A new Zogby International poll shows that Florida voters think that illegal immigration is hurting the Sunshine State by an overwhelming margin. A new FAIR study confirms the poll, finding that illegal immigration costs Florida taxpayers $3.8 billion annually, which is double from 2005.
"As The New York Times reported in a front-page story today, President Obama is slowly coming around to saying he’s thinking that he’s probably going to do something about immigration reform at some point in the future, hopefully this year.
He might even talk publicly about it in May.
"Immigrant rights groups hailed a report in The New York Times today that President Obama plans to take up immigration reform this year. Opponents said the move could jeopardize healthcare reform and other elements of the president’s agenda in tough economic times.
"Multiple Obama administration officials tell CNN that the White House is not pushing to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill this year. While it's a top priority for the President's first term, White House spokesperson Nick Shapiro says "the president has consistently said that he wants to start the discussion later this year because our immigration system is broken…but the economy comes first."
The Salt Lake City Police Department's decision not to participate in a new law that will allow local officers to enforce federal immigration law has infuriated the bill's legislative sponsor.
Unemployment is soaring. Yet advocates and Congressional leaders want a guest worker program that would legalize tens of thousands of undocumented agriculture workers.
Proponents say they want a legal work force to pick the nation's tomatoes, peppers and lettuce. Opponents call it amnesty for illegal workers at a time Americans are losing their jobs.
While in Costa Rica, Vice President Joe Biden said that because of current economic conditions now would not be the time to push for immigration reform that included amnesty.
The Dream Act, which would offer amnesty to children of illegal aliens, has been re-introduced in Congress. If passed, the Dream Act would put millions of illegal aliens who meet certain criteria on a path to citizenship, encouraging millions more to cross the borders illegally.
Late last week the Open Borders coalition, in and out of Congress, revealed their plans to push through two major amnesties this year. Now is our chance to stop them.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has delayed a series of immigration raids, and the move may signal a policy change for the department. After last month's raid of an auto parts rebuilder in Washington state drew criticism from both Napolitano and President Obama, senior DHS officials say ICE may focus on businesses instead of illegal workers.
Many of you responded to my last blog stating that we need far more signatures on a petition to have any type of impact. But are you willing to help us distribute this one to truly make an impression? As “Gary6333 of NY” commented, “Four times bigger is still not enough! EVERYONE needs to push this site EVERYWHERE they go. MAKE THIS MOVEMENT GROW!”
"Rushing to mend rifts with the United States' southern neighbor, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday praised Mexico's progress against drug cartels, offered an olive branch in a fierce trade spat and promised action on the long-dormant issue of immigration reform....
Under President George W. Bush, the White House had championed bills to legalize millions of illegal immigrants currently in the United States. All those attempts failed in Congress.
"A compromise bill that seeks to deter illegal immigration has been advanced to the final round of debate in the Nebraska Legislature. But following debate Thursday, some lawmakers remained unconvinced that its provisions will work toward curbing the problem and that the bill could end up costing the state....
"We ought to be honest about what this bill does and does not do," said Sen. Brenda Council of Omaha, who called the bill "feel-good legislation."
"House Bill 915, sponsored by Rep. Sandra Adams, R-Oviedo, would require employers who want to work with the state to use the now-voluntary E-Verify database. The free service uses databases of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration....
Mike Williams, a lobbyist for the Florida Building and Construction Trades Council, spoke in favor of the bill. Williams, an electrician, said illegal immigrants are taking construction jobs from native-born Americans.
A Rasmussen Poll conducted in mid-March reveals that the majority of Americans do favor stricter enforcement of the nation's immigration laws. This comes after news that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will review the current worksite enforcement program.
"The Maryland State Board of Education on Tuesday said Frederick County officials are prohibited by federal law from seeking a count of how many illegal immigrants are in the county school system....
"What the Supreme Court says is that you cannot deny the public education. The same Supreme Court decision doesn't talk about [the Board of Education's] ability to provide information," Mr. Jenkins said.
A new poll reveals that New Jersey residents are against both driver's licenses for illegal aliens and in-state tuition benefits for the children of illegal aliens. The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll conducted in February shows that 62% oppose a limited type of driver's license and only 32% support in-state tuition rates for children of illegal aliens.
"The recession – and a big state deficit – is leading some California counties to cut back on non-emergency health services to illegal immigrants. In others, cutbacks in services for the uninsured are hitting illegal immigrants especially hard.
