Tag Archives: Topic: Immigration

The Hill: “This hole in federal statutory law allows non-citizens to register and thereby encourages voter fraud,” Cruz wrote on his Facebook page. “I will file a commonsense amendment to the immigration bill that permits states to require I.D. before registering voters.”

SCOTUS Live Blog reports on the ruling in opinion in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council. | Case Information Page

The Hill: “If this bill has in it something that gives gay couples immigration rights and so forth, it kills the bill,” Rubio said Thursday on the “Andrea Tantaros Show.” “I’m gone, I’m off it, and I’ve said that repeatedly. I don’t think that’s going to happen, and it shouldn’t happen, this is already a difficult enough issue as it is.”

RT.com: Youth gang riots in the Swedish capital Stockholm have entered fifth straight night. Hundreds of mostly immigrant teenagers tore through the suburbs, smashing windows and burning cars in the country’s worst outbreak of violence in years.

AP: Two people familiar with the Senate immigration deliberations say the White House has suggested to Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy that it would be best to put off a controversy over gay marriage until a bill goes before the full Senate.

The Independent: report published by the Office for National Statistics revealed that the percentage of people following a Christian faith dropped from 71.7 per cent in 2001 to 59.3 per cent in 2011. More than one in 10 under 25s in the UK now describe themselves as Muslim.

Politico: Senate Democrats are in such a bind over addressing gay rights under immigration reform that they’re turning to President Barack Obama for help.

Globe and Mail: While the Christian faith continues to dominate Canada’s immigrant profile, its proportion has been steadily fading. Where more than 78 per cent of immigrants to Canada prior to 1971 identified themselves as Christians, that proportion has dropped to 47.5 per cent among those who arrived over the past five years, the survey found.

Politico: Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) proposed two amendments to the Gang of Eight immigration legislation to extend legal rights to gay couples, one of whom is foreign born.

AP: Richard Land, a leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, told reporters on a conference call Wednesday that evangelicals are hopeful the bill will remain focused on immigration and steer clear of gay rights.

Wall Street Journal (access via Google): Senators began laying the groundwork Sunday for formal debate on immigration-overhaul legislation, including a provision that would extend immigration rights for same-sex couples.

Patrick Buchanan at The American Conservative: What benefit do we derive as a people to justify the risks we take by opening up America to mass migration from a world aflame with hatred and hostility over race, ethnicity, culture, history and faith? Why are we bringing all of the world’s quarrelsome minorities, and all the world’s quarrels with them, into our home? What we saw in Boston was the dark side of diversity.

WorldNetDaily: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, in remarks that largely have escaped notice, has claimed that “creating a mechanism for [illegal aliens] to earn citizenship and move out of the shadows… is a matter of civil and human rights.”

AP: Frustrated at being left out of an immigration overhaul, gay rights groups are pushing to adjust a bipartisan Senate bill to include gay couples.

Washington Post: The story suggests immigration reform could “cripple Republican prospects in many states they now win easily.” Assuming all 11 million illegal immigrants could vote and that 71 percent supported President Obama in 2012 (his share of the Hispanic vote last fall) the article says that he would have significantly narrowed the GOP’s margin in Arizona, Georgia and Texas.

Politico: The immigration proposal pending in Congress would transform the nation’s political landscape for a generation or more — pumping as many as 11 million new Hispanic voters into the electorate a decade from now in ways that, if current trends hold, would produce an electoral bonanza for Democrats and cripple Republican prospects in many states they now win easily.

MyDesert.com: A lesbian couple facing immigration troubles has the standing to challenge the federal Defense of Marriage Act because it violates the constitutional rights of immigrants in same-sex marriages, a federal judge has ruled. | Aranas v. Napalitono, Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motions to Dismiss | Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law Case Information Page

New Yorker: Last week, a young man came to the doors of the Seventy-Two, a shelter for migrants in Tenosique, Mexico, to deliver a message from a local offshoot of the Zetas, Mexico’s most vicious organized-crime group. “What we want is the head of the friar who is in charge of all this,” the man said. “We are going to the shelter today to get all of them.”

