Past Link to Advocacy Group Could Spell Trouble for Sotomayor

As a former board member of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, Supreme Court Justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor may have to explain some of the controversial cases that she was involved in during her tenure with the fund. Raymond Hernandez and David Chen of the New York Times examine how this role may have affected her decisions as a judge. Read the full story here.

DHS Report Influences Census Partnership Program

The Census Bureau, taking its marching orders from a recent DHS report about extremism, has listed "hate groups," "law enforcement" "and "anti-immigrant groups" among those that would be refused permission to become a partner with the 2010 Census. Yet, organizations such as ACORN will have a much more relevant role in the upcoming census than originally thought. Read about this developing story in today's World Net Daily.

Heavy Immigration Threatens our Cohesiveness as a Nation

The Census Bureau projects that the U.S. population will reach 439 million in 2050, a 56 percent increase over the 2000 census. The Hispanic population in 2050 is projected at 133 million - 30 percent of the total and almost quadruple the 2000 level. Lawrence Harrison writes in the Christian Science Monitor that the US must get serious about the tide of legal and illegal immigrants before it's too late. Read his eye-opening article here, where Mr. Harrison looks at the effects immigration has on our society, healthcare, education, and the environment.

Immigration and Same Sex Marriage

The Uniting American Families Act of 2009, currently gaining support in Congress, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow U.S. citizens to sponsor same-sex permanent partners to immigrate legally to the U.S. and live and work here permanently. Read more about this proposed controversial reform from OpenCongress.org.

State Senator Makes Strong Pitch for E-Verify

Massachusetts state Senator Scott Brown says that using the E-Verify program is the only way to make sure that jobs created by the Stimulus Package go to legally-eligible employees. With more than 113,000 businesses currently using E-Verify nationwide Sen. Brown thinks, and FAIR couldn't agree more, that making this system mandatory is one great way to start addressing our illegal immigration problem. You can read the whole story from Boston.com here.

Feds Bust Up Labor Trafficking Ring

A federal grand jury in Kansas City indicted 12 defendants on racketeering, marriage fraud, identity theft and other counts in a scheme that involved forced labor trafficking and immigration violations in 14 states. The 12 defendants are accused of illegally luring foreign workers to the United States to work for low pay and live in substandard conditions. You can read the whole story here.

Technology Making it Easier to Identify Illegal Aliens

Technology that uses fingerprints to determine whether jail inmates are in the country illegally is making its official debut with the San Diego County Sheriff Department. Part of the Secure Communities program administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the program allows law enforcement officials to fingerprint everyone booked into the county's three largest jails to help prevent criminal aliens from being released back into the community. Check out the latest from KFMB in San Diego.

Supreme Court Pick May Delay Mass Amnesty Push

President Obama, Senate Democrats and allied interest groups say they're committed to passing a mass amnesty bill by the end of the year. But the stark realities of the calendar, the harsh politics of the issue and unemployment figures nearing double digits are fully within view. This morning's article from The Hill lays out how the nomination of the first Hispanic justice to the Supreme Court may help the President buy some time on a mass amnesty bill for the millions of illegal aliens in this country.

AZ Charter School Educating Mexican Children

Arizona taxpayers may have paid at least $300,000 to educate nonresident students from Mexico attending a public charter school in Douglas, AZ. A videotape - posted on the Arizona Department of Education's Web site - shows students who live in Agua Prieta, Mexico, being driven to the Omega Alpha Academy charter school across the border in Douglas. There were previous denials from the school. Get the whole story from KFYI in Tucson, AZ.

Effects of Illegal Immigration on California Becoming Clearer

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger continues to ignore the budget-busting cost of illegal immigration even while recently acknowledging that it is costing taxpayers $6 billion a year. Andy Arnold of Examiner.com thinks that instead of coming to Washington with his hat in hand, Governor Schwarzenegger should be looking for a bailout in places like Mexico City, Managua, and San Jose. Read today's eye-opening article.

