Protect Yourself and Your Family: Get Immigration Help from a Licensed Professional (PDF)

Careless Detention: Medical Care in Immigrant Prisons

In May, The Washington Post ran a great four-part series on the medical treatement of immigrants in detention. 

One of the authors, Dana Priest, just won a Pulitzer Prize for her series on the treatment of veterans at Walter Reed Hospital.

Vicente Fox on U.S. Immigration (link to audio)

May 28, 2008 - Tell Me More - Former Mexican President Vicente Fox offers his views on drug violence in Mexico, the unsolved murders of young women in Ciudad Juarez, and America's handling of the immigration issue. Fox also weighs in on how the presidential campaign in this country has affected immigration politics, and explains why he disagrees with the Bush administration's effort to build a fence along the border.

With Migrant Workers in Short Supply, a Farmer Looks to Machines

May 27, 2008 - New York Times - Last fall, the Farm Credit Associations of New York, which finance farmers in the area, issued a projection, using federal Department of Agriculture data, showing that 800 farms in the state with total sales estimated in excess of $700 million were “highly vulnerable to going out of business or forced to severely cut back their farm operations.”

ICE Eyes 400,000 Deportations (link to audio)

May 27, 2008 - All Things Considered - For decades, the nation's jails and prisons had little formal role in immigration enforcement. It was possible for an illegal immigrant to be arrested for a crime, be convicted, serve time, then be released, without ever being turned over for deportation. Now, the federal immigration agency has a plan to keep that from happening.

Calif. Rep. Says Immigration Issue Misunderstood (link to audio)

May 27, 2008 - Tell Me More - Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-Ca) explains why she believes many Americans don't understand the actual effects of immigration. She partly blames the media for spreading misinformation. Solis explains her strategy for changing public opinion and why she's made immigration a central issue of her congressional service.

Prayers for the Invisible: Immigrants Who Die in Legal Limbo  

May 24, 2008 - New York Times - Among the many rituals of the Roman Catholic Church, none specifically mention a Mass for the Invisible. Still, on Thursday, 12 people gathered at a church in Lower Manhattan to remember Boubacar Bah, a 52-year-old tailor from Guinea who overstayed a tourist visa and died in an immigration detention center.

Immigration Officials Arrest 905 in California Sweep

May 24, 2008 - New York Times - Federal immigration agents have arrested 905 people in California in the past three weeks after a statewide search for those who had violated orders to leave the country. The operation was the latest in a series of national sweeps by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

270 Illegal Immigrants Sent to Prison in Federal Push

May 24, 2008 - New York Times - In temporary courtrooms at a fairgrounds here, 260 illegal immigrants were sentenced this week to five months in prison for working at a meatpacking plant with false documents. Two others received longer sentences, while another eight were convicted of a separate crime.

Deportation Hearings Follow Iowa Raid (link to audio)

May 19, 2008 - Most of the 400 workers arrested last week in an immigration raid on a meat-packing plant in Postville, Iowa, face immediate deportation as court hearings begin. The raid affected roughly 10 percent of the town's population.

Immigrants' Children Find Better Lives, Study Shows

May 18, 2008 - New York Times - A decade-long study of adult children of immigrants to the New York region has concluded that they are rapidly entering the mainstream and doing better than their parents in terms of education and earnings — even outperforming native-born Americans in many cases.

No Rebates for You

May 15, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - Immigrant restrictionism is stiffing hundreds of thousands of American citizens and legal residents out of their tax-rebate checks

Immigration and Gang Violence Propel Crusade

May 15, 2008 - New York Times - The Los Angeles Police Department was one of the first in the nation — nearly three decades ago — to institute a procedure that prohibits officers from initiating contact with people for the sole purpose of learning their immigration status. The procedure, known as Special Order 40, was designed in part to reassure illegal immigrants who historically had shied from reporting crimes and assisting police investigations.

But in the context of contemporary immigration politics, the procedure is now perceived in black neighborhoods and beyond as a roadblock to using immigration laws as a tool against Latino gang violence.

'Careless Detention' Exposes Deadly Threat (link to audio)

May 14, 2008 - Talk of the Nation - The Washington Post began a series of investigative reports on Sunday revealing medical mistakes at immigrant detention facilities in the U.S. Reporters Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein talk about their series, "Careless Detention," which chronicles neglectful treatment that may have contributed to 30 detainee deaths.

Officers Battle Visa Hurdles for Iraqi Aides

May 14, 2008 - New York Times -Nearly 2,000 interpreters in Iraq and Afghanistan have applied to the State Department for a special immigrant visa, which was begun in 2006 as a last resort for those fearing for their lives. So far 1,735 cases have been approved, though it is unclear how many interpreters have come to the United States.

In its first year the visa program for interpreters was limited to only 50 spots. Since then it has expanded to 500 spots a year.

But the numbers tell only part of the difficulty. The program does little to minimize the visa bureaucracy. The process, complicated for anyone, is especially hard for interpreters.

They are considered refugees, and refugees cannot apply from their native countries, in this case Iraq. But Jordan and Syria have closed their borders to the flood of Iraqi refugees. Passports issued by the government of Saddam Hussein are not valid, often making it impossible to cross borders legally.

Conditions at Detention Centers Questioned (link to audio)

May 13, 2008 - Tell Me More - Reports of substandard health care and unnecessary deaths at U.S. immigration detention centers have heightened concerns among immigrant families and advocates. Reporter Elizabeth Llorente, who writes for New Jersey's The Record, has been reporting on the issue for more than a decade; she talks about the recent reports and the changes some advocates are demanding.

What Social Security Isn't Meant to Do

May 12, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - To hear some in Congress tell it, the federal government urgently needs to expand its electronic employment verification system, E-Verify, to all corners of the country and force every business to use it. But a hearing in the House last week raised serious questions about the costs and collateral damage of that expansion, the latest scheme by hard-liners to slam the door shut on unauthorized immigrant workers.

Immigration Raids Shake California Schools (link to audio)

May 12, 2008 - All Things Considered - Raids by federal authorities on undocumented immigrants in Northern California panic parents and school officials as fears spread that students might be targeted. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and other big-city mayors are denouncing the raids.

Life Term in Crash That Killed Migrants

May 11, 2008 - Associated Press - A man who crashed an overloaded sport utility vehicle while fleeing Border Patrol agents, killing 10 illegal immigrants, has been sentenced to life in federal prison.

Better Health Care Sought for Detained Immigrants

May 7, 2008 - New York Times - The head of a Congressional subcommittee looking into complaints of inadequate medical care in immigration detention announced on Tuesday that she had introduced legislation to set mandatory standards for care and to require that all deaths be reported to the Justice Department and Congress.

Death by Detention

May 6, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - A chilling article by Nina Bernstein in The Times on Monday recounted the secrecy, neglect and lack of oversight that are a few of the shameful symptoms of the booming sector of the nation’s prison industry — the detention of undocumented foreigners.

Few Details on Immigrants Who Died in Custody

May 5, 2008 - New York Times - Death is a reality in any jail, and the medical neglect of inmates is a perennial issue. But far more than in the criminal justice system, immigration detainees and their families lack basic ways to get answers when things go wrong.

No government body is required to keep track of deaths and publicly report them. No independent inquiry is mandated. And often relatives who try to investigate the treatment of those who died say they are stymied by fear of immigration authorities, lack of access to lawyers, or sheer distance.

Crowds Smaller at Immigrant Rallies

May 2, 2008 - New York Times - Thousands of supporters of immigrant rights gathered in more than a dozen cities on Thursday afternoon. But the crowds seemed smaller than at comparable events in past years, with the turnout apparently depressed by fear of arrest.

Immigrants Challenge U.S. System of Detention

May 1, 2008 - New York Times - Immigrants who spent time in detention while fighting deportation filed a federal suit on Wednesday against Michael Chertoff, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, demanding that the agency issue legally enforceable regulations for its detention centers.

Citizenship Checks on Wash. Ferries Stir Controversy (link to audio)

April 30, 2008 - Morning Edition - The U.S. Border Patrol has started regularly checking the citizenship of passengers on certain ferries inside Washington state. Such nationality checks are common in the Southwest, but along the Canadian border, they're still relatively new — and to many people, the checkpoints have come as a shock.

Pulling Back the Immigration Posses

April 30, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - Many parts of the nation have tilted severely toward harsh, unyielding policies to catch and punish illegal immigrants, but not everyone has gone over the edge. Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona on Monday pushed back, vetoing a bill that would have required all police and sheriff’s departments in the state to join the federal immigration posse.

Tomato Growers Cut Crop amid Immigration Worries (link to audio)

April 25, 2008 - Morning Edition - Tomato growers in New Jersey say tougher immigration enforcement may change this year's crop. It's getting harder to hire the migrant laborers — many of them from Mexico — who traditionally pick tomatoes during the few weeks when they're ripe.

Employers Escaping Charges in Immigration Raids (link to audio)

April 25, 2008 - All Things Considered - Two years ago, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new strategy for immigration enforcement. It said it would start bringing criminal charges against companies that employ illegal workers. Since then, there's been a dramatic increase in raids on businesses, but few prosecutions against employers.

