1. Aide was involved with Citizenship USA
2. Illegal aliens returning home
3. Work force sees a decline in workforce
4. New South FL USCIS facilities
5. Depositions ordered in Danbury suit
6. Plant unionizes after worksite enforcement
7. IL city to review employer policy

1.
Obama aide tied to failed immigration program
Rushed citizenship push let in thousands of criminals
By Jerry Seper
The Washington Times, December 16, 2008

One of President-elect Barack Obama's top immigration advisers oversaw a Clinton-era program that awarded U.S. citizenship to thousands of convicted criminals and failed to conduct adequate FBI background checks on foreigners during a push to reduce a backlog of naturalization applications.

T. Alexander Aleinikoff, former executive associate commissioner for programs at the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service, staunchly defended the program, Citizenship USA (CUSA), before Congress a decade ago, although the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General concluded in 2000 that the program failed to address weaknesses that pushed the immigration system beyond its limits.

CUSA saw 1.2 million foreign nationals become U.S. citizens in 1996. Many of them later were identified as convicted criminals. The program was endorsed vigorously by President Clinton but attacked by critics as an election-year ploy to speed naturalizations for political gain, noting that the program targeted INS districts in heavily Democratic Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City and San Francisco.

More than 180,000 naturalization applications were vetted without proper FBI fingerprint analyses, including 80,000 immigrants who had fingerprint checks that generated criminal records but were naturalized anyway, according to congressional and federal investigators.

The inspector general's report said applicants who were ineligible because of criminal records or because they fraudulently obtained green cards were granted citizenship because the INS was "moving too fast to check their records."
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/16/obama-aide-tied-to-faile...

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2.
Illegal immigrants Going Home, Endangering U.S. Labor Markets
By Alfonso Chardy
The McClatchy Newspapers, December 15, 2008

The Center for Immigration Studies was the first to note that undocumented immigrants were leaving the United States.

Miami -- Malaquias Gaspar left his farm village in southern Mexico when the economy soured in the mid-1990s. He headed north illegally and found the proverbial better opportunity in South Florida, where he made a decent living by picking fruit and building homes.

But the U.S. economic crisis has disrupted his life and the lives of countless other illegal immigrants who are now planning to leave or have already left.

Gaspar recently returned to Zimatlan de Alvarez in Oaxaca state, primarily to care for his ailing mother _ but also to plan for the future should the economy worsen in South Miami-Dade County, where his wife and four children remain.

"If we can't feed our children, we'll come back," said Gaspar, 40, as he sat at his family home _ upgraded with money he had sent from South Florida.

Gaspar is among millions of undocumented immigrants facing new challenges brought on by slim prospects for legalization, more aggressive federal enforcement and a worsening economy. Now, fewer immigrants are caught while trekking through the dangerous Sonoran Desert or risking their lives aboard makeshift boats in the Caribbean, indicating that fewer are trying. Those who make it through can find themselves on one of several daily federal charter flights that return deportees.

The ripple effects are already being felt. Communities in Latin America and the Caribbean report a reduction in remittances _ money sent home from the United States. That money is critical to the survival of families and the success of local civic projects. Border communities that once thrived as way stations for those heading north are now little more than ghost towns.

Even on the tiny Bahamian island of Bimini, long a hotbed of eager smugglers willing to transport human cargo to South Florida, the mood is grim.

"The large groups are not coming as much as they used to, but ... people who want to make money nefariously still view this as an opportunity," said Jeff Dubel, public affairs officer for the U.S. Embassy in Nassau, the Bahamian capital.

The Center for Immigration Studies, in a report published in July, was the first to note that undocumented immigrants were leaving the United States. But the report, "Homeward Bound," attributed departures to increased enforcement.

Later, the Pew Hispanic Center, a research group in Washington, suggested that fewer immigrants were arriving because of the economic slowdown and stricter enforcement. The report said that the illegal population had stopped growing and that it now stood at about 11.9 million, down by about 500,000 from a year earlier.

While the potential ramifications of a reduced flow of immigrants may not be evident in a recession, labor shortages could emerge once the economy improves.

"In a bad economy, U.S. workers may temporarily take those jobs that undocumented workers do, but once things turn around, we may see labor shortages if too many foreign workers leave," said Tammy Fox-Isicoff, a Miami attorney who specializes in business-related immigration.

Illegal immigrants not leaving the country are traveling to any city, town or region where jobs might be more plentiful. Businesses that depend on foreign labor are already seeing an impact.