287-G Effective at the Local Level

While recent hearings on Capitol Hill have tried to paint the 287-G program as too expensive and ineffective, results at the local level seem to say otherwise. Recently, a rountine check of an illegal alien in North Carolina revealed that he was wanted for rape in Kentucky. Read this brief story from WHKP in Hendersonville, NC.

Native American Tribe Wants Stricter Control on Immigration

A former tribal council member of the Yakama Indian reservation outside of Seattle wants to introduce a program to fingerprint and photograph all nontribal workers on the reservation in order to clamp down on migrants workers. SeattlePI.com gives the details of this interesting case.

Will Georgia End "Birthright Citizenship"?

While automatic birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, a Georgia candidate for governor has proposed changing the long-standing federal policy that automatically grants citizenship to any baby born on U.S. soil. Read today's story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution about U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal's push to end "birthright citizenship."

Memorial Day Weekend Is Here

The Stein Report will not be publishing over the long weekend in observance of Memorial Day. We hope that all our readers (and listeners) enjoy the long weekend, cookouts, and family time. Don't forget to thank a veteran or any of our current service members for their sacrifice. Come back next Tuesday as we'll have more stories and commentaries about an issue that all of a sudden seems to be heating up again.

FAIR's Bob Dane on the Lou Dobbs Radio Show

FAIR's Communications Director Bob Dane talks about the Secure Communities program, border security, the effects of illegal immigration on our economy, and the potential for an upcoming amnesty bill in the fall with radio and TV host Lou Dobbs. Check out our multimedia center to listen to this educational and at times entertaining interview.

E-Verify: A Powerful Tool in Protecting American Jobs

FAIR's Government Relations staff talks with Larry Morrison, a Utah small business owner who gives an employer's perspective on E-Verify - the federal government's online tool that allows employers to quickly and easily confirm that their new hires are legally authorized to work in the United States. Click here to listen to this powerful testimony about one of our government's most effective programs.

Sen. Baucus: No Coverage for Undocumented Aliens

Universal health insurance is a key aim of health reform proposals backed by President Barack Obama and key Democrats in Congress, and bills being assembled in House and Senate committees are aiming to reach that goal through a mix of incentives and mandates. However, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and a key player in the healthcare reform debate, said yesterday that the new program won't provide insurance for illegal immigrants. The Dallas Morning News has the latest in this morning's article.

Harvard President Voices Support for Student Amnesty

While Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust yesterday backed federal legislation that would clear the way for illegal immigrant students to apply for legal residency, FAIR's Bob Dane rightfully argues that Harvard's policy of admitting illegal immigrants displaces students here legally. Dane said that Harvard's leadership needs to get some perspective on what kind of cost and competition that legal US residents are actually incurring these days. Read the whole story from Boston.com here.

What Does "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" Really Mean?

Immigration reporter Andy Arnold or DC Examiner looks into this question in today's article saying that the Obama administration is ready to continue the deportation of jailed undocumented visitors, as it turns a blind eye to the "non-criminal" illegal aliens. What are your thoughts about this story?

Former Arizona Representative Says it Like it is During Recent Hearing

Former Arizona Rep. J.D. Hayworth returned to Congress on Wednesday to blast immigration- reform efforts by lawmakers and the Obama administration. The real goal of reform, Hayworth told a Senate Judiciary panel on immigration, is to make it easier for illegal immigrants to remain in the United States "because some Republicans want cheap labor, and some Democrats want cheap votes." Get the details about Mr. Hayworth's testimony in today's AZCentral.com.

Immigration Meeting Set for June 8

President Barack Obama is inviting members of Congress to the White House for a June 8 meeting to highlight immigration reform. A White House official commented "The meeting will be an opportunity to launch a policy conversation that we hope will be able to start a debate that will take place in Congress later in the year." However, the forum was billed solely as a meeting with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle - not an official forum or summit as was the case with healthcare. See the latest news on Politico.com.

