1. Hearing makes little headway
2. 11 co's seek input on SB1070
3. Deportation of criminals up
4. Poll: Tancredo trails by 8%
5. Whitman's strategy in jeopardy

1.
D.C. hearing reinforces immigration divisiveness
By Marc Heller
Johnson News Services, October 4, 2010

Democratic lawmakers are taking some responsibility for failing to advance immigration reform, but a hearing Thursday on the economic impact of immigrant workers reinforced the divisions that have stymied Congress.

On one side, New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch touted the importance of non-native-born workers to the city's economy and chided Congress for inaction.

On the other, a researcher at the Center for Immigration Studies suggested immigration is bad for American workers and challenged the notion that immigrants take jobs that U.S. workers are unwilling to do -- a common refrain from farmers in New York and other states.
. . .
But one panelist, Steven A. Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports reduced immigration, said a large work force of low-skilled immigrants depresses wages for other workers. And he questioned whether companies really fill jobs with immigrants because they cannot find other workers. Most maids and housekeepers, taxi drivers, construction workers and janitors are native born, he said, citing federal Department of Labor statistics.

"To keep flooding the labor market with unskilled immigrants just doesn't make sense," Camarota said.

Lawmakers on the subcommittee showed little sign of shifting position. Reps. Steve King, R-Iowa, and Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who advocate tighter immigration policies, maintained their emphasis on enforcement, while Democrats tried to counter the notion that they are soft on securing the borders.

"It's difficult to bark and not have teeth," said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. She said she and Smith -- top lawmakers on an immigration panel -- should have done more on immigration policy, either when Republicans held the majority before 2007 or after Democrats gained control.
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http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_6d89389e-fe0b-5d26-9b64-af8d7...

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2.
11 countries seek voice in AZ immigration appeal
The Associated Press, October 4, 2010

Mexico and 10 other Latin American countries want a federal appeals court to consider their viewpoints in Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's appeal of a ruling that put parts of her state's new immigration law on hold.

The countries are asking the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for permission to file so-called friend-of-the-court briefs in Brewer's appeal of the ruling, which arose from a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department.

The 11 countries say they have an interest in ensuring they have reliable relations with the United States that aren't frustrated by Arizona.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5imQdPuHk2A4JfOc3MiJV_L...

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3.
Deportation of criminals is up, say feds
By Chelsea Phua and Miranda Simon
The Sacramento Bee, October 5, 2010

More illegal immigrants with criminal convictions are being deported in recent years, driving up the number of people being removed from the United States, according to data from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

At the same time, deportation numbers for those deemed noncriminals have declined.

Of the 350,000 people deported this year, more than half had criminal convictions, a 55 percent increase since 2008, ICE data show.

By contrast, noncriminal deportations – which include voluntary returns – have dropped 30 percent.

Regional numbers echo the national trend. Criminal deportations from the San Francisco office, which oversees ICE operations from Bakersfield to the Oregon border, are up about 12 percent. Noncriminal deportations are down 29 percent.

ICE officials said the trend shows a shift in the agency's priorities to focus on removing the most dangerous criminals from the country.

Mike Vaughn, an assistant field office director at ICE's Sacramento office, said the agency pays attention to anyone in the country illegally, as well as legal permanent residents who may have committed a crime that could jeopardize their status.

"But if we are looking at a guy who's just here with his family trying to better his life vs. a repeated offender, our priority is the criminal," said Vaughn, whose area of responsibility spans 26 counties – from Solano to the Nevada border and from Stanislaus to the Oregon border.

ICE officials attribute the increased deportations of undocumented criminals to expanded partnerships with local and state law enforcement as well as technological advances such as video teleconferencing, which allows ICE officers to interview potential deportees incarcerated in remote county jails.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, began in 2008 to introduce an integrated system called "Secure Communities" to jails and prisons. Through technology that combines the databases of Homeland Security and the FBI, local and federal agencies share information on a person's criminal history and immigration status.

The automated process alerts local law enforcement and ICE officers to potential deportees the moment they are fingerprinted.

