1. House to emphasize enforcement
2. Hispanic Caucus loses members
3. Survey: Latinos key in election
4. Poll: Hispanics mixed on Obama
5. AZ Sheriff Babeu reaches deal

1.
Key House panel is set to emphasize border enforcement
Arizona Daily Star, November 4, 2010

The new Republican-controlled House will shelve immigration proposals in favor of streamlined law enforcement to seal U.S. borders, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas - likely chairman of the House Judiciary Committee - said Wednesday.

"The enforcement of our immigration laws is critical to both our national security and economic prosperity," Smith said. "We need to know who is entering our country, and why."

The GOP majority is expected to pick Smith as the new chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the next Congress. In an interview, he laid out his potential priorities for the panel.

He said the committee under his leadership would "enact policies that will better secure our border and discourage illegal immigration, human smuggling and drug trafficking."

Escalating violence in Mexico due to the drug trade, as well as U.S. highway signs along the border warning of areas made unsafe by smugglers, require increased measures, he said.

"American citizens should not have to fear for their lives on U.S. soil," Smith said.

House Republicans are expected to select leaders and committee chairmen by mid-December.

Smith and other GOP leaders support an Arizona-style crackdown on illegal immigrants, and they oppose birthright citizenship and earned-citizenship proposals.

In addition to immigration enforcement, Smith said his committee would revisit plans to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center; take up patent-reform legislation; seek limits on frivolous lawsuits; and combat child pornography and exploitation.

Smith, a frequent critic of the Obama administration's enforcement of immigration laws, called this year for congressional hearings to hold administration officials accountable for lapses in border security.

He also wants work-site enforcement to ensure "jobs go to unemployed citizens and legal immigrants."
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http://azstarnet.com/news/national/govt-and-politics/article_92062aec-5c...

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2.
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Loses Three Members
By Elise Foley
The Washington Independent, November 3, 2010

Three House members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus — Reps. John Salazar (D-Colo.), Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas) and Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas) — lost their bids for re-election yesterday, meaning the pro-immigration reform wing of Congress will shrink next session. Arizona Democratic Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Raul Grijalva could still lose their seats as final votes are counted.

Salazar lost to Republican Scott Tipton, a Tea Party-backed candidate who will likely support heavier immigration enforcement without paths to legal status for the illegal immigrants already in the country. In Texas, Republican Francisco “Quico” Canseco defeated Rodriguez, a six-term congressman, and Republican Blake Farenthold took out 14-term congressman Ortiz.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is made up of Democrats and supports immigration reform that would allow some of the illegal immigrants in the United States to remain if they paid fines and taxes, learned English, passed background and civics tests and registered with the government. Losing three members from the caucus may seem minor given the size of Congress, but it means at least three pro-immigration reform members will be replaced in the House with members who support restricting immigration and tightly enforcing immigration laws to drive out current undocumented immigrants.
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http://washingtonindependent.com/102498/congressional-hispanic-caucus-lo...

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3.
Latino voters played key role in California races, other national contests, survey finds
Los Angeles Times, November 3, 2010

Advocacy groups are touting results from a pre-election survey that showed Latino influence in deciding elections in eight states, including California.

Latino voters overwhelmingly supported California’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown and U.S. Senate incumbent Barbara Boxer over their respective Republican rivals Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, according to polls conducted by Latino Decisions and sponsored by the National Council of La Raza, Service Employees International Union and America’s Voice.

The Democratic candidates each drew support from 86% of the Latino voters polled, according to the survey. Jerry Brown won the election with nearly 54% of the overall vote, while Boxer won reelection with 52%.

“The first critical takeaway I would offer is that the GOP wave stops in California,” said Gary Segura, a senior researcher with Latino Decisions and professor at Stanford University. “There was virtually no evidence of the GOP wave in the state with the largest Latino population.”

The poll reached 3,200 “extremely likely” voters in phone interviews between Oct. 28 and Nov. 1, with a reported a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2% for state data and 1.7% for national data.

On a national level, Segura pointed to the Latino vote as the likely saving grace for the Democrats’ Senate majority and particularly for Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada. According to the poll, Latinos supported Reid by an overwhelming margin -- 90% favored the Democratic compared with 8% for Republican Sharron Angle.

Advocates said Angle’s anti-illegal immigrant rhetoric and Reid’s decision to bring up the DREAM Act -- which would offer a path to citizenship for certain young people who were brought to the United States illegally as minors -- for a Senate vote in September brought Latino voters to the polls.
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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/latino-voters-played-key-r...

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4.
Poll: Hispanics give Barack Obama mixed marks
By Carrie Budoff Brown
Politico (Washington, D.C.), November 3, 2010

Hispanic voters gave mixed marks to President Barack Obama in an election-eve poll released Wednesday — an early sign that he has ground to make up with this constituency ahead of his 2012 reelection campaign.

Forty-nine percent of Hispanic voters said they approved of Obama’s handling of immigration, and 40 percent disapproved, according to the polling by Latino Decisions, which surveyed 3,200 voters in eight key states.

Thirty-nine percent said they would definitely support Obama in 2012, while 20 percent said they might and 29 percent said they wouldn’t back him for reelection.

“This is not a resounding endorsement and reflects frustration in the Latino community,” said Gary Segura, a senior researcher with Latino Decisions and Stanford University professor. “The president’s path to reelection with Latinos requires some work and investment of time.”

The findings provide a benchmark for Obama's support within the Hispanic community after months of contentious debate over the Arizona enforcement law and the collapse of immigration reform in Congress.

His overall job rating was 68 percent approve, 25 percent disapprove.

Latinos turned out heavily for Democratic senators in the West, erecting a firewall that helped prevent Republicans from seizing control of the upper chamber, Segura said.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Ca.) ran the most sophisticated operations this year aimed at Hispanics, stuck by their support of immigration reform – and the Latinos rewarded them.

“We think there’s a message in there for other Democrats, including the president,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, an immigration reform advocacy group that sponsored the survey with National Council of La Raza and Service Employees International Union, among others.
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/44687.html

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5.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu Babeu, supervisors reach deal
By Lindsay Collum
The Arizona Republic, November 4, 2010

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu isn't getting what he asked for in a dedicated drug- and human-smuggling-enforcement task force.

But Babeu says a compromise reached Wednesday with county supervisors will meet the same objective: to disrupt cartel activity in western Pinal.

Board members have approved funding for the Sheriff's Office to hire and equip four deputies. Babeu had asked the board to foot the bill for seven new sworn positions to focus on crime prevention and the enforcement of drug and immigration laws.

Instead, the board agreed to pay for vehicles and equipment while Babeu will form two units to conduct special operations in smuggling corridors.

Those units would be staffed by deputies working overtime. Babeu said he'll cover that cost with $250,000 in funds from a federal grant program for combating border-related crime; $100,000 from Gov. Jan Brewer's discretionary fund will also pay overtime costs.

The sheriff's Search and Rescue Unit already conducts sporadic anti-smuggling operations in western Pinal, and Babeu said the grants will allow operations to occur more frequently.

"The intent of what I was asking for is achieved; it just looks very different from what I had asked for in the proposal," Babeu said.
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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/11/04/20101...