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1. Obama to hold meeting
2. Rep. Issa targets H-1Bs
3. Rep. might not back Obama
4. AZ Gov. vetoes bill
5. Group names 10 lawmakers

1.
Obama to hold meeting on immigration reform
The Associated Press, April 18, 2011

President Barack Obama has marshaled the likes of former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the mayors of New York and San Antonio and Philadelphia's police commissioner in an attempt to show wide and varied support for an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws.

The invitees are among a bipartisan group expected to meet with Obama at the White House on Tuesday afternoon to discuss revamping the immigration system.

Besides Schwarzenegger, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who also served as Washington, D.C., police chief, are among those invited.

In a statement issued late Monday, the White House said the president is holding the meeting to discuss the importance of fixing the nation's "broken immigration system" to meet the country's 21st century economic and national security needs.

The White House said business and religious leaders, as well as current and former public officials from across the political spectrum were to be invited. The statement was attributed to a White House senior official who was not further identified.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j0htZU3t56E-KhFR-7mOpS...

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2.
Darrell Issa attacks H-1B visa program, data projects
By Michelle Quinn
Politico (DC), April 18, 2011

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) took his message of reforming the federal government to the capital of Silicon Valley on Monday, where he attacked the government's visa program for failing to meet the needs of employers and criticized deficiencies in federal initiatives to provide citizens with more government data.

Issa said he wanted to hold a hearing in Silicon Valley, where people understand that innovation is not measured by “the size of your bag or your Gucci shoes.”

He held the hearing to get input from technology executives about running the government more efficiently.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) asked the witnesses to “name names” to list the most frustrating public agency. Executives at Google, Microsoft and RivetSoftware declined to point fingers, but suggested that the government can improve how it handles data so that the public can make better use of it.

“Data transparency initiatives give the impression that data is accessible,” said Patrick Quinlan, president of RivetSoftware, a Colorado company. What the public needs, he said, is access to the underlying datasets.

“More data is not the answer,” said Stuart McKee, Microsoft’s national technology officer for the public sector. “We're producing more data and less information.”

The congressmen saved some of their harshest criticism for Data.gov, the initiative launched in 2009 to give the public better access to data.

Quinlan agreed. “Data.gov, we can view it as the Pony Express,” he said. “It's good, it's a start.” The federal government resists technological changes, such as the move to cloud computing, which could improve its own efficiency and give citizens better access to information, Chaffetz said.
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/53381.html

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3.
Citing immigration reform, liberal House Dem might not back Obama in 2012
By Mike Lillis
The Hill (DC), April 18, 2011

A liberal House Democrat warned Monday that he could withhold support for President Obama next year if the White House doesn't do more on immigration reform.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez, who represents sections of Obama's political base of Chicago, told MSNBC he wants to root for Obama in 2012, but the president's record on immigration reform has left the Illinois Democrat weighing his options. Gutierrez said he remains "undecided" about his favored candidate next year.

"I want to support Barack Obama for reelection," Gutierrez told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell. "But the lack of progress on immigration reform and the lack of action that Barack Obama, our president, has — the discretion he has — is really making that job difficult for me.”

Gutierrez made similar remarks over the weekend.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the lawmaker told a large crowd at Lincoln United Methodist Church in Chicago that Obama should use his executive powers to stop the deportation of people with children who are U.S. citizens. ??

"I have nothing but the greatest desire to vote for Barack Obama. I have nothing but the greatest desire to be helpful, and to join arms with him, and march across this country toward his reelection," Gutierrez said in Chicago. "But I cannot do that. We cannot do that, until we resolve the current conflict that exists between this administration and its immigration policy.” ?Gutierrez said Latino voters are dissatisfied with Obama's progress on the issue. He's concerned it will mean smaller voter turnout in 2012, according to the published report.

Neither speaking for immigration reform nor criticizing the White House is new to Gutierrez. In an interview with The Hill a year ago, Gutierrez suggested Latino voters would stay home in November if the Democratic Party does not make a concerted effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/156671-liberal-dem-lawmaker-says-he...

