The Week in Immigration News

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Friday, April 16, 2010 at 1:44 pm

A roundup of the top immigration stories of the week:

- The Arizona House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday that would make the state’s immigration laws some of the toughest in the country. Senate bill 1070, called the “Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act,” would allow officers to question anyone they come into contact with about their residency status, make it a misdemeanor for failure to carry documentation that shows legal status, make it illegal to transport illegal immigrants (with the exception of medical emergencies and church visits) and ban sanctuary city “soft-enforcement” of immigration laws. It still has to be approved by the state senate before it goes to the governor, but the bill is already at the center of controversy.

- Sens. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) assured activists of their commitment to comprehensive immigration reform during two immigration rallies April 10. The rallies, in Las Vegas and Chicago, coincided with four other Rally for America immigration protests that took place around the country that same day, also featuring senators and congressmen. While many saw these commitments as a step in the right direction, some activists and writers see Reid and Durbin’s words as merely a political strategy to get ahead in November elections.

- The U.S. and Mexico struck a new agreement to crack down on cross-border drug smuggling that crosses the border into El Paso that will allow the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Mexico (PGR) to prosecute certain Mexican nationals (excluding U.S. permanent residents) under the country’s laws. According to a press release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (via Media-Newswire.com), the agreement came after Alonzo R. Peña, deputy assistant secretary for ICE, and Bernardo Espino del Castillo Barrón, PGR deputy coordinator of delegations, met in El Paso Thursday to discuss cooperation on the Illegal Drug Program (IDP). El Paso is the second U.S. city (ICE began the program in Nogales, Ariz., in late 2009) to participate in IDP.

- “Yesterday, at several bus stations and other locations around Arizona, more than 800 law enforcement officials carried out the largest operation against human smuggling in [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] history,” reported The Takeaway today. The raids targeted shuttle bus operations that carry illegal immigrants into the U.S. instead of workplaces, but civil rights groups have reported hearing from families and workers who fear deportation because of these tactics. The raids involved 800 officers from nine federal and local enforcement agencies. Read more here and here.

- During her trip to Mexico, Michelle Obama said that immigration reform is necessary, but that it requires support from Democrats and Republicans in Congress. “We’re seeing young children who are trying to cross the border just to reconnect with their parents, and their lives are in danger,” Obama said (via USA Today). “They’re put in precarious situations. And a strong immigration reform policy would help alleviate some of those challenges.” Obama also said the U.S. should work to reduce its demands for illegal narcotics to help alleviate Mexico’s cartel violence.

- According to a new study, in 14 of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the country, a larger number of immigrants hold white-collar occupations than lower-wage work such as construction, manufacturing or cleaning. St. Louis, Boston, New York and San Francisco are among those areas. From The New York Times: “Over all, the analysis showed, the 25 million immigrants who live in the country’s largest metropolitan areas (about two-thirds of all immigrants in the country) are nearly evenly distributed across the job and income spectrum. ‘The United States is getting a more varied and economically important flow of immigrants than the public seems to realize,” said David Dyssegaard Kallick, director for immigration research at the Fiscal Policy Institute, a nonpartisan group in New York that conducted the data analysis for The New York Times. … The findings are significant because Americans’ views of immigration are based largely on the work immigrants do, new research shows.”

- Tea Parties Against Amnesty, a branch of the larger Tea Party movement, continues its nationwide protests today (April 15-17) to oppose any proposed legislation for comprehensive immigration reform. There are over 56 protest events posted on AgainstAmnesty.com, with close to 10,000 supporters. The rallies include some well-known Tea Party and anti-immigration speakers, including former Rep. Tom Tancredo, the outspoken founder and co-chairman of border security, anti-immigration PAC Team America; J.D. Hayworth, John McCain’s Republican primary challenger for U.S. Senate; Arizona’s controversial sheriff, Joe Arpaio; and Americans for Legal Immigration PAC President William Gheen.

- The Center for American Progress released a report Monday detailing their suggestions for improving security along the U.S. border. Its ten reform proposals include passing comprehensive immigration reform, using new technology, implementing stronger oversight and collaborating with Mexico. According to the CAP report, the Secure Border Initiative is flawed because of a border fence that is too heavily relied on for border security; management and oversight issues; a Department of Homeland Security that is too slow to address mistakes; and misguided spending decisions (namely on SBInet, a technology-heavy program designed to help Border Patrol detect illegal immigrants and smugglers along the border). Read more here.

- Immigration reform and cartel violence are two major items that will be discussed during Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s visit to Capitol Hill. This is the first visit to Congress from a Mexican president since 2001, when former president Vicente Fox addressed Congress. Read more here.