John Alger, of Alger Farms in Homestead, said South Miami-Dade farmers are not hiring as many migrant workers because the economy is forcing them to reduce the size of the fields they plant.

"Farm owners are planting less because they are selling less, since people are buying less," said Alger, whose business is one of South Florida's largest growers of sweet corn and trees for landscaping. "Nurseries are dying because of the real-estate crisis."

Last year, at the height of the immigration reform debate, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez warned that without enough foreign workers, landscaping, farms and health care companies would suffer.

"We will see rotting fruit," Gutierrez said in June 2007. "We will see lawns that don't get cared for. We will see patients who don't get cared for."
. . .
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=31100

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3.
Hispanic Immigrants Drop in U.S. Labor Force
By Alejandro Lazo
The Washington Post, December 16, 2008; Page D08

The percentage of Hispanic immigrants who are working or looking for a job in the United States has declined for the first time since 2003, according to a study released yesterday.

The Pew Hispanic Center, which published the report, said the findings are a testament to the nature and depth of the recession, which is rooted in slumping housing values, as many Hispanic immigrants found work in construction in the boom years.

"The recession has widened and deepened, and, driven by construction, it has certainly seemed to put Latino immigrants in a state of transition," said Rakesh Kochhar, an economist with Pew and author of the study. "The question is: What is the next thing to emerge? Are we now going to see a return back home?"

The study was based on data from the Current Population Survey, which is produced jointly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau. The Pew center said it found a small but significant decline in the share of Hispanic immigrants active in the U.S. labor force.

The percentage of Hispanic immigrants who were either employed or actively looking for a job at the end of the third quarter was 71.3 percent, compared with 72.4 percent a year ago, according to the study. The drop comes after steady yearly increases since 2003.

The number of Hispanic immigrants in the labor force increased 150,000 from the third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008. But that growth was much smaller than the growth in the working-age population of Hispanic immigrants. Overall, there are 17.1 million foreign-born Hispanics in the working-age population.

The decrease was sharpest among immigrants from Mexico, who make up more than two-thirds of the U.S. Hispanic immigrant population. The share of Mexican-born immigrants in the U.S. workforce declined to 70.7 percent from 72.7 percent, according to the study.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR200812...

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Pew Hispanic Center's report can be found on line at
http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=99

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4.
New immigration offices to make process easier
Immigration officials promise that four new facilities in South Florida will speed up wait times and add comfort.
BY Evan S. Benn
The Miami Herald, 16, 2008

The differences between the old, fortress-like immigration building at 79th Street and Biscayne Boulevard and the four new South Florida facilities now opening are like night and day.

Old: Pay $10 to park, wait in line all day, then go somewhere else for processing.

New: Park for free, sit in comfortable chairs until appointment time, get everything taken care of in one place.

''The conditions at the old location were just not acceptable any longer,'' said Michael Aytes, acting deputy director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. ``The idea is to have a welcoming, comfortable place that demonstrates to our customers how much we value them.''

Aytes is in Miami for a grand-opening ceremony Tuesday at one of the new buildings, which officially opens for business Wednesday on Northwest Seventh Avenue in West Little River. Two other locations, in Hialeah and Kendall, have already opened, and a fourth, in Oakland Park, will be up and running by the end of the month.

South Florida immigrants have viewed the 79th Street building as an icon of frustration since 1983. It became ground zero for all kinds of immigration protests, from the deportation of Haitians to the Elián González drama in 2000. And it sprouted a cottage industry of lawyers, parking attendants and interpreters of Spanish, Creole and Portuguese.
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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/814515.html

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5.
Judge rules Danbury officials, ICE must give depositions
By Marietta Homayonpour
The Danbury News Times (CT), December 16, 2008

Danbury -- Ten plaintiffs won another round in a pending civil lawsuit against the city and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

A United States District Court judge ruled late last week that Danbury officials and federal agents must give depositions now in the lawsuit even though a ruling has not been made on an ICE motion to dismiss the case.

"It's great," Ari Holtzblatt, a Yale Law School student intern representing the 10 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said about the ruling by United States Magistrate Judge Donna Martinez. "Now for the first time people who planned this unconstitutional act are going to have to answer questions about it and do it under oath."

They also will have to present evidence in the case, Holtzblatt said.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which was filed in September 2007, are nine men who are part of what is called the "Danbury 11," plus another man, Danilo Brito Vargas, who was stopped by Danbury police in a traffic incident in early 2007 and has since been deported for immigration violation.

