This weekend, the Senate voted to open up debate on health care reform. Now is a critical time and with the possibility of compromises ahead, we want to make sure that immigrant inclusion is a part of any reform bill that goes to vote.

After the infamous Joe Wilson outburst last month, immigration has yet again become a flashpoint in the debate. At the moment, the Senate’s version of the bill will include a bar for any undocumented immigrant to even purchase health insurance with their own money and no federal subsidies. This is something I still can’t wrap my head around.

It [is] an insane argument on more than one level. Illegal immigrants are currently permitted to purchase a quart of milk at the corner grocery. Should that activity be banned, too? If an illegal immigrant showed up at an emergency room with a burst appendix, should that person be left to die? [via Slate]

When Congress and the administration allow the Joe Wilson’s of the world to set the tone of the debate, it will be the most vulnerable populations that are thrown under the bus.

Today, at 4pm, FIRM groups NAKASEC &KRCLA are leading a rally in front of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s office to urge her to protect immigrant inclusion in health care reform.

We will have videos and pictures to update you throughout the day.

If you’re in San Francisco, hit the streets to help support (details here). In the mean time, visit NAKASEC’s blog to sign their petition to:

1.Make the federal government pay their fair share by removing their five year waiting period for legal immigrants in Medicaid and Medicare.

2.Make health reform affordable to everyone by allowing public access to purchase the public option in the new marketplace for health insurance.

3.Let everyone who subsidizes the health system to participate in it, and make informed health decisions, regardless of immigration status.

Sign the petition here.

On Wednesday night, 60,000 people joined what was an incredible call to action on overhauling our nation’s broken immigration laws.

Today, we’re releasing a new video that features Congressman Luis Gutierrez unveiling his principles for reform in October, and which calls on all of us to help build the movement for real immigration reform:

We all know our immigration system needs fixing.

Immigration has been used as a wedge to obstruct progress on everything from the Stimulus to health care reform— even the 2010 Census. There are many skeptics out there who believe Congress doesn’t have what it takes to pass reform in 2010 – or that even if they have what it takes, they don’t have the nerve to do it.

But just last week, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano reinforced the administration’s commitment to reform, laying out the details for why this push is different, and why we need to get it done.

What’s more, the national movement for real immigration reform is growing—and we are only getting bigger.

On Wednesday night, there were over 1,000 house parties in 45 states, with supporters gathered together anxiously to hear what they could do to help make reform a reality. All across the country, people are primed and ready to do whatever it takes to win this battle, and if you are not one of those people, now is the time to join the fight.

Watch our new video, sign up for the text message network, and help spread the word today.

In 2007, opponents of immigration reform took credit for stopping legislation in its tracks, overwhelming Congressional offices with a flood of angry phone calls and faxes. They took control of the debate and scared the pants off of vulnerable members of Congress.

This time around will be different, but it will take all of us to make real immigration reform a reality.

This week’s post from our guest blogger Robert Gittelson:

I, along with some 60,000 like minded comprehensive immigration reform advocates, attended one of the town hall parties last night. At the event that I was involved in, at CARECEN in Los Angeles, we numbered over 60 apt listeners, (and one of the featured speakers, Angelica Salas of CHIRLA). It was quite an uplifting and inspiring event. As updates were announced indicating the vast volume of listeners, you could see delighted and frankly surprised faces throughout our crowd. To say that we have momentum and that we are poised to advance the cause of CIR to victory could very well understate the facts on the ground. From the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign blog:

“There were 1,009 house parties in 45 states and Puerto Rico that gathered to join the town hall with Representative Luis Gutierrez. More than 60,000 people called in, joined house parties or listened to live radio broadcasts.”

While the content of the event was not so much news as it was a call to action, it is noteworthy that Rep. Gutierrez did promise to introduce his CIR bill in Congress sometime in December of this year.

It might be equally noteworthy to mention that Angelica Salas mentioned the startling fact that the “anti” e-mails and faxes to Congress outnumbered those of CIR proponents by 20-1, a fact which directly contributed to the failure of the bill in 2007. Much of the meeting centered around a discussion of how we plan to turn that figure around this time.

