Photo by peasp.

On Tuesday ICE raided the Yamato Engine Specialists plant in Bellingham, Washington.   The ICE agents arrested 28 people - 25 men and 3 women - for allegedly using fake Social Security documents to gain employment.  It was the first worksite raid since President Obama took office.  ICE claims the raid was the result of an ongoing investigation into the worksite, apparently after two “gang members” led agents to begin the investigation.

The next day, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano appeared at a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee and stated she had been unaware of the raid before it happened and ordered a review of the action.  Last month Napolitano had issued a directive ordering an internal review of multiple immigration enforcement initiatives within DHS.  While the report to Napolitano was due on February 20, it has not been made public.
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Photo by Jamie Lawrie.

Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported that analysts across the country have been worried that the economic crisis has fueled an increase in hate groups and racist, anti-immigrant rhetoric.  With its large immigrant population and current economic woes, California is in the belly of the beast.  Yet, while many restrictionists and anti-immigrant groups are exploiting the recession and using immigrants as scapegoats, an undeniable truth lies beneath their feeble facts: California’s immigrants and their children climb up the socioeconomic ladder over time and most Californians have economically benefited as a result.

California exemplifies not only the enormous political and economic clout of immigrants, but also accounts for innumerable stories of immigrants who experience remarkable upward mobility over time, master English, and own their own homes, according to a new Immigration Policy Center report. Immigrant workers and entrepreneurs make up a large part of taxpayers and are vital when it comes to the success of California’s new budget.
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Photo by Scott Lenger.

Yesterday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials raided Yamato Engine Specialists Ltd. in Bellingham, WA, where 28 workers, including three women, were detained and placed in deportation proceedings.

This is the first workplace raid conducted by ICE we are aware of since President Obama took office. Under the Bush Administration, ICE raided nearly 5,173 immigrants in 2008 alone.
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After several weeks of delay, Congress has confirmed Representative Hilda L. Solis to be the Secretary of Labor in the Obama administration.

Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice commented:

“Secretary Solis understands how our dysfunctional immigration system leads to worker exploitation. When millions of undocumented workers are without the protection of the law, it encourages unscrupulous employers to undercut the wages and working conditions of all workers. These bad actor employers also undercut honest competitors who do play fair. Strong labor law enforcement combined with immigration reform that brings undocumented workers out of the shadows will restore the rule of law to both the labor market and the immigration system. We look forward to working with Secretary Solis and other members of the Obama Administration to make this goal a reality in the coming year.”

For more information on Hilda Solis’ committment to immigrant and worker rights click here.

Photo by lord chernobill.

In yet another attempt to derail a rational debate on U.S. immigration policy, the anti-immigration group NumbersUSA has claimed recently that the federal government is bringing more than 1.6 million “new foreign workers” into the United States each year even as the unemployment rate continues to rise. This dubious figure is also being advanced by the Center for Immigration Studies and has already been parroted in a number of media outlets.  Yet the “estimate” is so full of holes as to be virtually meaningless.
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Photo by avdgaag.

A broad interfaith coalition has begun a series of nationwide prayer vigils to raise awareness of the need for comprehensive immigration reform. “Prayer, Renewal and Action on Immigration” is the name of the campaign launched this week with help from U.S. Reps. Luis V. Gutierrez and Mike Honda. The coalition has also prepared a platform on immigration, signed by over 500 congregations from coast to coast, which asks the new President and Congress to uphold family unity, along with creating a process for earning legal status, implementing worker protections, restoring due process and facilitating immigrant integration.
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Photo by loungerie.

A new report from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the North Carolina ACLU examines the 287(g) partnership between DHS and local police in North Carolina.  The 287(g) program–in which DHS and local police enter into Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) allowing local police to act as immigration officers in the course of their daily activities — has grown by leaps and bounds over the last several years, and North Carolina is home to eight of the 60 current MOUs with the federal government. At least 20 additional NC law enforcement agencies have requested MOUs.
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Photo by kromatic.

A new report from the Pew Hispanic Center illustrates the degree to which the U.S. government is wasting money and manpower on the pursuit and punishment of undocumented immigrants who are non-violent and pose no threat to public safety or national security. According to the data in the Pew report, the federal government’s ever-intensifying (and unsuccessful) effort since the early 1990s to stop undocumented immigration through deportation-only policies has flooded the federal courts with immigrants from south of the border who are charged only with unlawfully entering or remaining in the United States. Even though “unlawful presence” and “entry without inspection” are usually civil and not criminal offenses, all violations of immigration law automatically fall under federal jurisdiction and are therefore channeled into the federal courts.
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This past Sunday, John McCain appeared on CNN’s State of the Union and had an extensive conversation with news anchor John King in which he once again expounded the need for comprehensive immigration reform:
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Photo by uscqpress.

In an interview yesterday with NPR’s Day to Day host, Madeleine Brand, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano thoughtfully outlined the department’s immigration priorities. DHS was recently scrutinized in a report by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) assessing DHS’s past performance under the Bush administration and offering “recommendations for policy and operational changes.”
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