The latest news, analysis and debates on immigration reform and policy.
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Speaker John A. Boehner said Tuesday that he won't bring an immigration bill to the chamber floor unless it can win the support of a majority of House Republicans, creating hurdles for those hoping to see Congress legalize illegal immigrants. Published June 18, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
The Senate immigration bill will be good for the U.S. economy as a whole, but for individual workers the picture is not as good — in fact, unemployment will rise slightly and average wages will drop over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office's analysis Monday. Published June 19, 2013
By Annie Z. Yu — The Washington Times
When Lucinda Sweazey's family immigrated from Canada in 1999, it took seven years and an estimated $45,000 in fees to secure permanent resident status in the U.S. Ms. Sweazey and other legal immigrants are voicing concerns that providing amnesty for those who arrived illegally will only encourage more of the same. Published June 18, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Senators on Tuesday rejected building the 700 miles of double-tier border fencing Congress authorized just seven years ago, with a majority of the Senate saying they didn't want to delay granting illegal immigrants legal status while the fence was being built. Published June 18, 2013
By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times
Sen. Lindsey Graham said that the Republican Party needed to pass more pro-immigrant policies — and quickly, because the GOP was facing a "demographic death spiral." Published June 17, 2013
By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton is stepping down, effective at the end of July. Published June 17, 2013
By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times
Nearly 300 activists with a leftist, pro-immigration group marched on the Kansas secretary of state's home over the weekend, dropping shoes on his lawn that they said belonged to "the fathers he's deported." Published June 17, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
At 1,075 pages long, it's not the biggest bill to come through in recent years — that honor still belongs to the health care law — but the immigration legislation pending in the Senate is challenging the ability of voters to get their brains around its complexity. Published June 16, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Senators voted Thursday to allow illegal immigrants to get legal status before the border with Mexico is fully deemed secure, marking the first vote on changes to the immigration bill and signaling that the core of the deal is holding. Published June 13, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
The era of good feelings surrounding the immigration bill collapsed Wednesday, less than 24 hours into the Senate's debate on the issue, after Republicans and Democrats couldn't even agree on how vote on amendments. Published June 12, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Senators headed off a filibuster Tuesday and officially brought the immigration reform bill to the chamber floor, marking the first time since 2007 that the full, thorny issue has been back in front of Congress — and with lawmakers anticipating plenty of hurdles ahead. Published June 11, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the immigration bill making its way to the chamber floor later in the day has "serious flaws" that must be fixed before the legislation can pass. Published June 11, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
President Obama kicks off the immigration debate Tuesday by making a speech at the White House reprising his role as chief cheerleader for the issue — though he will continue to keep at arms length from the actual debate on Capitol Hill. Published June 11, 2013
By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times
Reprising his role as cheerleader in chief, President Obama on Tuesday urged the Senate to quickly pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill and dismissed as unfounded Republican concerns about border security. Published June 11, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
As Congress takes up immigration reform, the last major amnesty in 1986 hangs heavily over the debate — a lesson for both sides in the perils of failing on border and employment security, even as they move for another round of legalization. Published June 10, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ruled out any major changes to the immigration bill he will bring to the chamber floor this week, saying in an interview that aired Sunday that he will battle to prevent anyone from altering the core of the bipartisan deal reached by the so-called Gang of Eight. Published June 7, 2013
By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times
Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio has suspended immigration enforcement on the heels of a federal court ruling that declared his patrol profiling polices as biased against Hispanics. Published June 7, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
The House voted Thursday to overturn all of President Obama's non-deportation policies, in a vote freighted with meaning as Congress warily eyes a broader immigration debate later over the next few months. Published June 6, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Sen. Marco Rubio said Wednesday that he'd be all right with breaking up the immigration bill into smaller pieces, but said the most important part of this month's debate will be how best to improve security so voters believe government is finally serious about controlling the border and weeding out illegal immigrants. Published June 6, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
The Senate immigration bill could nearly double the number of guest workers allowed into the U.S., according to a new analysis the Center for Immigration Studies is releasing Wednesday that says the jump is four times the increase of the last immigration bill in 2007. Published June 5, 2013
By Deborah Simmons - The Washington Times
If you are out of a job or keeping toes and fingers crossed that a dear one will soon be making enough money to bring home the bacon, this heads-up is for you. The immigration bill that could hit the floor of the Senate any day now could cost Americans jobs by nearly doubling the number of guest workers allowed into the country. Published June 5, 2013
By Seth McLaughlin and Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Sen. Marco Rubio said Tuesday that there aren't 60 votes to pass the immigration bill he wrote and that the Senate will have to embrace even stiffer enforcement in order to win voters' confidence and sway lawmakers reluctant to repeat the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty. Published June 4, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Sen. Marco Rubio has told his constituents that the immigration bill he helped write is not yet good enough and that there will have to be "improvements" if it is to pass. Published June 3, 2013
