1. Analysis: Obama win built on 1965 act
2. 1.3m educated foreigners 'underemployed'
3. IN lawmakers mull immigration policies
4. TX legislators to tackle immigration
5. ICE attorney charged with corruption
6. Illegal accused of auto-deaths

1.
Obama victory took root in Kennedy-inspired Immigration Act
By Peter S. Canellos
The Boston Globe, November 11, 2008

Washington, DC -- Barack Obama's victory last week triggered an immediate accounting of debts to be paid off in constructing his new administration. There were those who speculated that Obama would be building a White House staff of loyal old Chicago hands. Others foresaw a bevy of Clintonistas. And still others had a vision of a kind of Kennedy redux that wags quickly dubbed "Obamalot."

After all, Caroline Kennedy had emerged from her shell of shyness to head Obama's vice-presidential search team, after joining her Uncle Ted on a national barnstorming tour with Obama in the days leading up to Super Tuesday. Her exertion not only signaled her enthusiasm for Obama, but also her willingness to be a greater presence in public life: Some now envision her as a possible UN ambassador.

Her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has spent decades developing credibility as a global environmental activist, and some people close to the Kennedy family feel he, too, is ready to emerge on the national stage, having overcome a troubled youth. They see him as a possible Environmental Protection Agency chief.

There is no question that Obama owes a debt to the Kennedys - but it may be far greater than he or they realize. Yes, Senator Edward M. Kennedy offered a crucial early endorsement, comparing the Obama of 2008 to the Jack Kennedy of 1960. And certainly Caroline and others in the Kennedy family worked hard on the campaign trail. But the greatest Kennedy legacy to Obama isn't Ted or Caroline or Bobby Jr., but rather the Immigration Act of 1965, which created the diverse country that is already being called Obama's America.

That act is rarely mentioned when recounting the high points of 1960s liberalism, but its impact arguably rivals the Voting Rights Act, the creation of Medicare, or other legislative landmarks of the era. It transformed a nation 85 percent white in 1965 into one that's one-third minority today, and on track for a nonwhite majority by 2042.

Before the act, immigration visas were apportioned based on the demographic breakdown that existed at the time of the 1920 Census - meaning that there were few if any limits on immigrants from Western and Northern Europe, but strict quotas on those from elsewhere.

The belief that the United States should remain a nation of European lineage was openly discussed when immigration laws were revisited in 1952. The resulting bill, the McCarran-Walter Act, was notorious for giving the State Department the right to exclude visitors for ideological reasons, meaning that a raft of left-wing artists and writers - including Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, British novelist Graham Greene - and scores of others were denied visas. But it also had the effect of maintaining the 1920s-era notion of the United States as a white nation. (Congress imposed the bill over President Truman's veto.)

A decade later, attitudes were changing, and President Kennedy proposed a new immigration structure that would no longer be based on national origins. After Kennedy's assassination, his brother Ted took up the fight, pushing the Johnson administration to go even further than it wanted in evening the playing field. Though Lyndon Johnson, in signing the bill, tried to reassure opponents that it wouldn't do much to change the balance of immigration, its impact was dramatic.
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http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/11/11/obama_victory_took...

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2.
Skilled immigrants a 'brain waste' in California's workforce
By Teresa Watanabe
Los Angeles Times, November 11, 2008

As a physician in Peru, Luis Garcia amassed nine years of medical education and five years of practice, including successful appendectomies, Cesarean deliveries and other surgeries. Since he immigrated to Southern California four years ago, he has earned a community college degree specializing in geriatrics.

The only work he's been able to find, however, has been cat-sitting, dog-walking and elder care.

That's because Garcia hasn't yet been able to pass the battery of requirements for a U.S. medical license, including several exams and a residency. He represents what a recent report calls a massive "brain waste" of highly educated and skilled immigrant professionals who potentially could, with a little aid, help ease looming labor shortages in California and nationwide in healthcare, computer sciences and other skilled jobs.

"I feel lost," Garcia said. "Sometimes I'm embarrassed to talk to my family back home and tell them I'm taking care of dogs. But I know someday I will be able to do my geriatrics practice, and I know there are people here who need my help."

Nationwide, more than 1.3 million college-educated legal immigrants are unemployed or working in unskilled jobs such as dishwashers or taxi drivers, according to the report by the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute. Nearly one-fourth of them, or 317,000, live in California.

Professionals from Latin America and Africa fare worse than those from Asia and Europe, the study found. Two of the biggest barriers are lack of English fluency and non-recognition of foreign academic and professional criteria.

In some cases, for instance, U.S. medical systems require course work typically not required abroad, such as maternity and psychiatric nursing, according to Julie Hughes-Lederer, interim director of the Los Angeles County Regional Health Occupations Resource Center.

Medical licensing exams are also different, such as the use of multiple-choice exams in the United States -- a format regarded as more difficult than the essay exams used in other countries.