Pat Buchanan at Human Events: What killed the New Majority? First, there was mass immigration . . . Second came party acquiescence in dropping half the nation off the income tax rolls, while making half dependent on government . . . Third, to accommodate its K Street bundlers, the GOP embraced globalism, empowering Corporate America to shed its U.S. labor force . . . Fourth, rather than bringing the troops home after our Cold War triumph and telling our allies the free rides were over, Bush I and II went crusading for a “New World Order” to “end tyranny in our world.” . . .

The Australian: As revealed in The Australian, the report released yesterday recommends that the government promote the message that “multiculturalism entails both a respect for cultural diversity” and a commitment “to the framework of Australian laws and values which underpin social cohesion”.

AP on Google: “The idea that a major political party must accept the practice of homosexuality as normal so as to remain relevant will prove the contrary and lead to disaster,” said John Horvat II, a Catholic scholar. And Jenny Beth Martin, national coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots, faulted Washington GOP establishment leaders for the November losses, saying they strayed from the conservative message. “Americans and those in the tea party movement don’t need an ‘autopsy’ report from RNC to know they failed to promote our principles and lost because of it,” she said.

Washington Post: O’Connor was in the panel majority that said Arizona’s requirement of proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections conflicted with federal law.

AP: Justice Anthony Kennedy says he is concerned that the U.S. Supreme Court is increasingly the venue for deciding politically charged issues such as gay marriage, health care and immigration.

NPR: A panel of the the San Francisco-based U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals stood with a lower court, ruling that a ban on drivers soliciting day laborers violates the constitution’s free speech guarantee.

Baptist Press: A family homeschooling safely in rural Tennessee may be forced to return to their native Germany, where the parents likely face huge fines and criminal penalties, and could lose custody of their five school-age children. Uwe and Hannelore Romeike are looking to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to give them permanent refugee status. But Attorney General Eric Holder is disputing their case, arguing Germany’s ban on homeschooling fails to violate the family’s fundamental rights.

AP: Sen. Patrick Leahy want the government to start affording same sex, married couples the same immigration benefits that heterosexual couples now enjoy.

MLive.com: U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga has introduced legislation that would prohibit federal dollars allocated to the Department of Homeland Security from being used for abortions.

Religion Clause Blog: Christian Churches Together, an organization of over 40 Christian church groups (Catholic, Orthodox, evangelical and main-line Protestant) last week issued a press release and Statement (full text) calling for comprehensive immigration law reform.

The Hill: Since then, he has offered an immigration proposal that would give the same benefits to heterosexual and same-sex couples, called on the Boy Scouts to open its membership to gays, and seen the Pentagon announce it would offer certain benefits to same-sex couples.

Mario H. Lopez at Human Life Review: But a lesser-known story is that over the last 40 years in the United States, many leaders of this movement have hijacked concerns over immigration to advance their agenda. Population-control advocates have built, operated, and funded much of the anti-immigration movement in the United States. What follows helps explain how this has happened and sheds light on the pervasive connections between the population- control movement and the principal proponents of immigration restrictions.

AP: The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops are in a difficult position as the debate over immigration reform gets underway: The immigrant-built American church, known for advocating a broad welcome for migrants and refugees, could end up opposing reform because it would recognize same-sex partners.

The Hill: More than a dozen House lawmakers reintroduced legislation that would let immigrants in same-sex marriages sponsor their partners for legal residency.

Religion Clause Blog: The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced Tuesday the unsealing of indictments (full text of charging documents) charging 26 individuals in overlapping immigration fraud schemes involving fabricated claims of persecution asserted by Chinese aliens seeking asylum.  Those charged were lawyers and paralegals in ten different law firms in the Chinatown area of Manhattan and Queens . . .

Washington Post: Strong majorities of adults under age 30 support gay marriage and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, and a majority supports legalizing small amounts of marijuana according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The fact that younger Americans are consistently more supportive of these measures than the oldest generation may signal change in the years to come. For those under age 30, about two thirds support gay marriage and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.

The Hill: On Friday morning, Louisiana Rep. John Fleming (R) issued a statement urging Boehner to “talk with House Republicans before making pledges on the national news.”

The Hill: Limbaugh played “Feliz Navidad” on his show Friday and argued Hispanics are moving to Democrats not because of immigration but because of the party’s positions on taxes and welfare. Allowing those in the United States illegally to stay wouldn’t help the party, he argued.

