Immigration

Gutierrez Won't Vote For Health Care Reform That Excludes Immigrants

Adam Doster — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:48:56 -0800

Over the past couple of day, we've highlighted statements of disgust from Illinois congressmen and candidates about the restrictive anti-choice amendment added to the House health care bill that passed last weekend. But abortion isn't the only hot-button issue that could complicate the Democrats' reform effort. Immigration is emerging as a potential sticking point, as well.

Lawmakers in both chambers have decided that insuring undocumented immigrants is not politically feasible. But as the final details are ironed out, Republicans and some Democrats are working to limit the assistance and consumer protections available to undocumented and legal immigrants alike. Legal immigrants who have been in the country for less than five years would not be eligible for Medicaid and Medicare, following current law, even though they are eligible for government subsidies on the exchange. And while the House bill allows those in the country illegally to purchase insurance on the health insurance exchange with their own money, the Senate is likely to bar them entirely.

Immigrant rights advocates aren't too pleased that protections for immigrants, who face mounting disparities in health care access and outcomes, are eroding. If the conference committee bill tracks more closely to the Senate version, Rep. Luis Gutierrez says the White House won't be able to count on his vote. From the Washington Post:

"I am not going to vote for a health-care bill that includes provisions that exclude people using their own money to go to the exchange regardless of their immigration status," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.). "It is silly and stupid. If we do not allow them to purchase it, their communities will suffer. Their children will suffer."

This is a tricky position for Gutierrez. On the one hand, he has a lot to lose by voting against health care reform. A massive 32.2 percent of residents in the 4th district lack insurance, the 15th highest rate for non-elderly people of congressional district in the nation. But that number is high in large part because the vast majority of his constituents are working class immigrants (both legal and undocumented).

On the merits, Gutierrez is most certainly in the right. The cost of providing free emergency and charitable care to the nation's uninsured, many of whom are immigrants, is roughly $1,000 per individual with insurance per year. It's a hidden tax on all of us. Allowing this population to purchase public insurance would relieve local and state government hospitals who administer the care. Undocumented workers are on average younger and healthier than the U.S. average, so including them in the risk pool would likely help lower premiums across the board. And from a public health standpoint, it's undoubtedly a good idea to protect people who routinely work in the service sector, particularly the food preparation industry.

But in Washington, petty cultural politics can easily railroad common-sense policy. It's good to see Gutierrez pushing back.

Durbin Says Immigration Reform Will Have To Wait Until Next Year

Adam Doster — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:11:23 -0700

Hoping to add some urgency to the debate in Washington, Rep. Luis Gutierrez recently said he will introduce a comprehensive immigration reform package as early as next month. But Sen. Dick Durbin isn't as optimistic that Congress will approve such a measure in 2009. "We won't do it this year, I don't want to mislead you," he told the crowd assembled for DePaul University's Perspectiveson Immigration conference this afternoon. "We have too much to do with health care reform and so many other things. But Sen. Charles Schumer of New York ... has promised that the bill will come forward next year." And Durbin's DREAM ACT, which would grant undocumented youth conditional permanent residency if they meet a set of education or military service criteria, will be central to that effort. "[W]e can do this," Durbin added. "And I know we can do it in the right way."

Watch this clip of the Senate Majority Whip's remarks, in which he describes his inspiration for the DREAM ACT, emphasizes the importance of a fair and equitable immigration system, and expresses his hope that it will be passed "in the first part of next year":

Gutierrez: “Justice For Immigrants Is Today’s Civil Rights Struggle”

Angela Caputo — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:17:47 -0700

Illinois' own Rep. Luis Gutierrez is growing impatient over his colleagues' unwillingness to put immigration reform at the top of the congressional agenda this year. Calling "justice for immigrants today's civil rights struggle," the Chicago Democrat is preparing to push the issue by introducing a set of comprehensive reforms in Washington next month. Standing alongside immigrants rights advocates from 26 states, Gutierrez led a rally on Capitol Hill yesterday in which he outlined his plan. "We are here to say that we will not rest until the raids stop and our brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers are no longer torn apart by the government of the United States of America," Gutierrez said. Watch (more video available here):

There are ten points that form the core of Gutierrez' proposal. First, it calls for the creation of an honest and strategic plan for defining the role immigrants play in the nation's workforce. Under a new a commission, visa quotas would be determined based on labor market demands, not political priorities. And Sen. Dick Durbin's DREAM Act would be rolled in to put undocumented college students and military enlistees on the path to citizenship and high-skilled jobs. Also, for current workers, a number of protections would be included in the reforms, such as the right to fair immigration proceedings (intended to outlaw the sort of abusive treatment that workers suffered in the aftermath of the notorious raid in Postville last year).

