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Monday, May 9, 2011
Obama to Give Immigration Speech Tuesday
News sources report that President Obama will give a speech on immigration Tuesday during his trip to El Paso, Texas. The speech will focus on how the President believes we can fix our broken immigration system so that it meets “America's 21st century economic and security needs.”
As many states respond to the demand of American citizens to crack down on illegal immigration, Illinois is trying to avoid from immigration enforcement of any kind. Last week, not only did the Illinois Senate pass a state version of the DREAM Act, but Illinois Governor Pat Quinn announced the state would withdraw from the Secure Communities program. 
In a settlement reached last week, Weld County, Colorado must now pay $295,000 to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) for attorneys’ fees. The ACLU sued Weld County in 2009 claiming that the law enforcement had illegally seized tax records during the county’s attempt to combat the growing problem of identity theft by illegal aliens. The payment to the ACLU comes at a time when most states in the nation, including Colorado, are being forced to cut budgets in all areas. 
Last week, a House subcommittee hearing revealed the smuggling along the southern border is so severe, federal prosecutors decline to prosecute many cases. This news was the focus of a hearing, held by the House Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security, which examined the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) cooperation with state and local law enforcement officials on immigration.
On Wednesday, lawmakers in the Florida Senate passed a watered-down immigration enforcement bill and watched it die as the House failed to take it up in the hours before the State’s legislative session ended Friday. As SB 2040 (formerly SPB 7066) made its way through the various Senate committees, lawmakers slowly stripped it of its mandatory E-Verify provision. Instead, the final version of the bill virtually eliminated any mention of the employment eligibility verification provision. As passed, SB 2040 merely requires staff of state-run “one-stop career centers” to verify employment eligibility of those it refers to employers. (SB 2040 § 1) Although Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) and Senate President Mike Haridopolos (R) attempted to put mandatory E-Verify back in the bill through an amendment, the Senate voted against it last Tuesday. 
Monday, May 2, 2011
Indiana Passes Immigration Enforcement Bill
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In a last-minute rush, the Indiana Legislature acted Friday to pass SB 590, significant immigration enforcement legislation. (Inside Indiana Business, May 2, 2011) Although Senator Mike Delph had introduced the bill in January, differing amendments in the House and Senate forced legislators into a conference committee to reach an agreement on final language as time ran out on the 2011 session.
Last Thursday, President Obama held a meeting in the White House’s Roosevelt Room with celebrities from the Hispanic community to discuss “comprehensive immigration reform.” (Washington Post, Apr. 28, 2011) Notable attendees included actresses Eva Longoria and America Ferrera, television hosts Jose Diaz-Balart of Telemundo (the brother of U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL)) and Maria Elena Salinas of Univision, Emilio Estefan (husband to singer Gloria Estefan), and Voto Latino Executive Director Maria Teresa Kumar. (Los Angeles Times, Apr. 28, 2011; Politico, Apr. 28, 2011) Senior White House aides Valerie Jarrett and David Plouffe also attended the meeting.
The Migration Policy Institute and Catholic Legal Immigration Network co-sponsored their Eighth Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference last week at Georgetown University Law Center. Featuring an array of open-border lobby panelists, the Conference began with opening remarks—entitled “The Utah Experience”—from Utah’s pro-amnesty Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff. Calling on the federal government to develop a Utah-inspired “America’s Compact,” Shurtleff described the U.S. as the world’s “golden door” and demanded that lawmakers deal with the problem of illegal immigration in a way that is “uniquely American.” He denounced current efforts by state legislators to enforce provisions in the Illegal Immigration and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 that prohibit states from granting in-state tuition to illegal aliens, saying that it “takes the hope away” from the children of those here illegally. (See 8 U.S.C. § 1623) He also called for amnesty to bring illegal aliens out of the dark so that they do not have to steal the identities of others.
Last week, the U.S. State Department issued an updated travel warning which extended the areas of danger to U.S. citizens traveling to Mexico. (Travel Warning, Apr. 22, 2011) This increased alarm for the safety of Americans traveling comes as the number of U.S. citizens reported murdered in Mexico has jumped from 35 in 2007 to 111 in 2010.
Friday, April 29, 2011
FAIR Enews Update -- Criminal Aliens Cost Billions for Detention
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  Utah Takes Center-Stage at Annual DC Immigration Conference |  Most Read Stories From the Stein Report blog: 
 Brookings Forum Promotes Amnesty -- On April 20, the Brookings Institution hosted a forum and panel discussion to promote the publication of an issue of the journal The Future of Children devoted to education and immigrant children. Read more. FAIR Media Update GAO: Criminal Alien Room and Board Continues to Burden Taxpayers -- The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has just released a report detailing the fiscal and social costs that criminal aliens bear on the American people. Read more. Amnesty Advocates Try to Stop Secure Communities -- Over the past several weeks amnesty advocates have launched a sustained attack on the Secure Communities Initiative. Read more. | ||||
 | Produced by the Federation for American Immigration Reform | ||||
Thursday, April 28, 2011
An Honest Day's Pay, For an Honesty Day's Work
| How many times have you heard the expression: “Illegal immigrants only do the jobs that Americans won’t do”? It is the relentless refrain of the far left and big business (often working together!) But it is not true! Yet, many Americans hear and accept this myth at face value and stay silent and say nothing in opposition to the tidal wave of illegal immigrants pouring across our borders every year. Do you know who has been most hurt by this economic slow-down? It is our American friends and neighbors with good skills and less education that have been replaced with cheap labor in factories, construction, the hospitality industry and elsewhere — to the benefit of illegal immigrants and exploitative employers. Show your support today for the American worker by backing our efforts to push for laws such as E-Verify and to help put Americans back to work! By donating at least $20 we will send you a copy of our new poster dispelling the myth that Americans don’t want to work. Because the truth is Americans will gladly accept an honest day’s pay, for an honest day’s work. Help us Fight the FAIR Fight to set the record straight and eviscerate the heart of the argument for open borders. ............................................................   Federation for American Immigration Reform | © 2011. All rights reserved. |  Thank you for supportingour work. Watch coverage of Hold Their Feet to the Fire and more videos on 
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