"We need a centrist piece of legislation that will meet the needs of most of the people who are in this country illegally. They should have to pay a fine, learn English, commit to assimilation, and begin a path to citizenship."

"I think [the reason Hispanics come after me so hard] in part, one thing, is my own stupidity. I put forward a statement: rational, effective, humane policy...The emphasis became (in the debate of my combative nature) the issue of border security first and foremost, versus reforming immigration policy. I'm saying the same thing [now], but I'm keeping it absolutely combined...I'm a wiser Lou Dobbs."

- Lou Dobbs continues to distance himself from his former anti-amnesty position in this interview with Bill O'Reilly.

A new report unveiled at a Center for American Progress and Immigration Policy Center cosponsored event this morning shows that comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants would result in $1.5 trillion in economic growth. From the Immigration Policy Center:

According to a new study by UCLA's Dr. Raśl Hinojosa-Ojeda, Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, legalizing undocumented workers through comprehensive immigration reform would yield $1.5 trillion to the U.S. GDP over a ten year period, generate billions in additional tax revenue and consumer spending and support hundreds of thousands of jobs. The report, which runs several different economic scenarios, finds that enacting a comprehensive immigration reform plan which creates a legalization process for undocumented workers and sets a flexible visa program dependent on U.S. labor demands not only raises the floor for all American workers, but is an economic necessity.

Download the report, watch the video of the panel discussion on C-Span, or view more options from the Immigration Policy Center.

Let's start the New Year off on the right foot with some positive immigration news: The U.S. HIV travel and immigration ban is officially over!

Yesterday marked the end of a 23-year discriminatory policy that listed HIV as a communicable disease, making immigrants inadmissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act. South Korea joined the U.S. in lifting its HIV immigration ban, leaving Brunei, China, Equatorial Guinea, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen as the only countries that still bar HIV travelers from entry.

USCIS officers have been instructed to close any current waiver applications based solely on HIV infection and adjudicate the related benefit application (Note: filing fees will not be refunded), and officers will disregard any diagnosis of HIV or lack of HIV testing on any pending cases.

On the day the new rule took effect, Clemens Ruland from the Netherlands gained the distinction of being the first HIV-positive visitor allowed freely into the U.S. without a waiver, when he and his partner arrived in New York from the Netherlands on Monday.

"We're committing what I call national suicide. Somehow or other, after 9/11 we went from reaching out and trying to get the best and the brightest to come here, to trying to keep them out. In fact, we do the stupidest thing, we give them educations and then don't give them green cards."

- New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on NBC's "Meet the Press." Mayor Bloomberg has pledged to promote a more open U.S. immigration policy during his third term.