The Obama Administration and the Department of Homeland Security is trying to improve border security by using technology that failed pilot tests during the Bush administration. DHS is working on a five-year plan that will link tower sensors along the 2,000-mile Southern border, which the department believes will speed up border agent's response time to illegal aliens and drug smugglers.
“I am disturbed that local religious leaders in Postville seem to think it is immoral to arrest people who violated federal laws,” said Roy Beck, president of NumbersUSA, a group that believes in limiting immigration.
Beck said he believed the detainees were being treated humanely despite claims from local religious leaders to the contrary.http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/1191522.html
By Mike McGraw -- The Kansas City Star
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano credited the states for the growth of E-Verify. Napolitano testified before the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and said that mandatory E-Verify laws in the states has contributed to the system's rapid growth in past years.
"It’s an old device in politics: Set up a straw man to criticize when you can’t win an argument on your own. Such tactics, unfortunately, are standard fare when it comes to efforts by a handful of special interest groups to bring about amnesty for illegal immigrants.
The immigration lawyers’ national bar association called on the Justice Department on Tuesday to consider dismissing the guilty pleas of nearly 300 illegal immigrant workers arrested in a meatpacking plant raid in Iowa last year, one day after the Supreme Court rejected a statute that prosecutors used to pressure them.
The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a favorite tool of prosecutors in immigration cases, ruling unanimously that a federal identity-theft law may not be used against many illegal workers who used false Social Security numbers to get jobs.
Roy Beck, executive director of NumbersUSA, which views illegal Immigration as damaging to the U.S. economy, said he was hopeful there would be even more raids under the new guidelines and that the new focus would deter employers from hiring illegal immigrants.http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-immigration_01may01,0,7669259.story
By James Oliphant and Anna Gorman -- Chicago Tribune
A new Washington Post-ABC Poll reveals that 74% of Americans think the United States is not doing enough to prevent illegal crossings at the borders. The poll was conducted in connection with Pres. Barack Obama's 100th day in office and asked respondents questions on social issues ranging from immigration to gay marriage to the legalization of marijuana.
"A former FBI agent and William and Mary student has been sentenced to 12 months in prison after admitting she entered a sham marriage to gain U.S. citizenship more than seven years ago.
Yue Cheng, 26, of Williamsburg was sentenced to a year in prison by Judge Henry Coke Morgan, said Dana J. Boente, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Cheng pleaded guilty on Dec. 4 to five federal offenses, including marriage fraud and unlawfully claiming U.S. citizenship."
"Some border county sheriffs want Arizona schools to start asking students whether they're in this country legally.
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik originated the idea and said millions of dollars in Arizona taxes go to teach English to children who have no legal right to be here. He also said there's a link involving illegal immigration, social problems and gangs.
"Forced to slash their budgets, some California counties are eliminating nonemergency health services for illegal immigrants -- a move that officials acknowledge could backfire by shifting the financial burden to emergency rooms.
Sacramento County voted in February to bar illegal immigrants from county clinics at an estimated savings of $2.4 million. Contra Costa County followed last month by cutting off undocumented adults, to save approximately $6 million. And Yolo County is voting on a similar change next month, which would reduce costs by $1.2 million."
"Voters in Fremont may get a target date for a special election this week.
Members of the Fremont City Council are expected to vote on a resolution calling for a special election on an initiative petition for a proposed ordinance that would ban “the harboring of illegal aliens and the hiring of unauthorized aliens” within the city."
The arrest of an undocumented immigrant returning last week from his LDS mission has sparked discussion at the highest levels of the church about how to limit such exposure in the future.
"With the known realization that those risks exist, then we want to do better, or at least learn more," LDS apostle Jeffrey R. Holland, said Friday during an interview with The Salt Lake Tribune . "We want to be more precise, if we can, about how to help, how to make [a mission] the calmest, most spiritually rewarding experience for everybody...."
The conceptual framework used by environmentalists such as Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. when they fight against pollution applies precisely to illegal immigration. They refuse to embrace the logical conclusion of their ideas because it is not politically correct.
"The director of the state agency responsible for enforcing South Carolina's mammoth new immigration law says her department doesn't have the money needed to fully enforce it.
Adrienne Youmans, director of the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, wrote a four-page letter to Sen. Larry Martin of Pickens on Friday explaining that while her agency can provide a "scaled-back start-up" of immigration enforcement this summer, it won't have the funds necessary to prepare for full enforcement under the budget now being debated.