Sessions Puts the Breaks on Schumer's Amnesty Runaway Train

Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., announced an agenda of hearings for the coming months and said he is "cautiously optimistic that we can pass strong, fair, practical and effective immigration reform this year." Not so fast, countered Senate Judiciary ranking member Jeff Sessions. As the newly minted top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Sessions sounded much more cautious saying, "We are not there yet." Read all the great details in this afternoon's update from Congress Daily.

DHS to Push Use of E-Verify

Speaking to reporters at a breakfast sponsored on May 19 by The Christian Science Monitor, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the department, which encompasses the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement service, or ICE, will focus more on targeting employers than workers as it tackles illegal immigration. Napolitano said the agency will step up employment verification efforts using the controversial E-Verify system, the federal program designed to allow employers to check that employees and new hires are providing accurate Social Security numbers and other documents. Read the whole story from Business Week here.

Fla. Gov. Crist Talks Stimulus Bill and Immigration

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist eased his way into the upcoming race to replace retiring U.S. Senator Mel Martinez during a luncheon with the Daytona Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Volusia County Tiger Bay Club. The governor reiterated his support for the controversial $787 billion Stimulus Bill and even touched on the immigration issue saying that it is very important to secure our borders and stop illegal immigration. However, while addressing immigration he mentioned that he would support an immigration bill similar to the failed 2007 legislation that many Republicans opposed because it provided a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Today's Miami Herald covered the event and you can read about here.

Wash. State Using Deportation to Fix Budget Issues

In order to fix a $9 billion budget shortfall, Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire is moving forward with clearing Washington prisons of illegal immigrants - a move aimed to save the state $8 million. However, the move may be at a slower rate than originally planned after lawmakers failed to pass a bill that would have hastened the process. Read the whole story in today's SeattlePI.com.

Controversial DHS Report to be Closely Scrutinized by House Panel

The Dept. of Homeland Security report that labeled supporters of immigration control as "extremists" will come under scrutiny by a House Homeland Security Committee which will demand that the department turn over to Congress all records concerning the report within 14 days. Today's issue of Congress Daily has more about this developing story.

Administration to Focus on "Criminal" Deportations

Obama administration enforcement measure could result in a tenfold increase in illegal immigrants who have been convicted of crimes and identified for deportation, current and former U.S. officials said. By matching inmates' fingerprints to federal immigration databases, authorities hope to pinpoint deportable illegal immigrants before they are released from custody. Read the full article in today's Washington Post.

More Hearings on Immigration

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, last month initiated talks with the White House on pushing a mass amnesty bill this year, and has begun a series of hearings on immigration, border security and related issues (see this article from Roll Call - access will require a login). After an initial hearing in late April, the Committee will hold another hearing on May 20th, at 10:00 am, that will focus on securing our borders. FAIR staff will be in attendance and will be providing updates on our Twitter page during the hearing. We hope you will tune in.

Officials Set to Dump REAL ID

A bill that would repeal card requirements set forth under the so-called REAL ID law is set to be introduced in Congress. The new legislation, called the PASS ID Act, would replace a controversial 2005 law that set national standards for driver's licenses and identification cards. Read the full story from today's Congress Daily.

FAIR: President Obama's first 100 Days and the Immigration Issue

From FAIR's Government Relations Dept.
Last month, officials in the Obama Administration indicated that the president would "push" an amnesty bill as one of his priorities before the year is out. In fact, these officials told the New York Times that President Obama will speak publicly about the immigration issue sometime this month. It is likely that, in order to gain public support for a highly unpopular amnesty, the president and Members of Congress who support amnesty will tout a "comprehensive immigration reform" bill that contains provisions supposedly aimed to accomplish goals the American people actually support: strengthened border security; increased worksite enforcement; implementation of a permanent, mandatory Employee Eligibility Verification System; and affirmation of state and local law enforcement agencies' authority to enforce immigration laws. FAIR's review of the Obama Administration's first 100 days, however, shows that the American people are right to remain skeptical about the intent of President Obama and Congress on the issue of enforcing America's immigration laws -- particularly if their promises are tied to a plan to grant amnesty to millions of illegal aliens. Read FAIR's report here.

