In the news today: July 17, 2007

• At the top of our news-reel is a story in the New York Times today about how a significant percentage of HIV cases in Mexico can be traced back to migrant workers who went to the U.S. and brought the disease back home.

• The Christian Science Monitor takes a look at how an increasing number of local police across the country are enforcing immigration law.
• The Voice of America reports on lacking health care in immigrant detention centers.
  

Daily features: July 17, 2007

• Daily video/Candidate tracker
  

Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson discussed his views on immigration last week. He outlines a few main points: the need to secure the borders but not necessarily with a border fence or wall; the need to punish those who knowingly employ illegal workers; use more aggressive foreign policy with Mexico; raise legal immigration quotas; and formulate an earned legalization plan that would be contingent on learning English, passing a background check, paying taxes, paying a fine for entering illegally, and being employed.

• Tuesday blog round-up

• We discovered a new blog that struck us as rather interesting. The Southern Poverty Law Center's "Intelligence Project" compiles links to news articles every day that tracks the anti-immigration movement. You can subscribe to the Intelligence Project and receive updates every day.
• Apparently, illegal immigration in Illinois costs each household in that state $695/year. The comments on this site are interesting and we're sure our opinionated commenters will want to join in on the discussion.
  

• Cartoon of the day

Published in the El Universal (Mexico City) on July 16, 2007.

In the news today: July 16, 2007

• A New York appeals court has ruled that spouses of Chinese women affected by stringent population controls in their country do not necessarily qualify for asylum in the U.S.
• A Tulsa couple could be deported back to Mexico even though they are the parents of four American citizens.
• The Des Moines Register has a handy compilation of where GOP presidential candidates stand on immigration.
• The Fort Worth Star-Telegram wrote a great news-feature on how Texas ranchers near the border feel about the border fence.
  
• John McCain's campaign staff dwindles even more.
  
• Earlier: McCain's stances on immigration, Iraq blamed for lagging campaign

Daily features: July 16, 2007

• Daily video

Legal immigrant rally in San Jose, CA on green card processing backlog.

Read our earlier post on this: Daily features: July 11, 2007

• Monday blog round-up

• Jean Pfaelzer, of a George Mason University blog, takes a look at "What's scary about the anti-immigration debate".
• Would you pass the citizenship test?
• Cyberhillbilly's blog posted a video of Geraldo Rivera and Bill O'Reilly discussing immigration last night.
  

• Cartoon of the day

By Eric Allie of PoliticalCartoons.com, July 13, 2007.

Video game: You win if you escape deportation

In what is likely the most interesting immigration-related news tidbit in the pop culture sphere, ABC News reports that a New York-based human rights group called Breakthrough has designed a video game called "ICED!", or "I Can Escape Deportation!".

The game, free to download here starting this September, allows players to step into the role of an undocumented immigrant in the United States, with the ultimate goal of avoiding deportation by the immigration authorities.

From the ABC News article:

ICED! players are required to make "moral choices." Jumping turnstiles in the subway or robbing stores causes players to lose points and puts them in danger of getting caught by an immigration official and detained or deported.

Conversely, players can gain points and avoid detention by planting trees, helping the elderly or volunteering around their community.

According to Breakthrough's Web site, the game simply and directly "teaches players about the unjust nature of U.S. immigration policy."

Random deportation trials, long lines to use the phone and sexual harrassment in detention centers are among the situations depicted in the game.

In the news today: July 13, 2007

• A Mexican couple gets a one-year deportation reprieve as their 17-month-old daughter undergoes surgery for a rare heart defect reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
• A Pakistani held at an immigration detention center has sued the Immigration Department for placing him in a room with a heroin user as well as for violence and harrassment endured while a detainee, reports ABC News.
• The Los Angeles Times reports that 10 more suspects have been arrested in an "ongoing federal investigation into a scam involving Asians willing to pay thousands of dollars to immigrate to this country by entering into phony marriages with U.S. citizens from Vietnamese and Chinese communities in Southern California."

