Tag: DACA

Supreme Court Turns Down Trump Administration Bid to Accelerate DACA Appeal

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United States Supreme Court

by Kevin Daley   The Supreme Court rejected a request Monday to expedite its consideration of the Trump administration’s bid to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA is an Obama-era amnesty initiative that extends temporary legal status to 700,000 non-citizens who arrived in the U.S. as children. There were no noted dissents from Monday’s decision. As is typical of orders of this nature, the Court did not give reasons for rejecting the government’s request. The Department of Homeland Security first took steps to terminate DACA in September 2017. Federal trial judges subsequently entered injunctions requiring that Trump maintain the program while litigation continued. Beginning in November 2018, the administration challenged three of those injunctions in the Supreme Court. The justices were poised to decide whether to hear those cases in January, but no action came. The Court’s continued inaction on those petitions is perhaps the greatest mystery of the current Supreme Court term. The administration filed a fourth DACA petition at the high court in May, after the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld one of the injunctions against DACA repeal. This time, the Department of Justice asked the Court to put the petition on the fast track…

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University of Minnesota Has Been Offering Scholarships and Financial Aid to Illegal Immigrants Since 2013

Anthony Gockowski

  Minnesota high school graduates who are in the country illegally but meet “certain criteria” are eligible for in-state tuition rates, financial aid, and scholarships at the University of Minnesota. Campus Reform recently exposed the story, though the policy has actually been in place since 2013, when the Minnesota Legislature passed its Minnesota Dream Act. According to Minnesota’s Office of Higher Education, students in the country illegally can qualify for in-state tuition rates, state financial aid, and privately funded scholarships provided by public schools if they meet a list of four criteria, including attendance at a Minnesota high school for at least three years and proof of graduation or a GED. Additionally, the state requires that students “provide documentation to show they have applied for lawful immigration status, but only if a federal process exists for a student to do so.” “There is currently not a federal process in place, so this documentation is not currently required,” the Office of Higher Education notes. The University of Minnesota explains on its website that the school’s Board of Regents adopted the Minnesota Dream Act as official university policy in July 2013, shortly after former Gov. Mark Dayton signed it into law. “At…

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Study: Nearly 100,000 Unauthorized Immigrants Graduate From US High Schools Per Year

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by Neetu Chandak   U.S. high schools are graduating nearly 100,000 unauthorized immigrants per year, according to a study released Wednesday. The Migration Policy Institute’s (MPI) research found 98,000 were graduating per year in 2016, an increase from 65,000 a year in 2003. California, Texas and Florida graduated 50 percent of unauthorized immigrants. The report cites several reasons for the increase in graduates like increase in illegal immigration and policies that support unauthorized immigrants to receive higher education. Unauthorized immigrants who graduated from high school used to be eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which allows children of illegal immigrants to work and study in the U.S. without getting deported. Current recipients can renew the status, but the program no longer accepts new applications. “While high school graduation represents an important milestone in the lives of many young people, these graduates will be at risk of deportation and will face severely limited opportunities to pursue further work and education,” the study said. The report studied 15 to 19-year-old unauthorized immigrants who lived in the U.S. for at least five years and who reached graduation age each year. This number came out to be 125,000. Graduation rates…

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Illegal Immigrant With Criminal Record Sexually Abused Minnesota Senior Center Patient

Anthony Gockowski

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed Wednesday that a 23-year-old man accused of sexually abusing a resident of a St. Cloud senior center is in the country illegally. ICE issued an immigration detainer and administrative arrest warrant against Jesus Manzanilla-Alvarado after responding to a call from St. Benedict’s Center where he was employed. Manzanilla-Alvarado later admitted to having sexual contact with a female resident in the home over a period of two weeks. According to a criminal complaint filed against Manzanilla-Alvarado with the Minnesota Department of Health and obtained by The St. Cloud Times, he spent an “inordinate amount of time with” the woman and was accused of touching her genitals while masturbating. Manzanilla-Alvarado faces charges of gross misdemeanor mistreatment of residents or patients, and gross misdemeanor criminal sexual abuse of a vulnerable adult by a caregiver. If convicted and sentenced, Manzanilla-Alvarado would likely face deportation after he’s released. But according to ICE spokesman Shawn Neudauer of the agency’s St. Paul field office, this isn’t the first time Manzanilla-Alvarado has faced criminal charges. In fact, he has a “criminal history” that includes “numerous misdemeanor convictions,” Neudauer told The Minnesota Sun. One of those convictions seems to include a 2015…

