Politicians & Pundits: Lamar Smith

Barriers To Reform: The Anti-Immigrant Policies And Extremist Money Blocking Progress In The House

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As supporters of comprehensive immigration reform, Bridge Project commends the Senate for overcoming the political dysfunction that has become typical of Congress to overwhelmingly pass a bipartisan bill. Despite the right-wing naysayers who have been actively working against compromise, the Senate-approved mix of border security measures and a path to citizenship represents an encouraging step forward for immigration policy. Now it is up to the leadership in the House to reject the voices of extremism in their caucus and follow the Senate’s bipartisan path.

In the lower chamber, conservative leaders on the issue have long embraced extreme positions and attempted to score political points at the expense of immigrants. Some representatives are openly hostile to immigration reform and have demonstrated more interest in stoking divisions than moving the country forward.

And a history of support for harsh immigration policies is not the only cause for concern. Several key conservatives have also accepted campaign contributions from anti-immigrant donors, including some with connections to Southern Poverty Law Center-designated hate groups.

Read more after the jump.
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Conservatives Distort The Record On Immigration Policy

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Conservatives like to accuse President Obama of ignoring immigration laws and failing to present a plan for fixing the immigration system. In fact, the president has a “Blueprint for Immigration Reform” on the White House website and has taken a series of concrete steps on immigration both through executive powers and requests of Congress. There are more Border Patrol agents than at any time in history, and illegal immigration has slumped to the lowest levels in many years (for a variety of reasons). The administration has sought to prioritize criminal aliens over those undocumented immigrants who pose no security threat, while successfully suing to block Arizona’s far-reaching immigration crackdown. And after Congress failed to pass the DREAM Act in 2010, the administration used executive action to aid hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who would have been eligible for legal status had that bill passed.

Conservatives Claim President Obama Refuses To Enforce Immigration Laws And Does Not Have A Plan For Reform

House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith: Obama Has “Ignored Our Immigration Laws” And “Encouraged More Illegal Immigration.” According to the Huffington Post: “‘Throughout the past three years, President Obama and his administration have ignored our immigration laws and have encouraged more illegal immigration by their actions,’ said Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas). ‘President Obama has abused his executive branch authority to allow potentially millions of illegal immigrants to live and work in the U.S.’” [Huffington Post, 6/26/12]

Kobach: Obama “Isn’t Serious About Enforcing Our Immigration Laws.” According to Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a co-author of Arizona’s immigration crackdown: “Of course, the president long ago showed that he isn’t serious about enforcing our immigration laws. On taking office, he virtually ended work-site enforcement. That and other actions prompted ICE agents to take an unprecedented vote of ‘no confidence’ in the Obama appointee running the agency. Then, in 2010 and 2011, Obama had his Justice Department sue states (like Arizona) that were trying to help the federal government enforce the law.” [Kobach op-ed, New York Post, 6/21/12]

Read more after the jump.