Border enforcement, an overhaul of the flawed E-Verify system, and a language requirement are also included in the bill in an effort to grab Republican support. While pressure from conservatives slowed momentum for reform under the Bush administration, Rep. Jan Schakowsky tells The Hill that the political tide may have turned:

“We’ll see how controversial it ends up being,” Schakowsky said. “There are lots of Republicans in districts that, if not now, will soon be relying on citizen immigrants to reelect them.”

Members of Illinois' congressional delegation have already made it clear that they're ready to do their part in Washington to turn these reforms into law. So have immigrants-right activists that Gutierrez has been rallying across Illinois and the nation over the past year. "It's been a long and sometimes painful journey,"Gutierrez told supporters yesterday, "but we are not tired yet."

The Latest From City Hall

Angela Caputo — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:23:41 -0700

Chicago's City Hall isn't the most hospitable place for progressives seeking transparency or inclusive public policy. But that didn't deter activists of all stripes -- from labor organizers and abortion-rights supporters to homeless advocates and public interest researchers -- from making their presence felt in the chambers this morning. Here's our roundup of today's City Council meeting:

"RIGHT TO KNOW"

With Ald. Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward) projecting that he had 28 or 29 votes lined up to pass his "Right To Know" ordinance, UNITE-HERE Local 1 members entered the council chambers confident that hotels, including the infamous Congress, would finally be forced to publicize work stoppages to potential customers. Typically, if a measure is passed out of the Finance Committee -- as this one was last month -- it receives easy council approval. But as we've noted before, the business groups who have been lobbying hard against the notification law had a key ally on their side: Mayor Daley. Today, Ald. Ike Carothers (29th Ward) did the mayor's bidding by introducing a motion to refer Munoz' bill back to committee. Munoz attempted to block Carother's action and hold a vote today, but could not garner the majority necessary.

"The only tactic left at their disposal was defer and delay," UNITE-Here's Annemarie Strassel tells us. "We'll wait it out as long as it takes."

UNITED SNAGS $34.5 MILLION

Today, the full council voted on the $34.5 million incentive package being offered to United Airlines for agreeing to move its operational headlines to the Loop. With no substantive discussion -- aside from Ald. Ed Burke's (14th Ward) assurance that the plan is "a good deal for United and a good deal for Chicago" -- the assembled aldermen agreed to fork over the taxpayer funds. As we noted yesterday, there is no indication that the projected benefits will ever be tracked or the agreement enforced.

A NUDGE FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM

With Illinois' own Luis Gutierrez poised to introduce an immigration reform bill in the U.S. House next week, members of the City Council submitted a resolution today as a show of Chicago's support. "Enough is enough," said Centro Sin Fronteras' Emma Lozano at a press conference highlighting the resolution. "Stop separating our families."

Next week, a delegation of Chicagoans will travel to Capitol Hill to emphasize the urgent need for reform and to let the White House know that they're fed up with the lack of action. More on Gutierrez' bill to come ...

ABORTION PROTECTION ZONE ADOPTED

Just a week after the Finance Committee approved Ald. Vi Daley's (43rd Ward) measure creating protective zones around health clinics and hospitals to keep anti-abortion activists from coming within 50 feet of their entrance, the council handily adopted it today, by a 27-11 vote. In response to some increasingly aggressive tactics by anti-abortion activists, Planned Parenthood Illinois has been pushed for such barriers. Recently, protestors have attempted to get closer to patients by wearing white lab coats and stethoscopes.

Dressed in pink, pro-choice advocates swarmed the City Council chambers to show their support for the legislation. After it passed, Illinois Planned Parenthood's President Steve Trombley released this statement:

“Existing law did not adequately protect the public safety around health care facilities, and a ‘bubble zone’ enhances public safety in a fair and constitutional manner.”

“We have no issue with peaceful protests, praying or sidewalk counseling as long as it does not block the clinic entrance or in other ways interfere with patients or staff. The problem is overt, in-your-face tactics that Planned Parenthood’s patients and staff endure regularly.”

GOOD JOBS CHICAGO

While Wal-Mart is making yet another push to open a new store on Chicago's South Side, organizers with the Good Jobs Chicago campaign are quietly lobbying aldermen to support a community benefits agreement that would requires the mega-retailer to pay fair wages, make health care affordable, extend workers the right to organize, and sell locally-grown food. After a meeting with members of the council's progressive caucus -- some of whom have agreed to sign on -- the coalition appears to be making inroads. Stay tuned.