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4.
Arizona gov. vetoes presidential 'birther' bill
The Associated Press, April 18, 2011

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday vetoed a bill that would have required President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove their U.S. citizenship before their names could appear on the state's ballot.

The bill would have made Arizona the first state to pass such a requirement. Opponents had warned the bill would give another black eye to Arizona after last year's controversy over the state's illegal immigration enforcement law.

Brewer said in her veto letter that she was troubled that the bill empowered Arizona's secretary of state to judge the qualifications of all candidates when they file to run for office.

"I do not support designating one person as the gatekeeper to the ballot for a candidate, which could lead to arbitrary or politically motivated decisions," said Brewer, who was secretary of state until she became governor in 2009.

"In addition, I never imagined being presented with a bill that could require candidates for president of the greatest and most powerful nation on Earth to submit their 'early baptismal circumcision certificates' among other records to the Arizona secretary of state," she said. "This is a bridge too far."

The certificates were among the documents a candidate could have submitted under the bill in place of a birth certificate.

So-called "birthers" claim there's no proof Obama was born in the United States, and he is therefore ineligible to be president. But Hawaii officials have certified Obama was born in that state.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9PDs2wjyqLc8ntJaJiBoK...

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5.
10 lawmakers named to immigration group's 'Hall of Shame'
By Jordy Yager
The Hill (DC), April 19, 2011

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who once suggested handling illegal immigrants in a way similar to how farmers handle livesock, took first place in a "Hall of Shame" list compiled by the Immigrants' List political action committee (PAC).

The group named eight other Republicans and one Democrat on Tuesday, claiming they are “the biggest obstacles” to overhauling the nation's immigration laws.

In its biannual “Hall of Shame” list, obtained first by The Hill, the PAC took aim at Steve King, eight other Republicans and lone Democrat Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.) for “spreading misinformation, preying on fear and blocking the reform America wants and needs.”

The PAC also names GOP Reps. Lamar Smith (Texas), Ed Royce (Calif.), Pete King (N.Y.), Michele Bachmann (Minn.), Brian Bilbray (Calif.), Candice Miller (Mich.) and Ben Quayle (Ariz.), as well as Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.).

“We need reform that unites families, promotes fair employment practices and restores America’s place as a nation that welcomes those seeking freedom from persecution and a better way of life,” said Amy Novick, the executive director of Immigrants' List.

The Republicans who responded to requests for comment by The Hill balked at the list, calling it a publicity “gimmick” while shooting holes in several of the PAC’s claims.

The PAC named Steve King as No. 1 on its list, referring to several controversial comments the Iowa lawmaker has made in the past.

“Politicians like Steve King — who compare people seeking a better life to ‘livestock’ — appeal to people’s worst instincts,” Novick said. “And in doing so, they prevent the reform Americans want.”

Novick was referring to comments King made on the House floor in 2008, when he unveiled a miniature model of a 13.5-foot-tall wall that he proposed to build along the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent people from crossing illegally. He suggested using electrified barbed wire on top of the wall.

“We can also electrify this wire with the kind of current that wouldn’t kill somebody but it would simply be a discouragement for them to be fooling around with it,” King said at the time. “We do that with livestock all the time.”

King’s office did not return a request for comment.

As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Smith was No. 2 on the PAC’s list for what the group said was his opposition to granting citizenship to children born in the United States to parents in the country illegally.

In a statement, Smith defended his stance and chided the PAC for trying to take a shot at him.

“Those who oppose enforcing the law often turn to name-calling when they do not have the facts on their side," Smith said.

“It is unfair to grant automatic citizenship to children of illegal immigrants because it undermines the intention of the 14th Amendment, encourages illegal immigration and costs taxpayers. Passing a law to eliminate birth citizenship is constitutional and would help deter illegal immigration,” Smith said.

Boozman’s office said that the junior senator from Arkansas was committed to continuing immigration talks.

“Sen. Boozman welcomes an adult discussion about our nation’s immigration policy. That is how difficult problems are solved,” said Patrick Creamer, a spokesman for Boozman.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/news/156707-handful-of-gop-lawmakers-make-im...