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1. DHS says economy is main factor
2. CO Senate committee kills bill
3. UT guestworker legislation stalls
4. MD co. PD to tighten enforcement
5. TX city wants enforcement

1.
Napolitano: As Recession Deepens, Illegal Immigration From Mexico Declines
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the department has seen a "significant decrease" in the number of illegal immigrants crossing over from Mexico because there are fewer available jobs in the United States.
By Mike Levine
The Fox News, February 9, 2009

The weak economy is giving the government a unique chance to toughen its efforts against illegal immigration, but officials need to act before the window of opportunity closes, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

Napolitano said Friday that the department has seen a "pretty significant decrease" in illegal immigrants crossing over from Mexico because the number of available jobs in the United States has decreased.

"I think we need to move and take advantage of that," she said at a briefing with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.

Napolitano -- at the helm of her department for two and a half weeks now -- said she wants to keep new border security efforts "moving fast," perhaps even "accelerate" them, because, "You can reasonably anticipate that when our economy comes back -- and it will -- it could be accompanied by another wave of illegal immigration."

A DHS official told FOX News that, among the items on her list, Napolitano wants to get moving on completing the security fence along the southern border. Most of the 670-mile fence has been completed, but more than 60 miles -- mostly in Texas -- remain unfinished.

While Napolitano has often criticized the fence construction, the DHS official said, "The secretary is a huge supporter of the right mix at the right places."

According to the DHS official, Napolitano also wants to "accelerate" efforts to mandate the E-verify program, which allows employers to verify the legal status of workers online, free of charge. The program is currently a volunteer-based system, with only some employers participating, so Congress would have to take action to give it any legal or regulatory backing.

The official said that, with illegal immigration down, Napolitano plans to beef up her message of support for congressional action.
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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/02/09/napolitano-reces...

EDITOR'S NOTE: A 2008 CIS report suggests that Federal enforcement strategies have spurred a noticable decline in the population of illegal aliens residing in the U.S.

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2.
‘E-verify’ bill to require worker status checks dies
By Bob Mook
The Denver Business Journal, February 9, 2009

Colorado senators on Monday killed a bill that would have required employers to participate in a federal electronic-verification program to confirm the citizenship or immigration status of new hires.

Senate Bill 23, sponsored by Sen. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, also would have required employers to fire illegal immigrants not cleared by the “e-verify” system.

The measure failed in a 3-2 party-line committee vote, with Democrats opposing the bill and Republicans voting in favor of it.

Critics of the legislation said the e-verify system is burdensome to businesses and not error-proof. They feared that requiring companies to use the system could put them at risk of lawsuits if “legal” workers are terminated because of mistakes in the system.

“It seems like we’re opening the door to litigation and greater expense,” said Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins.

But Schultheis argued that the legislation would make more jobs available for those who are legally permitted to work in Colorado, instead of people who aren’t.
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http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2009/02/09/daily10.html

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3.
Guest worker resolution stalls out / Immigration issue remains a stumbling block for Legislature
By Jeff Demoss
The Standard Examiner (Ogden, UT), February 10, 2009

Salt Lake City -- After repeatedly slamming the federal government for a perceived lack of action on the illegal immigration issue, the Utah Senate has stalled a resolution asking the federal government for permission to establish a state-run guest worker program.

The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, seeks permission to start a program that would allow foreigners to work legally in the state on a two-year, renewable basis without full United States citizenship.

Jenkins said the nonbinding measure is intended mainly to signal to the federal government that Utah is ready to move forward with its own approaches to solving problems associated with illegal immigration.

But given Monday's Senate vote that defeated the resolution 9-to-19, that may not yet be the case, said Jenkins, who spent "hundreds of hours" last year on an interim task force that came up with several immigration proposals.

"We're all split on this. I'm going to try to bring some unity to this, because we've got to get control of our immigration somehow."

He said a guest worker program would allow the state to capture millions of dollars in income tax revenue that currently goes to the federal government.

Such funds could be used for state health care programs, public school funding, "and all the programs that are running into trouble because of overuse by undocumented aliens," he said.

Legislators in both the House and Senate have panned the proposal, saying it amounts to amnesty and could result in giving jobs to foreigners at a time when millions of Americans are unemployed.

"We should be protecting our own workers, those who are here legally," said Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem.

