Politico: Uncivil, 'In-Your-Face' Actions of Amnesty Advocates Killing Immigration Re
Politico: Uncivil, 'In-Your-Face' Actions of Amnesty Advocates Killing Immigration Reform
by Tony Lee 10 Dec 2013, 11:50 AM PDT
breitbart.com
http://cdn.breitbart.com/mediaserver...ty_reuters.jpg
The aggressive, uncivil, and in-your-face ways in which amnesty advocates have recently harassed lawmakers in Congress to pressure them to pass comprehensive immigration reform have backfired, according to the inside-the-beltway publication Politico.
Politico notes that amnesty advocates are in "all-out harassment mode" and have "taken a decidedly sharper, more aggressive turn" after conservative opposition to a pathway to citizenship provision, which the Congressional Budget Office determined would lower the wages of working class Americans, blocked comprehensive immigration reform from passing this year. But they have not been persuasive.
“They’ve killed reform. It’s over. It’s dead. They killed it,” Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), who supports immigration reform, told Politico. “I begged them not to do crazy things, and they decided to be crazy. Now it’s dead. That’s what they get. It’s stupid. Why target the people who actually want to do reform?”
The Senate, behind the efforts of Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), John McCain (R-AZ), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), passed comprehensive immigration reform, but legislation has not moved in the House. Though House Republican leaders have said they do not want to go to conference on the exact Senate bill, they have not ruled out the option of going to conference on various piecemeal legislation. President Barack Obama recently said he would not mind if immigration reform were broken up into parts so long as all the parts passed. And Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) has said his "Republican friends" have told him they want an immigration bill that is comprehensive immigration reform in everything but name only.
In recent weeks, amnesty advocates have heckled House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's (R-VA) at his condo and ambushed House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) during a breakfast. A Republican aide told Politico that Boehner, who declared that immigration reform is "absolutely not" dead, is for immigration reform, and amnesty advocates should bother other lawmakers.
Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak predicted in August of 2013 that the aggressive and sometimes hateful actions of the amnesty advocates would turn off voters they were trying to bully into submission. Yet, comprehensive immigration reform groups are planning to turn up the heat even more.
“They are refusing to move on reform; thousands of families every week are broken apart because of the failure to move,” Kica Matos, a spokeswoman for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, which is a group behind many of these more aggressive tactics, told Politico. “We are determined to see reform passed. So give us reform and we’ll go away.”
Just this week, amnesty advocates stormed Congress by cramming "into a small room in the Rayburn House Office Building," where young children put on skits slamming Boehner as a grinch and confronted lawmakers with boxes of letters.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...gration-Reform
Tough tactics on immigration reform
This is the politico article the above refers to.
~~~
By: Seung Min Kim
December 9, 2013 11:31 PM EST
Immigration reform advocates have tried being polite. They’ve staged acts of civil disobedience and warned Republicans the party will pay at the ballot box if they drag their feet on an overhaul.
But none of that has worked — so now, immigration activists are in all-out harassment mode.
In recent weeks, advocates have taken a decidedly sharper, more aggressive turn in their efforts to pressure lawmakers — primarily Republicans — on an immigration overhaul that would create a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants in the country.
They stormed House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s (R-Va.) condo in Arlington, Va. They delivered reams of letters to House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and dozens of other House Republicans from children of immigrant families. They’ve confronted Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) during breakfast at his favorite Capitol Hill diner and prayed on the doorsteps of his suburban Cincinnati home.
But, so far, the in-your-face strategy isn’t working. After the Senate passed the most comprehensive immigration overhaul in a generation in June, the effort has stalled. And the tough tactics are turning off key House GOP lawmakers whose support will be vital if legislation is to clear Congress.
“They’ve killed reform. It’s over. It’s dead. They killed it,” said Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who favors immigration reform. “I begged them not to do crazy things, and they decided to be crazy. Now it’s dead. That’s what they get. It’s stupid. Why target the people who actually want to do reform?”
Backers of an immigration overhaul aren’t apologizing.