If the government were really honest about paying for amnesty, they would do something like they did with the $700 billion bank bailout last October, (the TARP). The leaders of the government would come before the American voters and say, “We need $999 billion to pay for amnesty for people who entered the country illegally.”
"With momentum building for Congress to address comprehensive immigration reform later this year, two members of the House have introduced a bill to put employment verification at the center of the debate.
Written by Reps. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, and Sam Johnson, R-Texas, the measure would establish a mandatory electronic verification system that replaces an existing government-run system that has been roundly criticized by employer groups...."
DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said during a CNN interview, "crossing the border is not a crime per se." But the secretary was wrong because it is a criminal misdemeanor. 8 USC Sec. 1325(a) says that crossing the border illegally is punishable by up to six months in prison for the first offense. Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Jeff Sessions is demanding a public correction of her statement.
Last week, I posted part 1 of Reply to An Outside Commenter, whom I am calling Mr. Smith. The blog received many thoughtful and excellent comments– many of you were as flabbergasted as I was.
"A new report out this week from the Pew Hispanic Center confirms what many observers already suspected about the U.S. illegal immigrant population: It is made up increasingly of intact families and their American-born children. Nearly half of illegal immigrant households consist of two-parent families with children, and 73 percent of these children were born here and are U.S. citizens.
"Arizona officials pleaded this morning with members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to beef up security along the Mexico border to curb drug cartel violence that some fear has already seeped into U.S. cities.
Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Terry Goddard offered testimony and faced questions as part of the first panel of the day, while Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris joined other local law enforcement leaders in explaining the impact of the violence on Arizona communities."
"U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday displayed great receptivity to the proposals of his Central American counterparts on the question of immigration reform, several of the leaders said after their meeting....
“There was commitment to support comprehensive immigration reform. Details were not discussed, but supporting the process was. The atmosphere was very good, cordial, sincere,” Colom said.
The manager of the Greenville, S.C. poultry plant is facing charges for knowingly hiring undocumented workers. The plant was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials back in October and more than 300 suspected illegal aliens were arrested at the Columbia Farms poultry processing plant.
Roy Beck, executive director of Numbers USA, said the report strengthens the case against granting amnesty to illegal immigrants.
"There are more than 7 million illegal aliens holding non-agricultural jobs," said Beck, whose organization favors reduced immigration levels. "There are more than 7 million less-educated Americans who are unemployed and looking for jobs in those exact same occupations."http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_12142073
By Stephen Wall -- San Bernardino (CA) Sun
Some Hispanic advocacy groups are calling for illegal immigrants to boycott the 2010 Census unless immigration laws are changed. The move puts them at odds with leading immigrant rights advocates and creates another hurdle in the Census Bureau's quest to count everyone in the USA.
A new Pew Hispanic Center report reveals a big increase in the number of children born in the United States to at least one illegal alien parent. In 2003, the group found that 2.7 million children had at least one parent who was in the country illegally, but that number is now up to 4 million kids. The report also reveals that 73 percent of all children of illegal aliens are U.S. citizens.
"Some Christian leaders and organizations voiced support for President Obama's indication that he plans to address immigration reform this year, a move that has riled opponents who argue that he should first focus on fixing the economy.
"Christians throughout the United States are energized and encouraged by the courageous steps taken by the Obama administration to prioritize reform of our broken immigration laws," praised Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR) in a statement released on Thursday....
A tiny bit of hopeful evidence emerges that consistent, long-term and substantial U.S. citizen opposition to the open-borders agenda may eventually back off some of the wealthiest foundations that are funding the pro-amnesty efforts. A report on the website of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation suggests leaving the political arena on immigration because of the great disappointment in losing the amnesty battles of 2007.
"As the White House gears up to push an immigration overhaul, advocates are finding they have an unexpected ally in White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.
Mr. Emanuel has long been a voice of caution on easing rules for immigrants, fearing such a position could hurt Democrats at the polls. That stance has antagonized Hispanic lawmakers and activists, who favor a clearer, easier path to citizenship for certain illegal immigrants.
"Imagine being brought into Sonoma County as an undocumented child. Imagine going from kindergarten through your senior year of high school being a star student and graduating at the very top of your class. And finally imagine contributing hundreds of hours as a community volunteer and being chosen as the Youth Volunteer of Sonoma County— only to discover that as you apply to colleges and universities, that no state or federal student aid funds are available to you.
"Salt Lake City's Hispanic community is gearing up for the implementation of Senate Bill 81, a controversial immigration reform that has many concerned about how it will be enforced. Archie Archuleta with the Utah Coalition of La Raza said people share Police Chief Chris Burbank's concern that the law encourages racial profiling.
