In The News
Better Lives, Shaky Futures for Immigrants Three Years Into DACA
Belen Sisa has been working full time while attending community college for the past two years building a future that sits on the shaky foundation of a three-year-old immigration program. Sisa, originally from Argentina, is one of the hundreds of thousands of young immigrants who were able to exit their lives lived illegally in the U.S. and move into a quasi-legal status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program begun by presidential executive action. The new … Continue Reading
June 11, 2015
Debt-free College Isn't a Fantasy. Just Give it Time
Our Turn: Debt-free college might sound like a fantasy right now, but it doesn't have to stay that way.To solve big problems, you need big ideas.That's the theory we're applying to our debt-free college initiative.No major change happens overnight. It's going to take time to steer our country toward a national conversation on college affordability. It's going to require continued outreach to experts and activists. And, yes, like any major legislative proposal, it's going to require the right … Continue Reading
June 05, 2015
House OKs Plan to Halt FAA Sky Harbor Changes
WASHINGTON — The House gave preliminary approval Thursday to a proposal that would stop the Federal Aviation Administration from making further changes to flight patterns at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.The language was approved without debate as an amendment an appropriations bill to fund transportation, housing and other agencies for fiscal 2016.The amendment, offered by Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, says simply that "none of these funds … may be used by the Federal Aviation … Continue Reading
June 04, 2015
Military Killed in Rescue Missions Could Get New Benefits
Military personnel killed during humanitarian aid missions, such as a Phoenix Marine who died recently in the Nepal earthquake, could receive new benefits under legislation from Arizona members of Congress. When fallen service members' bodies are transported back to the U.S. from overseas relief missions, their families may be required to pay for travel to Dover Air Force Base for the ceremony. The Pentagon has discretion to cover the costs, unlike the guaranteed travel for families when … Continue Reading
May 27, 2015
Congressman Ruben Gallego on Politics Unplugged
Politics Unplugged … Continue Reading
May 24, 2015
Memorial Day: Rep. Ruben Gallego Remembers Best Friend, Fellow Marine
MESA, AZ -- For some, Memorial Day will be a day of family picnics, barbecues and parades. But for Congressman Ruben Gallego, a freshman Democrat from Arizona who served as a Marine in Iraq, Memorial Day will be a time of remembrance."Memorial Day for me is the day that I remember all the men that I served with and lost in the Iraq war," he said. Gallego plans to attend a special church ceremony for fallen soldiers as well as a breakfast with veterans in Phoenix on Monday.It's also the day he … Continue Reading
May 21, 2015
First-Generation College Students Form '1vyG'' To Support, Connect
When Manuel Contreras, 21, first visited Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island as a high school student, everything about the prestigious school "felt right." It was his dream school, the place where he felt he belonged. But all that changed first semester of freshman year."I struggled a lot academically," said Contreras, who grew up in San Diego, California and is pursuing a degree in cognitive science. "I wasn't as prepared as many of my other peers."During that first semester, the … Continue Reading
May 20, 2015
Immigration Advocates Mark Day DAPA Would Have Opened
A day immigration advocates thought would be a time for celebration instead was filled with concern because of stalled Obama administration programs that would have been open for application Tuesday."Today is actually a sad day when it should have been a day of joy for many of our immigrant families in this country," Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said at a news conference held by House Democrats to support the blocked programs.The new Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful … Continue Reading
May 16, 2015
Vets Say DREAMers Should Be Able to Serve
Veterans expressed their disappointment that House Republicans voted to block legislation that could have helped pave the way for allowing young undocumented immigrants to serve in the armed forces. "It's a huge disservice to our military because we have such a rich history of immigrants serving," said Luis Cardenas Camacho, 29, a Marine veteran. The amendment, which was included and later cut from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), would have asked that the Secretary of Defense … Continue Reading
May 14, 2015
Republicans Block Young Immigrant 'Dreamers' From Militry
After the 2012 presidential election, when the Republican Party lost Latino and minority voters by wide margins, the GOP decided it needed to do a better job attracting those groups.But despite several years of outreach, the effort has run into limitations.Congress, in particular, has stumbled as Republicans repeatedly voted against immigrant-friendly measures that many Latino and minority voters support.The effort hit another rough patch Thursday.House Republicans voted to block a measure … Continue Reading
