The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged border security

Study: Border fences blocking black bear migration between Arizona, Mexico

There is a new political animal in America’s age-old immigration debate: the black bear.

Poll shows broad support for immigration reform among voters

By | 11.10.10 | 2:36 pm

A majority of voters support comprehensive immigration reform that includes legalization measures as well as border security, according to a poll released today. The poll was conducted by Lake Research Partners on behalf of the pro-reform group America’s Voice between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2 and surveyed 1,200 likely More…

Report calls for improvements to U.S. efforts to stop gun trafficking into Mexico

By | 11.10.10 | 11:30 am

United States firearms officials will likely make changes to their efforts to stop firearms from reaching Mexican drug cartels after criticism from a Justice Department report released yesterday, CNN reports. The report indicates some successes: Authorities have intercepted more than 5,400 firearms and charged almost 800 defendants with More…

Virginia Tea Party Convention - Day 2

GOP aims to bolster immigration enforcement, but little change is likely

By | 11.04.10 | 6:00 am

During his campaign for the presidency in 2008, Barack Obama made the now-broken promise to Latino supporters that he would pass comprehensive immigration reform in his first year as president. But in remarks to the press on Wednesday, after Republicans took control of the House and won back several More…

House Immigration Policy Now in the Hands of GOP and Steve King

By | 11.03.10 | 12:59 am

Of all the possible changes to come out of the election, the biggest potential shift in immigration policy will probably come from which party controls the House. Now that change is official: Republicans will lead the House, meaning immigration legislation will be in the hands of likely Speaker More…

House Races to Watch for Immigration Policy

By | 11.02.10 | 5:07 pm

I mentioned earlier a few of the immigration hawks who are likely to win House seats today, but it’s worth running through some of the other congressional races that could impact how immigration policy plays out in the next two years. (See here for a summary More…

Senate Races to Watch for Immigration Policy

By | 11.02.10 | 3:22 pm

Today’s elections will almost certainly make it harder for Congress to push through progressive agenda items such as comprehensive immigration reform. Although a lot of the changes will be broad — more Republicans will mean more arguments for border security and enforcement and less support for paths to legalization — More…

How Would a Republican Congress Handle Immigration?

By | 10.26.10 | 10:39 am

According to supporters of progressive immigration reform, not very well. A Republican-run House would put Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) in charge of the Judiciary Committee and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) atop its immigration subcommittee — meaning the two border security hawks would have a major say in all immigration-related legislation More…

Border Enforcement Program Critics Say It’s Expensive, Ineffective and Unfair

By | 10.21.10 | 10:53 am

As Republicans push for increased border enforcement, many have sought to expand Operation Streamline, a “zero tolerance” immigration enforcement program that automatically slates all migrants caught crossing the border illegally for criminal prosecution. (Immigrant deportation is generally a civil, not a criminal, matter.) But critics of the program More…

Miller Argues for East Germany-like Border Security Plan

By | 10.19.10 | 10:06 am

Speaking of border security, Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller, a Tea Partier who ousted Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the state’s Republican primary, has a proposal for how to make the borders safer: Emulate East Germany.

“The first thing that has to be done is secure the More…