“They are refusing to move on reform; thousands of families every week are broken apart because of the failure to move,” said Kica Matos, a spokeswoman for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, a coalition behind much of the strategy. “We are determined to see reform passed. So give us reform and we’ll go away.”
The latest example of the escalation in tactics came Monday, when advocates crammed into a small room in the Rayburn House Office Building, and young children came forward to tell stories of how the nation’s immigration laws have separated their families and caused emotional hardship.
For their finale, the children did a skit featuring Boehner as the “Grinch,” the Dr. Seuss character that has become a symbol for ruining holiday cheer. In their version, “Grinch Boehner” was standing in the way of uniting families.
“Mr. Boehner thought he’d done it, that he’d crushed all their spirits. That they’d no longer bother him, that he wouldn’t have to hear it,” the narrator said. “But the people were angry, and their love was too strong. They came back even stronger, they knew he was wrong.”
Then the young children proceeded to the offices of several House Republicans with letter-filled boxes that read: “Children’s Holiday Wishes” with a bright red “Denied” stamp. One missive to lawmakers, written by a 7-year-old named Danna, read: “You should not let the parents go back to Mexico because the kids love there [sic] parents so much. And if they go to Mexico kids well [sic] be sad.”
There have been some, albeit minimal, clues that immigration reform isn’t completely dead. Advocates and critics alike have noted that Boehner’s move to hire Rebecca Tallent — a former chief of staff to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) — to advise him on immigration policy is a signal that House Republicans are still prioritizing reform.
Meanwhile, a small circle of House Republicans is quietly drafting a measure to legalize qualifying immigrants living in the United States illegally. That would work in tandem with a measure being written by Cantor and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) that would establish a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children.
But the tiny glimmers at reform in the GOP-led House aren’t enough to satisfy immigration advocates, who have lobbied lawmakers all year to pass a comprehensive overhaul.
And Boehner has taken much of the heat.
Beyond surprising him at his favorite Capitol Hill breakfast joint and appearing at his home in West Chester, Ohio, they recently gave him a bottle of Merlot and a turkey to mark Thanksgiving. Both presents were harvested by immigrants.
At last week’s Capitol Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, dozens of children sang to the tune of “Jingle Bells”: “Speaker Sir, Speaker Sir, Don’t you let us down! Deportations hurt this nation, act for families now!” Two days later, activists camped outside Boehner’s personal office and sang, “We pray for Speaker Boehner” to the tune of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” according to a video posted by the group.
“Boehner is in favor of immigration reform,” griped one Republican aide. “Why don’t they harass someone who is not?”
It’s not just Boehner who is getting pestered.
Dozens of activists engaged in a loud protest late one Wednesday night, in the condo lobby where Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican, lives, according to a report in the Washington Examiner. And a 9-year-old girl named Liz Marquez tried to confront Cantor as he was quickly making his way to the House chamber last week, according to a video posted by FIRM.
The letter deliveries on Monday were aimed at nearly 40 House Republicans, the vast majority being lawmakers whom immigration advocates see as ripe targets for reform, according to a list provided by advocates. They included Republicans such as retiring Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, who has expressed support for a pathway to citizenship; moderates such as Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania; and leaders such as Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
“The longer Congress takes to take action on this, the stronger we get,” Sue Chinn, the campaign manager for Alliance for Citizenship, a national pro-reform coalition, said at a news conference Monday.
Some of those efforts have borne fruit — during one visit to the Capitol last week, youth activists got sit-downs with Republican Reps. Scott Tipton of Colorado and Michael Grimm of New York, organizers said. And activists have shown they are more than happy to embrace Republicans who back their cause.
Take the example of Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.). In October, he announced to much fanfare that he was signing on as the first GOP co-sponsor of a bill from House Democrats that mirrors the Senate legislation, minus its border-security provisions.
After that announcement, Denham was showered with praise from pro-reform groups, which launched a Thank You campaign in his honor. Support from Latino constituencies could help Denham — a top target of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — in his reelection bid. His central California district is 40 percent Latino and went for President Barack Obama by 4 points in 2012.
The Senate legislation would establish a minimum 13-year pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, revamp both high-skilled and lesser-skilled immigrant visa programs and bolster security resources along the southern border.