May 13, 2015
Poder colombiano
May 13, 2015
GOP Split Over Bill To Let Immigrants In U.S. Illegally Serve In Military
Cesar Vargas has a resume most young Americans would envy. He graduated from a Brooklyn high school that counts Sens. Chuck Schumer and Bernie Sanders among its alumni. He made honors in both college and law school. But because he was brought to the United States from Mexico illegally when he was 5 years old, he can't fulfill one of his dreams: joining the armed forces."I do believe that because this country has given me so much, I do want to be able to give back," Vargas said in an … Continue Reading
May 13, 2015
Immigration Reform 2015: Veterans Urge Congress to Pass NDAA Immigration, DACA Amendments
U.S. military veterans have urged Congress to focus on immigration as lawmakers debate the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). "Veterans are a key demographic in America, and throughout our history, the military has reflected the fact that we are a nation of immigrants. They are also a group disproportionately impacted by the current broken immigration system," the letter by Veterans for Immigration Reform stated. The letter noted more than 65,000 immigrants, including 30,000 … Continue Reading
May 13, 2015
Democrat surprised by uproar over immigration provision
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) says he's been surprised by the outcry from Republicans against his measure that would allow the Pentagon to consider allowing children who entered the United States illegally to serve in the military. Gallego said the measure he successfully added to an defense bill is relatively simple, and would just ask the Pentagon if allowing the so-called "Dreamers" to serve would be possible. He also noted in an exclusive interview with The Hill that some of the … Continue Reading
May 13, 2015
CONGRESSMAN GALLEGO GETS PUSHBACK ON MILITARY
Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego is getting significant pushback from some Republicans over Gallego's proposal to let "dreamers" serve in the military. G allego offered an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, encouraging the Department of Defense to allow people to serve if they've been gr anted deportation relief under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The amendment was passed by the House Armed Services committee, which has a Republican majority.Despite … Continue Reading
May 13, 2015
Congressmen tussle over defense amendment that would allow Dreamers to serve in military
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz)., is urging the House of Representatives not to drop an amendment he authored that would allow undocumented immigrants who qualify for temporary reprieve from deportation to serve in the U.S. military. The amendment, which passed in the House Armed Services Committee with a bipartisan majority, calls for the Secretary of Defense to look at whether it is possible for immigrants who receive a reprieve through a 2012 initiative by President Barack Obama to serve in … Continue Reading
May 10, 2015
Immigration debate roils GOP
A group of dissident Republicans in the House are clashing with their colleagues on President Obama's deferred deportation program for illegal immigrants. Led by Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), the band of lawmakers hailing from Hispanic-heavy districts are becoming increasingly vocal about their dissatisfaction with the party's refusal to accept some type of legal status for people who were brought to the country as children. The dissidents say the so-called "Dreamers" should be … Continue Reading
May 07, 2015
Army speeding up recruitment of 'Dreamers'
The Pentagon is speeding up its recruitment of illegal immigrants in a program that fast-tracks them to U.S. citizenship, as Congress debates allowing the military to do so. Since January, the Pentagon has enlisted 81 illegal immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children and qualify for President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, according to figures provided by the Army on Thursday. Between January and April 8, only 43 had been enlisted, an Army spokesman … Continue Reading
May 07, 2015
Political parties targeting elusive voters — Millennials
The issues that matter most to Millennials — student loan debt, jobs, climate change — are forcing Republicans and Democrats alike to push the boundaries of technology to attract America's youngest voters, a likely key to the 2016 elections.For East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell, 34, one of the youngest members of the House of Representatives, that meant sitting down with a crowd of Chabot Community College students in Hayward recently and talking about his own, still-unpaid $100,000 student loan … Continue Reading
May 06, 2015
Why Marco Rubio Is Wrong for Arizona
Marco Rubio has built his political career on the narrative of an up-from-nothing immigrant kid who achieves the American Dream.Rubio's personal story is indeed powerful, and one I know well. Like Rubio, my parents came to the United States from another country with little more than hope for a better future for their kids.Personal stories can inspire action, but ultimately each of us serving in public office should be judged more by what we actually do than the story we can tell.Rubio has been … Continue Reading