Secure Communities operates in 632 jurisdictions in 32 states, including Sacramento County. It is expected to expand nationwide in 2013. The latest available ICE data show about 26 percent of the more than 56,000 deportees under Secure Communities are classified as noncriminals.

The system has drawn criticism from both sides in the nation's ongoing immigration debate.

Groups advocating stringent immigration enforcement say more could be done.

"We can and should have more deportations," said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. He said ICE's focus on deporting the most violent criminals is "like putting up a speed limit sign on the highway that only applies if you are driving drunk or have guns in your car."
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http://www.sacbee.com/2010/10/05/3080002/deportation-xy-x-yxy-xyx-yx.htm...

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4.
Tom Tancredo Within 8 Points Of Hickenlooper In Latest Rasmussen Poll
The Huffington Post, October 4, 2010

Rasmussen Reports has moved the Colorado Governor's race from its "Solid Democrat" category to "Leans Democrat" after its latest poll found American Constitution Party (ACP) candidate Tom Tancredo trailing Democrat John Hickenlooper by just 8 percent.

Tancredo, a former Republican congressman and presidential candidate, switched his party affiliation to run as the ACP nominee in late July. It was widely predicted at the time that Tancredo would split the conservative vote with Republican nominee Dan Maes, effectively handing the race to Hickenlooper.

However, Tancredo has benefited from Maes's missteps to steadily rise in the polls since his entry into the race.

A Rasmussen poll released on August 2 showed Hickenlooper capturing 42 percent of the vote to Maes's 27 percent and Tancredo's 24 percent.

Much of the Republican establishment has since abandoned Maes in the wake of a series of distractions involving the candidate's time as a Kansas police officer, among other issues.

Rasmussen's most recent poll, which was conducted on October 3, shows Hickenlooper beating Tancredo by just 8 points, 43-35. Maes's support, meanwhile has slipped to just 16 percent.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/04/tom-tancredo-reaches-35-p_n_749...

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5.
Meg Whitman's Latino strategy threatened by maid flap
By Scott Wong
Politico (washington, D.C.), October 4, 2010

The dust-up over Republican Meg Whitman’s undocumented housekeeper may be driving defections among the small group of Latino voters who were inclined to support the former eBay chief's gubernatorial campaign, close observers and activists said Monday.

Last week, Whitman’s former maid of nearly 10 years, Nicky Diaz Santillan, accused her ex-boss of exploiting her and employing her even while knowing she was an illegal immigrant. Whitman denied the allegations.

“I suspect this will definitely hurt Meg Whitman and cost her some points with the Latino community,” said Matt Barreto, a political science professor and director of the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at the University of Washington.

On a call with reporters, Barreto said that Univision, Telemundo and other Spanish-language media outlets have been providing wall-to-wall coverage of the maid story and that Latino voters are now much more informed and engaged in Whitman’s race against Democratic Attorney General Jerry Brown.

But Hector Barajas, a Whitman campaign spokesman, said as the story has evolved in recent days many immigrants are losing sympathy for Diaz Santillan, whom they blame for risking deportation and later turning against an employer who paid her $23 an hour. Whitman has suggested Brown was behind her maid going public but has not offered any proof.

“The tide is turning against Nicky but also the Democratic Party because people are looking at this for what it is: someone getting exploited and Nicky getting separated from her children,” Barajas said.

Whitman's campaign spent months courting California's sizeable Latino population, and a range of polls taken in September showed Whitman earning a sizeable minority of Latino and non-White voters — key Democratic voting blocs essential to Brown if he hopes to win the statehouse in an otherwise tough year for his party.

A Public Policy Institute of California survey taken between Sept. 19 and 26 showed Latino voters favoring Brown 32 to 25, with 26 percent undecided. A CNN/TIME survey conducted between Sept. 24 and 28 showed Brown leading Whitman 59 to 35 among non-Whites.

But the first poll taken since the maid flap – and a heated gubernatorial debate Saturday in which the controversy took center stage – appeared to support Barreto’s claims.

Rasmussen Reports released a poll on Monday showing Brown leading Whitman 49 percent to 44 percent, based on a survey conducted Sunday of 750 likely California voters
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43116.html#ixzz11Ugd2Gir