DREAM Act dies with rejection of defense bill

WASHINGTON — The chance for hundreds of thousands of young people to legally remain in the U.S. evaporated Tuesday when Republicans blocked a defense spending bill in the Senate.

Democrats failed to get a single Republican to help them reach the 60 votes needed to move forward on the defense bill and attach the DREAM Act as an amendment. The vote was 56-43. Arkansas Democratic Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor voted with Republicans. Majority Leader Harry Reid also voted to block the bill in a procedural move that allows the defense bill to be revived later.

Read Full Post »

Plyler v. Doe: Still Guaranteeing Unauthorized Immigrant Children’s Right to Attend US Public Schools

Since the mid-2000s, states and localities frustrated with the federal government’s inaction on immigration have passed a range of laws, many of which target unauthorized immigrants. Such laws have ignited numerous legal battles, most famously in Arizona.

But when it comes to education, states and localities cannot override the right of every child, no matter his or her immigration status, to attend a US public school from kindergarten through 12th grade. In 1982, the US Supreme Court upheld this right in the landmark case Plyler v. Doe.

The original Plyler case has proven quite resilient, fending off litigation and federal and state legislative efforts to overturn it, and nurturing efforts to extend its reach to college students. No matter the political view one takes, Plyler has helped ensure the integration of children born outside the United States at a time when the country’s immigrant population has increased from about 20 million in 1990 to nearly 38 million in 2008.

Read Full Post »

Birthright Citizenship Debate Is a Thinly Veiled Attack on Immigrant Mothers

This election cycle conservatives are intoxicated with immigrant bashing, particularly pregnant immigrant women and their children. Their tactic: change the U.S. Constitution to deny citizenship to babies born in this country to undocumented women. This is a cynical strategy that explicitly targets Latino communities—the fastest-growing segment of the electorate. These desperate politicians would rather get rid of these new voters than do the hard work of cultivating them. In their quest for power they will do or say anything to get elected.

Read Full Post »

Cooler heads on illegals

FEW WOULD say that the tide is turning in the rancorous debate on immigration, but could it be that a sense of proportion is returning? In Massachusetts, some of the more extreme crackdowns on individuals caught in the nation’s tangled immigration laws are getting a second look. And the most onerous provisions in a state budget amendment targeting illegal immigrants — and the businesses that might employ them — were stripped out this week in a conference committee.

Read Full Post »

Border Patrol Agent Pleads Guilty to Civil Rights Violation

WASHINGTON, June 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — U.S. Border Patrol Agent Eduardo Moreno pleaded guilty today in federal court in Tucson, Ariz., to a federal criminal civil rights charge for assaulting a Mexican national who was in his custody, the Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced today. Sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 12, 2010.

Read Full Post »

Arizona governor and President Obama still far apart on immigration

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and President Barack Obama sat down for half an hour to discuss immigration on Thursday, but there were few signs that the two had bridged their sharp differences on the issue.

Read Full Post »

Why conservatives should oppose Arizona’s immigration law

America is at a crossroads on a number of issues. And as we tackle national concerns such as immigration, conservatives have a responsibility to commit ourselves to our philosophy of less taxing, less spending, less government and more freedom.

That means opposing any administration, Republican or Democratic, when it taxes too much, spends too much or takes over nearly one-sixth of the economy.

When the Obama administration undermines the basic concepts of capitalism and the free market through endless bailouts, “stimulus” plans and a government takeover of health care, it is picking and choosing winners and losers in the economy — and threatening our liberties.

Read Full Post »

Troubled Vets ‘ICEd,’ Booted From US

“By some estimates, 3,000 to 4,000 veterans are awaiting deportation, and the deportations have been going on since a 1996 law made it easier for the U.S. to boot out foreign nationals, including legal permanent residents – “green-card” holders – who served in the military if they commit crimes. Collectively, they’ve been dubbed “Banished Veterans” by those who say that vets – even those who have committed crimes – deserve better than to be booted from the country they served.” Military.com, May 26, 2010.

Read Full Post »

Maryland girl’s comments to Michelle Obama revive debate over mixed-status families

Even as immigration authorities promised they would not try to deport the mother of a Silver Spring second-grader, the girl’s conversation with Michelle Obama reverberated through the family’s community and the country Thursday, reviving a debate about mixed-status families.

As of 2008, 4 million U.S.-born Hispanic children had at least one parent who was an illegal immigrant, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. The number is growing, with 300,000 to 400,000 children born to illegal immigrants each year, said Jeffrey S. Passel, a senior demographer at the center, who said that families are often neglected in the immigration debate.

Read Full Post »

Did Arizona Silence Opponents to the New Immigration Law with Amendments To Protect Liberty or Does it Add New Fuel to the Racial Profiling Charge?

Arizona Immigration Law Amendments Add New Wrinkles

PHOENIX – Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday signed a follow-on bill approved by Arizona legislators that make revisions to the state’s sweeping law against illegal immigration — changes she says should quell concerns that the measure will lead to racial profiling.

The law requires local and state law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if there’s reason to suspect they’re in the country illegally, and makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally.

Read Full Post »