#Immigration Reform

[jangillman]

[mannyblacque]

Pretty Bad Co. | Instagram

NO KINGS

[thosedamnliberals]

Know Your Rights/ Conce Tus Derechos

Stay informed! Stay Safe! Mantente informado! ¡mantenerse seguro!

[illegalpeople]

The new Pope, Robert Prevost, is on twitter (x) if you care to follow:

[shayne-the-sage]

Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’re someone with a lot of voting power.

[shamballalin]

Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin's Rebuttal To President Trump's Speech March 4, 2025

Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is delivering the Democratic response to President Trump’s speech before the joint session of Congress. Slotkin’s response began after Mr. Trump wrapped his speech, which was the longest speech of his kind. Slotkin was elected in November after representing Michigan in the House since 2019, and replaced long-serving Sen. Debbie Stabenow in the Senate. The…

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Christian Paz at Vox:

The first few weeks of Donald Trump’s second presidency have put Democrats in a frustrating bind. He’s thrown so much at them (and at the nation), that they’re having serious trouble figuring out what to respond to — let alone how. He’s signed dozens of executive orders; attempted serious power grabs and overhauls of the government; and signed controversial legislation. And in the process, he’s further divided his opposition, as the Democrats undergo an identity crisis that ramped up after Kamala Harris’s loss.

Immigration policy is a prime example of this struggle: Long before Harris became their nominee, the party was debating just how much to adjust to both Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign promises and to the American public’s general shift away from openness to immigration. Now that he’s in office, Democrats aren’t really lined up to resist every one of the president’s anti-immigrant moves — and some are even backing some of his stances. The party is now divided into roughly three camps: those in the Senate and House willing to back Trump on certain tough-on-immigration measures, like the recently passed Laken Riley Act; those who see their constituents supporting some of his positions but are torn over how to vote; and those progressives who are committed to resisting his every move on immigration. Today’s public opinion is one main contributor for the divide: Americans are still largely in favor of more restrictionist immigration policy. Democratic losses in November are another contributor, particularly in areas with large immigrant or nonwhite populations. But lawmakers are also confronting longer-standing historical dynamics that have divided the working class and immigrants before. Newer and undocumented immigrants can appear to pose both economic competition and threats to existing senses of identity for immigrants who have already resided in the US, or to those who have assimilated and raised new generations. Combined with a resurgent Republican Party that has capitalized on some of these feelings, these facts might be complicating the Democratic response to Trump now.

Working class and immigrant divides aren’t new

On the campaign trail last year, Trump and various other Republican politicians repeated a specific line of reasoning when making a pitch to nonwhite voters: The “border invasion” that Joe Biden and Harris were supposedly responsible for was “crushing the jobs and wages” of Black, Latino, and union workers. Trump called it “economic warfare.” This line of reasoning — that immigrants are taking away economic opportunities from those already in the US — has historically been a source of tension for both native-born Americans, and older immigrants. Much of the economics behind this has been challenged by economists, but the politics are still effective. The main claim here is that an influx in cheaper low-skilled laborers not only pushes down the cost of goods but negatively impacts preexisting American workers by lowering their wages as well. The evidence for this actually happening, however, is thin: Immigrants also create demand, by buying new items and using new services, therefore creating more jobs. Still, the idea remains popular.

Even as far back as the civil rights era, this thinking created divisions among left-wing activist movements trying to secure better labor conditions and legal protections. Take the case of the most iconic figure of the Latino labor movement, César Chávez, himself of Mexican descent. As his movement to secure better conditions for farmworkers faced challenges from nonunion, immigrant workers who could help corporate bosses break or alleviate the pressures of labor strikes, his efforts on immigration took a more radical turn. Chávez’s United Farm Workers even launched an “Illegals Campaign” in the 1970s — an attempt to rally public opposition to immigration and get government officials to crack down on illegal crossings. The UFW even subsidized vigilante patrol efforts along the southern border to try to enforce immigration restrictions when they thought the government wasn’t doing enough, and Chávez publicly accused the federal agency in charge of the border and immigration at the time of abdicating their duty to arrest undocumented immigrants who crossed the border.