A 'Surge' for Refugees

April 22, 2008 - New York Times Op-Ed - IT is a grave humanitarian crisis: 1.5 million Iraqi refugees living in deplorable and declining conditions in Syria and Jordan.

Pope Speaks Up for Immigrants, Touching a Nerve

April 20, 2008 - New York Times - Even as he was flying to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of protecting immigrant families, not dividing them.

Immigration, Off the Books

April 17, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - Every American who has a job or wants one should be following the debates in Congress over bills to crack down on illegal hiring. Employment verification is one of the few ideas still lurching around the Capitol after last year’s Senate shootout mowed down a forest of immigration reforms. It’s boring and complicated — it’s about databases — but unlike other immigration fixes, it affects every worker and employer in America, native-born or not.

New Jersey's Immigration Crackdown

April 16, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - Illegal immigration is inherently a matter for the federal government, but local police forces are increasingly conducting their own crackdowns. The police in some New Jersey towns have been aggressively looking for immigration violations and, predictably, it has been leading to abuses. The state should scale back police involvement in immigration enforcement.

The Verge of Expulsion, The Fringe of Justice

April 15, 2008 - New York Times - Federal appeals are not usually a volume business. Even fancy Manhattan firms with hundreds of lawyers seldom have more than a handful of cases pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which is known for its august history, superior judicial craftsmanship and special expertise in commercial and securities case.

Perfectly Legal Immigrants, Until They Applied for Citizenship

April 12, 2008 - New York Times - Largely overlooked in the charged debate over illegal immigration, many of these are long-term legal immigrants in the United States who were confident of success when they applied for naturalization, and would have continued to live here legally had they not sought to become citizens.

As applications for naturalization have surged, overburdened federal examiners, under pressure to make quick decisions and also weed out any security risks, prefer to err on the side of rejection, immigration lawyers and independent researchers said. In 2007, 89,683 applications for naturalization were denied, about 12 percent of those presented.

Many Visas Are Sought for Skilled Immigrants

April 11, 2008 - New York Times - Federal immigration authorities received about 163,000 petitions for temporary work visas for highly skilled immigrants for the year starting Oct. 1, officials said Thursday, nearly twice as many as the number of visas available.

Immigration Outsourced

April 9, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - Not content to botch immigration policy all by itself, Congress has handed large parts of the job to others to mishandle. It gave the homeland security czar the czarist powers to overturn any law and ignore any court to seal the border. Now Michael Chertoff is clear-cutting a forest of regulations to wall out Mexico by the end of the year. And through the program known as 287(g), his agency is parceling out duties to a growing number of local police and sheriff’s departments, raising an army of junior deputies in the war on illegal immigrants.

Power to Build Border Fence Is Above U.S. Law

April 8, 2008 - New York Times - Securing the nation’s borders is so important, Congress says, that Michael Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, must have the power to ignore any laws that stand in the way of building a border fence. Any laws at all.

San Fransisco Reaches Out to Immigrants

April 6, 2008 - New York Times - The city of San Francisco has started an advertising push with a very specific target market: illegal immigrants. And while the advertisements will come in a bundle of languages — English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese — they all carry the same message: you are safe here.

More Training for Foreign Students

April 5, 2008 - New York Times - Immigration officials said they were extending the duration of on-the-job training for immigrant students who are recent graduates with advanced degrees in science, technology and engineering. The training period will be extended to 29 months from 12 months for immigrants on student visas employed in jobs related to their field of study. Training will also be automatically extended for students who are waiting to shift to temporary work visas known as H-1B. The measure, which officials said would benefit about 25,000 students, is designed to close visa gaps that had forced some highly skilled graduates to leave the country.

Wonder Bread and Curry: Mingling Cultures, Conflicted Hearts

April 4, 2008 - New York Times - Jhumpa Lahiri's characters tend to be immigrants from India and their American-reared children, exiles who straddle two countries, two cultures, and belong to neither: too used to freedom to accept the rituals and conventions of home, and yet too steeped in tradition to embrace American mores fully. These Indian-born parents want the American Dream for their children — name-brand schools, a prestigious job, a roomy house in the suburbs — but they are cautious about the pitfalls of life in this alien land, and isolated by their difficulties with language and customs. Their children too are often emotional outsiders: having grown up translating the mysteries of the United States for their relatives, they are fluent navigators of both Bengali and American culture but completely at home in neither; they always experience themselves as standing slightly apart, given more to melancholy observation than wholehearted participation.

Detention facility for immigrant kids sued for abuse

April 3, 2008 - Associated Press - Eight immigrant teenagers held at a facility for unaccompanied minors filed a federal lawsuit Thursday claiming they were abused and denied access to attorneys.

Faster Background Checks Are Pledged

April 3, 2008 - New York Times - The federal Citizenship and Immigration Services agency announced an agreement with the F.B.I. to speed up security background checks of immigrants applying to become permanent residents and United States citizens. The agencies said they would finish by May all background checks that have been backlogged for more than three years and by July for all cases waiting more than two years. The agencies said they planned to expand staff and streamline procedures. Currently, about 66,000 cases have been waiting longer than six months.

New Bill May Speed U.S. Visas for Artists

April 3, 2008 - New York Times - When it comes to artists trying to obtain visas, notorious performers like Amy Winehouse usually get the headlines. That British soul singer’s application to come to the United States for the Grammy Awards in February was initially denied, with speculation that the refusal was because of her alleged use of illegal drugs.

Michael Chertoff's Insult

April 3, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - To the long list of things the Bush administration is willing to trash in its rush to appease immigration hard-liners, you can now add dozens of important environmental laws and hundreds of thousands of acres of fragile habitat on the southern border.

Government Issues Waiver for Fencing Along Border

April 2, 2008 - New York Times - In a sweeping use of its authority, the Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it would bypass environmental reviews to speed construction of fencing along the Mexican border.

Immigration Issues End a Pennsylvania Grower's Season

April 2, 2008 - New York Times - As in politics, timing is everything in tomatoes.

Finding and keeping the field hands who can pick 10,000 tomatoes a day during the hot months of August and September is no less a test of organizational traction than any get-out-the-vote drive.

How Immigrants Saved Social Security

April 2, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - Immigration is good for the financial health of Social Security because more workers mean more tax revenue. Illegal immigration, it turns out, is even better than legal immigration. In the fine print of the 2008 annual report on Social Security, released last week, the program’s trustees noted that growing numbers of “other than legal” workers are expected to bolster the program over the coming decades.

A Foolish Immigration Purge

March 27, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - Leave it to the Bush administration to throw thousands of law-abiding American workers and companies off a cliff in perilous economic times.

Immigration's Fallout: Fewer Fresh Tomatoes? (link to audio)

March 26, 2008 - The Bryant Park Project - Workers in the agricultural sector have been hard hit by the congressional failure to create a sustainable immigration policy. But one farmer in Pennsylvania — who before this year had operated the largest fresh-market tomato producing farm in the state — says the policy gridlock is forcing him to stop growing tomatoes.

An Agent, a Green Card, and a Demand for Sex

March 21, 2008 - New York Times - No problems so far, the immigration agent told the American citizen and his 22-year-old Colombian wife at her green card interview in December. After he stapled one of their wedding photos to her application for legal permanent residency, he had just one more question: What was her cellphone number?

Citizenship, Thwarted

March 19, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - The director of the federal Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, Emilio Gonzalez, is stepping down next month, leaving behind a gummed-up bureaucracy and perhaps a million empty promises. That’s about how many people are stuck waiting to have their citizenship petitions approved by the agency, which was swamped last summer by a flood of applications that it failed to predict or prepare for.

For Foreign Investors, Profit Isn't Only Goal

March 16, 2008 - New York Times - BRIAN GOULDING recently moved with his wife, Majella, and three young children to Wilmington, N.C. “It’s gorgeous here,” he said, referring to the region’s temperate climate.

But Mr. Goulding also has a strong interest in the colder environs of northern Vermont and, specifically, the success of a new hotel at the Jay Peak ski resort, five miles from the Canadian border. If the hotel, expected to open next fall, succeeds, Mr. Goulding and his family, who are from Ireland, will be allowed to remain in the United States.

The Gouldings are among the beneficiaries of a program that grants foreigners legal residency in the United States if they invest in job-creating businesses. “If, in two years, the project has delivered the employment to the state of Vermont,” Mr. Goulding said, he will receive a permanent green card. “If the project collapses,” he said, “I won’t.”

Newer Immigrants Taking Over Diners

March 16, 2008 - New York Times - THE suburban diner business — once as dependably Greek as feta or moussaka — is increasingly making room for immigrants from other countries, even other continents.

Goal Set for Reducing Backlog on Citizenship Applications

March 15, 2008 - New York Times - Immigration officials said on Friday that they expected to complete about 930,000 citizenship applications in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, reducing a huge backlog in a time frame that would allow many new citizens to register to vote in the November elections.

The Road to Dystopia

March 13, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - The search for a silver bullet to slay illegal immigration continues. Hard-liners are turning the country upside down looking for it.

