Another debt ceiling debacle could sink the economy
Last year's Congressional debt standoff hurt consumer confidence more than the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Betsey Johnson and Justin Wolfers write. This time could be worse. Read more at Counterparties
Obama assures Hispanics immigration reform a top goal
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sought to assure Hispanics on Tuesday that their goal to overhaul U.S. immigration policy would remain a top priority, despite the recent failure of Congress to advance reforms.
The issue is important for many Democrats and could help Obama mend fences with the left wing of his party, which is unhappy at his pact with Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts for richer Americans that he signed last week.
Immigration may also play a role in the 2012 presidential election if Hispanics, an increasingly weighty voter block, blame Republicans for blocking reform. Latinos voted heavily in favor of Obama in 2008.
Senate Republicans on Saturday effectively killed the so-called Dream Act that would have provided a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children.
Obama immediately voiced deep disappointment over the failure of the Dream Act to advance in Congress and made plain that he would keep the issue alive.
"Immigration reform should remain a top priority for the coming Congress," the White House said in a statement about Obama's Tuesday meeting with the five lawmakers.
Republicans take control of the House of Representatives next month and increase their sway in the Senate after making hefty gains in November elections.
Analysts say this will make it much harder to advance progressive immigration reform. But Obama says he will keep pushing for the Dream Act and wants a bipartisan approach to its passage.
"The American people expect both parties to come together around common-sense approaches to solve our toughest problems, not kick them down the road," the White House said.
A Gallup poll in early December found 54 percent of those surveyed would vote for a law that would allow illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children to gain legal resident status if they join the military or went to college.
These were key components in the Dream Act, which would have provided legal residency for young people who came to the United States illegally before the age of 16.
Analysts expect Republicans in the new year to focus on tougher enforcement of rules to send illegal immigrants back home and to prevent them entering the country in the first place.
Obama and the Hispanic lawmakers understand this is a delicate issue, with voters unhappy over illegal immigrants.
They pledged "to work together to advance proposals that not only to strengthen security at the nation's borders, but also restore responsibility and accountability to ... a badly broken immigration system," the White House said.
(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Philip Barbara)
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Its incredulous that the Liberal-Democrats would try to win passage of the Dream Act, when a large portion of America has no job? It seems an absolute insanity that the Liberal progressives led by Senator Harry Reid forced into the last days of the lame Duck session, another Amnesty. Even without the Dream Act not passing prospective non-citizens can join the armed forces through President George Bush Executive Order 13269. Expedited Naturalization of Aliens and Non-citizen, Nationals Serving in an Active-Duty Status during the War on Terrorism: Signed by President Bush of July 3, 2002 Does not this seems strange that nothing was mentioned about this way to resolve the problem?
WHY ISN’T THE LIBERAL PRESS EXPLAINING THIS AVENUE FOR NON-CITIZENS TO GET CITIZENSHIP?
Not the Amnesty of the students, but the parents that would follow after their siblings gain citizenship. As with every stealth Amnesty there is always a cost of politically favoring some ethnic majority? For years under Clinton, Bush and now President Obama they want to load the US taxpayer, with further liabilities. It’s not enough to sell us-lock, stock and barrel–to the Chinese Communists notwithstanding the 14 Trillion dollars, a US treasury commitment, along with massive interest payments. But the do-gooder wants to drain every single penny from the US taxpayer, to accommodate millions of foreign nationals and their families. The chain migration law has been a disgusting travesty, because the original sponsor finally reneges financially on supporting their immediate blood relatives. So eventually the American people have to subsidize the Mothers and Fathers, sisters and brothers and so it goes. It accumulates as the brothers and sisters get married and they have more children. So the unending conveyor belt continues and millions of newcomers are added to the public services.
Entitlements for Americans are already hard pressed, but the politicians keep repeating the same old performance, bringing in cheap labor with low skills that we end up paying for? The Amnesty door or even legal immigration entry never stops, as we import at least a million or more people a year through visa programs. This is outside legal immigration a perimeter that has brought Border States–Sanctuary States–like California, suffering terribly from the millions of illegal and legal immigrants living off food stamps and other public welfare. This has become an assault on common sense as America will eventually become overpopulated. Legal immigrants cannot be issued a visa, without some resemblance of a education. The illegal people who steal through the unsecured borders have hardly any education, don’t speak the same language and finally end up a financial liability with easy access to fraudulent papers.
Believing we only have 13 million illegal nationals is incomprehensible; for every state has an over abundance of laborers on street corners across this nation. We know now that severe enforcement must start in the workplace, by making the new composite version of E-Verify a permanent established verification program for every business large and small. There should be massive fines and mandatory imprisonment, for those who don’t play by the rules. A large force of retired seniors could do the job, paid for by the fines imposed on every American business. Policing laws, such as Arizona’s and integrated with the federal 297 G law, must be for every local police agency. Local sheriffs along the border have been criticized because they have spoken out, about the dangerous border region. The fact that OTM’s Other than Mexican are entering America from countries those are adverse to our culture, our religion.
Many are from countries who wish to do US citizens harm and many are already here Arizona like many other states have been demonized for their anti-illegal alien stance from the open border entities, .who see this great country as free flow of people, with no barriers. When 1 in 6 Americans have not enough food, cannot feed their own families. Why do we keep taking in low skilled workers? Time is here to set our sights on looking after our own, as stated by the united Tea Party. Why are we educating the children of millions of illegal aliens, as with the cramped conditions as seen in California schools to K-12. Why have we become an open freebie for the babies of foreign parents who instantly receive an American birth certificate, which the parents can exploit with welfare and other benefits? Why are these insipid politicians who tried to insist on the passage of the Dream Act for foreigners, when our own children have a limited access to college?
Our own kids cannot even get a seasonable job flipping burgers, since the onset of the illegal alien occupation? Each day our police wage war against people who sell drugs, maim and kill only to discover they are here illegally. Once our hospitals county emergency rooms were orderly and the patient only needed to wait a short period of time for medical services? Today these major hospitals are overrun with illegal aliens and family members with no insurance, who have caused a paralysis amongst the overworked staff. California, like Arizona, Texas and I’m sure New Mexico have been under the onslaught for decades and now the piper must be paid. Years of neglect of a undermanned 2000 mile border where every conceivable criminal has passed easily, where border land owners live daily in fear. Only thousands of military, to enforce the Border Patrol can alleviate some of the illegal immigration pain in this country. See how you have been fooled by our government, by learning more at NumbersUSA.
There are now 25 states that are trying to pass AZ type laws.
Americans want the immigration law enforced. And they are not impressed by con jobs like the Dream Act, which had a provision so the government could grant amnesty to anyone for any reason…all those it’s just for kids statements were pure nonsense. See page 5, line 21, para 6(a)(2) of the bill.
Obama has already lost many independants and working class Dems in the last election. If he continues to push for amnesty, he is going to lose even more. I am a Dem and active. All the rank and file Dems I have had at house parties and meeting are 100% against amnesty.
It is just the elite, pushing the moneyed intersts agenda, that want it.
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it is more than just sad, but the illegal aliens began voting in our election, and did so in spite of it being illegal. IF this country checked the identifications of the people who voted at the ballot box, the illegal aliens would be cut off, and it simply would not matter.
Americans need to get the identification process enforced. If they don’t they will deserve all the warts they draw.
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