Republican House considers altering birthright citizenship

MoonHowler

msnbc.com:

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution doesn’t leave much in the way of wiggle room: the rights of American citizenship are given to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.” It’s a principle generally known as “birthright citizenship,” and after its enactment following the Civil War, the Supreme Court has protected the tenet many times.
But as Republican politics moved sharply to the right, and anti-immigration sentiments within the GOP became more extreme, the party’s “constitutional conservatives” decided the principle, championed by Republicans nearly 150 years ago, needs to go. Shortly after the “Tea Party” gains in 2010, ending birthright citizenship was added to the far-right’s to-do list.

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Prove it, Dick “Plastic Fetus” Black

MoonHowler

Dick Black’s statement regarding Senate Bill 722:

There is a Federal Statute that says that if you give in-state tuition to unlawful immigrants then you must give in-state tuition to Americans from other states.  It just makes sense that Americans should receive as much consideration as people here illegally.  Giving in-state tuition moves illegal immigrants to the front of the line.  For every unlawful person who get in-state tuition, there will be an American who can’t go to college in Virginia and that’s unfair.  Any time you give something free to a person here illegally, you have to take it from an American.

I would like to see a copy of that law.  I find it hard to believe that there is a law stating such bullsh!t.

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DREAMers get temporary reprieve–deportation deferred for 2 years

MoonHowler

Children of illegal immigrants who meet certain conditions are now able to apply for deferred action which, while not permanent, gives 2 years of reprieve from deportation .

According to the Washington Post:

The Obama administration kicked off one of the most sweeping changes in immigration policy in decades Wednesday, accepting applications from young illegal immigrants for the temporary right to live and work openly in the United States without fear of deportation.

An estimated 1.7 million young people who arrived in the United States illegally as children could qualify for the new Department of Homeland Security program, and thousands are expected to pay the $465 application fee for a “deferred action” permit that would protect them from deportation for at least two years. Many began lining up earlier this week at their native countries’ embassies and consulates to get passports and other records needed to apply.

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Editorial From the Roanoke Times: Scuttling the American Dream

MoonHowler

From the Roanoke Times:

The failure of the DREAM Act will rob America of the contribution of high-achieving immigrants who grew up in this land of opportunity.  

The lame-duck session of the 111th Congress was anything but lame, passing significant legislation to end, at last, the military’s senseless and discriminatory “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and seeing ratification of an important nuclear arms treaty.

Despite unpredicted last-minute successes, though, President Obama couldn’t help lamenting the one that got away: the DREAM Act, which passed in the House but died in the Senate on a procedural vote.

In the absence of reasonable immigration reform, the DREAM Act at least offered a piecemeal fix for dealing fairly with some of the children of illegal immigrants in a way that would serve the interests of the country.

Those children, brought to the U.S. as minors through no choice of their own, would have had a path to citizenship opened to them, provided they had stayed out of trouble, had lived continuously in this country for at least five years, had graduated from an American high school and were willing to serve two years in the military or attend at least two years of college.

In other words, if they were high achievers who had the makings of good citizens of the country of their childhood, the country that is their home and that could benefit greatly from their contributions.

They are Americans in every sense except legal status, and cannot in good conscience be blamed for the illegal action that leaves them without a country they can call their own.

Republicans and a handful of Democrats denied them this dream for fear of offending a portion of the electorate so hostile to undocumented immigrants that reasonable immigration reforms cannot even be debated.

No one exemplifies this craven political cowardice more than Sen. John McCain, once a sponsor of the DREAM Act, who voted against it — according to one friend, because he felt betrayed by Hispanic-American voters who deserted him for Obama in the 2008 presidential race.

If so, McCain validated their choice with an appalling show of ego-driven temper — particularly intemperate since he had done the abandoning. In tacking hard right in pursuit of his party’s nomination, he came out against his own immigration reform bill as well as the DREAM Act during the primary.

Obama called its failure “maybe my biggest disappointment,” and promised to pursue broader immigration reform in the next Congress.

