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Tell Me Again How Alabama’s Immigration Law is a “Victory for the State?”
Almost immediately after Judge Sharon Blackburn failed to enjoin key provisions of Alabama’s draconian immigration law (HB 56) last week, Alabamans began to feel the sting of the law’s harsh provisions. As immigrants leave the state, farmers, contractors, and homebuilders complain that labor shortages are and will continue to hurt their businesses. School administrators worry […]
Read MoreCan Alabama Afford to Enforce their New Restrictive Immigration Law?
This week, U.S. District Judge Sharon Blackburn failed to enjoin major provisions of Alabama’s extreme immigration law, HB 56, a law designed to drive unauthorized immigrants from the state. Under the law, police officers are now required to demand proof of legal status from anyone who seems foreign. School administrators are required to ask children […]
Read MoreImmigrant Laborers Continue to Strengthen American Workforce, Economy
This Labor Day, we reflect on the many contributions workers make to the U.S.—including those of immigrant workers. While immigration restrictionists have long tried to demonize immigrant workers and blame them for high unemployment rates and other economic woes, the facts make it clear that immigrants actually create jobs and businesses and boost the […]
Read MoreWhat the New Budget Law Could Mean for Immigrant and Refugee Programs
BY ERIC SIGMON, LUTHERAN IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE SERVICE* On August 2, after a number of press conferences and late-night negotiation sessions, President Obama signed into law the Budget Control of Act of 2011, legislation that prevented the U.S. government from defaulting on its debt and requires deep cuts into future federal spending. While deficit cutting […]
Read MoreRunaway Costs for Immigration Detention Do Not Add Up to Sensible Policies
BY JOSH BREISBLATT, IMMIGRATION POLICY FELLOW AT THE NATIONAL IMMIGRATION FORUM At a time when we should be looking for ways to curb costs, some in Congress are actually attempting to spend more by expanding immigration enforcement programs. In May, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced H.R. 1932 titled, “Keep Our Communities […]
Read MoreHow Will DHS’s Prosecutorial Discretion Guidelines Impact Gay and Lesbian Bi-National Couples?
Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that they would take concrete steps to implement existing guidance on prosecutorial discretion in an attempt to provide relief for low priority immigration cases. DHS also announced that a new committee will review 300,000 immigration cases currently in removal proceedings to determine which cases are low priority […]
Read MoreDHS Terminates Secure Communities Agreements with States, Continues to Implement Program
Late Friday afternoon, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provoked outrage from immigration groups when it announced the termination of Secure Communities Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) with state and local governments. DHS initially entered into MOAs with state officials as a way to encourage voluntary participation in Secure Communities, an enforcement program which runs the […]
Read MoreAmerican Immigration Council Applauds DOJ for Responding to Alabama’s Punitive Anti-Immigrant Law
Washington, D.C. – On Monday, the Department of Justice filed suit against the state of Alabama to block the implementation of HB 56, which is set to take effect September 1. HB 56 is similar to but far more punitive than Arizona’s SB 1070. The law includes provisions that require local school districts to check […]
Read MoreReport Reveals Basic Misunderstanding of Deportation Process
As readers of this blog know, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) often issues studies that make us cringe. Earlier this week, however, the DC-based restrictionist organization issued a report that made us laugh. Pseudonymously written by a retired government employee, the report purports to explain the “basics” of the deportation process. At more than […]
Read MoreProsecutorial Discretion and the Legacy of John Lennon
BY LEON WILDES AND SHOBA SIVAPRASA WADHIA Most remember John Lennon as a former Beatle, a brilliant musician, husband to artist Yoko Ono and target for deportation by the Nixon Administration. Less known is the story of how Lennon’s immigration saga enabled the first public discussion on prosecutorial discretion in immigration law.
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