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Commentary: Trump Offered Compromise, Pelosi Offered Nothing

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by Harlan Hill   In the 35 days of the longest federal government shutdown in history, President Trump again showed himself to be the only one interested in compromising, the only one interested in securing the border, and the only one trying to make a deal. In the last of his major national addresses on the Democrat-created border impasse, the president offered the opposing party big wins on immigration that they’ve been seeking for years. In exchange, he asked for common sense border security measures, many of which Democrats themselves supported at various times in the recent past. That’s how serious the president was about getting the humanitarian and security crisis at the border resolved. But as she did with every offer from him, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) scornfully rejected President Trump’s attempt at compromise. This time she did it before he even spoke. As the effective leader of one of the country’s major parties, that’s her right. But she can’t then claim to be interested in compromise or solutions. Her refusal to consider the president’s proposals, especially in the absence of any counter-offer, increasingly appears calculated solely to deny President Trump a political victory, but it has very…

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New York to Spend Millions Putting Dreamers Through College

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by Jason Hopkins   New York state lawmakers approved a measure that aims to dole out millions in taxpayer-funded aid to Dreamers — who entered the country illegally — attending college. The now-Democratic controlled New York state legislature on Wednesday passed the Dream Act, legislation that would make thousands of Dreamers eligible for financial aid to attend public colleges in the state. The bill, which has attracted praise from Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, would cost $27 million. The measure is “a slap in the face for all the hardworking taxpayers who play the rules and struggle for the costs of a college education,” Republican state Sen. Daphne Jordan said of the bill. Jordan was joined by other Republican state legislators in criticism of the Dream Act, who argued it would unfairly take money away from legal residents who struggle to pay their college tuition. The bill had been introduced in the New York legislature before, but Republican control of the state Senate had prevented it from moving forward — until Democrats gained control of both chamber after the 2018 midterms. “We do this as a symbol that you will be guaranteed an education and that the door to…

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Liz Cheney: Pelosi ‘Commandeered The House’ on the DACA Issue She’s Now Voting Against

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by Molly Prince   The third-ranking House Republican, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, slammed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday for opposing proposals that she recently supported as a way to resist negotiating with President Donald Trump. “It’s very difficult to understand when you’ve got the president’s proposal that obviously includes money for the border wall, also includes an extension for the DACA folks, also includes an extension for TPS. Those are issues, DACA in particular, that Speaker Pelosi, she commandeered the floor of the House of Representatives for eight hours less than a year ago on particularly this issue of helping to ensure that people that are here, the so-called dreamers, are not deported,” Cheney told Chuck Todd while on “Meet The Press.” “For [Pelosi] now to simply reject out of hand when the president actually has said ‘okay let’s look at ways we can come closer,’ it shows you they’re just not interested in negotiating,” Cheney continued. The Republican-led House passed a stopgap funding bill on Dec. 20 that included appropriations to construct a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. However, with a 51-seat majority, Senate Republicans fell short of the necessary 60 votes needed to send it to Trump’s desk for signature. Senate…

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Pelosi Rejects Trump’s Shutdown Offer, Minnesota Democrats Fall in Line

Anthony Gockowski

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) rejected President Donald Trump’s offer Saturday to provide temporary protections for DACA recipients in exchange for border-wall cash, and Minnesota’s congressional delegation promptly followed suit. “Democrats were hopeful that the president was finally willing to re-open government and proceed with a much-needed discussion to protect the border. Unfortunately, initial reports make clear that his proposal is a compilation of several previously rejected initiatives, each of which is unacceptable and in total do no represent a good faith effort to restore certainty to people’s lives,” Pelosi said in a statement, which was released before Trump delivered his remarks. Pelosi called Trump’s proposal a “non-starter,” taking issue with the fact that it didn’t “include the permanent solution for the Dreamers and TPS [Temporary Protected Status] recipients that our country needs and supports.” Minnesota’s DFLers fell in line Saturday afternoon, saying they wouldn’t negotiate on border security until the government reopens. “While I welcome many elements of the president’ proposal, negotiations cannot begin during a shutdown,” Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN-03) wrote on Twitter. “I believe a bipartisan deal can be reached that satisfies our need for enhanced border security and immigration reform, but government must be reopened for that…

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Commentary: Trump Is Right, Congress Needs to Do Its Job

