Democrats Risk Losing Hispanics
One of the big bonuses Democrats enjoyed this year was a surge of support among Hispanic voters, a surge larger than the party would have dared to dream of just a couple of years ago.
News
Immigrant exodus -- Layoffs, deportations sending Mexicans home
Layoffs, dwindling job opportunities, anti-immigrant sentiment and the crackdown on illegal immigrants are forcing hard choices on many Mexican nationals in Colorado. Though not an exodus, some are returning to a nation they haven't seen in years. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/17/immigrant-exodus/
Associated Press, Washington Times
New city law targets illegals
The Albertville City Council passed a resolution Monday targeting contractors who employ "unauthorized aliens."
The move comes just one month after the new mayor and council took office, signaling a more serious tone regarding illegal immigration.
"That should be a pretty good indication we're serious about that hot topic from the campaign," said Councilman Chuck Ellis.
"You talk to everybody on the campaign trail and that was the one thing everyone wanted to talk about ... the effects of illegal immigration on the community."
ICE detainees arrive in Grand Island
Tuesday marked the start of housing federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees in the new Hall County Jail.
"We got our first vanload today," Supervisor Scott Arnold said at a county board meeting Tuesday.
He chairs the county's Corrections Steering Committee.
Arnold wasn't certain how many detainees were in a "vanload" and Corrections Director Fred Ruiz had already left Tuesday's county board meeting prior to Arnold providing an update to other supervisors on the ICE contract.
'Visitor' driver's licenses assailed
Edwin Palacio arrived in the U.S. from the Philippines in 1993 and was granted political asylum two years later.
Since then he has worked for computer companies and received security clearances to audit private and government information systems. But the 54-year-old Austin resident is now identified as a "temporary visitor" on his new Texas driver's license, which he worries will hamper him and his wife in getting a home mortgage.
Economy forcing many Mexicans to leave United States
When her 3-year-old son begs for pizza, or when her family is shivering through a subfreezing night in the Mexican highlands — those are the moments when Rosario Araujo misses America the most.
Three months ago, Araujo and her husband, José Zavala, were still living comfortably, though illegally, in a suburb of Phoenix. He hung drywall for $10 an hour; she was a housekeeper. Their version of the American dream was modest: a small apartment, a washing machine and an occasional night out with their two American-born kids.
Call goes out to suspend foreign labor importation
A grassroots immigration organization is calling for a time-out on worker immigration in light of the poor condition of the U.S. economy.http://www.onenewsnow.com/general.aspx?id=1206#1
By Chad Groening, OneNewsNow.com
Illegal-immigrant workers driven down hard road
"The plunging U.S. economy and subsequent cuts in the construction, service and manufacturing industries are prompting many immigrant workers, particularly those in the United States illegally, to contemplate a life-changing decision: Do they stay and earn far less, or head home to meager opportunities?"http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20081214-9999-1n14home.html
Leslie Berestein, San Diego Union-Tribune, December 14, 2008
2 Nogales tunnels found; group of 17 Bolivians halted
"Two tunnels were discovered in Nogales over the weekend by Nogales police officers, making a four-day total of three tunnels found in the border city.
Elsewhere, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped 17 people from entering the United States using fraudulent Canadian citizenship cards at the Douglas port of entry."
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/271867December 16, 2008, Arizona Daily Star
Minnesota Catholics to Observe 'Immigration Sunday'
The Minnesota Catholic Conference has called for an "Immigration Sunday" on January 4. The date commemorates the two-year anniversary of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on a meat packing plant in Worthington.