Gates Tells Congress What Is Needed for Better Workforce

March 13, 2008 - Associated Press - More investment in math and science education and a more liberal policy toward skilled foreign workers are crucial if America is to avoid losing its competitive edge, a founder of Microsof, Bill Gates, told Congress on Wednesday.

Bill Gates Targets Visa Rules for Tech Workers (link to audio)

March 12, 2008 -  All Things Considered - Bill Gates says the United States' position as the global leader in innovation is at risk.

Latino Immigrants Fight to Be Counted in November (link to audio)

March 12, 2008 - Tell Me More - Cesar Perales, president of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, recently filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Latino immigrants who want their U.S. citizen applications processed in time to vote in November's presidential elections. Perales is joined by Manuel Martinez, a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Workers Sue Gulf Coast Company That Imported Them

March 11, 2008 - New York Times - A group of 500 foreign welders and pipefitters brought in to work at Gulf Coast oil rig yards after Hurricane Katrina said Monday that they had sued their employer, claiming they were lured with false promises of permanent-resident status, forced to live in inhumane conditions and then threatened when they protested.

Community Organizer Fights for Immigrants (link to audio)

March 11, 2008 - Morning Edition - There doesn't seem to be much middle ground when it comes to opinions on Salvador Reza, a community organizer in Phoenix who believes that all immigrants who want to work should be welcomed with full labor rights.

Immigration Policy in U.S. Is Criticized by U.N. Aide

March 9, 2008 - Associated Press - The United States is not doing enough to protect immigrants’ rights, a United Nations human rights expert said Friday. The adviser, Jorge A. Bustamante, said immigrants were often subject to indefinite detention and forced deportation.

Mistrial declared in border agent's case

March 7, 2008 - Associated Press - A federal judge declared a mistrial Friday in the case of a U.S. Border Patrol agent charged with fatally shooting an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

Latinos Seek Citizenship in Time for Voting

March 6, 2008 - New York Times -  A lawsuit filed Thursday in a federal court in New York by Latino immigrants seeks to force immigration authorities to complete hundreds of thousands of stalled naturalization petitions in time for the new citizens to vote in November.

Deportation Pact Alarms Vietnamese Immigrants (link to audio)

March 5, 2008 - All Things Considered - In January, the U.S. Immigration Service signed a pact with the Vietnamese government, agreeing to deport thousands of illegal Vietnamese immigrants who are currently under deportation orders.

Prior to this pact, the Vietnamese government refused to take in deportees. The bulk of those who face imminent deportation have been convicted of felonies in this country, yet the large Vietnamese immigrant community is alarmed.

Border Insecurity

March 4, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - From San Diego on the Pacific to Brownsville on the Rio Grande, a steel curtain is descending across the continent. Behind it lies a nation so confused and conflicted by its immigration problems that it has decided to wall itself off and wait for things to fix themselves. This country once was a confident global magnet for an invigorating flow of immigrant workers and citizens-to-be. Now it is just hunkering.

Mourning Resonates From Staten Island to Sri Lanka

March 4, 2008 - New York Times - A pending autopsy may explain the death of his wife, Tai Ling Feng, 36, a Taiwan-born United States citizen who worked in a bank. But to the young widower and the multiethnic circle of friends who had cheered on the couple’s courtship as a uniquely New York love story, immigration law now seems to be compounding a New York tragedy.

Expansive Border Fence Stirs Fights Over Land (link to audio)

March 3, 2008 - Tell Me More - The U.S. government is constructing a 700-mile fence along its border with Mexico, leaving many inhabitants within the construction area fighting to keep their land. Eloisa Tamez talks about being sued by the federal government to gain access to her land near Brownsville, Texas. Tamez is joined by Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada.

A Taste of Colombia Rolls Through New York's Streets

March 3, 2008 - New York Times - As New York City’s Colombian population has ballooned, one custom that has been transplanted is the use of rustic buses, or chivas as they are called in Spanish, for parties.

Delay in Muslims' Citizenship Process Leads to Suits (link to audio)

February 28, 2008 - All Things Considered - Twenty-five Muslims are suing the Justice Department and immigration officials, accusing them of stalling their citizenship applications with unreasonably prolonged background checks. The lawsuit says the plaintiffs have been waiting two to five years for their applications to be processed.

Iraqi Refugees Struggle to Build a Life in the U.S. (link to audio)

February 28, 2008 - Morning Edition - Most Iraqis are coming to the U.S. as refugees, with several months of federal assistance for rent and food. But about 1,000 — including Salman — have come on Special Immigrant Visas that offer no aid. Salman has been staying in the guest room of his former American boss. He says she's extremely kind, and has even loaned him money, but he wonders how long he can keep imposing.

New Tactics to Control Immigration Are Unveiled

February 23, 2008 - New York Times - Bush administration officials said Friday that they would begin using new technology to create a virtual fence along sections of the border with Mexico, and that construction had been completed on 302 miles of physical fence.

Dinaw Mengestu Captures Immigrant Life (link to audio)

February 19, 2008 - NPR.org - "How was I supposed to live in America when I had never really left Ethiopia?" questions Sepha Stephanos, the protagonist of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears. That isolation and frustation of immigrant life is thoughtfully portrayed in the award-winning fictional debut from Dinaw Mengestu.

Proportion of Immigrants in U.S. Rises

February 11, 2008 - New York Times - If present trends continue, within two decades the proportion of immigrants in the United States will surpass the peak reached more than a century ago, a new analysis concludes.

More immigrants to get green cards before full review

February 11, 2008 - McClatchy Newspapers - In a major policy shift aimed at reducing a ballooning immigration backlog, the Department of Homeland Security is preparing to grant permanent residency to tens of thousands of applicants before the FBI completes a required background check.

Calderon to Visit Mexican Immigrants in the U.S. (link to audio)

February 10, 2008 - All Things Considered - Mexican president Felipe Calderon will tour the United States this week, but he's not likely to meet with President Bush or the presidential contenders. Instead, Calderon is heading to cities with large Mexican immigrant populations. Calderon has a message of support for those immigrants, who still play an important role in domestic Mexican politics.

Los Angeles: 120 Caught in Raid

February 9, 2008 - Associated Press - More than 100 Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a printer supply manufacturer Thursday in the San Fernando Valley, taking into custody about 120 employees accused of being in the country illegally and arresting eight on federal criminal charges, the authorities said. The raid was at the offices of Micro Solutions Enterprises, said Virginia Kice, a customs spokeswoman. The eight people were arrested on suspicion of providing fraudulent information to get their jobs, Ms. Kice said.

Iraqi Refugees Heading for the U.S. (link to audio)

February 8, 2008 - The Bryan Park Project - More than 2 million Iraqis have fled the country since the war began. The U.S. expects to receive 12,000 by October. Joe Roberson, director of the Church World Service's Immigration and Refugee Program, talks about where the others have gone.

White House Moves to Ease Guest Worker Program

February 7, 2008 - New York Times - The Bush administration announced plans on Wednesday to overhaul the notoriously inefficient federal guest worker program for agriculture, seeking to provide more legal workers to American farmers who now rely primarily on illegal immigrants.

Processing of Iraqi Refugees Remains Slow, U.S. Says

February 5, 2008 - New York Times - Last year the Bush administration vowed to find a way to accelerate the processing of immigrant visas and the granting of refugee status so that Iraqis who worked for the American Embassy in Baghdad could immigrate to the United States. But a State Department update on the issue on Monday showed that a gap remains between words and action.

A Tiny Staff, Tracking People Across the Globe

February 4, 2008 - New York Times - Every moment has its magazine, and for the age of migration it is the Migration Information Source, a weekly (more or less) online journal followed worldwide by scholars, policy makers and the occasional migrant in distress. “My soul’s dying every moment,” an Iranian asylum seeker wrote last year in an e-mail message from Greece. “Give me an answer.”

New York's Newest Citizens Hungry to Cast Their Votes

February 3, 2008 - They know whom they will vote for, though some are a little uncertain about how to vote (they are hoping someone at the polling station will explain it to them). They come from Mumbai, India; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; and Georgetown, Guyana, and their political opinions and insights on the eve of New York State's presidential primary on Tuesday have been little noticed by polls and pundits.

Coming to America

February 3, 2008 - It is hard to imagine where American culture would be today without the contributions of Hitler and Stalin — that is, without the thousands of creatively gifted refugees who fled these murderers. A good many cultural historians and writers have explored this meaty subject from different angles since Anthony Heilbut’s 1983 landmark, “Exiled in Paradise” (still the best book on the topic). And now, in “Artists in Exile,” Joseph Horowitz has taken a crack at it.

Vietnam Agrees to the Return of Deportees from the U.S.

January 23, 2008 - American immigration authorities reached an agreement on Tuesday with Vietnam that clears the way for Vietnamese immigrants under deportation orders to be sent back to their country.

Rise of Chavez Sends Venezuelans to Florida

January 23, 2008 - New York Times - According to census data, the Venezuelan community in the United States has grown more than 94 percent this decade, from 91,507 in 2000, the year after Mr. Chávez took office, to 177,866 in 2006. Much of that rise has occurred in South Florida, making the Venezuelan community one of the fastest growing Latino subpopulations in the region this decade. In many ways, the Venezuelan influx is reminiscent of the Cuban migration spurred by Fidel Castro's overthrow of Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and his imposition of a socialist state.

