Andrea Nill: Fixing the broken immigration system by creating a flexible number of opportunities for economic migrants to work in the U.S. without sacrificing border security is a much more practical and realistic solution.
Did Broken Immigration System Bring Down American Apparel?
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Andrea Nill: Rather than crippling one of the few clothing manufacturers left in the U.S. — one that pays its workers a decent wage and has dedicated a portion of its profits to advocating for immigration reform — perhaps the focus in the absence of major reform should be on punishing those employers who make a profit by exploiting immigrant workers via the strengthening of our nation’s labor laws.
In One Weekend, Tea Party, Neo-Nazis, and ‘Border Activists’ Rally behind Arizona
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Andrea Nill: As proponents of SB-1070 insist that their support of the law has nothing to do with race, they can’t deny that for some people it boils down to “white people who are not afraid to stand up,” as one Tennessee rally attendee noted.
Chamber Of Commerce Speaks Up on Immigration
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Andrea Nill: Labor and business appear to agree on one thing: on its own, the $600 million border bill won’t solve any of these issues and will do little to fix the nation’s broken immigration system.
Meg Whitman: Feds Shouldn’t Be Telling Arizona What To Do, Opposes Path To Legalization
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Andrea Nill: It’s doubtful Whitman will start posting giant billboards in Spanish promoting her support for Arizona and her opposition to a path to legalization under any circumstances.
Why the GOP’s Bizarre Attack on the 14th Amendment
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Andrea Nill: it likely boils down to two things: riling up their base before November’s midterm elections and creating a toxic environment to kill any chance of the DREAM Act passing if and when it is introduced this fall.
Most Arizonans Believe SB-1070 Will Heighten Racism, White Supremacist Groups On The Rise
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Andrea Nill: SB-1070 enjoys high levels of support amongst members of the National Socialist Movement. However, the majority of SB-1070 supporters are not neo-Nazis. What’s troubling is that despite the widespread belief that SB-1070 will lead to increased racism and racial profiling, the majority of Arizonans still support it.
Meg Whitman Believes Arizona Law ‘Should Stand for Arizona’
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Andrea Nill: Whitman’s stance on Proposition 187 is also a contradiction in itself. During her primary campaign, Whitman released an ad featuring former Gov. Pete Wilson (R-CA) who affirmed that Whitman will be “as tough as nails” on immigration. Wilson’s endorsement might have scored some points with right-wingers, but it also meant a lot to California Latinos who remember him backing Proposition 187.
SB-1070 Sponsor: Sanction Mormon Church for Undocumented Stand
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Andrea Nill: State Senator Russell Pearce rejected the Mormon church’s teaching of compassion and helping those in need and stated that he would support sanctioning or criminalizing fellow Mormons who “deliberately” aid undocumented immigrants
SB-1070 Proponents Accuse DOJ for Not Going After ‘Sanctuary Cities’
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Andrea Nill: Proponents of Arizona’s new immigration law, SB-1070, have a new talking point: they are now arguing that if the Department of Justice (DOJ) is going to legally challenge SB-1070, it should also go after “sanctuary city” policies as well. “Sanctuary city” is a right-wing derisive term used to describe cities that have adopted community policing policies that prevent police from asking about the immigration status of or detaining and arresting immigrants solely for being undocumented.
Sarah Palin Tells Bill O’Reilly What She Would Do About Immigration As ‘President Palin’
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Andrea Nill: Palin informed O’Reilly that she would do “whatever it takes” to secure the border, including “militarizing” the border with 10,000-15,000 National Guard troops and building a wall.
Conservatives Repeat False Claim That Phoenix Is ‘Kidnapping Capital of the World’
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Andrea Nill: Mike Huckabee defended SB-1070, telling Greta Van Susteren that Arizona was perfectly justified in passing the draconian immigration law partly because the state is the “number one kidnapping capital in the world.”
Kyl Now Admits Obama Is ‘Doing A Lot’ To Secure the Border, But It’s a Question of ‘Strategy’
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Andrea Nill: However, according to Kyl, securing the border is like the war in Iraq or Afghanistan. “It’s not enough to say ‘gee, we have a lot of people down there’ — the question is but are you succeeding,” explained Kyl. Kyl believes it boils down to “different strategies that need to be employed.”
Arizona Legislator on Difference Between Her and Jan Brewer: ‘I Believe In The Facts’
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Andrea Nill: Brewer has also defended her decision to sign off on SB-1070 by stating that Arizona is “under siege” by Mexican drug cartels and undocumented immigrants and has repeatedly slammed the federal government for not securing the border.
United Farm Workers Encourage Americans To ‘Take Our Jobs’
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Andrea Nill: Contrary to what the anti-immigrant right might suggest, despite a major recession, most farmers and ranchers are still struggling to find the workers they need. “Comprehensive immigration reform is needed, so that America’s farmers and ranchers can continue to produce an abundant supply of safe, healthy food, as well as renewable fuels and fiber for our nation,” writes Ron Gaskill, director of congressional relations for the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Kyl Accuses Obama Of Holding Border Security Hostage To Immigration Reform As Border Crime Drops
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Andrea Nill: At a recent town hall meeting in Tempe, Arizona, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) announced that President Obama is “holding border security hostage” to immigration reform. Kyl claims that Obama suggested in private that Democrats won’t secure the border because, if they do, Republicans will have no reason to support immigration reform
Arizona Shooting of Latino Man Considered a Hate Crime
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Andrea Nill: At this point, it’s difficult to verify what role, if any, SB-1070 played in Varela’s death. However, chances are the law has made an already toxic atmosphere worse. A growing number of Latinos are already the targets of discrimination and hate crimes in the U.S. SB-1070 has only exploited the public’s frustration with federal government inaction and played to their worst instincts.
