Detained Immigrants Dying for Lack of Health Care

She says attempts to form a harmonious multicultural society have failed

(NEWSER) - Talk about a downer of a speech: German Chancellor Angela Merkel recounted yesterday how, in the 1960s, "our country called the foreign workers to come to Germany and now they live in our country" ... but attempts to build "a multicultural [society] and to live side-by-side and to enjoy each other" have "failed, utterly failed." The remarks came during a gathering of Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union, the BBC reports. More»

Ellis Island white-washing a thing of the past

(NEWSER) - Our long-simmering great American Melting Pot may finally be ready to handle a little ethnic spice: Unlike in Ellis Island's heyday, when wave upon wave of tired, poor, huddled masses anglicized their names in order to assimilate, today's immigrants are sticking with their surnames. “For the most part, nobody changes to American names any more at all," one immigration lawyer tells the New York Times. More»

And he's punishing more businesses that hire them

(NEWSER) - Enemies may paint Barack Obama as soft on immigration, but his administration is actually deporting illegal immigrants in record numbers, according to the Washington Post . Immigration and Customs Enforcement estimates that it will deport 400,000 people this fiscal year, 10% more than George W. Bush sent packing in 2008 and 25% more than in 2007. It has also quadrupled the number of businesses audited on suspicion of hiring undocumented workers, doling out $6.4 million in fines. More»

Search warrants executed throughout Northeast

(NEWSER) - The FBI has raided a home in Watertown and a gas station in Brookline in connection with the attempted bombing in Times Square. Two people were taken into custody on immigration violations, the Boston Globe reports. An FBI spokeswoman says search warrants have been conducted at “several locations in the Northeast,” but emphasized that “there's no immediate threat to the public or active plot against the United States.” More»

Bush put US on path to banana republic status

(NEWSER) - The 2000s were dominated by George W. Bush and the new American oligarchy he represents, writes Juan Cole. He lists hit 10 lowest points of an awful decade:

• “The constitutional coup of 2000,” in which “ugly racial and other low tricks” and a “far right-wing Supreme Court” delivered the election to the worst president in history.