1. Whistle-blower transfer probed
2. Reid blasts Angle for comment
3. 15 states announce legislation
4. Hispanic groups debate
5. CA gov. has limited ability

1.
USCIS official's transfer probed
By Jerry Seper
The Washington Times, October 19, 2010

The Office of Special Counsel is investigating the involuntary transfer of a top official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services who reported suspected "gross negligence and mishandling" of more than 600 certificates of citizenship and naturalization.

The office, established in the 1970s to protect whistleblowers and shield federal employees against improper management pressures, is expected to issue a report in the matter shortly. A 45-day emergency stay that the agency won in the case expires Friday.

Maria Aran, the immigration service's chief of staff in Miami, had been reassigned as a supervisory adjudications officer in Tampa, Fla., after reporting that hundreds of certificates of citizenship and naturalization had been voided without due cause, were unaccounted for, had not been verified as issued, were issued as duplicates, or were routinely left unsecured.

Ms. Aran had been given 10 days to accept the move or be terminated. The delay, ordered by Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) after a hearing, put that order on hold while OSC completed its investigation, continued settlement negotiations and determined what further action was warranted.

The board also ordered USCIS to return Ms. Aran to her duties as chief of staff, saying there were "reasonable grounds to believe" she was reassigned "because of her protected disclosures." OSC had ruled that Ms. Aran's disclosures were protected "because a disinterested observer would have a reasonable basis to believe that they evidenced gross mismanagement and a danger to public health and safety."

According to OSC documents, Ms. Aran was reassigned after becoming aware of "substantial immigration irregularities" in the Miami region, which she reported in an e-mail to the USCIS office of security and integrity. A copy of the e-mail also went to 300 OSI agents nationwide, including Ms. Aran's supervisor, Linda Swacina.

The documents said Ms. Swacina later confronted and criticized Ms. Aran's decision to communicate with OSI directly.

USCIS spokesman Chris Bentley in Washington denied that Ms. Aran was subject to retaliation, saying her proposed move "had no relation to the issue of recordkeeping practices or the employee's report related to them."
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/oct/19/uscis-officials-transfer...

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2.
Harry Reid blasts Sharron Angle on ‘Asian’ comment
By Molly Ball
Politico (Washington, D.C.), October 19, 2010

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pounding Republican Sharron Angle for telling a Hispanic student group they looked Asian, hoping to fire up a crucial voting demographic in the process.

"I really don't know what my opponent was talking about, because you all look like Nevadans to me," Reid said to cheers at a Las Vegas get-out-the-vote rally today.

He was responding to Angle telling a group of Hispanic students, "Some of you look a little more Asian to me," as she attempted to deny that her anti-illegal immigration ads had a racial overtone.

Reid also blasted Angle at a press conference on Monday, saying, "Her mouth does not have the ability to speak the truth."

The controversy over Angle's comments at Las Vegas' Rancho High School has riled Nevada Hispanics, as has a Spanish-language TV ad with the message "Don't Vote" that was pulled from Univision today.
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43857.html#ixzz12uVt2Fb9

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3.
GOP group challenges outright citizenship birthright
By Alia Bear Rau
The Arizona Republic, October 20, 2010

Republican lawmakers in 15 states Tuesday announced a nationwide effort to change the way the 14th Amendment is interpreted and stop granting citizenship to babies born in the USA to illegal immigrants.

A national coalition called State Legislators for Legal Immigration is coordinating the effort.

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce said Kansas lawyer Kris Kobach, who helped draft Arizona's tough immigration law now on appeal in the federal courts, is working with him and Republican state Rep. John Kavanagh to draft a bill that all the states could use as a model on the citizenship issue.

Pearce said a bill draft is written and will be ready for consideration when the Arizona legislative session starts in January.

He would not say exactly how they will propose denying citizenship but said the legislation would not be retroactive.

Previous attempts in Arizona have focused on tinkering with state-issued birth certificates.

When asked how the state would prove citizenship in a delivery room, Pearce said delayed birth certificates could be given to allow parents time to gather proof of citizenship.
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-10-20-citizenship20_ST_N.htm

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4.
Hispanics defy ad to shun elections
By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times, October 19, 2010

A new ad urging Hispanic voters to reject both parties by sitting out this year's elections has enraged Hispanic groups, drawn condemnation from the Univision television network and spawned the question of how Hispanics who are upset over the lack of action on immigration should register a protest vote this year.

"Don't vote this November," says the ad, sponsored by Latinos for Reform. "This is the only way to send them a clear message: you can no longer take us for granted."

The ad is running in Las Vegas, where its chief target is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat who political analysts say will need a huge turnout by Hispanics if he is to turn back Republican challenger Sharron Angle.

Robert Deposada, a leader of the group, said Hispanics are angry at Republicans', but also blame Democrats, who on the strength of their party's votes pushed through health care and the stimulus package, but refused to address immigration without the GOP.

"They're obviously angry at Republican rhetoric, which in many cases has been completely irresponsible. On the other hand, they're very angry the Democratic Party has been promising for years they're going to act on this issue, and they haven't," he said. "The only option they have is basically saying you know what, I'm not going to settle for the lesser of two evils."

Mr. Reid's defenders say the ad misses the mark.

"They should take it off. It's a lie," said Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, the Illinois Democrat who has taken a leadership role on immigration since the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat. Mr. Gutierrez was in Nevada this week campaigning for Mr. Reid, and has made other stops in Florida and Ohio, stumping for fellow Democrats.

Univision, the country's largest Spanish-language broadcast network, said Tuesday that it won't run the ad. A spokeswoman said the network "prides itself on promoting civic engagement and our extensive national campaigns encourage Hispanics to vote."
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/oct/19/hispanics-defy-ad-to-shu...

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5.
Next governor's ability to deal with immigration is limited
By Matt O'Brien
The San Jose Mercury News, October 20, 2010

If history and the campaign platforms of Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown are a guide, the next California governor is unlikely to rock the boat on immigration policy.

It's not that the candidates don't talk about it: Immigration sparked impassioned arguments at their face-to-face debates. They voiced sharply different perspectives about what the government should do about the estimated 2.6 million illegal immigrants living in California.

But most of their disagreement concerned policies under the purview of the federal government.

"There's a limited amount that a California governor can do when it comes to immigration," said Kevin Johnson, dean of the UC Davis law school.

The federal government regulates who can migrate to the United States and is responsible for enforcing immigration restrictions.

The policies on which governors traditionally have more authority are at the margins of the immigration debate, such as whether college students here should qualify for in-state tuition or whether state law enforcement officers should help with border patrol.

Both candidates think Congress, which has not passed a major immigration bill in nearly 15 years, should be doing more. Brown, the Democratic candidate, supports federal reform measures that include a path for undocumented immigrants to become legal residents and citizens.

Whitman, a Republican, opposes amnesty. She wants the federal government to expand the fence on the U.S.-Mexico border and expand the guest worker program that brings migrants into the state for seasonal work.

Brown said in a debate that Whitman's positions treat "people from Mexico as semi-serfs: Work 'em and send 'em back. It's not right."

Whitman said illegal immigrants are a drain on the state and that Brown's lenient views are fiscally irresponsible.

As the chief executive of the nation's most populous state, the next governor can have a wide influence over the immigration debate and be an advocate in lobbying Congress.

"Any California governor has the potential to be rocking the boat. Whether they actually do or not is another question," said Tomas Jimenez, a Stanford University sociology professor who studies immigration.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/elections/ci_16380333?nclick_check=1