1. GOP to take control of House
2. SSA holds no-match letters
3. AZ Gov rides support of SB1070
4. Pro-enforcement PA mayor wins
5. GOP may stall immigration

1.
House Immigration Policy Now in the Hands of GOP and Steve King
By Elise Foley
The Washington Independent, November 3, 2010

Of all the possible changes to come out of the election, the biggest potential shift in immigration policy will probably come from which party controls the House. Now that change is official: Republicans will lead the House, meaning immigration legislation will be in the hands of likely Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who will chair the immigration subcommittee.

Republican positions on immigration — and particularly the positions of hardliners like King — will be a major change from how current Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other leading Democrats handled the issue. House Republicans have said they will focus on border security and immigration enforcement over potential reform to the legal immigration system.

King tends to be on the extreme end of anti-illegal immigration rhetoric: He favors changes to birthright citizenship to keep U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants from receiving citizenship and argues more states should pass immigration crackdowns like Arizona’s SB 1070. King has pushed for more border enforcement and an electrified fence along the border to keep illegal immigrants out. “We do that with livestock all the time,” he said.
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http://washingtonindependent.com/102414/house-immigration-policy-now-in-...

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2.
Social Security won't release Whitman maid letters
By Josh Gerstein
Politico (Washington, D.C.), November 2, 2010

The Social Security Administration is refusing to make public copies of notices it sent to California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman or her husband that could have suggested to the couple that their maid was not legally in the United States.

In September, Whitman's former maid, Nicky Diaz, accused the couple of firing her as they geared up for Whitman's gubernatorial bid. Diaz said the couple had known for years that she was likely an illegal worker because the Social Security Administration sent "no-match" letters to the couple indicating that her name did not match the Social Security number she was using.

In response to a Freedom of Information Act request from POLITICO, the Social Security Administration said it is required to keep such "no-match" letters secret because of a federal law that protects tax return information. In its response, dated Oct. 22, the agency also said releasing the letters, also known as Employer Correction Requests, Educational Correspondence, or Decentralized Correspondence, "would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
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http://www.politico.com/blogs/joshgerstein/1110/Social_Security_wont_rel...

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3.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer defeats Democratic challenger
The Associated Press, November 2, 2010

Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer has ridden a wave of support for the state's controversial illegal immigration law to defeat her Democratic challenger.

Brewer was secretary of state when she became governor in January upon Democrat Janet Napolitano's resignation. Napolitano quit midway through her second term to become a member of President Obama's Cabinet.

Brewer's opponent, Terry Goddard, is the state attorney general, who twice ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 1990s.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-arizona-gov-20101103,0,452202...

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4.
13-term Rep. Paul Kanjorski of Pa. loses Democratic House seat to fierce immigration critic
By Michael Rubinkam
The Associated Press, November 2, 2010

A Republican mayor whose get-tough policies on illegal immigrants attracted national attention won a U.S. House seat in Pennsylvania that was in Democratic hands for 26 years.

Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta defeated Rep. Paul Kanjorski after losing to him in 2002 and 2008. Barletta shot to national prominence in 2006 for his tough stance on illegal immigration but retooled his message to focus on jobs and the economy.

Barletta campaigned on the sluggish economy and 10 percent unemployment in the predominantly Democratic district that includes Scranton, Wilkes-Barre (WILKS'-beh-ree) and parts of the Pocono Mountains.
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-us-pennsylv...

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5.
Republican Election Gains May Stall Business’s Immigration Push
By Laura Litvan
Business Week, November 3, 2010

Intel Corp., Hilton Worldwide Inc. and other companies seeking a larger number of legal foreign workers through changes to immigration law likely will find their push thwarted by the Republicans’ sweeping election gains.

Lawmakers who will lead the debate in the new Republican- controlled U.S. House say they want to focus on securing the border and cracking down on illegal immigration, rather than other matters. Only after it is shown that fewer illegal immigrants are coming across the U.S.-Mexico border will they consider the revisions to immigration law sought by businesses, they say.

Representative Steve King, an Iowa Republican slated to head the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration policy subcommittee, said in an interview that he opposes lifting visa caps for lower-skilled foreign workers because doing so would depress U.S. workers’ wages. He said he would support increasing the number of visas for higher-skilled workers only if the potential employees meet criteria to boost the U.S. economy.

That means they should be young, well-educated and be able to speak English, King said. “That’s the indicator of whether they can assimilate into the broader society,” he said.

The business agenda calls for increases in worker visas for skilled and unskilled labor, along with more employment-based “green cards” -- proof of permanent residency in the U.S.
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http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-02/republican-election-gains-ma...