Daily features: July 13, 2007

• Daily video

The Department of Homeland Security is withholding border security money from Arizona. Aired on CNN, July 12, 2007.

• Friday blog round-up

• Michael Linton of the FirstThings blog talks about his daughter's experience with undocumented workers at a restaurant where she waitressed.
• The ImmigrationProf blog provides links to contacting your congressmembers if you are interested in having them support or rally against the DREAM Act. For those of you not in the know:
• "It would provide a 6-year path to permanent residence and eventual citizenship for individuals brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented children if they graduate from high school and continue on to college or military service."

• Cartoon of the day

By Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com.

Border fence mishaps, cont.: Build it through the University of Texas

We're only supposed to post twice a day this week to help out our tech-team as they move everything from this hosting site to to the new website, but we felt we absolutely had to make this one-half of our posts today.

Remember how we posted a few weeks ago that part of the border fence in Arizona had been built into Mexico? And that it would cost up to $3.5 million to fix?

Well, here's something that passed under our radar last month: the Department of Homeland Security planned to build the fence through the University of Texas at Brownville's campus, leaving its International Technology, Education and Commerce campus south of the border.

"What about traffic between classes, [the president of the university] wondered. 'Would the students need to show a passport?'"

Earlier: Daily features: July 11, 2007, 'Virtual' AZ border fence to stay quite virtual for now, In the news today: July 9, 2007, U.S. built border fence into Mexican territory; it'll cost up to $3.5M to fix

Daily features: July 12, 2007

• Daily video

Tomás Contreras, a legal immigrant and entrepreneur, talks about his three-month stay in an immigrant detention center. He was detained on his way back from visiting family in Mexico. This video is part of Voces de la Frontera's reality tour.

• Thursday blog round-up

• 'Gandhian' visa flower protest by Indian immigrants gets noticed, and the SAJA blog compiles news links.
• The StructuralPatterns blog wonders why and how Rudy Giuliani can 'collapse' immigration and terrorism together.
• The GreenFertility blog ridicules Pat Buchanan for stating that immigrants bring disease into the country; followed by a news article that states that the unhealthy are very unlikely to immigrate at all.
  

• Cartoon of the day

By Daryl Cagle at MSNBC.com. Published July 11, 2007.

In the news today: July 11, 2007

• The Columbia Tribune reports that Missouri is to get an immigration court of its own. Presently, all of its court cases are heard in Chicago which has led to a major administrative backlog.
• The Honduran president, Manuel Zelaya, visited the capital today. In an interview with the Voice of America, he said he asked Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice not to abandon debate on U.S. immigration reform.
• Three more workers of a Swift & Co. plant in New York were arrested today in an undocumented worker raid, reports the AP. The raid followed a massive one that took place concurrently in six states where the company has plants on Dec. 12. During last winter's raid, 1,200 undocumented workers were arrested.
• Also in New York state, 30 undocumented workers at a children's summer camp were arrested yesterday.
  

Daily features: July 11, 2007

• Daily video

The border fence cameras/sensors may not be working as expected. Aired on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360", July 10, 2007.

This shouldn't be suprising to our readers: Virtual' AZ border fence to stay quite virtual for now

• Wednesday blog round-up

• The Houston Chronicle's blog reports that some attorneys there are encouraging legal immigrants who've been waiting on their green cards for many years to join the class action lawsuit in Chicago.
• This fits in with our earlier post, Citizenship applicants sue U.S. over delays
• Neal Boortz writes in his blog that no action on illegal immigrants will ever be effective because such action would disproportionately affect Hispanics, which would be "politically incorrect", much to his chagrin.
• Tanya Doriss at the Center for American Progress writes about reproductive justice and immigrants' rights. Her arguments are backed by statistics.
  

• Cartoon of the day

Published in the El Universal newspaper (Mexico City), July 10, 2007.

