1. GAO report concludes illegal entry not difficult
2. USCIS backlog disrupting citizens' lives
3. Obama courts latino vote for general election
4. GA enforcement expanding to more employers
5. DC area authorities link crime to illegals

1.
Reports say illegal U.S. entry not difficult
By Deborah Bulkeley
The Deseret News (Salt Lake City), June 16, 2008
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700235030,00.html

Undercover investigators testing how tough it is to cross the borders into the U.S. had a better than nine-in-10 chance of pulling it off using oral assertions and counterfeit identification, according to a new U.S. Government Accountability Office report.

The report was released the same week as a separate unrelated report that indicates tougher border security isn't deterring illegal entries to the United States.
. . .
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700235030,00.html

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2.
Visa backlog puts lives on hold for years
Quotas, red tape build frustration, and may encourage unlawful entry
By James Pinkerton
The Houston Chronicle, June 15, 2008
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5838375.html

Elias Mama is happy to be spending Father's Day with his wife and 4-year-old daughter. But he had to fly to Israel to do it.

Mama, the 51-year-old owner of a Houston garage, is among millions of legal immigrant families whose lives are on hold while their cases move slowly through a complex immigration system.

Last August, before his four-year wait to become a U.S. citizen ended early this year, Mama took his wife on an emergency trip to see her ailing mother in Israel.

When they flew home in September, U.S. immigration officials at the Atlanta airport ordered his wife to return to Israel because her tourist visa had expired while he was waiting for citizenship.

That lapse means Mama's wife now faces a penalty of up to 10 years before she can again enter the country legally.

"We're talking about people's lives, not paperwork," said Mama, who left Israel 20 years ago.

"We're talking about life, family, kids. She's suffering there (in Israel), and I'm here.

"Why?"

Part of it is the fact that Mama's wife allowed her visa to expire.
. . .
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/5838375.html

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3.
Obama courts the Latino vote
By Lisa Sylvester
CNN News, June 14, 2008

Washington, DC -- Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee for president, is looking to shore up support -- especially from Latinos.

During the primaries on Super Tuesday, he received only 35 percent of Latinos' vote, while former rival Sen. Hilary Clinton's received 63 percent.
. . .
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/14/obama.latino.vote/

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4.
Georgia immigration law expanding to more employers
By Dave Williams
The Atlanta Business Chronicle, June 13, 2008

Beset by congressional indecision over illegal immigration on one side and voters clamoring for action on the other, Georgia lawmakers stepped out on their own in 2006 and passed a major reform bill.

Two years later, the only thing all sides of the debate over Georgia's unilateral crackdown agree on is they don't like how the law is playing out.

Opponents of illegal immigration say the law isn't being enforced.
. . .
http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/06/16/story2.html?b=...

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5.
Washington-area police report wave of burglaries, cite illegal immigrants
By Freeman Klopott
The Examiner (Washington, DC), June 16, 2008

Washington, DC -- A wave of burglaries is spreading across the Washington area, and police say illegal immigrants, hit by police crackdowns and the drop in new construction, are likely playing a key role.

“The immigrant community is at a tipping point,” said Montgomery County police community liaison Officer Luis Hurtado. “The poor economy is pushing more immigrants to turn to crime.”

In the first five months of this year, burglaries climbed 10 to 20 percent in many jurisdictions.
. . .
http://www.examiner.com/a-1443218~Washington_area_police_report_wave_of_...