Category: Immigration Reform (Page 4 of 7)

DREAMers Are Under Attack AGAIN

January 13, 2015 / MCDC

We are hours away from the General Assembly returning to Richmond – and launching their latest attack on Virginia’s DREAMers.

But we can stop them. This year we have an opportunity to take back the Virginia Senate by electing leaders who believe in equality and opportunity for all who call Virginia home.

Let’s send Richmond a message – today.

Click here to stand with the DREAMers today by donating $5 to support lawmakers on the ballot this year who will support their dreams.

“[W]e’re going to have foreigners on the fast track,” said Republican state Senator Dick Black, who’s a co-sponsor of the measure to roll back in-state tuition rates for the thousands of immigrant students who know no other home than Virginia, worked hard in school, and played by all the rules to be declared “legally present.”

Yes, this is the same Dick Black who called emergency contraception “baby pesticide.” Who called Mark Warner’s work to make affordable home loans to LGBT Virginians an effort to “subsidize sodomy and adultery.”

This backward bill is also sponsored by Delegate David Ramadan, who thinks that a ban against affordable tuition for DREAMers is “what Virginians want.”

I was proud that federal officials shared our finding with every state that these DREAMers can establish domicile and pay in-state tuition rates – saving them in some cases tens of thousands of dollars at a Virginia school where they have earned a spot.

Help us protect the DREAMers. This is our last chance to send a message before the legislative session starts tomorrow.

Mark

Paid for by One Commonwealth PAC

December 22, 2014 / MCDC

It’s time to fix our broken immigration system

November 20, 2014 / MCDC

Our immigration system has been broken for decades. And every day we wait to act, millions of undocumented immigrants are living in the shadows: Those who want to pay taxes and play by the same rules as everyone else have no way to live right by the law. That is why President Obama is using his executive authority to address as much of the problem as he can, and why he’ll continue to work with Congress to pass comprehensive reform.

FULL TRANSCRIPT FIXING THE SYSTEM

Every president since President Eisenhower has taken action to address immigration issues. As a result, many more immigrants have come, stayed, and contributed to the strength of the United States. Since the founding of our nation, the strength America draws from generations of immigrants is a fact that’s woven deeply into the fabric of our history.

“Throughout our history, immigration to this land has contributed greatly to the strength and character of our Republic. Over the years we have provided for such immigration because it has been to our own national interest that we do so. It is no less to our national interest that we do so under laws that operate equitably.” DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER February 8, 1956

“The contribution of immigrants can be seen in every aspect of our national life. We see it in religion, in business, in the arts, in education, even in athletics and in entertainment. There is no part of our nation that has not been touched by our immigrant background.” JOHN F. KENNEDY 1959

“Our beautiful America was built by a nation of strangers. From a hundred different places or more they have poured forth into an empty land, joining and blending in one mighty and irresistible tide. The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources — because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples.” LYNDON B. JOHNSON October 2, 1965

America is a rich mosaic of many cultures and traditions, strong in its diversity. Each new immigrant has added another piece to the mosaic of American life — a fresh perspective and a fresh appreciation of what it means to be an American.” RICHARD NIXON September 26, 1972

“Each new wave of pioneers and immigrants had to build a place for themselves and add their individual contributions to this new life.” GERALD FORD December 2, 1974

“We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” JIMMY CARTER October 27, 1976

“Our nation is a nation of immigrants. More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands. No free and prosperous nation can by itself accommodate all those who seek a better life or flee persecution.” RONALD REAGAN July 20, 1981

“Our nation is the enduring dream of every immigrant who ever set foot on these shores, and the millions still struggling to be free. This nation, this idea called America, was and always will be a new world — our new world.” GEORGE H. W. BUSH January 31, 1990

“More than any other nation on Earth, America has constantly drawn strength and spirit from wave after wave of immigrants… Bearing different memories, honoring different heritages, they have strengthened our economy, enriched our culture, renewed our promise of freedom and opportunity for all.” BILL CLINTON June 13, 1998

“It says something about our country that people around the world are willing to leave their homes and leave their families and risk everything to come to America. Their talent and hard work and love of freedom have helped make America the leader of the world. And our generation will ensure that America remains a beacon of liberty and the most hopeful society this world has ever known.” GEORGE W. BUSH July 24, 2006

“We define ourselves as a nation of immigrants. That’s who we are — in our bones. The promise we see in those who come here from every corner of the globe, that’s always been one of our greatest strengths. It keeps our workforce young. It keeps our country on the cutting edge. And it’s helped build the greatest economic engine the world has ever known.” BARACK OBAMA January 29, 2013

G.O.P. Unveils Immigration Plan: “We Must Make America Somewhere No One Wants to Live”

November 20, 2014 / MCDC

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled his party’s long-awaited plan on immigration on Wednesday, telling reporters, “We must make America somewhere no one wants to live.”

Appearing with House Speaker John Boehner, McConnell said that, in contrast to President Obama’s “Band-Aid fixes,” the Republican plan would address “the root cause of immigration, which is that the United States is, for the most part, habitable.”

“For years, immigrants have looked to America as a place where their standard of living was bound to improve,” McConnell said. “We’re going to change that.”

The Speaker added that the plan would also include the repeal of Obamacare, calling healthcare “catnip for immigrants.”

Attempting, perhaps, to tamp down excitement about the plan, McConnell warned that turning America into a dystopian hellhole that repels immigrants “won’t happen overnight.”

“Our crumbling infrastructure and soaring gun violence are a good start, but much work still needs to be done,” he said. “When Americans start leaving the country, we’ll know that we’re on the right track.”

In closing, the two congressional leaders expressed pride in the immigration plan, noting that Republicans had been working to make it possible for the past thirty years.