View the Center's new report concerning Rick Perry's claims on job growth.

1. Few satisfied on immigration
2. Rep. says DOJ undermining probe
3. E-Verify bill clears House panel
4. Conservatives seek Hispanic vote
5. Immigration raid sparks outcry

1.
Few Satisfied by Obama's Immigration Policies
By Julian Aguilar
The Texas Tribune, September 22, 2011

A task force created to help overhaul a controversial deportation program instead witnessed five of its 19 members resign last week, another sign the Obama administration’s immigration policy remains politically problematic for him at a time when courting Latinos is crucial to his re-election.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Task Force on Secure Communities released its report evaluating the interagency operation that determines if immigrants arrested by local police are deportable under federal immigration laws. The task force recommended that the federal government re-evaluate its mission to focus deportation efforts on criminal aliens, not illegal immigrants arrested for minor traffic violations or noncriminal misdemeanors.

Homeland Security created the task force in June in response to widespread criticism of the Secure Communities program. Launched in 2008, the Secure Communities program was touted as a way to ferret out and deport criminal aliens here in the U.S. legally and illegally.

Immigrant and civil rights’ groups have accused the government of misleading the public about the program’s intent and say it has been used far more broadly to deport immigrants. Critics of Secure Communities say it has helped the Obama administration ramp up the number of deportations and is part of the reason why the government is currently on pace to prosecute more illegal immigrants in three years for illegal entry or illegal reentry than President George W. Bush did in his eight-year term.

At the same time it created the task force in June, DHS issued a directive urging Immigration and Customs Enforcement prosecutors to use “prosecutorial discretion” when deciding whom to place in deportation proceedings. Immigrants’ rights groups were unimpressed, however, and said the actions amounted to little more than an attempt at political cover before an election year. Instead, they argue, Secure Communities should be eliminated altogether.

The Tribune thanks our Supporting Sponsors

The National Day Labor Organizing Network was among the first to cheer the task force’s splintering last week, calling former Sacramento Police Chief Arturo Venegas a hero for abandoning the effort and resigning. Venegas and the four other task force members resigned rather than sign off on the recommendations in the report.

“Arturo Venegas is setting the example and leading the way for task force members to match the courage of those who stood up at task force hearings calling for an end of the program,” said Sarahi Uribe of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “His resignation makes him a hero in the immigrant community."

The network's statement is indicative of the discomfort a portion of the Latino community has expressed in the president's immigration policies in a period of record deportations and a weak economy, which the Pew Research Center has found affects Latinos more directly than whites or blacks.

“He ran on a platform that would push immigration reform and be sympathetic to Latinos. That has changed, unfortunately,” said Fernando Garcia, the executive director for El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights and a founding member of the Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance. “When he had the majority in Congress, why didn’t he push [reform]? It was very important for the Latino community to be sure he was at least pushing it. The perception was that he didn’t.”

In a recent survey commissioned by a GOP polling group, Resurgent Republic, Obama’s appeal among Hispanics is waning in three key states he won in 2008: Florida, Colorado and New Mexico. According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), the three states combined will have more than 2.2 million projected Latino voters in 2012.

“Obstructionist Congress”

Despite the mounting displeasure within some circles, Obama is maintaining his appeal among those who believe the president is at least trying to implement reform but cannot act alone.

“President Obama has done everything he can to bypass the obstructionist Congress,” said Rebecca Acuña, the Texas Democratic Party’s deputy political director for base outreach, in a statement. “The President’s new policies on deportation are some of the most positive, sweeping changes we’ve seen in immigration policy in decades, and the most the president can do without congressional approval. Latinos won’t punish the president for the refusal of Republicans to enact comprehensive immigration reform. They’ll punish Republican xenophobes and an obstructionist Congress.”

The president's Republican critics have accused him of pursuing "backdoor amnesty" by urging ICE prosecutors to exercise greater discretion in whom they pursue. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, has introduced legislation that would blunt the administration's authority to carry out immigration policy.

In a recent letter urging DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to provide details about the directives, Smith wrote: “The Obama administration again chooses to ignore immigration laws under the guise of prosecutorial discretion. Despite the administration’s claims that there is nothing new with respect to this policy, it represents a drastic and unprecedented shift. Ultimately, these memos may allow millions of illegal immigrants to remain in the United States in violation of existing law and regulations and compete with unemployed American and legal immigrant workers for scarce jobs."

Their harsh criticism of Obama highlights the conundrum the president finds himself in: He's attacked from both the left and the right, by Latino and liberal critics who are disillusioned by his actions as president and by conservatives who charge that he has abdicated his responsibility to secure the country's borders — even as he deports a record number of immigrants.

Beyond Texas’ borders an effort is being made by the Tequila Party, which bills itself as an alternative to the Tea Party, to educate Latinos on where the presidential candidates stand on immigration. A top priority for many Latinos is the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to legal status for illegal immigrants brought here as children and have since excelled in their studies and successfully completed some college or military service.
. . .
http://www.texastribune.org/immigration-in-texas/immigration/will-obamas...

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

2.
Darrell Issa and Charles Grassley: DOJ compromised gun probe
By Tim Mak
Politico (DC), September 22, 2011

Two top Republicans looking into the bungled “Fast and Furious” gun operation have accused the Department of Justice’s Inspector General of undermining their investigation.

The Justice Department’s “Fast and Furious” gun program targeted Mexican drug cartels but ended up inadvertently supplying them with firearms.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) send a letter to DOJ - first reported by Fox News - that accused the department’s Inspector General, Cynthia Schnedar, of compromising their investigation by releasing secret tape recordings to targets of their probe.

