1. Obama promises action
2. GOP: DREAM Act a ploy
3. Sen. Menendez promises
4. Committee wants BP review
5. Kobach seeks birthright end

1.
Obama to Latinos: Don't forget who stands with you
By Darlene Superville
The Associated Press, September 16, 2010

President Barack Obama appealed to Hispanics on Wednesday to support Democrats in the November elections despite his failed promise to pass an immigration overhaul.

"Don't forget who is standing with you," the president said as he blamed Republicans for standing in the way of progress.

Less than two month before midterm elections that could prove disastrous for Democrats who run Congress, Obama acknowledged the disappointment among Latinos over the immigration issue and pledged to keep pushing for a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's immigration laws to deal with border security and provide an eventual route to legal status for the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

"You have every right to keep the heat on me and the Democrats, and I hope you do. That's how our political process works," Obama said the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's awards dinner. "But don't forget who is standing with you, and who is standing against you. Don't ever believe that this election coming up doesn't matter. "

Obama also promised to help win passage of a bill, known as the DREAM Act, that would allow young people who attend college or join the military to become legal U.S. residents.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said this week that he wants to attach the measure to an upcoming defense policy bill that the Senate could begin considering as soon as next week.

Obama cast Republicans as the bad guys in the tussle over immigration, saying some GOP senators who in the past had supported a comprehensive approach now oppose moving forward just to thwart his agenda.

"Now I know that many of you campaigned hard for me, and understandably you're frustrated that we have not been able to move this over the finish line yet. I am too," he said. "But let me be clear: I will not walk away from this fight. My commitment is to getting this done as soon as we can."

Some in the audience shouted "when?"
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/15/AR201009...

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2.
Reid citizenship plan called an election ploy
By Seth McLaughlin
The Washington Times, September 16, 2010

Republicans were quick to dismiss Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan to grant citizenship to some illegal immigrants who came to the United States when they were children as a political ploy aimed at wooing voters and pro-illegal-immigrant groups before the November election.

Others, meanwhile, are arguing over whether it is appropriate to try to tuck the plan into the defense authorization bill.

Late Tuesday, the Nevada Democrat said he wanted to create the pathway to citizenship as part of the authorization bill. He said this could be as close as Congress will get to enacting immigration reform this year because of repeated opposition from the GOP.

Known as the Dream Act, the amendment has been pushed in Congress repeatedly but has never gained enough support for passage. It applies to illegal-immigrant children and would grant a path to citizenship to those who show they are working toward a college degree or have enlisted in the military. The Senate is expected to take up the proposal next week.

"The military's role is to protect and defend this nation, not to serve as a social experiment for elected officials during campaign season," said Kirk S. Lippold, a retired naval commander and member of the Military Families United, a nonprofit advocacy group for military families. "Sen. Reid's actions are irresponsible and demean the service of the members of our military."

Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, a pro-immigration-reform group, disagreed, saying that politics and policy are often inseparable and that this could lead to an important step forward in the immigration debate.

Mr. Sharry pointed out that many military leaders have expressed support for the idea as a way of ensuring that the nation's armed forces remain strong and pointed out that the Department of Defense included it in its fiscal 2010-12 strategic plan as one of "the many smart ways to sustain quality assurance" for military recruitment.

On Wednesday, Mr. Sharry said that by some estimates more than 800,000 people could take advantage of the program.

The Immigration Policy Center, a liberal-leaning think tank, said Wednesday "that each year, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school, many at the top of their classes, but cannot go to college, join the military, work, or otherwise pursue their dreams."

Those statistics have failed to win over many Republicans, including Sen. David Vitter, who warned his colleagues on Wednesday that Mr. Reid's amendment is "disguised as an education initiative, but will provide a powerful incentive for more illegal immigration by allowing states to grant in-state tuition to illegal alien students."

"In these difficult economic times, it's really an insult to legal, tax-paying citizens," the Louisiana Republican said.
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/sep/15/reid-citizenship-plan-ca...

