A bipartisan group of senators led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin Dick Durbin Cornyn, Sinema to introduce bill aimed at addressing border surge Harris casts tiebreaking vote to advance Biden nominee Bipartisan group of senators holds immigration talks amid border surge MORE (D-Ill.) met Wednesday afternoon to explore the possibility of immigration reform legislation that could address the surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Senators praised the meeting afterward as “constructive” and a promising start but said they didn’t reach agreement on any core elements. The talks come amid what Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Alejandro Mayorkas Bipartisan group of senators holds immigration talks amid border surge Justice Department convenes task force to tackle wave of ransomware attacks Biden to offer 22K additional guest worker visas, 6K targeted toward Northern Triangle MORE says is on pace to be the biggest migrant surge in 20 years. ADVERTISEMENT The starting points include the Republican demand that the asylum process at the southern border be streamlined so fewer migrant children are released into the United States to await the processing of immigration courts and the Democratic demand that immigrants who were brought into the country illegally at a young age, "Dreamers," be given a path to citizenship. “It was a good meeting. It was a very positive meeting and bipartisan, obviously,” Durbin said. “We did not reach any conclusions. We want to pursue a number of elements: the bills that came over from the House as well as border security.” He was referring to two immigration reform bills passed by the House in March. The American Dream and Promise Act would let immigrants who entered the country as children earn permanent legal status and eventual citizenship. The Farm Workforce Modernization Act would grant temporary legal status with the option to become ...
Immigration
US Chamber of Commerce comes out in support of bipartisan, bicameral immigration bill
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Thursday came out in support of bipartisan legislation that would address the immigration crisis at the southern board, which was introduced by Sens. John Cornyn John Cornyn Cornyn, Sinema to introduce bill aimed at addressing border surge Bipartisan group of senators holds immigration talks amid border surge House votes to extend ban on fentanyl-like substances MORE (R-Texas) and Kyrsten Sinema Kyrsten Sinema Cornyn, Sinema to introduce bill aimed at addressing border surge Maker of Sinema's viral 'f--- off' ring donating profits to group fighting to raise minimum wage Advocacy groups pushing Biden to cancel student debt for disabled MORE (D-Ariz.). The Bipartisan Border Solutions Act, a bicameral bill, was also introduced by Texas Reps. Henry Cuellar (D) and Tony Gonzales (R). It would expand the number of border processing facilities, hire more personnel to increase the Department of Homeland Security’s processing capacity and improve the care for unaccompanied children, among other provisions. ADVERTISEMENT The Chamber has long called for a bipartisan solution at the southern border and was a vocal opponent of former President Trump Donald Trump US gives examples of possible sanctions relief to Iran GOP lawmaker demands review over FBI saying baseball shooting was 'suicide by cop' House passes bill aimed at stopping future Trump travel ban MORE ’s immigration policies, including regulations announced last year targeting H-1B visas that are granted to skilled workers The pro-business lobbying group endorsed two House-passed immigration bills, the Democrats' American Dream and Promise Act, which would provide citizenship to young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children, and the bipartisan Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which would provide a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers. They also have come out in support of the bipartisan Dream ...
Press: Biden’s Flip-Flop-Flip on Refugees Shows Border Crisis Worries
Three media post mortems into President Joe Biden’s policy flip-flop-flip on refugees last week suggest that Biden’s staff tried to protect their boss from further migration-caused political damage, but were overruled by pro-migration advocates outside the building. The Washington Post said April 20 that Biden made the critical decision to cap the 2021 inflow at 15,000, far below early suggestions of 62,500 refugees: President Biden overruled his top foreign policy and national security aides, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, when he kept in place the Trump administration’s record low cap on the number of refugees admitted to the United States, according to three people familiar with the matter, a decision that was reversed after a public outcry. … In the end, the president’s own misgivings fueled the decision more than anything else, the people said. The Post ‘s description suggests that Biden – not his top staff — is firmly in charge of migration-related decisions. The New York Time s initially echoed that claim in its April 20 report : Inside the White House, the president had made his views clear, according to several people familiar with his objections to the idea of capping refugee admissions at 62,500. With crossings at the border rising, he did not intend to sign off on that number. But the New York Times also suggested that Biden’s top officials played the critical role in setting the 15,000 cap: But only weeks into Mr. Biden’s presidency, immigration and the border had already become major distractions from his efforts to defeat the coronavirus pandemic and to persuade Congress to invest trillions of dollars into the economy — issues championed by aides like Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff, as more central to his presidency. … members of Mr. Biden’s staff came up with a compromise they hoped would satisfy the president and resettlement agencies. They would keep the 15,000-refugee limit, but ...
