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Community Backlash Over Utah’s Flawed Immigration Law
Utah’s “get tough on immigration” legislation, Senate Bill 81 (SB81), went into effect last week on July 1st. The litany of protests from faith groups, local police, and conservatives, however, demonstrates the futility of trying to solve a federal immigration problem through state law. Even Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. hesitated before signing SB81 into […]
Read MoreBlaming Immigrants for State Budget Deficits Doesn’t Make Sense
As state and local governments grapple with growing budget deficits brought on by the current economic recession, some pundits and policymakers are attempting to blame immigrants—particularly undocumented immigrants. According to this flawed line of reasoning, which was on display in a June 21st Sacramento Bee editorial by Daniel Weintraub entitled “The cost of illegal immigration,” […]
Read MoreSheriff 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 […]
Read MoreObama Reasserts Support of Immigration Reform at Summit of the Americas
This past weekend, at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his commitment to reforming the broken U.S. immigration system. Obama met with the Central American Integration System (Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana), and was “especially receptive” to the requests coming from the presidents of Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, […]
Read MoreH-1B Restrictions Harm, Not Help Economy
Everyone agrees that we urgently need to fix the economy, but there are many different ideas about how to do it. In the latest Congressional debate over the stimulus bill, restricting immigration came up as a way to protect U.S. workers. While the final language of the bill is still in flux, what’s troubling is […]
Read MoreThe GOP’s New Year Resolution on Immigration
By any measurement the GOP lost more than an election this year. Many Republican candidates who incorporated immigrant-bashing and nativism into their platforms lost sight of the kind of country the U.S. has become and, in doing so, caused the GOP to experience a defeat the likes of which they have not seen in years. […]
Read More2,000 Approved Naturalization Applicants Blocked from Voting
Red tape and a tightfisted judge blocked nearly 2,000 people who should’ve been able to vote this past Election Day from receiving their naturalization oath in time to register for November’s general election. Lawful permanent residents with approved naturalization applications must take the oath of allegiance to become a U.S. citizen. According to a new […]
Read MoreChertoff and Immigration: Clean House, Dirty Record
The irony of all ironies in the current Administration’s fight against undocumented immigration came today when news broke that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) head, and immigration hard-liner, Michael Chertoff, was himself paying undocumented immigrants to clean his house. In fact, according to the cleaning company’s owner, James D. Reid, “workers sailed through the checks.” […]
Read MoreTexas Driver’s License Policy Ill Substitute for Immigration Reform
Texas recently tightened its driver’s license policy, making it more difficult for immigrants to get an original, renewal, or duplicate driver’s license or state ID card. All applicants must now not only prove they are lawfully in the U.S., noncitizens will also receive a driver’s license that is distinct from that of U.S. citizens. This […]
Read MoreLatinos a Reason to Hold Your Breath for Immigration Reform
One can only hope that columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. of the San Diego Union-Tribune is just being pessimistic when he tells readers “don’t hold your breath” waiting for President-elect Barack Obama to pursue comprehensive immigration reform. In July, Obama pledged at the National Council of La Raza’s annual conference to make immigration reform “a top […]
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