I missed this Monday: The New York Times ran contradictory editorials, one atop the other. The one on immigration was the usual malarkey, "state of fear," "xenophobes," "immigration zealots," "frighteningly prone to abuse," "sensible reforms that allow immigrants to enter legally," blah, blah, blah. Read more...

Sen. Kennedy is leaving the Judiciary Committee, and thus his chairmanship of the immigration subcommittee. Though this doesn't preclude an amnesty extravaganza, it does make it a lot less likely. His passion for the issue has made Kennedy the single most important force in making immigration policy since the early 1960s (which is why it's so screwed up), and his staff probably knows more about it than almost anyone else on the Hill. Read more...

Tancredo has a good, point-by-point corrective to the Hispanic Panic fostered by the pro-amnesty right, most notably by last week's WSJ editorial on immigration, itself an amplification of spin from America's Voice, an open-borders group staffed by alumni of Sojourners and the Center for Community Change. Read more...

Raids could force meatpackers to raise worker pay
. . .
"I think it is a big problem, a huge issue for companies," said Lance Compa, a Cornell University professor who has studied workplace Immigration issues.

"What (the companies) are doing now is scrambling. A lot of them are turning to employer agencies to fill their workforce. But if they want a stable workforce, they'll almost certainly need to raise wages and benefits."

So 533,000 jobs were eliminated by employers last month. Guess how many new workers the federal immigration program adds to the labor market over the same period? As many as 140,000. Per month. Now I'm not one of those who thinks you can game the business cycle by admitting more immigrants during an uptick and shedding them during a slowdown — if government were capable of that sort of thing, the Soviet Union wouldn't have collapsed. Read more...

Incoming Homeland Security Czarina (and thus immigration chief) Janet Napolitano is no immigration hawk, and the next few years may well undo a good part of what's been accomplished over the past few, but still, she can't be all bad — the Village Voice hates her.

In what is described as Obama's "first major Hispanic appointment," Cecilia Munoz, one of the top people at La Raza, has been named director of intergovernmental affairs. Since her job is to oversee relations with state and local governments, there's obviously not going to be much encouragement from the White House for state and local cooperation in immigration enforcement.

A little-noticed item last week on funding for the 2010 census gives clues about what's likely to happen next year regarding immigration enforcement: Read more...

From a piece (not online) by Frontera NorteSur:

Meanwhile, many Mexican migrants are hedging their bets in the Promised Land. Taurino Castrejon Salgado, a Guerrero leader of the Union of Campesinos and Mexican Emigrants (UCEM), said the election of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States has strengthened the decision of many migrants to remain north of the border.

"Twin Cities man committed suicide bombing in Somalia". Read more...

From a Q&A with Sen. Harry Reid:

Q: With more Democrats in the Senate and the House and a Democrat in the White House, how do you see congressional efforts playing out on such issues as health care and immigration?

I can see why Obama would ask Arizona Gov. Janet Naplitano to head Homeland Security — she's about as close as any Democratic governor can get to appearing hawkish on illegal immigration. Read more...

Mexico is offering compensation for guest workers to the U.S. who'd had part of their wages withheld (money the Mexican government and banks just kept — i.e., stole). This happened 60 years ago. And many of the workers seeking the money now live in the United States — guests who never left! Does anyone seriously think a new "temporary" worker program could turn out any differently?

Crime reporter killed in Mexican border city

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — A crime reporter in the violent Mexican border city of Juarez was killed Thursday, adding to dozens of journalist deaths in a country where newspapers are so fearful, many refuse to cover drug violence.

Armando Rodriguez had covered crime for 10 years in Ciudad Juarez, working for El Diario newspaper. He was shot several times as he sat warming up his car outside his home.

From a WaPo item on next week's meeting between Obama and McCain:

In an interview Friday, [Sen. Lindsey] Graham said that Obama requested the meeting during a 20-minute phone call that the South Carolina senator described as a "pleasant" discussion about how they could work together effectively.

From the Boston Globe: Read more...

Now that we know who’s going to be in the White House and Congress next year, what are the prospects for immigration?

Despite big Democratic gains in Congress, the results aren’t as bad for the cause of immigration enforcement as a simple partisan approach to the issue might suggest. After all, one of the ways Democrats have been picking up formerly Republican seats over the past few elections has been to nominate immigration hawks like Heath Shuler of North Carolina and Brad Ellsworth of Indiana. Read more...

P.J. O'Rourke's take on last week's defeat touches on, among many other things, immigration: Read more...

I get bored with this biennial ritual, but the raza-hustlers and the open-borders crowd are back touting the awesome power of the Hispanic vote. AP's contribution yesterday: "In key states, Latino vote fueled Obama's victory." A bunch of these interchangeable groups is having a press conference today in D.C., announcing that "Our voice was heard at the polls, and we will continue to make sure our voices are heard."

Well, no. Read more...

A new Zogby poll shows only about a third of Obama's voters supported him because of his backing for an amnesty, while two-thirds either voted for him despite his support for amnesty (15%) or it wasn't a factor at all in their decision (51%). Interestingly, among McCain voters, 59% did it despite his amnesty stance, 28% didn't care, and only 11% supported him because of his backing of amnesty. Read more...

Even if The One's minions gut immigration enforcement, it's still alive at the state level. Arizona voters rejected the mendacious attempt by the business community to gut the state's toughest-in-the-nation immigration law (the ballot measure was called the "Stop Illegal Hiring Act" when it would have actually stopped the efforts to stop illegal hiring). In addition, Maricopa County (Phoenix) re-elected immigration hawks Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

From Ross Douthat's "whither conservatism" contributon at Slate:

Which means that the best thing, by far, for the American right would be for every sect within the conservative temple to spend some time in self-examination before it turns to flinging blame.

. . .

But not how you think:

Central American immigrants adopt Mexican ways in U.S.

. . .

Now that the election is over, Julie Myers, the head of immigration enforcement, has announced she's leaving. I was skeptical of her appointment at first (Michelle Malkin was too), but I was wrong. Myers has probably been the most effective champion of immigration enforcement we've ever seen. Read more...

No, not the election; we already know that. Rather, who will win Mickey Kaus's new prize for the expected pro-amnesty spin on McCain's 2-to-1 shellacking among Hispanic voters (which is actually in the usual range for a Republican): Read more...

We now know what Gov. Palin thinks about immigration, and the results are not good (h/t Auster):

Amnesty

Governor, let me ask you about immigration. How many undocumented immigrants are there in Alaska?

From "A Somali Influx Unsettles Latino Meatpackers": Read more...

Roy Beck ruminates on the cost-effectiveness of worksite immigration enforcement.

Bob Schieffer asked the only immigration question in the final 2004 debate, which both candidates dodged — but this time, not even that. As usual, Mickey Kaus is on the case: Read more...

Shocking news from the job front — immigration enforcement is actually prompting one of D.C.'s biggest construction companies to focus on recruiting and retaining American workers. Or, as the story in today's Post puts it, "With federal immigration authorities stepping up workplace raids across the country, Miller & Long's management is getting nervous about relying heavily on non-citizen workers." The result? A campaign by the firm to "diversify its mostly Latino workforce": Read more...