Illegal Immigration
12/29/2011 | Illegal Immigration
ICE launches hotline for busted immigrants
Politico
As states across the nation ramp up their efforts to catch illegal immigrants, the Obama administration on Thursday launched a new free hotline for people busted on violations to get help.
The hotline, run by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, is available 24/7 for detained individuals to phone if they think they “may be U.S. citizens or victims of a crime.”
Recommended Guests:
12/12/2011 | Illegal Immigration
High court will look at state immigration laws
USA Today
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will take up a dispute over an Arizona law that requires police to check the status of people stopped or arrested if officers suspect they are here illegally.
The Obama administration had asked the high court to stay out the closely watched case at this early phase, arguing it should let lower court judges examine the constitutionality of the law first.
The justices instead have decided to review whether lower federal court judges had sufficient grounds to block enforcement of the most controversial portions of the Arizona law -- which now has equivalents in several states -- while a question about their constitutionality is pending.
Recommended Guests:
12/5/2011 | Illegal Immigration
Sessions: Foreign Lawsuits against States’ Immigration Policies ‘Baffling’
CNS News
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) called foreign lawsuits against the illegal immigration policy of his state and others “baffling.”
Alabama enacted a tough enforcement law to crack down on illegal aliens. It is similar to the Arizona law passed in 2010. South Carolina passed a tough enforcement law set to take effect in January 2012. The Justice Department has taken legal action against all these states, and 16 foreign countries joined the lawsuits against the three states.
“I do find that baffling almost that a foreign country thinks that they should decide what powers a state has to enact legislation consistent with federal law,” Sessions told CNSNews.com.
Recommended Guests:
11/30/2011 | Illegal Immigration
Consulate's ID cards = confusion
OneNewsNow
One conservative says a California city's decision to accept identification cards of illegal immigrants issued by the Mexican consulate creates confusion.
Law enforcement officials in San Francisco have announced that illegal aliens who are caught violating minor traffic offenses may not be deported. Local officials adopted a policy that allows law enforcement to accept "matricula consular" ID cards -- identification issued to Mexican citizens by the Mexican consulate. Prior to the policy, illegal immigrants who were pulled over for minor traffic offenses in the region were often deported.
Recommended Guests:
11/7/2011 | Illegal Immigration
Grassley: Obama's Immigration ‘Policies Are at Odds with the Rule of Law’
CNS News
Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Thursday that the Obama administration's immigration polices are contrary to the rule of law.
“It’s well past time that the administration come to its senses and realize that their policies are at odds with the rule of law that our country was founded on,” Grassley said. “They must wake up and change their ways before it’s too late.”
Grassely also said it was “unfortunate” that the Senate Judiciary Committee learned about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new policy of curbing routine checks for illegal aliens at transportation hubs along the northern border from an Associated Press news story.
Recommended Guests:
9/7/2011 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Labor Dept. focused on illegals' 'rights'
OneNewsNow
The Tea Party Immigration Coalition is outraged that the Obama Labor Department is holding special "Labor Rights Workshops" for illegal aliens.
The Mexican Consulate in 50 U.S. cities, including Philadelphia and Seattle, held these workshops as part of National Labor Rights Week (August 29-September 5). During the free sessions, the U.S. Labor Department and other federal agencies counseled illegal aliens on such subjects as "immigrant workers rights" and how to obtain an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), which is usually issued by the IRS to people who are not authorized a Social Security number, i.e. illegal aliens.
"Illegal aliens may not work in the United States -- period. That's what the law says," points out John Stahl, chairman of the Tea Party Immigration Coalition. "As a matter of fact, the only right they have is to be deported."
He reports that these workshops were set up in response to agreements Labor Secretary Hilda Solis made with six Latin American countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.
"We'd like to know under what authority the secretary of Labor signed an international agreement. Last I checked, the Senate of the United States must ratify treaties," Stahl notes.
Recommended Guests:
9/1/2011 | Illegal Immigration
Labor Dept. Confirms: It Will Ensure Illegal Aliens Get Paid Legal Wages in U.S. Jobs
CNS News
The U.S. Department of Labor told CNSNews.com in a written statement on Wednesday that it will enforce the federal wage laws on behalf of anyone working in the United States “regardless of their immigration status.” The statement was in response to a written question from CNSNews.com.
The written statement backed up a video statement that Labor Secretary Hilda Solis made to CNSNews.com on Monday in which she indicated that “partnership” agreements she had signed that day with a group of Latin American countries will obligate the U.S. government to protect the working conditions for both “documented and undocumented” migrant laborers here in the United States.
The Labor Department’s determination to make U.S. employers treat illegal aliens taking jobs in the United States as if they were U.S citizens or legal immigrants seems to contradict the Immigration and Nationality Act. That act says “employers may hire only persons who may legally work in the United States (i.e., citizens and nationals of the U.S.) and aliens authorized to work in the U.S.” and that the U.S. government “protects U.S. citizens and aliens authorized to accept employment in the U.S. from discrimination in hiring or discharge on the basis of national origin and citizenship status.”
