1. Rep. pushes for DREAM Act
2. NV sees enforcement proposal
3. SC debates enforcement
4. VA Sheriff talks Sec Comm.
5. Man killed in accident

1.
Gutiérrez Dreams the Impossible DREAM Act
By Elizabeth Llorente
FoxNews.com, November 29, 2010

On Monday, when Congress is expected to take up the DREAM Act, a highly controversial bill that allows undocumented students who came to the United States before age 16 to become legal residents after five years by completing higher education or joining the military service, it will be in large measure because of the efforts one man – Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D) of Illinois.

Gutiérrez spent part of Thanksgiving recess traveling to different states, pleading the case of the tens of thousands of undocumented youth who forego college because they cannot afford the out-of-state tuition rates they are forced to pay because of their status.

“They didn’t decide, when they were six, seven or eight years old, to come here [illegally],” said Gutiérrez, 57, in a recent interview during Thanksgiving recess. “Should we hold children responsible for the actions of their parents?”

“They’re all American except for that little paper,” Gutiérrez said. “Culturally, linguistically, socially, American is who they are. We’ve educated them, so let’s let them join the military, let them go to college. Let them give this country a lot in return for what we’ve given them.”

For Gutiérrez, this is not a political speech, and immigration is not a partisan issue.

“Fighting for undocumented immigrants is a true mission for Luis Gutiérrez,” said Rev. Miguel Rivera, the leader of a national group of conservative evangelical pastors, the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders (CONLAMIC).

“Rep. Gutiérrez has invested his time trying to make life better for Latinos, for immigrants, not only in his district, but for those around the nation.”

Last year, Rivera and other pastors joined Gutiérrez for a rally in favor of comprehensive immigration reform – specifically, provisions that would provide the undocumented with a path to legalization – that the congressman held at a church in Elizabeth, N.J. The visit was part of a series of trips Gutiérrez made across the country – to more than 25 cities – to drum up support for legalization for the undocumented.

His speeches during his "town hall" meetings are impassioned and electric -- the undocumented who hear him speak say they feel inspired, hopeful.

During a recent speech in a Brooklyn church in support of the DREAM Act, Gutiérrez urged the large crowd to commit to working with him to getting the administration to adopt policies that could help the undocumented.

He told them that Republicans had blocked efforts to help them get a path to legalization, and that they were the enemy.

Some conservative Latinos, like Rivera, agree. But others, like Alfonso Aguilar, the executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, say that such talk hurts the chances of a bipartisan agreement over comprehensive immigration reform.

"A lot of Republicans support the DREAM Act in concept," said Aguilar, who is the former chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship during the George W. Bush administration. "It makes no sense to send these minors back to a country they don't know. But Gutiérrez and other Democrats have not seriously reached out to the Republican leadership."

"And saying that Republicans are the enemy is injecting the issue of racial confrontation," Aguilar said. "You can't pass legislation without Republican support. It's not going to happen, you're not going to get Republican support, when you make the rounds saying that Republicans are your enemy. That's a political leader, not a Latino leader."

Proponents of strict immigration enforcement describe Gutiérrez as a bleeding heart liberal who is calling on Congress to reward lawbreakers. They say that any kind of pardon for illegal immigrants will beget more illegal immigration, and send the message worldwide that U.S. immigration laws are meaningless.

They want any immigration measure to stress enforcement, including strengthening the borders and cracking down on illegal immigrants who are already here. They also want the government to more aggressively punish employers who hire illegal immigrants.
. . .
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2010/11/29/luis-gutierrez-immi...

********
********

2.
State lawmakers propose legislation on immigration
By Lynnette Curtis
LAs Vegas Review Journal, November 27, 2010

At least two Nevada legislators are pursuing bills in 2011 that target illegal immigrants, though similar bills historically haven't gotten far.

Assemblyman Don Gustavson, R-Sparks, has asked the Legislative Counsel Bureau to draft a bill for the coming legislative session based on a controversial Arizona immigration law that is being challenged in federal court.

Assemblyman Pat Hickey, R-Reno, meanwhile, has requested a bill that would require employers to use the federal E-Verify program to determine whether employees are authorized to work in the United States. The program is voluntary for most employers.

Hickey also has requested a bill that would impose a fee on money wire transfers outside the country, which he says would give undocumented workers who send money home each month better opportunity to "pay their fair share."

The proposed legislation faces an uphill battle, the assemblymen concede, but they hope to spur a debate on the issue.

Gustavson said the goal of his bill is to "get citizens in Nevada back to work."

"We have a lot of people in the country illegally and working here," he said. Targeting undocumented workers could open up jobs for those who are legally authorized to work, he said.

But Hickey said Gustavson's Arizona-style bill doesn't have "a snowball's chance in hell of passing in Nevada."

"We're not a border state with the same safety and legal concerns that Arizona has," he said. "I'm trying to propose a couple pieces of legislation a little more targeted to challenges" in Nevada.

