The Obama Administration on Tuesday was forced to postpone the implementation of the President’s Executive Action that would have allowed hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants to begin applying for work permits and legal protection. Just one day before they were set to go into effect, Andrew Hanen, Federal Judge for the Southern District of […]
Congress creates obstacles for GOP Latino outreach, recruitment
February 12, 2015 By
Republican operatives tasked with attracting Latino voters just might have the hardest job in Washington. Party leaders, in their first month with a bicameral majority, have been attempting to get their members to soften their tone on undocumented immigration and engage in coalition building with a long-disillusioned Latino electorate to ignite a conversation around issues like […]
Immigration executive action delay “dampened” 2014 Latino electoral enthusiasm, report shows
February 11, 2015 By
Following the delay of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, the Democratic Party lost critical support from the Latino community during the 2014 midterm elections, according to polling data from Latino Decisions. All but one out of the ten U.S. Senate races deemed “critical” in November posted statewide Latino voting age populations of 6.1 percent […]
Comentarios from Maria: Discord and Dissonance in the new Republican Congress
February 2, 2015 By
Four weeks after assuming control of both chambers of Congress, the new Republican majority finds itself divided and in a state of chaos. Last week, members of the National Security Commission in the House of Representatives approved an extremist bill that seeks to secure and militarize the border with Mexico even more. Yet this week, […]
Obama Administration to begin taking DACA requests Feb. 18
January 30, 2015 By
In November of 2014, President Obama announced sweeping immigration reform in a series of executive actions to crack down on border crossings, prioritize deportation of felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pay taxes and undergo criminal background checks in order to stay in the U.S. temporarily without fear of deportation. Yesterday, it […]
House GOP moves closer to lawsuit for executive action on immigration
January 28, 2015 By
In a closed-door meeting with Congressional lawmakers Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner announced that his party is moving closer to a vote to authorize legal action against President Obama over his executive actions on immigration. While a course of action is yet to be finalized, the authorization language would allow the House to take steps […]
First Lady invites DREAMer as guest to State of the Union
January 21, 2015 By
Last night’s State of the Union address featured a narrative centered on tax reform, trade, national security, climate change and, of course, immigration reform. To drive home President Obama’s many talking points, the First Lady invited Ana Zamora, a Texas college student and DREAMer, to join her as a guest for the event. “My parents […]
Comentarios from Maria: Republicans Play Russian Roulette with our National Security
January 20, 2015 By
First, I send my heartfelt condolences to families in Paris after last week’s horrific terrorist attacks. As a nation, we are always reminded of the ever-present and growing threat of terrorism that exists around the world. Taking these resurgent threats into account, it is alarming, shocking and irresponsible that the Republicans in the House of […]
House votes to flout Obama’s immigration action
January 15, 2015 By
In what looks to be the start of a tenuous working relationship, the House voted on Wednesday to do away with major provisions of President Obama’s immigration policy. In a 236 to 191 vote with only ten Republicans working against it, the move revoked legal protections for undocumented immigrants once-guaranteed by Obama’s actions, and put […]
Comentarios From Maria: New Republican Congress Gets Off on the Wrong Foot
January 12, 2015 By
Last week, I wrote about the optimism we all should have for this year, with more collaboration and progress. Yet it appears Republicans in the new Congress are not interested in breaking the vicious cycle of obstructionism from the last Congress. This week, Rep. Robert Aderholt, a Republican from Alabama, proposed legislation that would effectively […]
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