"Families who want to come to America, work in America, raise families in America ought to be welcome because that's the thread that has made this blanket so warm in this country. We need to have a system that allows people a path to citizenship. That's the way we've done it for the last 150 years." - Governor Brian Schweitzer, 2008.

While Republican lawmakers Gary Perry, Jim Shockley, and David Howard attempted to pass over 10 anti-immigrant bills this legislative session, all of them were ultimately rejected by the Montana legislature. While many of these bills were defeated by only a narrow margin, I am proud of our legislature as a whole for killing these prejudiced and reactionary bills. (Click this article to read more.)

On Wednesday, we celebrated the death of SB 379. Given that the Senate voted to indefinitely table the bill, it seemed like a done deal. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle headlined that "Immigration bills [were] having a tough time in session." Incredibly, it looks like Senate Republicans have been successful in resurrecting the bill. It appears that yesterday, Senate Republicans took advantage of the absence of three Democrats (Sens. Squires, Jent and Windy Boy) to move that SB 379 be sent back to the Judiciary Committee for amendments. Click to read more.

The Montana Senate is to be commended for indefinitely tabling Senate Bill 379, which was sponsored by Senator Gary Perry. While previous votes in the Senate on immigration bills were split on party lines, with Republicans voting almost unanimously in support of the anti-immigrant bills, this bill was voted down on a bi-partisan vote of 29-20. Click to read more.