1. CIS finds illegal population down
2. NE state senator reviews policies
3. NE city leaders shelve policy
4. Minutemen protest in CA

1.
Illegals figure drops by 11%
Enforcement uptick credited
By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times, July 31, 2008
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/31/illegals-figure-drops-by-11/

The Department of Homeland Security is claiming success after an independent study released Wednesday argued that stepped-up enforcement efforts have reduced the illegal immigrant population by 11 percent since August.

The report, by the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that calls for more enforcement and immigration restrictions, says the "likely illegal immigrant population" of lesser-educated Hispanics ages 18 to 40 dropped significantly from August through May. The center argues that this decline corresponds with stepped-up enforcement efforts after the failure of a "comprehensive immigration reform" bill in June 2007.

The finding goes to the heart of the immigration debate. Those advocating enforcement say existing laws can reduce the illegal immigrant population through attrition without resorting to amnesty. Immigrant rights groups say legalization is the only way to address that population.

"You have just the natural phenomenon: One cop pulls over a speeder, and everyone else on the highway slows down. What you have to do is make enforcement a real possibility to begin to affect behavior," said Steven A. Camarota, research director at CIS, which produced the study based on U.S. Census Bureau reports.

After President Bush's immigration bill failed to pass last year, in part because voters didn't think the government would follow through on border security and interior enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security stepped up enforcement of existing laws. Some states and localities also followed suit, imposing penalties on businesses that don't verify employees' work eligibility or allowing state and local police to enforce immigration laws.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Brandon Alvarez-Montgomery said the report's findings confirm what they have "heard anecdotally about illegal aliens leaving on their own and what we have seen in other indicators at the Department of Homeland Security."

"Certainly a strong program of interior enforcement has made entering and staying in the United States illegally less attractive as the probability of being arrested and detained is greater than ever before," he said, pointing to better tools for businesses to check workers, and to ramped-up workplace raids and efforts to deport fugitive aliens and criminals.

Meanwhile, ICE announced a pilot program to allow hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who are defying deportation orders to come forward and set up a schedule for leaving. The voluntary program would allow the immigrants not to be detained in the interim, would remove some penalties and would give them time to get their affairs in order.

ICE portrayed the move as a chance for immigrant-rights groups, who have criticized the agency for its fugitive raids, to "step up to the table" and prove they want an orderly system.

"One of the criticisms we face though, from immigrant advocacy groups and from faith-based organizations and community groups, is there's a better way to do this - if we just gave people an opportunity to turn themselves in, they would do so," said Jim Hayes, acting director of ICE's Office of Detention and Removal.

The program would be open in five pilot cities - Santa Ana, Calif., San Diego, Phoenix, Chicago and Charlotte, N.C. -from Aug. 5 to Aug. 22. It would apply to about 500,000 fugitive aliens who have been ordered deported but who don't have disqualifying criminal records and are not seen as a threat to security.

Immigrant rights groups criticized the new program, saying it was unlikely anyone would self-report.

"The worst-hit communities in America probably provide more opportunity than rural Guatemala or other destinations from which immigrants are coming," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum.

"While the flow of undocumented immigrants has slowed since the economy first started to sputter in 2000, it is still the case that the demand for legal immigration from our economy and families far outstrips the supply of legal immigration from the government," he said.

The groups also disputed the CIS study's methodology and said enforcement won't solve the illegal immigration problem.

Angela Kelley, director of the Immigration Policy Center, said the population of illegal immigrants is "nearly impossible to accurately measure," and that using less-educated Hispanics was a poor substitute for illegal immigrants.

The Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform said American workers won't be able to replace illegal immigrants and that the loss would be devastating to the agriculture industry.

"'Attrition through enforcement' means attrition of the American economy. It means job attrition. It means attrition of our nation's ability to produce our own wholesome and abundant food," ACIR said in a statement. "It means relying on the world to feed us. 'Attrition through enforcement' is no solution. It is a hungry wolf in sheep's clothing."

The immigrant advocates said a slumping economy is a more likely explanation for the figures.

But Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said the report shows enforcing current laws can make a dent in illegal immigration.

"Today's report proves that America does not need new immigration laws, comprehensive immigration reform or amnesty - which only encourages more illegal immigration," he said. "Congress and the administration simply need to ensure that our immigration laws are enforced and our borders secured. Then, and only then, will we be able to solve the problem of illegal immigration in this country."

The report, released at a press conference Wednesday, said the illegal immigrant population declined 11 percent from August through May, from 12.5 million to 11.2 million. If the pace of the decline continues, the report said, the total population of illegals would be reduced by one-half over the next five years.

The study is based on monthly Census Bureau numbers from the Current Population Survey. Mr. Camarota said the likely legal immigrant population has continued to rise even as the likely illegal immigrant population has dropped.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The CIS study, 'Homeward Bound: Recent Immigration Enforcement and the Decline in the Illegal Alien Population' by Steven A. Camarota and Karen Jensenius is available online at: http://www.cis.org/trends_and_enforcement

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Report Credits Drop in Illegal Immigrants to Enforcement
Study Was Based on Census Data That Indicate Number of Less-Educated Hispanics Has Declined
By N.C. Aizenman
The Washington Post, July 31, 2008; A16
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/30/AR200807...

