1. White House revives DREAM Act
2. DOJ accuses Smithfield of bias
3. Origin of AZ Monument Fire
4. Authorities unsure about funding
5. SC enforcement bill signed

1.
White House revives push for Dream Act
By Ben Wolfgang
The Washington Times, June 27, 2011

Administration officials are beginning to ratchet up the pressure on Congress to pass controversial immigration-reform measures, but critics fear the changes are already being made without lawmakers’ consent.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told reporters on Monday the nation “desperately” needs to enact the Dream Act, which would prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants who are studying at American colleges and universities or have served at least two years in the military.

The legislation, which was drafted a decade ago, has faced strong opposition in Congress each time it’s been reintroduced and stands little chance of passing this time around, especially with Republicans in control of the House.

But the administration has bypassed Congress and begun to relax its deportation protocol. In a June 17 memo, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said agents should exercise “discretion” when deciding who can stay and who must go.

Special consideration should be given to military veterans, those who have graduated high school or are pursuing college degrees, the elderly, minors, pregnant women and those with serious health conditions, he said. An immigrant’s “ties and contributions to the community” and his “ties to the home country and the conditions in the country” should also be weighed, according to the memo.

Mr. Duncan said the administration’s top priority, when determining whom to deport, is “criminal behavior.” He said ICE officials are “less interested” in students and other law-abiding residents.

Mr. Morton’s memo instructs agents to consider a person’s criminal history, as well as whether he is a national security threat or public safety concern, before making a decision on deportation.

The change has drawn fire from Republicans, and Rep. Lamar Smith, Texas Republican, plans to introduce legislation blocking selective deportations by ICE.

While that fight plays out, the administration is now trying sell the Dream Act by pointing out its economic benefits.

Mr. Duncan said the law would reduce the deficit by $1.4 billion over the next decade by allowing more illegal immigrants to stay in the country and pay taxes. He also said that continuing to deport talented people just because they’re here illegally “doesn’t make any sense.”
. . .
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/jun/27/white-house-revives-push...

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

2.
Justice Department Accuses Smithfield Unit of Immigrant Bias
By John Kell
The Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2011

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against a Smithfield Foods Inc. unit, alleging the company, Farmfield Foods Inc., imposed unnecessary documentary requirements on non-U.S. citizens when establishing their authorization to work in the country.

The department's investigation found that Missouri-based pork producer Farmfield allegedly required all newly hired, non-U.S. citizens and some foreign-born U.S. citizens at an Illinois plant to present specific and, in some cases, extra work-authorization documents beyond those required by federal law.

Farmland allegedly imposed greater and different requirements on non-U.S. and foreign-born workers as compared with applicants who were native-born, the Justice Department said.

The lawsuit charging Farmland with discriminatory practices has been filed before the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer within a division of the Justice Department.
. . .
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405270230444780457641244412363204...

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

3.
Monument Fire: Origin of blaze tied to border
The Associated Press, June 28, 2011

The Border Patrol said Monday that one of its agents spotted flames in southern Arizona two weeks ago as the Monument Fire near the U.S.-Mexican border was beginning to grow.

Patrol spokesman Steve Adkinson said the agent who reported the fire June 12 wanted to try to extinguish it but realized it was already too big to fight.

The Border Patrol's statement came after Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said he believed illegal immigrants started the fire near Sierra Vista.

Dever had said a border agent had been pursuing a group of immigrants nearby when the fire broke out.

Adkinson said the agent wasn't pursuing immigrants but was instead looking for footprints and other signs of illegal border crossers.

Federal investigators have declined to say who might have started the human-caused fire.
. . .
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/06/28/20110...

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

4.
Law enforcement unsure about funding in enforcing new immigration law
By Brian Lyman
Montgomery Advertiser, June 28, 2011

If the courts let them, law enforcement agencies say they'll enforce Alabama's strict new immigration law. How they'll pay to do it is still up in the air.

The law, signed by Gov. Robert Bentley on June 9, gives police, sheriffs' deputies and state troopers new powers to arrest individuals officers have "rea­sonable suspicion" of being in the country illegally.

Law enforcement is also required to verify with the federal government the status of a suspected un­documented worker, and "cooperate in the transfer of the alien to the federal government," if requested.

The question most law enforcement officials raise: Where's the funding?

"Law enforcement agencies get a lot of unfunded mandates that they have to try to carry out," said Derrick Cunningham, chief deputy of the Montgom­ery Sheriff's Office.

"We've got to do what the bill tells us to do," he said. "But we need better clarification on how we're going to be funded."

The law gives local law enforcement agencies up to $50 for fines assessed to undocumented workers arrested for being in the state and up to $250 for le­gal residents or undocumented workers who give or accept rides to a place of work. No other funding source for enforcement is created in the bill.

The ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center and National Immigration Law Center plan lawsuits to block implementation of the law. Several of the law enforcement provisions, in­cluding the "reasonable sus­picion" section, are similar to provisions in Arizona's SB 1070. The Arizona provisions have been stayed by federal courts.

A federal judge Monday blocked several portions of Georgia's immigration law, including one similar to Ala­bama's that allowed officers to checked the immigration status of those without prop­er documentation. Those por­tions of the law will be stayed while a legal chal­lenge brought by many of the same groups that have challenged the Alabama law -- the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center and oth­ers -- goes forward.

In a statement, House Ma­jority Leader Micky Ham­mon, R-Decatur, said he was confident Alabama's immi­gration bill would pass "con­stitutional muster."

"If legal challenges to our toughest-in-the-nation law do arise, a severability clause allows it to go into effect, even if an activist judge de­cides to block portions of it," he said.

Bobby Timmons, execu­tive director of the Alabama Sheriffs' Association, sup­ports the immigration bill, but said he was concerned about the possibility of put­ting undocumented individu­als in the state's already-overcrowded jails. Much of it, he said, depends on the ability of sheriffs' depart­ments to use E-Verify or consult federal departments such as Homeland Security and Immigrations and Cus­toms Enforcement (ICE) to check on the status of indi­viduals.

"If it's not in place or not working or doesn't give us the right answer, I don't know how long we can hold (a suspect)," he said. "My people cannot make a deci­sion on whether he's illegal."

Frank deGraffenried, a re­tired Auburn police chief and legislative chair for the Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police, said the law would be very "labor-inten­sive" for law enforcement.

"The biggest thing is if they're able to verify status in a timely manner, and transfer custody in a timely manner, that will lessen im­pact on law enforcement," he said.
. . .
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20110628/NEWS02/106280330/La...

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

5.
South Carolina governor signs immigration bill into law
Reuters, June 27, 2011

South Carolina Republican Governor Nikki Haley on Monday signed into law a bill that requires police to check the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest for another reason and suspect may be in the country illegally.

The immigration crackdown, which goes into effect January 1, follows similar action by lawmakers in Georgia and Alabama.

Under the new law, employers in South Carolina will be required to use the federal E-Verify system to check the citizenship status of employees and job applicants. Penalties for knowingly employing illegal immigrants will include suspension and revocation of a business license by the state.

The law also creates a $1.3 million Illegal Immigration Enforcement Unit within the state public safety department to serve as a liaison between local police and federal immigration officials. The unit will have 12 full-time officers, as well as its own unique uniforms and vehicle markings.
. . .
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/27/us-immigration-southcarolina-i...