The Immigrant Vote

January 19, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - The Nevada caucuses today will be the first test of the mood of immigrant voters since comprehensive immigration reform was killed.

One Argument, 12 Million Holes

January 18, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - The big fat immigration bill that died last year in Congress was, for all its flaws, an anchor that kept debate tethered firmly to reality. Like it or not, it contained specific remedies for the border and the workplace. It had a plan for clearing backlogs in legal immigration and managing its future flow. Perhaps most critical, it dealt with the 12 million illegal immigrants already here, through a tough path to earned citizenship.

Legal Immigrants Facing a Longer Wait

January 18, 2008 - New York Times - Because of an unprecedented surge in immigration applications last summer, legal immigrants will have to wait much longer during the next two years to receive visas or naturalization papers, the top official of the federal agency that issues those documents said Thursday.

U.S. to Speed Deportation of Criminals in Jail

January 15, 2008 - New York Times - Federal authorities expect to identify and deport more than 200,000 immigrants who are convicted criminals serving time in prisons and jails across the country, the country’s top federal immigration enforcement official said Monday.

In Texas, Weighing Life With a Border Fence

January 13, 2008 - New York Times - Rafael Garza, a former mayor of this small border city, stood steps from the back door of his simple brick house and chopped the air with a hand. “This is where the actual fence would be,” he said.

Refugees in the Cold

January 12, 2008 - New York Times Editorial - Thousands of elderly and disabled refugees who have found safety in the United States in recent years may soon find out just how cold and equivocal America’s welcome can be. These vulnerable newcomers are subject to a federal law that cuts off their disability benefits if they do not become citizens within seven years.

Agency Acts to Cut Delay in Gaining Citizenship

January 12, 2008 - New York Times - Federal officials said Friday that they had agreed on an emergency plan to hire back about 700 retired government employees in an effort to pare an immense backlog in applications for citizenship by legal immigrants.

Administration Is Rebuffed in a Ruling on Deportation

January 11, 2008 - New York Times - A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Thursday blocked the government’s efforts to deport a Coptic Christian who said he would be tortured if he were returned to Egypt. The ruling was a rebuff to the Bush administration’s practice of relying on confidential assurances to send people to countries that have been known to practice torture.

Immigration Is Defying Easy Answers

December 30, 2007 - New York Times - New immigration and the political reaction against it are nearly as old as the United States itself. Yet the immigration surge of the last decade has awakened tensions of unexpected intensity that have pervaded the presidential campaigns of both parties and stirred voter anger across the country.

Immigration Remains a Hot Topic for 2008 (link to audio)

December 30, 2007 - Weekend Edition - The problem of how to deal with illegal immigration was one of the big issues of 2007 for President Bush and the Congress, and promises to remain on the table in 2008.

Los Angeles Combating Gangs Gone International

December 26, 2007 - New York Times - Two gangs that originated on the streets here have grown so large in El Salvador that there are two prisons in that country devoted exclusively to their members, one for each gang, according to officials who traveled there recently to meet with the local authorities.

Cubans Reach United States Via Mexico (link to audio)

December 26, 2007 - Morning Edition - In the past year, more Cubans have been avoiding stepped-up Coast Guard patrols in the Florida Straits and reaching the United States illegally through Mexico. U.S. policy allows most Cubans who reach American soil to stay, unlike illegal immigrants from many other nations.

Immigration Ground Zero

December 26, 2007 - Washington Post Editorial - THE NEW ground zero in the debate over illegal immigration is Arizona, where the nation's toughest and potentially most far-reaching crackdown on undocumented workers and their employers is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The Arizona law, passed resoundingly by the state legislature after Congress failed to enact immigration reform last summer, penalizes companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants by suspending their business licenses for up to 10 days; ; on a second offense, the business license would be revoked -- what Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) has called a corporate "death penalty." Thus the Arizona law may become a test case for how much pain a state is willing to endure, and inflict, in the name of ridding itself of a population that contributes enormously to its economic growth and prosperity.

Newest Citizens Have Something to Celebrate (link to audio)

December 25, 2007 - Day to Day - At a swearing-in cermony at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Alex Chadwick finds out why these immigrants — from Mexico, Iran, France and Sierra Leone, among other countries — wanted to become citizens.

Many say they want to feel accepted, a part of society. Most point to the opportunity to vote.

African Immigrants Confront American Dream (link to audio)

December 25, 2007 - News & Notes - Dollars and Dreams is a documentary film focused on the pursuits and challenges of numerous West African immigrants as they confront the idea of the American Dream and the reality of the New York experience.

Farai Chideya talks with the film's director, Jeremy Rocklin, and Sidi Ibrahime, an immigrant from the Ivory Coast.

Illegal Immigrants Good Mortgage Risk (link to audio)

December 25, 2007 - Morning Edition - Some banks allow illegal immigrants to obtain a home mortgage even if they don't have a Social Security number. While the borrower's citizenship status may be undocumented, their ability to pay is thoroughly checked out. Surprisingly, illegal immigrants are often a good risk.

Opening Our Eyes to Slavery

December 23, 2007 - New York Times Opinion - However capably federal lawyers may have prosecuted the case against Varsha and Mahender Sabhnani, who were convicted last week of enslaving and torturing two Indonesian women in their opulent home in Muttontown, it was certainly not brilliant or aggressive law enforcement that broke the case.

Latino Hate Crimes on the Rise (link to audio)

December 23, 2007 - All Things Considered - Southern Poverty Law Center statistics show that hate crimes reported against Latinos increased 35 percent between 2003 and 2006. According to the Center's Mark Potok, the spike reflects the nation's increasingly strident debate over illegal immigration.

Spitzer Pardons Ex-Convict to Spare Him Deportation

December 22, 2007 - New York Times - Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced the pardon on Friday of a 54-year-old Brooklyn man convicted of robbery 16 years ago, saying the pardon would spare the man from being deported to Jamaica.

Long Island Couple Convicted of Enslaving 2 Domestic Workers for Years

December 18, 2007 - New York Times - The so-called Muttontown slave trial involved a wild barrage of testimony by two Indonesian domestic workers who were employed — and, prosecutors say, enslaved and tortured for years — by a well-to-do couple on Long Island. And the verdict Monday morning made for no less wild a scene.

Lives Are Growing Harder, Hispanics Say

December 14, 2007 - New York Times - After a year of stepped-up enforcement against illegal immigration and polarized debate on the issue, about half of the Hispanics in the United States now fear that they or a relative or close friend could be deported, a report released Thursday by the Pew Hispanic Center found.

Warehouse Workers Quit in Immigration Inquiry

December 13, 2007 - New York Times - Fresh Direct, the online grocery delivery operation that caters to affluent and overworked New Yorkers, lost dozens of employees this week after federal immigration officials notified the company that its employee records were under investigation.

Debates Persist Over Subsidies for Immigrant College Students

December 13, 2007 - New York Times - Go to college, we urge our children. College is the new high school, and without an undergraduate degree, they will be doomed to low-earning, second-rate lives.

Yet we send the opposite message to thousands of young people because they have been brought into this country illegally by their parents, sometimes when they were toddlers, or remained beyond their visa deadlines. About 65,000 persevere well enough every year to graduate from high school, according to the Washington-based Urban Institute, but once they do, we make going to college hard if not impossible.

New visas to help victimized immigrants

December 5, 2007 - Austin American-Statesman - Immigrant rights groups in Austin on Tuesday applauded a new visa that will soon become available to immigrant victims of trafficking and violent crimes. But they cautioned that federal definitions of who is eligible and other rules could undermine the intent and effectiveness of the visas.

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which Congress passed in 2000, created the "U" visa. It allows certain crime victims to obtain temporary legal status in the United States if they assist law enforcement in the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking, slavery, forced prostitution and other, mostly violent crimes.

Federal Suit Is Seeking to Expedite Citizenship

Immigration Agency Faces Lawsuits Over Tactics (link to audio)

November 23, 2007 - All Things Considered - Federal immigration agents have dramatically stepped up raids in the past few years. Officials say they target only criminals and those who have ignored deportation orders. But immigrant rights groups complain many with no criminal record are being swept up.

The Immigration Wilderness

November 23, 2007 - New York Times Editorial - The nation certainly sounds as if it’s in an angry place on immigration.

A major Senate reform bill collapsed in rancor in June, and every effort to revive innocuous bits of it, like a bill to legalize exemplary high school graduates, has been crushed. Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York hatched a plan to let illegal immigrants earn driver’s licenses — and steamrollered into the Valley of Death. Asked if she supported Mr. Spitzer, Senator Hillary Clinton tied herself in knots looking for the safest answer.

Immigrants, Refugees Celebrate Thanksgiving (link to audio)

November 23, 2007 - Day to Day - Thursday marked the first Thanksgiving for many newly arrived immigrants and refugees in the United States.

