A roundup of the top immigration stories of the week: - Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law had its first day in court Thursday, when a judge heard a
A roundup of the top immigration stories of the week:
Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law had its first day in court Thursday, when a judge heard a challenge of the law from a Phoenix police officer but issued no ruling. District Court Judge Susan Bolton will hear the case brought by the Justice Department against SB 1070 next week. Arizona will have support in the form of “friend-of-the-court” briefs from nine state attorney generals — three of whom are Republicans running for governor — and a group of House Republicans.
Immigration enforcement is at a new high, with 4,145 cases referred to federal prosecutors in March and April, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. That was the largest number of referrals for any two-month period since the creation of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Arizona’s immigration law convinced some migrant workers from Mexico to stay home, prompting observers to question whether unemployed Americans will take on the tough harvest jobs. (It’s what Stephen Colbert wants Americans to do.)
A list of 1,300 accused illegal immigrants living in Utah and their private information was circulated early this week to government agencies and media. Utah launched an investigation into the source of the information and announced today that at least two state employees appear to be behind the list. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said the state does not plan to prosecute people on the list, but will move forward on possible privacy law violations by the list’s creators.
Rep. Xavier Becerra, (D-Calif.), the vice chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said Tuesday the Dems could still tackle immigration reform this year. If they do, Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Mike Honda (D-Calif.) want to include provisions for gay rights.
The Mexico-U.S. border governors conference is back on after Arizona’s Jan Brewer pulled out of hosting last month. Arizona was set to host the 28th annual conference, but Brewer canceled after Mexican politicians threatened to boycott. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Thursday that he will host the conference instead, but it still won’t be complete: Brewer and Rick Perry of Texas said they won’t attend.
Haitians living illegally in the U.S. when a hurricane hit six months ago will be given additional time to apply to stay and work in the country legally.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered a deployment Friday of California National Guard troops to the border. The order will support Obama’s proposal to send 1,200 National Guard troops to the border, with 224 stationed in California. Schwarzenegger’s order said the troops deployed will not be used in a direct law enforcement role.
Rep. Patrick McHenry: Please, Conservatives, Fill Out Your Census Forms!
The conservative congressman from North Carolina, a constant critic of the census -- one of the people who sounded the alarm about politicization when the
Rep. Paulsen allies with medical device industry to relax FDA oversight
Source: Flickr; Republicanconference (www.flickr.com/photos/republicanconference) On the heels of the Minnesota Independent story last week about U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen’s cozy financial relationship with the medical device industry, the New York Times reported Tuesday that some health professionals are alarmed by Paulsen’s push to relax Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight
Rep. Parker Griffith (R-Ala.)
One of the most conservative Democrats in the House -- a freshman who said he couldn’t support Nancy Pelosi again -- is going to switch over to the GOP. Josh
Rep. Paulsen touts balanced budget constitutional amendment
In a post for the conservative blog True North , U.S. Rep
Rep. Paulsen, Karl Rove the latest to get ‘glittered’
Rep. Erik Paulsen and former Bush staffer Karl Rove were both showered with glitter at the Midwest Leadership Conference Friday
Rep. Paul Ryan to deliver SOTU response
Chairman of the House Budget Committee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will deliver the Republican response to the State of the Union Tuesday, according to Mike Allen
Rep. Perlmutter criticizes House measure that would eliminate 800K federal jobs
Congressman Ed Perlmutter today issued a scathing statement criticizing the House of Representatives for passing a spending bill that could put nearly a million federal employees out of work. The Colorado delegation voted strictly on party lines, with all four Republicans voting in favor of the bill and the three Democrats voting in opposition. Perlmutter’s statement: “My number one priority is to get people back to work because that’s the best thing we can do to pay our debt and move forward toward economic stability
Rep. Perlmutter to hold constituent meet-up in grocery store
Colorado Congressman Ed Perlmutter will hold a Government in the Grocery constituent meet-up this evening from 5-7 at the Safeway at 38th and Wadsworth in Wheat Ridge. The address is 3900 Wadsworth. The meeting, where Perlmutter typically sits at a folding table and talks to whomever shows up, is free and open to the public
Rep. Peace, ACLU seek investigation of soldier’s allegations of racial discrimination in Afghanistan
Both Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM) and the American Civil Liberties Union agree: There needs to be an investigation into Spc.
School of Hock
A growing number of college grads are defaulting on their student loans as the economy worsens.