"A lot of this is just technical obstacles they have to get through," Hughes-Lederer said. "We don't have to question their capability to learn and progress. You know they have the gray matter."

Immigrants say shortages of time and money prevent them from pursuing the needed U.S. credentials. Arsal Awan, 50, immigrated to the United States in 1985 shortly after earning his law degree in Pakistan. But he was forced to abandon his professional career ambitions when his father suddenly died and he needed to begin sending money to his family back home. He worked in a duty-free shop, started a radio show and 15 years ago began driving taxis in L.A. -- a job he still does 12 hours a day despite the back, knee and stomach problems he says it causes him.
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http://www.latimes.com/business/careers/work/la-me-immigwork11-2008nov11...

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3.
Lawmakers don't agree on immigration proposals
By Deanna Martin
The Associated Press, November 10, 2008

Indianapolis (AP) -- A panel of lawmakers studying illegal Immigration couldn't agree on major legislation to propose in the upcoming legislative session. The group couldn't agree on a more minor bill, either, and barely approved a report outlining its previous meetings.

The committee's disagreements are a sign that Immigration bills proposed during the 2009 session could again spur impassioned speeches, political maneuvering and long hours of committee meetings -- with no guarantee of a resolution.

"There's no question that it's going to be challenging, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try," said Sen. Mike Delph, a Republican from Carmel who sponsored legislation last session to crack down on companies hiring illegal workers.

The House and Senate both passed versions of that proposal, but couldn't work out a compromise bill before the session ended.

Lawmakers instead created a summer study committee on the issue in hopes that they could learn more about the complex issue and possibly recommend legislation for consideration in the 2009 session.

The Interim Committee on Immigration Issues met several times this year and heard hours of testimony, which legislators said was helpful. But on Tuesday, at the committee's last meeting, lawmakers couldn't reach agreement on any proposal.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in-xgr-illegalimmigr,0,1646693...

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4.
Abortion, immigration, taxes in mix of initial filings for next Legislature
By Karen Brooks
The Dallas Morning News, November 11, 2008

Austin -- The election brought some changes to the Capitol, but the new Legislature may be fighting again over the same turf.

The familiar issues include: a crackdown on illegal immigrants, abortion restrictions, school vouchers, college tuition increases, tax appraisal caps and the death penalty.

They stood out on the first day that lawmakers could file bills for the next session, which starts in January. It was the first trickle of what is expected to be a flood of more than 6,000 proposed laws – although only a fraction will survive the political wrangling.
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For several sessions, the GOP-led House was at war over attempts to approve a cap on property tax appraisals. This time, Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Houston, filed a measure to allow counties to hold their own elections to allow that.

She is behind another incendiary issue in the House: immigration.

She is sponsoring bills to allow police to arrest illegal immigrants and to ban students here illegally from getting in-state tuition.

After all the maneuvering in the Legislature, which will meet until June 1, expect about 1,000 new laws to be passed.
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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/politics/state/stories/...

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5.
ICE counsel, wife face more counts in bribery case
The Associated Press, November 11, 2008

Los Angeles -- A federal grand jury has indicted a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement attorney and his wife with more than 70 new counts stemming from a scheme to adjust the immigration status of immigrants.

ICE Assistant Chief Counsel Constantine Kallas, 38, and wife Maria Kallas, 39, both of Alta Loma, have pleaded not guilty to 75 counts, including conspiracy, acceptance of a bribe by a public official and money laundering.

Maria Kallas has been released on $200,000 bond, while her husband remains in custody. If convicted, they each face up to life in prison. Trial is slated to begin in March.

The couple were arrested in June at the San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, where they were allegedly accepting a bribe. The 75-count indictment was announced Monday.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10950655

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6.
Police: Victim's meth use irrelevant in fatal crash at Baskin Robbins
DA's office files 9 more charges against illegal immigrant
By April M. Washington
The Rocky Mountain News, November 10, 2008

It is immaterial that Patricia Guntharp - one of three people killed in a collision outside an Aurora Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop in September - tested positive for methamphetamine, police and prosecutors said Monday.

"Anything she has in her system doesn't change the outcome of the accident or the cause of the accident," Aurora police Detective Johnny Lee testified at a preliminary hearing for Francis Hernandez, 23. "It does not change the fact that (Hernandez) was running the red light at 78 miles an hour."

Guntharp was making a left turn near Mississippi Avenue and Havana Street when Hernandez punched through a red light and broadsided her pickup.

Killed were Guntharp, 49, of Centennial; Guntharp's passenger, Debbie Serecky, 51, of Aurora; and Marten Kudlis, 3, of Aurora, who was in the ice cream shop.

The Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office on Monday filed nine additional charges against Hernandez, including child abuse resulting in death. He now faces a total of 19 charges.
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http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/nov/10/9-more-charges-filed-a...