House Republican leaders have long declared that they would not vote on the Senate legislation and instead chart out its own way that would entail taking up different parts of immigration reform with a collection of measures, rather than one comprehensive bill.
But many advocates are skeptical of the House GOP’s piece-by-piece immigration strategy, believing that the most politically difficult parts of reform — such as a solution for undocumented immigrants currently in the United States — could get left off the menu. There is essentially no chance that an immigration bill will be brought to the House floor this year — the chamber is slated to adjourn Friday — but GOP leaders have repeatedly said that they are committed to working on the issue.
As advocates plot their way forward, some are taking a less confrontational approach. For instance, a recent multiweek fast by reform backers on the National Mall attracted visits from President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and several lawmakers.
“There are some incredibly helpful people who … talk about the issue and they do in a very helpful fashion,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said. But of the harassment tactic: “Yeah, that’s not helpful.”
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.c...4-1C6901C9DD3C
Immigration reform advocates demonstrate in over 200 congressional offices
by Alessandra Hickson, @aphickson
3:56 pm on 12/12/2013
nbclatino.com
As 2013 comes to a close and Congress prepares to wind down, advocates are making a forceful push for immigration reform. From the Capitol to the National Mall, immigration activists turned out in large numbers to show support for comprehensive reform.
On Capitol Hill, a coalition of immigration reform advocate groups sat in on more than 200 Congressional offices and chanted in support of comprehensive reform. The usually somber Capitol halls were filled with protesters singing “We Shall Overcome,” chanting “Si se puede!” and, at times, yelling as they made their way to Congressional offices, including those of Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY).
“Leaders today saw a preview of the 2014 campaign to win immigration reform,” said CASA in Action Executive Director Gustavo Torres in a statement from the Fair Immigration Reform Movement. “We will not stand by as millions of families and communities get ripped apart, leaving children alone without their parents, and people to die in the desert trying to come to this country for a better life.”
Capitol Police told NBC News that no arrests were made, but police responded to “demonstration activity being reported in multiple rooms in multiple House Office Buildings.”
Meanwhile, other activists marched from the National Mall to the “Fast for Families” community tent. The procession included SEIU‘s Eliseo Media and Rudy Lopez, Senior Organizer for the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), who ended his fast today after 22 days. Lopez first began fasting on Nov. 12.
“Congress has heard our call and many members have responded. Others have remained silent. But our movement has grown stronger and larger every day,” said “Fast for Families” in a statement released after their procession. The group added that, “we are more determined than ever to make commonsense immigration reform a reality. It is no longer a matter of IF reform will pass, it is a matter of WHEN.”
The fasters were joined by Congressional leaders Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL). Earlier, New Jersey Senators Bob Menendez and recently-elected Cory Booker met with the fasters in their tent to show support for their cause. They both pledged to fast for one day in solidarity with “Fast for Families.”
But while advocates pushed for comprehensive immigration reform including a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing called ”Asylum Abuse: Is It Overwhelming our Borders?” The hearing questioned whether the nation’s asylum system is letting too many immigrants into the country and abusing a system intended to grant refuge to those fearing persecution.
In a statement, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) called the “Dream 9” and the “Dream 30″ advocacy groups, and said they “…have undertaken a strategy of staging public violations of immigration laws – in a brazen attempt to politicize the issue of immigration reform. They somehow seem to believe that this is productive. It is just the opposite.”
Yet support for immigration reform has come from bipartisan religious, business and civic groups, many who have visited the fasters in recent weeks.
Advocates pledge to continue putting pressure on Washington in the days to come. SEIU spokeswoman Beatriz Lopez told NBC Latino that the “Fast for Families” campaign will go on, albeit in a different form, for the remainder of this year and into next year.
FIRM spokesperson Kica Matos echoed the continued effort in a statement, saying, “Throughout 2013, activists have stepped up and escalated pressure on Congress to act on immigration reform and we will not give up our fight and we will return in 2014 stronger than ever and more united in our mission.”
http://nbclatino.com/2013/12/12/immi...ional-offices/