"Genius" Visas On the Rise

The little known O-1 visa program, awarded to immigrants with extraordinary abilities in the arts, sciences, education, business, or athletics, has grown 40% over the past four years. The weekend's edition of Business Week covers how this program is supposed to add to U.S. culture and the economy.

Amnesty and Joblessness: A Relationship that is Much Closer than Anyone Thinks

By Chris Jaarda, Director of Government Relations at FAIR
With an official unemployment rate of 8.9 percent, American workers now face the worst job market in 25 years. In fact, over the past 60 years, the unemployment rate has rarely been as high as it is today. Despite a difficult job market, President Obama and leaders in Congress are talking about passing so-called "comprehensive immigration reform" legislation. This legislation would give amnesty to 12 million or more illegal aliens, including an estimated 8.3 million illegal aliens who hold jobs they never should have had, and could include a proposed new guest-worker provision to import hundreds of thousands of additional foreign workers. Download our latest research paper here and see why amnesty and a guest worker program is a really bad idea.

President's Initiatives Running Out of Time

While House Speaker Pelosi suggests the 111th Congress could end up being "one of the most productive" ever, time might be running out on some anticipated big-ticket legislation. House and Senate leaders have a solidly booked legislative schedule from early June until the start of the month-long August recess with much of the focus being on sweeping climate change and healthcare initiatives. Will some of the other initiatives be left out this year's agenda? Read Congress Daily assessment here.

"Piecemeal" Amnesty

The DREAM Act, which would provide undocumented children and young adults a pathway to citizenship, is nothing short of giving amnesty one piece at a time. FAIR's Bob Dane is right when he questions the eligibility requirements of the proposed bill and that all it will do is lead to "massive document fraud." Read Sandra Svoboda's expose' in Detroit's Metro Times.

Overwhelming Numbers Back English as America's Official Language

A report released by Rasmussen yesterday says that Eighty-four percent (84%) of Americans say English should be the official language of the United States. Additionally, the report states that Eighty-two percent (82%) reject the idea that requiring people to speak English is a form of racism or bigotry, up three points from 2007. To read the details of this report go to RasmussenReports.com.

California Senator Introduces Guest-Worker Bill

California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday introduced an ambitious agricultural guest-worker bill that faces a harder road than ever before. The bill, which would legalize upward of 2 million illegal immigrant farmworkers and their family members, resembles similar bills regularly but unsuccessfully introduced since September 2003. Read the story in today's Miami Herald.

U.S. and State Law Allowed Illegal Immigrant to Secure Documents

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling and Wisconsin state laws allowed homicide suspect Raul Ponce-Rocha to attend school in Wausau and secure a driver's license, even though he was an illegal immigrant, authorities said. Read the full story from the Wausau Daily Herald.

Illegal Immigration Driving Growth of Counterfeiting Business

With millions of illegal immigrants looking for work in the U.S. the need for employment documentation is driving a new illegal trade - counterfeiting documents. Illegal immigrants in southeastern Minnesota who wanted fake green cards or Social Security numbers knew where to go -- a Rochester, MN, apartment used by Rodrigo Zambrano and Mateo Rosales. It is tempting, immigration officials say, to think of the counterfeit document business as a small-time cottage industry, but it is a lucrative national enterprise with "offices" in Minnesota. With the Obama administration's shift from prosecuting illegal immigrants to those that employ them, this problem is sure to only get worse. Read the story in today's Star Tribune.