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3.
Robert Menendez pushes immigration reform in tough climate
By Scott Wong
Politico (Washington, D.C.), September 15, 2010

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is promising to introduce a major immigration reform bill this month, even as the volatile issue promises to be a nonstarter in this political season for Democrats who want to avoid even more controversial votes.

His announcement Wednesday, before about 200 pro-immigration activists at a church near Capitol Hill, came a day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) signaled he would try to pass a separate bill next week providing citizenship to young, undocumented immigrants if they attend college for two years or join the military.

Sources familiar with the Menendez bill said it would include border security provisions, employment verification, a temporary-worker program and a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants now living in the U.S.

“A journey of a 1,000 miles begin with a single step,” said Menendez, the Senate’s lone Hispanic member. “There can be no chance if there is no legislation. The reality is that legislation gives the process, the vehicle by which to garner support and to move forward.”

But Menendez, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, conceded that the election would make it difficult to get any real floor time for an immigration debate this fall.

Menendez and two vocal reform backers in the House — Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) – said they would meet with President Barack Obama Thursday afternoon to request his support for the new legislation and the immigrant-student bill, known as the DREAM Act.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Wednesday the president backed the act as a senator and that the Obama administration supports it now.

“Certainly it’s our hope that working with Congress we can see progress on that,” Gibbs said. “And none of that will replace what has to happen from a comprehensive level and a comprehensive perspective to deal with the issues around immigration reform.”

Reid said he would attach the DREAM Act as an amendment to the annual defense spending bill, though that proposal has been met with fierce opposition from Republicans who accuse Democrats of trying to excite their Hispanic base before the Nov. 2 elections.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) blasted the legislation on the Senate floor on Wednesday, saying it provides amnesty for lawbreakers and an economic incentive that encourages more illegal immigration.

“The DREAM Act would grant amnesty to millions of immigrants who have entered the U.S. illegally,” he said.

Menendez said he’s yet to secure any support from Republicans for his legislation, something he needs to overcome the 60-vote threshold to advance the bill in a possible lame-duck session.

“The elections make for a difficult context to be able to get people to focus on this but it is my hope that we will be able to amass support before the elections and we can seek to galvanize it after the elections,” Menendez said. “Certainly what I will introduce in the Senate will have plenty of Republican ideas in it.”

Menendez’s bill is similar to a proposal Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) rolled out earlier this year in an op-ed in The Washington Post.

Graham, however, has since taken a tougher stand against illegal immigration, and vowed not to support the DREAM Act as an amendment. If the Senate fails to pass the amendment, the DREAM Act could be included in the Menendez bill.

"When the Democratic leadership says they're going to bring up the defense bill and put the Dream Act on it as an amendment, well that is very offensive to me. Obviously their actions are all about politics,” Graham said in a statement.

“Democrats are trying to check a box with Hispanic voters at the expense of our men and women in uniform,” he added. “It's very unfortunate they are planning to use the defense bill in such a fashion."
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0910/42232.html#ixzz0zhbWnBni

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4.
Giffords, colleague demand answers on positioning of Border Patrol agents
By Bill Hess
Sierra Vista Herald, September 16, 2010

Are U.S. Border Patrol agents being properly deployed in Arizona? That’s a question Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords wants a nonpartisan federal agency
to answer.

She and Democratic U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, who chairs the House Committee on Homeland Security, signed a letter on Aug. 26 asking the Government Accountability Office to study “the approach used by the Office of Border Patrol … to deploy and manage Border Patrol personnel and resources to secure the U.S.-Mexico border in the state of Arizona.”

Giffords spokesman C.J. Karamargin said the action was the aftermath of a July 9 meeting the two members of Congress held in Douglas. The meeting focused on border issues, and some people expressed concerns the Border Patrol does not do its work on the international boundary but rather uses a “defense-in-depth” strategy “up to 100 miles away from the border,” according to the letter to the GAO.

The congresswoman’s Republican opponent for the Congressional District 8 seat, which includes all of Cochise County, said the GAO letter is election-year politics.

“Gabrielle Giffords opposes the border fence and Giffords is against (Arizona) Senate Bill 1070, so now she is trying to distract the voters from her record of failing to protect Arizona,” Jesse Kelly said Wednesday.

