http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts.aspx Coverage of the new Heritage Foundation study (of the costs of the Senate immigration bill) is dominating the immigration news cycle this week. Below are a few reactions to their study: http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/heritage-foundation-study-about-immigration-reform-costs-stirs-debate/Default.aspx Wed, 8 May 2013 10:46 -0500 http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/heritage-foundation-study-about-immigration-reform-costs-stirs-debate/Default.aspx For growers and retailers of Real Christmas Trees, it's crucial to ensure that consumers are allowed to display trees without undue restrictions. http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/ncta-proposes-changes-to-nfpa1-model-fire-code/Default.aspx Mon, 6 May 2013 10:50 -0500 http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/ncta-proposes-changes-to-nfpa1-model-fire-code/Default.aspx The nation’s top business and labor groups were near agreement Friday on a guest worker program for low-skilled immigrants, closing in on a deal that would eliminate one of the last significant obstacles to a new proposal for a broad overhaul of immigration laws. http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/guest-workers-are-at-crux-of-groups-deal-on-immigration/Default.aspx Tue, 2 Apr 2013 09:11 -0500 http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/guest-workers-are-at-crux-of-groups-deal-on-immigration/Default.aspx Leading business and union groups announced agreement Thursday on principles to guide talks on immigration legislation, but they failed to resolve some of their most contentious disputes. http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/business-labor-groups-find-little-accord-on-immigration/Default.aspx Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:32 -0500 http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/business-labor-groups-find-little-accord-on-immigration/Default.aspx Breakthrough agreement would create a new federal bureau to track visas granted to foreign, and often low-skilled, workers. http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/big-business-labor-find-common-ground-on-immigration/Default.aspx Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:29 -0500 http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/big-business-labor-find-common-ground-on-immigration/Default.aspx The AFL-CIO and Chamber of Commerce on Thursday released a set of immigration reform principles, and the press is calling it a breakthrough. But don't be fooled. The real story is that the backroom talks failed, and Big Labor is still holding out for a political commission to run any new guest-worker program. http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/immigration-poison-pill-big-labor-s-commission-to-kill-a-guest-worker-program/Default.aspx Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:21 -0500 http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/immigration-poison-pill-big-labor-s-commission-to-kill-a-guest-worker-program/Default.aspx Growers Press for Immigration Bill to Ensure a Steady Flow of Migrant Workers http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/tight-market-for-farmhands/Default.aspx Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:39 -0500 http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/tight-market-for-farmhands/Default.aspx The “line” of people seeking American citizenship or legal status has become an integral part of our immigration debate. In a speech Tuesday, President Obama said that undocumented immigrants should go to “the back of the line” behind those who are going through the process legally. The immigration reform blueprint presented a day earlier by a group of senators contained the same requirement. But misinformation about this line abounds. http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/five-myths-about-the-immigration-line/Default.aspx Mon, 4 Feb 2013 12:36 -0500 http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/five-myths-about-the-immigration-line/Default.aspx By Craig Regelbrugge ANLA Vice President for Government Relations and Research The dust has settled after the national elections, a new Congress has been sworn in, and Inauguration Day has come and gone. Of course, President Obama won both the Electoral College and the popular vote, capturing pretty much all of the states that were considered up for grabs. In the U.S. Senate, Democrats had to defend twice as many seats as Republicans, and many of them were in the conservative Midwest and Plains. But, Republicans high hopes of gaining control of the upper chamber were dashed, as Democrats have a net gain of two seats. Republicans held the House; they lost about seven seats but maintain a comfortable margin of control. http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/a-look-ahead-in-washington/Default.aspx Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:35 -0500 http://realchristmastrees.org/dnn/MemberCenter/AdvocacyAlerts/tabid/790/post/a-look-ahead-in-washington/Default.aspx