Illegal Immigration Spurs Identity Theft

105 busted in sweep

(NEWSER) - The Internal Revenue Service is cracking down on fraudsters as tax return seasons begins. The agency has stepped up efforts to prevent identity theft, and caught 260,000 bad returns last year, up from 50,000 in 2010, and prevented a total of $1.4 billion in bad refunds being sent out, Reuters reports. New screening measures have been put in place and hundreds of check-cashing operations are being audited. More»

Justices set for controversial year

(NEWSER) - The Supreme Court has added another high-profile case to its slate: Justices will examine the Arizona immigration law that has sparked nationwide controversy, the AP reports. They'll rule on a US appeals court decision that barred portions of the law, including a measure requiring police investigating other matters to check a person's immigration status if they suspect he or she is an illegal immigrant. More»

Election centered on the immigration law he championed

(NEWSER) - An underfunded upstart challenger appears to have knocked out Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce, in a historic recall election seen mainly as a referendum on the harsh immigration law Pearce championed. While the results aren’t yet official, with all districts reporting, challenger Jerry Lewis was up 52.4% to 45.4%, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Pearce seemed to expect defeat. “If being recalled is the price for keeping one’s promises, so be it,” he told the Arizona Republic . More»

She criticizes president and other foes of Arizona's immigration law

(NEWSER) - After Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer met with President Obama in the heat of last year's fight over the state's immigration law, she told reporters it was "cordial." She has a much different take in a book coming out next month, according to the Arizona Republic and AP :

• The meeting: "We sat down and started with some chitchat," she writes. "But after a few minutes, the president's tone got serious—and condescending." She also complains that Obama "lectured" her on SB 1070 that day and faults him for publicly mocking the law later.

Only New Mexico's shows up to meet Mexican counterparts

(NEWSER) - The governors of border states in the US and Mexico have been holding a conference to discuss cross-border issues every year for 30 years, but the tradition appears to be withering, the AP finds. New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez was the only one of the four US border state governors to make an appearance this year. Arizona's Jan Brewer and California's Jerry Brown cited pressing issues to deal with in their states, while Rick Perry is away from Texas and on the campaign trail. More»