July 15, 2013

NY Daily News: Republicans give immigrants a reality check on expecting immigration reform

media mention

(Original Post)

Forget about a comprehensive immigration bill. And so much for a bipartison bill out of the House.
By Albor Ruiz / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
A reality check.
That’s what the Republican tactic on immigration reform, announced last Wednesday by the Speaker of the House after a much-publicized closed-door meeting with his party, was for all those who had claimed victory after the Senate passed its immigration bill.
“Today House Republicans affirmed that rather than take up the flawed legislation rushed through the Senate, House committees will continue their work on a step-by-step, common-sense approach to fixing what has long been a broken system,” the House Republicans said in a joint statement. “The American people want our border secured, our laws enforced, and the problems in our immigration system fixed to strengthen our economy. But they don’t trust a Democratic-controlled Washington . . .”
That is, forget about a comprehensive bill. Tellingly, there is not a word in the statement about a path to citizenship, without which President Obama won’t sign any legislation. So much for a bipartisan bill coming out of the House any time soon. Actually, if anything at all is ever going to move through the House, it won’t happen, at least, until September.
“It’s going to be difficult. Many Republicans believe, or say they believe, that because the undocumented broke the law they should not be granted citizenship ever,” said Rep. José Serrano (D-Bronx). “And that’s a deal breaker.”
The Hispanic Congressional Caucus also had a meeting on Wednesday with Obama at the White House. What has been heard from some of the participants is no more than the usual platitudes (“a positive, productive meeting,” etc.), but it was reported that some sparks flew about deportations, one of the most painful issues for Latino families.
“The issue of deportation always come up when we meet with the President,” said Serrano, who wasn’t able to attend the meeting.
“ ‘Immigration reform’ charade moving from ‘comprehensive’ super repressive Dem version lacking Republican support to fascist repressive piecemeal of the GOP,” posted on Facebook of Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org, the largest Latino online organization in the country.
Lovato’s words may sound extreme to some, but for many they are an accurate picture of what’s going on in Congress. After all, House Republicans have shown they care a lot about enforcement and repression and very little about the fate of 11 million undocumented immigrants or the negative financial impact not solving the immigration crisis would have.
“During our meeting,” Velázquez said, “the President placed great emphasis on the economic benefits of comprehensive reform.”
Certainly for New York, not fixing the immigration system would mean losing millions of dollars in tax revenues.
A report released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, DC, and the Fiscal Policy Institute in Manhattan estimates that legalizing undocumented immigrants, who currently pay $744 million in state and local taxes, would increase that figure by $224 million.
“It’s reassuring to see that (reform ) would also provide a modest boost to state and local tax revenues — and, more importantly, would improve tax compliance so that all families are paying their fair share,” said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the Fiscal Policy Institute’s Immigration Research Initiative.
“It’s important for policymakers to know that undocumented taxpayers are making very substantial contributions to state and local governments right now and that those contributions would increase substantially after immigration reform,” said Matthew Gardner, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s director.
The Senate bill is not all that great but at least we know what it is about. When it comes to what’s going on in the House, no one has said it better than Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus: “Who the hell knows what’s going to come out?”

Forget about a comprehensive immigration bill. And so much for a bipartison bill out of the House.

By Albor Ruiz / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

A reality check.

That’s what the Republican tactic on immigration reform, announced last Wednesday by the Speaker of the House after a much-publicized closed-door meeting with his party, was for all those who had claimed victory after the Senate passed its immigration bill.

“Today House Republicans affirmed that rather than take up the flawed legislation rushed through the Senate, House committees will continue their work on a step-by-step, common-sense approach to fixing what has long been a broken system,” the House Republicans said in a joint statement. “The American people want our border secured, our laws enforced, and the problems in our immigration system fixed to strengthen our economy. But they don’t trust a Democratic-controlled Washington . . .”

That is, forget about a comprehensive bill. Tellingly, there is not a word in the statement about a path to citizenship, without which President Obama won’t sign any legislation. So much for a bipartisan bill coming out of the House any time soon. Actually, if anything at all is ever going to move through the House, it won’t happen, at least, until September.

“It’s going to be difficult. Many Republicans believe, or say they believe, that because the undocumented broke the law they should not be granted citizenship ever,” said Rep. José Serrano (D-Bronx). “And that’s a deal breaker.”

The Hispanic Congressional Caucus also had a meeting on Wednesday with Obama at the White House. What has been heard from some of the participants is no more than the usual platitudes (“a positive, productive meeting,” etc.), but it was reported that some sparks flew about deportations, one of the most painful issues for Latino families.

“The issue of deportation always come up when we meet with the President,” said Serrano, who wasn’t able to attend the meeting.

“ ‘Immigration reform’ charade moving from ‘comprehensive’ super repressive Dem version lacking Republican support to fascist repressive piecemeal of the GOP,” posted on Facebook of Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org, the largest Latino online organization in the country.

Lovato’s words may sound extreme to some, but for many they are an accurate picture of what’s going on in Congress. After all, House Republicans have shown they care a lot about enforcement and repression and very little about the fate of 11 million undocumented immigrants or the negative financial impact not solving the immigration crisis would have.

“During our meeting,” Velázquez said, “the President placed great emphasis on the economic benefits of comprehensive reform.”

Certainly for New York, not fixing the immigration system would mean losing millions of dollars in tax revenues.

A report released Wednesday by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy in Washington, DC, and the Fiscal Policy Institute in Manhattan estimates that legalizing undocumented immigrants, who currently pay $744 million in state and local taxes, would increase that figure by $224 million.

“It’s reassuring to see that (reform ) would also provide a modest boost to state and local tax revenues — and, more importantly, would improve tax compliance so that all families are paying their fair share,” said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the Fiscal Policy Institute’s Immigration Research Initiative.

“It’s important for policymakers to know that undocumented taxpayers are making very substantial contributions to state and local governments right now and that those contributions would increase substantially after immigration reform,” said Matthew Gardner, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy’s director.

The Senate bill is not all that great but at least we know what it is about. When it comes to what’s going on in the House, no one has said it better than Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus: “Who the hell knows what’s going to come out?”

 

 

 


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