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1. Obama: Amnesty in 2010
2. DHS chief on enforcement
3. CBP vessel targets smuggling
4. Group aids foreigners
5. Visa attracts investors

1.
At Mexico summit, Obama says immigration reform will have to wait
The president, noting he has 'a pretty big stack of bills' to deal with, says pushing through a bill to overhaul immigration is unlikely before 2010.
By Peter Nicholas and Tracy Wilkinson
The Los Angeles Times, August 11, 2009

Reporting from Guadalajara, Mexico — Locked in a healthcare debate that is claiming much of his energy, President Obama acknowledged that a push to overhaul the nation's immigration system will have to wait until 2010 and even then will prove a major political test.

Obama suggested it would be too ambitious to aim for passage of new immigration laws before the end of the year, at a time when he will be confronting "a pretty big stack of bills."

Speaking at the end of a two-day summit meeting of fellow North American leaders, Obama said, "Now, I've got a lot on my plate, and it's very important for us to sequence these big initiatives in a way where they don't all just crashat the same time."

The summit provided a brief forum for addressing lingering grievances among the trio of North American countries. Mexico is upset that the U.S. won't allow truckers to move cargo within American borders, while Canada is unhappy about "Buy American" provisions written into the $787-billion stimulus bill passed into law in February. Obama sought to placate his counterparts on both points. But other issues were also raised, including the coup in Honduras and the human rights record in Mexico.

Obama said he won't ignore immigration. His administration is meeting with lawmakers and coming up with a bill that would enjoy bipartisan support, so that "when we come back next year . . . we should be in a position to start acting."

As a candidate, Obama said during a campaign stop in July 2008 that he would make immigration "a top priority in my first year as president." But the realities of governing have forced him to reexamine how best to roll out his agenda.

Opponents of the existing immigration structure said they were dismayed by the timetable.

Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, an advocacy group, said he does not expect immigration reform to be as difficult as the administration seems to think it will be.

"I think we'd be smarter to move on it this year," Sharry said. "There's a real hunger on the part of the American public to make sure immigrants are legal, are working towards citizenship, are paying their taxes and not being used by bad-actor employers to undercut honest employers."
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-summit11-2009...

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2.
Janet Napolitano on the border, immigration and more
The Homeland Security secretary talks about immigration reform, overhauling Bush administration policies and changes in detention policy.
By Anna Gorman
The Los Angeles Times, August 11, 2009

El Paso, TX -- Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is attending a conference in Texas on border security. She sat down with a Times reporter Monday to discuss a number of issues, including the Mexican drug war, immigration detention in the U.S. and legislative reforms.

How effective have the new technology and extra personnel at the border been, and what more can be done to target the drug cartels and border violence?

They have been very effective because they have been coordinated, they have been targeted, they have been done in collaboration with the Mexicans, which is a change from years past. . . . How has it worked so far? It's done well. What do we need to be doing more of or do differently? We want to continue our joint efforts to add to Mexican civilian law enforcement. At some point, for example, the military needs to leave Ciudad Juarez and we need to have a civilian law enforcement capacity there. . . . You have got to be able to match manpower with technology, with really good, smart, targeted, intelligence-driven law enforcement to really have a system that makes sense.

What impact do you think the recently announced immigration detention overhaul will have on some of the identified problems, including inadequate healthcare?

I think it will have a major effect. On detention, what we have found is just really a lack of standard uniformity applied throughout the system. There are a variety of reasons for that . . . but whenever you detain somebody under the rule of law, you have an obligation to do so meeting certain standards, safety and healthcare and the like. . . . And so everything we are doing is designed to make sure we are meeting those standards.

You are trying to distinguish yourself from the Bush administration by making a lot of policy changes. Nevertheless, there are complaints that you are continuing the policies of the previous administration. What is your response?
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-napolitano11-2009au...

