1. Gov't cites boosted enforcement
2. DHS contractor hired without check
3. Candidates 'tip-toe' around issue
4. VA counties see population drop
5. kids learn fast as 'guides'

1.
Illegal immigrant arrests plunge along Southwest border
Government credits boost in patrols, while immigration experts cite tough times in the U.S. economy
By James Pinkerton
The Houston Chronicle, September 30, 2008

Arrests of illegal immigrants have plummeted in parts of Texas and along most of the Southwest border, where government agents in one Arizona sector have detained 78 percent fewer border crossers than last year.

So far this fiscal year, apprehensions are down in all but two of the nine U.S. Border Patrol sectors on the U.S.-Mexico border, officials confirmed. During the first 11 months of the fiscal year starting October 2007, roughly 660,000 illegal immigrants were detained along the Southwest border, an 18.4 percent drop from the same period last year.

The dropoff in apprehensions is dramatic considering that agents detained 1.6 million illegal immigrants on the Mexico border as recently as fiscal year 2000.

Government officials traditionally cite these decreases in apprehensions as proof that fewer illegal immigrants are slipping across the border.

There's no way, however, to determine how many immigrants successfully sneak into the U.S.

Border Patrol officials attribute the decline to an ongoing buildup of manpower, infrastructure and technology on the border, but immigration experts say the faltering U.S. economy is a significant factor. The Bush administration sent National Guard units to the border temporarily until Border Patrol could increase its ranks to 18,000 agents by year's end.

''It could be (the economy), but I know the measures we have taken have had a huge impact on illegal alien traffic in those areas," said Jason Ciliberti, a supervisory Border Patrol agent in Washington.
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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/immigration/6032988.html

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2.
Feds say Wash. immigration guards weren't checked
By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press, October 1, 2008

Seattle (AP) -- A privately run immigration lockup in Tacoma hired security guards without required preliminary background checks and then lied about it, according to authorities.

Sylvia Wong, a human relations specialist with GEO Group Inc., the private contractor that runs the Northwest Detention Center, was charged in U.S. District Court on Tuesday with lying to federal investigators when she claimed in April she did not falsely generate documents.

"Clearly this is a cause for concern," said Virginia Kice, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "We take great pride in the safety and the security at our facilities, and we need to make sure the people responsible for the safety and security of our facilities are themselves beyond reproach."

The Northwest Detention Center opened in 2004 and holds about 1,000 people accused of immigration violations, mainly detainees from Alaska, Oregon and Washington.

This summer, a report by an immigrant rights advocacy group alleged mistreatment of detainees there, including excessive strip searches and overcrowding. ICE officials dismissed it as a "work of fiction."

Guards hired at the center are supposed to go through a preliminary background check, after which an "entry on duty" memorandum allows them to begin work pending the completion of a full background check, which can take several months to more than a year, Kice said.
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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hk_oNpc7BMALagORdLOUh65W8H0wD93HKJCO0

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3.
Presidential candidates tip-toe around issue of illegal immigration
By Tina Leonard and George Lewis
The NBC News, September 30, 2008

An estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States. Many come from Central and South America.

But many legal immigrants also come from those areas, and the presidential candidates want to win their votes.

In Los Angeles, a huge swearing-in ceremony for 18,000 new U.S. citizens - most eager to exercise a fundamental right of citizenship.

"I am so excited to vote now, I can vote now," said new U.S. citizen Diana Grace Medel.

This, as illegal immigration looms as a key issue for the candidates. So where do they stand on immigration?

Both John McCain and Barack Obama support a guest worker program for immigrants. Obama would couple that with a crackdown on employers who hire undocumented workers.

Obama supports letting illegal immigrants obtain driver's licenses. McCain opposes that idea.

Both McCain and Obama favor a path to legalization for the 12 million immigrants in this country illegally, claiming this is not amnesty.
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http://www.ksby.com/global/story.asp?s=9102686&ClientType=Printable

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4.
Loudoun and Prince William's immigrant populations shrinking
By Jason Jacks
The Loudon Times (VA), September 30, 2008

Two Northern Virginia counties that took highly publicized stances against illegal immigration saw their number of foreign-born residents decline last year, while one of their neighbors saw its immigrant population go up.

In 2007, the immigrant population dropped about 1 percent in Loudoun County and 6 percent in Prince William County, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey 2007, which was released Sept. 23.

However, in Fairfax County, where leaders have been less willing to place restrictions on illegal immigration, the foreign-born population went up 7 percent last year. In addition, Fairfax saw its number of residents who are not U.S. citizens – which includes legal immigrants -- increase 8 percent, while Prince William's noncitizen population dropped 4 percent and Loudoun's remained relatively unchanged.

"This perfectly corresponds to what these counties are doing," said Prince William's Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart (R-at large). "The illegal aliens simply move from the jurisdictions that are cracking down on illegal immigration to those that have declared themselves as sanctuary counties, such as Fairfax."

Grabbing most the headlines has been Prince William and the aggressive stance its leaders have taken against illegal immigration. However, some Loudoun leaders were just as vocal in 2007 about making the county less hospitable to people in the country illegally.

Both counties have officers who have received federal training in identifying illegal immigrants and starting the deportation process. Both also have passed measures that punish businesses that knowingly employ illegal immigrants. Prince William also denies public services to illegal immigrants, something that was proposed in Loudoun but failed.

Aside from stepping up their enforcement of illegal boarding houses, leaders in Fairfax have been less inclined to propose such extreme measures.
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http://www.loudountimes.com/news/2008/sep/30/loudoun-prince-william-coun...

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5.
Children give voice to immigrant parents
Some experts say kids learn from processing complex information in two languages
By Azam Ahmed
The Chicago Tribune, October 1, 2008

For immigrant families, the traditional roles of parents and children often flip, with children serving as guides to a foreign culture and language. They accompany parents to the doctor to describe a sickness or to the bank to fill out mortgage applications.

Critics long have said it's dangerous and unfair to lay the burdens of adulthood on children, but a growing body of research argues these young interpreters demonstrate memory and analytical abilities similar to those of students seen as gifted.

"You're challenged to balance out between two languages, back and forth," said Kevin Dao, 15, a Vietnamese speaker who has translated everything from prescriptions to Social Security documents for his mother. "It definitely makes you smarter."

Researchers say the talents of "language brokers" should not be measured in typical ways and extend beyond linguistic gifts. They show sophisticated social skills by reacting to social cues, assessing whether an audience understands what's being said and adjusting the message as necessary.

"Young interpreters . . . show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience or environment," said Guadalupe Valdes, a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Stanford University who has conducted several studies on the issue.

Translating thoughts and ideas between two languages and cultures in real time—and in a way that is easily understood—is part of what develops their skills, said Marjorie Faulstich Orellana, an associate professor of education at UCLA. "I don't think any of the standardized tests measure that well," she said.

If the skills were recognized for what they are, these children could cast off the common notion that they're underperforming. Already, researchers are testing curriculum designed to do just that in several Los Angeles middle schools and may do so this year in a high school this school year.

There are no accurate figures available for how many children serve as interpreters, though experts say the practice exists to some degree in many immigrant households. Nationwide, nearly 8.5 million children age 5 to 17 who speak a foreign language at home also speak English well, according to U.S. census data. In Illinois, that figure is about 400,000. In Chicago, census data show more than 170,000 kids fit that description.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-child-interpreters-01-weboc...