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Immigration Reform

The latest news, analysis and debates on immigration reform and policy.

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  • **FILE** In a Aug. 24, 2005, file photo, Reconstructive surgeon Dr. Maria Siemionow adjusts her sterile bonnet as she heads into a micro-surgical procedure at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cleveland Clinic has done the nation's first almost total face transplant, a hospital spokeswoman said Tuesday, Dec.16, 2008. Dr. Maria Siemionow replaced 80 percent of a woman's face with that of a dead female donor. The hospital spokeswoman said that the operation was done a couple weeks ago.

    Immigration bill boosts costs of 'Obamacare'

    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

  • It took seven years and $45,000 in fees for the Sweazey family, originally from Canada, to obtain permanent resident status in the U.S. Lucinda Sweazey (top right) is among those who are voicing concerns about amnesty for illegals.

    Raw deal: Immigrants who paid a legal price say focus on illegals is 'discouraging'

    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

  • **FILE** The sun casts a shadow on the border fence that passes through the Nature Conservancy's southernmost preserve in Brownsville, Texas, on Sept. 4, 2012. (Associated Press)

    Senate rejects border fence

    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

  • **FILE** Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican (Associated Press)

    Sen. Lindsey Graham: GOP facing 'demographic death spiral'

    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

  • ** FILE ** John Morton, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Associated Press)

    John Morton, ICE director, to step down in July

    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

  • Immigration activists march on home of Kansas secretary of state

    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

  • Fat chance: At 24 pounds, immigration bill is too big for many to swallow

    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

  • ** FILE ** Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican (Associated Press)

    Senate votes to put immigration legalization before strict border security

    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

  • **FILE** An undocumented migrant, who refused to identify himself, clings to the border as he checks on the U.S. Border Patrol from the Mexico side of the United States-Mexico border in Tijuana, Mexico, on June 5, 2006. (Associated Press)

    Border War: Security at the center of Senate immigration fight

    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

  • The Senate's bipartisan "Gang of Eight" holds a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, April 18, 2013. In front from left to right are Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican; Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat; Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican; and Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican. The legislation would dramatically remake the U.S. immigration system by ushering in new visa programs for low- and high-skilled workers, requiring a tough new focus on border security, instituting a new requirement for all employers to check the legal status of their workers, and installing a path to citizenship for 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

    Poison pills enter bruising Senate battle over immigration reform

    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

  • **FILE** Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on May 21, 2013, following the Republican policy luncheon. (Associated Press)

    McConnell: Immigration bill has 'serious flaws'

    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

  • President Barack Obama applauds as he attends the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009.

    No scandals here: Obama pivots to cheerleader-in-chief for White House immigration push

    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

  • President Obama hugs Tolu Olubunmi, an immigration activists, before speaking about immigration reform on June 11, 2013, in the East Room of the White House. The Senate is preparing to cast the first votes on a landmark bill that offers the best chance in decades to remake the nation's immigration system and offer eventual citizenship to millions. (Associated Press)

    Obama throws weight behind immigration overhaul bill

    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

  • **FILE** Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on immigrant women and immigration reform on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 18, 2013. (Associated Press)

    Lessons of 1986 amnesty loom in immigration debate

    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

  • **FILE** Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, speaks with reporters following a Democratic strategy session at the Capitol in Washington on April 9, 2013. (Associated Press)

    Sen. Harry Reid refuses to bend on core of 'Gang of Eight' immigration bill

    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

  • ** FILE ** Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio answers questions May 10 in a news conference about a civil suit accusing him of profiling in carrying out his tough immigration stance. He took the witness stand in district court Tuesday to deny the claims. (Associated Press)

    Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio suspends immigration enforcement

    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

  • **FILE** Men recently deported from Arizona wait in line to be registered with Mexican authorities at the border in Nogales, Mexico, on April 28, 2010. (Associated Press)

    House rebukes Obama, challenges deportation policy

    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

  • Sen. Marco Rubio flexible on immigration bill; House negotiators finishing work

    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

  • **FILE** Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Utah Republican (Associated Press)

    Senate immigration bill could double guest workers

    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

  • Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, arrives for a vote at the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday, May 6, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

    SIMMONS: Immigrant bill hinders Americans seeking jobs

    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

  • **FILE** Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican (Associated Press)

    Sen. Marco Rubio: Immigration bill does not have votes to pass

    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

  • Sen. Marco Rubio, Florida Republican, arrives for a vote at the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington on Monday, May 6, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

    Sen. Marco Rubio: Immigration bill needs 'improvements' to pass

    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

  • Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

    Sen. Charles Schumer: Immigration bill to pass Senate by July Fourth

    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

  • Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, said he is still torn on what to do with some of the enemy combatants in the war on terrorism captured overseas the U.S. holds. His father, Ron Paul, advocates closing the Guantanamo Bay prison. (Associated Press)

    PAUL: Security precautions for immigration reform

    By Sen. Rand Paul

    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

  • Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, right, talks with Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, D-Sherman Oaks, during the Assembly session at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, May 29, 2013. By a 53-20 vote the Assembly approved Alejo's measure, AB60, which would allow those without a Social Security number to apply for a drivers license. The bill was sent to the Senate. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

    California lawmakers push forth bill granting illegals driver's licenses

    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

  • ** FILE ** A road lined with vehicle barriers marking the U.S-Mexico border in New Mexico is the spartan territory for Border Patrol agents. (Associated Press)

    Safety net issue snags reforms to immigration; public balks at benefits for the newly legalized

    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

  • U.S. Vice President Joseph R. Biden, front right, accompanied by Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, reacts to the sound of the steelpan band, the traditional percussion instrument of the Caribbean twin-island country, upon his arrival to the Diplomatic Center in St. Ann's, Trinidad, Tuesday, May 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Anthony Harris)

    Joe Biden tells Trinidad crowd: U.S. pushes illegal immigrants to 'live in fear'

    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

  • Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Vermont Democrat, chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Associated Press)

    Gay green-card hopeful: I feel ‘my country is abandoning me and my rights’

    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

  • **FILE** Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents take a suspect into custody on March 30, 2012, as part of a nationwide immigration sweep in Chula Vista, Calif. (Associated Press)

    GOP lawmakers want Obama to hear out head of ICE union

    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

  • House Speaker John Boehner, Ohio Republican, listens to a reporter's question during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 23, 2013. (Associated Press)

    Boehner: House won't pass Senate immigration bill

    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

  • Recent Opinion Columns

  • Illustration: Immigration by Greg Groesch for The Washington Times

    SHAPIRO: Smart immigration could save the U.S. economy

    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

  • Sen. Rand Paul

    Sen. Rand Paul: Trust but verify on immigration reform

    By Sen. Rand Paul

    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

  • Illustration: Immigration by Greg Groesch for The Washington Times

    STAVER: A Christian approach to immigration reform

    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

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