1. E-verify system facing axe
2. Campaigns talk immigration
3. U.N. delegates to visit
4. CO state troopers use 287(g)
5. Hospitals likely to lose funds
6. Hospitals struggle to gauge impact
7. Illegals, crime link fuzzy

1.
System to verify legal status faces deadline
Renewal of federal program at heart of new state law held up in Senate
By Tim Smith
The Greenville News (SC), September 20, 2008

Columbia -- The fate of the federal immigration verification system E-verify, a keystone of the immigration package passed by South Carolina lawmakers this year, now is being negotiated by senators who must renew the program in coming weeks or see it expire.

Because Congress plans an election recess by the end of the month and E-verify will expire in November unless it is renewed, Capitol Hill staffers say senators must make a decision soon on what to do with the program, which passed the House by overwhelming numbers in August.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who in August held up a bill to renew the program, has asked that in addition to renewing E-verify, the Senate also "recapture" unused or unclaimed family and work-sponsored visas for the last 15 years, provisions critics say could allow up to 600,000 more immigrants and workers into the country.

"There is really only one person standing between E-verify and reauthorization and that is Sen. Bob Menendez," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "Given that our economy is losing jobs by tens of thousands every month, this is not the time to go looking for more workers to bring to the country."

Menendez explained in a recent statement outlining his proposal that he wants to be fair to business as well as to immigrant families.

"Verifying that workers have their proper documentation is certainly important, and this bill ensures we are doing that while being fair to families who have waited in line for years and have paid their visa fees to reunite with their loved ones," Menendez said.

"We must couple the E-verify effort, which is good for business, with policy that is also good for families -- it fits with our American value system and is a step toward fixing our broken immigration system."

Afshin Mohamidi, press secretary for Menendez, said Menendez is talking with other senators to get something passed.

"Sen. Menendez is actively negotiating to reauthorize E-verify -- a program he supports -- along the lines of what passed the House and to bring some fairness to U.S. citizens seeking to legally reunify with immediate family members," he said. "The goal is to get agreement in the near future."

Co-sponsoring Menendez' bill are senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington and Ted Kennedy of Massachussetts.
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http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080920/NEWS...

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Center for Immigration Studies' Janice Kephart published a relevant opinion in the Washington Times on September 21, available online at: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/21/e-verify-ambush/

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2.
Candidates wage fight in Spanish
Immigration reform a key topic of ads aimed at Latino voters
By Daniel González
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), September 22, 2008

The immigration debate has flared up again in the presidential campaign, but you wouldn't know it unless you pay attention to Spanish media.

Both candidates have said little lately in English about immigration reform and border security. The issues, which dominated headlines in 2006 and 2007, have been overshadowed by the economy, gas prices, health care and the war in Iraq.

But in Spanish ads that began airing this month, Republican nominee John McCain touted himself as the candidate who stood up for comprehensive immigration reform and accused Democratic rival Barack Obama of helping kill a bipartisan compromise that would have combined tougher border security and work-site enforcement with a path to legal status for millions of undocumented immigrants.

Obama's campaign has fired back, accusing McCain of lying about Obama's support for comprehensive immigration reform in order to win votes from Latinos turned off by anti-immigrant rhetoric from Republican hardliners.

McCain and Obama are waging a battle over immigration reform in Spanish because the issue resonates more with Latino voters, though it still ranks below other issues such as education, jobs and the cost of living, according to a July survey by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Latino voters could make up as much as 10 percent of the electorate this November, compared with 8 percent in 2004, said Frank Sharry of America's Voice, a pro-immigrant group in Washington, D.C.
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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2008/09/22/200809...

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3.
Leaders add immigrant outreach to UN trip agenda
By Samantha Henry
The Associated Press, September 21, 2008

Trenton, NJ (AP) -- World leaders used to fly to New York for the annual U.N. General Assembly session, address the world body, conduct some official business and head home.

These days, however, many heads of state are making a stop in immigrant communities in the U.S. a high diplomatic priority.

With emigrants wielding more financial and political power in their native countries than ever before, several leaders attending the 63rd session of the General Assembly — which gets under way Tuesday — will visit these shadow constituencies whose financial contributions — and influence over politics both in the U.S. and abroad — continue to grow.

Some plan to give public speeches, others to meet quietly with community leaders or attend parties where they'll get a chance to mingle with businessmen, local power brokers and immigrant families who form vital connections between their home countries and the United States.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon plans to make the usual rounds of diplomatic functions, economic forums, and a Wall Street visit before heading home to Mexico. But in a break from tradition, he's chosen to make a public school in the New Jersey city of New Brunswick his final U.S. stop so that he can meet with emigrants from his country, according to Mexican consular officials.

