A Letter to Speaker Boehner
Crystal and I wrote Speaker Boehner a letter that I wish we hadn’t had to send. His inaction on immigration reform has been incredibly disappointing, as he caves to the pressure from a relatively small group within the Republican party, my party, and does nothing....
This Veterans Day
The flags are up again. Not as many as there are around July 4th or Memorial Day, but there are some. The news outlets have ramped up coverage: stories abound about military families and at memorials around the country veterans groups mark this day with ceremonies,...
One Year Later
A year ago, Sandy tore through the New York area, leaving destruction and damage in her wake and lives upended. The subway flooded, power was out in much of the city, and life ground to a halt for millions. As Sandy was approaching, I had been in London celebrating a...
Three So Far, Who Will Be Next?
Over the past few days, we have seen them stand up for immigration reform. Representatives Steve Denham (R-CA) ,Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and David Valadao (R-CA) who have already been out in front on the need for a path to citizenship (Denham even did a YouTube...
Battling Preconceived Notions
We all have preconceived notions. We all assume things about people and their ideas and actions. I’m not a child development specialist (well, any more than any dad is), but I think it starts back in childhood, maybe because kids like it when things can be easily...
Where There Is a Will…There Is a Way
The question is whether Republicans in the House have the will to find a way to move towards immigration reform. As the current term nears the break for the holidays, the leaders in the House have about 20 or so days to dig deep into their conscience and do what is...
Shutdown and Shut Out?
It has now been two weeks since the government shut down. During that time, the media has spent a lot of time on closed national parks and Tea Party politicians storming barricades at the World War II Memorial--a recent addition to the National Mall, whose barricades...
What Will You Be Doing this Saturday?
For many, Saturday is just another ordinary day in October and just another weekend to have a barbeque with friends, go to the movies or maybe just watch college football, but for immigration advocates and stakeholders, the answer is raising their voices for the...
Harmony Rather than Discord
Reading the paper and watching the news, hearing so many of the pundits and politicians talk about immigration reform, I can almost feel them burrowing for cracks. The restrictionists have been hammering away, trying to push wedges between stakeholders, between...
Inaction is not an Option!
Last week, two House Republicans who had been trying to draft a comprehensive immigration package dropped out of bipartisan negotiations. In a joint statement, Texas Republican Reps. John Carter and Sam Johnson said that they had “reached a tipping point” in the...