Dr. Najeeb Hanoudi, an Iraqi refugee, tells Madeleine Brand how he spent the day. He arrived in Detroit last week.

Surge Brings New Immigration Backlog

November 23, 2007 - New York Times - Immigration authorities are swamped in new bureaucratic backlogs resulting from an unanticipated flood last summer of applications for citizenship and for residence visas, officials said.

Influence of Immigrant Voters in Iowa Grows (link to audio)

November 23, 2007 - Morning Edition - In January, Iowans will cast their decisive votes in the nation's first caucus. The state has an estimated 40,000 Hispanic voters. That isn't a huge number, but Iowa is experiencing a migration boom that will have a major impact in the future.

Cubans may get U.S. visas faster

November 22, 2007 - Miami Herald - In a significant shift in Cuba migration policy, the U.S. government announced Wednesday it was creating a new program that would reduce the long delays many Cubans experience in securing visas to enter the United States.

The Presidential Immigration Divide (link to audio)

November 21, 2007 - Day to Day - The matter of immigration is already drawing lines between candidates in the presidential race. Madeleine Brand talks to Politico's Jim Vandehei about the candidates' positions on immigration.

Border Fence Work Raises Environmental Concerns

November 20, 2007 - New York Times - The Department of Homeland Security is ahead of schedule in building some 700 miles of fencing along the Mexican border, but some environmental groups, elected officials and local Indian tribes say too little attention is being paid to the environmental consequences of the barriers.

Smuggled Chinese Travel Circuitously to U.S. (link to audio)

November 20, 2007 - Morning Edition - Since the late 1980s, hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from China's Fujian province have been smuggled into the United States.

Chinese Immigrants Chase Opportunity in America (link to audio)

November 19, 2007 - Morning Edition - Over the past two decades, illegal immigrants from the Fujian Province of China have flooded into New York City's Chinatown.

Migrant Money Flow: A $300 Billion Current

November 18, 2007 - New York Times - THE money flows in dribs and drabs, crossing borders $200 or $300 at a time. It buys cornmeal and rice and plaid private school skirts and keeps the landlord at bay. Globally, the tally is huge: migrants from poor countries send home about $300 billion a year. That is more than three times the global total in foreign aid, making “remittances” the main source of outside money flowing to the developing world.

Candidates Walk a Tightrope on Immigration

November 18, 2007 - New York Times - THE Republican presidential candidates talk about illegal immigration as if they were in an arms race on toughness. The Democratic candidates have begun to tread more warily on the issue, as their debate last week in Las Vegas showed, but they still favor the language of accommodation over alarm.

Federal jury finds detention center liable for mistreatment

November 13, 2007 - Associated Press - A federal jury on Tuesday awarded a political asylum seeker $100,001 after finding that her rights were violated while in custody at a detention center operated for U.S. immigration authorities by a private contractor, the immigrant's lawyer said.

Not many Iraqi refugees in U.S.

November 12, 2007 - Chicago Tribune - According to UN estimates, more than 4 million Iraqis have been displaced since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Refugee advocates call it the fastest-growing humanitarian crisis on the planet, deteriorating more quickly than Myanmar (also known as Burma) or Darfur.

Immigration Raid Sets Off Trajedy for Mass. Family (link to audio)

November 12, 2007 - All Things Considered - In September, NPR's Claudio Sanchez reported on the fallout from a huge immigration raid in New Bedford, Mass.

Sanchez revisits one of the families to hear its tragic story — a husband, deported to Guatemala, returned to the U.S. only to die in his wife's arms. Now, the family faces an uncertain future.

Immigration reform stalled until 2008 vote

November 11, 2007 - LA Daily Times - Despite nationwide protests and rallies this year demanding an overhaul of U.S. immigration laws, congressional leaders acknowledge little change is likely for at least another year.

A clash of cultures

November 11, 2007 - Austin American-Statesman - Remembrances of U.S. history are often cast in the lore of the Great Melting Pot, the nostalgic notion that Americans not only tolerated differences, they embraced them.

But immigration has from the start created flash points over whether newcomers were becoming American enough, fast enough. Beginning with Germans in the 17th century and continuing through the Irish, Italians, Chinese and others in the 19th century, successive waves of immigrants arrived to a welcome of resentment and fear.

Syria to Let U.S. In to Screen Iraqis Seeking Resettlement

November 9, 2007 - New York Times - Syria has agreed to allow American interviewers into the country to screen  Iraqi refugees for admission to the United States, clearing a major obstacle to the Bush administration’s resettlement program, the State Department said Thursday.

Help Wanted

October 31, 2007 - New York Times Editorial - Congress has finally pried open America’s door to Iraqis and Afghans who have served this country at great risk. Congress needs to go a lot further, adding more visa slots and approving resettlement benefits that would allow these people to grab the lifeline the United States has been far too slow to offer.

Candidates Weigh Illegal Immigrants' Driving Rights (link to audio)

October 31, 2007 - All Things Considered - Democrats vying for their party's presidential nomination disagreed at their debate Tuesday night about whether states should issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

The questions were what to do about people who are driving without having proved they are safe drivers, and whether states should give official identification to someone illegally in the U.S.

Students' Family Members Are Deported

October 30, 2007 - New York Times - The parents and grandmother of two college students in Miami whose fight for legal immigration status came to symbolize the hopes of illegal immigrant students were deported to Colombia on Tuesday.

Governor Spitzer Retreats

October 30, 2007 - New York Times Editorial - Gov. Eliot Spitzer has confronted the most intense public criticism of his political career — and caved. Not so long ago, Mr. Spitzer was doing the right and brave thing, planning to offer driver’s licenses to qualified but undocumented immigrants. The plan was inherently fair and would have made the state and its roads safer. Unfortunately, it also made Mr. Spitzer the target of some very nasty rhetoric from his political opponents, while his allies offered mostly weak-kneed support.

What Part of "Illegal" Don't You Understand?

October 28, 2007 - New York Times Editorial Observer - I am a human pileup of illegality. I am an illegal driver and an illegal parker and even an illegal walker, having at various times stretched or broken various laws and regulations that govern those parts of life. The offenses were trivial, and I feel sure I could endure the punishments — penalties and fines — and get on with my life. Nobody would deny me the chance to rehabilitate myself. Look at Martha Stewart, illegal stock trader, and George Steinbrenner, illegal campaign donor, to name two illegals whose crimes exceeded mine.

Migrants in San Diego Camp Killed in Fires (link to audio)

October 26, 2007 - Morning Edition - Four people were found dead in a migrant camp east of San Diego where wildfires have been raging. Border patrol agents were taking a routine look at the border with Mexico. They were near a major corridor for illegal immigrants who walk into the United States. That was where they found four charred bodies. It's not clear how long the bodies had been there.

Rice Admits U.S. Erred in Deportation

October 25, 2007 - New York Times - Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice admitted Wednesday that the United States had mishandled the case of a Canadian who was deported to Syria and who has said he was tortured there, but she stopped short of an apology.

Fires Highlight Safety Needs of Migrant Workers (link to audio)

October 25, 2007 - All Things Considered - San Diego County is home to tens of thousands of immigrant workers, both legal and undocumented. Their homes and workplaces may be at risk, but poor access to services and fear of immigration authorities at evacuation centers may keep some from seeking shelter.

Bill for Immigrant Students Fails Test Vote in Senate

October 24, 2007 - New York Times - A bill to grant legal status to illegal immigrants who are high school graduates was defeated Wednesday in a test vote in the Senate, significantly dimming the prospects for any major immigration legislation this year.

Candidate Calls for Raid on Immigration Bill Event

October 24, 2007 - New York Times - Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado, a Republican presidential candidate whose fierce opposition to illegal immigration is the center of his campaign, contacted the immigration service yesterday demanding that agents raid a senator’s news conference.

A Chance to Dream

October 24, 2007 - New York Times Editorial - The Senate has a chance today to pluck a small gem from the ashes of the immigration debate. A critical procedural vote is scheduled on the Dream Act, a bill to open opportunities for college and military service to the children of undocumented immigrants.

Immigrants criticize mental health care for detainees

October 24, 2007 - San Antonio Express-News - One was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The other was manic-depressive. But as far as the federal immigration detention system is concerned, the pair say, their illnesses were checked at the door.

 

For Cubans Fleeing to the U.S., The First Stop Is Often Mexico

October 16, 2007 - New York Times - Cubans are migrating to the United States in the greatest numbers in over a decade, and for most of them the new way to get north is first to head west -- to Mexico -- in a convoluted route that avoids the United States Coast Guard.

No Need for a Warrant, You're an Immigrant

October 14, 2007 - New York Times - LONG ISLAND officials protested when federal agents searching for immigrant gang members raided local homes two weeks ago. The agents had rousted American citizens and legal immigrants from their beds in the night, complained Lawrence W. Mulvey, the Nassau County police commissioner, and arrested suspected illegal immigrants without so much as a warrant.

The Inexplicably Uncourted Latino Vote

October 13, 2007 - Washington Post - Presidential candidates from both parties have yet to fully embrace the importance of the Latino vote. Meanwhile, President Bush has alienated the Latino community by allowing the administration's policy to be hijacked by restrictionists. Alienating the fastest growing voting population is a big mistake for any politician or candidate that wishes to remain relevant to the Latino community -- an increasingly significant segment of our society.

