WASHINGTON (CNN) — Advocates for comprehensive immigration reform won their first major legislative victory this week when the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-5 to approve the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” plan. If enacted, the measure will create a 13-year path to citizenship for most of the country’s 11 million undocumented immigrants. It aims to strengthen…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — As the Senate Judiciary Committee neared completion of its consideration of comprehensive immigration reform legislation on Tuesday, it remained unclear whether the panel’s top Democrat would move forward with a pair of controversial gay rights amendments vehemently opposed by congressional Republicans. The amendments, backed by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, would recognize same-sex…
By Ruben Navarrette Editor’s note: Ruben Navarrette is a CNN contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. Follow him on Twitter: @rubennavarrette (CNN) — You wouldn’t think that gay rights would be on a collision course with immigration reform. After all, what does one of these things have to do…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A top Senate Democrat has offered a pair of amendments to an immigration reform bill bolstering rights for same-sex couples, a politically risky move that threatens to shatter Republican support for the sweeping legislation. Vermont Sen. Patrick’s Leahy’s amendments would recognize same-sex marriages in which one spouse is an American, and also…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A prominent gay rights advocacy group says a key congressional Democrat will push for new rights for same-sex couples in the Senate’s immigration reform bill — a move which could undermine the legislation’s bipartisan support. According to a spokesman for Immigration Equality, Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy intends to offer an amendment…
(CNN) — Republican Sen. Marco Rubio said Tuesday he hopes immigration rights for same-sex couples “doesn’t become a central issue” in the ongoing debate, referring to it as a “landmine” that could thwart attempts to pass a comprehensive immigration reform package. In a wide-ranging interview with BuzzFeed that streamed live online, the junior senator from…
The White House released today a fact sheet outlining the key principles President Obama believes should be included in commonsense immigration reform. From the fact sheet: FACT SHEET: Fixing our Broken Immigration System so Everyone Plays by the Rules America’s immigration system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there…
National lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights organizations, including the National Center for Lesbian Rights, today released a joint statement reiterating the call for a comprehensive immigration policy that ensures fair and just treatment for all those currently impacted by our failed immigration policy. It comes as a bipartisan group of U.S. senators today…
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Undocumented immigrants would be able to seek legal status without first going home under a compromise framework floated Monday by a bipartisan group of senators, according to a source familiar with the plan. The outline for a possible immigration reform bill reflects a mainstream Republican willingness to compromise on what President Barack…