Recommended Guests:
8/30/2011 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
King: Congress will look into Obama's 'amnesty'
OneNewsNow
A leading border-enforcement advocate in Congress is calling for hearings into what is being referred to as President Barack Obama's "Executive Order amnesty."
On August 18 Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced her department was creating an interagency working group charged with reviewing -- on a case-by-case basis -- the removal proceedings of all illegal aliens slated for deportation. The move has been seen by immigration enforcement advocates as a way for the Obama administration to ignore its congressional mandate to remove those people from the country.
Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa), vice-chairman of the House Immigration Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement, admits he is "offended" by the administration's tactics.
"Congress writes the laws and the Executive Branch enforces them," King states. "For the president to have his subordinates declare and announce they're not going to enforce the law is de facto amnesty. It's essentially a de facto repealing of immigration laws; it's a lawless decision, and I am very offended by it -- and we must take action."
Recommended Guests:
8/19/2011 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Fewer Youths to Be Deported in New Policy
The Obama administration announced Thursday that it would suspend deportation proceedings against many illegal immigrants who pose no threat to national security or public safety.
The new policy is expected to help thousands of illegal immigrants who came to the United States as young children, graduated from high school and want to go on to college or serve in the armed forces.
White House and immigration officials said they would exercise “prosecutorial discretion” to focus enforcement efforts on cases involving criminals and people who have flagrantly violated immigration laws.
Under the new policy, the secretary of homeland security, Janet Napolitano, can provide relief, on a case-by-case basis, to young people who are in the country illegally but pose no threat to national security or to the public safety.
The decision would, through administrative action, help many intended beneficiaries of legislation that has been stalled in Congress for a decade. The sponsor of the legislation, Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, has argued that “these young people should not be punished for their parents’ mistakes.”
The action would also bolster President Obama’s reputation with Latino voters as he heads into the 2012 election.
Recommended Guests:
4/15/2011 | Illegal Immigration, Taxes
Why illegals anticipate April 15
OneNewsNow
While Congress wrangles over what to cut from the government's spending, one economic consultant says the Internal Revenue Service is refusing to take steps to prevent $13 billion from being doled out to illegal aliens every year.
As millions of Americans brace themselves to pay taxes this month, Ed Rubenstein, president of ESR Research and former research director at the Hudson Institute, says millions of illegal aliens get ready to celebrate receiving a cash bonus of up to $5,750 from the IRS.
In his recently updated report, "Defrauding the American Taxpayer - The Earned Income Tax Credit," Rubenstein explains how illegal aliens are among the chief beneficiaries of the $62.5 billion transfer scheme known as the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is part of the tax code.
"If your income is below a certain amount, and if you have children, you are entitled to a tax credit that in many cases is larger than the total amount of taxes that you paid to the federal government," Rubenstein reports. "Right now, it is the most expensive cash transfer program in the federal government."
And he points out that more than half of the people who claim the income tax credit are illegal aliens.
Recommended Guests:
3/8/2011 | Illegal Immigration, UN
Obama Administration Responding to 228 Proposals -- Including Some From Libya, Cuba, North Korea -- on Human Rights in the U.S.
CNS News
The United States’ human rights record will be back in the spotlight at the U.N. Human Rights Council next week, when the U.S. delegation provides its response to more than 200 recommendations made by other governments, ranging from liberal democracies to the repressive regimes ruling Libya, Iran, Cuba, North Korea and China.
The recommendations cover a broad range of issues, from combating “Islamophobia” to scrapping Arizona’s controversial immigration law, Senate Bill 1070.
March 18 marks the final step in the process known as the United States’ first universal periodic review (UPR), an examination supervised by the Human Rights Council that every U.N. member state is expected to undergo every four years.
Recommended Guests:
1/3/2011 | Freedom of Speech, Illegal Immigration
Politically correct phrase legally incorrect
OneNewsNow
A "classic effort in propaganda" is how an immigration reform activist views a journalism society's push for the use of politically correct language in news stories concerning illegal immigration.
In its organization's magazine, Quill, the diversity committee of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) lambasts the use of the phrase "illegal immigrant" or "illegal alien" and calls on journalists to use the more politically correct "undocumented immigrants" or "undocumented workers" when reporting on the issue.
The article, written by a longtime member of the SPJ Diversity Committee, claims the descriptor "illegal alien" originated with "fiery, anti-immigrant groups" along the U.S.-Mexico border, such as the Minutemen, and is offensive to Latinos, "especially Mexicans." [Editor's note: Most border enforcement groups speak against illegal immigration, not immigration in general.]
Ira MehlmanDespite the SPJ's campaign, many mainstream journalists employ the word "illegal," and even Associated Press prefers the phrase "illegal immigrant" to "undocumented worker" in its official stylebook.