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by Rachel Bovard   As the partial government shutdown enters its third week with little hope of an end in sight, President Trump continues to demand funding for a southern border wall. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) flat out refuses to pass any funding at all. In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has washed his hands of the matter, telling Trump to work it out with Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) while he moves the Senate onto other topics. Predictably, both chambers clocked out for the weekend on Thursday afternoon. When senators and House members make the rounds on the upcoming Sunday shows wringing their hands about the shutdown, somebody might ask why they only worked less than three days this week. Apparently, the crisis at the border, and the resulting government shutdown, are an emergency to everyone except the people responsible for addressing it. In the face of congressional intransigence, President Trump has toyed with the idea of declaring a national emergency. On Friday, the president said that option was currently off the table, and with good reason. Although funding the wall through an emergency declaration is likely legal, it would create more problems for the president than it solves, both politically and practically.…

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Trump Predicts DACA Will Bring Hispanic Voters ‘Over to the Republican Side’ Amid Shutdown Stalemate

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by Evie Fordham   President Donald Trump predicted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) could become a larger factor in his border wall funding fight during a flurry of tweets Sunday morning. “Democrats are saying that DACA is not worth it and don’t want to include in talks,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Many Hispanics will be coming over to the Republican side, watch!” Democrats are saying that DACA is not worth it and don’t want to include in talks. Many Hispanics will be coming over to the Republican side, watch! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 13, 2019 Trump continued to call out Democrats for punting on negotiations to end the shutdown, perhaps referring to the roughly 30 Democratic lawmakers reportedly attending a retreat with lobbyists in Puerto Rico, according to the Washington Examiner. “I’m in the White House, waiting. The Democrats are everywhere but Washington as people await their pay. They are having fun and not even talking!” he wrote. I’m in the White House, waiting. The Democrats are everywhere but Washington as people await their pay. They are having fun and not even talking! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 13, 2019 Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans need to “abandon”…

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Commentary: Democrat Excess Leads to New and Improved Trump in 2019

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Donald Trump

by Jeffrey A. Rendall   Predictions. It’s what New Year’s is all about. It goes without saying that 2018 was full of surprises. Heading into this year Republican majorities in both houses of Congress had just passed a massive reorganization of the federal tax code, including a sizeable tax cut for most Americans in the bill language. By January 1, Democrats were already griping about reduced rates for corporations and businesses, claiming, as they always do, that the benefits of the new law would rain down disproportionately on the wealthiest and most powerful taxpayers. Never mind that many, many companies had already announced sizeable end-of-the-year bonuses and raises for employees based on the improved future tax outlook. Nonetheless, Democrats were convinced the popularity of the new law would not improve (especially if they demagogued the matter) over the course of time. Democrats believed they could parlay President Donald Trump’s lukewarm favorability numbers into a “wave” in November. After all, they’d just been eminently successful in stealing a senate seat in deep red Alabama (with a huge assist from the Washington GOP establishment), so the sky was the limit, right? Last month’s election came and went, Democrats gained 40 seats in…

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Ellison Names Outspoken Anti-Trump Immigration Lawyer As Second in Command

Anthony Gockowski

Attorney General-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN) announced Friday that he has named John Keller to serve as his chief deputy attorney general. Keller currently oversees the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, a vehemently anti-Trump non-profit that provides legal services to illegal aliens and refugees. According to a press release from Ellison’s transition team, Keller began working at the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM) in 1998 as a staff attorney, and has served as its executive director since 2005. “In that time, he has transformed ILCM from a small, regional legal-services organization with five staff to Minnesota’s leading provider of free, high-quality, and comprehensive legal, policy, and education services with five offices statewide, 32 employees—a majority of whom are from immigrant, refugee, or mixed-family backgrounds—more than 350 trained pro bono attorneys, and a statewide and national reputation,” the press release explains. Keller and the ILCM have become outspoken critics of the Trump administration and its immigration polices, and have repeatedly taken actions to thwart Trump’s agenda in Minnesota. Last December, for instance, Keller helped secure $250,000 in taxpayer funds from Hennepin County to launch a legal defense fund for county residents facing deportation. The fund was criticized by Republican gubernatorial candidate…

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Trump Administration Returns to Supreme Court, Seeking End to DACA

