1. Immigrant vote could decide race
2. Obama's aunt an illegal in MA
3. IA gov. quick to 'respond' to raid
4. AZ co. forms task force
5. FL co. manager targets enforcement
6. VA city to check criminals' status
7. PA program helps foreign kids
8. Non citizens embrace activism
9. Immigrants struggle in economy

1.
Uptick in immigrant voter registration could lead to surge at election
The McClatchy Newspapers, November 3, 2008

Sacramento, CA -- Outside most naturalization ceremonies, Democratic and Republican party activists wait at tables for the new citizens to emerge.

They compete for the allegiance of these new Americans - an allegiance that could be tested at the polls tomorrow.

Swept up in election-year fever, a large wave of new citizens could go to the polls and prove immigrants' growing electoral clout.

In California, more than 298,000 new citizens were sworn in this year, up 39 percent from about 182,000 naturalizations last year. That surge is adding to a growing Latino electorate here, as have similar registration efforts in swing states such as Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico and Florida.

Among the new citizens eager to vote is Anibal Luna, a 38-year-old Sacramentan who runs his own tax business and registered to vote immediately after he was sworn in during a ceremony in June.

"Like it or not, our community is growing in California," Luna said. "As soon as I was registered to vote, I turned around and started registering other new citizens to vote."

Mark DiCamillo, director of the California Field Poll, said new Americans are undoubtedly part of the mix of a record 17.3 million registered to vote in tomorrow's election.
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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/bal-te.immigration03nov03,0,2850...

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2.
Obama says he wasn't aware of aunt's immigration status
By Scott Helman and Eric Moskowitz
The Boston Globe, November 2, 2008

Aides to Senator Barack Obama confirmed yesterday that the Illinois senator has had some contact with his aunt in Boston in recent years, but they said he was not aware that she was reportedly in the country illegally.

The Associated Press reported that Obama's 56-year-old aunt, Zeituni Onyango, who has been living in a South Boston public housing complex, was told to leave the country four years ago by an immigration judge who rejected her request for political asylum from Kenya. Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father, could not be reached for comment and did not appear to be at home yesterday.

Aides said Obama was not aware of her apparent immigration status and was not involved in her asylum case. "Senator Obama has no knowledge of her status but obviously believes that any and all appropriate laws be followed," the campaign said in a statement.

Onyango had contributed $260 to Obama's presidential bid in small installments, but with federal law prohibiting foreigners from contributing to political candidates, his campaign said it would return the money.

Obama had limited contact with his late father, Barack Obama Sr., and much of his family. Obama first met his father's relatives on a trip to Africa 20 years ago, which he describes in his 1995 memoir, "Dreams From My Father." In the book he calls her "Auntie Zeituni."

Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed the AP report that Obama had seen Onyango on a few occasions since, including a trip to Kenya with his wife, Michelle, and a trip she took to Chicago on a tourist visa - at Obama's invitation - about nine years ago. Onyango also attended Obama's swearing-in after he was elected to the US Senate in 2004. Obama last heard from her about two years ago, when she called to say she was in Boston, according to his campaign.

The Boston Housing Authority, which oversees subsidized housing developments in the city, said yesterday that residents who apply for federally funded housing must prove their legal citizenship or residency, but those applying for state-funded public housing do not.

When Onyango applied in 2002 for public housing, her asylum request was pending so she was an eligible noncitizen, said Bill McGonagle, deputy director of the housing authority.

The authority was not notified by the Department of Homeland Security that her asylum request had been rejected, and does not track immigration status on its own, McGonagle said. Onyango, who moved into the federally subsidized Old Colony complex in South Boston in 2003, moved to the West Broadway complex this year after requesting a transfer for medical reasons.
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http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/11/02/obama_says_he_wasn...

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3.
E-mails show governor's office responding to raid
By Henry C. Jackson
The Associated Press, November 2, 2008

Des Moines (AP) -- Word of the raid in Postville came just minutes before the first call from the media.

It was just after 10 a.m. on May 12, and the staff of the governor's office had precious little time to digest the news.

Staffers scrambled to respond.

"I am sure we are going to need a statement on this. Can someone work with me on details/statement/TPs (talking points)? This is the first I am hearing of this," the governor's communications director, Brad Anderson wrote at 10:17 a.m. on May 12, under the subject line "Immigration raid in Postville."

E-mails and internal communications obtained by The Associated Press using Iowa's public records law portray the governor's staff as quick to grasp the scope and importance of the raid at the Agriprocessors slaughterhouse in Postville. It led to the arrest of 389 workers on Immigration violations and was the first of several actions taken by federal and state officials that have left the company's future in doubt.