Jenkins expressed some frustration at the deep divisions in the Legislature regarding attitudes on immigration policy, but said he understands the opposition.
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http://www.standard.net/live/news/163917/

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4.
Montgomery Steps Up Reporting in ICE Efforts
County Defends Plan To Flag All Suspects Of Violent Crimes
By Dan Morse and Nick Miroff
The Washington Post, February 10, 2009; B01

Montgomery County police will soon start telling federal immigration authorities the names of all suspects they arrest for violent crimes and handgun violations, an approach that reflects growing concerns about illegal immigration and crime but stops short of the broader enforcement efforts used in some counties.

The new policy, expected to be made public today, represents a compromise that could limit its effectiveness, but county leaders say it is key to maintaining the trust and confidence of Montgomery's 277,000 foreign-born residents.

"I believe this approach is balanced and realistic for our highly diverse community of nearly one million residents," Leggett wrote in a memo this week to his police chief, J. Thomas Manger.

Elsewhere in the Washington region, Frederick County and several agencies in Northern Virginia deputize officers to act as immigration agents, questioning suspects about whether they are in the country legally. They also turn over the names of illegal immigrants arrested for any crime, not just violent offenses.

"We're not getting into the immigration investigation business," Manger said yesterday.

Still, the policy marks a shift in a county that has prided itself on its liberal, tolerant leanings. And some Latino advocates remain concerned that any step toward immigration enforcement could entrap people who might not be guilty of local offenses, leading to deportations that could break up families.

Across the country, police are grappling with how to cooperate with federal immigration agents without scaring off crucial witnesses who may have immigration status issues but whose help is crucial to public safety. Reflecting that challenge, local police agencies handle immigration matters differently when it comes to those under arrest.

Just as some counties are more aggressive than Montgomery, other jurisdictions are less aggressive: The District and Prince George's County discourage police officers from asking about immigration status.

Currently, officers in Montgomery routinely check to see whether people they detain have outstanding warrants, a broad search that can turn up immigration warrants. Officials at the county jail fax a list of foreign-born inmates to ICE once a week, and ICE has the authority to run the names through databases to check for expired visas and other violations.

The checks do not detect those who have entered the country illegally and have had no contact with authorities.

Manger began reevaluating the policy last year, when undocumented immigrants were linked to at least two high-profile killings, including the Nov. 1 slaying of an honor student on a county transit bus. By late last month, federal authorities had lodged immigration detainers against eight of 18 people held in the county jail on murder charges, meaning they might seek to deport those suspects after their criminal cases run their course. The detainers do not necessarily mean the suspects are in the country illegally.

The thinking behind Manger's proposal was that if dangerous people are arrested and officers could use their immigration status to get them off the streets, it was worth moving in that direction.

Manger originally proposed a policy that would apply to those arrested for violent crimes or weapons violations. That kind of policy, in theory, could have netted the two men accused of killing the honor student. Months before, one had been arrested on charges linked to carrying a machete down University Boulevard East, and the other for threatening a student and carrying a switchblade.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/02/09/ST20090209...

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5.
Survey: Carrollton residents don't want immigration regulation cost to affect services, taxes
By Stephanie Sandoval
The Dallas Morning News, February 9, 2009

Carrollton residents want their city to do what it can under federal law to regulate illegal immigration, but they don’t want increased taxes or cuts in services to pay for it.

The majority of the 407 people who responded to a January phone survey said police, economic development, libraries and parks and recreation were more important than illegal immigration.

About 51 percent said the city should pursue local ordinances on illegal immigration even if it costs money. But 74 percent said the city should not increase taxes to pay for it, according to the survey results released Monday.

“Some of the City Council members fought me on illegal immigration, so we decided to do this survey to find out who’s more in tune with our citizens,” Mayor Ron Branson said.

Branson said he believed the survey showed he is on the right track.

“There was a whole bunch of ‘no opinions’ in there,” he said. “The majority of citizens said if we need to do something that will cost us some money, we should do that.”

The survey, developed by The Julian Group and conducted by Information Unlimited of North Dallas, was done in lieu of the bi-annual citizens’ satisfaction survey at a cost of $21,850, City Secretary Ashley Mitchell said.

Cities across the country have been grappling in recent years with an increasing anti-illegal immigration sentiment. Some, such as Carrollton and Irving, joined federal programs to give local police more authority to detain illegal immigrants. Others, such as Farmers Branch, also created their own ordinances targeting illegal immigrants.
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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/021009...