A judge earlier this year blocked portions of the Arizona law that would have allowed police officers to question a person's legal status while enforcing other laws. It also would have made it a state crime to be caught without papers in Arizona.

Sections that were not blocked include one that allows the impounding of vehicles that are used to transport undocumented persons. Another, targeting those who hire day laborers, bans hiring someone whose entering a car would obstruct the flow of traffic.

Proponents of the Arizona law say it is a common-sense measure to make up for the federal government's inconsistent approach to immigration policy. Opponents say it sets the stage for racially motivated harassment by police of Hispanic residents and visitors.
. . .
http://www.lvrj.com/news/state-lawmakers-propose-legislation-on-immigrat...

********
********

3.
Immigration crackdown debated
By Yvonne Wenger
The Post and Courier (SC), November 26, 2010

South Carolina lawmakers are approaching the matter of a further crackdown on illegal immigration from several perspectives.

Take the state budget.

Lawmakers face a $1 billion budget shortfall when they return to session in January, but the state continues to pay unknown amounts to house illegal immigrants in prisons and jails, process them through the judicial system and provide social services and schooling to their children.

"It's costing us as a society a significant amount of money for them to be here in an undocumented state," Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, said.

For Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, illegal immigration is a matter of human welfare. With violence in Mexico and some Latin American countries spiking, Ford said illegal immigrants in South Carolina should be given a safe harbor, at least temporarily.

"This country is an immigrant country," Ford said. "That's how just about everyone came here. For us not to welcome the Latino community is a sin within itself. States should not have stuck their nose in the immigration mess, but we did."

A panel of lawmakers, including Martin and Ford, will weigh the various points of view when they meet next month to draft legislation to build on a 2008 law that is aimed at stopping employers from using illegal labor.

The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration will consider testimony gathered from the public over recent months in Charleston, Spartanburg, Columbia and Myrtle Beach.

Many in the state want to follow up on a proposal by Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, to pass an Arizona-style law in South Carolina that would allow the state to enforce federal immigration laws.

But the senators also heard from people who told them to stop grandstanding and leave the matter in the hands of the federal government, because enforcing the federal laws would lead to racial profiling and require an outlay of cash for law enforcement training, new detention centers and legal fees to defend a new state law, among other concerns. Portions of Arizona's law are on hold after a judge found elements of it to be unconstitutional.

Still, Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said it is a top priority to pass a law like Arizona's that will allow officers to check the immigration status of people during routine policing if the officer suspects the person is in the country illegally.

The Judiciary subcommittee will meet Dec. 8 in Columbia. McConnell said he has directed the panel to have a draft bill ready for January when the Legislature reconvenes.
. . .
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/nov/26/immigration-crackdown-deb...

********
********

4.
Fairfax sheriff to chat online about immigration
By Bill Giles
The Washington Examiner, November 29, 2010

Fairfax County stands apart from other local Northern Virginia communities in embracing Secure Communities, a controversial immigration program that drew the ire of human-rights organizations and several local governments who claim the program unfairly targets immigrants for deportation.

The program, administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is an information-sharing system under which local police can check the immigration status of anyone they arrest.

Neighboring Arlington County is among those that tried to get out of the Secure Communities program, arguing that the program creates distrust between residents and law enforcement and discourages people from calling the police to report crimes. Federal officials originally suggested that Arlington could opt out of the program, but later reversed themselves and said the county would have to participate or lose federal law-enforcement assistance.

While Arlington County attempts to opt out of Secure Communities, the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office has embraced and applauded it. The county sheriff's office proudly touts that it was the first community in the Washington region to join the program.

"We have a different outlook on it. We think it's a good program," said sheriff's spokesman Sonny Cachuela. "There's no profiling, and there's no enforcement of [federal] immigration laws."
. . .
http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/virginia/2010/11/fairfax-sheriff-cha...

********
********

5.
Friends of Crash Victim Organize Fundraiser
By Catie Beck
CBS 6 (VA), November 28, 2010

Hanover County investigators arrest a man "in the country illegally" for a deadly accident along the 9800 block of East Patrick Henry Blvd (Route 54) one mile east of Interstate 95. Hanover investigators charged 39-year-old Feliciano Aquas Suarez with DUI and driving without a licence. Investigators say he will be charged with manslaughter upon his release from the hospital

Investigators say on Friday, November 26 at approximately 10:00 p.m. Suarez was driving west on East Patrick Henry Blvd when he drove into opposite lane and sideswiped a 1998 Ford Explorer. The Explorer ran off the road and overturned.

The driver of the 1998 Ford Explorer, Casey Ryan Bohr, 23, of the 7900 block of Dabney Mill Road in King William died at the scene. Bohr's friends say his mother was a passenger in the car. She sustained a broken collar bone and lacerations on her leg, and is being treated at VCU Medical Center.
. . .
http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-hanover-county-one-dead-in-cra-112610,0,45...