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The end of The Border Line
Dear readers,
I regret to inform you that this blog will no longer be updated because of the impending closure of the Cox Newspapers Washington Bureau. It has been a fun ride and I want to thank everyone who posted comments and participated.
Sincerely,
Eunice Moscoso
National Correspondent, Blogger
Cox Newspapers
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White House staff talks economic crisis, immigration with Latino groups
The Obama White House hosted more than 60 Latino leaders this week to discuss a host of issues.
Topics included the impact of the economic crisis on Latino families, concern about high school drop out rates among Latinos, and the need to fix the nation’s broken immigration system, the White House said.
“We were delighted to be invited to the first White House briefing for Latino organizations with high level Obama appointees,” said Rosa Rosales, national president of the League of United Latin American Citizens. “We look forward to continuing to work with the administration and we were impressed with their understanding of our concerns impacting the Hispanic community.”
Other groups included the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, and the National Association of Latino Elected & Appointed Officials.
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Study: Immigrants hurt hard by recession
The current recession is having an especially severe impact on job prospects for Hispanic immigrants, according to a new study.
The study, by the non-partisan Pew Hispanic Center, said that Hispanic immigrants are experiencing higher increases in unemployment than other groups.
The study analyzed Census data, which does not specify whether the workers are legal or illegal immigrants.
Read more here.
Read the full report here.
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Napolitano hires special advisor for detention and removal
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced this week that she created a new position — special advisor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Detention and Removal.
The new advisor willl focus on the “significant growth in immigration detention over the last five years,” according to a press release.
Napolitano picked Dora Schriro for the job. Schriro is the director of the Arizona Department of Corrections.
“Dora is one of America’s leading minds on modern, effective prison management,” said Napolitano. “In Arizona, she visited every correctional facility in the state and conducted a top-to-bottom review of their operations, tackling and reducing both overcrowding and recidivism. Her proven leadership and skills will serve not only this department, but also the individuals we need to house as we enforce our nation’s immigration laws.”
The release also said that Schriro is “one of the foremost experts on correctional policies in the country, receiving prestigious awards from both Harvard University and the National Governors Association for her immensely successful recidivism reduction policies.”
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Latino groups to Napolitano: Stop immigration raids
A coalition of Latino groups sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano this week urging her to stop workplace immigration raids.
“The fear of raids in and around schools, neighborhoods and workplaces among immigrants — unauthorized and authorized — keeps our children and families from attending schools, obtaining needed services for which they are eligible and pay taxes and even contacting local police when they or their loved ones are in danger,” the letter said.
It also said that the raids “have destroyed families and spread terror.”
The Bush administration conducted a string of large immigration raids at workplaces over the past few years. The photo on the right shows a raid in Postville, Iowa.
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Special visas for crime victims
The LA Times reports on a little-known visa category that awards temporary status to illegal immigrants who are victims of a crime and cooperate with police.
The U-visa was created in 2000. So far, 65 have been issued, the story says. In addition, the government has given temporary benefits to 10,800 applicants while they wait for a final decision.
Read more here.
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Michelle Obama’s dresses sending a “multicultural” message?
First Lady Michelle Obama picked two foreign-born designers for her inauguration dresses.
According to a fashion article in The Wall Street Journal, the designers “embodied multiculturalism” and “the universal immigrant’s success story.”
“Their frocks, as a result, were much more than just pieces of silk and crystals stitched together. They provided a powerful visual symbol of the struggles and triumphs that Barack Obama has spoken of in his sweeping speeches about this country,” the story said.
Read it here.
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Obama White House site vows to “bring people out of the shadows”
The immigration plan includes bringing people “out of the shadows” by supporting “a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens.”
It also includes protecting “the integrity of our borders” by supporting “additional personnel, infrastructure and technology on the border and at our ports of entry.”
Read more of the plan here.
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Lawmakers rejoice at border agents’ commutation
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill rejoiced after former President Bush commuted the sentences of two Border Patrol agents who are serving long prison sentences. Bush took the action on his last full day in office.
The agents — Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos — were serving 12 and 11 years, respectively for shooting a Mexican drug runner and trying to cover it up.
Supporters say that the agents were wrongly convicted for protecting the United States against a criminal illegal immigrant. The case has been a cause celebre among conservative radio talk show hosts across the country.
Under the commutation, the prison sentence for Compean and Ramos will end on March 20.
Lawmakers from both parties lobbied heavily for Bush to commute the sentences.
Here is a sample of Capitol Hill reaction:
Sen. John Cornyn of Texas: “I am extremely pleased the president answered my plea, and that of like-minded colleagues and millions of Texans and Americans, in commuting the sentences of Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean. These individuals have already paid the consequences of their actions and beyond. Having been convicted of charges now second-guessed by even the presiding prosecutor, this case cried out for a commutation and the president has now acted to right the wrongs of their excessive and unjust sentences.”
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California: “Our prayers have been answered! This is not just a day of celebration for the families but it is a victory for all Americans, while acknowledging our system is flawed, to see that if they are involved, if they speak up and utilize their freedom, injustices can be corrected. The hearts of all patriotic Americans are filled with joy at the announcement that our brave border defenders, Ramos and Compean, will be freed from unjust captivity. “
Read more about the commutation here.
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Time running out for Bush to pardon Border Patrol agents
With few days remaining in his presidency, lawmakers are urging President Bush to pardon or commute the sentences of two former Border Patrol agents serving time in federal prison.
The agents — Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos — are serving 12 and 11 years, respectively for shooting a Mexican drug runner and trying to cover it up.
Supporters say that the agents were wrongly convicted for protecting the United States against a criminal illegal immigrant.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican who has taken up the cause in the House, held a press conference this week to urge the prosecutor in the case — U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton of the Western District of Texas — to support commutation.
Rohrabacher said: “Mr. Sutton, we are asking you to look into your heart as a prosecutor and advise the President to commute the sentences of Ramos and Compean so they will not spend the next ten years in solitary confinement.”
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on Thursday also said that the President should commute the sentences.
Cornyn and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California sent a letter to President Bush last year asking for a commutation of the sentence. The letter followed a Senate hearing which examined the case.
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Study: illegal immigrants not likely to go home
A study released this week says that “a substancial return” of illegal immigrants is unlikely despite the nation’s economic crisis.
“Substantial return migration of unauthorized immigrants is unlikely unless there’s a protracted and severe worsening of the U.S. economy,” said Demetrios Papademetriou, president of the Migration Policy Institute.
The non-partisan group also found that return migration appears to correlate more closely with economic, political and social developments in the immigrants’ countries of origin than with economic conditions in the United States.
Read the study here.
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Chertoff: military prepared to fight Mexican drug gangs
In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that federal SWAT teams and military units are prepared to respond to Mexican drug gangs in the event they cross the border.
The story also quotes another anonymous “department official” who said that the forces “stand ready to manage any surge to the border by Mexicans panicked by the cartels’ violence.”
Read the story here.
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