Border Crossers Shot at in Arizona: Attackers U.S. Citizens?
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Andrea Nill: Tuesday, local Arizona news stations began reporting that a group of undocumented immigrants were shot at in an area of Parker Canyon located near Rio Rico Arizona on Friday. According to reports, a group of undocumented border crossers were shot at by two men wearing camouflage using high-powered rifles.
Fiorina Brushes Off Concerns That Her Immigration Stance Will Bother Latino Voters
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Andrea Nill: Fiorina has instead maintained that “You don’t need comprehensive immigration reform to secure the border.” Yet, contrary to what she suggested on Fox News Sunday, the Obama administration has actually spent more on immigration enforcement and border security than the previous administration.
Immigrants Cleaning Up Oil Spill Nothing New
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Andrea Nill: As Tyler Falk of Grist points out, there’s something seriously wrong with the fact that “British Petroleum can legally come to the Gulf and devastate an entire ecosystem and the economy it supports, but when “illegal” immigrants come to clean up the mess, they are treated like criminals.”
Video Of Border Patrol Shooting Raises Questions About Disproportionate Use of Force
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Andrea Nill: A new cell phone video “raises questions” about the claims made by the border patrol agent who shot and killed a 14-year-old boy earlier this week. The border patrol agent reportedly told authorities that he was surrounded by rock-throwers, as if to imply that he had no choice but to shoot his gun in self-defense. FBI special agent Andrea Simmons told the press that the border patrol agent “gave verbal commands to the remaining subjects to stop and retreat…the subjects surrounded the agent and continued to throw rocks at him.” However, the video captured by a cell phone on the Mexican side of the border shows a different scene:
Physician Warns That Arizona Immigration Law Could Turn Doctors Into Criminals
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Andrea Nill: Lucas Restrepo, M.D., published a piece in the New England Journal of Medicine that provided a whole new angle on the effect SB-1070 will have on the medical profession. Restrepo points out that, under the law, health care providers who treat undocumented immigrants could be considered criminals.
Arizona BUYcott Supporter Says ‘Illegal Criminals’ Will ‘Disappear’ Like ‘Cockroaches’
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Andrea Nill: Tuesday,, the Arizona Republic reported that “the exodus of illegal and legal immigrants predicted by some as a result of Arizona’s tough new immigration law is expected to hurt a variety of businesses that directly and indirectly cater to immigrant populations.” If all of Arizona’s undocumented immigrants “disappeared,” the state could lose $26.4 billion in economic activity, $11.7 billion in gross state product, and approximately 140,324 jobs.
Arizona Anti-Immigrationn Senator Going After ‘Anchor Babies’ Next
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Andrea Nill: Pierce isn’t the first lawmaker to go after the children of immigrants. Since taking office, Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA) has tried and failed to pass seven pieces of legislation that would either repeal or reinterpret the 14th Amendment’s definition of citizenship. Most recently, Bilbray took his anti-14th Amendment crusade to the state-level, backing the Taxpayer Revolution’s “Anchor Baby” reform initiative which sought to limit the rights and benefits of the U.S. citizen children of undocumented immigrants by redefining the 14th Amendment’s jurisdiction.
ACLU Challenges Arizona Immigration Law
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Andrea Christina Nill: The suit, which represents labor, domestic violence, day labor, human services and social justice organizations, along with ten individuals who would allegedly be subject to harassment or arrest, claims that not only is SB-1070 “un-American,” it’s also unconstitutional.
Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon: Politicians Who Love Their Job More Than Their Country Led Arizona Astray
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Andrea Christina Nill: Gordon described a “perfect storm” consisting of three factors. First, the elimination of the Fairness Doctrine radicalized the political discourse. Second, beefed up border security along the California and Texas borders with Mexico redirected smugglers and cartel operatives toward Arizona. And lastly, the economic recession. Gordon explains that “politicians who love their job a lot more than they love their state or their country” exploited the three factors and led Arizona into the predicament it’s in now.
How Will Elena Kagan Approach Immigration If Confirmed?
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Andrea Nill: Kagan could have a direct impact on the role the federal, state, and local governments play in enacting and enforcing immigration laws. Her potential confirmation could also have a more indirect effect on how the nation’s immigration population is treated and who is and isn’t protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Marco Rubio Flipped Wrong on Arizona
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Andrea Christina Nill: Perhaps the most damning evidence that the law hasn’t really changed is the fact that its main sponsor, state Sen. Russell Pearce (R) admitted himself that the new wording won’t alter how the law is enforced. The changes also do not address the fact that the new law is likely unconstitutional on the grounds that it allows the state to regulate immigration — a power which the Constitution explicitly assigns to the federal government.
DeMint Introduces Border Security Amendment To Derail Financial Regulatory Reform
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Andrea Christina Nill: Last week, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) said that President Barack Obama “thinks Americans are stupid” for trying to “convince” voters that Republicans are trying to obstruct financial reform. It turns out that DeMint is the one who is insulting the intelligence of the American people by suggesting that Republicans aren’t pulling every stop to try to derail a bill that has receivedwidespread public support.
Native American Suggests He Was Profiled By Arizona Police: ‘New Bill Targets People Of My Color’
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Andrea Nill: It’s also worth noting that a study by the ACLU on racial profiling in Arizona found that “while African-Americans, Latinos, Native-Americans and Asian-Americans are more likely to be stopped and searched by law enforcement on suspicion of carrying contraband, whites were actually more likely to be carrying contraband.”
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