“Each of these disclosures undermines our ability to assess the candor of witnesses in our investigation and thus obstructs it,” wrote the two Republicans in a letter dated Tuesday. “Moreover, your decision to immediately disclose the recordings to those you are investigating creates at least the appearance, if not more, that your inquiry is not sufficiently objective and independent.

The DOJ Inspector General argues it was required to turn the tapes over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at the Department of Justice under the legal rules of discovery.

Both Congress and the DOJ Inspector General are conducting investigations into the department’s role in the gun program. Issa and Grassley are concerned that releasing the tapes to the U.S. Attorney’s Office - a potential target in their investigation - might obstruct their inquiries.
. . .
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/64119.html

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

3.
E-Verify bill stirs broader immigration debate
By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times, September 21, 2011

House Republicans on Wednesday jump-started the immigration debate, pushing through the Judiciary Committee a key immigration-enforcement measure to require businesses to check new employees’ work status against a government database — but the fight highlighted deep divides that make it unlikely any bill clears Congress in the near future.

In a sharp turnaround from their usual stances, Democrats fighting to defeat the bill accused Republicans of offering “amnesty” to at least some illegal-immigrant agriculture workers who would be exempt from checks for three years. Meanwhile, Republicans, who usually argue on behalf of states’ rights, defended their bill, which would override existing state laws on electronic background checks.

The bill was approved by the committee on a party-line 22-13 vote.

It would require all businesses to use E-Verify, a government-run program that uses Social Security numbers to check if job applicants are authorized to work in the U.S. E-Verify is voluntary under federal law, but the bill would mandate its use.

Backers said it is a jobs bill, which could push illegal immigrants out of the workforce and leave those openings for unemployed Americans and authorized immigrants.

“The Legal Workforce Act could open up millions of jobs for unemployed Americans by requiring employers to use E-Verify,” said committee Chairman Lamar Smith, Texas Republican, who wrote the legislation. “It makes no sense to rely on the paper-based, error-prone I-9 system, when a successful, Web-based program is available.”

Democratic opponents said they feared businesses would use the tool to discriminate against all Hispanic workers, and pointed to instances where the system erroneously has said American citizens weren’t authorized to work.

Still, they said there is a place for electronic verification, but only after the current population of illegal immigrants has been granted legal status.

“The real dysfunction is trying to do E-Verify when there are 10-, 12-, 14 million people in this country who don’t have work authorization,” said Rep. Howard L. Berman, California Democrat, who led opposition to the bill. “You condemn E-Verify to failure when you try to do it in that context.”

Major immigration legislation has stalled for years in Congress. The only issue that has moved has been border security, where there is near unanimity for adding more agents and technology.

But when it comes to interior enforcement, solutions to the illegal population already in the country, and future immigration, there is no consensus.

Democrats say all of those issues must be tackled at the same time, while Republicans argue that security should come first.

The E-Verify bill is part of the GOP’s push.
. . .
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/21/e-verify-bill-stirs-broa...

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

4.
Conservative Groups Seek to Attract Hispanic Vote
EFE, September 22, 2011

The Latino vote could be decisive in key states in the 2012 elections and so conservative groups are seeking to attract Hispanics with the promise of representing their interests on issues such as education, unemployment and immigration.

The Hispanic Leadership Network on Friday will begin a two-day convention in New Mexico where Republican leaders from all over the country will meet to discuss problems affecting Hispanics.

The HLN was created last year with the aim of luring Latinos away from their traditional attachment to the Democratic Party.

"I think it's very important that the voice of Latinos be listened to, and traveling around the country over the past six years I've found that the voice of Latinos is not being listened to," HLN executive director Jennifer Sevilla Korn told Efe.

According to a survey released last week by HLN, the support of Latino voters for President Barack Obama has fallen in key states like Florida, Colorado and New Mexico.

The survey found that although Obama continues to be popular among the majority of Hispanics, more and more Latinos believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction, above all with respect to the economic crisis.

Hispanics are facing a national unemployment rate of 11.3 percent, while the level for the general population is 9.1 percent.

At the same time, states like Florida and New Mexico have also seen growing support for legislation seeking to establish sanctions on the state level against those immigrants who have crossed the border illegally.
. . .
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/09/22/conservative-groups...

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

5.
Immigration raid outside Detroit church sparks outrage
By Niraj Warikoo
Detroit Free Press, September 22, 2011

An immigration raid on the grounds of a Detroit church during religious services is the latest incident of profiling of the Latino community, advocates and religious leaders said Wednesday as they announced details of the incident.

"It is completely inappropriate for Border Patrol to be at a church during mass," said the Rev. Tom Sepulveda, pastor of Ste. Anne Church in Detroit. "There are simply some places that should be sacred. No one should be afraid to come to church."

The July 25 raid took place outside the church while special prayers were held inside for St. Anne, named this year as the patron saint of Detroit. The raid involved several agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Border spokesman Heath Stephens said the agency is working on a response, but could not comment Wednesday. Department officials have said previously that they do not profile or violate laws when they operate in Detroit.

Border agents handcuffed and detained a Latino man on the church grounds July 25, but he was later released because he was living in the U.S. legally, said Ryan Bates, director of the Michigan office of the Alliance for Immigrants Rights and Reform.

"Instead of going after hard-core criminals, they would rather go to areas like southwest Detroit and harass people who have the wrong color," Bates said.

A growing number of Latinos in metro Detroit -- including U.S. citizens -- say they are being profiled by federal law enforcement, the Free Press reported in July. Three Latino social service groups say federal agents stalk and harass their clients. And parents dropping off their kids at a predominantly Latino school in Detroit were targeted in March.
. . .
http://www.freep.com/article/20110922/NEWS05/109220492/Immigration-raid-...