With a Republican majority in the House and a stronger GOP presence in the Senate, both eager to deny him a second term, Obama’s optimism sounds wishful. But he has shown that hope for good governance is not always in vain.

Thanks to Big Dog for bringing this editorial to our attention. 

This piece pretty much sums up the feelings of the administration of this blog.  What a waste of American resources, just to get politically ‘even.’  Kids who have overcome all odds–the odds of living in poverty, of overcoming language barriers, of coming from a home often plagued by illiteracy–have somehow managed to be successful in school.  Any one of those draw backs  reduce the chances of a kid being successful academically.   These children of illegal immigrants, , who by some miraculous fate have managed to do what many American as apple pie kids fail to do–graduate at the top of their class have once again been kicked in the teeth.

These kids are surivors however.  The very fact that there is a Dream Act says they are a cut above.  The real loser in all this will be America.  Every day one of these kids isn’t attending an American college or serving in our military is a day where we have squandered an investment already bought and paid for by the American taxpayers. 

 

Last Minute Legislation: Cheers and Jeers

MoonHowler

The repeal of DADT passed.  The Dream Act did not pass.  DADT doesn’t take effect immediately. 

According to the Washington Post:

“This is the defining civil rights initiative of this decade,” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. “Congress has taken an extraordinary step on behalf of men and women who’ve been denied their rightful integrity for too long.”

Being gay has for decades been grounds for discharge, and tens of thousands of service members have been expelled after their sexual identities were exposed – sometimes under questioning. An estimated 13,000 troops have been discharged under the “don’t ask” policy that President Bill Clinton, after failing to reverse the policy, authorized as a compromise in 1993.

What people don’t remember is that Clinton put in DADT as a last resort.  He would have preferred to make being gay a non-issue.  however, Congress had threatened to make the rules stricter if Clinton issued an executive order.  Much has changed in 15 years. 

The years-long legislative debate over the policy came to an end Saturday as senators voted 65 to 31 to send the repeal legislation to President Obama, who campaigned on a pledge to eliminate the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly. Eight Republicans joined 57 members of the Democratic caucus in the vote; four senators did not vote.

 

Good for those 8 Republicans and shame on those who voted no.

As for the Dream Act, to me, it is a waste of human resource.  A country that continually complains  about social security not being sustained should try to get all the high paid workers it can.  If students work hard, keep out of trouble and have superior grades, they should be entitled to complete for college, regardless of the status of their parents.  I am tired of this sins of the father business when dealing with children. 

From the Washington Post:

On Saturday, that strategy was in ruins after Senate Democrats could muster only 55 votes in support of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, a measure that would have created a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children. Under Senate rules, Democrats needed 60 votes to overcome Republican opposition to the bill. The House of Representatives had passed the measure this month, 216 to 198.

The irony of the DREAM Act’s failure is that it had strong bipartisan support at the start of the administration, and advocates thought it could generate momentum for more policy changes.

But as the country’s mood shifted on illegal immigration, support among Republicans and some Democratic senators evaporated, with many decrying it as backdoor amnesty for lawbreakers. Even a former co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), voted against it.

I wonder how McCain ended up voting?  Shame on those senators who voted nay.  Kids are once again victims.   Its a sad day when we crap on kids who have grown up American because of their parents.  No one is asking anyone else to pay the bill.  Just let the kids into college. 

The DREAM Act passes the House

MoonHowler

The DREAM Act passed the House, but outlook for the Senate is not so good.  The DREAM Act is short for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.  Wikipedia provides the following information:

This bill would provide certain illegal and deportable alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character, arrived in the U.S. illegally as minors, and have been in the country continuously and illegally for at least five years prior to the bill’s enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency if they complete two years in the military or two years at a four year institution of higher learning. The students would obtain temporary residency for a six year period. Within the six year period, a qualified student must have “acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or [have] completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor’s degree or higher degree in the United States,” or have “served in the uniformed services for at least 2 years and, if discharged, [have] received an honorable discharge.”[2] Military enlistment contracts require an eight year commitment, with active duty commitments typically between four and six years, but as low as two years.[3][4] “Any alien whose permanent resident status is terminated [according to the terms of the Act] shall return to the immigration status the alien had immediately prior to receiving conditional permanent resident status under this Act.”

