This past week marked another milestone in the path towards immigration reform, as the Senate Judiciary Committee began debating on amendments to S.744. I would especially like to lift up T. Douglas Stump’s commentary on Sen. Leahy’s amendment policy and Seth Freed Wessler’s piece on the flawed Heritage Foundation report.
- Van Le, in her piece for America’s Voice, explores new Lake Research Partners research indicating that nearly half of Latinos are less likely to report crime due to fears of immigration enforcement, making our communities less safe for all of us.
- In his commentary for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, “Senator Leahy’s Refreshing Amendment Policy,” T. Douglas Stump commends Leahy for creating a website documenting the introduction of amendments to S.744, allowing for transparency and easy access to information on the process.
- Seth Freed Wessler of Colorlines, in his post “Another Flat-Earth Argument About Immigration’s Economic Drain,” explains the many critical flaws in the recent Heritage Foundation report on immigration reform.
- Adam Serwer of Mother Jones unearthed the five most absurd proposed amendments to S.744, including, Sen. Grassley’s attempt to restrict South Koreans from obtaining some visas until their country removes import restrictions on beef.
- In her piece “President Obama’s Trip to Latin America Highlights Important Mutual Economic and Security Ties,” Amanda Peterson Beadle of Immigration Impact writes of the importance of passing immigration reform, not just as a domestic policy concern, but also as critical to foreign relations with Latin America.
Please email me or comment if you have any thoughts about this week’s Top Picks. Thank you for taking the time to visit our blog, and I look forward to bringing you the best online commentary on immigration and refugee issues every Monday here on Redefining Welcome.