This Week in Immigration Reform — Week Ending October 30
Week Ending October 30
This week in immigration: NCLR participates in American Constitution Society event on 1965 Immigration Act; NC Governor signs anti-immigrant bill despite pushback across the state; and still waiting for a decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
NCLR senior advisor participates in event on 1965 immigration act: Earlier this week, Charles Kamasaki, NCLR Senior Advisor, moderated a panel discussion hosted by the American Constitution Society and the Economic Policy Institute. The expert panel discussed the legacy of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. Earlier this month marked the 50th anniversary of the legislation that opened immigration to the U.S. to people who had previously been excluded. A video of the panel discussion is available on the ACS website.
Despite pushback from across the state, North Carolina governor signs HB 318: Previous updates reported that the North Carolina legislature had passed HB 318, legislation that would ban North Carolina cities from adopting community trust policies and prohibit government officials from accepting consular identification. Earlier this week, Governor Pat McCrory signed the bill despite opposition from groups across the state including NCLR Affiliates, El Pueblo, El Centro Hispano, and the Latin American Coalition. Angeline Echeverria, Executive Director of El Pueblo, said to The Huffington Post: “In the medium to long term we’re looking at repeal, what are our possibilities of mobilizing a lot of voters in the election to make sure that the people who are running for office understand how important an issue this is to our communities and they take that into account.”
5TH Circuit Court of Appeals still has not issued a decision on administrative relief: This week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson, spoke at the 12th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference in Washington, DC and expressed frustration that the expansion of DACA and DAPA are being held up in the courts, but said DHS will continue to defend the program. Asked about the administration’s plans to request review by the Supreme Court, he stated that they are taking it “one day at a time.” NPR has a story on the delay here and what it means for millions of families.
