DACA DISCHARGE – With rank-and-file House members pushing to bring immigration legislation to the floor – via discharge – President Trump, Speaker Ryan, and Majority Leader McCarthy met at the White House yesterday to “discuss a path forward on immigration.” Rep. Jeff Denham (R-CA) said conversations are underway regarding, “a bill that not only has a date certain that it will be on the floor, but one that can get bipartisan support and one that the president would sign.”
ZERO TOLERANCE IN ACTION – The Washington Post reports that the Trump Administration is preparing to hold immigrant children on military bases, “the latest sign the government is moving forward with plans to split up families who cross the border illegally.”
CENTRAL AMERICANS AND INTEGRATION – The libertarian Cato Institute released a report demonstrating that Central American immigrants do, in fact, learn to speak English over time and they assimilate “very well,” in response to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly’s comments
“VITALITY & ENERGY” – Gov. John Kasich signed an executive order that will create the “Office of Opportunities for New Americans.” Its mission will be to help legal immigrants with job skills and other aspects of integration. Kasich said he believes immigrants bring “great vitality and energy” to a community. We would second that motion.
“WORK ETHIC THAT IMMIGRANTS BRING TO THE JOB” – Sam Toia, the dynamic CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, argues for sensible immigration solutions and a bipartisan DACA legislation for his industry – Illinois’ largest employer read here
“ASIANS ONCE VOTED REPUBLICAN” –From the Associated Press:
Asians once voted Republican, with 55 percent choosing George H.W. Bush over Democrat Bill Clinton in 1992. But by 2012, Barack Obama had received nearly 75 percent of their vote and in 2016, Asian Pacific Americans overwhelmingly went for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Ramakrishnan says Asian American voters were turned off by the Republican Party and Trump rhetoric over immigration. Indeed, more than 70 percent of Asian adults in the U.S. are born abroad, according to the Pew Research Center.