And yet, I must mention that while calls, faxes, texts, and e-mails are going to be hugely important in this fight, I want to caution my fellow advocates that there will be much more to a victorious strategy than the blunt instrument of overwhelming support from within.

Political muscle may be fundamental to passing CIR, but persuasive arguments must also be nuanced into the overall strategy. There is a definite distinction between forcing CIR down the nation’s throat, and persuading the opposition to consider the overall benefits to our society. I am not so naive as to believe that the Republicans will be anxious to hand President Obama a victory of any kind, much less one that clearly endears him and his party to the Hispanic community, second largest and fastest growing minority contingent in the nation.

However, there is still reason to believe that we can use the issue of CIR to unite the political stalemate and enmity that currently exists between the parties, if we can win over some of the moderates. If “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down,” then we must point out that CIR will have its elements of sweetness for everyone. This is not just about “giving a gift” to the Hispanic community. It is really about fixing a broken American System to the benefit of the nation as a whole.

I guess that I am throwing just a bit of cold water on our celebration of last night’s huge victory, because of a conversation that I had earlier in the day with an old friend. This gentleman that I refer to is a very successful businessman, and a huge Republican donor and supporter.

We spoke at length about CIR, and needless to say, he is much less enthusiastic about CIR passing than I am. This, despite that fact the he himself is an immigrant. We had an in-depth conversation, and I was a little surprised to hear this gentleman, who is extremely bright and politically astute, parrot many of the false lines propagated by the anti-CIR propagandists, such as the Center for Immigration Studies, and Numbers USA. Believe me when I say that we have much work to do, if we want to have intelligent and fact based national discussions on the merits of CIR.

For example, there has been much work lately by organizations such as the Immigration Policy Center, that detail the economic advantages inherent in CIR.

“The 2007 immigration reform bill, which included a legalization program, would also have more than paid for its reform provisions through increased tax revenue. The CBO and JCT have estimated that the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, as amended by the Senate through May 24, 2007, would have generated $48 billion in new revenue during 2008-2017 from income and payroll taxes, as well as various administrative fees.38

Although it might seem that subtracting 8.3 million unauthorized immigrant workers2 from the labor force would automatically improve job prospects for the 15.7 million Americans who are now unemployed,3 the fact is that employment is not a “zero sum” game. Mass deportation is not the solution to the nation’s unemployment problem.”

I will say that my conversation with my old friend ended well, and while we agreed to disagree on some of the minor points of CIR, I believe that he found that when the bill is discussed in its entirety, and not just labeled “amnesty,” that his/the Republican position was not too different than what is being discussed by Senator Schumer, Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano, and even Representative Luis Gutierrez. Additionally, even the divisive issue of “earned legalization” is not fundamentally against their principals, when discussed in the context of the enforcement provisions included in the legislation. Ultimately, he offered that he favored a “compassionate solution” to the issue of the undocumented that are already here, especially when I emphasized that earned legalization would require a background check, paying taxes, learning English, etc..

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of compassion in this debate. The fact that so many of our nation’s religious leaders are united behind the compassionate solution of CIR is paramount to our winning over at least some of the more conservative states, and thus their Senator’s votes.

It might surprise many people to discover that even Roy Beck, Executive Director of NumbersUSA, in an on air radio debate with Kevin Johnson, Dean of UC Davis Law School, opened the door to “compelling cases,” such as parents with citizen children. He estimated that there were 5-6 million undocumented residents with have citizen children that he would consider offering a pathway to legalization to, in the name of compassion. On the other hand, he pledged to kill CIR, so he will continue to be a pebble in our collective shoes, as far as passing CIR goes.

The point that I want to drive home, in relation to last nights huge success, is that we must unite behind the power of our numbers, as well as the power of our arguments. When the facts are on your side, argue the facts. The facts support CIR. Therefore, we have to try to bring the moderates along, as opposed to leaving them in our powerful wake.

