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1. UCLA study calls for amnesty
2. AZ treasurer critical
3. NJ state senate to vote
4. FL co. comm. seeks crackdown
5. Bishops press for amnesty

1.
UCLA study says legalizing undocumented immigrants would help the economy
Based on surveys done after the 1986 amnesty program, it concludes that even during the recession, legalizing undocumented workers would benefit the economy. Not everyone agrees.
By Anna Gorman
The Los Angeles Times, January 7, 2010

Even during the ongoing recession, immigration reform legislation that legalizes undocumented immigrants would boost the American economy, according to a new study out of UCLA.

The report said that legalization, along with a program that allows for future immigration based on the labor market, would create jobs, increase wages and generate more tax revenue. Comprehensive immigration reform would add an estimated $1.5 trillion to the U.S. gross domestic product over 10 years, according to the report.

"If we are going to create a solid recovery with good wages, we have to fix this hole that we have at the bottom of the labor market," said the author, Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, an associate professor with the UCLA Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies. "This is not about bringing in a lot of workers. This is about your neighbors and if we are better off where everybody in the economy has the ability to fight for their families and to contribute more to the economy rather than staying in the shadows."

Hinojosa-Ojeda based the study in part on surveys done after 1986 legislation that resulted in the legalization of nearly 3 million undocumented immigrants. Those surveys showed that immigrants who became legal moved on to better-paying jobs and became more educated, resulting in more spending and more tax revenue. That legislation was passed during a similar economic downturn, he said.

The study, being released today, comes shortly after a renewed commitment by the Obama administration to back legislation this year that would provide a path to citizenship for an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. The study is being released by two Washington-based immigrant rights organizations, the Immigration Policy Center and the Center for American Progress.

Hinojosa-Ojeda also projected that the economy would benefit from a temporary worker program, by raising the GDP by $792 billion. And the economy would suffer if the U.S. deported all illegal immigrants, which he acknowledged was an unlikely option. Mass deportation, he concluded, would reduce the GDP by $2.6 trillion over 10 years.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-immig7-2010jan07,0,5871672.story

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2.
State treasurer critical of Brewer's plan
By Howard Fischer
The Capitol Media Services, January 6, 2010

Phoenix -- State Treasurer Dean Martin is criticizing an order by Gov. Jan Brewer to release some illegal immigrants from state prisons 90 days before they would otherwise have to be let go.

Martin, a potential Brewer foe in the GOP gubernatorial primary, said the state should not use its budget crunch as a reason to release inmates before they served their full terms. Instead, he said, the state should make another stab at getting the federal government to pay the bills for their incarceration as already is required by law.

"I don't believe that we should balance this budget by releasing prisoners early,'' he said.

Martin acknowledged, though, that bills sent to the U.S. Department of Justice for nearly a decade by former Gov. Janet Napolitano -- now chief of homeland security -- have produced nothing. And Martin, who said he may file a lawsuit as the state treasurer to force Congress to appropriate the funds, conceded the chances of that succeeding are 10 to 1 against.

Still, Martin said, the state ought to try to collect the accumulated bills and interest which, since 1994, top $1 billion.

"The answer is 'no' if you don't pursue it,'' he said.

Martin denied Wednesday's press conference was a bid to gain publicity for his 2010 campaign, whether for governor or another term as treasurer.

During the event, though, called to discuss the debt and the letter he sent to Napolitano demanding payment, Martin took a slap at Brewer for her inmate-release plan and Attorney General Terry Goddard, the likely Democratic gubernatorial nominee, for not having sued the federal government for the cash.

But Martin said he never thought about using his position as state treasurer for the last three years to either bill the federal government directly or file suit -- at least not until now.
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http://www.yumasun.com/news/state-55317-martin-federal.html

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3.
N.J. Senate to vote on illegal immigrant tuition
The Associated Press, January 7, 2010

Trenton (AP) -- Illegal immigrants in New Jersey might get to pay lower in-state tuition at the state's colleges and universities.