"It does reflect the global change and the recognition that the diaspora and migrants abroad are actually very important to the affairs, economy and politics of what's going on in a particular country," said Joanna Regulska, dean of international programs at the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University. "It is the sort of local-global connection that is needed for many countries around the world."

Rutgers hosted one such gathering with Ernest Bai Koroma, president of Sierra Leone, at the New Brunswick campus Sunday. Regulska said Koroma's decision to give his first public address in the United States in New Jersey — before he speaks before the U.N. body — pays homage to the large Sierra Leonean community that helped him get elected.

When he was running for office, Koroma's campaign stops included cities across his West African nation — and Franklin Township, N.J., where 7 percent of the population is Sierra Leonean. He also plans to visit Sierra Leoneans in Connecticut during his stay.

"Talking to this community will have an impact in Sierra Leone, too," Regulska said. "These messages will be carried back to them, and they'll have a sense that the president is valuing this community here."
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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hdXKiJ60XjHRtpOhfpZl4z8-QKAQD93BCI880

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4.
States make immigration arrests under fed program
By Ivan Moreno
The Associated Press, September 21, 2008

Fruita, CO (AP) -- State Patrol trooper Mike Jamison keeps an action figure of "The Thing" on his passenger seat — a nod to the Fantastic Four, which is what Jamison and three colleagues charged with enforcing immigration law on western Colorado's highways call themselves.

His car also has a DVD burner that documents every traffic stop he makes to provide evidence for potential immigration prosecutions — and catch any racial profiling.

"If I'm doing something wrong, and not doing what I'm supposed to be doing, I'm going to get caught," Jamison said on a recent ride-along on Interstate 70, a pipeline for immigrant smuggling from the West to Denver and cities farther east.

Colorado's state patrol is among dozens of police agencies nationwide taking advantage of a federal training program to identify and detain suspected illegal immigrants. Since the program began in 2006, these agencies have made more than 68,000 arrests for immigration-related violations, says Carl Rusnok of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ICE has trained about 800 officers in 18 states to prepare charging documents and issue immigration detainers. Eighty training requests are pending from police departments, state patrols, sheriff's offices and corrections departments.

Colorado created its state patrol unit during a 2006 special legislative session that was sparked by the arrests of more than 100 suspected illegal immigrants in crashes and traffic stops in a two-day period.

The unit has arrested 930 suspected illegal immigrants since it became operational in July 2007, ICE says. Colorado troopers also investigated 40 human smuggling cases that went to court, the state patrol says.

Other states with ICE agreements include California, Georgia and Florida. Arizona has seven participating agencies, North Carolina eight, and Virginia has the most with nine. Since January 2006, Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff's Department leads in arrests with 15,000.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080921/ap_on_re_us/state_immigration_cops

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5.
Hospitals' funding for migrant care in jeopardy
Facilities got $30 mil a year for unpaid emergency bills
By Ken Alltucker
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), September 21, 2008

A federal government program that pays Arizona hospitals more than $30 million a year to offset unpaid bills for emergency care provided to undocumented immigrants likely will end next week.

Hospitals in Arizona and other border states have turned to the program to defray the costs of providing emergency care to illegal immigrants. But the program expires at the end of this month, and lawmakers say there is little chance that more funding will be added.

Arizona hospitals have lobbied U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., who sponsored the original bill, to help extend the program. But Congress just doesn't have enough time to deal with the issue during this fall's limited session, which has been dominated by Wall Street's financial crisis.

"I don't think it is a very rosy prospect because we are just about out of the legislative session," said Kyl, who favors extending the program. "The only bit of good news is there is still a little bit of money left over."

The program was meant as a temporary fix for hospitals until Congress passed comprehensive immigration reform.

The program provided $250 million a year to states such as California, Texas and Arizona that have been hardest hit by immigrant care costs.

Though the program expires at the end of the month, there will still be about $77 million available to Arizona hospitals and doctors, according to the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association.

Still, Arizona hospitals want a long-term fix.

"We are disappointed but not surprised or discouraged," said John Rivers, president and chief executive officer of the Arizona hospital association. "This touches the immigration issue, and that is considered a hot potato both nationally and in Arizona. You need a broad coalition to get support for this and get it done."

Arizona hospitals say the program has been pivotal in offsetting the costs of providing emergency care for undocumented immigrants. Hospitals are required to provide emergency care for anyone needing immediate care.
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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/2008/09/21/20...

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6.
Illegal aliens’ health-care tab is elusive
By Toby Manthey
The Arkansas Democrat Gazette (Little Rock), September 21, 2008

While illegal aliens add to uncompensated-care expenses at hospitals in Arkansas and across the United States, determining the size of that bill is difficult, according to government and health-care officials and other experts.

The U. S. Government Accountability Office has examined the price of uncompensated care — for which hospitals receive no payment — and concluded that an accurate assessment of the effect of illegal aliens’ contribution “remains elusive.” Most hospitals nationwide don’t record patients’ immigration status, the agency said in a 2004 report, its most recent on the subject.