Of course, Chávez’s views were nuanced — and primarily rooted in the goal of creating and strengthening a union that could represent and advocate for farmworkers and laborers left out of the labor movements earlier in the 19th and 20th centuries. But they are great examples of the deep roots that economic and identity status threats have in complicating the views of working-class and nonwhite people in the not-too-distant past. This specific opinion has stuck around. Gallup polling since the early 1990s has found that for most of the last 30 years, Americans have tended to hold the opinion that immigration “mostly hurts” the economy by “driving wages down for many Americans.” And swings in immigration sentiment tend to align with how Americans feel about the state and health of the national economy: When economic opportunity feels scarce, as during the post-pandemic inflationary period, Americans tend to pull back from more generous feelings around both legal and illegal immigration.

Democrats also face the challenge of anti-immigrant immigrants

What makes this era of immigration politics perhaps a bit more complicated on top of those existing economic reasons is the added concerns over fairness and orderliness that many nonwhite Americans, and even immigrants from previous generations, feel. US Rep. Juan Vargas, a progressive Democrat who represents San Diego and the part of California that borders Mexico, told me that there’s a sense among some of his constituents that recent immigrants, both legal and not, are cutting the line. This feeling about newcomers not paying their dues is, again, a longstanding sentiment among immigrant groups across American history, but it appears updated for the post-pandemic era. While older immigrants feel they have worked hard and waited their turn, they feel newer ones have taken advantage of the asylum system, or gone through less of a struggle than they have. Vargas told me about a conversation he had with a constituent in his district who told him she disagrees with his stance on immigration policy, even though she once “came across illegally too” and lived in the US for 15 years without documentation. “I started talking to her, and she said, ‘You know, these new immigrants, they get everything. They get here and they get everything. We didn’t get anything, and so I think they should all be deported,’” Vargas said. “I said, ‘Oh, so, because you were given a chance, you don’t think other people should get that same chance?’ She goes, ‘Well, it’s different.’ … Really, in what way? How is it different? … And she didn’t have a very good answer.” Some immigration researchers describe this as part of a “law-and-order” mindset: folding border enforcement and immigration crackdowns with a renewed desire by the public for tough-on-crime policies in the post-pandemic era.

[...] These views help explain why there’s a vocal group of Democrats, including Latino Democrats, willing to work with Trump and Republicans specifically on immigration reforms that take a tough-on-crime approach, like the Laken Riley Act, which expedites deportation for undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes. Some 46 House Democrats and 12 Senate Democrats ended up voting for the Laken Riley Act, including perhaps the most vocal pro-enforcement Latino Democrat, Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona. He argued that the bill represented where the Latino mainstream is now on immigration. “People are worried about border security, but they also want some sane pathway to immigration reform. That’s who I represent. I really represent the middle view of Arizona, which is largely working class and Latino,” Gallego said after the vote. Even some Democrats in solid blue areas of the country agree, to an extent. Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner, who represents Houston and was an outspoken supporter of immigrant rights during Trump’s first presidency, told me that his constituents back tougher immigration policies, particularly when it comes to undocumented immigrants charged with violent crimes. He himself didn’t vote for the Laken Riley Act because he disagreed with the bill’s application to those merely charged or accused of a crime (as opposed to those convicted), but he said that he feels the public’s mandate to support other kinds of proposals.

[...] They’ll fight back against Trump when he tries to undue birthright citizenship, for example, but they won’t necessarily criticize the continued construction of a border wall with Mexico, or increased deportations. They’ll point out that deportation flights using military aircraft are mostly for show, while standard ICE-chartered planes can do the job for less. Many supported the bipartisan border bill that Biden tried to pass a little less than a year ago, for example, and would theoretically support it again.