MEET CHICAGO'S NEWEST ALDERMAN

Finally, the City Council got a new member today. Mayor Daley tapped John Rice -- the longtime aide and driver to recently-retired Ald. William J.P. Banks -- as the new 36th Ward alderman.

Kirk Attempts To Squelch Immigration Ad Campaign

Josh Kalven — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:45:09 -0700

On Wednesday, we highlighted a new Spanish-language ad campaign from the group Illinois Immigrant Action attempting to highlight Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk's insensitive and misguided rhetoric on immigration reform. The campaign includes radio, internet, and print spots. Here's an excerpt from script for the radio ad (translated into English):

I wonder what goes on inside the mind of a Congresman when he states that the solution for immigration is to send condoms to Mexico! Yes, he said that! I know it is hard to believe but Congressman Mark Kirk has suggested on the floor of the US Congress that the solution to illegal immigration is sending birth control to Mexico! Imagine that! I think it is ridiculous!

Citing Mark Brown's Sun-Times column on the matter, Kirk and his D.C. lawyers are now threatening local radio stations with legal action if they run the spot, which they claim "contains false and misleading statements." Here's the argument from the Patton Boggs law firm in a September 2 letter:

As reported by today's Sun-Times, this advertisement falsely claims that Congressman Kirk advocated "condoms" as a solution to illegal immigration. ... This is patently false. ... There is no record of Kirk ever mentioning "condoms" or "birth control" in connection with immigration or Mexico. ... [I]f your station airs this advertisement after gaining knowledge that it contains false and misleading statements, you are subjecting your station to potential liability.

This is getting a bit ridiculous.

First of all, it's technically true that Kirk never uttered the word "condoms" during the 2007 floor statement in question. But the whole point of the underlying amendment was to allow the U.S. to provide aid to international organizations that distribute "contraceptives." And Kirk explained his support for the measure by stating that it would slow the "rate of growth of Mexico's population" and "reduce long-term illegal immigration pressure on America's borders."

Here again is the meat of the amendment:

That, in order to prevent unintended pregnancies, abortions, and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, no contract or grant which includes funding for the provision of contraceptives in developing countries, shall be denied to any nongovernmental organization solely on the basis of the policy contained in the President's March 28, 2001, Memorandum to the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development with respect to providing contraceptives in developing countries, or any comparable administration policy regarding the provision of contraceptives.

Would Patton Boggs still be threatening legal action if the Illinois Immigrant Action campaign had used the term "contraceptives" instead of "condoms"? If not, then this whole episode is pretty silly.

There's also this from the Patton Boggs letter:

We also note that Cong. Kirk is a fluent Spanish speaker who went to school in Mexico. As a Congressman, he worked to improve the lives of Latino constituents by sponsoring a family reunification program (Project Abuelita) and securing a grant to teach English to young Latina mothers to boost their ability to help their kids with schoolwork.

And here's the response from Illinois Immigrant Action:

The Congressman’s lawyers claim that the Congressman is fluent in Spanish. Therefore, Illinois Immigrant Action challenges Congressman Kirk to debate IIA Board Member Joshua Hoyt, in Spanish on Univision Radio, on how to best end illegal immigration and fix our broken immigration system. Let us enjoy free and fair democratic debate, and hopefully leave behind his offensive rhetoric and work together in favor of workable solutions that uphold our nation’s values and move us forward together.

Well played.

Immigrant Rights Community Tees Off On Kirk

Adam Doster — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:50:03 -0700

Mark Kirk's record on immigration reform is not sterling. It's also a topic he'd prefer to avoid. But if the North Shore Republican wants to run for U.S. Senate, the group Illinois Immigrant Action (the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights' 501(c)(4) sister organization) isn't going to let him dodge the issue.

At a press conference in Chicago this morning, IIA representatives and several Latino elected officials unveiled a $5,000 Spanish language ad-buy targeting Kirk. The spots mark the culmination of a two-week organizing blitz and will run in seven Spanish-language newspapers and on three radio stations. They mock the Republican Senate candidate for his remarks on the House floor two years ago in which he explained his support for international family planning by suggesting that it would result in a slowing of Mexico's population growth rate (which actually had plummeted since 1980) and thereby "reduce the long-term illegal immigration pressure on America's borders." Organizers say immigrants and their allies deserve a sincere apology.