Comments

4 Comments

Brittanicus
Comment posted April 16, 2010 @ 8:56 pm

Senator Harry Reid of Nevada should be made a prime example of, in his delirious push for yet another Immigration Reform bill. He should not, and will not be recycled to his place of prominence in the majority Senate chambers again. He will be a taught a lesson in humility to the massive margin of the US population. He is not showing his true colors of genuflecting to the commanders of Wall Street, the radical echelon of the ethno-centrist organizations or wealthy lobbyists. Every Nevadan, Tea Party members and all those who vote should set their sights on a win for non-incumbents? Sen. Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Graham, Schumer and others in the beltway, must once again become humble before THE PEOPLE. Sen. Harry Reid attempted derailing E-Verify and its powerful applications of the SAVE ACT, to eject foreign workers from America's workplaces. He and his cronies in Washington have relentlessly strived to whitewash the poor structure, called the border fence by underfunding it. Deaths along the border are now the consequence as narcotic intrusions and influxes of more illegal immigrants has become more predominant.

Many of the Democrats with Liberal ties have sought to outcast the 287G, local police arrest and detain measure. Napolitano already has an inadequate record of immigration enforcement in Arizona, as the previous governor. As Homeland Security Secretary has seen fit to cut back on budgets for the US Border Patrol and severely restricted large ICE raids across the country. It’s time for all patriotic Americans to vote these politicians out of office, specifically those who entertain another financially damaging AMNESTY. The last one was a undeniably a complete travesty as hundreds of thousands of destitute people poured almost unhindered into our Nation, before and after President Reagan signed the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli bill. They want reform, and then amend this law, not vigorously pretend that it's not another AMNESTY?

America is possibly the only country in the whole world whose ‘public servants’ in Washington have, for decades, betrayed them and plotted to replace them in favor of virtually anyone from around this planet. Everybody will agree that this America will always need specialty and top performing engineers and scientist, along with highly credentialed skilled men and women. Included in this special visa platform should be entrepreneurs and investors to this great country of ours. This must be specific on outstanding merit of their jobs, that American citizens-residents are unable to fill. This is where we need to adopt a points system to attain the top notch people who want to immigrate here. Outside of these superior workers, we cannot afford to support the desperate, unschooled and destitute who are looking for manual work, knowing that Uncle Sam will look after their low income families. Arizona on the other hand is fed-up with kowtowing to its illegal immigration invasion to open border entities and took drastic measures to stop this intrusion into their states entitlements. So as California—a refuge state next door, my guess large blocks of foreign nationals will hi-tail-it there, where it’s a free for all on welfare payouts.

While the pro-Amnesty politicians still chant the mantra of ‘enhancement through mass immigration’, the question should be asked? If blanket immigration is really so financially rewarding to our country, then why are the politicians from the both parties not advocating mass immigration to ‘cure’ the poverty of Third World countries like Mexico, South and Central America, Africa, India and so forth?

Instead of promising billions in foreign aid — money that American taxpayers must borrow from Communist China to give away, the two parties should back their philosophies in the benefits of mass immigration, by promising to assist Third World countries to attain this level of ‘enrichment’ by the same means?

If it has been so ‘enriching’ for this country, why not for the rest of the world? YOU COULD ASK THIS QUESTION TO AN INDIGENOUS ENGLISHMAN, WHOSE OWN COUNTRY HAS BEEN OVERWHELMED. Confusing — isn’t it?

The fact is politicians have done so using deceits and subterfuge, such as using taxpayers’ money to subsidize the employment of immigrants; education, health care and even a crowded prison system and all welfare–that is nothing short of treason. Stop this alienation of America’s culture being polluted with foreign languages, by YOU harassing your state and federal representative at 202-224-3121. Don’t relieve the pressure on those in Washington or the state level. Learn more about the statistics of illegal immigration at http://www.numbersusa.com the corruption in the Capitol at http://www.judicialwatch.org.


sand man
Comment posted April 19, 2010 @ 4:45 am

Unless you live near the boarder or are a CBP agent you have no idea what is really going on. America is blinded and uninformed along with our government. Because our government does not want to stop it. First of all we need a strict policy and laws if some breaks into our country illegally period. There is so much land to cover it is hard to comprehend. The new version of virtual fence is multiple times better than P28. Just ask CBP agents who have used it not what you read about P28 and 60 minutes. It is a needed tool but not the total answer. We need more agents, more helicopters, etc. too but we have to want to stop it and take it seriously. You would not like it if people broke into your home and used your stuff, brought in garbage, drugs, weapons and stole so then why do we let them break into our country? If they want to come let them do it the right legal way. Period. Wake up America.


Dorsett Eu
Comment posted February 10, 2011 @ 11:38 pm

How has the AZ law been working? I would be interested to see data on this. I’m results-oriented when it comes to answers on immigration. –Proud eb-5 green card recipient


Dorsett Eu
Comment posted February 10, 2011 @ 11:38 pm

How has the AZ law been working? I would be interested to see data on this. I’m results-oriented when it comes to answers on immigration. –Proud eb-5 green card recipient


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