"This is a classic effort in propaganda. The people who control language often control the agenda, and if you go back and you look through history movements that have looked to control the terms of a debate, they often start with trying to control the language that's used," notes Ira Mehlman, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
Recommended Guests:
11/5/2010 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Conservative Republican Latina Wins N.M. Governor’s Office With Strict Stand on Illegal Immigration
CNS News
Republican Susana Martinez, who won New Mexico’s gubernatorial race by running as a conservative, vowed to boost security along the Southwest border during her campaign.
In a state that is more than 40 percent Hispanic, Martinez took 54 percent of the vote on Tuesday, beating her Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, by eight points. She was endorsed by Sarah Palin.
Martinez will replace Democrat Governor Bill Richardson, who is nearing the end of his two-term limit. She will be the first female Hispanic governor in U.S. history.
Recommended Guests:
10/19/2010 | Illegal Immigration
State Lawmakers Preparing Citizenship Legislation
Associated Press
Lawmakers in at least 14 states are collaborating on proposed legislation to deny U.S. citizenship to children of illegal immigrants, according to lawmakers, including the sponsor of Arizona's 2010 law targeting illegal immigration.
"We're taking a leadership role on things that need to be fixed in America. We can't get Congress to do it," Republican state Sen. Russell Pearce, of Mesa, said Tuesday. "It's a national work group so that we have model legislation that we know will be successful, that meets the constitutional criteria."
The efforts by the state legislators come amid calls to change the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, which grants automatic citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. Supporters cite costs to taxpayers for services provided to illegal immigrants and their children.
Recommended Guests:
7/7/2010 | Illegal Immigration
US government sues Arizona over anti-immigration law
AFP
The US government on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Arizona for a controversial immigration law which has been sharply criticized by America's neighbors and by the US administration.
A Justice Department statement said it was challenging the new state law in the courts because it hampered the authority of the administration of President Barack Obama to enforce national immigration policy.
It also placed significant "burdens" on federal agencies and law enforcement, the department argued.
Federal laws do not permit the development of a "patchwork of state and local immigration policies," it said.
Recommended Guests:
5/26/2010 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Obama Should Visit U.S.-Mexico Border to See the Threat to Americans Firsthand, Republican Senators Say
CNS News
On the same day President Barack Obama announced he was ordering 1,200 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, two Republican senators from Arizona said it’s about time – and it’s too few troops.
“We have been calling on President Obama to deploy National Guard troops to the border since March 2009 and are pleased he has finally started to recognize the essential needs of our Southwest states,” Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl said in a statement.
Obama acted before Republicans could force a congressional vote on sending in the National Guard, the Associated Press reported.
Recommended Guests:
5/21/2010 | Border Issues, Illegal Immigration
Democrats Applaud As Mexico's Calderon Criticizes Arizona Immigration Law in Address to Congress
Associated Press
Mexican President Felipe Calderon took his opposition to a new Arizona immigration law to Congress Thursday, saying it "ignores a reality that cannot be erased by decree."
Calderon's comments on the Arizona law and his request that Congress do something about the availability of high-powered weapons along the border drew a standing ovation from Democrats, but criticism from several lawmakers who said he was interfering in U.S. internal matters.
The Mexican leader also told lawmakers reluctant to take up the immigration issue this year that comprehensive immigration reform is crucial to securing the two countries' common border.
Recommended Guests:
5/18/2010 | China, Illegal Immigration
Obama State Dept. Tells Communist China: AZ Immigration Law Is Indication of 'Troubling Trend' of 'Discrimination' in U.S.
CNS News
In a "candid and constructive" human rights dialogue with officials from the People’s Republic of China last week, Obama administration officials brought up Arizona's new immigration-enforcement law, telling the Chinese Communists it was an example of a “troubling trend” in the United States and an indication of “discrimination or potential discrimination” in American society.
Ironically, the State Department’s most recent report on human rights in China indicates that the government there restricts the internal travel of its own citizens.
Recommended Guests:
5/6/2010 | Illegal Immigration, Law
Arizona Immigration Law Identical to Federal Laws Requiring Alien Documentation, Says Attorney
CNS News
One of the men who helped write Arizona’s new immigration law said he’s confident it will withstand legal challenges, because the law specifically addresses issues such as racial profiling, which are likely to be the basis of state or federal lawsuits.
“I’m confident Arizona will prevail,” Kris Kobach said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters. Kobach is a constitutional law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and served as chief adviser to former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on immigration law and border security.
Recommended Guests:
5/4/2010 | Illegal Immigration
Democrat Arizona Congresswoman: Deputy's Shooting a ‘Wake Up Call,’ Border 'Out of Control,' 'Immediately Deploy National Guard'
CNS News
Declaring that the shooting of a Pinal County, Ariz., sheriff’s deputy by suspected illegal-alien drug traffickers should be a "wake-up call" for politicians in Washington, D.C., Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.) said the “border region is out of control” and called for immediate deployment of the National Guard there.
Deputy Sheriff Louie Puroll was wounded in a shoot-out with five drug smugglers on Friday after he encountered them with a large shipment of marijuana. Pinal County is in south central Arizona.
Recommended Guests: