JAY LENO ON THE HAITIAN REFUGEE QUESTION...

"President Bush said today, until we can work out a peaceful solution, he wants the Haitian people to stay in their own country. Unless of course they can throw a fastball, a curveball, a slider. Then come on, come on over, no problem."

"ILLEGAL ALIENS" A RACIAL SLUR, SAYS GEORGIA LATINO OFFICIAL...LIKENED TO USE OF "N" WORD...

Calling a person who's in the U.S. illegally an illegal alien is "the moral equivalent of a racial slur," according to the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO). The Executive Director Kerry Gonzales said the term, used in legal documents to refer to those who have broken our immigration laws was "very offensive and likened it to the 'n' word as well," referring to the derogatory term used to describe black people. He urged Georgia lawmaker to instead use the word "undocumented workers." [FAIR Note: The term "undocumented worker" not only candy-coats the fact that U.S. laws have been broken, but altogether misrepresents the person who broke them. The aliens are often not "undocumented" because they carry fake or fraudulent ids, and are often not "workers," since some are incarcerated or not seeking employment]

HOW MEXICO ENCOURAGES ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Writer John Dougherty explains how Mexico could help its citizens, but instead pushes them to the United States, in a Newsmax.com article. "On the surface, Mexico is indeed laden with extreme poverty. A great many of its citizens live in squalor, and the infrastructure to provide for the population does not exist on the scale it exists in America," he writes. "One of the most common misconceptions is that Mexico is a poor nation. Mexico has a lot of poverty, yes, but it's not "poor." In terms of the potential to obliterate much of that poverty, Mexico has one of the greatest capacities in all of the Americas to do just that. It is rich in natural resources and, should it decide to tap those resources, could eradicate much of its own destitution."

CHELSEA POLICE REJECT CONSULAR ID CARDS, OTHER COMMUNITIES MAY FOLLOW SUIT...

"The Mexican government's efforts to expand acceptance of its foreign residence identification program has run aground in Chelsea," the Boston Globe reports. "After a six-month trial, the Chelsea Police Department has decided to rescind its acceptance of the ''matricula consular" after the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned the cards were unreliable in verifying nationality." Other communities are now rethinking their previous decisions to accept the controversial card as valid. ''We do not mean to offend our neighbors to the south and we have nothing against the consul officials in Boston," said Chelsea Police Chief Frank Garvin. ''But until the Mexican government addresses the process it uses for issuing these cards, they are meaningless to us."

LACEY, WASH. REJECTS CONSULAR ID CARDS

"The [Lacey] City Council decided Thursday against recognizing cards issued by the Mexican government as valid identification," The Olympian reports. "Such recognition is outside the scope of local government, members said. Instead, the city will petition the state and federal governments to decide the matter. But a bill authorizing statewide recognition is set to die in the Legislature today. House Bill 3029 passed the House, but wasn't scheduled to pass out of the Senate Judiciary Committee by today's deadline."

THE HAITIAN EXODUS BEGINS....

"More than 500 Haitian refugees are being held aboard Coast Guard cutters at sea as the U.S. government girds for a new wave of refugees seeking to cross 600 miles of ocean from the strife-torn nation to America," according to a front page story in the Washington Times. "More than 70,000 Haitians were intercepted at sea" after a military coup in 1991. The Administration is being heavily criticized and lobbied by the Congressional Black Caucus and Democrats for failing to "intervene more directly." "It seems ludicrous that we would look at an island ... off of our coast with a newly elected president, elected through a democratic process, and not give them relief and refuge," commented Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX). The Bush Administration however, has continued to stand by its policy "to turn back any Haitians trying to reach U.S. shores," arguing that instead the U.S. would urge the international community to establish a "security presence" on the island.

ILLINOIS SENATE HOPEFUL TARGETS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Jim Oberweis, who is seeking the Republican nomination to run for the U.S. Senate, has made illegal immigration a central issue of his campaign for the Illinois seat. Oberweis is publicly challenging President Bush’s immigration proposal, arguing that mass illegal immigration is harming American workers. His focus on illegal immigration has predictably drawn criticism from immigrants’ rights groups in the state.

KERRY, EDWARDS PROMISE MORE IMMIGRATION

As they campaign in California, which holds its primary next Tuesday, the two leading Democratic candidates are both promising more immigration, more benefits for immigrants and amnesty for illegal aliens. Senators John Kerry and John Edwards and their surrogates see more open immigration as a way to appeal to the state’s large immigrant voting bloc.

However, leading Hispanic advocacy organizations contend that candidates will have to do more than promise more immigration to win that community’s vote in November. The National Council of La Raza reports that improved education, access to health care and other bread and butter issues are what concern most Latinos.

U.S. UNPREPARED FOR POTENTIAL HAITI CRISIS, SAYS SENATOR

Florida Senator Bob Graham warns that the U.S. is unprepared for the potential fallout from the emerging crisis in Haiti. The growing violence in that Caribbean nation could spark a flood of refugees heading to Florida and to other neighbors, potentially destabilizing governments other governments in the region. The White House has warned that Haitian migrants would be returned to Haiti.

COURT: VIRGINIA MAY DENY COLLEGE ADMISSION TO ILLEGAL ALIENS

"A federal judge in Alexandria ruled yesterday that Virginia's colleges and universities may deny admission to illegal immigrants -- a ruling that experts said was the first of its kind in the nation," the Washington Post reports. "The decision by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III came in a lawsuit filed against seven Virginia schools accused of violating the rights of the immigrants by refusing them entry."

DUNCAN DEFENDS PRO-ILLEGAL ALIEN STANCE

"In a press release issued this week, Dan Stein, the [FAIR's] executive director, accused Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan of 'espousing a policy regarding illegal immigrants that is both legally questionable and intellectually dishonest," the Washington Post reports. "The Duncan Doctrine is simply a reflection of 'The New Colossus,' the poem which is engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty," a Duncan spokesman said.

BUSH TELLS HAITIANS TO STAY HOME

"President Bush yesterday vowed to turn back any Haitian refugees trying to reach American shores, but pledged that the United States will encourage the international community to provide a 'security presence' in the rebel-torn nation as part of a political settlement," the Washington Times reports. "I have made it abundantly clear to the Coast Guard that we will turn back any refugee that attempts to reach our shore," Bush said.

FAIR REPORT: MASS IMMIGRATION FUELING AMERICA'S HEALTHCARE PROBLEMS

"Immigration policy is a key factor in a growing increase in the uninsured and the fiscal crises burdening public health care systems nationwide," according to a report released by FAIR today. The report notes that "one out of every four uninsured people in the United States is an immigrant," with nearly "half of immigrants either having no insurance or have it provided to them at the taxpayers' expense." This trend will be exacerbated if current proposals to enact a massive amnesty for illegal aliens and a foreign guestworker program, which are supported by both parties, are enacted. "At a time when we are already struggling to provide affordable care to millions of uninsured residents, President Bush's immigration proposal would bring in hundreds of thousands more uninsured and officially sanction a massive illegal population already here and already draining health care funds from struggling communities," said FAIR Executive Director Dan Stein.

Related: Washington Times coverage of FAIR's Report

FAIR Press Release 2/26

Immigration Policies Fueling Rise in Health Care Costs, Study Finds

BUSINESS, CONSERVATIVES AT ODDS OVER ARIZONA IMMIGRATION PLAN

"Things are getting nasty between the business lobby and conservatives as they quarrel over immigration issues, including a state measure aimed at punishing employers who hire illegal aliens," the Phoenix Business Journal reports. "A bill at the Arizona Legislature would allow the state to suspend or revoke operating licenses, permits and charters of businesses that hire illegal immigrants and have been sanctioned by the federal government."

SLAVERY IN U.S.: "ALIVE AND WELL..."

"Modern-day slavery is alive and well in Florida," and in other states as immigrants are brought into the U.S. by the thousands by human traffickers and "forced to work as prostitutes, farmworkers and maids across the state," the head of a human-rights center said Tuesday. "All you have to do is look where cheap labor is required and where there is a potential for labor exploitation, which is pretty much anywhere in the state," said the research project's director.

BUYING IN TO THE AMERICAN DREAM, SI OR NO?

The debate over whether the United States is successfully assimilating millions of Mexican and Latin American immigrants is played out on the pages of Foreign Policy magazine and the New York Times. Samuel Huntington, whose new book “Who We Are,” is excerpted in the current issue of Foreign Policy, writes that, “Mexican immigration differs from past immigration and most other contemporary immigration due to a combination of six factors: contiguity, scale, illegality, regional concentration, persistence, and historical presence.” All of these factors, he argues, point to trouble on the horizon. David Brooks, a columnist for the Times, argues that Latinos are assimilating in much the same patterns as previous waves and that cutting off immigration we “can kiss goodbye the new energy, new tastes and new strivers who want to lunge into the future.”

DRIVER'S LICENSE RALLY BRINGS HOME REPUBLICAN OPPOSITION TO CA PLAN

Delegates to the California Republican State convention received an unambiguous message from activists upset over plans to give illegal aliens driver's licenses. See the photos of the rally.

Dan Stein on CNN debates allowing immigrants to be President

FAIR's Dan Stein appeared yesterday on CNN with Paula Zahn to debate the topic of allowing immigrants to become President. This Sunday California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested that immigrants should be allowed to become President, fueling speculation that he would consider running in the future. Watch the clip in Real Video (RealPlayer 9 required).

FAIR Press Release 2/24

Montgomery County Executive Encourages Illegal Immigration, Charges FAIR

CONGRESS SKEPTICAL OF BCIS FEE HIKES

"Some members of Congress question why the Bush administration wants to increase fees paid by immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship or other benefits before addressing the growing backlog of applications," the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports. "The House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on immigration, border security and claims planned a hearing Wednesday to discuss immigration funding proposed by President Bush in his 2005 budget. Lawmakers were expected to ask about the applications backlog and fee increase proposals."

BRITIAN LIMITS IMMIGRANT WORKERS

"Britain on Monday joined a broad front of nations troubled by fears of unchecked immigration across the former Iron Curtain, announcing new controls on workers from Central Europe whose countries will become members of the European Union on May 1," the New York Times reports. "The British moves mean that, apart from Ireland, most European Union members have now introduced some restrictions on workers from those countries - a marked reversal of the vaunted openness to outsiders once displayed by such European nations as Sweden and the Netherlands."

HIGH COURT TO HEAR IMMIGRATION CASES

"The Supreme Court said Monday that it would decide if the government can send immigrants back to countries that have not agreed to accept them, something their advocates contend threatens their safety," the AP reports. "The high court is already looking at a related subject, whether illegal foreigners with no country to accept them can be detained indefinitely. That case involves imprisonment. The new appeal deals with the actual deportation."

NEW JOBS GOING TO IMMIGRANT WORKERS...

The Pew Hispanic Center released a revealing report about unemployment for Hispanics in the U.S. that suggests immigrants are capturing a majority of new jobs created. "Immigrant males, especially the most recently arrived, showed the greatest increase in employment over the last six months of 2003, and the construction industry accounted for over half of the total Latino job gains," the Washington Post reports. "Overall, there were 17.7 million employed Hispanics at the end of 2003, up 659,000 from end of 2002. By comparison, the number of employed non-Hispanics was much larger - 121 million - but that number grew by just 371,000 during the same period. That trend suggests Latinos took a disproportionate share of new job opportunities last year, [the report's author] said."

ARAB IMMIGRATION TO U.S. SLOWS

About 15,000 immigration visas were issued to people from the Arab world, down from about 21,000 the previous year, claims the Arab American Institute. The after effects of September 11, a slowdown in the U.S. economy, and the implementation of a registration process for nationals of most Arab and Islamic nations are cited as reasons for the decline. The Arab population of the U.S. has doubled over the past two decades.

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO ECONOMIST CALLS BUSH PROPOSAL DECEPTIVE

University of Colorado Economics Professor Jeffrey Zax calls President Bush’s argument that guest workers are needed to fill jobs that Americans allegedly reject, “incomplete to the point of deception.” Rather it is poor wages and working conditions that Americans reject, writes Zax. Without the massive influx of immigrant workers, “Employers would just have to compete for domestic workers. They would offer better wages and conditions for the jobs that were most important to them, and abolish those that were least important. This would be good for low-skilled domestic workers,” says Zax.

WASHINGTON POST CALL FOR INCREASED H-1B QUOTA

Citing the fact that the ceiling for foreign high tech guest workers has been met just five months into the fiscal year, a Washington Post editorial calls for expanding the H-1B quota. Though the news and business sections of the Post, among many other news media outlets, has reported that companies often use H-1B workers in preference to Americans, the editorial writers contend that, “It isn’t possible to argue that the holders of these visas bring down American wages.” Citing the fact that many H-1B workers are graduates of American universities, the paper urges the retention of this “homegrown talent.” The editors acknowledge that an increase in the H-1B quota is unlikely in an election year, citing the political volatility of immigration in general.

MASS IMMIGRATION NOT ESSENTIAL TO WESTERN ECONOMIES, SAYS COLUMNIST

Economics columnist Jonathan Power writes that mass immigration “has enabled Western industrial societies to put on hold problems it should have been forced to confront earlier.” While immigration has served the short-term interests of some industries and kept wages from rising, it has harmed many workers, contends Power. Dismissing the often cited contention that immigration is needed to offset aging populations, particularly in Europe and East Asia, Power argues that, “It actually doesn’t matter if the U.S. population is growing faster and is younger.” The problem, he contends, is the inefficient use of older workers in an age when people are living healthier and longer, and have the ability to be productive workers for many years after they retire.

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS RALLY AGAINST BUSH IMMIGRATION PROPOSAL

“Immigration was the issue of passion” at Saturday’s California Republican convention, reports the Los Angeles Times. Party loyalist almost uniformly opposed President Bush’s proposed immigration plan, which includes legal guest worker status for millions of current illegal aliens and the admission of unlimited numbers of new guest workers. California Republicans also expressed their displeasure with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is negotiating a compromise bill that would allow illegal aliens to obtain California driver’s licenses. The Republican president was booed by convention goers who shouted, “Enough is enough!” in response to Bush’s immigration plan. Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo was one of the featured speakers at the convention, calling the President’s plan, “lousy, lousy policy.” Party leaders also served notice that legislators who back driver’s licenses for illegal aliens could meet the same fate as deposed Gov. Gray Davis.

2 ARRESTED FOR RUNNING DOCUMENT FRAUD RING IN VA.

"Federal and state authorities yesterday arrested two Northern Virginia men and charged them with running a large document fraud ring that sold fake Social Security and green cards to illegal immigrants," the Washington Post reports. " Federal law enforcement officials described the document fraud ring -- in which the men allegedly produced hundreds of counterfeit Social Security cards, green cards and work permits at three apartments in Falls Church and Arlington -- as one of Northern Virginia's largest in recent years."

NEW DEPORTATION PLAN BRINGS ILLEGAL ALIENS TO HOMETOWNS

"The Bush administration won Mexico's tentative backing Friday for a plan in which migrants caught illegally entering the United States would be flown back to their home regions in Mexico rather than dropped off at the border," the Washington Post reported. " The two governments were at odds, however, over the most sensitive detail of the plan -- whether any deportee could be obliged to board the repatriation flights. U.S. officials said mandatory flights might be best to discourage repeat attempts to sneak across the border, disrupt smuggling rings, and reduce the number of migrant deaths in the Arizona desert."

BUSH IMMIGRATION PLAN DRAWS IRE OF SOME REPUBLICANS

"Amid the crowded field of Republicans vying for a seat in the Senate here, Jim Oberweis seems a most unlikely insurgent. He is a wealthy supporter of President Bush who favors pinstriped suits, tax cuts and a constitutional amendment blocking same-sex marriage," the New York Times reports. "But in recent weeks, Mr. Oberweis, a plainspoken dairy owner, has become a leader in a widening conservative revolt against the president's sweeping plan to grant temporary legal status to millions of illegal immigrants."

U.S. WORKERS BEING DISPLACED BY IMMIGRANTS

"If you scrutinize the U.S. labor market numbers from the last two years of economic recovery, you're left with what seems to be a paradox. Since the recession's low point, in November 2001, the number of employed people 16 and older has risen, but the number of jobs on the formal payrolls of employers remains below recessionary levels," write researchers Andrew Sum and Paul Harrington. "The numbers suggest that native-born workers -- particularly teenagers and young adults without college degrees -- are being displaced by new immigrants. Indeed, last year the employment rate for teens reached a record low, down 9 percentage points since 2000. These are the very people who might benefit from the unskilled jobs now going to foreign workers."

FEDS AND STATES LOWER THE BAR FOR IMMIGRANT KIDS

With President Bush’s "No Child Left Behind" policy under fire from critics, federal and some state education officials have decided to define away many failing schools by exempting immigrant children from certain mandatory testing. Many immigrant students will be exempted from English testing and their math scores need not be reported if they are likely to result in a school being found deficient. In addition, schools with large subgroups of non-English-speaking students will be able to reclassify some students who have already been mainstreamed as limited English proficient, in order to boost the overall performance of their foreign-born student populations.

SENATE CANDIDATE PLANS REMITTANCE REFORM

"Illegal immigrants would be barred from transferring money to foreign countries under a proposal being floated by Howard Kaloogian, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate," the LA Times reports. "Kaloogian said that, if elected, he would introduce legislation requiring people to show valid identification, such as a Social Security number and a driver's license, before sending money from the United States to another country."

FLORIDA SENATORS WANT ACTION ON HAITI, FEAR REFUGEE FLOOD

"Florida's two Democratic senators said Wednesday that the Bush administration was resisting their appeals to take stronger action to avert an exodus of refugees from Haiti, who they fear could end up on the shores of their state," the New York Times reports. "The senators, Bob Graham and Bill Nelson, say they have warned administration officials several times in recent days of the potential for a flood of Haitians trying to flee an intensifying two-week rebellion, as has happened during past conflicts in the Caribbean country."

RIDGE ASKS MEXICO TO SECURE BORDER

"Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge asked Mexico on Thursday to step up patrols and other security measures south of the U.S. border, saying it would help both countries defeat terrorism as well as human and drug smuggling networks," the AP reports. "U.S. officials were looking for ways to make sure new security requirements wouldn't hold up border crossings, Ridge said. The program, which requires all foreigners to be fingerprinted and photographed upon entry to the United States, is being used at airports and seaports. It is scheduled to be expanded to border crossings later this year."

BUSH AMNESTY: IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME…

“The number of illegal aliens caught crossing into the United States increased dramatically just days after President Bush proposed a guest-worker program that would give legal status to millions of illegal immigrants now in this country,” according to the national Border Patrol Union. The front page, Washington Times story reveals that since the President’s announcement, apprehensions of illegal aliens in the San Diego sector, one of the busiest crossing points for illegal aliens, have tripled. Most of those arrested “had no history of immigration violations,” underscoring the speculation by law enforcement authorities that the Bush Amnesty proposal would “lead to increased illegal immigration.”

BORDER FENCE PLAN REJECTED

"California regulators denied a Department of Homeland Security request to fortify the westernmost stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border, setting the stage for a possible legal battle between the state and the Bush administration," CNN reports. "The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday found that the harm the project would cause to sensitive habitats outweighed security benefits provided by filling in canyons and erecting additional fences along the final 3.5 miles of the border before it meets the ocean."

RIDGE TO DISCUSS BORDER WITH FOX

"Border security, not immigration, is expected to monopolize a series of meetings that begin today among top Homeland Security Department officials and their Mexican counterparts in Mexico City," the Arizona Republic reports. "The two-day talks will include a private breakfast meeting between Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Mexican President Vicente Fox on Friday morning."

CRACKDOWN ON ABSCONDERS WORKS!...

The New York Times laments the detention and deportation of illegal aliens who have been stopped while trying to enter the U.S. because they are among the 400,000 absconders (those who are ordered deported but fail to leave) currently here. "The crackdown, called the Alien Absconder Apprehension Initiative, was intended to improve the immigration agency's track record of deporting only 13 percent of those who were not detained when they were ordered removed. But immigration lawyers say it is leaving little room for even common-sense corrections of bureaucratic errors." The story focuses mainly on those who claim the new system is a hardship to them and their families, while failing to mention that the entry-exit screening system has stopped thousands of criminal aliens and absconders from re-entering the U.S.

MORE SMUGGLED IMMIGRANTS FOUND AT PHOENIX DROP HOUSES

"At least 100 illegal immigrants who had been smuggled into the country from Mexico were found in two so-called drop houses in Phoenix," the AP reports. "The discovery Tuesday came after the 186 men and women were found at two other Phoenix houses within the past week, said Russell Ahr, a spokesman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

ILLEGAL ALIEN ADVOCATES DECRY MD BILLS

"Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) and other local officials came to Annapolis yesterday to protest nine bills they consider anti-immigrant, including one that would outlaw Montgomery's acceptance of consular identification cards from Mexico and Guatemala as proof of identity," the Washington Post reports. "The consular ID 'is becoming a shield that hides criminal activity for two reasons,' [one of the Senators supporting the bill said.] 'First, the holder's identity was not verified when the card was issued, and second, police in jurisdictions that accept the matricula are less likely to run background checks on card holders picked up for minor infractions.'" Opponents of the bills said taken together, they would create and atmosphere of intolerance. "These bills are mean-spirited and misguided," commented Montgomery Country Executive Doug Duncan (D).

SIERRA CLUB ELECTION TURNS ON IMMIGRATION ISSUE

"A fierce battle is brewing over the future of the Sierra Club, and an unlikely issue is at the center of the debate: immigration," writes the AP. "A growing faction in the nation's most influential environmental group has urged a stronger stance against immigration, calling the growing U.S. population and its consumption of natural resources the biggest threat to the environment."

FEWER IMMIGRANTS SETTLING IN CALIF.

"California's share of the nation's new arrivals dropped sharply between 1990 and 2000, snapping a long-standing trend as immigrants looked elsewhere in the country for jobs and housing, University of Southern California researchers said Tuesday," according to the AP. "California, which attracted 38 percent of new immigrants in the 1990 census, saw that proportion tumble to about 25 percent in the 2000 population index. In that time, 34 states lured a larger share of immigrants, with Texas, Georgia and North Carolina recording the largest gains, researchers said."

H-1B CAP REACHED

"The federal government won't accept any more applications for a popular visa program that provides skilled foreign labor to U.S. companies, the office of Citizenship and Immigration Services said Tuesday," the AP reported. "The H1-B visa program is controversial. Critics, including unions say it allows businesses to fill jobs with cheap foreign labor rather than hiring Americans at higher wages. The high-tech industry and other businesses that use the program to fill jobs say they can't find enough qualified Americans to do the kind of work they need."

VIRGINIA SENATE OVERWHELMINGLY PASSES BILL CLOSING LOOPHOLES ON ILLEGAL ALIEN BENEFITS

In a lopsided, veto-proof vote, the Virginia Senate passed SB521, a bill that requires most people claiming Virginia residence to prove that they are lawfully in the U.S. This comes on the heels of a major victory last year to deny a Virginia drivers license to illegal aliens. Activist groups across the state, who have been pushing measure like this since 9/11, expressed their gratitude for the expertise and advice offered by FAIR during this important fight. "Our Coalition is extremely grateful for the enormous contribution that Fair has made in getting SB 521 through the first phase of legislative process," noted Bob Shoemaker. SB 521 is a model, state-based initiative to prevent illegal alien misuse of government services and outlaws the acceptance of the controversial consular matricula cards while safeguarding the rights of legal immigrants and citizens.

U.S. WORKERS TO GET BREAK AS H-1B TOTAL NEARS YEARLY CAP

"Immigration attorneys predict the cap on H-1Bs - set at 65,000 this year, down from 195,000 in 2003 - could be reached within the next few weeks. U.S. immigration authorities had approved 43,000 of the visas as of the end of December. Once the ceiling is reached, no new visas will be given out until Oct. 1, the start of the next fiscal year," the LA Times reports. "Critics argue that firms are using the program to replace U.S. citizens with lower-cost foreign workers. Pete Bennett, who launched the website http://www.nomoreh1b.com, said he didn't oppose bringing in foreign workers with special talents when there was a genuine shortage. But, he said, the program is being abused. He pointed to the thousands of attorneys, accountants and teachers brought into the United States each year under the program."

DISPUTE OVER MAGNET EFFECT OF BUSH PLAN

"Border Patrol union officials say President Bush's plan to allow guest workers in the United States is fanning a massive demand among Mexicans to cross the border," the LA Times reports. "But at migrant camps and shelters in this border metropolis, shelter directors, taxi drivers and immigrants themselves say the president's plan has encouraged few who were not already planning to immigrate."

MEXICANS FROM LAST GUESTWORKER PROGRAM STILL SEEKING COMPENSATION....

"Mexican migrants who worked in the United States 50 years ago met with Mexico's interior secretary this week, intensifying claims for millions of dollars in missing retirement funds," the AP reports. "Claims by the workers have gained momentum since President Bush proposed similar savings accounts as part of a temporary work program for new migrants. The money for the old program disappeared somewhere between banks in the United States and Mexico."

SMUGGLER SAFE HOUSES GO UPSCALE

"Smuggling 'drophouses' like one found holding 159 immigrants this week are now more common in upscale and newer neighborhoods in Phoenix, which has become a hub for illegal immigration, an immigration official said Friday," according to the AP. "Smugglers once kept to low-income areas to find drophouses used to hold immigrants once they're brought across the border, said Russell L. Ahr, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

160 ILLEGAL ALIENS FOUND HIDDEN IN PHOENIX HOME

"More than 160 illegal immigrants - some who had not eaten in days - were found crammed inside a house in a well-to-do Phoenix suburb, officials said," according to the AP. "The immigrants from Mexico and Central America 'were sitting shoulder to shoulder, back to back,' said Russell L. Ahr, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement "You could not see the carpet.'"

ADMINISTRATION OUTLINES GUESTWORKER AMNESTY PROPOSAL

"Government officials outlined details of the Bush administration's sweeping plan to overhaul the nation's immigration laws on Thursday, saying that the proposed guest worker program would grant legal status to illegal immigrants who were living in the United States on Jan. 7," the New York Times writes. "The officials, from the Department of Homeland Security, said legal status would also be granted to the families of immigrants participating in the program as long as the workers earned enough to provide for their relatives."

MEXICAN WOMEN CAPTIVE AT DISNEYLAND AREA BROTHEL

"A Los Angeles County woman faces charges of running a brothel in a budget motel across the street from Disneyland after three immigrants told police they were smuggled into the country and forced into prostitution," the LA Times reports. "The women, police said Thursday, were lured from Mexico with promises of house cleaning jobs in fancy neighborhoods and then threatened with retaliation if they didn't become prostitutes."

JUDGE RULES 22,000 ASYLUM SEEKERS CAN GET GREEN CARDS

"Under order from a federal judge, the U.S. governnment must grant permanent resident status to nearly 22,000 people nationwide and must ensure that all asylum holders have proper work documents," the AP reports. "The mandate was issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge Richard Kyle, who called the government's treatment of asylum holders 'nothing short of a "national embarrassment.'"

UTAH RETHINKING ILLEGAL ALIEN TUITION SUBSIDY

The Utah legislature is reconsidering its policy of allowing illegal aliens to attend state-run universities at subsidized in-state tuition rates. State Representative Glenn Donnelson, who is sponsoring the measure, says that it is unfair for Utah to subsidize illegal aliens to the tune of $2,000 to $6,000 per year, while charging legal residents from other states full price.

BUSINESS PREPARING FOR NEW H-1B CAMPAIGN

American high tech employers should be getting ready to mount a new effort to expand the H-1B visa program, writes Gary Endelman, an immigration attorney with BP America. Part of the effort must include a charm offensive aimed at a skeptical American public, says Endelman. The IT industry must make the case to Americans that "immigration will keep good paying jobs close to home." "Immigration advocates," he continues, "must realize that, more than anything else, immigration is something that happens to Americans, not just immigrants."

COMMITTEE TO GO OVER GUESTWORKER BILLS

"A key Senate committee will begin a long-awaited debate Thursday on letting millions of undocumented immigrants become temporary legal residents, an idea backed by President Bush but rejected by many Republicans and Democrats," Gannett News reported. "The Senate Judiciary subcommittee on immigration and border security will scrutinize competing guest worker bills sponsored by lawmakers from Texas, Arizona, Nebraska and South Dakota. The measures represent the most dramatic attempts to overhaul the country's immigration system since 1986."

CONGRESSMAN WORKS TO KEEP SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FROM ILLEGAL ALIENS

"The angry phone calls and death threats that Rep. Dana Rohrabacher received Jan. 28 didn't deter him from taking another public stand against benefits for illegal immigrants on Wednesday," the LA Times reports. "This week, the subject was Social Security. Rohrabacher attended a Washington event at which the Seniors Coalition, a senior advocacy group, presented members of Congress with about 150,000 signed petitions asking President Bush not to give Social Security benefits to illegal immigrants."

ILLEGAL ALIENS SAY BUSH PLAN NOT ENOUGH

"Dolores, a child care worker in Texas, is an illegal immigrant who has long feared being deported and having to leave her children behind. President Bush's immigration proposal is aimed at helping people like her, but it hasn't allayed Dolores' concerns," the AP reports. "Under the Bush plan, Dolores and millions of others like her could temporarily work legally in this country. But once that time is up, she'd have to leave. And that, Dolores says, would break up her family."

IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT IMPOSTERS IMPLICATED IN ILLEGAL DETENTION

"Four men posing as federal agents terrorized a largely Latino neighborhood in the Bel Pre Road area of Montgomery County in recent months, kicking down apartment doors and illegally detaining more than a dozen people, mostly immigrants, law enforcement authorities said yesterday," the Washington Post reports.

DHS SEES POLICE AS IMMIGRATION ASSET

"Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge told lawmakers yesterday that he was open to the controversial idea of using state and local police officers to help enforce the nation's immigration laws," the Washington Times reported. "During a Senate hearing, several lawmakers raised the issue of additional resources for immigration enforcement, especially in light of the proposal from President Bush for a guest-worker program."

CONGRESSMAN: CRIMINAL ALIEN FUGITIVES CREATING A CRISIS

"A Georgia congressman says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) needs help in capturing thousands of convicted aliens now loose on the streets of America and wants Congress to pass pending bipartisan legislation to address "America's criminal alien crisis,'" the Washington Times reports. "Rep. Charlie Norwood said 80,000 illegal aliens who served time in prison and were released, including convicted murderers, rapists, drug dealers and child molesters, have eluded capture despite the creation of a new agency to hunt them down and the infusion of millions of dollars to get the job done."

VIOLENCE IN HAITI PROMPTS FEARS OF NEW EXODUS

"U.S. officials warned Haitians on Tuesday not to flee to Florida because of the civil strife on their island, and made new preparations to intercept any who try to make the perilous ocean journey," the LA Times reports. "As U.S. diplomats intensified their efforts to halt the spreading violence, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher echoed long-standing U.S. concerns about large waves of immigrants from the Caribbean."

SIERRA CLUB CANDIDATES SUE BOARD OVER ELECTION

"Anti-immigration candidates trying to take over the Sierra Club's governing board have filed a lawsuit against the national environmental organization, alleging that its leaders are breaking state law by using club money and resources to oppose them in upcoming board elections," the LA Times writes. "The legal maneuver, immediately denounced by Sierra Club leaders, is the latest turn in what has become a bitter battle for control of the 750,000-member group, one of the nation's oldest and most powerful environmental advocates."

Related: Board election divides Sierra Club

Related: Lamm fights for Sierra Club

SEN. COLLINS PROTECTS ILLEGAL ALIENS, PRESSURES DHS TO STOP ENFORCEMENT

"U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Monday he will investigate a January immigration sweep in Portland that sparked significant local criticism because armed agents targeted the Preble Street Resource Center homeless shelter and minority-owned businesses," the Portland Press Herald reports. "During a Senate hearing on the department's budget Monday morning, Collins said ''we want the department to vigorously enforce our immigration laws,' but told Ridge, 'we had many, many serious complaints from community leaders that the way in which this sweep was conducted created a great deal of fear among immigrants who are here legally.'"

GOP SENATE CANDIDATES IN CALIF. SPLIT OVER IMMIGRATION

"A controversial guest-worker plan proposed by President Bush has driven the biggest wedge yet into the united front offered on most issues by the major Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate," the LA Times reports. "The issue has animated a race with otherwise low visibility and scant conflict, despite GOP desires to unseat Democrat Barbara Boxer."

AL QAEDA SLEEPER CELLS IN 40 STATES, SAY AUTHORITIES

"Al Qaeda sleeper cells are believed to be operating in 40 states, according to the FBI and other federal authorities, awaiting orders and funding for new attacks in the United States." The front page article in the Washington Times notes that "Islamic radicals are being trained at terrorist camps in Pakistan and Kashmir as part of a conspiracy to send hundreds of operatives to "sleeper cells" in the United States." A high ranking intelligence chief told the Times that this network "represents a serious threat to the United States, one that cannot be ignored, "and that "as many as 400 terrorists have been and are being trained" to join a "fatwa" calling for attacks on U.S. and Western interests.

MAINE BORDFORCEMENT DRAWS PROTESTER EN

"Community activists [in Portland, Maine] say the city's immigrant population is living in fear since federal agents arrested at least 10 people suspected of being illegal immigrants," the AP reported. "Maine is not Texas, and Portland is not Brownsville. What works down there - and we are not at all sure it does - does not work up here," said Grace Valenzuela, president of the Asian American Heritage Foundation.

MIAMI HERALD: BCIS NEEDS REFORM

"The U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services provides lousy service, has lengthy backlogs and takes far longer than its own standard suggests to deliver essential products: green cards, citizenship approvals and authorizations for next-of-kin immigration to the United States. Now the bureau wants to impose steep fee hikes. It shouldn't. Not until Congress and the bureau restructure the agency's funding formula. Otherwise, the bureau faces continued underfunding and gridlock," the Miami Herald says in an editorial.

ILLEGAL ALIENS REJECT BUSH PROPOSAL, DON'T FEAR DEPORTATION

The LA Times interviewed illegal workers at area garment factories who aren't enthused about President Bush's amnesty proposal. "Many illegal immigrants lead lives similar to those of poor friends, neighbors and relatives who are here legally, and few said Bush's plan offered much for them. . . The employees at the Eastside plant say the chief drawback of being here illegally is not the fear of deportation, but the reality of being stuck at the bottom of the economic pile."

BORDER INFLUX CONTINUES IN CALIFORNIA

A Washington Post story about Border Patrol agent James Epling, who died trying to rescue an illegal alien, also informs readers that despite new security measures, the southern border is still very open. "Border Patrol officials said their officers catch an average of 2,500 people a day -- more than 100 an hour -- who, despite sharply increased security since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, continue to try to sneak across the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border Patrol, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, has 9,800 agents stationed along the border, up from 3,600 a decade ago. That includes 1,300 agents hired since 2000, reflecting a new emphasis on tracking border crossings."

LEGISLATION TO END ARIZONA IN-STATE TUITION BENEFIT TO ILLEGAL ALIENS

A bill has been introduced in the Arizona legislature that would repeal the in-state tuition benefit for illegal aliens attending public universities and colleges in that state. The sponsor of the bill (H.B. 2392), Rep. Chuck Gray, asserts that it is wrong to grant benefits to illegal aliens that are denied to citizens and legal residents of other states.

SIERRA CLUB WAGING INTERNAL DEBATE OVER IMMIGRATION

Three prominent immigration reform advocates are seeking election to the Sierra Club’s board of directors in an upcoming election to be held among the group’s 750,000 members. The Sierra Club, the most prominent environmental group in the country, with an annual budget of $95 million, has been struggling with the immigration issue for some time. The three board candidates, former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm, Professor David Pimentel of Cornell University and former Congressional Black Caucus executive director Frank Morris, are seeking to join three existing immigration reform advocates on the Sierra board. The Sierra Club has avoided the immigration issue, but many within the organization consider immigration-generated population growth to be among the most severe threats to the environment and believe that the group must work for immigration reductions.

ARIZONA IMMIGRATION INITIATIVE LAGS IN SIGNATURE GATHERING

Supporters of the Protect Arizona Now initiative, which would limit access of illegal aliens to state-funded programs, have collected only 10 percent of the necessary 123,000 signatures needed to place the measure on the November ballot. Organizers say they will need professional signature gatherers if they are to meet the July filing deadline.

MEXICAN LEGISLATORS DOUBT BUSH’S IMMIGRATION PLAN WILL BE ENACTED SOON

Two members of the Mexican Senate hold out little hope that the Bush immigration plan, which includes guestworker status for illegal aliens living in the U.S. and expanded guestworker access for Mexicans wishing to come to the U.S., will be enacted anytime soon. Mexican officials do not see sufficient support among members of Congress in the U.S. “At this time the immigration road is a dirt track, not a paved highway,” said one Mexican senator.

IMMIGRATION EMERGING AS ISSUE AMONG CALIFORNIA GOP SENATE HOPEFULS

The four announced Republicans vying for their party’s nomination to challenge Barbara Boxer in the fall have been weighing in on immigration policy. Former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin has called for greater pressure to be applied on the government of Mexico to enact political and economic reform to ameliorate the pressures to emigrate. Marin, alone among the GOP candidates, supports President Bush’s guestworker proposal. Former Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian has rejected it outright, while former California Secretary of State Bill Jones and former Los Altos Hills Mayor Toni Casey have expressed qualified support for the Bush plan, but have reservations about what they see as an amnesty for illegal aliens.

ASYLUM SCHOOL COACHES APPLICANTS ON FALSE STORIES

Columnist Matt Hayes reports that among the courses offered by a San Diego language school are courses on how to file asylum claims to remain in the U.S. The basic course offers standard stories to be presented to asylum adjudicators, while the deluxe package includes phony documents providing evidence of persecution in China. Asylum judges noted a pattern of consistency among applicants’ claims and discovered the course materials that coached applicants on what to say.

SOCIAL CHANGE AT WARP SPEED

"The Melting Pot comprises the nation's largest metropolitan areas, where most immigrants come in search of their American dream and from which many existing residents depart to chase their dreams in the presumably greener pastures of the New Sun Belt. The Melting Pot is becoming less white and more diverse at a pace without precedent -- social change at warp speed, creating an America where no America, no nation, has gone before," writes Newhouse News in the 2nd of a series of articles about the impact of mass immigration.

TENN. CONSIDERS LICENSE BAN FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

"Legislation prohibiting illegal immigrants from getting driver's licenses -- but allowing for ``certificates for driving'' instead -- was introduced Thursday by Gov. Phil Bredesen," the AP reports. "Bredesen says he's trying to balance homeland security concerns with public safety on the roads, but the bill may not be enough for some lawmakers who don't want any such documents issued to illegal immigrants."

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS SLAM BUSH AMNESTY AT GOP RETREAT

"Growing frustration over President Bush's immigration plan and lack of fiscal discipline came to a head behind closed doors at last weekend's Republican retreat in Philadelphia," the Washington Times reports. "They were all over Karl on immigration and spending," said Rep. Tom Tancredo. Attendees claim they had a "very pointed" discussion with Rove about the President's amnesty proposal. "Most of our members are very concerned about what they perceived as an amnesty for illegal aliens..." commented Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (TN), who added that "this is something I'm not going to support."

VA MAY BAR ILLEGAL ALIENS FROM STATE COLLEGES

"Illegal aliens would be barred from attending Virginia's state-supported colleges and universities, and those already in school would be expelled under legislation that passed the House on Thursday," the AP reported. "The measure, approved on a 71-29 vote with strong Republican support, now heads to the Senate."

FEE HIKE DRAWS CRITICISM OF BCIS

"A proposal by the federal government to raise citizenship and immigration fees by an average of about $55 is drawing criticism from immigration lawyers and advocates who are pushing for more congressional funding instead," the San Diego Union Tribune reports. "Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency in the Department of Homeland Security, announced the proposal in the Federal Register yesterday, saying it needs the extra money to cover higher security and administrative costs."

BUSH BACKS MORE WELFARE FOR IMMIGRANTS

"President Bush is proposing that thousands of refugees and people granted asylum in the United States get more time to become Americans, avoiding the loss of federal disability payments because they are not citizens," the AP reports. "A 1996 welfare reform law required all those seeking asylum and refugees who entered the United States after Aug. 22, 1996, to become citizens in seven years or lose their monthly Supplemental Security Income checks."

CUBANS INTERCEPTED USING CAR-BOAT TO COME TO FLA.

"Eleven Cubans trying to sail to Florida in a 1950s Buick converted into a tailfinned boat were intercepted at sea by the Coast Guard and will be sent back to their homeland, exile activists said Wednesday," the AP reported. " Marciel Basanta Lopez and Luis Grass Rodriguez, the two men who turned the classic car into a floating vessel, tried a similar stunt last summer and got caught."

PBS' NEWSHOUR ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

"The guest worker program President Bush recently proposed has sparked heated debate in California. Some labor groups in the state oppose the plan, but most businesses support it," reports PBS's Newshour. FAIR spokesman Ira Mehlman said, "[E]ssentially what the president is doing, or proposing, is to turn over immigration decision making to the economic interests that have a vested interest in having a large workforce to choose from. The law of supply of demand says if you have an unlimited supply of workers, the price of labor will go down. And obviously, employers love that. Nobody wants to pay more for wages than they really have to. And as long as they can go anywhere in the world and seek out labor, why would they ever raise wages for Americans?"

FAIR TESTIFIES BEFORE CONGRESS ABOUT L-1 VISA ABUSES

FAIR Executive Director Dan Stein testified before the House Committee on International Relations today about problems with the L-1 visa program. "American workers, already hard hit by the job losses of the past few years, are being pounded as well by the unfair competition coming from the importation of foreign workers willing to take American jobs for lower wages. Some of our nation's best jobs in the high tech industry are increasingly being surrendered to foreign workers coming in through both the H-1B and the L-1 program," said Stein. The full testimony is available on the FAIR site.

WHAT THE 9/11 COMMISION SHOULD KNOW ABOUT EOIR

Department of Justice insider Juan Mann (a pseudonym) says the 9/11 commission should focus on abolishing EOIR to eliminate a security loophole. "Not surprisingly, Americans are concerned why the 9/11 terrorists were never arrested for any of these immigration law violations. But I am hear to tell you that, under the current EOIR Immigration Court process for deportation-unless these foreign nationals were already being marked as a potential threat-the EOIR litigation bureaucracy wouldn’t have slowed them down one bit!"