StCatherinesStandard.ca: Saudi millionaires who flout Canadian laws by arriving with multiple wives will be kicked out if immigration authorities find they lied about their polygamous relationships.

Religion Clause Blog: In Ruiz-Diaz v. United States, (9th Circuit, Oct. 5, 2012), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected RFRA and 14th Amendment challenges to immigration rules that treat religious workers applying to adjust their immigration status to become permanent residents differently from those in various other employment-based preference categories.

ABC: A federal appeals court in Denver has refused to block extradition of a gay illegal immigrant who sought protection in the U.S. claiming Mexican authorities persecute gay people. | Neri-Garcia v. Holder, No. 11-9566

BuzzFeed (Napolitano letter embedded): Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Thursday that she has ordered written guidance be issued that same-sex couples’ relationships be considered “family relationships.”

ABC: Chancellor Angela Merkel says Islam has become a part of Germany and she is urging her fellow citizens to show tolerance for Muslims.

AZ Star Net: A federal appeals court Tuesday spurned a request by civil rights groups for a new injunction to once again block Arizona’s 2010 immigration law.

Catholic Culture: Following a unanimous vote in the Senate and a 412-3 vote in the House of Representatives, Congress has voted to extend the Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Program for three years. The bill awaits the signature of President Barack Obama.

Detroit News: One day after being sued over a controversial ballot box citizenship question, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said Tuesday there are an estimated 4,000 noncitizens on Michigan’s voter rolls.

AZ Central: A judge has ruled that police in Arizona can immediately start enforcing the most contentious section of the state’s immigration law, marking the first time officers can carry out a requirement that officers, while enforcing other laws, question the immigration status of those suspected of being in the country illegally.

Religion Clause Blog: Last week (Aug. 27), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Ruiz-Diaz v. United States.

Seattle Times: The request before OneAmerica was simple enough: Would the organization, whose mission is to advocate for immigrants, endorse and support the statewide campaign to legalize marriage for gays?

AP: The ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton clears the way for police to carry out the requirement that officers, while enforcing other laws, question the immigration status of those they suspect are in the country illegally

LifeNews: The following is the pro-life prayer Timothy Cardinal Dolan prayed at the Republican convention last night, following the speech presidential nominee Mitt Romney gave. The prayer hit pro-life themes that are dear to the heart of the head of the Catholic bishops’ conference:

Texas Tribune: Certain characteristics set the Laredo Independent School District apart from most districts in the state. Its western boundary aligns directly with the Mexican border. Nearly all its students are poor, and nearly all are Hispanic. Most rely on the school to provide two meals a day. On the first day of school this week, some showed up without shoes or without parents accompanying them . . . By 2050, the number of Texas public school students is expected to swell to nine million from roughly five million now, and nearly two-thirds will be Hispanic, according to Steve Murdock, a demographer and director of Rice University’s Hobby Center for the Study of Texas. The overall percentage of white students will drop by half to about 15 percent . . .

Bloomberg: . . . Americans have had fewer babies each year since the 2008 financial meltdown, with births falling to a 12-year low in 2011, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The low birth rate and reduced immigration resulted in the smallest gain in population since World War II, which may hurt spending on everything from Huggies diapers to pregnancy kits, child care and education.

Fox News: Alabama Public Schools Can’t Check Immigration Status of Students, Court Rules
The court also upheld the “show me your papers” provision in Alabama and Georgia immigration laws that allows police officers to ask someone they stop for another reason — and who they suspect may be in the country illegally — for their immigration documents.

Linda Chavez at Townhall: But beyond these questions about conservatives’ objections, a final one seems to me the most compelling. Conservatives often invoke the principle that no one should be held accountable for wrongdoing that occurred in the past and in which the person in question played no role. We oppose reparations for slavery on this basis, as we do most forms of affirmative action. So, too, should we oppose a punitive policy that forces nearly two million young people to choose between continuing living in the shadows, unable to work, or leaving the country they’ve come to know and love.

Wisconsin Gazette: The American Civil Liberties Union is denouncing Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s executive order on Aug. 15 that bars undocumented immigrants who qualify for temporary legal status in the United States from receiving state or local public benefits.