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by Kevin Daley   The Trump administration returned to the U.S. Supreme Court Monday night seeking to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, an Obama-era amnesty initiative that extends protected status to illegal aliens brought to the U.S. as children. The move is aggressive and unusual, as decisions on Trump’s efforts to rescind DACA are still pending in several federal appeals courts, and the justices seldom take up cases before those judgments issue. But the U.S. Department of Justice told the Supreme Court Monday that action is needed in the near term. The Trump administration previously sought the Supreme Court’s review of its efforts to phase out DACA. After two federal judges issued injunctions requiring the government to continue administering the program, the Justice Department bypassed normal appellate procedure and went directly to the Supreme Court on January 18 to vindicate its right to terminate the program. The justices rejected that request on Feb. 26, but asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to quickly process the case so it could return to the high court in a reasonable timeframe. Other challenges to DACA repeal efforts are currently before appeals courts in New York and Washington, D.C. “It…

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Federal Judge Will Continue Accepting DACA Applications Despite Believing The Program Is Illegal

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Andrew Hanen

by Molly Prince   A federal judge in Texas announced Friday that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program can continue to accept applications and operate as written despite it likely violating federal law. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen rejected the request by seven states to issue an injunction and promptly discontinue the DACA program. Hanen asserted that while he understands the program is presumably unlawful and will ultimately be struck down if challenged in his own court, he kept DACA in place as the appeal continues, reported CNN. “Here, the egg has been scrambled,” Hanen wrote. “To try to put it back in the shell with only a preliminary injunction record, and perhaps at great risk to many, does not make sense nor serve the best interest of this country.” The states – Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia – filed the lawsuit arguing that DACA could only be established by the legislative branch and by circumventing congress, the program was thereby unconstitutional, according to The Washington Post. Hanen reiterated his belief in the unlawfulness of DACA as enacted by former President Barack Obama but emphasized the necessity of the program itself. “DACA is a popular…

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Sessions Stands Strong In Defense Of Terminating DACA

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Tennessee Star

by Molly Prince   Attorney General Jeff Sessions slammed a ruling Monday handed down from a U.S. district court, fully reinstating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Sessions blasted the decision in a statement, saying that the Obama administration “violated its duty to enforce our immigration laws by directing and implementing a categorical, multipronged non-enforcement immigration policy for a massive group of illegal aliens.” He further stated that the executive branch is well within its right to rescind a policy that was established by an Obama-era executive order, and that it has a commitment to do so. “We have recently witnessed a number of decisions in which courts have improperly used judicial power to steer, enjoin, modify, and direct executive policy,” Sessions wrote. “This ignores the wisdom of our Founders and transfers policy making questions from the constitutionally empowered and politically accountable branches to the judicial branch.  It also improperly undermines this Administration’s ability to protect our nation, its borders, and its citizens.” Sessions asserted that the White House will “aggressively defend” its judgment to dissolve the DACA program, which prevented enrolled illegal aliens from deportation if they were brought to the United States as minors. – – –…

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‘Undocumented Immigrant’ Is a Made-Up Term That Ignores the Law

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Border Patrol arrest illegal aliens

by Hans von Spakovsky   The news media is reporting that an internal email at the Justice Department has reminded its lawyers that the legally correct term they should be using in their briefs is “illegal alien,” not the euphemism “undocumented immigrant.” The Justice Department leadership is correct. Illegal alien is the correct legal term that should be used. “Undocumented immigrant” is a politically correct, made-up term adopted by pro-illegal alien advocacy groups and liberal media outlets to obscure the fact that such aliens have violated U.S. immigration law and are in the country illegally. Precision in the law is a vital principle, since the exact words used in statutes, regulations, contracts, guidance documents, and policy statements can significantly affect how they are applied and interpreted. If we are going to discuss and debate the issue of immigration and what our public policy should be, we should at least use accurate, precise terms, and talk about, for example, legal aliens vs. illegal aliens. Government lawyers in particular have an obligation to use the correct language of the federal statutes they are sworn to uphold and enforce. Federal immigration law uses the term “illegal alien.” For example, 8 U.S.C. §1365 is a provision that deals with…

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Three GOP Gubernatorial Candidates Say Uphold the Constitution, But Tennessee Attorney General Disagrees and Randy Boyd Is Silent

