The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) apprehended 613,003 foreign nationals, compared to 791,568 in FY2008 and 960,756 in FY2007.
Mexican nationals made up the largest percentage of apprehensions (86%), followed by Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, China, Brazil, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
Utah officials and community leaders reacted swiftly and with revulsion to the announcement this week that confidential state records had been breached to compile a list of more than 1,300 supposedly undocumented people living in Utah, including pregnant women and children. At a press conference this afternoon, State Attorney General Mark L. Shurtleff condemned the list, noting that “some call it a blacklist, but I call it a hit list.” Speaking for himself and on behalf of the governor of Utah, Gary R. Herbert Shurtleff made it clear that the release of confidential information was “not the way we do things in Utah” or in this country. He noted that the state government of Utah is trying to speak with one voice to condemn the release of information, will not be using the list to initiate actions against anyone on it, and roundly criticized those who would use lists, hate mongering and political rhetoric to stir up racism in Utah. Instead, he called on the federal government to continue to work for a truly comprehensive solution to immigration reform. Read the rest of this entry »
Today, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL.), announced that he will be introducing a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, December 15, 2009. Congressman Gutierrez said “We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our President. The time for waiting is over. This bill will be presented before Congress recesses for the holidays so that there is no excuse for inaction in the New Year. It is the product of months of collaboration with civil rights advocates, labor organizations, and members of Congress. It is an answer to too many years of pain —mothers separated from their children, workers exploited and undermined security at the border— all caused at the hands of a broken immigration system. This bill says ‘enough,’ and presents a solution to our broken system that we as a nation of immigrants can be proud of.”
On the heels of leaving CNN, Lou Dobbs sat down with Telemundo’s María Celeste for this interview. Celeste confronts Dobbs for the many past inflammatory remarks he made against immigrants—in particular, the insinuation that Hispanic immigrants are responsible for bringing leprosy into the United States. Watch as Dobbs backpedals and softens his harsh anti-illegal immigrant tone.
Tired of spending scant time and resources on immigration enforcement, major city police chiefs called on Congress, Wednesday, to move on comprehensive immigration reform. Like most law enforcement officers across the country, chasing down undocumented immigrants proves to be too much of a strain when faced with real priorities like keeping violent criminals off the street.
Chief Art Acevedo of the Austin Police Department in Texas said, “It’s a matter of resources and priority. My priority is dealing with criminals and terrorism issues, not dealing with civil matters. Local law enforcement officers have said it time and timeagain—Congress needs to pass legislation that brings immigrants out of the shadows so that they feel safe coming forward when reporting violent crimes.
At a c-o-n-f-e-r-e-n-c-e hosted by Pat Buchanan and the American Cause this weekend, America’s best and brightest conservative strategists discussed how Republicans could regain a majority in America. Peter Brimelow, owner of the anti-immigrant website VDare.com, suggested an English-only initiative with the aim of “winning over working class white Democrats.” The only problem with this idea is that the word “conference” on the banner hanging over their heads is misspelled: “conferenece.”
For the full story, check out ThinkProgress’s blog post.
This morning, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his dedication to comprehensive immigration reform at the Esperanza USA National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. “This promise means upholding America’s tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants,” he said. The President also gave a general outline of his immigration plan—ensuring employers don’t exploit low-income workers, requiring immigrants pay taxes, learn English and get in line to naturalize.
Today’s re-affirmation was a step forward after the President pushed back his initial White House meeting on June 17th. This morning’s speech was greeted with great expectations and anticipation that the President will uphold his June 25th meeting with lawmakers to devise plans for comprehensive immigration reform even at a time when “there’s no shortage of challenges to occupy our time.”
Politico reports that President Obama has invited members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to discuss immigration reform at the White House on June 8th. According to Politico, an un-named administration official said:
“The meeting will be an opportunity to launch a policy conversation that we hope will be able to start a debate that will take place in Congress later in the year.”
At a news conference commemorating his 100th day in office, President Obama indicated that his administration is planning on moving “full steam ahead on all fronts” on immigration reform. Obama told Telemundo reporter, Lori Montenegro, that he hopes to convene working groups to start building a framework for how immigration legislation might be shaped. Obama once again stated the need for comprehensive immigration reform that brings undocumented workers out of the shadows. He also emphasized that Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is working on making sure that the U.S. border is secured to show Americans that the government is competent in getting results in respect to the systems which are already in place. When asked when Obama hopes to see immigration reform legislation introduced, he replied “I’d like to see the process move this year.”
Following the White House’s first press briefing in Spanish this week, President Obama met with Mexican President, Felipe Calderon, yesterday to address the drugs and violence that threatens both sides of the border. President Obama emphasized the need for a comprehensive immigration strategy in an interview with CNN:
Immigration reform needs to be part of a comprehensive strategy that includes enforcement and border security. I have already talked to the CHC and I want to work with them so together we can shape an agenda that can be approved in Congress…This is something that we need to solve.
The Office of Immigration Statistics released data on immigration enforcement actions in FY 2009 (October 1 through September 30). The report finds that:
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