The Anti-Deportationist Backlash

October 13, 2007 - Wall Street Journal - Like many conservatives, I have long admired former Rep. J.D. Hayworth as an important, articulate advocate of many causes I hold dear. I am troubled that his fanaticism on the single subject of deportation has deprived the nation of his dependable votes for victory in Iraq, tax cuts, school choice and the right-to-life.

A Crackdown on Hold

October 12, 2007 - New York Times Editorial - A federal judge has halted a reckless plan by the Bush administration to use Social Security records for immigration enforcement. This is good news, not just for the American economy, which would have been crippled by the attempt to force millions of undocumented workers off the books, but also for the untold numbers of innocent citizens and legal residents who also would have been victims of the purge.

Immigrants and Laureates

October 12, 2007 - Washington Post - Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize is getting almost all the attention, but America's two other new Nobel laureates also have interesting stories. Geneticists Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies won the Nobel Prize in medicine for their work in gene targeting. And while their honor highlights the quality of American research, it also shows how our scientific community is enriched by highly skilled immigrants.

Are Local Crackdowns Forcing Immigrants Out? (link to audio)

October 12, 2007 - All Things Considered - States and towns across the country are passing measures aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration, and there is anecdotal evidence that undocumented immigrants are moving out of those areas.

There are reports of declining school enrollments, panic home sales and sharply falling business at shops catering to Hispanics.

Crackdown Upends Slaughterhouse's Work Force

October 12, 2007 - New York Times - Last November, immigration officials began a crackdown at Smithfield Foods’s giant slaughterhouse here, eventually arresting 21 illegal immigrants at the plant and rousting others from their trailers in the middle of the night.

California law bans landlords from asking tenants' immigration status

October 11, 2007 - Associated Press - California is again forging its own path on immigration reform by becoming the first state to prohibit landlords from asking tenants' immigration status.

Lawsuit Targets Prince William

October 11, 2007 - Washington Post - Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit yesterday targeting Prince William County's closely watched crackdown on illegal immigration, arguing that a measure ordering police to check the immigration status of people in custody violates federal law.

Judge Blocks Bush Measure on Illegal Workers

October 11, 2007 - New York Times - A federal judge in San Francisco today ordered an indefinite delay on a central measure of the Bush administration’s new strategy to curb illegal immigration.

U.S. border officer guilty of smuggling aliens

October 11, 2007 - Windsor Star - A fired U.S. border inspector was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday for his role in smuggling illegal aliens into the U.S. from Canada.

Cuban Migrants Have It Easier on U.S.-Mexico Border

October 11, 2007 - Reuters - The United States has tightened security on the Mexican border and deported illegal immigrants but one group of Hispanics is welcome at border posts: Cubans fleeing the communist island.

ACLU Seeks to Stop Drugging of Deportees

October 10, 2007 - Associated Press - Indonesian immigrant Raymond Soeoth says he was awaiting deportation when four officers stormed into his holding cell, wrestled his pants off and pinned him down for an injection of anti-psychotic drugs.

Business leader: U.S. needs foreign workers

October 10, 2007 - Capitol Media Services - The United States needs not only the undocumented workers already here but even more foreigners to do jobs, the head of the nation's largest business group said Wednesday.

Migrant must go, and $49,000 stays, U.S. says

October 10, 2007 - Miami Herald - After nine years of washing dishes, Pedro Zapeta managed to save $62,000. Then he lost most of it overnight. Not to addiction or street thugs. To the U.S. government.

U.S. judge delays some border fence construction

October 10, 2007 - Associated Press - A federal judge temporarily delayed construction of a 1.5 mile section of a U.S.-Mexico border fence in a wildlife conservation area on the Arizona-Mexico border on Wednesday.

ACLU and Victims of Inadequate Medical Care in Immigration Detention Tell Congress to Prevent More Deaths

October 4, 2007 - ACLU Press Release - The American Civil Liberties Union and victims of inadequate medical treatment in immigration detention facilities testified in Congress today urging more oversight of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in whose custody at least 65 people have died since 2004. According to the ACLU, inadequate medical care may be a leading cause of death in immigration detention. Activists, experts, victims of deficient medical care in ICE detention and relatives of people who died in ICE custody all testified, sharing harrowing stories and sobering facts.

Insane on asylum

October 4, 2007 - Los Angeles Times Opinion - Plenty of pious statements have been made over the last year -- many of them by senior Bush administration officials -- about how the United States has a moral obligation to help the more than 2 million refugees who have fled Iraq, most particularly those who have become targets because they worked for the Americans. Credibility with the Iraqi population, in the broader Middle East and around the world will be gauged by whether the U.S. keeps its promises. Now we may judge the administration's performance by the benchmarks it set for itself.

The Bush administration promised to grant refuge to 7,000 Iraqis during this fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30; just 1,608 were admitted. It plans to take in 12,000 in fiscal 2008. (Sweden, which opposed the Iraq war, has already admitted more and plans to resettle 20,000 Iraqis this year alone.)

Door remains open at Hutto

October 4, 2007 - Houston Chronicle -Maybe it was the international media scrutiny. Maybe it was the 10 federal lawsuits alleging harmful conditions. Perhaps it was the case earlier this year of a guard having sex with a detainee.

Whatever the motivating factor, Williamson County has apparently concluded that helping the federal government detain immigrant parents and children in a converted medium-security prison is a risky business, one to which the county no longer wants a part.

T. Don Hutto incident involved sexual relationship

October 4, 2007 - Austin American-Statesman - Citing reasons why Williamson County commissioners are moving to terminate a contract with a controversial immigrant detainment center, County Judge Dan A. Gattis told the American-Statesman on Tuesday that the contract bound the county to responsibilities it didn't want, such as maintenance issues.

U.S. sailor: Don't deport my wife

October 3, 2007 - CNN - Eduardo Gonzalez, a petty officer second class with the U.S. Navy, is about to be deployed overseas for a third time. Making his deployment even tougher is the fact his wife may not be around when he comes back.

Legal immigrant applications for citizenship up 86%

October 2, 2007 - Arizona Republic - Over the past 11 months, more than 4,000 immigrants in Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Santa Cruz and Graham counties applied for U.S. citizenship, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data.

Judge Blocks Program to ID Illegal Immigrants (link to audio)

October 2, 2007 - Morning Edition - A federal judge in San Francisco blocks the start of a controversial program to find illegal immigrants in the nation's workforce. Under the plan businesses face penalties if they keep workers whose Social Security numbers don't match their names.

Judge delays crackdown on employers of illegal workers

October 2, 2007 - San Fransisco Chronicle - A federal judge signaled Monday that he is likely to prevent the Bush administration from threatening employers with prosecution if they fail to fire illegal immigrants.

Officials Protest Antigang Raids Focused on Immigrants

October 2, 2007 - New York Times - Nassau County officials today will call for a federal investigation into a series of antigang raids last week that resulted in the arrests of 186 immigrants on Long Island. They said that the vast majority of those arrested were not gang members and that local police were misled and endangered by the operation.

Virtual Border Security Behind Schedule (link to audio)

October 2, 2007 - Morning Edition - Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff says the government is making progress securing the nation's southern border. He says fewer illegal immigrants crossed in the last year, the number of border agents is up, and the number of miles of fencing has doubled. But a high-tech virtual fence, touted as the best tool for gaining control borders, is well behind schedule.

Pledging Even More Allegiance

October 1, 2007 issue - Newsweek - For the first time in two decades, the U.S. citizenship test has been revamped—and the new version, which will be unveiled this week for use starting Oct. 1, 2008, will mark a profound shift in what it takes to become an American. Gone are many of the old trivia-style questions such as "How many stripes are on the American flag?" They've been replaced by queries that focus on concepts rather than facts—for instance, "Why does the flag have 13 stripes?" The new test, 10 years in the making at a price tag of $6.5 million, will also cover subjects such as "checks and balances," "inalienable rights" and other constitutional ideas.

Burmese Refugees Find New Home in Indiana (link to audio)

September 30, 2007 - Weekend Edition - Some 3,500 refugees from Myanmar, also known as Burma, have made new homes in Fort Wayne, Ind. A support system offers refugees assistance such as food stamps and health care. About 100 new Burmese refugees are arriving each month.

Pieces of Immigration Bill Reassembled (link to audio)

September 24, 2007 - Morning Edition - In a piecemeal approach, Senate Democrats seek to revive parts of a defeated bill to overhaul immigration policy. One effort would put illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children on a path to citizenship if they enroll in college or join the military.

Spitzer Grants Illegal Immigrants Easier Access to Driver's Licenses

September 22, 2007 - New York Times - New Y ork State, home to more than 500,000 illegal immigrants, will issue driver’s licenses without regard to immigration status under a policy change announced yesterday by Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

New York's Immigrant Drivers

September 22, 2007 - New York Times Editorial - Gov. Eliot Spitzer made a very important if politically hazardous decision yesterday. He decreed that New York State’s Department of Motor Vehicles will award driver’s licenses to those who can prove who they are and pass the tests, not only those in good standing with the federal immigration authorities. That decision is correct for all who use New York’s roads.