On Monday, I wrote about the anti-amnesty “tea parties” that barely made an impact this past weekend. The showing from the ALL CAPS wielding blog trolls at ALIPAC was dismal.

… with many events attracting 10-15 people and none attracting crowds of any significance.  This shows what smart political operatives in both parties have known for some time: the anti-immigrant movement is running out of gas, and never had as much fuel as they made believe. [via America's Voice]

In stark contrast, the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign has managed to harness the grassroots energy of immigration reform advocates and organize over 900 house parties nationwide tonight! The parties will be held to participate in a national telephonic town hall where Rep. Luis Gutierrez will be laying out his plans for an immigration reform bill and the next steps in the fight to win.

This represents some serious people power on the ground with enough momentum to keep pressure on Congress and push for legislation in 2010. This grassroots energy, coupled with last week’s remarks from DHS Sec. Janet Napolitano about hope for reform in 2010 and David Axelrod’s recent comments about the progress being made, makes me feel truly energized for the fight ahead.

I know there are skeptics and I know there are those that feel like the inside-the-beltway-orgs have it all wrong in our approach, but the bottom line is this: there are thousands of people who want to make this legislation a reality, and tonight, they are going to come together to strategize on just how to make that happen. And that’s powerful, no matter where you stand.

This past Saturday, ALIPAC, an extremist anti-immigrant organization based in my home state of North Carolina, hosted their ‘anti-amnesty tea parties’ across the country. (Its worth noting that I will use quote marks every time I call these ‘tea parties’. The anti-amnesty crowd does not legitimately represent the teabaggers.)

From the ‘Against Amnesty’ site:

President Obama along with Republican and Democrat DC insiders are preparing a mass ‘Comprehensive’ Amnesty for illegal immigrants in America that will provide a path to citizenship and turn illegal aliens into voters even though a vast majority of Americans oppose this.

Interestingly enough, this “vast majority” of America only equaled a grand total of 53 parties. Yes, that VAST MAJORITY (caps make it more believable) seems to be a small fringe.

There are reports that the parties were poorly attended and at a few of them counter-protestors actually outnumbered the anti-amnesty party goers.

One of the parties, in Minnesota, has gained a bit more coverage than others. In the best prank I’ve seen since the billionares for wealthcare in DC, an activist calling himself “Robert Erickson” got up in front of the crowd and gave a rousing speech about sending the illegals all home. The twist – he was talking about European immigrants.

Here’s an excerpt.

It’s no secret that with an invasion of immigrants comes waves of crime. We see them involved in massive theft, in murder, and bringing diseases like smallpox, which is responsible for the death of millions of Americans.

I say it’s time for us to say enough is enough! Are you with me? Are you with me? Let’s send these European immigrants back where they came from! I don’t care if they are Polish, Irish, English, Italian, or Norwegian! European immigrants are responsible for the most violent and heinous crimes in the history of the world, including genocide and slavery! It’s time to restore the sovereignty of people native to this land!

The crowd seems to never catch on and by the end they are chanting “Go home, Columbus!” with some serious energy. Hilarious.

What isn’t so hilarious is the reaction of the ‘tea partiers’.

According to Sally Jo Soreson at BlueStem Prarie, the party goers began violently attacking the counter protestors after they (slowly) realized they had been punked.

Unfortunately, some of the pro-MINN-SIR audience made up for what they lacked in humor through the use of violence. Both Danielson and I saw middle-aged men attack young protesters, knocking one off a bike before he started throwing punches at the young man.

Just as shocking was the reaction of the state police working the rally, who pushed back those being attacked, rather than those attacking the counter protesters.

Those of us involved in the fight for immigration reform have been saying for a while that the violence and hate we saw at the health care town halls will be nothing compared to what is to come from these extremists once immigration legislation hits the floor.

The silver lining? These people are the extreme fringe. Despite ALIPAC’s attempts to latch on to the seeming momentum of the “tea parties”, they can’t seem to make themselves relevant. That’s because, they aren’t. Period.

