floor Action

Senate rejects ban on allowing former illegal immigrants healthcare benefits - The Hill's Floor Action: "The Senate rejected an amendment to the budget that would have banned illegal immigrants from qualifying for “ObamaCare” and Medicaid during [their] period of legal status.

Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Session (R-Ala.) introduced the amendment, which failed on a 43-56 vote. His amendment would have prohibited illegal immigrants, who later gain citizenship, from getting healthcare coverage under the Affordable Care Act or through Medicaid."

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Senate panel close to Obama plan on path to citizenship for illegal aliens - The Washington Post

Senate panel close to Obama plan on path to citizenship for illegal aliens - The Washington Post:

 "Immigrants who are in the United States illegally could become citizens in 13 years under a plan being developed by a bipartisan Senate group, matching the overall wait proposed by the Obama administration, a person familiar with the negotiations said Sunday.

The Senate timeline, which is being finalized, would be structured slightly differently than President Obama’s. The nation’s 11 million undocumented residents could earn legal status after a decade and become naturalized citizens three years later. Obama’s proposal would grant green cards within eight years and, potentially, citizenship five years later.

In both scenarios, the undocumented immigrants would be required to pay a penalty, file back taxes and learn English."

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Immigration Reform 2013: GOP Roadmap Calls For Immigration Reform, But Latinos Still Wary of Voting Republican : Politics : Latinos Post

Immigration Reform 2013: GOP Roadmap Calls For Immigration Reform, But Latinos Still Wary of Voting Republican : Politics : Latinos Post: "A new 100-page report from the Republican National Committee released Monday shows that with the RNC endorsing comprehensive immigration reform as part of a roadmap strategy to improve the party's standing among minority voters--something that has languished in recent years.
The report states that Republicans "must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform," according to the Associated Press."

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Rand Paul on immigration reform

Rand Paul on immigration reform: " Rand Paul stated, “Growing up in Texas, I never met a Latino who wasn’t working. . . . The Republican Party has insisted for years that we stand for freedom and family values. I am most proud of my party when it stands for both. The vast majority of Latino voters agree with us on these issues but Republicans have pushed them away with harsh rhetoric over immigration.”"

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Another side of illegal immigration - latimes.com

Another side of illegal immigration - latimes.com: " "It breaks my heart," she said of her parents' sense of "shame and guilt" over the family's illegal status. "They would apologize to me every day for the experiences I go through, being undocumented, when I should be thanking them for having the courage to leave everything behind for that American dream."

When the topic is illegal immigration, the focus is usually on Latinos. But more than 1 million of the nation's undocumented immigrants are Asian and Pacific Islanders, with an estimated 416,000 of them in California."

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Bipartisan U.S. immigration reform bill takes shape in House | Reuters

Bipartisan U.S. immigration reform bill takes shape in House | Reuters: "A bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives is close to completing work on a comprehensive immigration reform bill that will include a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented people living in the United states, according to congressional aides."

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Supreme Court to Hear Case on Arizona Immigration Law | TIME.com

Supreme Court to Hear Case on Arizona Immigration Law | TIME.com: "The Supreme Court will consider the validity of an Arizona law that tries to keep illegal immigrants from voting by demanding all state residents show documents proving their U.S. citizenship before registering to vote in national elections."

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Why Don’t They Just Get In Line? | Immigration Policy Center

Why Don’t They Just Get In Line? | Immigration Policy Center:

 "The six countries with the highest number of waiting list registrants in 2012 are as follows:

The six countries with the highest number of waiting list registrants in 2012 are as follows:

Country	Applicants	Limit per country per year
Mexico	1,316,118	47,250
Philippines	432,145	47,250
India	332,846	47,250
Vietnam	267,281	47,250
China-mainland born	240,637	47,250
Dominican Republic	169,422	47,250

 Source: U.S. Department of State, Annual Report of Immigrant Visa Applicants in the Family-sponsored andEmployment-based preferences Registered at the National Visa Center as of November 1, 2012.

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Why Don’t They Just Get In Line? | Immigration Policy Center

Why Don’t They Just Get In Line? | Immigration Policy Center: "The annual Diversity Visa program makes 55,000 green cards available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.  People from Mexico, China, the Philippines, India, and other countries with higher levels of immigration to the United States are not eligible. To qualify, applicants must have a high school education and two years of job experience. Since each year millions of people around the world apply, the chances of winning a green card are low."