U.S. Rule Limits Emergency Care for Immigrants

September 22, 2007 - New York Times - The federal government has told New York State health officials that chemotherapy, which had been covered for illegal immigrants under a government-financed program for emergency medical care, does not qualify for coverage. The decision sets the stage for a battle between the state and federal governments over how medical emergencies are defined.

David Carliner, Lawyer and Immigration Advocate, is Dead at 89

September 22, 2007 - New York Times - David Carliner, an influential left-leaning lawyer whose work for clients ranging from scholars and scoundrels to cooks and cabdrivers helped define modern immigration law, died Wednesday in Washington. He was 89.

Immigration Raids Single Out Hispanics, Lawsuit Says

September 21, 2007 - New York Times - A federal lawsuit filed yesterday charges that agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement unlawfully force their way into the homes of Hispanic families in the New York area without court warrants or other legal justification, sometimes pushing down doors in the middle of the night, in search of people who do not live there.

Judge Who Chastised Weeping Asylum Seeker is Taken Off Case

September 21, 2007 - New York Times - A New York immigration judge who rebuked a Chinese man for weeping during his asylum hearing has been rebuked herself by a federal appeals court that took the rare step of ordering her off the case.

Pass the Dream Act

September 20, 2007 - New York Times Editorial - A small but worthy step toward immigration reform is returning as an amendment to the defense authorization bill. As the Senate debates that fat holiday wish book for the Pentagon, it should rescue this sliver of bipartisan good sense from the wreckage of last summer’s failed immigration debate.

U.S. Appoints Officials for Iraq Refugees

September 20, 2007 - Reuters - The Bush administration on Wednesday appointed two senior officials to clear bureaucratic roadblocks blamed by Washington for the painfully slow pace of admitting Iraqi refugees to the United States.

Measure Would Offer Legal Status to Illegal Immigrant Students

September 20, 2007 - New York Times - A bill to offer legal status to illegal immigrant students who have graduated from high school was revived this week in the Senate, the first effort to advance a piece of broad immigration legislation that failed in June.

A uniquely American DREAM

September 19, 2007 - Los Angeles Times - Thoughtful people will disagree about immigration policy -- how many foreigners to let in, for what purpose, and what to do about the 12 million illegal immigrants already in this country. That's why sweeping immigration reform has failed again and again. This fall, Congress should think smaller, and figure out what it can agree on, before another year passes with no progress. It might start by considering young people like Lucia.

Bipartisan bills speed asylum process for Iraqi refugees

September 19, 2007 - The Oregonian - Congress, spurred by stories of gruesome retaliation and squalid living conditions, is moving to liberalize and accelerate the process for giving Iraqi refugees asylum in the United States.  

Farmers worry about immigration crackdown (link to audio)

September 18, 2007 - All Things Considered - A court will soon decide whether the Department of Homeland Security can go ahead with a crackdown on illegal workers. DHS wants to hold employers accountable if their workers' Social Security numbers can't be proved valid. Employers fear the new rule could put them out of business and farmers feel especially vulnerable.

Congress quietly returns to immigration

September 17, 2007 - Los Angeles Times - Three months after Congress failed to pass a broad immigration overhaul, lawmakers are quietly returning to the hot-button issue, discussing narrower measures that address illegal immigrants and low-skilled laborers.

Already, critics are promising fireworks.

Crocker Blasts Refugee Process

September 17, 2007 - Washington Post -  The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warned that it may take the U.S. government as long as two years to process and admit nearly 10,000 Iraqi refugees referred by the United Nations for resettlement to the United States, because of bureaucratic bottlenecks.

Music Scholar Barred From U.S., but No One Will Tell Her Why

September 17, 2007 - New York Times - Nalini Ghuman, an up-and-coming musicologist and expert on the British composer Edward Elgar, was stopped at the San Francisco airport in August last year and, without explanation, told that she was no longer allowed to enter the United States.

Human trafficking exists in U.S., must be addressed

September 16, 2007 - Des Moines Register - She was a 19-year-old Dallas, Texas, college student when the man she'd been seeing for a couple of months suggested a trip to Florida to meet his parents.

It wasn't a great relationship. He had pursued her, but was sometimes abusive and had even ripped up her citizenship papers. She was a naturalized American of Korean origin. He was American by birth.

They set out by car for Florida, but it was Nevada they ended up in. There, Chong Kim says, her boyfriend delivered her to a group of men in exchange for a stack of cash. She never saw him again.

It was her induction into the world of human trafficking.

Immigrant Songs Offer New Twist on Old Sounds (link to audio)

September 16, 2007 - Weekend Edition - The phrase "protest song" often brings to mind a collage of faces from the past: Maybe it's Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and the civil-rights music of the 1960s, or perhaps Woody Guthrie and his songs from the Dust Bowl days. These balladeers defined their times, and their music was a reflection of the politics, economics and social upheavals of the day.

At the U.S. Border, The Desert Takes a Rising Toll

September 15, 2007 - New York Times - “I can’t breathe,” Felicitas Martínez Barradas gasped to her cousin as they stumbled across the border in 100-degree heat. “The sun is killing me.”

2 places, big contrasts on immigration

September 14, 2007 - Miami Herald - Two places -- Prince William County, south of Washington, and New Haven, Conn., -- are the opposite ends of policies that other local leaders around the country may find themselves considering.

''We hope Prince William County can conduct a national pilot program in what to do to crack down on illegal immigration,'' said Corey Stewart, the chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. Last week, he testified before Congress that it should enable local governments to do more immigration enforcement.

In New Haven, however, city leaders have welcomed immigrants as integral to the community. This summer, New Haven became the first city in the country to issue special identification cards to its undocumented residents, guaranteeing them access to services such as bank accounts.

Iraqi Refugees Arrive in Atlanta (link to audio)

September 13, 2007 - Morning Edition - More than 4 million people have fled their homes in Iraq since the war began. According to the United Nations, about half of those have become refugees in Syria, Jordan and other neighboring countries.

Barriers Abound for Immigrants Learning English (link to audio)

September 11, 2007 - All Things Considered -Immigrants' English skills are often part of the U.S. debate over foreign workers. Demand for English classes far outstrips supply, even as work, family duties and other obstacles stand in the way of efforts to master a new language.

Union to file suit against ICE, seeking to stop immigration raids

September 11, 2007 - Associated Press - The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union wants a federal judge to stop immigration officials from conducting what the union calls illegal workplace raids.

Albanian Says He'll Be Slain if Deported

September 10, 2007 - Associated Press - An Albanian restaurant owner who says he publicly identified the men accused of gunning down a lawmaker in his home country is fighting to stay in the United States, for fear he will be killed if deported.

Fitting together the pieces of a tragedy

September 9, 2007 - Boston Globe - Edwidge Danticat was raised by her aunt and uncle in Haiti and joined her parents in the United States when she was 12. Her peerless fiction includes "Breath, Eyes, Memory" and "The Dew Breaker." In 2004, when Danticat was pregnant with her first child and while her father was dying of pulmonary fibrosis, her uncle, an elderly churchman, was forced to flee the violence in Haiti.

Despite having documentation and having visited America before, a frail Joseph Danticat was first detained by US Customs, then shackled and imprisoned. Without his medication, he died within days. Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that 62 immigrants have died in US administrative custody since 2004. "Brother, I'm Dying" (Knopf, $23.95), a model of grace and restraint, tells the story of Uncle Joseph, of the Danticat family, and of their country.

A Death in the Shadows

September 9, 2007 - New York Times - The indictment last week of a Mount Kisco police officer in the death of Rene Perez may at last bring clarity to a murky, troubling homicide case. The fate of Mr. Perez, a 42-year-old Guatemalan immigrant, has been a mystery since he was found, fatally wounded, beside a road in Bedford last April. The accounts of that night showed it to have been yet another among countless dozens of run-ins between the police and Mr. Perez, who was by many accounts an alcoholic and a chronic public nuisance. Responding to complaints about Mr. Perez’s unruliness, various officers shuttled him that day from Bedford to Mount Kisco and back to Bedford, and at some point, the indictment claims, Officer George Bubaris did something that — for the moment, anyway — ended the problem of Mr. Perez.

Is It Fixed Yet?

September 9, 2007 - New York Times Editorial - The immigration battle that ended this summer was a victory for the simple, straight-ahead approach. The supporters of comprehensive reform did not have the votes for their exotic blend of tough compassion, of punishing then rewarding illegal immigrants with a nonamnesty that everybody called amnesty. The Republicans’ bill-killing argument was: punish all the lawbreakers and seal the border, just seal it already.

Once Facing Deportation, a Woman Gets Asylum

September 8, 2007 - New York Times - It was a case that galvanized protests in Chinese-American communities around the United States last year and drew international attention: the pregnant Chinese woman who miscarried twins soon after she was taken by federal immigration officers from Philadelphia to New York to be deported.

