Please visit our YouTube and Facebook pages.

1. SCOTUS makes deportation stall easier
2. LPR cases reopened by Judge
3. McCain to face challenger in 2010
4. TX House committee discusses bills
5. CA bill on compensation stalls

1.
Court makes it easier to fight deportation
The Associated Press, April 22, 2009

Washington -- The Supreme Court has made it easier for illegal immigrants seeking to avoid deportation to get another chance at a court hearing.

The decision Wednesday came in the case of Jean Marc Nken, who came to the United States in 2001 and did not leave when his visa expired.

Nken has since applied for asylum, married a U.S. citizen and had a child, who also is an American. But immigration authorities and federal courts have repeatedly rejected his claims, which include the prospect of persecution if he is sent back to the African nation of Cameroon.
. . .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/22/AR200904...

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

2.
Judge in LA orders green card cases reopened
By Raquel Maria Dillion
The Associated Press, April 22, 2009

Los Angeles (AP) -- A federal judge tentatively ordered the Department of Homeland Security to reopen the cases of 22 people who were denied green cards because their American spouses died during the application process.

U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder ruled the so-called widow penalty doesn't necessarily require that immigrants' permanent residency applications be denied when their American spouses die. Citing a 2006 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Snyder ruled this week that applicants don't lose their status as spouses of U.S. citizens if the death occurs before the government rules on their applications.

The decision, if made final, would be a victory for more than 200 people across the country who have been affected by the widow penalty, said attorney Brent Renison, who filed the class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles.

"This case is very significant because it's the first that follows the circuit court decision and gives guidance to the agency on what it can and cannot do in these situations," Renison told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has argued the law requires that residency applications be rejected for immigrants whose American spouses die within two years of being married.

Lawyers are also fighting the widow penalty in Missouri, Maryland, Georgia and Texas.
. . .
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjx6HAgWJV0i3Q39H-7YmK...

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

3.
McCain facing 2010 primary
Politico, April 21, 2009

Social conservatives tolerated John McCain as the party's nominee, but never trusted him, and he now appears to be facing a serious primary from the right in Arizona next year.

Chris Simcox, the founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and a prominent figure in the movement to clamp down on illegal immigration, will be announcing tomorrow at an event on the Mexican border that he's resigned from the group to run in the 2010 Senate primary.

From a forthcoming release:

"John McCain has failed miserably in his duty to secure this nation's borders and protect the people of Arizona from the escalating violence and lawlessness," Simcox said. "He has fought real efforts over the years at every turn, opting to hold our nation's border security hostage to his amnesty schemes. Coupled with his votes for reckless bailout spending and big government solutions to our nation's problems, John McCain is out of touch with everyday Arizonans. Enough is enough."

McCain was forced to abandon his own immigration reform legislation during last year's Republican Primary, a move that may have cost him substantial Hispanic support to which his record could have given him access.

So he's basically getting it from both sides on this one.

Simcox, with a national base and a high profile on the right, is well positioned to give McCain a serious local headache. He'll find some allies among the conservatives who recently took over the Arizona Republican Party from McCain's allies, and he has a national fundraising base.
. . .
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0409/McCain_facing_2010_primary.html

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

4.
Controversial bills debated in committee
By Erin Mulvaney and Ben Wermund
The Daily Texan Staff (Austin), April 22, 2009

A House committee heard multiple hot-button issues at the Capitol on Tuesday, tackling abortion, human cloning, immigration and state sovereignty bills.

Witnesses testified to the House State Affairs Committee in an overcrowded room full of ardent supporters and opponents of the bills, which were left pending in the committee.
. . .
Immigration

Some of the six illegal-immigration bills called for shifting the focus of legislation away from the immigrants themselves and toward the employers who provide them incentive to cross the border.

“Too often we put focus on those who come here illegally [rather] than those who provide incentive,” said state Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball, an author of one of the bills. “This bill specifically punishes employers who employ illegal immigrants on a cash-only basis to circumvent Texas laws.”

Other bills were aimed at encouraging cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration officials in enforcing immigration laws.

Patricia Major, a Dallas resident, testified against these bills, saying that local police should put residents’ safety above immigration issues.

“I couldn’t tell you how secure I feel knowing my city police know they are there to protect me. That’s why they are there,” she said. “I would oppose any bill that takes police away from their work.”

William Graham, a supporter of the bill, argued that immigration issues are central to residents’ safety. He said statistics show residents of cities with higher illegal-immigrant populations are at a greater risk of troubles with gang-related activity and crime.
. . .
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/controversial-bills-debated-in-committee...

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

5.
Illegal immigration incarceration funding bill fails in committee
The Calley News (Fallbrook, CA), April 22, 2009.

Riverside -- A bill by Sen. John J. Benoit, R-Bermuda Dunes, to

bill the federal government for the cost of keeping illegal immigrant convicts in California prisons was rejected today by a state Senate committee.

Senate Bill 125 would require the state to demand full payment each year from the U.S. Attorney General for expenses tied to incarcerating illegal immigrants.

The Senate Public Safety Committee today voted 3-3 on the bill, which could be reconsidered before the legislative session ends.

"My bill has gained positive momentum, as each senator who spoke today expressed concern that California continues to be shortchanged by the federal government in this area,'' Benoit said. ``I intend to work across the aisle to secure the fourth vote needed and continue pressing the case for our full share.''

Approximately 15 percent of the state's prison population is comprised of illegal immigrants, numbering 25,728 in 2008, according to Benoit's office.
. . .
http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/37293/