1. Obama pushes legislature
2. Napolitano denies knowledge
3. Court allows NM DL checks
4. Hearing on UT law delayed
5. AZ court allows recall

1.
Obama: Immigration reform requires changing the law
EFE, September 13, 2011

President Barack Obama said that while he can lessen some of the injustices in the current U.S. immigration system, real progress requires changing the law.

His obligation as president is to enforce the existing law, Obama said in a White House roundtable with correspondents from Efe and other Spanish-language media outlets.

Recent changes in deportation policy that prioritize expelling undocumented immigrants who committed crimes are not sufficient, according to the president, who said the problem cannot be resolved through "administrative" measures.

Amending the policy on deportations will not achieve the path to citizenship for undocumented migrants "that I believe must be part of the solution," he told the journalists.

Obama said his administration will continue to press for comprehensive immigration reform, one of his 2008 campaign promises.

His failure so far to deliver on that promise is one of the factors that have sparked a drastic drop in support for the Democratic president among Hispanic voters, which according to the latest surveys stands at 48 percent, compared with 67 percent in 2008.

The president, however, told the media roundtable that Latino voters will not punish him in 2012 for his not being able to persuade Republicans in Congress to do the right thing on immigration.
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http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/09/13/obama-immigration-r...

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2.
Napolitano denies knowledge of Fast and Furious gun-tracking program
By Jordy Yager
The Hill (DC), September 13, 2011

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told senators Tuesday that she had no knowledge of a botched federal gun-tracking program while it was in operation.

In testimony before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Napolitano said she was first made aware of the Fast and Furious program after U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was killed in the line of duty in Arizona in December 2010.

Weapons lost track of by Fast and Furious agents were found at the scene of Terry’s death.

“Let me be very clear for the record: You were unfamiliar with Operation Fast and Furious while the operation was under way?” asked Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

“That is accurate,” Napolitano replied.

The Fast and Furious operation was launched by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in 2009 to try to trace weapons from the United States to Mexican drug cartels by authorizing the sale of guns in the Southwest border region to known and suspected straw purchasers for the cartels.

But ATF agents were often told to abandon their surveillance of the weapons, allowing them — and the straw buyers — to disappear, according to House testimony from numerous agents. The only remaining hope for agents to track the guns was if other agencies found them at crime scenes or during drug raids and identified them by their serial numbers.

Authorities discovered two such weapons, sold under the operation, at the Arizona murder scene of Terry. According to testimony, agents in the region are terrified that some of the thousands of guns still at large will be used to kill more innocent people.

Napolitano said she first found out about the operation after Terry’s killing and that she is declining to comment on it further until the Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general’s office completes its independent review of the operation. Attorney General Eric Holder ordered the IG investigation earlier this year.

“First of all, we wanted to make sure that the investigation into the cause of the death and prosecution was pursued vigorously,” she said.

“And that was being done. I did meet with the FBI agent-in-charge in Arizona at the time. At the time I was told that DOJ was referring the entire matter to the inspector general, so we have reserved judgment until that report has come about.”

McCain asked Napolitano to supply the committee with the specific date when she found out that guns sold under the operation were found at the scene of Terry’s killing.

McCain has long butted heads with Napolitano, who is the former governor of Arizona, but he is a latecomer to criticism of the administration regarding Fast and Furious.

The lead congressional investigators have been Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

As Issa has continued his probe into the operation and who authorized it, he has attracted a bevy of Democratic naysayers who contend that he is jeopardizing the DOJ IG’s investigation as well as the prosecution of nearly two dozen men accused of illegally purchasing and carrying weapons sold under the operation.

But two weeks ago, Issa got the first hard results from his investigation when former acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson was transferred to a lower office for his role in overseeing the agency during the Fast and Furious operation. Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, who oversaw the legal aspects of the operation, resigned his position as well.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/181237-napolitano-denies-know...

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3.
Court to let NM check on returned license notices
By Barry Massey
The Associated Press, September 13, 2011

A judge is allowing Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration to move ahead with a limited investigation to determine whether some immigrants with a New Mexico driver's license still live in the state.

District Judge Sarah Singleton on Tuesday decided that some residency checks can continue although she's putting on hold the administration's broad plan for potentially certifying the licenses of tens of thousands of foreign nationals, including those living illegally in the country.