They don’t represent the majority of America, no matter HOW many capital letters the cram into their blog posts and websites.

Just to give you an idea: the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign that is pushing for a comprehensive reform to our immigration policy, is also organizing house parties. To date, there are over 650 of such parties happening across the country on November 18th.

Hmmmm… last time I checked 650 > 53. And humane and sensible solutions > loud vitriolic anti-immigrant hate fervor.

From the Washington Examiner:

“If Alexandria’s event was an indication of how popular anti-immigration tea parties are, ALIPAC has much work to do between now and next spring when the organization plans to combat the Democrats comprehensive immigration reform drive.”

Attempting to self-define as part of the broader tea party movement will not make the anti extremists legitimate. It will only further their reputation as fringe wing nuts that most everybody, including Dick Armey (the godfather of the tea party himself), will want to distance themselves from.

This morning Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano (or as I lovingly call her – J Nap) spoke about immigration reform at the Center for American Progress. While I wasn’t able to attend, I followed along via Twitter thanks to America’s Voice and Voto Latino.

Though much of Sec. Napolitano’s perspective emphasized enforcement – no shock there – she also stated that she is hopeful about immigration reform in early 201o. This is welcome news amidst a lot of speculation and pessimism as to whether reform will even come up for debate early next year. Sec. Napolitano noted that much has changed this time around in the debate. Perhaps the most notable is the new allies joining in the fight for reform.

Here’s the other thing that has shifted in this debate: a larger segment of the American public has embraced the need to engage this debate and arrive at a sensible solution to this problem.

There are leaders of the law enforcement community speaking out, saying that immigration reform is vital to their ability to do their jobs keeping Americans safe. Faith leaders, including the National Association of Evangelicals, have announced their support for immigration reform as a moral and practical issue. We are seeing more business leaders and more labor leaders engaged in this debate in a constructive way than we have ever seen before.

These constituencies have all arrived at the same conclusion that prevails among the American people: this is a problem that needs to be fixed—and the best way to ensure that we can uphold our laws is to make sure our laws are rational and enforceable.

This is a huge point of strength that shows hope for immigration reform efforts in 2010. We have new communities and constituencies on our side and they aren’t just the same old familiar faces. The anti’s who have been screaming for years about law and order now have to answer to law enforcement officials who are chiming in to say that they can’t enforce the laws on the books because those laws are outdated. Business leaders and the Labor community, who before have had a tenuos relationship with immigration reform efforts are fully on board this time around, with a plan for how this reform will boost both the economy and the rights of workers across the board.

In short, its a different landscape for immigration reform in 2010. There is the support for this legislation, but we must keep pressure on Congress to act.

Sec. Napolitano reaffirmed President Obama’s committment to the issue, saying:

The President is committed to this issue because the need for immigration reform is so clear. This Administration does not shy away from taking on the big challenges of the 21st century, challenges that have been ignored too long and hurt our families and businesses. When Congress is ready to act, we will be ready to support them.

With Representative Luis Gutierrez hosting a National town hall on immigration reform next week – and thousands of people participating across the country – its clear that there are champions in Congress who are ready to move on this issue.

So, Chuck Schumer, where you at? Who wants to start sending him calendars  as per suggestions last week? You promised us a bill and we’re ready to see it.

H/T to Erin Rosa at the CampusProgress Blog and Jackie Mahendra at America’s Voice.

Tonight, Lou Dobbs hosted his last show ever on CNN. Yes, our dear friend Lou has officially resigned from the nation’s ‘most trusted name in news’ to bring his special blend of xenophobia and hate-mongering elsewhere.

This is incredible news and due in no small part to the efforts of the Drop Dobbs and Basta Dobbs campaigns who have put increasingly more pressure on CNN to fire Lou.

Check out his goodbye speech in the clip below. I love when he says that

“issues are now defined in the public arena by partisanship and ideology rather than by rigorous empirical thought and forthright analysis and discussion.”

I wonder if by forthright analysis he means spreading lies about the waves of immigrants infecting Americans with leprosy without a single shred of factual evidence to back it up.