Chris Alto
Bill Lee, Diane Black, Herbert Slatery

This past May, seven states, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, sued the federal government to stop Obama’s unconstitutional DACA administrative amnesty program once and for all. To date, Tennessee’s Attorney General Herbert Slatery has not joined the lawsuit. In fact, it appears that Slatery has done an about face choosing instead to support amnesty and a path to citizenship for DREAMER illegal aliens. The Tennessee Star asked each GOP gubernatorial candidate whether as governor would they support having Tennessee join the other states suing to challenge “whether the 2012 executive action unilaterally creating DACA was itself lawful” as stated in the lawsuit? Speaker Harwell responded that she would support the lawsuit. Bill Lee’s campaign spokesman responded: As Mr. Lee stated in the June 20 debate regarding his support of deploying national guard troops to border ‘we cannot be a nation without borders. We are a part of this nation and we should commit our resources to defending the border.’ The same goes for legal resources. Mr. Lee would join this lawsuit to defend our constitution and enforce the rule of law. Diane Black’s campaign spokesman stated affirmatively that Diane “absolutely would join the lawsuit” and that as Diane has…

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Commentary: Rep Jim Jordan Exposes Speaker Paul Ryan’s Dirty Little Secret on Amnesty Vote

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Jim Jordan, Paul Ryan

by CHQ Staff   Principled limited government constitutional conservative Representative Jim Jordan was on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday morning and he exposed a dirty little secret that the establishment would like to hide from the 70+ percent of Americans who want the strict immigration enforcement that President Trump promised during the 2016 campaign. What Rep. Jordan said was this: “…if our leadership had put the same whip effort behind that immigration legislation, Chairman Goodlette’s legislation, it would have passed.” The legislation to which Jordan referred is H.R. 4760, the Securing America’s Future Act often referred to as “the Goodlatte bill.” The bill was introduced in January by Chairman Goodlatte, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), House Judiciary Committee Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Labrador (R-Idaho) to bolster enforcement of existing immigration law, makes important reforms to our legal immigration programs, secure the border, and provide a legislative solution for the current beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The Goodlatte bill was far from perfect, but it earned the support of many conservatives because it came the closest to covering all four pillars of President Trump’s immigration reform plan: building the Wall, ending chain…

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Texas AG Paxton Files Seven-State Lawsuit Against Feds To End DACA

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 by Will Racke   Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday in a bid to force the termination of a program that gives younger illegal immigrants a reprieve from deportation, saying the Obama-era amnesty is outside the scope of executive authority. Six other states joined Paxton’s lawsuit challenging the constitutional muster of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Trump had intended to wind down DACA by March 5, but several federal court decisions have forced immigration authorities to continue issuing work permits under the program. “Our lawsuit is about the rule of law, not the wisdom of any particular immigration policy,” Paxton said in a statement. “Texas has argued for years that the federal executive branch lacks the power to unilaterally grant unlawfully present aliens lawful presence and work authorization. Left intact, DACA sets a dangerous precedent by giving the executive branch sweeping authority to ignore the laws enacted by Congress and change our nation’s immigration laws to suit a president’s own policy preferences.” Although the lawsuit names Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Thomas Homan as defendants, it is actually intended to assist the Trump administration’s…

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Brown University Offers ‘Tuition-Free’ Master’s Degree to DACA Recipients

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by Chrissy Clark   Brown University plans to offer “tuition-free” master’s degree programs to beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals if the federal government ends the Obama administration protections. DACA, an executive action implemented by then-President Barack Obama, authorized renewable two-year deferrals of deportation along with eligibility for work permits for illegal immigrants brought to this country as children. President Donald Trump sought to phase out the program and asked Congress to decide by law what to do about the roughly 800,000 DACA recipients and others like them. “Should DACA be eliminated, we will create in-school and postgraduate opportunities for students unable to work legally to engage in stipend-supported research and education that is not citizenship-dependent,” Richard Locke, Brown University’s provost, said in a statement published on Today@Brown. The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution.  Find out more >> In the same post, Locke announced that the private Ivy League university in Providence, Rhode Island, will offer tuition-free, fifth-year master’s programs for eligible 2018 graduates. “Admitted students would receive a stipend and health insurance,” he said. Brown also offers to cover the $495 DACA renewal fee, “if renewal is an option,” as…

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Illegal Immigrants in Tennessee Can Already Get Cheaper College Tuition Than What is Proposed in Gardenhire/White Bill