By Philip Elliott - Associated Press
A lawmaker who helped negotiate a bipartisan bill to overhaul immigration predicted on Sunday that comprehensive legislation would overwhelmingly pass the Senate by July Fourth while House Republicans cautioned that they would write their own version, one piece at a time. Published June 2, 2013
I condemn government inefficiency and incompetence often. The targets for criticism are endless. In the repeating patterns from these refugee and visa cases, however, we see potentially dangerous scenarios in which we cannot afford any excuses. Published May 31, 2013
By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times
Democrats in California are pushing forth a bill to grant illegal immigrants and those who don't have a Social Security number the ability to obtain driver's licenses. Published May 30, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
Much of the fight over illegal immigration isn't about immigration at all, but rather over the generous social safety net that has sprung up in the past five decades, and which has proved to be a major sticking point in voters' minds as Congress contemplates a legalization. Published May 29, 2013
By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times
Vice President Joseph R. Biden suggested to a crowd in Trinidad on Tuesday that it's a shame the United States doesn't give proper respect to nations of the world by allowing immigrants unfettered access to American citizenship. Published May 29, 2013
By Cheryl K. Chumley - The Washington Times
A Senate committee's failure to tack on an amendment to an immigration bill that grants sponsorship benefits to same-sex couples has left some in the gay community despondent, decrying a nation they feel has abandoned them. Published May 29, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a top Republican senator on Thursday told President Obama that he and his aides must meet with immigration law enforcement "whistleblowers" who can expose the flaws in the Senate immigration bill. Published May 24, 2013
By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times
House Speaker John A. Boehner on Thursday flatly ruled out chances of the House passing the Senate's immigration bill, saying his chamber will debate its own bill instead. Published May 23, 2013
By Gary Shapiro
For the last several years the immigration debate in Washington has been much like America’s immigration system itself – disorganized, vague and without clear borders. Fortunately, it seems like we’re starting to make progress. Thanks in part to President Obama’s State of the Union address and the Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearings on Feb. 13, more Americans and lawmakers are becoming aware of our broken immigration system and are evaluating ways to enact change. Published February 24, 2013
I am in favor of immigration reform. I am also wary of reforms granted now for a promise of border security later. Published February 8, 2013
By Mathew Staver
Americans are ready for just immigration reform that keeps our borders secure, respects the rule of law and creates a pathway to earned legal status for our hardworking neighbors who lack documentation. Published February 5, 2013
Fifty-one percent of Americans support the comprehensive immigration reform plan being crafted by the so-called "Gang of Eight" in the Senate, compared to 45 percent who oppose it, according to new figures released Tuesday. Published June 18 2013
As Congress spars over what types of health care coverage to extend to illegal immigrants, a new report Thursday says immigrants overall are less likely than native-born Americans to go to the doctor or show up in the emergency room. Published June 13 2013
By Ben Wolfgang
President Obama on Thursday will meet with key Democratic senators to discuss the ongoing push for immigration reform, his spokesman said. Published June 13 2013
By Dave Boyer
President Obama told supporters Friday that he doesn't care if some Republican lawmakers vote for immigration reform only to pander to Hispanic voters. Published June 7 2013
Five former chairmen of the New Hampshire Republican party urged Congress on Friday to pass the comprehensive immigration bill making its way through the Senate, saying that it is good policy and good politics for the GOP. Published June 7 2013
In June, Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano announced the Obama administration's "deferred-action" policy for children who were brought to the country illegally but are a low priority for law enforcement because they are not considered a security risk. On Tuesday, President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden met with three such persons in the White House. Published May 23 2013
A new poll finds that support for comprehensive immigration has dipped ever so slightly and that the vast majority of voters don't think the border will be secured if Congress passes an immigration fix. Published May 7 2013
Sen. John McCain and members of the bipartisan "Gang of Eight" tasked with carving out a comprehensive immigration package got a firsthand look at the difficulty involved in securing the U.S.-Mexican border when a woman literally climbed over the border right in front of them. Published March 27 2013
By Dave Boyer
President Obama will use a naturalization ceremony Monday to prod Congress to introduce an immigration reform bill as soon as possible, a White House official said. Published March 25 2013
The Sunlight Foundation says that over the last five years more than 3,100 lobbyists registered to work members of Congress on immigration — a figure that underscores the big stakes involved both ideologically and economically. Published March 21 2013
By Sean Lengell
Rep. Chris Van Hollen said he's cautiously optimistic Congress can pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation but worries House Republicans could quash a deal. Published March 19 2013
Jose Antonio Vargas, an illegal immigrant and former reporter, scolded a congressional panel on Wednesday, saying that he should not be called illegal, and saying it is an insult to his family who brought him here. Published February 13 2013
Opening the first immigration hearing of the new Congress, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee warned his colleagues not to use the term "illegal immigrant" as the debate goes on. Published February 5 2013
By Joseph Cotto, TWT Communities
Amnesty isn't the solution for America's illegal immigration problem, or for the GOP's political staleness. Published Jan. 29, 2013
By William Kelly, TWT Communities
Illinois' pro-amnesty sheriff should apologize for comparing U.S. immigration law to the Nazis. Published Jan. 16, 2013