But, I digress. Here’s Lou:

This marks a big victory in the fight against hate and anti-immigrant fervor in our country, but its only one small step in the right direction. Lou will, inevitably, find another pulpit from which to spout his dangerous rhetoric, and we will continue to counter with the truth and justice on our side.

But for now, mark one for the good guys.

As Eric Burns, president of Media Matters said:

“This is a happy day for all those who care about this nation of immigrants and believe in the power of media to elevate the political discourse.”

For a round-up of coverage check out Jackie Mahendra’s post over at the America’s Voice blog.

Yesterday, a video of Chuck Norris being interviewed by Geraldo Rivera was making the rounds. The clip shows Chuck Norris – yes the same Chuck Norris who has counted to infinity, twice – talking about his ideas for immigration reform.

Check it out:

Not that I have ever doubted Chuck Norris’ superhuman powers (the man can slam a revolving door, after all) but since he is a very well known uber-Conservative advocate and supporter of GOPers like Mike Huckabee, I kind of assumed his stance on immigration would be less, I don’t know, sensible.

But Chuck Norris seems pretty down to earth about the issue in this clip. While I don’t necessarily support his “plan”, its a breath of fresh air to hear him acknowledge that undocumented immigrants are real people who are living in this country and trying to make a better life for themselves. It stands in stark contrast to the vitriol of folks who insist that undocumented immigrants are all criminals, out to kill the “America” we know and love.

Its worth noting that Chuck Norris thinks Mike Huckabee, his personal friend who he backs politically, would be open to a pathway to legalization for undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

Ahem, GOP, listen to Chuck Norris – he knows all.

As Andrea Nill notes at ThinkProgress:

It wouldn’t be easy, but Huckabee and the Republican Party would probably benefit from regaining the trust and respect of Latino voters.

Meanwhile, Chuck Norris will be busy winning games of Connect 4 in three moves and waiting for a sensible debate on immigration.

You’ve been warned.

Folks, we are in the home stretch of the long and brutal fight for health care reform. After months of vicious debate, this weekend the House of Representatives will be finally voting on the bill.  The truth is, we are still short the votes we need to finally pass this vital piece of legislation.

And, right on cue, the GOP is planning to use immigration as a wedge in order to derail this historic and important vote. The party of  “NO” is yet again using their favorite scapegoat, undocumented immigrants, to try and deny the American public the accessible health care it deserves.

We cannot stand by and let this happen. Pick up your phone NOW and call the Capitol Switchboard at 1-866-587-3023. Ask to be connected to your Representative. When you are connected tell them two things:

1. Vote YES on the health care reform bill.
2. Don’t allow the obstruction of health care by using undocumented immigrants as scapegoats.

I cannot stress how important it is that this bill NOT be blocked by Republicans using fear and xenophobia to push their own political agenda.

Tell your Senator to stop the scapegoating and pass real health care reform NOW.

The most recent post from Standing FIRM’s guest blogger, Robert Gittelson.

In the wake of Tuesday’s off year elections, the results of which were decidedly mixed and thus open to wide interpretation, the so called “Blue Dog” moderates are whimpering for their mommies. On Wednesday, their cries were pathetic. They were begging their fellow democrats to “please, please, don’t make me vote for anything that can hurt me.” The only thing more pathetic than their public display of cowardice was their reasoning. They couldn’t possibly be more wrong about how to keep their jobs.

In point of fact, the independent voters that the Blue Dogs fear voted decidedly, and only 12 months ago, for change. Obama was swept into office in large measure thanks to moderate Independents, (along with Hispanic and other immigrant voters), because he promised that he would actually solve problems, not ignore them, as the Old Guard Republicans had been all too happy to do.

Some fear that the Republican message that Obama was doing too much, and moving too fast, was resonating with moderate voters. If that is so, it must be because the Republicans are doing a wonderful job of pulling the wool over the nation’s eyes, because so far, Obama hasn’t actually done much of anything, albeit not for a lack to trying – but perhaps not hard enough.

