1. DOJ asks SCOTUS not to take SB1070 case
2. Emails reveal FBI confusion over Secure Communities
3. Fewer visa lottery applicants
4. Winner of AZ recall soft on immigration
5. AZ defense of SB1070 has cost $2 million
1.
Govt asks justices to stay out of immigration case
The Associated Press, November 11, 2011
The Justice Department on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to stay out of a lawsuit involving Arizona's immigration law, saying lower courts properly blocked tough provisions targeting illegal immigrants.
The state law is a challenge to federal policy and is designed to establish Arizona's own immigration policy, the department's solicitor general said in a filing with the justices. Arizona says the law is an effort to cooperate with the federal government.
One provision requires that police, while enforcing other laws, question a person's immigration status if officers suspect they are in the country illegally. In April, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a federal judge's ruling halting enforcement of that and other key provisions in the Arizona law.
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is seeking to overturn the judge's decision and wants Supreme Court review of the case, arguing that the issues are of compelling, nationwide importance.
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-11-10/arizona-immigra...
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2.
Secure Communities program confusing to FBI
By David Sherfinski
The Washington Times, November 10, 2011
A controversial federal initiative aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants prompted significant internal confusion among FBI officials and concern about information-sharing relationships between federal, state, and local governments, emails released Thursday show.
A senior-level FBI official expressed concerns that the Secure Communities initiative, in which localities share with the FBI the fingerprints of individuals booked into jails to determine their immigration status, could jeopardize partnerships with local law-enforcement agencies, according to emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by a coalition of civil rights groups.
FBI officials also were concerned about directions regarding the program from the Department of Homeland Security and suggested a review by the U.S. attorney general.
“Whatever else should happen we are stuck in the middle of a nuclear war,” wrote Jerome M. Pender, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services division, in an email dated May 11. “I don’t think we need [Homeland Security] direction, I think we need [attorney general] direction. If we have to decide, I don’t see how we can use the data in a way the owner explicitly bans.”
Locally, jurisdictions have been mixed on their reception to the program, scheduled for nationwide implementation in 2013. All Virginia jurisdictions are participating as are all Maryland jurisdictions with the exception of Montgomery County and Baltimore. The District also has not implemented Secure Communities.
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/10/secure-communities-progr...
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3.
Half as Many Entrants Play Green-Card Lottery
By Miriam Jordan
The Wall Street Journal, November 11, 2011
Only eight million people tried to win a green card in the latest U.S. diversity-visa lottery, the State Department said, compared with a record 15 million last year.
That figure could slide further in coming years, because the Senate recently passed a measure to charge a fee for entering the electronic draw, starting with next year's drawing.
A State Department spokeswoman attributed the drop in entries this year to the fact that Bangladeshis—for many years the most numerous applicants—weren't eligible to participate. The South Asian nation is no longer classified as a low-immigration country to the U.S.
The diversity-visa lottery is an immigration program that offers a quick path to permanent U.S. residence for 50,000 people each year who are selected randomly by the U.S. government from countries that send few immigrants to the U.S. Earlier this year, a computer glitch forced the government to redo the previous lottery, after 22,000 people were incorrectly notified that they had won.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020435800457703037032787467...
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4.
Arizona Upset Winner Calls for a Kinder, Gentler Tone on Immigration
Fox News Latino, November 10, 2011
On the heels of the historic recall of the architect of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, the fellow Republican who defeated him joined other Republicans Thursday to call for a kinder, gentler approach to addressing illegal immigration.
Arizona State Senator-elect Jerry Lewis, a political newcomer, said in a telephone press conference that undocumented immigrants should have a chance to live and work in the United States.
“We need to allow people who are here a pathway to square themselves with the law,” Lewis said in response to a question from Fox News Latino. “We need to consider the humane aspects, the aspects of keeping families together. . .guest worker programs that would lead the way” for those who qualify to legalize.
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http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2011/11/10/arizona-senator-ele...
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5.
SB 1070 legal fees have passed $2 mil
Most expenses paid with donations
By Ginger Rough
The Arizona Republic, November 11, 2011
The tab for defending the state against lawsuits stemming from Senate Bill 1070, Arizona's controversial immigration law, is now more than $2 million.
The Governor's Office on Thursday released the latest round of invoices from its outside legal counsel, Phoenix law firm Snell & Wilmer.
The office released the bills in response to a public-records request filed by the Republic.
The documents show legal fees totaling $486,657 for the period between December 2010 and September 2011.
Most of the expenses have been paid with donations into a legal defense fund established by Gov. Jan Brewer via executive order in May 2010.
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http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/11/10/20111...