Chris Alto
Graduation

State Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) and State Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) have failed three times to pass a bill that would award the in-state tuition benefit to illegal aliens but they are trying again this legislative session using the same argument about financial accessibility of in-state v. out-of-state tuition. A less expensive college tuition, however, is already available to illegal aliens and, it doesn’t require passing the Gardenhire/White bill. University of the People (UoPeople) offers completely free “quality, online, degree-granting educational programs to any qualified student” including refugees, asylum seekers and illegal aliens: Founded in 2009, University of the People is the first non-profit, tuition-free, accredited American online university. To date, the university has enrolled nearly 10,000 students from more than 200 countries and territories around the world – almost half of whom reside in the US. Recently, the university has seen a significant spike in enrollment from immigrants in the US, among those, refugees, DACA and undocumented students. According to a recent student survey, 69% of US-residing students reported being immigrants, of whom, approximately 30% are DACA or undocumented. ‘It is our duty to support anyone who wants to improve their lives through education,’ says [UoPeople founder] Reshef. ‘We…

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Commentary: How To Make Nancy Pelosi Speaker Of The House

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by CHQ Staff   Multiple establishment media outlets are reporting that White House officials have told key Republican leaders on Capitol Hill that President Trump is open to cutting a deal in an upcoming spending bill to protect young immigrants from deportation in exchange for border wall funding, according to four GOP officials briefed on the talks. This possible change in policy would be a significant cave-in for Trump, who, as The Washington Post’s Mike DeBonis and Josh Dawsey remind us,  in January insisted on a much broader package of immigration restrictions in exchange for any protections for the so-called “dreamers” –  the illegal aliens brought to the United States illegally as children, some of whom have been protected under Obama’s unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that Trump rightly canceled in September. The immigration framework that Trump issued in January called for $25 billion in wall funding, alongside changes to immigration law that would curtail two key pathways for legal immigrants by ending the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, which distributes 50,000 visas a year through a lottery system, and by scaling back family-based immigration rules. In exchange, Trump proposed offering legal status and an eventual pathway to citizenship for…

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Uncertain Future for Illegal ‘Dreamer’ Immigrants as ‘Deadline’ Passes

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The hopes of hundreds of thousands of “Dreamers” were on hold Monday as lawmakers missed an initial deadline for resolving the fate of immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that shields nearly 700,000 of the immigrants from deportation was supposed to expire on March 5, six months after President Donald Trump announced he was ending it.

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California Sues DOJ Over Funding Cuts to ‘Sanctuary States’

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Tennessee Star

The state of California sued the Department of Justice Wednesday to force the release of records relating to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ order to withhold funding from so-called sanctuary states. California is one of several sanctuary jurisdictions—but the first state—to file a lawsuit relating to Sessions’ order to tie federal grants to immigration compliance.

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Republican State Senator Todd Gardenhire Re-Re-Re-Files Bill to Grant In-State Tuition Benefits to Illegal Alien Students

Christina Botteri
Gardenhire White

State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) filed bill SB2263 Thursday which would grant in-state tuition discount benefits to illegal alien students. Dubbed ‘Tuition Opportunity,’ the measure was unsurprisingly co-sponsored by the Chattanooga-area lawmaker’s friend and ally, State Representative Mark White (R-Memphis), who filed HB2429, a state house version of the same bill. The bills’ summary reads: Education, Higher – As introduced, exempts certain students from paying out-of-state tuition at state institutions of higher education. – Amends TCA Section 4-58-102; Title 49, Chapter 7; Title 49, Chapter 8 and Title 49, Chapter 9. This year will be the fourth time the duo has sought to extend the education benefits. In 2015, the proposal passed the state Senate and failed in the state House by a single vote. Gardenhire and White tried again in 2016, where is failed to pass out of committee, despite and emotion discussion leading up to the vote. Last year, in 2017, they tried yet again, and the proposal did not make out it of committee. Nashville-based refugee, immigrant, and illegal alien advocacy group, the Tennessee Immigrant and Refuge Rights Coalition (TIRRC) celebrated the bill’s introduction with a statement: For months, we’ve been fighting to defend DACA and to fight for Dream Act…

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Trump Asks Supreme Court to Overturn 9th Circuit Decision to Reinstate DACA

Tennessee Star Staff

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court Tuesday to overturn this month’s stunning ruling by a lower court that found the Obama-era DACA deportation amnesty legal – yet also ruled the Trump administration’s effort to phase out the program was illegal. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the ruling “defies both law and common sense,” and said they’re asking the justices to hear the case directly, skipping over the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which would be the normal path.