Study: Illegal residents decline
By Emily Bazar
USA Today, July 31, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-07-30-immigration_N.htm

Decline Seen in Numbers of People Here Illegally
By Julia Preston
The New York Times, July 31, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/us/31immig.html?ref=us

Debate over raids widens
Study finds 11% drop in illegal immigrants
Conservatives hail the report as proof Bush's controversial policy of enforcement via workplace raids is working.
By Nicole Gaouette
Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2008
http://www.latimes.com/business/careers/work/la-na-immig31-2008jul31,0,5...

Tide of illegal immigrants now being reversed
Border crackdown and tough economic times in the US are seen as reasons.
By Gail Russell Chaddock
The Christian Science Monitor, July 31, 2008
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0731/p01s03-ussc.html

Report about dwindling illegal immigration sparks debate
By Dave Marcus
Newsday (NY), July 31, 2008
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/crime/ny-liimmi315783229jul31,0,162810...

Controversial study finds drop in number of migrants
A new study found that the number of illegal immigrants has dropped, but it drew controversy by concluding that stepped-up federal enforcement, not a depressed economy, was the main cause.
By Andres Viglucci
The Miami Herald (FL), July 31, 2008
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/5min/story/623966.html

Report: Number of illegal migrants in Ariz., U.S. plummets
By Ronald J. Hansen
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), July 31, 2008
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/07/31/200807...

Undocumented U.S. Population Registers Decline
CaribWorldNews, July 31, 2008
http://www.caribbeanworldnews.com/middle_top_news_detail.php?mid=1165

Report Shows Decline In Illegal Immigrants
By Liz Peek
The New York Sun (NYC), July 31, 2008
http://www.nysun.com/business/report-shows-decline-in-illegal-immigrants...

Study Says Enforcement Is Driving Down Number of Illegals
By Caitlin Webber, CQ Staff
The Congressional Quarterly (Washington, DC), July 30, 2008
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=hsnews-000002930335

Report: Illegal immigration drops markedly this summer
Center for Immigration Studies analysis
By Sheryl Kornman
The Tucson Citizen (AZ), July 31, 2008
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/92418.php

Is U.S. losing its appeal for illegal immigrants?
Report Claims Population Has Dropped in Past Year
By Mike Swift
The San Jose Mercury News (CA), July 31, 2008
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_10052763

Immigration report questioned
The San Diego Union Tribune, July 30, 2008
http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/news/breaking/2008/07/immigration_repor...

1.3 million illegal immigrants fled U.S.
The Talk News Radio Service, July 30, 2008
http://talkradionews.com/2008/07/13-million-illegal-immigrants-fled-us/

Study: Increased enforcement has driven illegal immigrants from U.S.
By Patrick McGee
The Houston Star Telegram (TX), July 30, 2008
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/795766.html

Report indicates decline in illegal immigrant population
By Robert Cohen
The Star Ledger (Newark, NJ), July 31, 2008
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/report_indicates_decline_in_il_...

Illegal immigrants returning home in large numbers
By Dianne Solis and Stella Chavez
The Dallas Morning News, July 30, 2008
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/07300...

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2.
Nebraska senator on illegal immigration fact-finding mission
The Associated Press, July 30, 2008

Fremont, NE (AP) -- State senator Brad Ashford of Omaha is hoping to gain some perspective into how Nebraska communities are dealing with illegal immigration.

The chairman of the Judiciary Committee is involved in an interim study examining South Sioux City, Lexington, Grand Island, Scottsbluff, North Platte and Omaha. In particular he's looking at how illegal immigration education, employment and social services.
. . .
http://www.kcautv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8763511&nav=1kgl

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3.
Neb. immigration issue dead, discussion beginning
By Jean Ortiz
The Associated Press, July 30, 2008

Fremont, NE (AP) -- A proposed ordinance targeting illegal immigration in Fremont may be dead, but the discussion of the problems fueling the debate is just getting under way, say those involved in the issue.

Fremont Mayor Don "Skip" Edwards cast the deciding vote late Tuesday night against a proposal that would have banned renting to, harboring and hiring illegal immigrants

Opponents and supporters found much to disagree on in the public debate in recent weeks. But those on both sides of the issue agreed Wednesday the issue needs attention.

"We know we have a problem," Edwards said. "That has never been debated."

Edwards, who maintains a strong stance against illegal activity, said he concluded illegal immigration is a federal issue.

He said the city needs to pressure federal officials and the Nebraska congressional delegation to push the issue toward a solution.
. . .
http://www.fremonttribune.com/articles/2008/07/31/ap-state-ne/d928fing0.txt

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4.
Minutemen protest S.F.'s sanctuary policy
By Heather Knight
The San Francisco Chronicle, July 31, 2008

San Francisco -- About a dozen members of the Minutemen, a group that patrols the U.S.-Mexican border to keep illegal immigrants out, stood on the San Francisco City Hall steps Wednesday to decry the city's sanctuary policy and demand that Mayor Gavin Newsom resign.

They waved signs calling Newsom, District Attorney Kamala Harris and William Siffermann, head of the city's Juvenile Probation Department, "accessories to murder" for the city's now-reversed policy of not turning over illegal immigrant youths arrested for felonies to federal authorities for possible deportation.

One Salvadoran immigrant who benefited from that policy, Edwin Ramos, has been charged with three counts of murder for the June 22 shootings of 48-year-old Tony Bologna and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16. Ramos, now 21, was convicted for an assault and an attempted robbery when he was 17, but city officials did not turn him over to federal immigration authorities.

"We are asking for the resignation of Mayor Gavin Newsom for his endorsement and support of sanctuary city status that led to the horrific slayings of the Bologna family," said Minutemen founder Jim Gilchrist.
. . .
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/30/BALJ12259Q.D...