The "Danbury 11" are men from Ecuador who were arrested in Danbury in September 2006 on immigration violations by ICE agents helped by Danbury police. Two of the men were deported and the other nine live and work in the Danbury area awaiting their appeal on a ruling by federal immigration Judge Michael Straus in February that they be deported.

In the civil lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege the city of Danbury was discriminatory in helping to arrest the men and that the actions were illegal because Danbury police are not deputized as federal agents.

Among the defendants named are Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, Police Chief Al Baker and several police officers.

The city, Boughton said, was not wrong in its actions in September 2006, pointing to the February deportation ruling. "The immigration judge ruled ICE and the city did not violate anybody's rights."
. . .
http://www.newstimes.com/ci_11238721

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6.
After 15 Years, North Carolina Plant Unionizes
By Steven Greenhouse
The New York Times, December 12, 2008

After an expensive and emotional 15-year organizing battle, workers at the world’s largest hog-killing plant, the Smithfield Packing slaughterhouse in Tar Heel, N.C., have voted to unionize.

The United Food and Commercial Workers, which had lost unionization elections at the 5,000-worker plant in 1994 and 1997, announced late Thursday that it had finally won. The victory was significant in a region known for hostility toward organized labor.

The vote was one of the biggest private-sector union successes in years, and officials from the United Food and Commercial Workers said it was the largest in that union’s history.

The union won by 2,041 votes to 1,879 after two years of turmoil at the plant. As a result of a federal crackdown on illegal immigrants, more than 1,500 Hispanic workers have left the plant. Its work force is now 60 percent black, up from around 20 percent two years ago.

After the results were announced, Wanda Blue, a hog counter, was among the many workers who were celebrating.

“It feels great,” said Ms. Blue, who makes $11.90 an hour and has worked at Smithfield for five years. “It’s like how Obama felt when he won. We made history.”

“I favored the union because of respect,” said Ms. Blue, who is black. “We deserve more respect than we’re getting. When we were hurt or sick, we weren’t getting treated like we should.”
. . .
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/13/us/13smithfield.html

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7.
Elgin council to look at budget, illegal immigration
By Steven Ross Johnson
The Courier News (Elgin, IL), December 16, 2008

Elgin -- City leaders are expected on Wednesday to adopt next year's financial plan, which is projected to have significant spending cuts to address the ever-worsening state of an economy many feel is on course to worsen.

The proposed $276 million fiscal plan for 2009 is an 18 percent decrease from the 2008 budget, with a 2.5 percent projected decline in city income coupled with a 9 percent increase in expenses.

While police and fire are among the few city departments expected to see a rise in their funding compared to this year, others -- such as community development -- will see double-digit percent declines to their budgets.

The first effects were felt last month when the city announced it was laying off 16 employees, with plans to eliminate as many 54 positions by 2010 through reassignments, early retirement or not filling vacancies.
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http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/news/1332752,3_1_EL16_A3C...

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8.
Thompson attends final city council meeting
By Greg Oliver
The Upstate Today (Seneca, SC), December 16, 2008

Clemson -- On Monday night, Margaret Thompson attended her final meeting as a Clemson City Council member. But that doesn’t mean Thompson will be nowhere in sight at future meetings.

While she no longer will be seated behind the podium with fellow council members, Thompson, as a private citizen, plans to continue speaking out on issues that include illegal immigration at the podium located directly in front of council.

“I’m going to keep doing it until something gets done,” Thompson said. A public comment session is held during each regularly scheduled meeting on the first and third Mondays of the month.
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Thompson cited illegal immigration as the one issue she would have liked to resolve prior to leaving office.

“My goal is still to do something with immigration because it’s so important,” Thompson said. “I’ve heard comments that some business leaders have laughed at me. But this is no joke because I’m going at it full force. It’s something that’s got to be done.”

The retired Pickens County Sheriff’s deputy said she recently attended an immigration workshop, at which Clemson City Clerk Beverly Coleman was also in attendance, and was disappointed to see only five business employers present. During the workshop, Thompson said a representative from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security demonstrated the ease with which cities and counties can use the e-Verification system

Although Pickens County Council recently approved an ordinance requiring prospective businesses to document their usage of e-Verify, Thompson said she has been unable to convince Clemson City Council to do the same.

“Cities are allowed to create their own ordinances as long as they do not supercede federal law,” she said. “I don’t want to see any businesses shut down, but I want them to conduct business the right way.”
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http://www.upstatetoday.com/news/2008/dec/16/thompson-attends-final-city...