Plan to Target Businesses That Employ Immigrants Draws Fire

September 8, 2007 - Washington Post - A pending crackdown by the Bush administration against U.S. companies that employ illegal immigrants faced growing opposition yesterday, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and several large industry groups joined an AFL-CIO lawsuit to halt the program and the U.S. Small Business Administration said it was considering whether to take their side.

Officials Face Constitutional Complexities

September 7, 2007 - Washington Post - For elected officials who promised Northern Virginia voters that they would make their communities less hospitable to illegal immigrants, Herndon Town Council member Dennis D. Husch has some advice: Read up on the Constitution.

High-tech border system needs work

September 6, 2007 - Los Angeles Times - A much-touted, high-tech system being tested along the border with Mexico failed to meet expectations and is being reworked, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Wednesday. Still, he said, border security has improved dramatically.

Minnesota: Immigrants Mistreated in Raids, Suit Claims

September 5, 2007 - Associated Press - A lawsuit filed by an immigrant rights group claims that federal agents who raided a meatpacking plant in Worthington last December detained Hispanic workers, hurled racial epithets at them and forced the women to take off their clothes. The federal lawsuit was filed by Centro Legal on behalf of 10 workers at the Swift & Company plant who are in the United States legally.

Feds Stand Down on Immigration Crackdown (link to audio)

September 4, 2007 - Morning Edition - A new plan to crack down on illegal immigration is on hold. The federal program was supposed to have started this week. It compares employee Social Security numbers with those on file, and cracks down on employers with too many mismatches.

Oscar a true immigration success story

September 4, 2007 - Chicago Sun-Times - Oscar was 9 years old when his family slipped unchallenged in broad daylight through a hole in the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales, Ariz. Two days later, they caught a plane from Phoenix to Chicago, where they met up with relatives already living here.

That was 12 years ago. Oscar is now in his third year at Governors State University, where he's carrying a 4.0 grade average with a double major in computer engineering and computer science.

In a New Jersey Town, an Immigration Fight Pits Brother Against Brother

September 4, 2007 - New York Times - Bryan Lonegan, a prominent immigrant rights advocate, gets the question all the time. Is he related to Steven M. Lonegan, the Republican mayor of Bogota, N.J., who demanded last year that McDonald’s remove a billboard written in Spanish and who then pushed to make English the town’s official language?

Iraqi Refugees in the U.S. (link to audio)

September 3, 2007 - Talk of the Nation - Retired Gen. Joseph Hoar talks about his op-ed that appeared in The New York Times on Friday, in which he argues that the United States needs to open its doors to more Iraqi refugees.

U.S. Asylum Remains Elusive for Iraqis

September 3, 2007 - Associated Press - Desperate Iraqis here and in Jordan are slogging through a slow, grueling process of interviews and background checks, trying to get one of the thousands of slots the United States is giving out to Iraqis for permanent asylum.

Children in Limbo

September 3, 2007 - Austin-American Statesman - From his home in Honduras, "Joel," a boy in the company of 15 adult strangers, embarked on a poignant, nightmarish and ultimately illegal odyssey to the United States. He carried one dream: to live again with his parents.

They left him for their own journey north when he was a year old, believing it was the best way to provide for their family. That was 16 years ago. Joel said he understood why they left; in Honduras, poverty is rampant.

Mexican President Assails U.S. Measures on Migrants

September 3, 2007 - New York Times - President Felipe Calderón harshly criticized the United States government on Sunday for the recent crackdown on illegal immigrants, saying it has led to the persecution of immigrant workers without visas.

Immigrants' Labors Lost

September 3, 2007 - New York Times Op-Ed - IMAGINE we wanted to create a huge Latino underclass in this country. We would induce more than 500,000 illegal immigrants to enter annually. We would see Latinos account for half of America’s population growth. We would turn a hardened eye toward all 44 million Latinos, because 12 million jumped our borders to meet our labor demand.

Living in Fear for Helping America

September 1, 2007 - New York Times Editorial - Of all the Iraqis jaded by the failure of the United States’ invasion, few are more fearful than the tens of thousands who worked loyally for the American war effort but now find themselves hunted as traitors by militant gunmen.

Rules on Hiring Illegal Workers Delayed

September 1, 2007 - New York Times - A federal judge in San Francisco yesterday temporarily barred the Department of Homeland Security from carrying out new rules to crack down on employers of illegal immigrants, dealing a legal setback to a central part of the Bush administration’s effort to step up enforcement of the immigration laws.

Hiring sites scrutinized as part of immigration debate

September 1, 2007 - Associated Press - Scores of men barely out of their teens and others nearing retirement age cluster by trucks slowly cruising two blocks of a bustling immigrant neighborhood.

Abandoned at the Border

August 31, 2007 - New York Times Op-Ed - FOR more than a year, men and women in our armed forces have been urging the United States to bring to safety the Iraqi translators and others who have worked beside them and are now the victims of retaliation. A Marine captain, Zachary Iscol, said he owed his life and the lives of his men to his Iraqi translator. “Just coming to work was an act of heroism and courage on his part,” Captain Iscol said.

Texas: Iraqi Christian granted asylum

August 31, 2007 - Associated Press - An Iraqi Christian who used migrant smugglers to enter the United States after escaping persecution in his home country has been granted political asylum and will be allowed to remain. The immigration judge, William Peterson, granted a request from the man, Aamr Bahnan Boles, in Harlingen on Wednesday. Mr. Boles escaped from Iraq and made his way through Mexico to the Texas border near Brownsville, where he was captured with two other young Iraqi men as they swam the Rio Grande in April 2006. They claimed asylum on grounds they were subjected to brutality and threats in Iraq because of their faith. Mr. Boles served six months in prison on a charge of illegal entry while the F.B.I. investigated his claim. In January, he was released and has been staying with a relative in Sterling Heights, Mich.

Ohio: Illegal Immigrants Held

August 29, 2007 - Associated Press - About 160 illegal immigrants were arrested in a raid at a poultry processing plant in Fairfield, the authorities said. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents seized documents and other materials at the Koch Foods plant and at the company’s headquarters near Chicago, said Agent Brian Moskowitz. An official at the Fairfield plant, Monte Lobb, said he had fired many employees after finding out they were illegal immigrants and had repeatedly told the federal authorities he wanted to cooperate with them. An I.C.E. spokesman, Marc Raimondi, said deportation proceedings would begin immediately.

Africans Making New Lives in the U.S. (link to audio)

August 28, 2007 - News & Notes - The number of African immigrants in the U.S. has more than tripled over the past decade, according to the Census Bureau. The influx is diverse, from scholars to illiterate refugees. More than 40 percent have college degrees, which is higher than the U.S. average.

Arizonans, Border Patrol Clash Over Checkpoint (link to audio)

August 24, 2007 - Morning Edition - On Interstate 19, the main corridor from Nogales, Ariz., to Tucson, drivers encounter a series of temporary barricades that cause them to slow down and eventually stop. They roll down their windows and pull up to a Border Patrol agent. The agent asks them their citizenship, where they're coming from and where they're going.

Thousands of Liberians in U.S. Told to Go Home (link to audio)

August 23, 2007 - Morning Edition - Some 3,600 Liberians living in the U.S. may be forced return to their country next month. The Liberians came to the U.S. under a special immigration category known as Temporary Protected Status. TPS was first granted in 1991, as Liberia descended into a decade of brutal conflict. It's something of a fallback for those who don't qualify as a refugee and can't obtain a permanent green card through marriage or work. But with Liberia's war over, and a new government working to rebuild, the U.S. says that those on TPS must return home by October 1.

Discussing Elvira Arellano: Immigrant Hero? (link to audio)

August 23, 2007 - Tell Me More - Elvira Arellano is known to some as the Rosa Parks of the immigrants' rights movement. Arellano was recently deported to Mexico after refusing to leave the United States willingly for fear of being separated from her American-born son. Her stardom as the "representative" of immigrants continues to be debated.

Court gives Yugoslav actress fresh chance at asylum

August 20, 2007 - Associated Press - An actress from the former Yugoslavia is getting a fresh chance to stay in the United States after a federal appeals court ruled that an immigration board was too quick to order her deported when Slobodan Milosevic's presidency ended and the political landscape in her homeland changed.

Immigration Activist Deported to Mexico (link to audio)

Aug. 20, 2007 - Day to Day - Immigration activist Elvira Arellano, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who took sanctuary in a Chicago church, has been deported back to her home country. Arellano was attending a conference in Los Angeles, where she was taken into custody. Arellano stayed in the Chicago church for a year, and has an 8-year-old son who was born in the United States.

U.S. Agency Is Swamped by Request for Visas

August 18, 2007 - New York Times - Immigration authorities have received about 300,000 applications for high-skilled-employment visas since July 1, federal officials said yesterday, a deluge unleashed after the federal government first said it would not accept any applications for those visas during July and then reversed course.

Dying woman takes oath of citizenship

August 18, 2007 - Arizona Republic - Her body growing weaker day by day because of terminal cancer, Maria Torres de Chamberlin rose from her living room recliner Friday afternoon to celebrate one of the greatest days of her life.