1. DHS disputes TRAC report
2. DOJ sends warning letters
3. Gingrich not hurt by amnesty
4. AL forum explains shortage
5. Illegal alien to stay

1.
Immigration officials say Colorado immigration deportees were high priority
The Associated Press, December 7, 2011

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is disputing a report that the majority of Colorado deportees in the last fiscal year were not high-priority criminals.

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse report says of more than 5,200 deportation cases filed in Colorado through Sept.3, about 3,600 involved immigrants of crossing the border into the United States illegally, a low priority violation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Nicole Navas tells the Denver Post the report focused only on the technical reasons why an individual is deported and did not include the criminal history that triggered the decision to seek a removal order.
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http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/00bd3286c6734fcebd9fb1900e23d85c/C...

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2.
Justice Department sends out letters with warning on immigration
By Scott Johnson
The Montgomery Advertiser, December 7, 2011

Law enforcement agencies in Alabama began receiving letters Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Justice cautioning them not to infringe on people's constitutional rights when enforcing the state's immigration law.

The letter, signed by Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez, is being sent to all sheriff's offices and police departments in the state that receive federal funds, Justice Department spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said.

Montgomery County Sheriff D.T. Marshall and Autauga County Sheriff Herbie Johnson both said they have received copies of the letter.

Montgomery Public Safety Department spokeswoman Martha Earnhardt said the Montgomery Police Department had not yet received the letter.

The letter warns law enforcement agencies that the federal government could terminate federal funds or file lawsuits against agencies that violate civil rights laws.

The letter also states that federal officials might request records from the agencies, including training materials related to the immigration law.

Both Johnson and Marshall bristled at the tone of the letter, which they said came across as threatening.

Marshall said the Sheriff's Office intention is not to target a group of people but to continue enforcing the law as they always have.

"If someone is breaking the law, they are breaking the law," Marshall said.

Johnson, who has been sheriff for 21 years, said he knows by now what he can and can't do as a law enforcement officer.
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http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20111207/NEWS01/112070344/Ju...

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3.
Immigration plan isn’t hurting Gingrich bid
Georgia Republican leads in Iowa, S.C. polls by double digits amid debate over plan
By Jeremy Redmon
The Atlanta Journal Constitution, December 7, 2011

Newt Gingrich’s immigration proposal, which would give special consideration to illegal immigrants who have lived here for many years and have deep ties to their communities, has the potential to affect millions of illegal people, according to a new study.

But the plan, which some political observers thought would alienate conservative voters, hasn’t hurt Gingrich’s front-running campaign for president.

A month before voting starts, Gingrich has established double-digit leads in some polls in the early voting states of Iowa and South Carolina. He leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has a deeper war chest and a bigger campaign operation, 38 percent to 22 percent in South Carolina, according to a Winthrop University poll released Tuesday. A Washington Post-ABC News poll, also released Tuesday, gives Gingrich a 33 percent to 18 percent lead in Iowa over Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul.

Gingrich, a former Georgia congressman and U.S. House speaker, hasn’t fully fleshed out his plan or set a minimum number of years for how long illegal immigrants must live here before they could be eligible for a path to legal status.

One new estimate says there are 3.5 million illegal immigrants who have lived in the United States for 15 years or more.

Gingrich’s opponents in the race for the GOP nomination — including U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and Romney — have dismissed his idea as a form of amnesty. Gingrich called his proposal a “humane” way to deal with a vexing problem.

The proposal might even help Gingrich should he win the nomination by broadening his appeal among Hispanic voters, said Merle Black, an Emory University political scientist. But there is still a chance he also could alienate people within his own party, he said.

“It certainly separates him from some of the other Republican candidates,” said Black, who has written about presidential politics. On the other hand, Black said, “a lot of his potential supporters may have been taken off guard by his position on this issue because they tend to take a more hard-line view of this.”

Gingrich’s proposal is dividing his supporters in Georgia, who hold strong views on the red-hot button issue. For example, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Nathan Deal — Gingrich’s Georgia campaign chairman — confirmed this week that while the governor still supports Gingrich, Deal opposes granting amnesty to illegal immigrants regardless of how long they have lived here.