Koch groups call on administration to release all temporary worker visas
Two groups within conservative mega-donor Charles Koch's political network called on the Biden administration Thursday to release all the temporary worker visas allocated by Congress for fiscal 2021. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken Antony Blinken The era of climate statecraft is here Biden administration working with Congress to provide 0 million for civilian assistance in Afghanistan US targets state-owned Myanmar timber, pearl businesses with new sanctions MORE , Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Alejandro Mayorkas Bipartisan group of senators holds immigration talks amid border surge Justice Department convenes task force to tackle wave of ransomware attacks Biden to offer 22K additional guest worker visas, 6K targeted toward Northern Triangle MORE and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh Marty Walsh Biden's policies are already hurting workers — and there's more hurt coming Unions struggle to secure wins under Biden New Boston Mayor Kim Janey: 'We cannot go back to normal' on racial equity MORE , the presidents of Americans for Prosperity and the Libre Initiative asked for the release of 64,000 additional H-2B visas. "After months of a steady recovery, U.S. employers added over 900,000 jobs in March alone, the fastest rate of monthly growth since last August," wrote Daniel Garza, president of the Libre Initiative, and Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity. ADVERTISEMENT "But even with this good news, thousands of businesses are at risk of being left behind as they struggle to find enough workers, and current plans to release just 22,000 of the additional visas are inadequate for meeting America’s labor needs," they added. The H-2B program allows for nonagricultural seasonal or surge workers to enter the United States and work for their sponsoring employer. The program requires employers to certify their need for foreign labor with the ...
Dick Durbin Praises George W. Bush: ‘Bless You’ for Amnesty Op-Ed
The Senate Democrats’ leading advocate for amnesty and immigration, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), is endorsing the pro-amnesty push underway by former President George W. Bush. “Bless you, George W. Bush, for saying what you did,” said Durbin, who has a long history of supporting migration into the United States, regardless of the damage done to Americans’ wages, housing costs, and civic stability . In an April 22 interview with Punchbowl News , Durbin said the GOP should adopt Bush’s pro-migration policies: Will it have an impact on Republicans? I think it must. I believe that many of them want to move beyond the Trump era into a new rebirth of this Republican Party, and I hope that they’ll look back to George W. Bush and some of his values that were expressed in this article is an indication of a good path for both of us. Durbin’s mention of an article by Bush refers to the former president’s April 16 op-ed published by the Washington Post . The op-ed is titled, “Immigration is a defining asset of the United States. Here’s how to restore confidence in our system.” “Increased legal immigration, focused on employment and skills, is also a choice that both parties should be able to get behind,” Bush wrote in an article that endorsed amnesty for the many millions of illegal immigrants who are now being used by employers even as 20 million Americans are unemployed: Increased legal immigration, focused on employment and skills, is also a choice that both parties should be able to get behind … We could also improve our temporary entry program, so that seasonal and other short-term jobs can more readily be filled by guest workers who help our economy, support their families and then return home. … The reward [gained from immigration] has been generations of grateful, hard-working, self-reliant, patriotic Americans. Durbin’s praise for Bush comes as he tries to rebuild the 2013 “Gang of Eight” amnesty coalition. Three of the four GOP ...
