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November 2007
- Spitzer Dumps License Plan for Illegals
  
  New York Times | Nov 14, 07 9:29 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is giving up on the plan to offer driver's licenses to illegal immigrants that drew a firestorm of criticism. “I am not willing to fight to the bitter end on something that will not ultimately be implemented,” he told the New York Times . The proposal became a hot-button issue in presidential candidate forums and caused Spitzer's popularity to plunge. More »
October 2007
- Mexican Fence & More Guards Will Stop Illegals: Rudy
  
  Associated Press | Oct 25, 07 7:13 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Republican White House candidate Rudy Giuliani said that if he's elected president he would stem the flow of illegal immigrants into the country by building a high-tech fence along the Mexican border, boosting patrols 50% and stationing guards at 50-mile intervals. "You can stop them at the border," he told a town hall meeting in Iowa. More »
- Child Immigrant Amnesty Bill Dies in Senate
  
  Chicago Tribune | Oct 25, 07 2:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Senate couldn't muster needed votes to debate the "Dream Act," a measure that would have established a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants brought to the US as children. Criticized as just "another amnesty bill" by Senate Republicans, the measure had been included in the comprehensive immigration reform that failed to pass this summer. More »
- Martinez Quits Top RNC Post After 10 Months
  
  Washington Post | Oct 19, 07 6:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Mel Martinez has quit as RNC general chairman after only 10 months in the post. The US Senator from Florida, a Cuban refugee, publicly split with GOP hardliners over immigration reform. Martinez was also left to explain why the party’s presidential hopefuls were no-shows at a bilingual forum, the Washington Post reports. More »
- DNA Testing Immigrants Stirs Outrage
  
  New York Times | Oct 11, 07 7:54 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A proposal to test the DNA of prospective immigrants to France has provoked outrage and raised painful memories of Nazi collaboration. The tests would verify that would-be immigrants have blood relatives in France, but politicians and thinkers from across the political spectrum have rushed to condemn the initiative. “I am going to ask everyone to calm down," President Nicolas Sarkozy says. More »
- Judge Blocks Crackdown on Immigrant Workers
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 11, 07 4:12 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In a major blow to the Bush Administration, a federal judge has blocked a controversial program to find illegal immigrants in the workplace by tracking discrepancies in their Social Security data. A US district judge ruled the crackdown by the Department of Homeland Security would "subject employers to greater compliance costs and employees to an increased risk of termination," the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
- Rules Eased for Farm Workers
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 7, 07 6:43 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Faced with the prospect of crops rotting in the fields for want of hands to pick them, the Bush administration is quietly easing immigration regulations on farmworkers, the Los Angeles Times reports. Farmers have been caught between the recent crackdown on illegal aliens crossing the border from Mexico and the notoriously inefficient H-2A program, which lets farmers apply for temporary immigrant workers. More »
- SoCal Illegals Sent Packing in Massive Sweep
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 3, 07 9:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Feds have arrested more than 1,300 immigrants in Southern California over the last two weeks, in what Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is calling its biggest roundup ever. Ninety percent have criminal records or standing deportation orders, and 600 have already been deported, reports the LA Times . “Where these laws may not have been enforced in the past, that has changed,” said ICE. More »
September 2007
- Citizenship Test Gets Overhaul
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 28, 07 1:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The government yesterday unveiled its new citizenship test, which puts less emphasis on memorization of facts and more on analysis. To become naturalized, it's no longer enough for applicants to know how many stars or stripes are on the flag, but they may need to ID a constitutional amendment that addresses voting rights, the LA Times reports. More »
- Canada-US Border Insecure
  
  CNN | Sep 27, 07 7:01 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - It is easy to smuggle radioactive material across the border between Canada and the US, CNN reports. Investigators from the Government Accountability Office testified before Congress today that they were able to pass from one country to the other with a duffle bag containing what looked like radioactive components, and never saw a police or border-security officer. More »
- Homeland Security Sues Illinois Over Worker Plan
  
