Mexico's Reforms Are Key To Us Immigration Reform

Immigration Debate: What's More Important, Border Security Or Protecting Immigrant Workers?

Mexicos Congress has already passed several key reforms, breaking entrenched powers in public education, broadcasting, and telecommunications while removing legal immunity for officials for criminal prosecution. Mr. Pena Nieto calls these steps transformational and wisely set a deadline to finish them by the end of the year. They are aimed at raising economic growth to 6 percent from the current 1 to 2 percent while increasing revenue to build a strong social safety net. RELATED: Mexico as model for US political reform? Poor growth has been the main driver of poor Mexicans to the US despite the strong patriotism among Mexicans. The reforms are designed to buttress that love of country so more Mexicans dont flee or join a criminal drug gang. What helps account for this surprising political momentum that emerged 12 years after full democracy was restored in Mexico? Unlike in Washington, top elected leaders have formed bonds of trust for the sake of the country.
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House Immigration Reform Measure Pushed By Group Of Republicans

"The price of doing nothing is not always nothing," Medina said. "We will be marching to the polls with a report card in hand and a message: If they want us to vote for them, they have to vote for us first." Boehner has complicated matters by promising to consider only legislation that is supported by a majority of his GOP conference. That high hurdle means it is possible that no bills will come to the floor. Even a relatively popular bipartisan measure to beef up border security from Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) could run into resistance. Some Republicans have vowed to block any immigration bill in the House. At the same time, the ability of the unusually broad coalition of advocates to outnumber the scant opposition this summer shows how much attitudes have changed. The last attempt to overhaul immigration laws, in 2007, withered in the face of an intense backlash. But advocates have prepared for the long haul. "I think it looks better than any time I've seen it for a while," said Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration policy analyst at the free-market Cato Institute. At a recent town hall meeting in a fire station in Greer, S.C., Rep.
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GOP Congressman: Immigration Reform Faces Narrowing Window in 2013

totaled $857 billion. Builder Jacobs Engineering reported nearly $11 billion in revenue in 2012 and is poised for strong growth in 2013. Construction and maintenance giant Fluor Corporation reported revenues of $27.6 billion in 2012. Meat producer Tyson Foods reported $33 billion in revenue in fiscal 2012. In the U.S. major businesses have a stake in promoting immigration reform as an economic priority. Doug Oberhelman, Chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, Inc, an Illinois based company that earned $65.9 billion in revenues in 2012, has emerged as a pro-reform advocate.Providing consistent, reliable access to both high-skilled and low-skilled talent is critical to sustain our nations global competitiveness in many industries including healthcare, technology, manufacturing, hospitality, and tourism. We need reform that will provide opportunities for immigrants and foreign students to enter the U.S. and our workforce legally, attracting and keeping the best, the abogado de inmigracion brightest, and the hard working, he announced during a recent public event.
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Immigration bill backers keep pressure on Congress during recess

I think the Syrian situation could seriously affect immigration. There is not much time left in this legislative session, and dealing with what could become another war could take longer than expected. Lack of time could become an excuse for not tackling immigration reform. Call it what you will, but an armed conflict is about to begin even if limited by the Senate to 60 days with an option for an additional 30 days, at least for now. Without a doubt it provides a perfect excuse to leave the discussion on immigration reform for some other time. Timing is not ideal for us, said Valeria Treves, the executive director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE), a pro-immigration group in Jackson Heights, Queens. As an advocate I think the Syria situation makes it more difficult for us. Its going to be harder to catch media attention and legislators ears. Immigration could take a back seat because legislators can say they are busy with Syria.
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Raul Labrador Says Immigration Reform Timeframe Is Now 'A Lot Shorter'

But he has worked on the issue -- formerly as a member of a bipartisan group drafting a comprehensive bill -- and he is plugged into internal party politics on immigration. But, as Labrador said, political and policy disagreements are not the only thing holding immigration reform back. The calendar is too. The House only has 39 more scheduled legislative days left this year. And the aforementioned debates over Syria and fiscal issues could eat up a bunch of that time. Labrador believes if immigration reform does not pass in 2013, its even less likely to do so next year because of the looming mid-term elections.
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There's also a real danger that some members of the House, who have been reluctant to take up the issue, would be happy if immigration reform fell off of the calendar. The nation can't afford for that to happen. The crisis in Syria is a new and critical issue, but many of the other issues clogging the House's calendar are challenges of the chamber's own making. If the House had been willing to compromise with the Senate, it could have passed a food stamp bill early this summer. Battles over the budget and the debt ceiling don't need to consume the legislative calendar for months unless House members can't resist the opportunity for senseless grandstanding, infighting, and uncooperative behavior - and recent history shows that they haven't been willing to resist the opportunity to do just that. As for the immigration issue, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill that gives undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship all the way back in June. If the House had been willing to do something similar, a reform plan could have been on the president's desk right now. Instead, the House wasted valuable time talking about a "piecemeal" approach to immigration and wringing its hands over worries about voter outrage that has failed to materialize. Meanwhile, the millions of undocumented immigrants who are working, paying taxes and raising their families are still waiting for a chance to come out of the shadows. Comprehensive immigration reform isn't just a matter of doing the right thing morally - it's the right thing economically, too, which is why so many business groups have lined up behind the bill. It would even be good for that deficit that House members claim to care so much about - a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation said the Senate bill will reduce the deficit by $158 billion over the next decade.
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Immigration reform risks slipping to back burner

Only 24 of 233 Republicans represent districts where more than one-quarter of their constituents are Hispanic. Even so, some in the Republican Party argue that its future hinges on whether the House finds a way to embrace an immigration overhaul. That's a crucial issue for the country's fast-growing bloc of Hispanic voters. Also on HuffPost: Loading Slideshow Reform Would Help Curb The Deficit Immigration reform would reduce the federal deficit by $2.5 trillion over the next 10 years, according to an April analysis by the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank. Expelling Immigrants Is Expensive Expelling the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States would cost $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years, according to CNBC. That's because it costs the government more than $8,000 to deport each person.
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Despite Syrian crisis, Obama and Congress should not make immigration reform wait

That's because immigrant workers bring skills with them that complement those of native-born workers, leading to new jobs. Immigrants Are Entrepreneurial Immigrants are more than twice as likely than native-born Americans to start new businesses, according to a White House report on immigration reform. Reform Would Boost GDP By More Than $1 Trillion Over 10 Years Immigration reform would boost GDP by $1.5 trillion -- or about 1 percent -- over 10 years, according to an estimate from UCLA professor Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda cited by CNBC. Immigrants Create Jobs Businesses owned by immigrants created 4.7 million jobs in the U.S. in 2007, according to a White House report on immigration reform. Reform Would Bring In More Money Than It Costs In Benefits Though many critics of immigration reform argue against the cost of providing increased public benefits, analysts say higher spending is not a likely consequence. A Congressional Budget Analysis of George W.
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