This past Friday, ICE closed the deportation case of Ruth Montaño, the Bakersfield mother who faced deportation following her arrest for having dogs that barked too much.
Kafka at the Border
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Michael Dear: A little-known paradox in debates on immigration reform is the ongoing fortification of the United States-Mexico border, which is occurring at the same time as the number of official ports of entry between the two countries is expanding.
Giving Unions the Edge
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Berry Craig: Showalter’s fighting to help give labor a stronger voice on the radio. “We want to unite with other progressives and progressive groups and build support for issues that are important to all working families.”
Why Are DREAMers Denied Health Coverage?
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Victoria Defrancesco Soto: I can’t wrap my head around it. Why in the world did the President deny deferred actioners coverage under the Affordable Care Act?
Immigrant Detention and the Private Prison Industry
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Michele Waslin: Immigration detention has been steadily increasing over the last two decades. A new report by Justice Strategies suggests this increase is largely due to the efforts of private prison companies.
Kent State Shooting: Could It Happen in Tampa?
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Denis Campbell: Demonstrators fear with no limit to guns being carried by civilians, armed and unstable GOP/Tea Party crazies, backed by a highly militarized police force, could create a Kent State 42 years after the original.
Did the U.S. Play a Role in Jamaica’s 2010 Massacre?
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Sherwood Ross: Several scores of civilians are buried in Jamaica’s May Pen Cemetery in consequence of a deadly attack by Jamaican forces in which, for all its denials, the U.S. played a significant role and was perhaps more closely involved than it has let on.
ICE Focusing on Dangerous Criminals
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Seth Hoy: DHS directed ICE attorneys to begin a review process of current immigration cases pending before immigration courts in order to close or dismiss those cases warranting prosecutorial discretion.
Secure Communities Has Devastating Impact
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Michele Waslin: The problems with Secure Communities are so wide spread that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appointed a task force to recommend fixes for the program.
Why Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Is Bluffing on State Immigration Laws
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Seth Hoy: Evidence suggests that many unauthorized immigrants are firmly integrated into U.S. society. According to a Department of Homeland Security report, three-fifths of unauthorized immigrants who were in the country as of 2010 (11.1 million) were here for more than a decade.
Redefining Criminality: Untangling DHS’s Record High Deportation Numbers
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Michele Waslin: Because ICE categorizes criminal offenses so broadly, minor offenses can appear to be serious crimes. For example, drug-related crimes can include everything from dealing large amounts to simple possession;
Why America Needs to Dismantle Its “Security” Apparatus
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Sherwood Ross: Real security begins with creating a policy of peace, meaning non-intervention, in the affairs of other states. It means when the U.S. sends its sons and daughters abroad on official business, it sends the Peace Corps to help and not the Pentagon to obliterate.
Ten Years After 9/11, Is the U.S. Deporting Those Who Threaten to Do Us Harm?
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Michele Waslin: Confirming what advocates had reported, while the overall number of deportations has increased, the actual numbers of deportations of terrorists, national security threats, and criminals have declined.
Latinos Defend DHS’s Focus on High Priority Immigration Cases
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Seth Hoy: Anti-immigrant restrictionists will continue to drive a wedge between Latino voters and the Republican party by hurling racially charged sentiments—like today’s accusation that President Obama is waging a war on “white America”—in hopes of stirring up their own base.
DHS and Gay Bi-National Couples
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Seth Hoy: There are currently 36,000 same-sex bi-national couples in the United States, many of whom are routinely denied applications for lawful permanent residence and other relief from deportation due to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
More States Question Participation in ICE’s Secure Communities Program
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Seth Hoy: ICE officials, however, claim that states have no choice but to participate in Secure Communities since “the data-sharing systems the program relies upon are already in place” and because governors have “no legal standing to block their use.”
DHS Extends Temporary Protective Status for Haitians
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Seth Hoy: The extension would allow approximately 48,000 Haitian nationals—whose homeland was devastated by an earthquake in 2010 and is still plagued by disease and instability—to extend their TPS for an additional 18 months.