Several of Arkansas’ largest hospitals and health systems — including Baptist Health, St. Vincent Health System, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Northwest Health System, Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, St. Joseph’s Mercy Health Center and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences — also say they don’t know much illegal aliens add to uncompensated-care expenses.

“This is not something we track, and we also do not believe the overwhelming majority of charity-care patients are illegal immigrants,” Baptist Health spokesman Mark Lowman said.

Lowman said the system treats all patients regardless of their ability to pay, including illegal aliens.

Hilary DeMillo, a Children’s Hospital spokesman, said that if “a child doesn’t qualify for any coverage, then that account is treated as all other self-pay accounts without any distinction.” About 11 million to 12 million illegal aliens now reside in the country, according to estimates by Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group in Washington. Nationwide, the number grew by more than 1. 5 million annually in 1999 and 2000. The count grew by more than 500, 000 annually from 2000-05, although some experts believe the numbers have fallen in the past 12 months.

Immigration has not proved to be a major topic during the U. S. presidential campaign this year. Sens. Barack Obama and John Mc-Cain support “secure borders” and a system for illegal immigrants to pay a fine for being illegal, learn English and have the opportunity to become citizens, their Web sites say.

Leighton Ku, a professor of health policy at George Washington University in Washington, said there is a “fairly widespread belief” that there are “vast amounts of money being spent on uncompensated care” for illegal aliens.

“In general,” he said, studies on the subject show that the amounts “are considerably less than many people believe.” Ku cited a study by Rand Corp., a Santa Monica, Calif.-based independent nonprofit institution for an indication of the levels of care received by illegal aliens. Rand estimated that about 1. 3 percent of public funds spent on medical costs nationwide in 2000, or about $ 1. 1 billion, was for illegal aliens. Total medical costs for illegal aliens, including public, private and personal costs, was estimated at $ 6. 5 billion, “or 1. 5 percent of total national medical costs — half as large as their 3. 2 percent population share,” the report said.
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http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Business/238038/

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7.
Some illegal immigrants commit other crimes, but 'data terrible'
By Josh Brodesky and Kim Smith
The Arizona Daily Star (Tucscon), September 21, 2008

You've heard it from pundits and read it online: Illegal immigrants are clogging our legal system. They may come with the dreams of work and a better life, but they bring increased crime and strife.

Many of those coming here illegally do end up in court — some for being here without permission, others for property, financial, drug or violent crimes.

But it's anyone's guess how many illegal immigrants enter the justice system, and how much it costs taxpayers. Neither the state nor the federal courts formally keep track.

The lack of hard numbers makes it nearly impossible to know whether our immigration policies are working — even as taxpayers spend tens of millions of dollars a year to house and defend illegal immigrants arrested in the Tucson area.

"The data (are) terrible, and lead to entirely different conclusions," said Steven Camarota, of the Center for Immigration Studies, which supports tighter immigration controls. "No one has made it a priority. No one has ever wanted to know."

Camarota said everybody talks about the combination of illegal immigration and crime, but "nobody ever does anything about it."

Federal policies targeting illegal immigration also skew the picture. Although the number of people arrested in the Tucson Sector for illegal immigration has actually declined in recent years, the push is on to prosecute more illegal-entry cases, most recently through "Operation Streamline," which aims to prosecute 100 illegal immigrants a day.

The emphasis on illegal immigration has overwhelmed Tucson's federal prosecutors to the point that they have declined to take on a number of serious drug-offense cases in recent years. To keep up, the U.S. Attorney's Office recently hired 22 more prosecutors and has converted a courtroom into a makeshift holding area for illegal immigrants waiting to see judges.

Illegal immigration made up half the felony sentencings in federal court here last year, but no one can say — beyond estimates — how many other federal crimes are tied to illegal immigrants.

It's a similar scene at Pima County Superior Court. Officials there agree that cases involving illegal immigrants put an extra burden on judges and attorneys — but no one knows how big a burden.

Estimates of the share of Pima County criminal cases involving illegal immigrants range from 3.5 percent to 11 percent.

Financial estimates are only slightly more specific. At a minimum, taxpayers spend about $80 million per year on cases involving illegal immigration that are processed through Pima County and the federal court in Tucson. But that doesn't include the cost of lawyers to represent and prosecute illegal border crossers charged with more serious federal crimes. Those costs are not tracked.

And it doesn't sort out those non-citizens in the court system who are here legally.

Still, Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall is confident that the effect is small. "The illegals we see are only an itty-bitty, tiny fraction of the illegals who are in Pima County and Arizona," LaWall said.

"Their presence here has a huge impact, but they are not driving the crime rate," she said. "Ninety-seven percent of the folks we prosecute are homegrown criminals."
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http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/258617