While executing a drug search warrant, Houston Police Officer Rick Salter was shot and critically wounded by an illegal alien with three prior drug arrests. The incident has the president of the Houston Police Officers Union Gary Blankinship urging the Mayor of Houston to change a policy that forbids officers from inquiring about a suspect's immigration status.
Cardinal Francis George on Saturday called on the Obama administration to end Immigration raids across the country and pushed for passage this year of "comprehensive Immigration reform" that is "fair and compassionate."
Robert Rector and Christine Kim of the Heritage Foundation calculated that an average low-skilled immigrant household costs federal, local, and state governments $19,588 per year more than it pays in all taxes.
What Low-Skilled Immigrant Households Pay in Taxes
Rector and Kim concluded that low-skilled immigrant households pay $10,573 in taxes per year. As the following chart shows, Rector and Kim took every possible tax collection method into account, including sales tax, the purchase of lottery tickets, and user fees:
In an online Spanish language chat room, people from all along the East Coast seek tips on how to get a driver's license in Maryland, though they don't live in Maryland.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was invited to speak during a San Francisco pro-immigration rally organized by Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez. But during her speech, she made a few controversial statements, including calling U.S. immigration enforcement efforts "Un-American" and thanks to Californians for Population Stabilization, we have the video clip and the transcript of her comments.
Nancy Pelosi was caught on tape calling U.S. immigration enforcement efforts "Un-American." The Californians for Population Stabilization released video of the House Speaker and we have a clip with Pelosi calling illegal aliens attending a rally in San Francisco last week "very, very patriotic." Watch the video from the immigration rally and fax your Congressmen urging them to reject Speaker Pelosi's attacks.
At a San Francisco immigration rally, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls immigration enforcement officials "un-American" while calling illegal aliens "very, very patriotic."
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.) today for her remarks at a San Francisco immigration rally last weekend. Pelosi said that enforcement actions by ICE officials were "un-American."
Federal immigration officials arrested 27 people in Nebraska last week as part of an operation aimed at finding illegal aliens who disobeyed deportation orders.
Numbers released by the federal government last week show a decrease in the population of immigrants who are in the United States illegally. The Department of Homeland Security reported that the number of illegal aliens as of January 2008 was 11.6 million, which was 200,000 less than in 2007.
PHOENIX -- A group of Arizona business and civic leaders told me last night that the strange behavior of our nation's chief security leader this week is just what they expected. They say that Janet Napolitano was a skilled master at getting media to make her look like a believer in the rule of law but that when it came to immigration she was almost always "The Anti-Enforcer."
Immigration officials arrested 28 illegal workers at Yamato Engine Specialists in Bellingham, Wa. on Tuesday. The workplace raid was the first during the Obama Administration. ICE officials said they believe most of the 28 arrested gained employment by using fake social security numbers and counterfeit documents.
The Obama administration itself seemed taken aback by the raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano vowing to Congress that she would "get to the bottom of this."
The secretary of Homeland Security has ordered of a review of an immigration raid in Bellingham in which a third of the employees of an engine manufacturing shop were arrested.
Janet Napolitano said she wants to know why Tuesday's raid took place and said immigration enforcement should be focused on employers who hire illegal immigrants.http://www.kirotv.com/news/18797142/detail.html
KIRO-TV
According to statistics released by Mexico's National Statistics, Geography and Information Institute, migration to the United States was down more than 50 percent from August 2007 to August 2008. The net flow of Mexicans moving to the United States dropped from 455,000 to 204,000.
Hawaii may ban illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses as the state tries to comply with the federal security law known as Real ID.http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=9816495&nav=menu554_2
Associated Press
More than 900 foreign-born inmates have been flagged at the Gwinnett County jail and are set for deportation. Of the 915 inmates, 489 had a previous criminal history according to a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A former California restaurant owner received 36 months probation on Monday after he was found guilty of employing illegal aliens and mail fraud. Rui Tao Lin was knowingly hiring and assisting at least 13 illegal aliens while he owned the King's Buffet in Vacaville, Calif.
A Boulder, Colo. cleaning company is suing because of lost business to two companies that they claim hire illegal workers. Dustbusters filed a lawsuit against Longmont’s Finishing Touch Janitorial Services and Loveland’s Porter Industries after losing city contracts, including one to clean the public library.
The Fugitive Operations Team of Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stepped up their enforcement of violators of immigration laws, and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith issued a statement on Wednesday supporting the department's efforts.
The owner and operator of an Alabaster, Ala. construction company was charged on Wednesday for allegedly hiring and harboring illegal aliens. Beverly Linan who owns Rodriguez Construction Company could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if found guilty on all the counts.
