Obama and McCain to get together in Chicago to talk cooperation

Wall Street Journal Nov 17, 08 8:38 AM CST
(Newser)
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Meeting today in Chicago to bury the hatchet, Barack Obama and John McCain could each be of considerable use to the other, the Wall Street Journal notes. Working together, McCain could get his maverick groove back, and Obama could get help on these key areas: Auto efficiency: McCain has worked with Obama ally John Kerry in the past on this priority for the new president.
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Obama appears likely to capture important bloc in a landslide

Politico Oct 10, 08 1:42 PM CDT
(Newser)
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With a record of immigration reform, John McCain once appeared a near-lock for the Hispanic vote—but the bloc is instead turning to Barack Obama, Politico reports. McCain is hovering around 26%, nowhere near Bush's historic 40% in the last election. Not only is McCain not getting credit for his prior support of reform, he's being associated with the GOP's general anti-immigration sentiment, thanks in part to Democratic ads.
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Dems, advocates call ad misleading, say
Mac opposed it himself

Los Angeles Times Sep 18, 08 3:58 PM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain is accusing Barack Obama of trying to kill an immigration overhaul that both candidates supported, reports the Los Angeles Times . McCain is running a Spanish-language ad attacking Obama for undermining the immigration bill. He has also criticized the Democrat for supporting amendments “that would have killed the legislation.” But the director of an immigration group calls McCain’s attack “stunning in its misrepresentation.”
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OPINION
Bush has 'lowered my standards'

New Republic Jul 17, 08 2:23 PM CDT
(Newser)
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“What can I say?” writes left-leaning Jonathan Chait in revealing his continued affection for John McCain. “Bush has lowered my standards.” Remember, McCain was once “the country’s foremost progressive champion”—battling the religious right and tax cuts while pushing immigration and anti-global warming advances. And while the old McCain is gone—having tacked hard to the right—Chait clings to an “affinity for the old codger.”
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Without college degree, Gates wouldn't qualify for visa aimed to bring skilled labor

Bloomberg Jul 16, 08 4:19 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Strict new immigration rules aimed at attracting highly skilled workers to Britain would keep tech icons Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Michael Dell from getting top-tier visas, Bloomberg notes, because they don't have college degrees. "It's a dumbing-down,'' one opponent says. "If you're a 20-something American with a bachelor's degree and you earn [$52,000] a year, you're a high-skilled migrant. You can come in, but Bill Gates can't.''
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Number naturalized soared 50% in 2007

Los Angeles Times Jul 11, 08 1:45 PM CDT
(Newser)
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In 2007, while the US hotly debated immigration reform, the number of Mexican-born immigrants who became American citizens skyrocketed, the LA Times reports. Experts attribute the jump—122,000 people took the oath, 84,000 more than in 2006—largely to an aggressive pro-citizenship campaign and a desire to beat steep fee increases. Applications rose about 50%, to 1.4 million, in the same period.
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OPINION
He's talking up reform, backing away from promises that won him the nomination

The Hill Jul 10, 08 7:10 PM CDT
(Newser)
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By John McCain’s own admission, his embrace of immigration reform nearly sunk his candidacy in the early primaries, writes Byron York in the Hill . But after saving his hide with a swing to the right and a pledge to "secure the border first" (a “legitimate flip-flop,” York specifies), the pendulum is moving leftward again. McCain recently told a Latino audience that comprehensive reform “will be my top priority yesterday, today, and tomorrow.”
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Some states now responding to employers' need for low-cost labor

New York Times Jul 6, 08 6:57 AM CDT
(Newser)
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As state and federal authorities crack down on illegal immigration, businesses are fighting back, the New York Times reports. Employers, stung by aggressive new measures that would revoke the licenses of those found to have hired illegals, say their very existence is threatened. A few states are responding to the fears, and revising or rejecting tougher immigration laws.
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Activists call for end to deportations, better access to health care

Associated Press May 1, 08 6:15 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Immigrants and activists took to the streets by the thousands across the US today to put immigration reform back on the election agenda, the AP reports. In Chicago, 15,000 called for an end to deportations and better access to education, and big rallies also took place in DC, Miami, LA, and Tucson. This May Day turnout, however, didn't appear to rival the 1 million protesters who turned out nationwide in 2006.
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State aims to make temporary labor faster, easier; measure could be national model

Christian Science Monitor Mar 31, 08 10:31 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Arizona is working on its own guest-worker program, hoping to supply state farmers with labor—and serve as a model for the rest of the country in the process, the Christian Science Monitor reports. But though top lawmakers are behind the measure, getting permission from the federal government—whose own guest-worker program is notoriously clunky—won’t be easy.
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Foresees better times
for immigrants under new administration

Los Angeles Times Feb 8, 08 3:03 AM CST
(Newser)
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Mexican President Felipe Calderon expects the next US administration to bring a “broader and more comprehensive view” to immigration, providing immigrants a path to legalization, he told the Los Angeles Times . For Calderon, Super Tuesday was heartening. “The most radical and anti-immigrant candidates have been left behind,” he said. They’ve been “put in their place by their own electorate.”
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Bush plan to ease visa requirements draws fire from both sides of debate

Los Angeles Times Feb 6, 08 11:11 AM CST
(Newser)
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With immigration reform having failed in Congress, the Bush administration is today unveiling a plan aimed at boosting the US guest-worker program. President Bush's plan would simplify the much-derided bureaucratic program, providing a reliable source of legal workers to replace illegal immigrants. But anti-immigration groups say the changes will cost Americans jobs, and pro-immigrant advocates say it’ll reduce already-low wages.
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Rush to beat fee hike has wait at 18 months

Boston Globe Jan 25, 08 5:40 PM CST
(Newser)
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Over one million immigrants will have to wait up to 18 months before become US citizens due to a massive bureaucratic backlog nationwide. Applications surged last summer ahead of a fee increase of nearly 75%, the Boston Globe reports, helping create the paper jam. Before the increase, the average immigrant waited six months to be processed.
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