Illegal Immigration Continues to Slow In CA

(ROYCE)

Short article in the LA Times on how California now has 22% of the nation's illegal aliens in contrast to 44% in 1990. With data provided by the 2008 Census, California still has the most illegal immigrants at 2.7 million, but has seen many of it's illegals dispersed to other states like Georgia and North Carolina.

Three quarters of the nation's illegal immigrants are Latino, mostly from Mexico, and nearly three quarters of their children are US citizens b birth.

The article: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/04/illegal-immigration-continues-to-slow-in-california-.html

Immigration Raid at Customs Officer’s Home Leads to Suit

(Erica)

James and Sheila Slaughter said that when they answered the door of their home in San Luis, Ariz., on a July afternoon last year, they were surprised to find five armed Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers strapped into bulky bulletproof vests accusing them of harboring an illegal immigrant. The Slaughters recently filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Phoenix accusing the Department of Homeland Security of violating their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. They are seeking $500,000 from each of the five officers.

Click here for the article

Immigration and Jobs: Where the Workers Come From

(Erica)


A map that shows where people immigrat from and what sectors they work in.

click here for the map

Mexico's Drug War Fallout: Anti-immigrant Sentiments Will Rise; Fearful Mexicans Will Cling to the U.S.

(Kimberly)

A Los Angeles Times articles reports on the increase of violence in Mexico because of the Drug War, and how it will effect immigration reform, nativism, and Mexican Americans. A CNN report on an Anglo family that was robbed and threatened in Mexico, in a matter of time, will spur up nativist sentiments among the American population and will negatively effect the prospects for quick action on immigration reform. Also this image of a violent Mexico has encouraged Mexicans here in the United States to stay and not go back to their native country. 

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rodriguez6-2009apr06,1,6092784.column

Latinos Drive Record Surge in U.S. Naturalizations

(Kimberly)

The Department of Homeland Security has shown an increase in the number of immigrants naturalized. Some speculate that one of the reasons for this increase in immigrant naturalization might be due to the 2008 election. This immensely impacted the Hispanic electorate and helped lock in the Hispanic vote for Barack Obama.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6363623.html

 

Relax Immigration Laws....to Ensure an Accurate Census?

(Royce)

This an article from the Fox News Website, directed from Google.

As the 2010 Census approaches, there are some who argue that the government must relax immigration laws to take into account the millions of people who are too afraid share their personal information  because of fears of deportation. 

Representative William Clay, who oversees the House subcommittee on the Census, plans to ask the Obama administration to suspend immigration raids for the next year. 

This move, which has been done before, has come with intense criticism, especially from the Right, as they feel it is incorrect to ask border patrol officers to "not do their jobs."

Whether or not the Obama administration will oblige remains to be seen

Immigrant detainees file lawsuit over jail conditions

(Erica)

Source: Los Angeles Times

Article:

A lawsusuit filed in U.S. District Court claims that Federal authorities are violating immigrant detainees’ constitutional rights by holding them for weeks at a detention facility in downtown Los Angeles that was designed as a short-term processing center.

According to ACLU of Souther and NAtional Immigration Law Center, the facility is “regularly overcrowded, causing violence, safety hazards, and humiliation,” furthermore detainees detainees are denied access to attorneys and courts and are rarely provided drinking water or a change of clothing.

“There are serious violations of due process.” - ACLU Attorney

Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities said they couldn’t comment on pending litigation but issued a statement saying that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano had called for a comprehensive review of the nation’s immigration practices and was committed to making “measurable, sustainable progress.”

Link:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/04/immigrant-detainees.html