The Hill had an article titled “Democrats Feeling Angst Over 2010” that ran yesterday, that said in part:

“A group of vulnerable Democratic lawmakers see healthcare reform, climate change and immigration reform as desperation passes down the length of the political playing field. They acknowledge that healthcare reform may very well pass, but they say that climate change and immigration reform have dim prospects.

Rep. Bobby Bright, an Alabama centrist viewed as one of the most endangered Democrats in the House, said that many Americans feel alarmed by the drastic legislative changes moving through Congress. He said leaders should consider breaking up sprawling controversial bills into smaller pieces that voters would not find so daunting in size and scope.

“Maybe this healthcare bill is going drastically too far,” he said. “If we could take it in smaller steps, we could build confidence.

“We can’t come in and change the world overnight,” he said. “We’re moving forward at a pace that average people are concerned about, and my constituents very much so.”

I really think that while the Obama administration has so far talked a good game about change, we ought to review what they have actually been able to sign into law. Besides a few relatively minor pieces of legislation, all that they have really done is their initial emergency stimulus package, and even that has only dispersed less than half of its stimulus money, because it was designed to release funds over a two year period.

We should also remember that the first thing that Obama did, when he started campaigning for that bill, was to offer $300 billion out of $800 billion to the Republicans as tax cuts, in an unprecedented show of bipartisanship. All he received for his troubles was a collective Republican spit in his face. As I recall, only 3 Republicans Senators voted for that bill, and exactly zero Republican House members.

The Republicans are determined to hold ranks, and vote as a block against anything and everything that the President wants to accomplish. They won’t let him change a thing, if they can help it. In fact, they wear their obstructionism on their sleeves as if it were a badge of honor, (instead of a scarlet letter).

The Republicans were able to somehow get out the laughable message that Obama was responsible to TARP, and the huge deficits, as if it was Obama that was fiscally irresponsible. It is puzzling that the Democrats haven’t been able to simply point out the it was the Republican administration that urgently required and initiated TARP, and that it was the Republican Reagan administration that doubled our national debt, Clinton then turned that around into a yearly surplus, but then Bush doubled the national debt yet again, leaving the Obama administration with an unavoidable first year deficit of over one trillion dollars.

In terms of passing Comprehensive Immigration Reform in this legislative session, I would suggest that the Blue Dogs read an article that was published in yesterday’s Wonk Room, titled, “Four Lessons That Should Stop Vulnerable Democrats From Cowering Away From Immigration Reform that explained, (in detail the outline below), “In a Huffington Post column posted today, political strategist Robert Creamer offered Democrats four pieces of invaluable advice in preparation for next year’s midterm elections. Yellow-bellied Democrats should apply some of Creamer’s “lessons learned” to the immigration debate before passing up a golden opportunity to craft and pass progressive immigration reform in a Democratic-controlled Congress:

1. “First and foremost, the results show that it is critical that the Democratic message be framed in populist terms.”
2. “Independent voters will demand that Democrats deliver on our promise of change.”
3. “Democrats must inspire the base.”
4. “Our not-so-secret weapon in 2010 is the Republican circular firing squad.”

Finally, I would like to reference an article that I wrote earlier this year, about this very issue titled, “Passing Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Getting Down to Brass Tacks,” in which I discuss the Blue Dogs, and their misguided apprehensions on the issue of CIR:

“I’m reminded of a famous quote from President Lincoln from 1862, “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise-with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.” This quote is prophetic and prescient, as it relates to the evolving issue of CIR, whose time has come. In other words, these Senate Blue Dogs must “get with the program,” and “get on the bus, before it passes them by.”

It is time, once and for all, to disenthrall ourselves of the notion that the status quo is acceptable. We must also disenthrall ourselves of the outdated notion that the “Enforcement Only” approach has any merit, whatsoever. The people went to the polls in record numbers and elected “change.” They didn’t vote for, and don’t want obstructionists and old ideas. They voted for people with new ideas, and the notion to see those ideas through to fruition. These Blue Dogs just won’t hunt.”