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Sen. Lamar Alexander Wants an Amnesty Immigration Bill Like the One He Voted For in 2013

Chris Alto

Pro-American immigration groups want voters to tell legislators in Washington that no amnesty fix for illegal aliens whose parents brought them to the U.S. illegally and who later received deferred deportation under Obama’s unconstitutional DACA program can be considered, if at all, until after certain fixes are made to the immigration system. And the same thing goes for any form of a “DREAM Act” to help an even larger group of illegal aliens. Activists that want immigration reform that makes Americans’ interests the priority, say that any Congressional action must first terminate the visa lottery program, end chain migration, increase interior enforcement and fund the border wall. Tennesseans who have delivered the “no amnesty” message to Sen. Lamar Alexander’s office, however, are being told that Lamar’s priority is to help illegal aliens by reviving the ‘Gang of Eight’ amnesty bill which he voted for in 2013: Dear , Thanks very much for getting in touch with me and letting me know what’s on your mind regarding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. On September 5, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Homeland Security was ending the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The DACA program was…

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Commentary: Don’t Believe the Hype Behind the Low Immigration Numbers

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by Printus LeBlanc   Every day the mainstream media is hysterical about the DACA, the Dreamers (because American kids aren’t allowed to have dreams), and Amnesty. They will spit out numbers and shady poll results trying to paint a rosy picture of illegal immigration. But a small amount of research will show they are spitting out lies to achieve the desired outcome, the importation of millions of progressive voters. To quote a famous rap group, “Don’t Believe the Hype.” One of the biggest lies being told about immigration is how many illegal immigrants are in the country. The media often touts the 11-12 million number put out by the Census Bureau. The Census Bureau reaches the number through a flawed method. It counts on a survey done by the federal government. If we are to believe the liberal logic that illegal immigrants are “in the shadows,” then the number cannot be right because people “in the shadows” do not voluntarily speak to people working for the government. Remember, they’re “in the shadows.” The actual number is between 20-30 million illegal immigrants. The figure comes from a report titled The Underground Labor Force Is Rising To The Surface. The report was put together in 2005…

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CNN’s Tapper Silent as Kasich Makes Dubious DACA Deportation Claim

Tennessee Star Staff

Jake Tapper of CNN allowed Ohio Gov. John Kasich to claim without challenge on Friday that agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency are deporting “thousands” of so-called dreamers under President Donald Trump. Tapper had the “NeverTrump” Republican on his Friday afternoon show, CNN’s “The Lead,” when Kasich made the claim.

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Mae Beavers Rejects Democrat and Republican Leadership’s ‘Amnesty First’ Demands

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In light of Democrats – and some Republicans – push for “amnesty now, reforms later,” gubernatorial hopeful Mae Beavers issued a statement Tuesday reiterating her support of President Trump’s plans to secure the nation’s borders, as well as implement critical reforms to the immigration system including ending the practice of so-called “chain migration” and the Visa lottery, making mandatory the use of the federally run E-Verify by every employer in America. “The cornerstone of President Trump’s campaign was to secure our border and stop the flood of illegal immigrants into our country,” Beavers pointed out. “Millions of Americans voted for him based on that campaign promise alone, and I have every confidence that President Trump intends to fulfill his promise,” adding: I encourage the Tennessee Congressional delegation to stand solidly with President Trump in rejecting any and all attempts to water down his campaign promises with some sort of ‘we will get to border security later’ scheme. Congress has promised to secure our border AFTER we grant certain levels of amnesty before. We always get the amnesty…but never the increased border security and enforcement of our immigration laws. I am calling on our entire Tennessee Senate and Congressional delegation to make it…

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Commentary: The DACA Lovefest at The White House

Tennessee Star Staff

by George Rasley, ConservativeHQ.com Editor   It was great to see President Trump at the top of his game yesterday; completely in charge as he stage-managed a White House meeting with congressional leaders. The often-recalcitrant Republicans came across as the President’s docile supporters and the Democrats looked completely flummoxed by an in-command Donald Trump. The only bad thing about the meeting – and make no mistake it is very bad – was that the whole meeting was about how to grant amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens that Obama attempted to legalize through his unconstitutional Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. We tend to agree with author and conservative commentator Ann Coulter, who, in a series of tweets and interviews, denounced President Trump’s apparent willingness to make a deal to allow so-called DREAMers to remain in the country. Coulter called out Trump for his squishy language about the wall and for expressing a willingness to work with Democrats on DACA. Three of Coulter’s tweets nailed our take: “But don’t worry! There will be “border security”! (Political euphemism for: You’re not getting wall.)” And: “This DACA lovefest confirms a main thesis of Michael Wolff’s book: When Bannon left. liberal…