E-Verify Making Gains Within States

With 1,000 new businesses signing up each week there are now more than 124,000 businesses, including nearly 10,000 in California, that are signed up for the Web-based identification program that enables employers to check whether an employee is authorized to work, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. For AppleOne Inc., human resources manager Linda Madigan "the E-Verify program is one of the best things we did....the [branches] don't have to look at the documents anymore and decide if it looks right or not." Read the full story in today's LA Times.

Border Security Key to Successful Immigration Policy

Announcement last week by the Obama administration that it was finally pushing ahead with plans to build a multibillion-dollar "virtual fence" along the U.S. border with Mexico was welcome news for advocates of stronger border enforcement. However, securing our border is only one part of the puzzle and enforcing current immigration laws should be as much of a priority. Read today's editorial from the Denver Post.

Report Says Close Relationship Between Foreclosures and Immigration

According to a Pew Hispanic Center report released on Tuesday, counties with high foreclosure rates also tend to have large immigrant populations. The report, titled "Through Boom and Bust: Minorities, Immigrants and Homeownership," shows that counties with high foreclosure rates exhibit other factors, including rising unemployment rates and sinking home values. You can read about this report on the Las Vegas Sun Website.

Napolitano: "I'm a big supporter of E-Verify"

During her testimony in front of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee yesterday, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano expressed strong support for a permanent extension of the widely successful E-Verify program. Secretary Napolitano was also questioned on matters such as funding for border security efforts, the department's priorities for targeting illegal immigrants inside the country and whether federal contractors should be required to verify the legal status of their workers. You can read the story in today's Congress Daily here.

Does the U.S. Need a National I.D. Card?

Gary Gentry, writing for Gather.com, seems to think so. He makes the argument that proving identity is a daily exercise for almost all US citizens. The 99% of Americans who drive must carry a state-issued driver's license featuring a photograph. What do you think about his article?

New Program Successful in Deporting More Illegal Immigrants

A new program called Secure Communities was established in response to lawmakers urging Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport more illegal immigrants incarcerated for serious crimes. Since 2002, the number of deported criminals rose 60%, and the total number of illegal immigrants deported rose 400%. However, one lawmaker worries that that focusing too much on criminal deportations won't keep illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. Read the full story from USA Today here.

Majority of Arizonans Still Support Sheriff Arpaio

According to a new poll by Rasmussen, nearly 60 percent of Arizona voters say the policies and activities of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have had a positive impact on the state's image. These results are in line with results from a nationwide poll where more than 70 percent of responders agreed with Sheriff Arpaio's tactics. You can read about these polls here.

Lawmakers Blamed for Delays on "Virtual Fence" Project

Some good news....seems like construction on a "virtual fence" aimed at stopping illegal immigration and smuggling along the border with Mexico began this week. While work should have started back in 2005, the slowness of the launch of this project was blamed on numerous Congressional inquiries, not chronic malfunctioning of the equipment. Read the story in the New York Times.

The Consequences of Disrespectful Behavior

A University of North Carolina student's attempts to disrupt and silence former representative Tom Tancredo, who had been invited by a campus group to speak about illegal immigration, may cost the student a highly respected scholarship. Haley Koch, of Cabin John, MD, was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct April 23, nine days after she and another young woman disrupted an event sponsored by the student group Youth for Western Civilization. The action could cost her a Morehead-Cain Foundation scholarship worth about $140,000. Read the whole story from The News & Observer here.

Policy Priorities to Change in California

With more than one million immigrants becoming U.S. citizens last year, California's political landscape will experience a major shift. These new citizens are reshaping California's electorate and are likely to reorder the state's policy priorities, some political analysts predict. Several polls show that Latinos and Asians are more supportive than whites of public investments and broad services, even if they require higher taxes. Read Teresa Watanabe's detailed article in today's LA Times.

Scrapping Program Will Hurt Local Illegal Immigration Enforcement

In President Barack Obama's proposed fiscal 2010 budget, $400 million in funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP, would be eliminated. The program partially subsidizes the cost of housing criminal illegal immigrants, based on the population of illegal immigrants in state and local jails. Many local enforcement organizations are saying that this is exactly the wrong time to reduce or scrap this program. What do you think? Read the full article here.