Issa Issues First FOIA Subpoena on Obama
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Lee Fang: Issa has so far ignored a request by a group called the IssaFiles to respond to serious ethical questions raised by a New Yorker article by Ryan Lizza. The ten questions relate to a suspected arson at a factory insured by Issa earlier in his career.
Brewer Countersues Feds
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Andrea Nill: Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) announced that she is filing a countersuit against the federal government on behalf of the state of Arizona. The countersuit names several counts, including a “failure to protect Arizona from invasion.”
Another Oil Rig Explodes in the Gulf of Mexico!
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ANOTHER !! Oil Rig Explosion in the Gulf of Mexico National Public Radio, the New York Times, CNN and other media outlets are reporting that another offshore oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the reports, the explosion occurred 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana, just east of the Deepwater Horizon [...]
J.D. Hayworth Challenges Administration on Immigration Enforcement Weeks Before National Guard Deploys to Border
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Seth Hoy: Campaign politics aside, challenging the Obama Administration on immigration enforcement—an issue that immigration advocates have criticized the President as being too heavy-handed on, in fact—just doesn’t make sense.
Border More Secure than Ever: Now What?
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Michele Waslin: Once again, those who call for “enforcement first” have been put on the spot. Will any amount of enforcement ever be enough to move them to the next step? Will they continue to move the goalposts? Or will they finally recognize that comprehensive immigration reform is ultimately about securing our borders?
Napolitano Announces Next Steps for Southwest Border
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Seth Hoy: Although Secretary Napolitano trumpeted DHS’s new border initiatives as well as past achievements, she also acknowledged that the border can never be hermetically sealed and that stalling immigration reform by highlighting border security issues is not the answer to our immigration problems.
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
Deporting America’s Future: Harvard Student Pushes for DREAM Act
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Seth Hoy: Harvard sophomore, Eric Balderas, knows why the DREAM Act is important to so many. Earlier this month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) picked up Balderas in Boston on his way to visit his mother in San Antonio, Texas. Balderas now faces the possibility of deportation at a hearing next month. The 19-year-old biology major was valedictorian of his high school class and is on a full scholarship at Harvard.
Is Opting Out of the Secure Communities Program an Option?
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Michele Waslin: Given ICE’s stated intention to eventually install the system in all state and local detention facilities nationwide, and given the fact that DHS signs MOAs with the states, it is unclear how those local jurisdictions that want to opt out will be able to do so. Thus Secure Communities raises serious questions about the relationship between federal and local law-enforcement agencies, and about a local community’s ability to weigh in on important decisions affecting the entire community.
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.
DHS Inspector General: No Assurance That Deputization Of Immigration Law Is ‘Achieving Its Goals’
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Andrea Christina Nill: Immigrant and civil rights activists have long claimed that the program leaves all brown-skinned residents vulnerable to racial profiling and other civil rights abuses, regardless of their immigration status. The inspector general’s assessment largely concurs with observations made by groups on the ground and goes further in pointing out that the program is inefficiently administered and failing to meet its goals
ICE Slip Up Casts Serious Doubt on Immigration Enforcement Strategy
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Michele Waslin: Until we have comprehensive immigration reform, ICE is going to be saddled with an enormous list of targets, and many people watching to see how they’re going to tackle it. If they want big numbers, they can achieve big numbers. But that won’t make us any safer or make the system any better. In any case the Administration and ICE have to figure out what their enforcement strategy is, articulate it clearly and consistently, and resist the urge to change it on a dime to please “enforcement-only” types who will never support comprehensive reform.
Joe Arpaio’s Chief Deputy Cites Conspiracy Theory Involving President Obama To ‘Muzzle’ His Boss
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Adnrea Nill: During his own deposition testimony, Arpaio admitted to not reading his own book and blamed the references to the wingnut reconquista conspiracy theories contained in it on his co-author.
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