AZ Central: As young undocumented immigrants on Wednesday celebrated the start of a new federal program allowing them to apply to stay and work temporarily in the United States, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer issued an executive order telling state agencies not to grant driver’s licenses to program participants.

Telegraph: “France’s future depends on its ability to reintegrate the suburbs into the national project,” warned respected political scientist Gilles Kepel, a specialist in the Muslim world, in a recent report after a year-long study in Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil, two Paris suburbs where the 2005 riots began. The report found that Islamic institutions and practices are increasingly displacing those of the French state, which has failed to deliver on its promise of “equality”, and that residents of the suburbs increasingly do not see themselves as French.

NewJersey Newsroom: The rules, which are contained in a program called TRU-ID, would impose stringent measures to verify a resident’s identity before the state issues or renews a license. The ACLU filed a lawsuit to stop New Jersey from implementing the program, arguing that the state improperly tried to impose the changes.

Reuters: A law school graduate seeking to join the California bar despite his status as an illegal immigrant may soon become a test case for other young and undocumented professionals as the state’s highest court weighs whether he can be admitted to practice law.

The Hill: Behind Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), the lawmakers want the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to state explicitly that LGBT “family ties” will be deemed “a positive factor” discouraging deportation as DHS agents gauge whether to pursue cases.

Fox News: The final result: Cruz pummeled Dewhurst by about 13 percentage points, according to the Associated Press.

The New American: Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) says he will sue President Obama because of the president’s illegal order to stop the deportation of illegal aliens under a certain age, and that the lawsuit is within weeks of being filed.

NY Times: Enrollment in the New York City schools, the largest district in the country, was flat from 2005 to 2010, but both Chicago and Los Angeles lost students, with declining birthrates and competition from charter schools cited as among the reasons . . . Legal crackdowns have also prompted many families to return to their home countries.

Melissa Moschella at Public Discourse: The threats to religious freedom in our nation are real, and they’re serious. And things will get worse unless we defend our rights. The first in a two-part series.

AP: But his goal to practice law in California remains unfulfilled because of his status as a Mexican immigrant living in the country without legal permission.

The Drudge Report is blaring the headline above from this Daily Caller Report: USDA has an agreement with Mexico to promote American food assistance programs, including food stamps, among Mexican Americans, Mexican nationals and migrant communities in America.

AP: Opponents of Arizona’s hardline immigration enforcement law launched a new effort Tuesday aimed at thwarting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that will allow police to enforce the so-called “show me your papers” provision.

Findlaw: If you sponsor an immigrant spouse for permanent residency and later divorce, you could be on the line for spousal support, regardless of whether your former spouse attempts to find work, according to a recent Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.

Reeves & Associates: The issue of gay marriage has received much attention from the media. In May, President Obama declared his support for gay marriage. Also garnering attention is the impact of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) on the immigrant community. Under DOMA, a US citizen cannot petition a same-sex spouse for a green card.

Rasmussen: A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% of Likely U.S. Voters think the policies and practices of the federal government encourage illegal immigration.

The Church Report: U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey has introduced legislation that would allow Indonesian immigrants the chance to reopen their bids for U.S. asylum.

AP: Israel is expelling an additional 150 South Sudanese as part of its campaign to reduce the number of African migrants who have slipped illegally into the Jewish state

Washington Times: The Obama administration said Monday it is suspending existing agreements with Arizona police over enforcement of federal immigration laws, and said it has issued a directive telling federal authorities to decline many of the calls reporting illegal immigrants that the Homeland Security Department may get from Arizona police.

Held: Sections 3, 5(C), and 6 of S. B. 1070 are preempted by federal law . . . It was improper to enjoin §2(B) before the state courts had an opportunity to construe it and without some showing that §2(B)’s enforcement in fact conflicts with federal immigration law and its objectives. Pp. 19–24.

LA Times: In precedent-setting case, agency tells California Supreme Court an undocumented man should be granted a law license even though his ability to work would be restricted.

NY Daily News: British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced his plans to make forced marriages a crime, and parents who coerce their children could face prison terms. British government provides advice and suport to approximately 600 forced marriage related cases every year – half of which are for families form Pakistan and the rest from India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Turkey.