News Flash
Supreme Court Issues Mixed Decision on Arizona SB 1070
The Supreme Court issued a mixed ruling on Monday in the Obama administration’s challenge to Arizona SB 1070. By a 5-3 margin, the Justices upheld the injunction against provisions of the law that authorize police to arrest immigrants suspected of committing removable offenses (Section 6), and that impose penalties under state law for immigrants who fail to carry “registration” papers (Section 3) or attempt to work without federal authorization (Section 5). Although the Court allowed the implementation of the provision of SB 1070 requiring police to determine the immigration status of people in custody “reasonable suspicion” exists that they are in the country unlawfully (Section 2(B)), it left open the door to future legal challenges. Read More
DHS Review of Immigration Cases Expands to Half Dozen New Cities
The Washington Post and Huffington Post are reporting that ICE’s ongoing review of existing deportation cases will expand to six new cities in the coming months. Initially launched in Baltimore and Denver in 2011, the initiative will soon expand to Seattle, Detroit, New Orleans and Orlando, followed by Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. The idea behind the initiative is to clear historic backlogs in the immigration courts by administratively closing cases that ICE considers to be low priority. Read More
President Obama Affirms Desire to Reform Immigration Next Session
Disappointed by Congress's failure to pass the DREAM Act during lame duck, President Obama made remarks today regarding the need to reform immigration in the next Congress. While the President acknowledged that border security is part of that conversation, he also acknowledged that "changing the politics" of how Congress and his administration engage the public on immigration is equally important—as is "doing right" by the many DREAM students who deserve a fair shot at the American dream. Read More
DHS Releases Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Enforcement Data
The Office of Immigration Statistics released data on immigration enforcement actions in FY 2009 (October 1 through September 30). The report finds that: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) apprehended 613,003 foreign nationals, compared to 791,568 in FY2008 and 960,756 in FY2007. Mexican nationals made up the largest percentage of apprehensions (86%), followed by Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, China, Brazil, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Nicaragua. Read More
UPDATE: Utah Attorney General Condemns Immigration Knock List
Utah officials and community leaders reacted swiftly and with revulsion to the announcement this week that confidential state records had been breached to compile a list of more than 1,300 supposedly undocumented people living in Utah, including pregnant women and children. At a press conference this afternoon, State Attorney General Mark L. Shurtleff condemned the list, noting that "some call it a blacklist, but I call it a hit list." Speaking for himself and on behalf of the governor of Utah, Gary R. Herbert Shurtleff made it clear that the release of confidential information was "not the way we do things in Utah" or in this country. He noted that the state government of Utah is trying to speak with one voice to condemn the release of information, will not be using the list to initiate actions against anyone on it, and roundly criticized those who would use lists, hate mongering and political rhetoric to stir up racism in Utah. Instead, he called on the federal government to continue to work for a truly comprehensive solution to immigration reform. Read More
Rep. Gutierrez to Introduce Immigration Reform Bill December 15
Today, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL.), announced that he will be introducing a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, December 15, 2009. Congressman Gutierrez said “We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and… Read More
Just in Time for Turkey Day: María Celeste Confronts Lou Dobbs on Telemundo
On the heels of leaving CNN, Lou Dobbs sat down with Telemundo’s María Celeste for this interview. Celeste confronts Dobbs for the many past inflammatory remarks he made against immigrants—in particular, the insinuation that Hispanic immigrants are responsible for bringing leprosy into the United States. Watch as Dobbs… Read More
Major City Police Chiefs Just Say No To Immigration Enforcement
Tired of spending scant time and resources on immigration enforcement, major city police chiefs called on Congress, Wednesday, to move on comprehensive immigration reform. Like most law enforcement officers across the country, chasing down undocumented immigrants proves to be too much of a strain when faced with real priorities… Read More
Pots, Kettles and the Restrictionist Movement
At a c-o-n-f-e-r-e-n-c-e hosted by Pat Buchanan and the American Cause this weekend, America’s best and brightest conservative strategists discussed how Republicans could regain a majority in America. Peter Brimelow, owner of the anti-immigrant website VDare.com, suggested an English-only initiative with the aim of “winning over working class… Read More
President Obama Calls on Congress for a “Fair, Practical and Promising Way Forward” on Immigration Reform
This morning, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his dedication to comprehensive immigration reform at the Esperanza USA National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. “This promise means upholding America’s tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants,” he said. The President also gave a general outline… Read More
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