In the news today: July 10, 2007

• Eric Zom, a Chicago Tribune columnist, discusses criminal illegal immigrants (and differentiates them from illegal immigrants whose only crimes are their undocumented status). He ties his discussion to a current trial in Chicago.
• Drew Westen, a HuffingtonPost columnist, writes about language and what he perceives as its connection to the failed immigration reform bill.
• The Arizona Republic reports that employers are confused about tough new hiring laws that go into effect in that state on January 1, 2008. From the article: "The employer-sanctions law will revoke the license of any company caught twice with undocumented workers "knowingly" on the payroll. A first offense can bring a suspension."
  
• We posted on the "Basic Pilot" program last week: Immigrant verification plan makes headway on the state levels

Spotlight on our commenters

We'd be kidding ourselves if we thought you all came just to read our posts—the best part of reading blogs is checking out what your fellow readers think. Fortunately for us, this blog attracts strong personalities and points of view. We thought we'd highlight some of the better discussions among our commenters here:

• At the top of the list, certainly, comes the discussion about what it means to be an "ANTI" and a "PRO": We Ask You: What do ANTI and PRO really mean?
• A similarly charged discussion stems from the Q&A we posted with an immigrant rights advocate: Q&A: Common misconceptions about immigrants
• Yesterday's news-reel prompted a commenter to provide some news we missed: In the news today: July 9, 2007
• Our post on a border fence mishap led to discussion on the fence's practicality: U.S. built border fence into Mexican territory; it'll cost up to $3.5M to fix
• A post on the Hispanic vote kick-started some discussion we believe could go further: GOP presidential candidates could lose Hispanic support in 2008

Daily features: July 10, 2007

• Daily video:
  

Kathy Kiely's master's degree project is a video of members of Congress speaking about their immigrant roots.

• Tuesday blog round-up + Soundclip:
  

• The VanishingAmerican blog takes a look at "mushy moderates" and immigration.
• Chicago Public Radio introduces us to Rose Anne, a second-generation Mexican-American as part of their ongoing Chicago Matters: Beyond Borders series.
• The BatseLine blog synthesizes the recent headlines about illegal immigration issues in Tulsa, OK.

• Cartoon of the day

By Lisa Benson, WashPostWritersGroup.

In the news today: July 9, 2007

• The Boston Globe published a really well-written news-feature in Saturday's paper about a five-year-old girl who faces a deportation hearing that could potentially separate her from her family in the U.S. The article will surely pull heart-strings as well as fan some people's flames.
• The Austin American-Statesman reports that border fence construction in southern Texas may significantly damage the Rio Grande eco-system.
• USA Today published a news-feature today on illegal immigrants who seek refuge from the immigration authorities in places of worship.
• The Hartford Courant reports that 26 of 32 illegal immigrants arrested in raids in New Haven, CT last week are back home after their families posted bail.
• The Ashland City Times (Tennessee) published a profile of the Maury County sheriff who is either revered or abhorred for his illegal immigration crackdown.
  

Daily features: July 9, 2007

• Daily video/Candidate tracker:
  

Ron Paul, Republican presidential candidate, speaks of immigrants' "American" work ethic.

• Monday blog round-up

• John Hawkins at RightWingNews' blog looks at how illegal immigration has affected two GOP senators: Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
  
• The Council on Foreign Relations' blog compiles information on "Immigration: the Other Health Crisis".
• About.com answers FAQs on green card marriage.
  

• Cartoon of the day

Published in the Boston Globe, July 7, 2007.

We Ask You: What do ANTI and PRO really mean?

Commenter Maryst drew our attention to an interesting, very relevant question.

For those of you who read a lot about immigration online, you know that the blogosphere and forums often refer to the "ANTIs" and the "PROs".

So we want to know, from you, how you would explain either category. ANTIs: what are you against? PROs: what are you for? And how do you see the opposing group? Alternatively, do you feel you don't fit into either of those categories? Why?

Friday blog round-up

• The BillT blog links to an article about Microsoft opening a research center in Vancouver to get around strict immigration rules in the United States.
• The National Center for Policy Analysis says that due to the declining fertility rate in Mexico, the influx of illegal immigrants to the U.S. will likely fix itself in time.

Daily video: Income inequality in Mexico and its connection to illegal immigration

Aired on CNN, July 5, 2007. (Note: Video quality is not great.)

