Immigration at the Border
A New Study Reinforces Growing Influence of Second Generation Latinos
A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that only 7% of all Latino children are undocumented immigrants. Pew also found that a growing share of the children with unauthorized immigrant parents—4 million or 73%—were born in this country and are U.S. Read More
High School Teens Deported on the Way to School
Three high school students were deported to Mexico last week when they were swept up in a Transportation Security Agency (TSA) raid at the Old Town transit center on their way to school in San Diego, California. Border Patrol confirmed that 21 people were detained. According to reports, TSA and Border Patrol agents inquired about the 16-year-old girl’s and two boys’, ages 15 and 17, residency status before taking them into custody and eventually deporting them. The teens were allowed to speak with their U.S.-based parents and Mexican Consulate officials before being deported. Read More
Local Police Report Makes the Case for Federal Enforcement of Immigration Laws
This week the Police Foundation issued a long awaited report, The Role of Local Police: Striking a Balance Between Immigration Enforcement and Civil Liberties. The Police Foundation found that because Congress has failed to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform, states and localities have spent more time and resources curbing immigration themselves at the high cost of protecting their communities from more serious threats to public safety. Among its conclusions, the Police Foundation found that: The costs of participating in the 287(g) program outweigh the benefits. Police officers should be prohibited from arresting and detaining persons to solely investigate immigration status in the absence of probably cause of an independent state criminal law violation. If a local agency enters into a 287(g) MOU, its participation should be focused on serious criminal offenders. Police should develop policies and procedures for monitoring racial profiling and abuse of authority. Local law enforcement agencies should employ community-policing and problem-solving tactics to improve relations with immigrant communities and resolve tension caused by expanding immigration. Read More
Obama’s Controversial Two-Step Moves in Direction of Immigration Reform
After boosting border enforcement, the Obama Administration recently announced that it will also increase funding for a troublesome program started by George W. Bush. The controversial program gives Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unregulated access to the immigration information of every person in local prisons across the United States. Although Obama may be sending mixed signals as he paves a road to immigration reform—signals that frustrates many of his most steadfast supporters—he also understands that he must smooth the way for immigration reform by restoring the confidence of the American public and prove that the government is capable of upholding the rule of law. Immigration enforcement is fundamentally a federal responsibility, but state and local governments can and should play a role in helping the federal government remove violent criminals from American society. Obama's focus on catching hardened criminals represents the right prioritization of resources that are being funneled in the wrong direction. Rather than addressing the serious problems associated with the Bush Administration's "Secure Communities" program, Obama's 2010 budget, which allots $200 million for the program, seeks to expand rather than mend the deeply flawed initiative. Read More
Crackdown on Bad Seed Employers a Step in the Right Direction
This week, the Denver Post watch underworld rise of the lycans in HD highlighted the case of five undocumented migrant farmworkers who were imprisoned in squalor at the hands of their smugglers, Moises and Maria Rodriguez. The Mexican farmworkers, who were found working the fields of Northern Colorado, lived in a fenced-in compound on the edge of the Weld County in vile makeshift houses that the Colorado Department of Labor inspectors deemed “uninhabitable.” According to reports, the men piled into an old school bus and rode to a farm field, then put in 12 hours planting, or weeding, or harvesting vegetables. The smugglers paid them a mere $7 an hour, but only allowed the workers to keep $2 an hour. The five migrant workers made headlines when they filed and won a federal lawsuit against Moises and Maria Rodriquez. Denver U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock awarded the imprisoned workers $7.8 million—more than $1.5 million each—for “numerous violations of the Agricultural Worker Protection Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.” Read More
Mexican Migration Slows Along With U.S. Economy
Mexican Census data released this week shows a decline in Mexican migration to the United States. This data comes as no surprise and is in line with what other researchers have been saying for months when it comes to the immigration slow down: "it's the economy stupid." The New York Times reports today: Mexican and American researchers say that the current decline, which has also been manifested in a decrease in arrests along the border, is largely a result of Mexicans' deciding to delay illegal crossings because of the lack of jobs in the ailing American economy. Read More
Immigration Inching Towards Reform One Year After Postville Raids
Today, May 12, 2008, marks the one-year anniversary of the immigration raid in Postville, Iowa, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted the largest workplace immigration raid in U.S. history, arresting 389 immigrants at the Iowa Agriprocessors meatpacking plant for the crime of working without proper authorization. Aside from the tragedy of separating families and decimating a local economy, the raid symbolizes the failed enforcement-only policies of the Bush administration and serves as yet another grim reminder of the desperate need for fair and comprehensive immigration reform. Last May, undocumented immigrants in Postville were rounded up, charged as serious criminals for using false Social Security numbers or residency papers, and some even sentenced to five months in prison without being informed of their rights. An interpreter, Dr. Erik Camayd-Freixas, who assisted as a translator during these below-the-belt trials described the event as a “twist in Dickensian cruelty:” Read More
Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Recruit and Arm Citizens, Neo-Nazis “Have His Back”
Rather than cleaning up his police department and addressing allegations of racial profiling and discrimination, Arpaio has decided to recruit and arm more Maricopa citizens in the absence of state funds. Back in April, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in Arizona voted to postpone the acceptance of $1.6 million from the state to help pay for County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's controversial immigration enforcement tactics. Observers said the decision could signal that the board is concerned by federal inquires into Arpaio's practices that stem from his hard-line immigration tactics which include the deputization of volunteer "posses" to perform immigration sweeps, armed workplace raids, and set up checkpoints. Read More
Obama Budget Not a Replacement for Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The Obama Administration appears increasingly poised to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform, as promised. Yesterday the White House announced budgetary initiatives that signal a change in priorities and pave the way for immigration reform. At the same time, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, testified before the Senate yesterday about her plans to protect our borders and enforce our immigration laws in smarter and more effective ways. While the changes are welcome, they're still just fiddling along the edges of a real solution. Comprehensive immigration reform is the only real way to fix the problem. Read More
Supreme Court Overrules Government Tactics to Criminalize Immigrant Workers
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that federal identity-theft law can not be applied against many undocumented workers who used false Social Security numbers to work in the U.S. In Flores-Figueroa v. United States the Supreme Court held that, to convict a defendant of aggravated identity theft -- which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison -- the government must establish that the person knew the identification belonged to another person. The ruling puts a damper on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency's (ICE) common and controversial strategy of using identity theft charges as a threat to get undocumented workers to agree to immediate deportation or boost prison sentences. taken movie download, twilight movie download, the wrestler movie download, spider man 2 movie download, killshot movie download, dragonball evolution movie download, wall e movie download, fight club movie download, sin city movie download, iron man movie download, dark knight movie download, transporter 3 movie download, australia movie download, the incredibles movie download, yes man movie download, enchanted movie download, 007 quantum of solac movie downloade, toy story movie download, race to witch mountain movie download, inkheart movie download. Read More
Make a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
