|
|
Back to Home Page
November 07, 2007
Democratic Pollsters and Strategists Lay Out Immigration Plan Leading Democratic pollsters and political strategists Among the heavy-hitters describing the approach they will be recommending to Democratic office-seekers – including the Oval Office – were Peter Bronitz of the Benenson Strategy Group; Christopher Dorval of Dorval Strategies; Celinda Lake and David Mermin of Lake Research Partners; and Simon Rosenberg of the New Democratic Network. On the other end of the line, were nationally recognized journalists including Morton Kondracke of Roll Call; Peter Walston of the Los Angeles Times;Mark Silva of the Chicago Tribune; David Brooks, columnist for The New York Times; and Jerry Kamber of Copley News Service. Halloween Party Stalls Myers' Nomination for ICE Undersecretary "Sen. Claire McCaskill moved Tuesday to block a confirmation vote on Border Apprehensions Continue To Drop "A large increase in Border Patrol agents, additional fencing and expanded FAIR's Latest Study: Illegal Immigration Costs Tennessee $300 Million "A new report puts a price tag on how much illegal immigrants cost Tennessee taxpayers. |
laid out the party’s strategy for addressing the immigration issue in the upcoming 2008 elections to some of the nation’s top journalists in a telephonic news conference today. 
Julie Myers, the nominee of the administration of President George W. Bush for the top immigration enforcer. McCaskill, D-Mo., said she was acting because of questions raised about Myers' role in a Halloween contest in which an agency employee wore a racially offensive costume," the Post-Dispatch reports. "Myers heads the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency as a recess appointee of Bush and is awaiting Senate confirmation. She was a judge at last week's contest in which the employee was recognized for having the 'most original' costume: a prisoner with a black-and-white striped outfit, dreadlocks, and bronze makeup on his face, according to Kelly Nantel, an agency spokeswoman [. . .] McCaskill said the Halloween incident confirmed her belief that Myers should not run the immigration agency."
prosecution of illegal border-crossers contributed to a 20% drop in apprehension of undocumented migrants this year at the U.S.-Mexico frontier, immigration officials announced Tuesday. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the figure signaled progress in disrupting illegal immigration flows, a key goal of the Bush administration's overall immigration strategy," the LA Times writes. "Along the Southwest border, apprehensions over the past year decreased in almost every area -- most dramatically in Yuma, Ariz., and Del Rio, Texas, where arrests fell by more than 45%. Near Tucson, the country's busiest illegal immigration corridor, apprehensions dropped 4%, from 392,074 to 378,239, according to recently released data for the 2007 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30."
It is close to $300 million every year, according to the study conducted the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a nonprofit research group. It contradicts a report by the state comptroller's office released in August that indicated undocumented immigrants boosted the economy and did not take jobs from any Tennessee workers," reports WVTF-Nashville. "The cost is $255 million each year for education from kindergarten through the twelfth grade and ESL programs. Martin estimates an additional $30 million is spent on healthcare and incarceration, bringing the total to $285 million."