Weak.

No, the GOP help didn’t come from Rubio. This was a Judiciary Committee vote and he’s not a member. Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake are, though, and they each voted with Democrats to torpedo Grassley’s amendment demanding that probationary legal status not be granted until the border has been effectively secured for six months. Remember, [...]

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Melting pot.

I thought I came from America, but now I know better. Unless you’re a Native American, you came from someplace else. Share your family’s story: at.wh.gov/kQgOt #ImmigrationNation — The White House (@whitehouse) May 8, 2013 That’s their new grassroots-mobilizing gimmick in support of the Gang of Eight’s amnesty bill. Rewarding illegals with citizenship flows as [...]

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Borders.

President Obama said there is one thing he absolutely won’t compromise on in immigration reform: a pathway to citizenship. But as for what he would be willing to give up, he won’t say… The president praised the bill produced by the Gang of Eight as a “good piece of work” that doesn’t include everything Obama [...]

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Borders.

The [Gang of Eight] bill would … exempt wide swaths of people currently counted against immigration caps from any limits: The spouses and children of legal permanent residents would be allowed to come to the country on an unlimited basis, for example. Thus, some combination of, perhaps, 7 million DREAMers, agricultural workers, and the newly [...]

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"A fine-toothed comb."

Straight talk. “I believe if we pass this legislation, it won’t gain us a single Hispanic vote, but what it will do is put us a playing field where we can compete. Right now we can’t compete,” he said at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. “The numbers in the last couple of [...]

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Salesmanship.

Rubio really is a one-man conservative outreach program when it comes to this bill. His ties to the tea party base are so deep that reformers were constantly worried he’d abandon negotiations rather than risk an inevitable backlash by signing onto a compromise. Rubio made light of the dynamic at a press conference introducing the [...]

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Amnesty?

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) blitzed all five Sunday shows in his most public pitch yet for the emerging immigration reform bill, arguing that it would control the border, and rejecting conservative criticisms that it provided “amnesty” for illegal immigrants in the country. “This is not amnesty. Amnesty is the forgiveness of something. Amnesty is anything [...]

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Hurry.

It’s not the inclusion of a pathway to citizenship that has immigration reform proponents worried — at this point, it’s clear that this will be part of any deal Senate negotiators produce. It’s how difficult they choose to make it… “The sleeper issue in immigration reform is, do all 11 million people qualify for legal [...]

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Enforcement.

The newsiest bit from yesterday’s interview with Telemundo. Rubio’s said since the beginning that the path to citizenship (which is different from initial probationary legal status) can’t happen until the border’s been tightened, so if O insists upon this then Rubio’s destined to walk away. But would Obama insist upon it, to the point of [...]

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Amnesty.

No worries. She says the border’s already “as secure as it’s ever been,” even though her department has given up trying to measure that. Marco Rubio recently claimed that 10 million new illegals would cross the border over the next decade if there’s no new guest-worker program in place. Maybe Napolitano could quantify border control [...]

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Citizenship.

Today, tea party favorite Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., became the latest prominent Republican to confuse the immigration conversation by avoiding specific language on citizenship — perhaps by design. Paul lent his growing political weight to the issue with a speech widely interpreted as endorsing a pathway to citizenship. But he did so without making clear [...]

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"If you wish to work, if you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you."

The AP claimed this morning that Paul was set to endorse a path to citizenship in his speech today. Not so, countered conservatives on Twitter: Read his prepared remarks and you’ll see that citizenship is never mentioned. Which is true, and also irrelevant. The whole point of Paul’s speech is GOP rapprochement with Latino voters; [...]

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Hold up.

Colorado is waiting on Gov. Hickenlooper to sign a couple of new gun-control bills passed by the legislature to be signed into law, including a measure that will limit the sale of high-capacity magazines (which they have so augustly defined as 15 or more rounds) and another expanding requirements for background checks on firearms purchases; [...]

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Probationary.

I’m … not sure this is news. The chief objection from border hawks to the bipartisan plan announced in January was that it would grant probationary legal status to illegals on the first day, immediately upon passage. A path to citizenship would, if Rubio gets his way, be granted later after there have been measurable [...]

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Pushback.

Immigration reform’s chances in the House are looking bleaker after one of the top Republicans tasked with shepherding a bill to passage ruled out a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), chair of the Judiciary Committee that will mark up any House legislation on the issue, told NPR this week that [...]

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Sabotage?

Kabuki? Or double kabuki? Mickey Kaus says we’re being played by both sides here: Ah, but Obama has his own bill, waiting in the wings! As a “backup.” If negotiations fail, he just might introduce it! How does that work again? The already pro-amnesty Gang of 8 is unable to reach a deal–but then the [...]

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Hot seat.

Sen. Marco Rubio is having a moment. He’s a charismatic senator from a battleground state whose Cuban heritage and support for immigration reform are helping his party begin a new courtship with Hispanic voters. This much we know. But Rubio is exploiting an opportunity that goes beyond simply good timing and the right last name. [...]

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Gamble.

Rubio doesn’t back down. This is his moment. As the charismatic and articulate son of Cuban immigrants who rose to prominence as a tea-party ally, Rubio has a singular place in the conservative firmament, and he could likely hold onto that status for years with little effort… Rubio is pleased with how receptive many conservatives [...]

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Sabotage?

I use the term “border enforcement requirements” loosely, of course. I’m sticking with what I wrote yesterday, that Obama’s insistence on giving a big left-wing speech about immigration is really just a way to make the Senate bill look “moderate” by comparison. He has to walk a fine line in praising the bill to keep [...]

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Breakthrough?

A marginalized group emerged from the shadows today to assert that they indeed have a voice, and a future, in American society. We speak, of course, of members of Congress. After years of scurrying for political cover, a brave handful of senators held a daylight, weekday news conference in Washington to present — in writing [...]

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