Senators, this inequality must be address in any new CIR and changed to reunite and keep families together.

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The Advantages of Family Based Immigration | Immigration Policy Center

The Advantages of Family Based Immigration | Immigration Policy Center:

Here's the key points in the article:

"1.     Families are crucial to the social and economic incorporation of newcomers.

2.     Family-based immigration has a positive impact on business development and community improvement.

3.     Immigrants who come to the country on a family-based visa tend to move up the socio-economic ladder.

4.     Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who immigrate under the family fourth-preference visa category tend to experience high rates of self-employment and high earnings growth.

5.     Family admissions are critical for the “care economy,” which is fundamental for the well-being of household members, helps sustain the current and future workforce, and facilitates women’s labor force participation."



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Reform Immigration FOR America

Reform Immigration FOR America: 

Please Call your U.S. Senator

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The Promise and Challenges of Family-Based Immigration » Immigration Impact

The Promise and Challenges of Family-Based Immigration » Immigration Impact: "The existence of backlogs, however, affects not only LPRs who petition for their immediate relatives but also all other family preference categories, including, for example, adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (both married and unmarried), brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens, and unmarried adult sons and daughters of permanent residents. Some of the most notoriously backlogged categories are the sibling preference category in the Philippines; unmarried sons and daughters of permanent residents in Mexico; and married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens in China."

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State business, religious leaders urge immigration reform | The Greenville News | greenvilleonline.com

State business, religious leaders urge immigration reform | The Greenville News | greenvilleonline.com:
"A coalition of leaders from South Carolina business, agriculture, churches and politics this morning implored Congress to enact some type of immigration reform."

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Lindsey Graham Backed By Pro-Immigration Reform Super PAC - ABC News

Lindsey Graham Backed By Pro-Immigration Reform Super PAC - ABC News: "Graham faces reelection in 2014 and his efforts to work across the aisle on immigration leaves him vulnerable to a primary challenge from the right flank of the GOP. While no top-tier challenger has emerged, Graham's supporters are well aware of the threat. NumbersUSA, an immigration restictionist group, recently launched an ad attacking Graham for backing the immigration reform effort."

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Immigrants Swindled

Immigrants Swindled: "Leaders of this Pueblo church trusted the immigration attorney from Nebraska. He said he just wanted to help. Hundreds of immigrants fell for his scam, and now face deportation."

If you have been defrauded, please contact me and I'm will forward your complaint to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Si usted ha sido estafado por favor póngase en contacto conmigo y me voy a remitir su queja a la American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Living in Dual Shadows | Center for American Progress

Living in Dual Shadows | Center for American Progress: "The Williams Institute at UCLA—which researches sexual-orientation and gender-identity law and public policy—today estimates that there are at least 267,000 LGBT-identified individuals among the adult population of undocumented immigrants."

However, in my opinion, even using the conservative ratio of Gallop's 3.4% ratio for calculation of LGBT individuals in the general U.S. population, it is more likely that the true estimate is close to 374,000 LGBT immigrants without U.S. legal status. Some estimates are even higher.

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Tech giants, private prisons big players on immigration reform - CNN.com

Tech giants, private prisons big players on immigration reform - CNN.com: "Big tech firms and private prisons represent two industries vigorously lobbying to influence the scope of legislation aimed at overhauling U.S. immigration policy, a political priority in Washington.
Microsoft, Facebook, and Intel want lawmakers to support increasing the number of visas available to highly skilled workers, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks the influence of money in politics.
Others, like Corrections Corporation of America, which builds detention facilities to house illegal immigrants, have contributed heavily to the campaigns of lawmakers who take tough stances on the issue."

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A breakthrough on immigration reform?

A breakthrough on immigration reform?: "To earn initial legal status, immigrants will have to register with the Department of Homeland Security, pay a fine, and file federal income taxes for their time in the United States. Once granted legal residency, they will be barred from collecting food stamps, Medicaid, unemployment insurance, and other federal benefits. It’s not hard to imagine liberal opposition to this additional punishment, which will complicate efforts to bring immigrants into the system and provide assistance. What’s more, the immigration working group is still undecided on how long immigrants would have to wait before they become eligible for permanent legal status and a path to citizenship. The administration has called for an eight-year waiting period, but the Senate will likely extend it in order to maintain Republican support." By Brian Bennett

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