Immigration Blog

ICE Adopts Catch and Release for 287(g)

By Jessica Vaughan, June 29, 2009

According to news accounts, earlier this month ICE issued a directive to one of the most productive 287(g) jurisdictions to cease holding many of the illegal aliens arrested by the sheriff’s officers, and instead release them back into the community. Just like in the commercial, where the mean guy in the suit takes away the kid’s cool truck and gives him a lousy picture to play with instead, Sheriff Daron Hall knows the difference. Read more...

The Speaker of the House, Navajos, and Who We Are

By Jerry Kammer, June 27, 2009

I am one of the progressives whose position on immigration policy stems from concerns about our country's social structure, social cohesion and population growth. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is an immigration enthusiast not troubled by such concerns.

Here is what Ms. Pelosi said on Thursday as she affirmed her commitment to "comprehensive" reform that would greatly expand immigration to our country. Read more...

What's the Rush?

By Mark Krikorian, June 26, 2009

Yesterday's twice-delayed White House pep rally for amnesty offered no surprises, other than the exclusion of Steve King, who's just, you know, the ranking Republican on the House immigration subcommittee. In fact, despite the meeting's billing as broadly inclusive, only three of the 30 members of Congress there were opposed to amnesty: Sen. Jeff Sessions and Reps. Lamar Smith and Heath Shuler.

But a couple things were notable: Read more...

Impatience Mixed with Hope in the Spanish-Language Press

By Jerry Kammer, June 26, 2009

The leader of a national Latino political organization wasn't happy with the results of Thursday's immigration policy meeting at the White House between the president and congressional leaders.

"They have to move from statements and meetings to doing something concrete," Arturo Vargas, director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials told the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion, which is published in Los Angeles. Read more...

The New Sheriff in Town

By Stephen Steinlight, June 25, 2009

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, is point man for President Obama on immigration, riding herd on the Big Push for "comprehensive immigration reform." According to members of Congress committed to this unpopular policy, the campaign will be launched sometime in the fall. There was a bipartisan meeting today to discuss what's possible in the current Congress, but it includes Rep. Anthony Weiner so it's hard to take that one too seriously, and there was another the day before for amnesty advocates. Read more...

Schumer's Marketing Lesson for "Comprehensive Reform"

By Jerry Kammer, June 25, 2009

A powerful Senate advocate of "comprehensive immigration reform" legislation Wednesday offered some marketing advice to those who want to help him get the bill passed: Call illegal immigration by its name.

"When we use phrases like 'undocumented workers,' we convey a message to the American people that their government is not serious about combating illegal immigration, which the American people overwhelmingly oppose," said Sen. Charles Schumer, chairman of the Judiciary immigration subcommittee. "If you don’t think it’s illegal you’re not going to say it. I think it is illegal and wrong and we have to change it." Read more...

The Rule of Cynicism

By Jerry Kammer, June 23, 2009

Today's New York Times has a story about a tragedy at a day care center in the northern border state of Sonora that has shaken the entire country. The Times reports that in the weeks since a fire killed 47 children in Hermosillo, "evidence has piled up suggesting a chain of negligence that may have abetted the tragedy. The revelations have led to outrage and, in this culture of widespread corruption and legal impunity, resignation." Read more...

Come, Let Us Reason Together - So Long as You Agree With Me

By Stephen Steinlight, June 22, 2009

Artfully practiced, casuistry is discernible only by the naturally skeptical or perspicacious while remaining invisible to the gullible or incautious majority. When performed ineptly, however, the duplicity is plain to all. Bungled deception insults ordinary "inquiring minds," repels the more acute, and reveals the intellectual slovenliness that accompanies the bad ethics, making each that much more deplorable.

A good illustration is the official announcement by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) of the goals of a $500,000 grant from the Ford Foundation. Read more...

Touchback Redux?

By Mark Krikorian, June 19, 2009

The president this morning spoke at a Hispanic prayer breakfast and reiterated his support for amnesty, but again offered no timeline. One interesting twist is that he endorsed the bogus "touchback" gimmick that was floated during the last round of the amnesty debate, wherein illegal aliens would go home to apply for amnesty, have lunch, then come back legally, thus "rebooting" their status. As the L.A. Times writes: Read more...

Backlogged: More Judges a Partial Fix

By Jon Feere, June 18, 2009

A new report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) highlights the problem of our nation’s growing backlog of immigration cases but fails to address one obvious, and frequently overlooked solution: less immigration.

The report explains that due to more immigration matters being brought before the immigration courts over the past decade, the backlog has increased by 64 percent, the wait for a resolution has increased 32 percent, and in 2008, the court received a total of 351,477 matters, the highest volume recorded over the last decade. Read more...