Immigration Laws Exist for a Reason

It would be nice if one only had to obey the laws that he or she agreed with and could ignore all the others? Actually, no, because that would lead to chaos and anarchy. Immigration laws exist to limit and restrict the flow of people into America because there simply isn't enough room for everyone. Terry L. Mitchell's article in American Chronicle gives a very good (and simple) explanation of why these laws have to be followed.

Education Key to Illegal Immigration Issue

Syndicated columnist Bonnie Erbe has some great advice for both the French (seeking to amend a decades-old immigration law) and the U.S. (looking to give mass amnesty to over 12 million illegal aliens) when it comes to dealing with illegal immigration. Read her column in today's Milford Daily News.

Immigration is "Thorny" Issue for New Administration

Having already backed off his pledge to have an immigration bill this year, President Obama boosted his commitment to enforcement in the budget released Thursday calling for extra money to build an employee-verification system (which by the way already exists, see E-Verify) and to pay for more personnel and equipment to patrol the border. Read the story in today's Washington Times.

Latest Leaked DHS Document Causes Stir

A newly leaked DHS document on "extremism" reinforces concerns that the DHS is treading a dangerous path of attempting to stigmatize and criminalize those who dissent from or peacefully oppose government policies and the trend toward omnipotent government. The latest report carries the warning it "is not to be released to the public, the media, or other personnel who do not have a valid need-to-know." According to the DHS document, the report "is one in a series of reference aids designed to provide operational and intelligence advice and assistance to other elements of DHS, as well as state, local, and regional fusions centers." Read the full story and get a link to the document here.

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Supports Strong Enforcement

GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman has come out in strong support to enforcing our immigration laws. Prior to her appearance at the Moscone Center yesterday she said that "we have to prosecute illegal aliens and criminal illegal aliens in all of our cities, in every part of California.'' You can read the whole article from SFGate.com here.

Illegal Immigration Issue Deserves a Reasoned Debate

On the heels of the recent refusal by Providence College's leadership to allow former Rep. Tom Tancredo to address a group of students on its campus about the illegal immigration issue, Valley Breeze (Rhode Island) publisher Tom Ward wonders why colleges ban speakers and run from debate instead of encouraging it. Mr. Ward gets it right when he says that those who resort to slandering honest Americans who want answers to tough questions about immigration are cowardly and intolerant and won't take a deep breath and debate the issue. Read Mr. Ward's expose' here.

Obama to Cut State Criminal Alien Assistance Program

President Obama will call for reducing or eliminating 121 programs for $17 billion in savings in fiscal 2010, including many defense cuts the administration already announced. While the Dept. of Homeland Security is poised to see a substantial increase as the administration looks to shore up border security, target employers who hire illegal immigrants and combat the potential for spillover violence from Mexico, one cut will come from the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, which gives money to states to help defray the cost of incarcerating illegal immigrants who commit crimes. That program is popular with border state lawmakers of both parties, who say the federal government must foot the bill for failing to enforce its borders. Read today's story in the Washington Times.

Mass Amnesty Groups Putting Pressure on Democratic Officials

Pro amnesty coalition groups in California stopped short of threatening California elected officials in reminding them that they "need to be re-energized and to continue giving their support" for mass amnesty. "[Obama] asked us to vote for him ... and we did," U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez told hundreds of farmworkers during his recent Mass Amnesty national tour. "He promised us that if we voted for him he would sign an immigration reform in the first year of his first term." Of course, let's make sure to remind everyone that the type of "immigration reform" that Mr. Gutierrez is talking about is mass amnesty for all illegal aliens currently in this country. Read the entire article from The Californian.