Gingrich unveiled his plans last month when he said a path to legal status should exist for illegal immigrants who have lived here for 20 or 25 years, obeyed the law, paid taxes, gotten married and had children. Those people would have to pass a criminal background check and go before citizens review committees for consideration, Gingrich proposed. Those panels would consider their family and community ties and their ability to support themselves without government entitlement programs.

Applicants who are allowed to stay in the United States would have to pay a fine of at least $5,000, learn English and prove they can pay for private health insurance. They would not automatically be given citizenship under this scenario but would have to apply for it separately, Gingrich said.

Asked about the sketchiness of Gingrich’s proposal, a spokesman for his campaign said Gingrich’s aim is to outline the idea publicly and listen for feedback to improve it. His spokesman, R.C. Hammond, said the proposal will be fleshed out as part of that process.
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http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/immigration-plan-isnt...

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4.
Alabama forum explores immigration law labor shortage
By Kelli Dugan
Reuters, December 6, 2011

The problem facing Alabama's agribusiness sector after passage of a tough new immigration law is a fairly straightforward one of labor availability, and employers are looking at a variety of possible solutions.

"Everybody knows, I think, that we've got a problem with agribusiness labor," John McMillan, Alabama's agricultural commissioner, told a crowd of more than 200 gathered on Tuesday in Mobile, Alabama.

With only weeks until nursery and greenhouse owners need to start placing plant orders for 2012 crops, the economic impact of Alabama's new law is already reverberating through the abruptly understaffed sector, still reeling from a fall harvest nearly ground to a halt by enactment of the measure.

Among other provisions the law requires police to detain people they suspect of being in the United States illegally if they cannot produce proper documentation when stopped for any reason. The result has been to cause many undocumented workers to leave the state and others to stay away, observers say.

Ideas proposed during Tuesday's forum were as varied as the interests represented.

They ranged from prison labor and community re-entry programs to more aggressive recruitment of Alabama's unemployed workers and the creation of farm cooperatives to share the financial burden of supporting a guest-worker program.

Kenyen Brown, U.S. Attorney for Alabama's Southern Federal District, said part of his job is protecting the community, but prosecuting offenders is only one side of that coin. The "less publicized" side, he said, is helping offenders re-enter their communities after incarceration.

He said housing, drug treatment and employment are the three biggest hurdles facing ex-offenders upon release, and Alabama's labor shortage presents an excellent opportunity for employers to address their payroll crunches.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/07/us-immigration-jobs-alabama-id...

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5.
Woman immigrant in same-sex marriage won't be deported
By Kristine Sgueglia
CNN, December 6, 2011

A New York woman releases a deep sigh of relief as she reflects on a court ruling that her spouse will not be torn from her by the looming threat of deportation.

"Now we can make plans, and we have all the time in the world," Cristina Ojeda, 26, tells CNN.

Monday, she received a letter confirming the ruling by Immigration Judge Terry Bain that will allow her wife, Argentina-born Monica Alcota, 36, to stay in the United States, according to the couple's attorney, Lavi Soloway.

Soloway said this is the first time the government had asked an immigration court to close removal proceedings against a spouse in a same-sex couple since the Department of Homeland Security announced November 17 that a "working group" would be reviewing all pending immigration cases.

The group began the process of identifying and closing "low priority" deportation cases three days after Soloway submitted the request to close Alcota's immigration case, the attorney said.

"We're really gratified because we feel that government moved in the right direction in the time we needed," Soloway told CNN.

He made the request to halt deportation based on Alcota's marriage to Ojeda, who is a U.S. citizen, and on Alcota's "strong moral character, family presence, and deep ties to members of the community." Alcota lives with Ojeda in Queens, where she restores antiques.

Until Monday, life for Alcota and Ojeda had been put on hold for two years.

Alcota had been living in the United States for more than 10 years since overstaying her tourist visa, when she was pulled off a Greyhound bus in July of 2009 and taken into a detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Ojeda explained.

Ojeda, a social worker in Queens, traveled two expensive hours by subway, bus, train, and sometimes cab -- there and back every day for three months -- to see Alcota.

"Looking back on those days, we have come so far, we have accomplished something really big," Ojeda said.

The couple was married in Connecticut in 2010, before New York law allowed same-sex marriages.
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http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/06/us/new-york-same-sex-marriage-deportation/...