Kyl to help shepherd Supreme Court nomination through Senate
The White House has tapped former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl as "sherpa" to help guide the Supreme Court nomination of U.S. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh through the Senate, where he is expected to face a contentious confirmation process.
Advocates on range of issues anxious over Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
Even before President Donald Trump nominated U.S. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court nominee Monday night, advocates for a range of issues were bracing for what might come next, how the next justice might affect the court and whether his nomination could be blocked.
Strapped for workers, employers wait – and wait – on H-2B visa program
With unemployment near record lows, businesses are having trouble finding American workers to take jobs, and a guest-worker visa program that would let them bring on temporary foreign workers is costly, complex and capped tens of thousands of jobs below demand.
House soundly rejects last-ditch effort to pass immigration reform bill
WASHINGTON - A last-ditch effort to get an immigration reform bill through the House was soundly defeated Wednesday, with almost half of the Republicans joining all Democrats to reject the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act on a 301-121 vote.
Slim hopes for immigration bill, despite E-Verify, farmworker visas
WASHINGTON - House leaders added employer checks and an expanded farmworker visa program in their latest attempt to get an immigration bill that can pass, but most lawmakers leaving a GOP caucus meeting the day before an expected vote appeared skeptical of its chances.
Immigration reform stalls in House, as GOP-backed plan is shot down
WASHINGTON - Some conservative House Republicans bucked their party's leaders Thursday and joined Democrats to kill a GOP-backed immigration reform bill, dimming chances that any reform bill will pass the House.
Trump ends family separations, stands firm on ‘zero tolerance’ policy
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered immigration officials to keep undocumented immigrant families together, after weeks of mounting criticism over his administration's "zero tolerance" policy that led to the separation of families at the border.
House leaders derail plan to force vote on bipartisan immigration bills
WASHINGTON - House leaders derailed an attempt by Democrats and moderate Republicans to force a vote on a bipartisan package of immigration reform bills, announcing instead that they will bring two Republican bills to the floor, possibly as soon as next week.
Sessions limits asylum claims for victims of domestic, gang violence
WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that immigrant victims of gang violence or domestic abuse will no longer be able to claim asylum in the U.S., saying the law was not designed to "alleviate all problems" and is being abused by immigrants.
Trump plan to boost coal eyed cautiously by Navajo power plant backers
WASHINGTON - A White House plan to prop up failing coal and nuclear power plants by making utilities buy some energy from them has drawn criticism across the political spectrum, but supporters of the Navajo Generating Station, slated to close next year, are looking closely at the plan.
Reagan, Fontes settle suit over Arizona’s voter registration process
WASHINGTON - Arizona election officials have agreed to settle a lawsuit that claimed the state's two-track voter registration process, with one track requiring proof of citizenship, was unduly burdensome and "irrationally" disenfranchised thousands of voters.
Court sides with baker who refused same-sex couple’s wedding cake
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple, saying it would violate deeply held religious opposition to same-sex marriage. The court said Colorado officials showed “clear and impermissible hostility” to the baker's religious claims.
