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Here is an interesting story by the NY Daily News. An advocate for immigrants is under fire for sending text messages to warn Hispanics about crime sweeps by an Arizona sheriff. What a horrible thing to do, don’t you think:))

According to The Associated Press, Lydia Guzman, director of immigrant advocacy group Respect/Respeto, began sending text messages to alert thousands of people to the sweeps, which critics say are just an excuse to round up illegal immigrants.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said his department doesn’t engage in racial profiling, and that the real goal of the texts is to help illegal immigrants avoid arrest. What a saint, he must be nominated for a human rights award.

Read more here..

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Here is a creative idea to report from the the New York Times, four immigrant students set out on foot from downtown Miami on Friday, starting a four-month walk to Washington to protest what they called the Obama administration’s lack of action on legislation granting legal status to illegal immigrants.

Three of the four protesters, who are current or former students at Miami Dade College, do not have legal-resident status and risk detention by immigration authorities during the 1,500-mile walk.

The students’ trek showed the resolve and also some limitations of groups supporting an immigration overhaul that would include measures to legalize illegal immigrants. Those groups said this week that they would start a national campaign in January to pressure President Obama to push for the overhaul before midterm elections in November.

But as immigration enforcement has continued at a steady pace during the first year of the Obama administration, many illegal immigrants are clinging to jobs and families in this country and may be afraid to participate in public demonstrations. With unemployment holding at 10 percent, immigrant advocates acknowledge that their campaign could awaken passionate opposition in Congress and around the country.

This is a risky move, but 2010 will also be a defining year for Immigration reform. I expect more arrests and more Immigrants on the run before we have our much desire CIR passed. Will keep you posted. Click here for the NY Times article

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So as the year comes to an end, what will be the future of Immigration reform. President Obama’s administration has told immigration reform backers the president is committed to giving illegal immigrants a path to U.S. citizenship, officials said.

Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina and other top officials delivered the message in a conference call, the Los Angeles Times reports. Staff members have also told Hispanic leaders privately that President Barack Obama will back legislation in the next year.

All we know is that if nothing significant will pass in 2010, the prospects for a major reform will become impossible. Read more here…

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According to the LA Times, Predator drones, the unmanned aircraft used by the U.S. military in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones, will soon be employed to track illegal immigrants on the Mexico-California border.

The drone, will be operated out of the Antelope Valley by the military contractor General Atomics. The drones will fly above the border region with advancing electronic tracking equipment looking for illegal immigrants crossing into California.

According to the San Diego-based company, the drones will transmit information to U.S. authorities on human smuggles as well drug smuggling.

 

Read more here….

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Here is a good one from the Houston Chronicle. some Houston charities are asking whether children are in the country legally before giving them toys.

The Salvation Army and a charity affiliated with the Houston Fire Department are among those that consider immigration status, asking for birth certificates or Social Security cards for the children.

What is the point here???

The point isn’t to punish the children but to ensure that their parents are either citizens, legal immigrants or working to become legal residents, said Lorugene Young, whose Outreach Program Inc. is one of three groups that distribute toys collected by firefighters.

Read more here…

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Interesting update, the Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP) reported on a new study from the New York based, Fiscal Policy Institute. The findings: Immigration and economic growth go hand in hand.

For their report, Immigrants and the Economy: Contribution of Immigrant Workers to the Country’s 25 Largest Metropolitan Areas, the Fiscal Policy Institute examined the economic impact of all foreign-born workers, including undocumented immigrants, in the nation’s 25 largest metropolitan areas.

The results of the study provides further evidence of why passage of Comprehensive Immigration Reform is so critical for the economic recovery of the United States. In an interview with OCPP, Francisco Lopez, Executive Director of CAUSA, adds that, “A path to citizenship for undocumented workers would allow them to contribute even more to Portland and Oregon’s economy,” Lopez said. “It would make undocumented immigrants less vulnerable to exploitation, lifting the bar for all workers, and provide the security needed to start a business. Everyone would win.”
Read more…

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Have you been following the heated debate on Health Care reform? You think that is a Challenge, enter Immigration Reform 2010 debate. The Immigration system is broken, and in order to fix it….well who has the solution. The Yakima Herald-Republic reports:

From our vantage point, any immigration reform is dependent on making sure the border between the U.S. and Mexico is secure. It also requires tougher enforcement laws against illegal immigrants and employers who knowingly hire them.

In the face of rising unemployment, Napolitano said the enhanced enforcement will actually protect American workers from being displaced by lower-paid, easily exploited illegal immigrants and will help the economy “as these immigrants become full-paying taxpayers.”
The issue of border security drew immediate criticism from some Republicans, who point to a significant gap in physical impediments to entering the country illegally.

“How can they claim that enforcement is done when there are more than 400 open miles of border with Mexico?” asked Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.

Napolitano argued that security has improved, with more than 600 miles of border fence now in place and the Border Patrol having been increased to 20,000 officers.

Immigration reform is as important a topic here in Central Washington as is health care reform, perhaps even greater. With Hispanics accounting for more than 40 percent of Yakima County’s population, much is at stake. Guest-worker details in any reform initiative will be especially critical for the Yakima Valley’s agriculture industry, which estimates that from 50 percent to 70 percent of its farm-worker labor pool is here illegally.

The failure of President George W. Bush and Congress to pass reform in 2007 underscores how difficult it will be for the Democrats under Obama to succeed in navigating the thicket of opposition that comes with any measure offering legalization provisions.

If the White House can’t satisfy that overriding concern, immigration reform will never be taken seriously. I couldn’t agree more.

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Some surprising news from our border, according to the LA Times, arrests of illegal immigrants along the California-Mexico border declined 25% this year as a weak economy and bolstered enforcement efforts appear to be discouraging treks north.

The downward trend is evident across the Southwest border as apprehensions fell to levels not seen since the early 1970s. The U.S. Border Patrol arrested 556,000 people last year, 152,200 of them in California, according to statistics released for the federal fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Apprehension levels, considered the best available indicator of illegal crossing activity, have fluctuated for decades, but have steadily declined since 2000, when there were 1.6 million arrests.

Federal officials say the declining numbers show that increased enforcement, including fencing, staffing and infrastructure, are affecting migrant flows. Showing progress in securing the border is crucial for the Obama administration’s efforts to garner support for immigration reform legislation. We know that without an enforcement plan, any reform is bound to fail.

Read more…

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Yesterday was the deadline for several Vermont farms to turn over paperwork on their employees to Homeland Security. Last week, as part of a nationwide federal crackdown, authorities handed out subpoenas to five Vermont businesses, at least four of them were dairy farms. The goal is to catch workers who have provided illegal documents.

The crackdown surprised the Governor. He says the solution is not to target farms, but a new visa program, so farmers can legally hire the help they need year round since not enough Vermonters will do the work.

Read more here….