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3.
US shows off new speedboat prototype aimed at curbing increase in smuggling by sea
By Elliot Spagat
The Associated Press, August 10, 2009

San Diego (AP) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday unveiled a prototype vessel for high-speed pursuits of smugglers ferrying people and drugs from Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.

The 43-foot boat is faster, more stable and carries about twice as much fuel as CBP's current vessels, which were rolled out from 2001 to 2005.

The $875,000 prototype comes with infrared cameras and sensors that give detailed images as far as the horizon goes. Currently, agents often use goggles, which detect things only as far as the naked eye.

CBP hopes to get funding to replace its fleet of about 65 vessels used for high-speed chases that are stationed in the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Florida's Atlantic coast and in the Pacific Ocean near the borders with Canada and Mexico.

Authorities say heightened enforcement on land borders has fueled an increase in human and marijuana smuggling by sea, particularly in the San Diego area from launching areas near Tijuana, Mexico.

The rickety smuggling vessels favored in San Diego generally can only hit speeds of about 20 mph, but they tend to travel at night far from shore and often elude capture.

"It's like looking for a can of soda in a gigantic pool," said CBP spokesman Juan Munoz Torres. "Sometimes you catch them, sometimes you don't."
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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-border-spe...

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4.
Agency Helps U.S. immigrants Cope With Hardships
By Steve Norman
The Voice of America News, August 11, 2009

The foreign-born population in the United States reached nearly 38 million in 2007, according to the private Center for Immigration Studies. The CIS says one of every eight U.S. residents is an immigrant or refugee, the highest level in 80 years. The Center says the poverty rate among these immigrants and their U.S./born children is 17%, nearly 50% higher than the rest of the population.

They have unique needs, said clinical psychologist Dennis Hunt, who is director of the Washington-based Center for Multi-Cultural Services. "Many of these immigrants and refugees have endured significant hardships in their native countries, including poverty, war trauma, persecution and rape. But, few may have anticipated the stress on their families that was waiting for them in the United States," said Hunt.

"Most immigrant parents who arrive in new communities are faced with immediate challenges to their survival,” he said, including “securing a job, finding a place to live, buying food, and enrolling their children in school." Hunt said his organization has designed a model of services to address the demographic changes of immigrants in America.

The Center for Multi-Cultural Services began in 1982 as an unaccompanied minors program, part of the private Catholic Charities organization. There were many children separated from their families in Southeast Asia following the Indochina war who needed to be placed in foster homes until their parents could be located, if ever.
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http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-08-11-voa5.cfm

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5.
Green cards draw foreign investors to Florida
By Monica Hatcher
The Miami Herald (FL), August 11, 2009

As wealthy foreign nationals increasingly flock to South Florida to buy distressed real estate, some are seeking an added return on their investment: a green card.

Local immigration attorneys say a growing number of Latin American and European clients are applying for investor visas, which in some cases lay down a fast track to residency and eventually citizenship. Others offer a chance to live and work in the country indefinitely.

As the region's real estate market continues to buckle under unsold properties, widespread foreclosures and failed condo projects, new interest in investor visas is helping whet the already hearty appetite of foreign nationals being drawn to the market by steep bargains.

The visa opportunity isn't for someone buying a single condo: a significant invesestment is required.

``Clients are coming to us primarily because of the economic opportunity they see in the market,'' said Randall Sidlosca, an immigration lawyer with Fowler, White & Burnett's Miami office. ``It's mind-boggling to see the amount of interest. . . . It's rather good news. It could mean the market will turn around faster than in other parts of the state.''

The purpose of these visas, which have been around for more than two decades, is to offer immigrants the opportunity to come and create jobs, rather than those who come as a result of family relationships and may do little to stimulate the economy, said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, which promotes immigration controls.

Developers and entrepreneurs are catching on to the program. They are hoping the attraction of U.S. residency will help generate new sources of badly needed capital at a time when access to credit has all but dried up. They have new reason to hope.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1180399.html