In the news today: July 16, 2007

• A New York appeals court has ruled that spouses of Chinese women affected by stringent population controls in their country do not necessarily qualify for asylum in the U.S.
• A Tulsa couple could be deported back to Mexico even though they are the parents of four American citizens.
• The Des Moines Register has a handy compilation of where GOP presidential candidates stand on immigration.
• The Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote a great news-feature on how Texas ranchers near the border feel about the border fence.
  
• John McCain's campaign staff dwindles even more.
  
• Earlier: McCain's stances on immigration, Iraq blamed for lagging campaign

Daily features: July 9, 2007

• Daily video/Candidate tracker:
  

Ron Paul, Republican presidential candidate, speaks of immigrants' "American" work ethic.

• Monday blog round-up

• John Hawkins at RightWingNews' blog looks at how illegal immigration has affected two GOP senators: Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
  
• The Council on Foreign Relations' blog compiles information on "Immigration: the Other Health Crisis".
• About.com answers FAQs on green card marriage.
  

• Cartoon of the day

Published in the Boston Globe, July 7, 2007.

McCain's stance on immigration, Iraq blamed for lagging campaign

Media across the board have been reporting that Sen. John McCain's Republican presidential nomination campaign has suffered tremendously in this past quarter. His campaign announced it had raised only $2 million, compared to the $11 million it raised in the previous three months.

"McCain for President" has fired dozens of employees and stopped paying others, including the campaign manager, who will now work for free. That campaign manager, Terry Nelson, said the lack of support is probably due in part to McCain's support of the Iraq war and S.1639, the comprehensive immigration reform bill that failed last week.

Earlier: GOP presidential candidates could lose Hispanic support in 2008 & Tuesday blog round-up

GOP presidential candidates could lose Hispanic support in 2008

As predicted in yesterday's posts, Washington news has readily moved on from immigration reform to the U.S. presidential campaigns. CBS News brings both topics together in a piece that asks if the GOP's candidates risk losing the key Hispanic vote.

The article highlights McCain as one of the few Republicans seeking the nomination who supported S.1639 and goes on to say:

Should McCain end up winning the nomination however, both he and his party may be grateful for his refusal to abandon his support for the bill.

A new USA Today/Gallup poll demonstrates why. While the Republican Party has made strong inroads among Hispanic voters in recent years, the poll indicates a dramatic shift toward Democrats in the midst of the sometimes-emotional immigration debate. The poll found that 59 percent of Hispanics polled either identify themselves as or lean toward supporting Democrats, compared with just 20 percent who identified with the GOP. For a party which received about 40% of the Hispanic vote in 2004, that's quite a change.

While the CBS article doesn't make this conclusion, it seems to us that after a great majority of the GOP blocked S.1639 in the Senate yesterday, the Hispanic cohort is more likely to keep on moving to the Dems' side. And for now, according to the USA Today/Gallup poll, they prefer Hillary.

Tuesday blog round-up

A daily feature, here we highlight interesting posts, points of view, and links as recorded on the blogosphere.

• Bill Hobbs of the ElephantBiz blog writes that McCain is facing a conservative grassroots backlash due to his support of the immigration reform bill. Be sure to watch the video Hobbs posted.
• Steve Benen of the CrooksandLiars blog writes that the California GOP is fraught with immigration problems from within.
• TravelsofBryan comments at length on his reaction to reading the transcript of Dick Lamm's speech titled "Eight methods for the destruction of the United States". Bryan calls Lamm "too extremist".
  
• BizzyBlog agrees with the Heritage Foundation article that declares the immigration bill a "national security nightmare".
• DailyTitan writes that illegal immigration has led to the closure of 84 California hospitals.
  

BREAKING: House GOP to vote on a resolution critical of immigration bill

The Wall Street Journal reports that Republicans in the House of Representatives will vote on a resultion today that is critical of the comprehensive immigration reform bill President Bush has pushed to revive in the Senate. From the article:

The administration had hoped to forestall such action given the timing of the Senate debate. But faced with pressure from their members, Republican leaders informed the White House that they will go ahead with the conference vote, just hours before a closely fought Senate roll call on proceeding to the bill.

Whether that resolution will sway the Senate today is unclear. Meanwhile, the AP reports that the bill will face another procedural vote today in the Senate. This vote will determine whether it goes forward.