RICHARD LAMM: WHY I'M RUNNING FOR THE SIERRA CLUB BOARD

"Because I believe that environmental organizations have ducked the immigration-population issue too long, I am running for the board of directors of the Sierra Club. I am not part of a slate; I represent only myself and the issues I care deeply about," says former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm. "A pressing environmental question faces America: What is our demographic destiny? How big a country do we want to become? How many people can live satisfied lives within our borders? These issues will not go away and will only grow more complicated. Environmental organizations must add population and immigration to their list of issues and concerns. It is environmental mal-practice not to, and the Sierra Club has never faced up to this issue."

TREASURY MOVES TO IDENTIFY ILLEGAL ALIENS

"Special Agents for the Office of Investigation of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration are using IRS records to identify immigrants who are deportable," the Visalaw newsletter reports. "In November 2003, IRS officers began using computer records to identify taxpayers who used ITIN’s instead of Social Security numbers on their W-2 forms and then filed their tax returns. The IRS then contacts Immigration and Customs Enforcement to verify that the names discovered in the ITIN search are not resident aliens. One these deportable immigrants are identified, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration then files a criminal complaint charging these immigrants with possessing fake resident alien cards. Then USCIS is notified, and deportation proceedings are initiated."

FORMER IMMIGRATION AGENTS SENTENCED

"Three San Antonio-based immigration officers convicted of failing to give timely medical aid to an undocumented immigrant paralyzed during a struggle in 2001 were sent to prison Monday," the San Antonio Express-News reported. "In interviews, Reyna and relatives of his co-defendants have said they were sacrificed by their superiors in an effort to appease the Mexican government. No supervisors were prosecuted, they argued, because that would have exposed the government to further liability in a lawsuit filed by Olvera's relatives."

BUSH PLAN STIRS DEBATE OVER AMNESTY

"President Bush's immigration plan is designed as a 'blueprint' for congressional activity on reform and is a 'moderate, common sense' approach to the issue, Raul Damas, director of Hispanic grass-roots development at the Republican National Committee, said yesterday," the Washington Times writes.

PHOENIX DAY LABOR CENTER UNPOPULAR AND A FAILURE

The city of Phoenix is contemplating whether to continue or scrap its city-funded day laborer hiring site. The center, which opened a year ago, has failed to attract as many as half of Phoenix’s day laborers, who still prefer to solicit work on street corners. It has also been wildly unpopular among most residents who view it as an encouragement to illegal immigrants, that taxpayers are forced to subsidize to the tune of $120,000 a year. The Phoenix city councilwoman who sponsored the hiring hall is facing a recall, and the anger generated by it has helped fuel a statewide voter initiative, known as Protect Arizona Now, that would limit state-funded services to illegal aliens.

GUILTY PLEA IN FAKE DOCUMENTS CASE

"A woman accused of selling fake green cards pleaded guilty Monday to federal conspiracy charges related to the immigration scheme," the Fort Worth Star Telegram reports. "Maria Elena Garza, 54, a native of Mexico, resides in Kemp, a small community in southeastern Kaufman County. In November, she was indicted for conspiracy to commit mail fraud, three counts of mail fraud and impersonating a federal immigration employee."

BUSH BUDGET WOULD PROVIDE FOR MORE INVESTIGATORS

"Homeland security was a big winner in President Bush's budget plan, with billions of dollars more set aside for law enforcement, vaccines, aviation security and other terror prevention and response programs," the AP reports. "There's $186 million more devoted to enforcing immigration laws, including $23 million to hire 200 investigators to enforce laws prohibiting the hiring of undocumented immigrants. That would double those now in Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

IMMIGRATION AGENT IMPLICATED IN NY SLAVE RING

"In November, a federal immigration agent flashed his badge at the door of a Queens apartment and told a frightened young woman from South Korea that he was there to deport her," the New York Times reports. "The immigration agent, Nisim Yushuvayev, was legitimate. But his threats were not, the prosecutors said in an obstruction-of-justice complaint they filed against him yesterday. They said he was in league with the bar owners to spirit the woman out of the country to keep her from providing prosecutors with more information against him."

SUIT ALLEGES WAL-MART HELD JANITORS CAPTIVE

"A civil rights suit filed against Wal-Mart by illegal immigrants was expanded Monday to accuse America's biggest retailer of locking its janitors inside stores during their shifts," the AP reports. "The amendment to the lawsuit comes as a federal grand jury in Pennsylvania weighs evidence to determine whether Wal-Mart will face criminal charges in the use of illegal immigrants to clean its stores."

BUSH AMNESTY PLAN STARTS RUMOR MILL FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS

"Maria Garza tried to discuss tax breaks on her weekly radio show in Homestead but was flooded with calls from people wanting applications to a phantom amnesty program. And Miami attorney Tammy Fox-Isicoff, who handles thousands of immigration cases, has spent recent weeks explaining to clients that Bush's idea is just that, an idea," the Miami Herald reports. "Nearly a month has passed since Bush announced a plan that would grant temporary legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants working in the United States. Yet, community groups and attorneys that specialize in immigration issues are still being flooded with queries from anxious -- and misinformed -- illegal immigrants."

IMMIGRATION CHANGING THE SOUTH

"Throughout the South, immigrants have started taking jobs in poultry and meatpacking plants in towns that, until recently, remained largely untouched by the great waves of immigration to the United States throughout the twentieth century," writes Russel Cobb. "The impact of Latino immigration on the economy and culture of the South has been overwhelming, yet rarely examined. When the Census Bureau reported that the Latino population of the southern states had tripled from 1990 to 2000, many people who follow immigration patterns thought that the Census had actually underreported the number of Latinos in the South."

DHS SEEKS HIGHER FEES TO OFFSET COSTS

"Because of higher security and administrative costs, Homeland Security officials want to raise the fees that immigrants pay to become legal residents or U.S. citizens or get other benefits," the AP reports. "The department's Citizenship and Immigration Services bureau proposed the increase in documents filed for publication in the Federal Register. The documents were on display at the Federal Register office Friday."

20 PERCENT OF D.C. AREA WORKERS FOREIGN BORN

"The region's immigrant labor force is growing rapidly despite the economic slowdown, according to unpublished government figures showing that one in five workers in the Baltimore-Washington area, from office cleaners to computer programmers, was born outside the United States," the Washington Post reports. "The numbers underline the growing role played by immigrants in the economy, but also raise questions about the impact on native-born workers. That debate flared nationally last month after President Bush proposed creation of a major temporary-worker program to accommodate foreign-born labor."