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McCain Flip Flops on Immigrant Kids and Gays

MoonHowler

John McCain has flip-flopped more than a fish recently. Gone is the moderate Republican. McCain has probably learned his lesson after being challenged by far right contender Hayworth. McCain has now jumped on the Tea Party express and has voted against the Dream Act and the repeal of DADT. 2 years ago he supported both of these initiatives. Not only did McCain flip flop on DADT, he led the charge. What’s more defense than gays in the military?

The Dream Act would have been a boon to the military also. According to Salon.com:

For the fifth time in a decade, the Dream Act died in the Senate. It’s one of those rare policy ideas that would benefit both the military and the budget — and it’s one that Tea Party-type deficit-hawk/hawk-hawks should have rallied behind. It was even a boon for states’ rights. Yet, it became the latest victim of xenophobia and partisan politics.

The Dream Act (short for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) was designed to solve one of the most heart-wrenching injustices in our immigration system. Some 2.1 million undocumented immigrants were brought to the United States, through no fault of their own, as children. And despite having spent their entire lives here, their parents’ illegal status prevents them from obtaining legal residency. The Dream Act would give these children a chance to “earn” their green cards, allowing them to apply for temporary legal status; then, if they maintain “good moral character” (at a minimum, keep a clean criminal record), graduate from high school, and either complete two years of college or military service, they’d obtain permanent residence.

Right now, there are stories aplenty of children who discover the cruel fact that they are deportable when they apply for their driver’s license. Or of high school valedictorians who are snatched off planes and threatened with deportation because their parents never sorted out their paperwork.

Right now, these children, who are Americans in all ways except having papers, cannot serve in the military without legal residency paperwork. To reject the Dream Act is just foolish. We need good American residents. We need people who work hard and want to serve their country. Passing the Dream Act would be win/win.

McCain flip-flopped on this issue. First he was for it before he was against it. Shame on him. Do campaign promises not count if you don’t win?

High Achieving Students Dare to DREAM!

Elena

These young adults, oftentimes, do not even know that they are not legal Americans. Their work ethic would make any person proud, and yet, they are trapped in limbo. Are these hard working young people, bright, dedicated, dreaming to excel, to be denied the ability to be fully productive citizens, just because their parents were unable to adjust their status due to immigration incompetence?

Va. Senate backs bill to restrict tuition benefits for illegal immigrants

MoonHowler

 

Media General News Service
Published: January 27, 2009

The Virginia Senate today approved a bill that would prohibit illegal aliens from receiving in-state tuition benefits unless they meet a series of stringent academic, immigration and residency criteria.

Under Senate Bill 1037, sponsored by Sen. Emmett Hanger, R-Augusta, illegal immigrants would only qualify for the in-state benefit if they attend a Virginia high school, live in the state and have paid taxes for three years.

Such applicants would also have to demonstrate that they are not in the process of being deported from the country and that they are in the process of applying for permanent residency in the U.S.

The bill now moves to the House of Delegates.

—Jim Nolan

After reading the above short news article, I had to stop and ask, is this a restriction or has the door opened just a crack for children of illegal immigrants.  How does this bill tighten up on things?  Currently, I don’t think children of illegal immigrants are even eligible for admission to 4 year colleges.  Are they admitted to the community colleges in Virginia and what tuition rate do they pay if admitted?

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What is it about Tech?

MoonHowler

Earlier this week, an international student from China, Haiyang Zhu, decapitated anther Chinese student, Xin Yang. Ms. Yang had only been at VA Tech for about 2 weeks. The murder weapon was a large kitchen knife. No motive has been established and no one is sure how the victim and the perp even knew each other. From all appearances the 2 were having a cup of coffee. Haiyang Zhu is being held without bond for first degree murder.

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