Today, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL.), announced that he will be introducing a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, December 15, 2009. Congressman Gutierrez said “We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our President. The time for waiting is over. This bill will be presented before Congress recesses for the holidays so that there is no excuse for inaction in the New Year. It is the product of months of collaboration with civil rights advocates, labor organizations, and members of Congress. It is an answer to too many years of pain —mothers separated from their children, workers exploited and undermined security at the border— all caused at the hands of a broken immigration system. This bill says ‘enough,’ and presents a solution to our broken system that we as a nation of immigrants can be proud of.”

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On the heels of leaving CNN, Lou Dobbs sat down with Telemundo’s María Celeste for this interview. Celeste confronts Dobbs for the many past inflammatory remarks he made against immigrants—in particular, the insinuation that Hispanic immigrants are responsible for bringing leprosy into the United States. Watch as Dobbs backpedals and softens his harsh anti-illegal immigrant tone.

Tired of spending scant time and resources on immigration enforcement, major city police chiefs called on Congress, Wednesday, to move on comprehensive immigration reform.  Like most law enforcement officers across the country, chasing down undocumented immigrants proves to be too much of a strain when faced with real priorities like keeping violent criminals off the street.

Chief Art Acevedo of the Austin Police Department in Texas said, “It’s a matter of resources and priority. My priority is dealing with criminals and terrorism issues, not dealing with civil matters. Local law enforcement officers have said it time and time again—Congress needs to pass legislation that brings immigrants out of the shadows so that they feel safe coming forward when reporting violent crimes.

Photo by ThinkProgess.

At a c-o-n-f-e-r-e-n-c-e hosted by Pat Buchanan and the American Cause this weekend, America’s best and brightest conservative strategists discussed how Republicans could regain a majority in America. Peter Brimelow, owner of the anti-immigrant website VDare.com, suggested an English-only initiative with the aim of “winning over working class white Democrats.” The only problem with this idea is that the word “conference” on the banner hanging over their heads is misspelled: “conferenece.”

For the full story, check out ThinkProgress’s blog post.

This morning, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his dedication to comprehensive immigration reform at the Esperanza USA National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. “This promise means upholding America’s tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants,” he said. The President also gave a general outline of his immigration plan—ensuring employers don’t exploit low-income workers, requiring immigrants pay taxes, learn English and get in line to naturalize.

Today’s re-affirmation was a step forward after the President pushed back his initial White House meeting on June 17th. This morning’s speech was greeted with great expectations and anticipation that the President will uphold his June 25th meeting with lawmakers to devise plans for comprehensive immigration reform even at a time when “there’s no shortage of challenges to occupy our time.”

Politico reports that President Obama has invited members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to discuss immigration reform at the White House on June 8th.  According to Politico, an un-named administration official said:

“The meeting will be an opportunity to launch a policy conversation that we hope will be able to start a debate that will take place in Congress later in the year.”

At a news conference commemorating his 100th day in office, President Obama indicated that his administration is planning on moving “full steam ahead on all fronts” on immigration reform. Obama told Telemundo reporter, Lori Montenegro, that he hopes to convene working groups to start building a framework for how immigration legislation might be shaped. Obama once again stated the need for comprehensive immigration reform that brings undocumented workers out of the shadows. He also emphasized that Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is working on making sure that the U.S. border is secured to show Americans that the government is competent in getting results in respect to the systems which are already in place. When asked when Obama hopes to see immigration reform legislation introduced, he replied “I’d like to see the process move this year.”

Following the White House’s first press briefing in Spanish this week, President Obama met with Mexican President, Felipe Calderon, yesterday to address the drugs and violence that threatens both sides of the border. President Obama emphasized the need for a comprehensive immigration strategy in an interview with CNN:

Immigration reform needs to be part of a comprehensive strategy that includes enforcement and border security. I have already talked to the CHC and I want to work with them so together we can shape an agenda that can be approved in Congress…This is something that we need to solve.

Today, the nation’s two major labor federations, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and Change to Win, agreed for the first time to join forces to support comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. The New York Times reports:

The accord could give President Obama significant support among unions as he revisits the stormy issue in the midst of the recession…A.F.L.-C.I.O. officials said they agreed with Change to Win leaders that, with more than seven million unauthorized immigrants already working across the nation, legalizing their status would be the most effective way to protect labor standards for all workers.

Labor’s alliance on this issue adds to increasing evidence that immigration reform and economic recovery go hand-in-hand. There is a consensus among academic and government research which shows that immigration reform that includes a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants would pay for itself in the form of increased wages, buying power, and tax contributions that would benefit all workers and businesses.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in Arizona has voted to postpone the acceptance of $1.6 million from the state to help pay for County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s controversial immigration enforcement tactics.

Observers said the decision could signal that the board is concerned by federal inquires into Arpaio’s practices, which allegedly include discrimination and racial profiling.

Given Arizona’s steep budget deficit, the Board of Supervisors is following the lead of other states like Texas, Alabama and elsewhere — where hard-line immigration tactics have been scaled-down, repealed or modified by public officials that have come to terms with the fact that the time and expense associated with implementing such policies has made their anti-immigrant position less popular among their constituents. However, Sheriff Joe Arpaio plans on continuing his immigration enforcement without the extra money — even if it comes at the high cost of his county’s safety and financial security.