Seth Moulton on ImmigrationDemocratic Presidential Challenger; MA Rep. | |
MOULTON: He was one of the many people in the world who came to America looking for asylum, a perfectly legal thing to do, which I think is something that's lost in this immigration debate today, and he did so because he is an American hero too. He put his life on the line not just for his country - Iraq, but for his new country, America.
A: "Illegal immigration is an issue and Democrats have to admit that it is something that we have to confront."
Laws like Arizona's S.B. 1070 are exactly the kind of laws we should not be pursuing at a federal level. Rather than marginalizing our immigrant population, we should be empowering them to contribute to our economy and civic life. At home, this means funding bilingual education programs where demand far exceeds supply. It also means increasing the availability of immigrant visas for skilled labor, and streamlining the visa process for graduates of US colleges and universities, especially within engineering and technical fields.
Faith2Action.org is "the nation's largest network of pro-family groups." They provide election resources for each state, including Voter Guides and Congressional Scorecards excerpted here. The F2A survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: 'Immigration: Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?'
Project VoteSmart infers summary responses from campaign statements and news reports The PVS survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: 'Immigration: Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?'
Congressional Summary: The House voted on an amendment by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) to H.R. 5293, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2017. The amendment would prohibit funds from being used to extend the expiration of, or reissue a new expiration date to, the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) program.
Recommendation by Heritage Foundation to vote YES:(6/16/2016): The MAVNI program is a pilot program authorizing "military services to recruit certain legal immigrants whose skills are considered to be vital to the national interest." However, a DoD memo has made it clear that DACA/DAPA recipients are eligible under this program, essentially opening up a pathway to amnesty for illegal aliens who enlist. By ensuring that this guidance ends, DOD will no longer be able to enlist illegal immigrants through MAVNI.
Recommendation by the ACLU to vote NO: (6/28/2011): The DREAM Act promotes fundamental fairness for young people by allowing access to affordable post-secondary education and military service opportunities, regardless of immigration status, and would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, have lived here for at least five years and have graduated from high school. The DREAM Act could result in billions of dollars in additional tax revenue from tapping the potential of DREAM-eligible students and future service personnel. Since September 11, 2001, more than 69,000 immigrants have earned citizenship while serving, and more than 125 who entered military service after that date have made the ultimate sacrifice in war by giving their lives for this nation.
Legislative outcome: Failed House 210 to 211 (no Senate vote)