Enforcement of Immigration Laws Challenged in Wisconsin

The Dane County, WI, sheriff wants to enforce the law when it comes to illegal immigration by instituting a policy of requiring the reporting of all undocumented inmates to federal authorities. However, opposition groups have challenged this policy labeling it as unfair towards law-abiding members of the hispanic community. But, isn't being in this country illegally still considered a crime? Read the whole story from Madison's WKOW TV.

Can't Win a Debate? Use a "Straw Man"

While most Americans want to see immigration laws enforced, the open borders lobby uses diversionary tactics to criticize the way in which immigration laws are enforced without ever admitting to their true amnesty goals. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) gives an interesting analogy in today's Human Events about special interest groups' plans for bringing about amnesty for illegal immigrants.

E-Verify Proponent Chosen as GOP Leader on the Senate Judiciary Committee

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions was chosen as the leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. The move is very positive for those of us in favor of a tougher stance on the immigration debate as Sen. Sessions has been a consistent voice for more enforcement, border security and use of the E-Verify program. For more details about this positive news, see today's LA Times article.

Displeasure Grows with DHS' Lack of Immigration Enforcement

Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) says he is not prepared to join other members of Congress who are calling for Napolitano's resignation, but admits he is outraged at the recent DHS memo that singled out members of the military and supporters of conservative causes as potential domestic terrorists. Read today's story from One News Now.

An Institutional Interest in Border Chaos

Dan Stein, President of FAIR, believes that both political parties in Washington have a vested interest in keeping our borders open while ignoring a large majority of Americans who have repeatedly insisted that federal immigration laws be enforced. And Julie Kirchner, Executive Director of FAIR, says that extending a hand to hard-working immigrants who just want a chance to get ahead should not come at the expense of our own fellow citizens. Read Examiner columnist Barbara Hollingsworth's expose' in today's Washington Examiner.

Immigration Enforcement "LA-Style"

When it comes to enforcing current immigration laws in LA County, the system is riddled with double-standards, political careerism, and just plain confusion. It's no wonder why police officers in one of the nation's most populated counties ask themselves what they should do when it comes to illegal aliens. Read Jack Dunphy's powerful story in today's National Review Online.

New Workplace Enforcement Viewed as Meaningless

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday issued new work site enforcement guidelines that shift the focus to employers rather than illegal workers. The new guidelines depart from the Bush-era focus on illegal workers and instruct agents to conduct "carefully planned criminal investigations" of employers and to look for evidence that they may be involved in smuggling or visa fraud. Dan Stein, President of FAIR, said that we can expect a series of meaningless and empty pronouncements about enforcement in an effort to mislead the public and to promote the new administration's big amnesty plan. Read the full story here.

Enforcement of Immigration Laws is Important for One NJ Town

Despite President Barack Obama's push for mass amnesty that most likely would nullify 287(g), one New Jersey town mayor wants current laws enforced. Democratic Morristown, NJ, Mayor Donald Cresitello said that while he supports a "pathway to citizenship" for illegal immigrants, he favors strict enforcement of the border, reiterated that to cross the border illegally is a federal crime, and that hiring undocumented workers and housing them are also federal crimes. Read the full story from NJ.com here.

SPLC Seeks to Raise Money Using Discredited DHS Intel Report

Click here to see the most recent fundraising letter by Morris Dees of the SPLC.

How About Putting America First?

C.T. Sciance provides a great response to a recent Wall Street Journal editorial as well as put a human face on his personal experience with illegal immigration. Read his rebuttal to Jason Reilly's recent op-ed here. We think you will agree with his points.

Cooperation at Local Level Nets Criminal Element

Operation Community Shield, a national law enforcement initiative that targets violent transnational street gangs through the use of ICE's broad law enforcement powers, helped immigration and local police authorities in arresting 17 illegal immigrants in Wichita during an operation targeting foreign-born gang members. The men were allegedly members or associates of street gangs known as Kings of Destruction, Players For Life, Surenos-13, and the Vato Loco Boys. Read the whole story here.