The judge said she will issue an injunction to block the program pending the outcome of a lawsuit brought by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

New Mexico is one of only three states — the others are Washington and Utah — where an illegal immigrant can get a driver's license because no proof of citizenship is required. However, Utah's permits cannot be used as government ID cards.

Martinez wants the Legislature to repeal a 2003 law that allows illegal immigrants to get a driver's license. She contends the state has become a magnet for license fraud and out-of-state immigrants coming to New Mexico only to get a license and then leave.

More than 80,000 licenses have been issued so far to foreign nationals although the state is uncertain how many went to illegal immigrants because it doesn't ask applicants about their immigration status.

To help detect possible license fraud, the state mailed notices this summer to a random sample of 10,000 foreign nationals saying they must schedule appointments and submit documents proving they still live in New Mexico. The administration had planned to expand the certification program to more foreign nationals if it determined there were widespread problems.

Under the judge's decision, the state can't expand the license certification program and send out more notices requiring immigrant license holders to make appointments and submit documents proving they still live in New Mexico. The administration also won't be able follow up and try to verify the licenses of about 4,000 foreign nationals who never responded to certification notices from the state or missed scheduled appointments.

However, the judge will allow the state to investigate some pending cases to determine whether license holders remain New Mexico residents, and it's possible the administration will be able to take action to try to cancel licenses if it finds evidence that people fraudulently obtained a license.

There's a disagreement between lawyers for the administration and the MALDEF over the scope of the investigation that will be allowed. The judge may be forced to resolve the dispute next week when she plans to issue the injunction sought by MALDEF to stop the program while the lawsuit moves ahead.

Until an order is issued next week, the judge has put all parts of the program on hold.

About a third of the 10,000 notices were returned as undeliverable, including that there was no such address or there was no forwarding address, according to the administration. Under the judge's decision, the Taxation and Revenue Department and its Motor Vehicle Division can continue to try to track down those license holders.

"The court's ruling acknowledges that serious cases of potential fraud have been uncovered as a result of the residency certification program, and that these cases deserve a thorough investigation," said Scott Darnell, a spokesman for Martinez.
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http://www.chron.com/news/article/Court-to-let-NM-check-on-returned-lice...

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4.
Hearing on tough Utah immigration law delayed
By Josh Loftin
The Associated Press, September 13, 2011

Utah state attorneys said in a court filing Tuesday that federal authorities might get involved in a lawsuit challenging the state's tough immigration enforcement law that civil rights groups argue is unconstitutional.

It's not clear, however, if the U.S. Justice Department plans to take action regarding the Utah law. Spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said the department was reviewing the law but didn't elaborate.

The possibility of Justice Department involvement was enough to persuade U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups to delay an injunction hearing scheduled for Friday.

The delay was requested by Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. A new hearing was set for Nov. 18.

"In the interest of judicial economy, it makes little sense to have a hearing on plaintiffs' motion, and then to possibly reargue the same issues at a later date if DOJ decides to interject itself into this dispute," Shurtleff said in the filing.

The Utah law, signed by Gov. Gary Herbert in March, requires people to prove their citizenship if they're arrested for serious crimes ranging from certain drug offenses to murder. It also gives police discretion to check citizenship on traffic infractions and other lesser offenses.
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http://www.chron.com/news/article/Hearing-on-tough-Utah-immigration-law-...

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5.
Author of Arizona's illegal immigration law to face recall election
Los Angeles Times, September 13, 2011

An Arizona lawmaker best known as the author of a controversial law that cracks down on illegal immigrants will face a recall election Nov. 8.

In a ruling Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for the recall election of Russell Pearce, the president of the state Senate and arguably the most powerful politician in the Arizona.

Supporters describe Pearce, a former sheriff's deputy, as a principled lawmaker trying to protect his state; critics say he panders to racism and demonizes immigrants, legal and illegal.

The justices held a closed-door conference on an appeal from a Pearce supporter who alleged that because of flawed paperwork, the recall drive did not amass enough valid voter signatures to force the recall election in the lawmaker’s district in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa.

The court found the recall petition to be constitutional, affirming an August decision by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Hugh Hegyi, said Jennifer Liewer, a court spokeswoman, in an interview.

Pearce, a Republican known nationally for writing last year's controversial immigration law, SB 1070, will now face two other Republicans, Jerry Lewis and Olivia Cortes, in the recall election.
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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/2011/09/arizona-high-court-giv...