MATT.org spotlight

• In the forums, members discuss "Loyalty & Dual Citizenship"—a point of contention between the anti- and pro-immigration camps.
• Marisa Treviño, a MATT contributing writer, looks at the Hispanic vote in 2008.
• Learn about MATT.org's "Hecho en América" initiative to promote products made in the Americas as a pathway to creating more jobs throughout the continent.
  

Cartoon of the day

By Nick Anderson, syndicated cartoonist.

Immigrant verification plan makes headway on the state levels

Washington Business Journal reports that at the state levels, more employers will be required to verify that all their employees are legally allowed to work in the United States. The verification process called "Basic Pilot" is voluntary now and only 18,000 companies are signed up and using it. That may chance with state-based legislation:

Though Congress' attempts to make the program mandatory have failed for now, state and local governments are rapidly making Basic Pilot a reality for companies. Companies that do business with Colorado, Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arizona and Mission Viejo, Calif., are required to enroll in the program. Comprehensive legislation is pending in Missouri and South Carolina to require all employers to participate in the program. More than 30 other states considered similar legislation in the past year.

Qualtrics poll: Most Americans favor deportation for illegal immigrants

Qualtrics, an Internet-based survey group, found that 68 percent of respondents favor deportation as the answer to illegal immigration; another 20 percent feel that illegal immigrants should be given legal status and a chance at citizenship.

Citizenship applicants sue U.S. over delays

The AP reports on an interesting aspect of becoming a citizen in the United States. Apparently, a "name check"—a requirement to moving along the naturalization application—takes over six months for around 150,000 people:

The FBI completes about 62,000 name checks every week, with close to 27,000 new requests coming from USCIS alone on a weekly basis, said Trent Pedersen, a spokesman with the bureau's Salt Lake City office. (...)

The wait may get worse before it gets better, warns Audrey Singer, an immigration fellow with the Brookings Institute. As lawmakers grapple over the best ways to ensure a secure nation - creating stricter laws on everything from green cards to passports to citizenship applications - agencies such as the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are bound to get more bogged down, she said.

Lawsuits are becoming more common, and would-be citizens in several states including Utah, California, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and Idaho have sued in the hope of speeding up the process.

Mexican music turns Chicano, tackles immigration issues

On a holiday-like note, we wanted to point you in the direction of a New York Times article that looks at how Mexican "corrido" music has been translated into Chicano culture here in the United States. We're sure that the lyrics and story will be of interest to readers of our blog.

Now they are putting up barriers in front of us so we don't return / but that is not going to block us from crossing into the United States / We leap them like deer, we go under them like moles

Soundclip: How immigration has affected Beardstown, IL

NPR did an interesting news-feature on how Beardstown, IL, a very small town based around a pork processing plant, has been affected by a recent influx of both legal and illegal immigrants who now number at around 6,000. Listen to it here.

(This is today's last post.)

McCain's stance on immigration, Iraq blamed for lagging campaign

Media across the board have been reporting that Sen. John McCain's Republican presidential nomination campaign has suffered tremendously in this past quarter. His campaign announced it had raised only $2 million, compared to the $11 million it raised in the previous three months.

"McCain for President" has fired dozens of employees and stopped paying others, including the campaign manager, who will now work for free. That campaign manager, Terry Nelson, said the lack of support is probably due in part to McCain's support of the Iraq war and S.1639, the comprehensive immigration reform bill that failed last week.

Earlier: GOP presidential candidates could lose Hispanic support in 2008 & Tuesday blog round-up

Editorial round-up

The Salt Lake Tribune compiled varying editorials from several different newspapers published on the failed comprehensive imigration bill, S.1639.

SoCal hunger strike for legal status

The Los Angeles Times reports that three dozen young people in Southern California are going on a hunger strike until Monday in order to call attention to the need for a legal path to citizenship for illegal immigrant students.

Daily video/Candidate tracker: Obama on undocumented workers

Sen. Barack Obama on the campaign trail in Laconia, N.H. yesterday.