Illegal Immigration

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Supreme Court casts doubt on Obama’s immigration law claim

The Washington Times

Supreme Court justices took a dim view of the Obama administration’s claim that it can stop Arizona from enforcing immigration laws, telling government lawyers during oral argument Wednesday that the state appears to want to push federal officials, not conflict with them.

The court was hearing arguments on Arizona’s immigration crackdown law, which requires police to check the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally, and would also write new state penalties for illegal immigrants who try to apply for jobs.

The Obama administration has sued, arguing that those provisions conflict with the federal government’s role in setting immigration policy, but justices on both sides of the aisle struggled to understand that argument.

Federal Appeals Court 'Ignores Rule of Law,' Defers to White House on Deportation Cases

CNS News

Does the Obama administration intend to enforce the nation’s immigration laws or not? Two Republicans are asking that question, after a federal appeals court halted the deportation of five suspected illegal aliens on Monday, asking the Obama administration whether it plans to stop the deportations.

In a 2-1 ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set a March 19 deadline for the Obama administration to explain whether it intends to use “prosecutorial discretion” to prevent the aliens’ removal. The five cases are on hold in the meantime.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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."

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.

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.

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.

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).

Bullet 333David Bossie, President, Citizens United
Bullet 333Rev. Clenard Childress, Jr., Assistant Director, Life Education and Resource Network
Bullet 333Demos Chrissos, Writer/Producer, RapidResponse Media, Inc.
Bullet 333Ward Connerly, Author/Founder and Chairman, American Civil Rights Institute
Bullet 333Tom DeLay, Former House Majority Leader, United States House of Representatives
Bullet 333Len Deo, President, New Jersey Family Policy Council
Bullet 333Chuck Donovan, Senior Research Fellow-DeVos Center for Religion a, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Jessica Echard, Executive Director, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Tim G. Echols, President/Founder, TeenPact
Bullet 333James Edwards, Cofounder, Olive, Edwards, & Cooper, LLC
Bullet 333Steve Elliott, President, Grassfire.org
Bullet 333Joseph Farah, CEO, Founder, WorldNetDaily
Bullet 333Todd Friel, Radio Host, Way of the Master
Bullet 333James Gelfand, Senior Manager of Health Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Bullet 333Rick Green, President, Torch of Freedom Foundation
Bullet 333Colin Hanna, Colin Hanna, President, Let Freedom Ring USA
Bullet 333Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bullet 333Peter Lillback, President, Westminster Theological Seminary
Bullet 333Gary Marx, Executive Director, Judicial Confirmation Network
Bullet 333Ryan Messmore, William E. Simon fellow in Religion and a Free Soc, The Heritage Foundation
Bullet 333Joe Murray, Columnist, The Bulletin
Bullet 333Jeff Myers, Incoming President, Summit Ministries
Bullet 333Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President, Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny
Bullet 333Phyllis Schlafly, President and Founder, Eagle Forum
Bullet 333Don Shenk, Executive Director, The Tide
Bullet 333Tony Strickland, Taxpayer Advocate
Bullet 333Lorianne Updike, President & Executive Director, The Constitutional Sources Project
Bullet 333Timothy Watkins, Producer/Director, Renegade Productions

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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