The communications also show the limits of state government's power to respond to a federal operation.

Soon after the raid, according to the documents, Gov. Chet Culver had made Lieutenant Gov. Patty Judge his point person. Within hours, she had convened a working group of top aides from across state government to game out a response.

"We knew the scope pretty quickly," said Ralph Rosenberg, the executive director of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and the person Judge tapped to head the working group. "But the thing that was important in our response was that we pulled people together very quickly ... we had Iowa Workforce Development, DHS, the Department of Human Rights, all the directors of these departments together in just a couple of hours."

The biggest question in the hours after the raid was not whether the state should respond, but how.

According to meeting notes of the working group, several approaches were considered, including sending either the lieutenant governor or governor to Postville. That plan was ultimately shelved out of fears it would look like a public relations stunt.

To most involved it was quickly clear that the state's role would be limited, said Roger Munns, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services.

"We had practice with this because of the Swift raid in Marshalltown," Munns said, referring to a July 2007 action at Swift & Co. plants in four states, including Iowa. "When that raid happened we expected a number of calls and they never really came. ... We've learned in these situations we need to be ready but we're not always called upon."

Because most of those directly affected by the raid were illegal immigrants, Munns said, the state could do little to help the workers. And the aid the state could provide, such as taking custody of children whose parents had been arrested, largely wasn't needed.

The governor's staff seemed aware of the perils of appearing to do nothing, however.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-foi-slaughterhous,0,1197158...

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4.
Maricopa County Attorney's Office / azfamily.com
AZ Family.com, November2, 2008

Phoenix -- The number of kidnapping-for-ransom cases in the Valley has skyrocketed over the past several years.

Since 2004 cases are up 325%. To combat the problem the county attorney’s office has created a special team of prosecutors.
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http://www.azfamily.com/news/homepagetopstory/stories/Phoenix-local-news...

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5.
Illegal immigration, money top legislative priorities for Collier
By I.M. Stackel
The Naples Daily News (FL), November 2, 2008

Naples -- Money remains the Collier County Commission’s top legislative priority for the upcoming session. And that led to another discussion about illegal immigration.

County Manager Jim Mudd’s legislative sidekick Debbie Wight said the Collier County Sheriff’s Office is very eager to work with the commission on immigration problems.

Commissioner Fred Coyle noted that illegal immigration costs the county about $77 million each year.

“How are we going to get other counties in Florida interested in what we’re doing?” Coyle asked, referring to the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Alien Task Force headed by Commander Mike Williams.
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http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/nov/02/illegal-immigration-money-top...

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6.
Manassas to Check Arrestees' Immigration Status
Policy Mirrors Prince William's
By Jennifer Buske
The Washington Post, November 2, 2008; Page PW03

A new immigration policy will take effect in Manassas next month as officials try to curb the number of illegal immigrants who commit crimes in the community.

Beginning Dec. 1, Manassas police will check the immigration status of anyone arrested in the city, Manassas Police Chief John J. Skinner told the City Council on Monday. The new "Immigration Enforcement General Order" policy is in line with Prince William County's plan and will be applicable to all sworn officers.

"Some of us are supportive of a very aggressive stance on illegal alien control and have been pushing for a long time to do whatever is realistic," Manassas City Council member Jonathan L. Way (R) said. "Some ideas that have come out go a little too far, but in my opinion, what the chief has done and what [Prince William] Chief [Charlie T.] Deane has done is balance two conflicting pressures: protect the constitutional rights of citizens but have an effective policy."

Skinner has spent several months crafting the policy, which has been approved by the city attorney's office.

This is the city's fourth initiative meant to tackle illegal immigration, he said. The city joined the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force three years ago and signed a memorandum of agreement with the Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center last year to work together on immigration enforcement. In March, the city also signed an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"With our four efforts, we are among those communities with the most stringent policies in place," Skinner said. "But our response to illegal immigration needs to be carefully integrated into our mission and is not intended to alter our mission," which is to enforce state and local laws.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/31/AR200810...

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7.
After-school tutoring in Reading helps migrant children take a step up
By David Mekeel
The Reading Eagle (PA), November 3, 2008

As the new girl in town, Siris Duran, 13, felt lost three years ago when her family moved to Reading from the Dominican Republic.

A seventh-grader who barely spoke English, she struggled to keep up. In fact, she often was terrified sitting at her desk in class.