[...] And they see room to defend DREAMers, DACA recipients, and those who have benefitted from asylum protections, like temporary protected status, because they see moral value in it, and political value as well: many of those categories of immigrants are popular with Republicans, and polling backs up these nuances.

Vox has a good story on how immigrants who have been here for a long time and those assimilated are opposed to a new arrival of immigrants, and that is hurting the Democratic Party.

[jangillman]

[mannyblacque]

Pretty Bad Co. | Instagram

ABOLISH ICE

[lizagranger128]

Start spreading the word!! Sign a strike card here for the general strike: https://generalstrikeus.com/strikecard

“Research shows that strikes engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change.

3.5% of the US population is 11M people. When we have 11M Strike Card signed, we Strike! Sign your Strike Card today.”

[illegalpeople]

Not to mention an unjust, inhuman, and stupid waste of tax dollars.

[silentium-mentis]

Let’s talk about the “Big Beautiful Bill” that just passed.

Vote? 50–50.

Tie broken by Vice President JD Vance—because of course it was.

Three Republicans (Collins, Tillis, Rand Paul) voted no.

Everyone else? Saluted, smiled, and goose-stepped it through.

So what is this bill?

Just a casual 1,116-page fever dream ghostwritten by billionaires, passed unread by the very people elected to “represent” us, and cheered on by voters it’s actively gutting.

Because nothing screams “owning the libs” like losing your healthcare, slashing food assistance, and calling it liberty.

What’s Actually In This Bill?

1. Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts? Now Permanent.

• $4 trillion in cuts—40% goes straight to the top 5%.

• SALT cap raised from $10K to $40K—translation: more perks for your favorite hedge fund guy.

• Estate and corporate loopholes locked in like Fort Knox.

• Poorest 20%? Lose 4% of their household income.

That’s not trickle-down. That’s a siphon straight from your fridge to their fourth yacht.

2. Medicaid? Slashed and burned.

• 11 million lose coverage.

• 5 million lose ACA subsidies.

• Work requirements, asset tests, constant re-verification.

Own a 2008 Honda Civic? Too rich.

Miss a form? Hope you didn’t need insulin.

3. SNAP (Food Assistance)? Absolutely gutted.

• $267 billion cut—the biggest in U.S. history.

• Tougher work rules = fewer people qualify.

• States now cover 75% of admin costs, so get ready for slow apps and smaller benefits.

• Mixed-status households? If your uncle doesn’t have papers but lives with you—he doesn’t count. Even if he eats.

4. Child Tax Credit? Raised… kinda.

• From $2,000 to $2,200/year. That’s $16.67/month per kid—aka, two gallons of milk and a side eye.

• Requires a Social Security number, so 1 million U.S. citizen kids in immigrant families? Disqualified. Because screw your groceries and your citizenship.

5. Climate Policy? Rolled back like it’s 2003.

• EV and clean energy credits? Repealed.

• Emissions standards? Blocked.

• More drilling.

• Strategic Petroleum Reserve refilled, because oil execs need champagne.

Net result?

• 790,000 clean energy jobs gone.

• Climate goals: Delayed a decade.

• Electricity bills? Up.

• ExxonMobil? Ecstatic.

6. Immigration? All Punishment, No Reform.

• $170 billion to ICE, detention centers, and border walls.

• $54 billion to lock up families.

• 3.5% tax on remittances—because let’s squeeze poor immigrants sending $50 home.

• Higher fees for asylum, visas, TPS.

• No DACA fix. No path to citizenship. Just cruelty with better branding.

7. Education? Privatized, baby.

• Student debt relief? Canceled.

• Borrower protections? Rolled back.

• Grad loans? Cut.

Meanwhile, if you donate $50K to a private school, you get a 100% tax credit.

Because public money should fund rich people’s Montessori wine-tasting programs, obviously.

8. Defense Spending? Ballooned into the stratosphere.

• $158 billion increase.

• $25 billion for munitions.

• $50B+ to militarize the border.