Kirk is contributing to "the fear and ignorance of the anti-immigrant forces out there," said State Rep. Susana Mendoza (D-Chicago), who also says he's making a poor political choice, given the rising number of Latino and Asian-American voters who support comprehensive immigration reform. Watch her statement:

While targeted and not on television, the blitz is still relatively small in size. But because of the "gossip factor" in the Latino community, ICIRR director Joshua Hoyt says they will have a "multiplier" effect. Because it's still early in the campaign season, the ad serves as a warning as well. "We want him to understand," Hoyt says, "that if he continues to scapegoat the immigrant community on issues like health care and crime and if he doesn't popse serious solutions, there will be a political price to pay."

Meanwhile, in his Sun-Times column today, Mark Brown took issue with the ads, which feature Kirk's head on a fake condom wrapper, because he thinks they "put words in Kirk's mouth." To support this criticism, he observes that "Kirk's complete remarks from 2007, as reported in the Congressional Record, make no mention of condoms." On that narrow point, he's correct. You can read Kirk's full statement here.

But what Brown glosses over is that the amendment Kirk framed as a step towards curbing illegal immigration explicitly pertained to the distribution of contraceptives. Indeed, here's the central provision:

That, in order to prevent unintended pregnancies, abortions, and the transmission of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, no contract or grant which includes funding for the provision of contraceptives in developing countries, shall be denied to any nongovernmental organization solely on the basis of the policy contained in the President's March 28, 2001, Memorandum to the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development with respect to providing contraceptives in developing countries, or any comparable administration policy regarding the provision of contraceptives.

The bill was directed at reversing a Bush adminstration policy that prevented the U.S. from providing international aid to organizations that distributed contraceptives (such as condoms).

Local Immigration Activists, Politicians Renew Call For Raid Moratorium

Angela Caputo — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:56:52 -0700

In the wake of President Obama's recent pledge to begin his push for comprehensive immigration reform this year, local activists today continued their campaign to ratchet up political pressure on the White House. Members of the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) delivered more than 9,100 petitions to the Department of Homeland Security's Chicago office, urging Secretary Janet Napolitano to impose a moratorium on harsh enforcement tactics and the ensuing detention mess while potential reforms are debated.

Among the public officials on hand at an ICIRR press conference in the Loop was Illinois' own Rep. Jan Schakowsky. "The president, Barack Obama, said, 'We can get this done,' " the North Side congresswoman told reporters. "So why would the government persist in these policies of deportation, of dividing families? ... This is just wrong" Watch her remarks:

Democratic State Reps. Greg Harris and Lisa Hernandez -- along with Alds. Manny Flores (1st Ward), Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward) and George Cardenas (12th Ward) -- echoed Schakowsky's calls for quick reforms. But it was Sister JoAnn Persch -- who has provided religious counseling to hundreds held at the McHenry County Jail and deported from the federal detention center in Broadview -- that best described the human toll: "We see the people being deported, shackled hands and feet with a chain around their waist. We are talking about human beings with human and religious rights. This system must change. Now." Watch her remarks:

Activists Blazing The Trail To Immigration Reform

Angela Caputo — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:31:43 -0700

Amid a growing restlessness that immigration reform has been put on the back burner in Washington, local activists are beginning to ratchet up the pressure on their elected officials. Yesterday, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) kicked off its own leg of the nationwide Reform Immigration FOR America campaign. As the Tribune reports, their latest strategy for pushing the reform agenda comes from an unlikely source:

[I]mmigration activists are borrowing from the playbook of conservative groups who helped defeat immigration reforms two years ago by bombarding legislative offices with e-mails and faxes.

"Now is the time, this is the year, we need our leaders to lead," reads part of a stock message to be sent to congressional offices.

One Illinois official who ICIRR's plan turns the tables on is Rep. Mark Kirk. The GOP senate hopeful has been particularly helpful to conservatives as they've attempted to slow reforms that would put the nation's 11 million undocumented on a path to citizenship. As a result, the organization's two-week organizing blitz -- which targets political offices, prayer vigils, and town halls -- will culminate on August 31 with the release of a Spanish-language political ad aimed at illuminating Latino voters about his anti-immigration record.

A recent analysis (PDF) of the latest census data by the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) suggests that neither Kirk nor any other political candidates still on the fence immigration reform will have the luxury of ignoring immigrant voters in 2010. Over the past four years, there's been a 28 percent increase in the number of Latino voters and a 21 percent increase among Asians, IPC found. Compare that will virtually no growth -- less than 1 percent -- among whites and the new clout among Latino and Asian voters can't be discounted. Now we'll see which candidates can do the math.

Image used under a Creative Commons license by Flickr user celikins.