Now, even though the congresswoman was against the fence in the past, she is expressing concerns that Border Patrol agents are not along the barrier, which has proven successful in the Border Patrol’s Yuma Sector. There, agents along the fences have “proven successful in securing the border,” he said.

However, some Cochise County residents who live along the border have said Giffords has been trying to have the border secured. Among those supporters is veterinarian Dr. Gary Thrasher, who says the congresswoman has been working hard on border issues.

He supports her re-election by being in a TV ad.

He said he constantly has questioned officials with the Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector “to explain, reconsider and re-evaluate the strategy, to no avail.”

During the July town hall meeting covered by the Herald/Review in the border city of Douglas, the consensus of those attending was that the situation will not improve until federal agents inundate the border instead of patrolling miles from it.

At the meeting, Thompson listened intently and when Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever told him about the lack of ability to communicate in rural areas, the Mississippi congressman said he was told the issue had been handled. Saying he doesn’t like to be “told a lot of bull,” he promised he would look into the issue.

The sheriff’s view

As for requesting a GAO study of the Border Patrol strategy in Arizona, Dever said something must be done to get the attention of others in the administration and Congress.

People who live in rural Arizona, especially in the border areas, want security, and although there are Border Patrol agents on the international boundary, more are “many, many miles deep into the interior (of the state),” the sheriff said.

If a GAO study will turn the situation around, it will be a good thing, he said.

“There seems to be a disappointing number of people deployed along the border,” Dever noted.
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http://www.svherald.com/content/news/2010/09/16/giffords-colleague-deman...

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5.
Kobach seeks birthright reform
By Tim Carpenter
The Topeka Capital Journal, September 15, 2010

Republican secretary of state candidate Kris Kobach said Wednesday he would contribute to legal efforts in Arizona to restrict citizenship rights of children born in the United States to parents who are residents of other countries.

Kobach, who convened a Topeka news conference to denounce the lack of civic education of Americans, said he had been approached by Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce to work on policy designed to end the so-called birthright citizenship for children born to two illegal immigrants.

Kobach is running against Democratic Secretary of State Chris Biggs in the November general election. Kobach previously has revealed plans to transform the office into more of a law enforcement agency in an effort to counter election fraud. The Kansas secretary of state traditionally has been the chief election officer and the guardian of state records.

Biggs said Kobach was marching down a dangerous path by reforming duties of a secretary of state in Kansas.

"There is no need to radically reinvent the role of the secretary of state," Biggs said. "This office must remain free of partisanship and focused on real issues that affect Kansans."

For more than a century, rules governing U.S. citizenship have dictated, with rare exception, a person born within the country's borders is an American citizen. The Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based group that seeks tighter controls on immigration, says the United States is among 30 countries, out of 194, that grant automatic birthright citizenship.

Kobach said he endorsed a bill proposed in Congress that would alter policy to afford citizenship to children born to at least one parent who is a citizen or holder of a federal green card. That would be a more generous policy than exists in a majority of countries, he said.

Pearce has said people can't "break into somebody's country and think you have the right to citizenship because you were born here."

Kobach was involved in drafting a controversial law in Arizona, which is being challenged in court, adopted to intensify the government's response to illegal immigration. Kobach also has said he has concerns about the accuracy and integrity of Kansas elections due to underreporting of vote fraud.

His two predecessors, Biggs and Republican Ron Thornburgh, said the state's elections were properly managed and administered.

"The real fraud is the continued and dishonest insistence that Kansas elections aren't secure," Biggs said. "Our election process is fair and secure, and every eligible citizen who has the right to vote is able to do so."

Kobach said reforming citizenship limits wouldn't require amendment of the U.S. Constitution, specifically the 14th Amendment enacted after the Civil War to protect rights of freed slaves. He said the amendment granted Congress the opportunity to alter policy because citizenship decisions were "subject to the jurisdiction thereof."
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http://cjonline.com/news/state/2010-09-15/kobach_seeks_birthright_reform