Conservative Solutions Needed for Meaningful Immigration Reform

Posted on April 10th, 2013

​Ronald Reagan famously remarked during his farewell address that our country was a “shining city on a hill.” Commenting on immigration he continued by saying, “and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.”

Reagan’s words should inform us as immigration reform proposals are forming on Capitol Hill. The debate about how to reform our immigration system,…

What Undocumented Workers Really Want

Posted on April 8th, 2013

Window to the world: A kitchen worker at Busboys and Poets in D.C. (Richard A. Bloom)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas—Brad Bailey knows he has his work cut out for him. He sips a beer and watches as members of…

A Restaurateur Has a Thing (or Two) to Teach the GOP About Immigration Reform

Posted on February 8th, 2013

​“I’m an honest-to-God conservative. I even have a dog named W,” said Brad Bailey by way of introduction. In his mid-30s, with close-cropped, sandy blond hair and dressed in a suit and tie, Bailey looked like one of the dozens of newly elected Republican state officials milling around the lobby of the downtown Austin Hilton during a conference for conservative policymakers in early January.

But Bailey, who runs a chain of family-owned catfish and seafood restaurants…

GOP Groups Urge Moderate Stance on Immigration

Posted on January 22nd, 2013

​A Texas restaurateur and longtime Republican faced an uncomfortable question from one of his Latino cooks: “How can you be a Republican when Republicans hate Hispanics?” the employee asked in 2011, as the party’s presidential hopefuls battled for the nomination.

Brad Bailey’s car is adorned with GOP bumper stickers. He frequently hosts Republican fundraisers at his two Houston seafood restaurants. But this spring, he took a leave of absence to try to shift his party’s stance…

Conservative Rhetoric On Immigration May Soften

Posted on December 10th, 2012

​Many conservative faith leaders are among those calling for immigration reform. They joined government leaders on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to map out what that reform could look like, calling it a moral as well as economic issue.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Conservative leaders from around the country are in Washington to push for immigration reform. Republicans were stung by the lack of support from Hispanics in last month's election. Now, these leaders argue immigration reform is…