President Obama To Move On Immigration This Year

The New York Times reports that President Barack Obama will announce in May that he wants immigration reform this year. So he had promised in his political campaign and reiterated it as recently as last month in Costa Mesa, CA. But with the recession many thought reform would be pushed back to next year or later. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D, IL) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus got busy and held prayer services through the country to push the president. The announcement, Obama hopes, will kick off a summer-long debate or discussion that will include Democrats and Republicans, employers and unions, and immigration advocacy groups. The president's own stated goal is to find a path to legalization/citizenship for the 12 million undocumented in the country similar to the Kennedy-McCain Bill which required a fine, background check and English. But because of the recession, his proposals will probably include tighter borders and an upgraded E-verify system to check on the legal authorization of immigrants to work. Nativist groups are already gearing up to run a campaign charging that Obama's proposals will take jobs from Americans. The timing for when legislation will go before Congress depends on the president's other major domestic priorities -- health care and energy policy.

NEW AGE IN WAUKEGAN, IL
Waukegan, a suburb of 91,000 north of Chicago, is already half Hispanic. But the incumbent mayor, trying to stem the growth, had favored an aggressive collaboration with ICE against undocumented immigrants. In a recent election the old mayor, Richard H. Hyde, was defeated largely by Hispanic voters. The new mayor promises to be friendlier to Waukegan's Hispanics. (See NY Times article.)

WRONGLY HELD AND DEPORTED CITIZENS
The Los Angeles Times reported on the case of a man held for a domestic dispute who was nearly deported -- notwithstanding that he was an U.S. citizen and a veteran. He was victim of bureaucratic foul-up -- they misspelled his name on his naturalization papers.

Foreign Tech Workers: Do We Need Them

Many immigrants with technical skills are admitted temporarily with H-1B visas and eventually qualify for a green card. But the program is controversial. To some it is "creaming" of talent that is needed in poor countries. To other it is cheap competition for American workers. The latter argument takes on added sting with the recession and growing joblessness. But employers argue that the talent is needed and the temporary visas is better than outsourcing the jobs. The New York Times' series "Remade in America" visits the issue from different perspectives.

Hispanics and the Police

The Pew Hispanic Center surveyed Hispanic on their relations with the police. Taken in mid-2008 when immigration raids were on the rise, more than half of those asked expressed doubts that they would be treated fairly by the police. (See Washington Post article.)

Justice to Farm and Domestic Workers

The New York Times reminds us that farm workers and domestics were excluded from many of the protections of the New Deal to assuage Southern Democrats. Most farm workers and domestics in the 1930s were black. Now that most are Latino, there is a renewed effort to extend worker protections to them. New York state is moving toward state legislation and a national coalition is forming in support of the Employee Free Choice Act now before Congress.

Binghamton Shooting

The Binghamton, N.Y., shooting does not seem to be motivated by anti-immigrant sentiment. The shooter was Vietnamese and known at the center. While his motive is still unknown, it is speculated to be work related. (See LA Times article.)

L.A. Detainees Tahe ICE to Court

Detainees at an ICE detention facility in downtown Los Angeles are suing it because of poor conditions and denial of civil rights. The facility is meant to hold detainees only 12 hours while they are being processed -- photographed, finger-printed. But many are allegedly held in small, crowded and dirty cells for weeks and even months. Also some complained that they are denied access to legal recourse like bail and even to documents on their cases. (See LA Times article.)

REPORTED ATTACK ON N.Y. IMMIGRATION CENTER
The AP reports that a man attacked an immigration service center in Binghamton, N.Y., killing four and wounding at least 10. The gunman has barricaded himself in the building and is believed to be holding hostages. Immigrant advocates has feared the anti-immigrant feeling might break into violence. It has happened historically in the U.S. in period of high nativist feeling.

Mormons Perplexed by Undocumented Immigrants

Proselytism is not new to Hispanic neighborhoods. Protestant, generally Evangelical or Fundamentalist, have been rather successful. Each neighborhood has its share of store-front churches. Among the proselytizers, incongruously, are short-haired Anglo teams in white shirts and ties pedaling the born-in-the-USA Mormon faith. Little in the belief system of the Church of the Latter Day saints would seem to appeal to immigrants from a culture in which the Virgin of Guadeloupe and the Day of the Dead loom large, but the appeal to family and upright living seems to have attracted Mexicans in large numbers. The growing attraction of Hispanics to the faith has also created a dilemma for the Mormon Church -- or at least for many Mormons. The young missionaries knocking on doors in Hispanic neighborhoods are persistent and they don't ask questions about immigration status. As a consequence, many converts to Mormonism are undocumented -- as many as 70% according to a Brigham Young University history professor. In the west, however, the Mormon Church is often viewed as the Republican Party at prayer. Many Mormons share the anti-immigration bias of most Republicans and, according to the Arizona Republic, lead the get-tough campaign against the undocumented in western states. Officially, the Mormon Church has no policy on immigration and preaches family unity and compassion. State of Utah has often a contradictory response to the undocumented.