"It's scary because everybody is talking, and I don't know what they're talking about," she said.

She didn't do well in school, especially on the annual Pennsylvania System of School Assessment tests, known as the PSSAs.

Then she found a place to go for help.

Duran started going to St. Luke's Lutheran Church in the 900 block of North Ninth Street after school three days a week for a program to help migrant students with reading, math and English.

In its third year, the program is a joint effort of the Reading School District and Berks County Migrant Education Program.

For Duran, the extra academic attention has made a huge difference.

"I think that it is very helpful for everybody," she said. "It has really helped me a lot. I'm doing much better now."
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http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=112377

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8.
Noncitizens Embrace Political Process
By Sandhya Somashekhar
The Washington Post, November 1, 2008; B02

Aicha Bensaid Samrhouni has been almost single-minded in her desire to see Barack Obama elected president. She speared the yard of her Herndon home with blue campaign signs. She donated hundreds of dollars toward his efforts. She is taking Election Day off to work the polls.

But she will not be casting a ballot Tuesday, for Obama or anyone else. An immigrant from Morocco, she is not a U.S. citizen and therefore is not eligible to vote. It was a reality that washed over her one recent evening as her husband spoke of Obama's chances.

"She had tears in her eyes and she said, 'I wish I could vote,' " Hassan Samrhouni recalled. "I thought, 'Oh my goodness, I can't believe this.' "

Aicha Samrhouni is a legal permanent resident, one of about 12 million in the United States, according to Department of Homeland Security estimates. They enjoy almost all the benefits of citizenship -- except the right to vote.

Less than half of the almost 1.1 million foreign-born residents in the Washington area are citizens, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Although a sizeable but unknown number are believed to be illegal immigrants, thousands are legal but have not been naturalized. They include foreign students, temporary workers, people granted political asylum and permanent residents such as Samrhouni, among others.

Although noncitizens can't vote, they are not barred from participating in elections in other ways. Those with green cards, who have achieved legal permanent status, are permitted to make campaign contributions. And anyone can knock on doors, hand out fliers or register voters.

The number of donors and volunteers who fall into the noncitizen category is not known. The Federal Election Commission does not keep track of donors by citizenship status, and the campaigns say they accept volunteers without asking about status.

Steve Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that advocates for stricter immigration policies, estimates that the number of foreign citizens influencing U.S. elections is tiny and not troubling.

"The whole point of immigration is to create future Americans," he said. "So if people are participating in a legal fashion and they're here legally, that can be seen as a step toward successful assimilation."
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/10/31/ST20081031...

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9.
Immigrants Confront the Recession
By Larry Tung
The Gotham Gazette (NYC), November 3, 2008

Fong Oi Kan wishes that she only worked five days a week. But in the midst of the worst economy in decades, she said she has to work six days a week in order to keep her head above water.

"The business has gone down a lot in the last few weeks," said Kan, a native of Malaysia, who works as a hair stylist in a salon in Chinatown. "It started in the summer, but it just got worse and worse."

Kan is among the many immigrants whose livelihood is in the service industry – hair salon, restaurant, housekeeping and so on – and who feel the pain brought by the economic downturn. They might not have a 401K retirement plan or investment in the stock market, but many of their customers do, making the effects on people such as Kan harsh and evident. As people feel the economic pain, they may cut back on going to a salon to have their hair done, a luxury in a tough time like these.

"Fewer people are getting perms, curls or coloring," said Kan. "When you don’t have any chemicals involved, the profit margin is very small. A haircut is only about $20 to $30 in Chinatown. And you have to split it with the salon owner."

In the restaurant industry, immigrant workers make up the majority of the back-of-the-house position – cooks, dishwashers, kitchen helpers and so on. A banquet manager at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center, requesting anonymity to protect his job, said the business has suffered as some regular customers – several major financial and insurance corporations - have canceled bookings for holiday parties.

"We are currently underbooked, which is very unusual for this time of the year since the holiday season is so close," said the manager, who is from the Dominican Republic. "The kitchen staff are laid off more frequently, for two weeks here and there."

"Even though I still have my job, my income is reduced because a part of it comes from gratuity," said the manager, adding that the entire company got a 10 percent salary cut.

S. L. Tang, a waitress in an upscale Japanese restaurant in the West Village, said her employer has asked the wait staff to take turn to take one extra day off every week. She said on a recent night the restaurant had only 14 reservations, and everyone finished their work an hour earlier than usual.
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http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/immigrants/20081103/11/2735