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1. Feds shift enforcement strategy
2. DHS chief presses for "reform"
3. Bill offers incentives to tutors
4. Lawyer presses for enforcement
5. Illegals dissuaded by economy

1.
Obama Hones Immigration Policy
By Cam Simpson
The Wall Street Journal, July 21, 2009

Washington, DC -- The Obama administration is using its executive powers to change U.S. immigration policies and practices on a range of fronts, not waiting for efforts by Congress to tackle a broader overhaul of the system.

Administration officials say they want to shift the emphasis in immigration enforcement to what the White House calls the demand-side of illegal immigration by focusing on employers, moving away from high-profile raids that resulted in thousands of worker arrests during the Bush years.

The Obama approach also toughens individual enforcement against illegal immigrants with criminal records, but takes a less stringent line with economic migrants and victims of abuse. In some cases, the Obama administration is pushing ahead with plans set under President George W. Bush -- such as putting into effect a mandate that all federal contractors and subcontractors use a government employment-verification system called E-Verify.

Congressional Democrats want to introduce comprehensive immigration legislation by the end of the summer that would offer a path to legal status for some of the estimated 12 million people now in the U.S. illegally. Many but not all congressional Republicans have opposed proposals to legalize undocumented migrants already in the country. President Barack Obama has signaled that he supports offering some form of legalization, but is also pursuing tougher enforcement that could appeal to both Democrats and Republicans on the fence.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is carrying out many of the new policies following reviews she ordered just after taking office in January. One of her most high-profile actions thus far was to end the Bush administration's raids at processing plants, factories and other work sites.

Now, the Obama administration is placing greater emphasis on fines and other civil penalties against employers, sending paperwork and accountants instead of gun-toting agents to conduct raids.

Earlier this month, the government announced notices went to 652 U.S. companies suspected of employing illegal workers. Violations could result in fines, other administrative actions or even criminal charges. The number of cases announced by the Obama administration this month is almost 30% greater than all those launched by the Bush administration throughout the entire last fiscal year, officials said.

"What you are talking about, fundamentally, are employers who are cheating," said a senior administration official involved in the changes. "What we are talking about is taking unfair competition out of the market."

Reviews from business groups are mixed. In the past, "there was this whole idea of demonizing undocumented workers," said Angelo Amador, who heads immigration policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "Now there's a shift, which is, 'Let's demonize employers,' and we don't think either is going to be very effective."
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124813721196067083.html

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2.
Homeland Security chief pushes immigration reform
The Associated Press, July 21, 2009

Monterey, CA (AP) -- The nation's security chief used a speech in Monterey to push for immigration reform.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told an annual gathering of federal judges and court officials Monday that immigration reform is on the top of her list of pressing issues.

Napolitano told the opening of the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Monterey that she will be involved in the drafting of reform legislation being pushed by the Obama administration.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12880605

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3.
US bill would offer perks to teach English
Agence France Presse, July 18, 2009

Washington, DC (AFP) -- The head of the US Congress' Asian American group on Friday proposed offering tax credits to firms that provide English lessons, saying it could help transform the immigration debate.

Representative Mike Honda introduced a bill that would offer tax incentives to businesses as well as teachers who teach English as a second language. It would also establish grants for communities to assist new Americans.

With nearly one in five Americans speaking another language at home, Honda said that English literary programs in some areas had waiting lists of up to three years.

Honda, a California lawmaker from President Barack Obama's Democratic Party, was alarmed by the growth in the number of residents with limited English proficiency.

The bill "recognizes the immense contribution immigrants make to the United States and is a proactive and constructive step to address many of the questions surrounding the immigration debate," Honda said.

Obama, who was elected with strong support of Hispanic and Asian American voters, has pledged to reform the immigration system to bring legal status to some of the millions of undocumented workers.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hlC69SU_KrwVE8RF1TNcM...

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4.
Lawyer Leads an Immigration Fight
By Julia Preston
The New York Times, July 21, 2009

Dallas -- On a recent morning, Kris W. Kobach, a conservative law professor, rushed late into a federal courtroom here with his suit slightly rumpled and little more than a laptop under his arm. His mission was to persuade the judge to uphold an ordinance adopted by a Dallas suburb that would bar landlords from renting housing to illegal immigrants.

