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1. Obama to review arrest restriction
2. Fed sweep nabs 1,970 gang members
3. Senate preparing to pass SCHIP
4. Former GOP official courts Hispanics
5. IL city seeking cooperation

1.
Obama to review rule limiting immigration arrests
By Ted Bridis and Eileen Sullivan
The Associated Press, January 26, 2009

Washington (AP) -- The Homeland Security Department still is requiring high-level approval before federal immigration agents can arrest fugitives, a rule quietly imposed by the Bush administration days before the election of Barack Obama, whose aunt has been living in the United States illegally.

The unusual directive from the Homeland Security Department came amid concerns that such arrests might generate "negative media or congressional interest," according to a newly disclosed federal document obtained by The Associated Press.

The directive makes clear that U.S. officials worried about possible election implications of arresting Zeituni Onyango, the half-sister of Obama's late father, who at the time was living in public housing in Boston. She is now believed to be living in Cleveland.

A copy of the directive, "Fugitive Case File Vetting Prior to Arrest," was released to the AP just over two months after it was requested under the Freedom of Information Act. It does not mention President Obama or any members of his extended family.

The directive is still in place, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Kelly Nantel told the AP. It originally was distributed Oct. 31 by e-mail to immigration officers by an assistant director at the agency. Obama was elected president five days later. Nantel said the directive called for close supervision over any cases that could be high profile. She said it was not specific to Obama's relatives.

The White House said late Sunday that Obama "has not contacted any government agency regarding Ms. Onyango's case, nor has any representative of the president." It said Obama's administration wasn't briefed on why the directive was issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will consider whether to overturn it.

"Like other rules and directives issued by the previous administration, it will be reviewed and revoked if it does not serve the best interests of the American people," the White House told the AP.

It was unclear what effect, if any, the directive has had on immigration enforcement across the country. Earlier this month 69 people were arrested during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweep in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
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http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iVVj5SjAgqpjIbqdmcOB74...

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2.
Feds Arrest 1,970 Alleged Illegal Immigrant Gang Members
The NBC News, January 26, 2009

Los Angeles -- Federal immigration agents arrested 1,970 alleged illegal immigrant gang members in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and four other counties in 2008, federal officials announced Friday.

Operation Community Shield is a nationwide anti-gang effort by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Of those arrested, more than 850 were prosecuted on state or federal charges, including firearms violations and illegal re-entry to this country after deportation, ICE reported.

Others were foreign national gang members who were arrested on administrative immigration violations and placed in deportation proceedings. The program also screens illegal immigrants in custody for various offenses to determine if they are subject to deportation.

The statistics also include San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

"These arrest statistics are further proof of ICE's major role in combating gang-related crime in Los Angeles," said Robert Schoch, special agent in charge of ICE's Los Angeles office.

"Our immigration and customs authorities are proving to be powerful weapons in this effort, and we'll continue working closely with local law enforcement to attack and dismantle the gangs that have terrorized our communities," Schoch said. "Now, it's the gang members who have something to fear."
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28816128/

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3.
Senate ready to pass SCHIP
By Alex Isenstadt
The Politico (Washington, DC), January 23, 2009

The Senate will take up legislation to pass a major children's health insurance bill late Monday, knocking out yet another big priority for Democrats in the 111th Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday afternoon debate over the State Children's Health Insurance Program would begin after the Senate's votes on the confirmation on Timothy Geithner to be treasury secretary. Reid said he expected passage of the SCHIP bill by the end of the week.

Quick passage of the SCHIP bill would show that Democrats are quickly plowing through some of the top labor, health and workplace legislation backed by the Obama administration. The Senate on Thursday passed a gender discrimination bill, known as the Lilly Ledbetter Act, and the union-backed “Employee Free Choice Act” — which would make it easier for shops to unionize — could be on the agenda in the near future.
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17865.html

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4.
Nicholson to GOP: Rethink immigration
By Alexander Burns
The Politico (Washington, DC), January 25, 2009

Former Republican National Committee Chair and Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson spoke out on the GOP’s electoral challenges Friday, urging Republicans to reach out to Hispanic voters by reviewing their position on immigration.

“We have to better inform and motivate and align with the Hispanic voters,” Nicholson said in an interview with Politico. “That’s one of the key issues that the party and its leaders need to convene and, you know, have a very open, transparent discussion about developing a party position on.”

Nicholson, whose home state of Colorado turned blue in 2008 thanks in part to heavy Democratic voting among Hispanics, said Hispanics could be open to Republican ideas.

“The Hispanic voters…in this country are center-right, more conservative, more family- and work-oriented people,” he said. “We have to overcome some of the predilections that they have about Republicans so that we get more of their votes.”

The former cabinet official pointed to Hispanic outreach as one of the top issues that would face the next RNC chair, who will be chosen in an election next week. Nicholson served as RNC chair during the second term of President Bill Clinton and compared the current political atmosphere to the one he faced as an incoming chair in 1997.
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/17868.html

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5.
Elgin city council hopefuls weigh in on immigration
By Harry Hitzeman
The Daily Herald (Chicago), January 26, 2009

Elgin city leaders have been frustrated with the lack of action or direction provided by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

The six hopefuls seeking the lone 2-year city council seat - Al Fernandez, Emi Morales, Mike Robins, Brenda Rodgers, Charlene Sligting and Mike Warren - all favor having the full council meet with ICE officials.

But ICE, the federal agency that's supposed to enforce immigration laws, has not been responsive to the city and police department.

Elgin Corporation Counsel William Cogley said the city has not received any feedback or response to requests to access federal programs first made last March.

At a recent forum, council candidates agreed that illegal immigration enforcement was a task left up to the federal government.

But, Fernandez noted, only illegal immigrants convicted of the most serious crimes are deported.

"Until the federal government decides what they want to do with this, the only thing we can do is work with the parameters they set for us," he said.
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http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=267105&src=1