• And a shiny new “Golden Dome” missile shield, because clearly, the one thing America needs more of is rockets.

The Irony?

The states getting hit the hardest—Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama—voted for it enthusiastically.

Trump’s base will:

• Lose healthcare

• Watch rural hospitals collapse

• Pay more for food, fuel, and power

• Cheer louder than ever

Because the branding works.

He calls it “beautiful.”

He blames immigrants, climate laws, and “welfare cheats.”

And they believe him.

They’ll lose their lifelines and thank him for the pain—because in MAGA-land, suffering = strength as long as someone else suffers more.

What Everyone’s Missing:

No, this bill doesn’t extend Trump’s term.

It doesn’t declare martial law.

But it does shift power quietly and permanently.

• Courts? Stripped of authority.

• Watchdogs? Defunded.

• Congress? Outmaneuvered.

• Agencies? Stacked with loyalists.

It’s not a coup.

It’s erosion.

The kind that chips away at checks and balances, one agency at a time, while the public is distracted by whatever fresh outrage is trending that day.

Every authoritarian regime starts with a functioning democracy.

It ends when no one notices the floorboards disappearing under their feet.

And the cherry on top?

Trump plans to sign it on the Fourth of July.

Because what’s more American than cutting benefits for a million kids while fireworks explode over a Raytheon yacht?

They lose.

Billionaires win.

And Trump rides off in a golf cart draped in a flag, grinning while the country claps for its own bleeding.

But sure. It’s “beautiful.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Trust Joe Biden

June 19, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

President Biden announced a significant modification to the pathway to citizenship for “undocumented spouses” of US citizens. Even the hard-to-impress headline writers at the New York Times described Biden’s action as follows: “The new policy is one of the most significant actions to protect immigrants in years.” (This article is accessible to all.)

Per the Times,

Under the new policy, some 500,000 undocumented spouses will be shielded from deportation and given a pathway to citizenship and the ability to work legally in the United States. It is one of the most expansive actions to protect immigrants since Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, was enacted 12 years ago to protect those who came to the United States as children. [¶] The policy aims to help people who have been living in the United States for more than a decade, building lives and families here. Even though marrying an American citizen generally provides a pathway to U.S. citizenship, people who crossed the southern border illegally — rather than arriving in the country with a visa — are required to return to their home countries to complete the process for a green card. To be eligible, the spouses must have lived in the United States for 10 years and been married to an American citizen as of June 17. They cannot have a criminal record. The benefits would also extend to the roughly 50,000 children of undocumented spouses who became stepchildren to American citizens.

The Republican response to Biden’s humanitarian plan descended to new depths of mind-blowing hypocrisy. As The Hill reported in its headline, Republicans slam Biden immigration order as election ploy.

“An election ploy?” Hmm. Remember that time—six months ago—when Joe Biden had successfully negotiated a bipartisan immigration reform package that was set to sail through the House and Senate? And then remember that Donald Trump asked congressional Republicans to kill the bill to preserve immigration as an election issue for Trump? See HuffPost (1/24/24) Trump Privately Pressuring GOP Senators To ‘Kill’ Border Deal To Deny Biden A Win.

So, in the absence of congressional action, President Biden is doing the only thing he can —use executive action to address areas of immigration policy within the President’s discretion. Biden wishes it were otherwise but has no choice. Rather, he is willing to work with anyone who is interested in finding solutions.

In announcing the new policy, President Biden said,

Folks, I’m not interested in playing politics on the border or immigration. I’m interested in fixing it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again today, I will work with anyone to solve these problems. That’s my responsibility as president. That’s our responsibility as Americans.

No, Joe Biden is not playing politics. He is addressing an intractable problem despite obstructionist behavior from Republicans. A lesser president would give up in defeat. Not Joe Biden. He is a great president and deserves to be re-elected.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[personal-blog243]

Holy shit this is huge! We need to follow this to hopefully see this is carried out successfully but this sounds awesome!