The state Senate is scheduled to vote on the issue today.

Outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine supports the measure, which would apply to illegal immigrants who meet certain criteria. Gov.-elect Chris Christie opposes it.

Supporters say the measure would benefit young immigrants, many of whom were brought to New Jersey as children and educated in the public school system.
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http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/01/nj_senate_to_vote_on_illega...

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4.
Commissioner seeks tougher immigration controls
By Michael D. Bates
Hernando Today (Tampa Bay, FL), January 6, 2010

County Commissioner Rose Rocco is calling for a thorough review of the county's purchasing procedures to ensure that no contractors doing business with Hernando County are employing illegal aliens.

Rocco said there are too many people unemployed in the county, and they should not have to compete with undocumented laborers.

"I want a full line of information on just how we handle it in the county and make sure we're hiring people who are legally here and participating in paying taxes," Rocco said.

Rocco said she will ask her colleagues to place the matter on a commission agenda for later this month or early February.

At that meeting, Rocco said she will ask for department staffers to be on hand to discuss ways of toughening up hiring controls, possibly tweaking the county's current purchasing guidelines that would require contractors to use E-Verify.

The federal E-Verify program — operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in partnership with the Social Security Administration — is a free Internet-based system that allows employers to determine the eligibility of employees to work in the United States.

Illegal aliens who take jobs from American citizens are "really taking advantage of the system," Rocco said, who added that illegal immigration hiring has a domino effect on schools and health care.

Participation in the E-Verify system is voluntary and limited to determining the employment eligibility of new hires only, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Web site.

Jerry Haines, the county's workers compensation and safety specialist, said the human resources department does background checks on anyone applying for a job with the county. However, the county has no authority over private contractors' labor force.

"When it comes to who they hire, we have no control over that," Haines said. "It's their responsibility."

Betty Dobson of Spring Lake has been an avid proponent of e-verification and has asked state legislators and county commissioners to push for its use.

Dobson believes that Gov. Charlie Crist and state legislators "refuse to confront illegal immigration" in Florida.

"The state of Florida would save billions in education, assistance and incarceration if we could deport illegals from our state," Dobson said.
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http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2010/jan/06/commissioner-seeks-tou...

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5.
Migration week brings legislative push, prayers, a walk to Washington
By Patricia Zapor
The Catholic News Service, January 6, 2010

Washington, DC (CNS) -- As the Catholic Church observed National Migration Week Jan. 3-9, support for legislative efforts took the forefront amid various other steps to bring attention to the concerns of migrants and refugees.

In a teleconference Jan. 6, Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Migration, described several steps being undertaken by the U.S. bishops, including a new Web site, a nationwide action alert and a previously announced postcard campaign to encourage members of Congress to support comprehensive reform. The Web site is a revamped version of www.justiceforimmigrants.org.

"The American public, including the Catholic and other faith communities, want a humane and comprehensive solution to the problems which beset our immigration system, and they want Congress to address this issue," Bishop Wester said.

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, N.Y., chairman of the Committee on International Policy, said the bishops also want the legislation to address the root causes of migration and help enable people to make a decent living in their own countries.

"The first principle of the U.S. bishops with regard to immigration is that migrants have the right not to migrate -- in other words, to be able to find work in their own home countries so they can support their families in dignity," he said. "Migration should be driven by choice, not necessity."

Also in the teleconference, Sister Rita Mary Harwood, a Sister of Notre Dame who heads the Office of Parish Life and Development in the Diocese of Cleveland, said the church in Ohio will distribute nearly 300,000 postcards that will be sent to Congress.

She said she sees in Ohio many parallels between the migrants of past generations and those of today and hopes that reminding the public of those similarities will open hearts so that people will back immigration reform.

Sister Mary Beth Hamm, justice coordinator of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Philadelphia, said making sure the public hears the stories of individual immigrants is the key to what her order is doing to support immigration reform.
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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1000047.htm