Illinois Dems Renew Push For Immigration Reform

Angela Caputo — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:13:58 -0700

When the summer recess is over and Congress returns to Capitol Hill, will immigration reform remain a top priority for Democrats? While members of Congress have been sending mixed messages about exactly how hard they'll push for reform, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) has pledged to introduce legislation before Labor Day. And just this morning, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said that she sees drafting such legislation as the most pressing issue on her department's agenda. Still, the White House itself has been somewhat slow to commit.

Today, seven Democratic members of Illinois' congressional delegation -- Reps. Mike Quigley, Danny Davis, Luis Gutierrez, Jan Schakowsky, Phil Hare, Jesse Jackson Jr., and Bobby Rush -- sent an open letter to President Obama urging him to add his political muscle to the immigration fight. "Letters like this push the agenda," Rep. Quigley said at a press conference today. "Our role as a congressmen is to help set the priorities." Watch:

As far as local immigration advocates are concerned, the goals for reforming the nation's immigration laws haven't changed since Obama took office. The broad objective is to put the nation's 12 million undocumented immigrants on a path to citizenship. Sen. Dick Durbin's Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors bill (the DREAM Act) is also sure to be a key part of any package. Here's the outline included in the lawmakers' letter:

We must move forward with a commonsense, American solution that secures the border, protects the rights of all workers, and modernizes our legal immigration programs. A key element of this reform is requiring all undocumented immigrants to register, go through background checks, pay taxes, and study English in order to obtain legal status and be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship.

This comprehensive approach will not only secure our borders, level the playing field for workers, and stop dishonest employers from gaining an unfair advantage, but it will bring in critical revenue by integrating more people into the economy as workers, taxpayers, and consumers. The other options – maintaining the status quo or trying to force 12 million illegal immigrants to leave the country – are neither viable nor desirable.

Rep. Gutierrez has been laying the groundwork for these reforms for months now. In May, he wrapped up his 21-state Family Unity Tour, which sought to energize elected officials and grassroots organizers to push for change. The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights is helping to keep the momentum going through its own legacy campaign. "We see progres," Gutierrez said today. "And it is time for the President to take on reform -- this year."

Del Valle: Gutting Language Programs "Doesn't Make Sense"

Angela Caputo — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:28:28 -0700

Since the legislature left Springfield two weeks ago, details out of the governor's office regarding the looming state budget cuts to human services have been few and far between. The Illinois State Board of Education has been the sole exception and, on that front, a clear pattern has emerged: Line-items that are accompanied by federal matching funds have been largely spared while solely state-backed initiatives -- such as Illinois' nationally-recognized early childhood education program -- are being gutted.

One sector defying this trend, however, is adult education. Indeed, the decision by Springfield leaders to cut $10 million from this area, thereby forfeiting another $20 million in federal money, defies logic. In a press release, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) lays out the details:

The new state budget sets adult education funding for the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) below last year’s level of $34.8 million, lumping adult education with career and technical education and GED testing and cutting the overall appropriation to $24.1 million. Even worse, because of this cut, ICCB stands to lose more than $20 million in federal matching funds. These losses combined would cut total state support for ICCB adult education programs by more than two-thirds. More than 80,000 students will be left out of the classes they need to find better jobs, provide more for their families, become citizens, and contribute even more to the state.

"The state's going to leave $20 million on the table when the number of people needing adult education and basic job training ... is growing," Chicago Clerk Miguel Del Valle said at a news conference today. "It doesn't make any sense." Watch his remarks:

Months before this recent round of cuts was proposed, ICIRR was already raising concerns about the steady decline (PDF) in state funding for the programs. In 2002, adult education initiatives were funded to the tune of $57.5 million. By last year, budgets dropped to $54 million, meaning 20 percent less English-as-a-second-language (ESL) slots. The Tribune took note of the human toll back in May after ICIRR released its report:

The findings tap into long-standing concerns over integrating non-English-speaking immigrants, many of whom gravitate to ethnic enclaves and remain in unskilled jobs because of their lack of English. Of the state’s nearly 1.8 million foreign-born residents, about 575,000 adults cannot speak English well or at all, according to 2007 census figures.

“Our immigrant population is growing,” said Fred Tsao, policy director for the immigrant coalition. “If we’re going to be relying increasingly on the immigrant workforce, we need to make sure those workers have the English skills to not only do their jobs, but advance in their jobs so they can contribute even more to the economy.”

Like other education and human service providers across the state, advocates are making a last-ditch appeal to Quinn to restore the $10 million reduction via the $1.2 billion discretionary fund he's currently divvying up.

But ICIRR's Lisa Thakkar points out that a long-term solution will ultimately be necessary. "The real problem is the lack of revenue," she tells us, in a nudge of support for an obviously necessary income tax hike.