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Bob Corker Once Told Other Senators That Illegal Immigration Isn’t ‘Fair to American Citizens’

Chris Alto

In 2007, when Bob Corker went to D.C. as the newly elected junior Senator from Tennessee he was openly against illegal immigration until he switched over while trying to save the 2013 “Gang of Eight” amnesty bill. During debate on the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007,” that would have ended chain migration, instituted a system of merit-based immigration, increased border security and interior enforcement, Corker said that to be “fair to American citizens,” illegal aliens should have to leave the country and then re-enter through legal channels: One of the things we are trying to address in this bill is a situation where our immigration has been broken, the system has been broken for many years. In 1986, legislation was offered to try to solve this problem. What has happened is it has gotten even worse, so there has been, obviously, more thought put into this bill. I appreciate again the many amendments and the discussion that has taken place. Many of the things we have talked about have addressed the legalities, have addressed some of the technicalities in our immigration system. It seems to me, one of the things we have not addressed—while we have tried to address fairness…

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State Senator Todd Gardenhire Considering Renewal of In-State Tuition Push for Illegal Aliens, Despite Poll Showing Widespread Opposition

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State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) is considering another try at getting in-state tuition for illegal aliens, despite a recent Tennessee Star Poll released just before Christmas that shows likely Republican primary voters oppose the proposal by an astounding 88 percent to 6 percent margin. (See question 12 on page 3 below.) [pdf-embedder url=”https://tennesseestar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/171219-Triton-Dec-2017-TN-Star-GOP-Primary-Survey-Topline-Results.pdf” title=”171219 Triton – Dec 2017 TN Star GOP Primary Survey – Topline Results”] The Tennessee General Assembly is set to reconvene at noon, January 9, and the Chattanooga-area legislator told the Times Free Press he hasn’t yet “tested the waters” to see if there has been any significant movement by the state’s lawmakers toward granting the significant discounts to would-be students whose legal status is dubious, at best. One reason for Gardenhire’s hesitation to push for the measure likely stems from the fact that every gubernatorial candidate has come out against the proposal, which he says “surprised” him. “Mark White and I need to sit down and talk about it,” Gardenhire said to the Times Free Press. “So we’ll have to see what the temperature is before we sit down and try to take that on.” The proposal passed the state Senate on 2015, but failed in the state House by a single vote.…

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Donald Trump Accuses Democrats of Endangering U.S. Citizens with Demand for Amnesty in Spending Bill

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President Trump pressured congressional Democrats Saturday to drop their demands for amnesty for young illegal immigrants as part of a year-end spending deal, saying their insistence on protecting illegals is part of a liberal mindset that led to the death of Kate Steinle in San Francisco. “Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress not only oppose our efforts to…

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Dreamers Tried to Disrupt the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as People Cheered

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DemocracySpring/Twitter The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade got a taste of politics on Thursday as a group of people broke through barriers and sat in the middle of the parade route. The protesters wore shirts that showed they were protesting in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The “Dreamers” — named after the…

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Commentary: Republicans Hold the Key to Their Own Success in the 2018 Midterm Elections

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by Jeffrey A. Rendall   Now that 2017’s few elections and reflections on the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s triumphant win in the 2016 election are in the rearview mirror it’s time to look ahead to the all-important midterm elections of 2018. Midterms are always a big deal because they portend to reveal how well – or how poorly – a president is received by a wide cross-section of the American public. Ahead of next year’s vote media pundits are doing what media pundits always do, namely find any way feasible to describe the Republican Party as being in trouble. Their routines are predictable: wake up in the morning, put on a pot of coffee, take their anti-depressant medication, check Trump’s twitter feed, organize their angry thoughts and then scribble a story bashing Trump and predicting doom. In Trump’s case it’s been happening for well over two years now so liberal journalists have the shtick down cold. The only problem is their predictions rarely come true. Other commentators actually look at the facts and try to draw some reasoned conclusions. David M. Drucker and W. James Antle III of the Washington Examiner wrote earlier this week, “One year out from the midterm congressional…

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