A team of lawyers from a Latino advocacy group had set up early at the opposing table, fortified with legal assistants and stacks of case documents. Unfazed, Mr. Kobach unleashed a cascade of constitutional arguments. Case names and precedents spilled out so rapidly that the judge had to order Mr. Kobach several times to slow down.

Mr. Kobach is on a dogged campaign to fight illegal immigration at the local level, riding an insurgency by cities and states fed up with what they see as federal failures on immigration. As these local governments have taken on enforcement roles once reserved for the federal government, he is emerging as their leading legal advocate.

The Dallas hearing — the judge has yet to rule — was one match in an immigration contest playing out in courts in Arizona, California, Missouri and Pennsylvania, among other states, with civil liberties and Hispanic groups on one side and, increasingly, Mr. Kobach on the other.

A professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City law school and a Republican politician, Mr. Kobach developed his immigration views while working in the Justice Department at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The cases he has championed — like housing restrictions on illegal immigrants in Farmers Branch, Tex., and sanctions for employers in Valley Park, Mo., who hire such immigrants — are fiercely fought, with Mr. Kobach’s opponents accusing him of fostering discrimination against Hispanics and dividing immigrant communities.

But Mr. Kobach’s allies say he has borrowed a page from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and other pro-immigrant groups he confronts before the bench, by re-thinking the conservative tenet that the courts should not be a forum for policy change.

And with the Obama administration indicating that it will put off an overhaul of immigration until late this year or beyond, the courtroom campaign for tougher rules is likely to expand as cities and states remain the main battleground for shaping immigration policy.

“To rigidly separate local government from federal government when we think about immigration enforcement is not only legally incorrect, it’s also bad policy,” Mr. Kobach said in an interview.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21lawyer.html

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5.
New policies, bad economy deter Brazilians from sneaking into U.S.
By Liz Mineo
The MetroWest Daily News (Framingham, MA), July 21, 2009

The number of Brazilians arrested trying to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border plunged from 31,000 in 2005 to less than 1,000 in 2008, a result of both increased border enforcement efforts and the country's economic downturn.

The dramatic 97-percent decline, from 31,063 to 977, included in a recently released report by U.S. Homeland Security, is part of a three-year decline in the total number of apprehensions.

The report said that nationwide, border apprehensions numbered 723,840 in 2008, and were at their lowest level since 1976 after having peaked at 1,676,000 in 2000.

For Alan Marcus, a Towson University professor in Maryland who studies Brazilian immigration to the United States and its effects both here and in Brazil, the new numbers are revealing.

"It's a reflection of Brazilians not seeking the United States," said Marcus who has visited Framingham often in his studies. Framingham has a significant population of Brazilians, both legal and illegal. There are approximately 10,000 Brazilian immigrants in MetroWest and perhaps half as many in the Milford area, according to immigrant advocates.

"The word of mouth is that many Brazilians who live here are going back home because there is nothing up here," he said. "People are cutting back on housecleaning services and without construction jobs, Brazilians can no longer survive here."

The first signs of the decline took place in 2006, when the number of Brazilians arrested plummeted to 1,460 from 31,000 the year before.

The drop was a result of both a policy change that allowed immigration agents to deport rather than "catch and release" those arrested at the border, and the new visa requirement for Brazilians traveling to Mexico. It was put in place by the Mexican government, under pressure from the United States.

Still, that doesn't mean Brazilians are not trying to come here illegally, said Marcus. While it's true that they're coming here in fewer numbers, they're using new routes through Guatemala, Cuba and the Bahamas.

For Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that favors restrictions on immigration, the new numbers bear good news. The poor U.S. economy has played a role in deterring people from coming here illegally, she said, but the decline has most to do with increased resources for enforcement. She cited more agents hired and versions of the fence built along the border, and policy changes. All of that has paid off, she said.

"With fewer job opportunities here, people are less likely to come here illegally," said Vaughan, a Franklin resident. "It's better for people to stay home, and it's better for most American communities to have people coming here legally rather than illegally. In times of economic crisis, it's better to have less immigration than more."

For Vaughan, the decrease in the number of arrests underscores the drop in the number of people trying to enter the country illegally.
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http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x212471763/New-policies-bad-econo...