  Chicago Tribune | Sep 25, 07 8:03 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Homeland Security is suing Illinois for effectively protecting illegals from a new federal crackdown, the Chicago Tribune reports. A DHS plan has companies submit data on workers, but Illinois' governor says the Feds are too slow and no good: "The Internet-based program has a less than 50 percent accuracy rate and takes 10 days to get results," a spokesperson said. More »
- Schools Report Declining Enrollment
  
  Christian Science Monitor | Sep 24, 07 6:26 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Student enrollment is down at schools across Arizona, California and Texas—especially at those with high Hispanic populations. Why? Some cite the sudden dearth of construction jobs as the housing boom has petered out. But anecdotal evidence points to immigration crackdowns, and school districts are feeling the effects: Mesa, AZ, for instance, is looking at $5.6 million less funding this year because of dwindling attendance. More »
- Congress Tiptoes Back to Immigrant Issues
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 17, 07 4:22 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Congress is stealing back into the immigration debate. After failing to pass broad reforms three months ago, lawmakers are focusing on less ambitious initiatives. Democrat proposals would give legal status to young immigrants and visas to farmhands, while Republicans favor guest worker programs and blocking illegals from federal aid. But these quieter moves will likely still draw loud reactions, says the Los Angeles Times . More »
August 2007
- US Visa Logjam Triggers Reverse Brain Drain
  
  AFP | Aug 23, 07 7:31 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Just as the US tightens immigration controls, a huge backlog in processing visas for legal migrants is causing a "reverse brain drain," forcing sought-after scientists, engineers, doctors and entrepreneurs to return to their home countries, according to a report released yesterday. One million would-be immigrants are competing for only 120,000 permanent visas issued each year, reports AFP. More »
- Immigrant Activist Deported
  
  Associated Press | Aug 20, 07 2:57 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - An illegal immigrant who held a vigil of sorts in a Chicago church for almost a year to publicize the plight of of divided families has been deported back to Mexico. Elvira Arellano, who left the sanctuary of the church last week to push for immigration reform, had just spoken at a Los Angeles rally yesterday when authorities seized her. More »
- Tribes Sell Memberships to Illegal Immigrants
  
  Associated Press | Aug 18, 07 7:09 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two unofficial Indian tribes have sold thousands of memberships to illegal immigrants with the promise that the paperwork will make them legal. Some buyers have reported paying as much as $1,200 for the memberships, which federal officials warn don't offer any protection from deportation. "You can't just decide to become a member and legalize your status," said an immigration spokeswoman. More »
- Rudy and Romney Spar Over Illegal Immigration
  
  Washington Post | Aug 17, 07 4:31 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - GOP frontrunners Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney are trading heated barbs over immigration, each accusing the other of a weak stance on illegals. Through radio ads and campaign speeches, both candidates are looking to rally the conservative GOP base, the Washington Post reports—though neither man has solid conservative credentials on the issue. More »
- Giuliani Guarantees He Can Halt Illegal Immigration
  
  Associated Press | Aug 15, 07 9:39 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Rudy Giuliani says he can stop illegal immigration by monitoring international travelers, implementing tamperproof ID cards with fingerprints, and tracking the status of foreign workers and students. Under fire from Mitt Romney for his record on illegal immigration while mayor of New York, Giuliani has recently cranked up his rhetoric, reports the AP. More »
- Bush Vows to Hunt Down Illegals
  
  Christian Science Monitor | Aug 14, 07 8:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Bush is vowing to enforce old immigration laws after all, now that comprehensive reform has croaked on the Senate floor. He promises to crack down on workers who don't have valid Social Security numbers in particular, but bosses parry that there can be good reasons for numerical snafus with the agency – and huge headaches trying to unwrap its red tape. More »
- Church Massacre Stuns Missouri Immigrants
  
  Associated Press | Aug 14, 07 8:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Micronesian community in a small Missouri town is struggling to come to grips with a brutal crime by one of its own. Eiken Elam Saimon ran into a Micronesian church service and opened fire, killing three and wounding five. About 300 Pacific Islanders live in the town of Neosho, where they migrated beginning in the 1990s. More »