Immigration Policy Center

Published on Sun, May 09, 2010

Marie, a Haitian mother, couldn't have been more grateful. "Thank you God for TPS," she recently told an attorney helping her fill out forms that will protect her from deportation. She was referring to temporary protected status, which will allow her to work legally, help Haiti and support her two young children. It's the sentiment that we hear most these days.

As longtime advocates, we at Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center were gratified when the Department of Homeland Security granted temporary protected status to unauthorized Haitian immigrants after the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti. Temporary protected status will allow perhaps 100,000 Haitians to legalize their status for the next 18 months.

Published in the CNN

Published on Fri, May 07, 2010

Lawmakers in at least nine states are using Arizona’s immigration law as a test case to craft similar legislation, ratcheting up the pressure on the federal government to act before states enact a patchwork of laws that undercut federal authority.

Arizona’s S1070 opened a door that national anti-illegal immigration advocates had been pushing against for years. Groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform and its legal wing, the Immigration Reform Law Institute, have sought for years to create model legislation on illegal immigration that would withstand legal challenges and create a blueprint for states and cities that wanted to follow suit.

Published in the Arizona Capitol Times

Published on Wed, May 12, 2010

The Rev. Douglas Sharp, Dean of the Academy, Protestants for the Common Good

I remember the day, many years ago, when I stumbled across a passage in Leviticus in the New Revised Standard Version that said: “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

Published in the Chicago Tribune

Published on Mon, May 10, 2010

Kristin Everingham traveled more than three hours west to tell her immigration story.

With her 3-month old son, Zahir, wrapped in her arms, the Wichita resident explained to the large crowd gathered Saturday in Stevens Park that she and her husband, Hipolito Gutierrez, were married in Mexico but have not been able to raise their family of four together since he returned south of the border in 2003.

Published in the Garden City Telegram

Published on Tue, May 11, 2010

Immigrants arrested for decades-old or minor violations, like marijuana possession, may soon be less subject to deportation in at least one state.

Last week, New York state officials promised to ease deportations of immigrants who had committed minor violations. The New York Times reported that the state’s governor, David Paterson, plans to grant more pardons to immigrants facing deportation.

Published in the Latin American Dispatch

Published on Thu, May 06, 2010

The recent tragic death of Arizona rancher Rob Krentz made national headlines and brings new attention to the problem of border security. The killing of the third-generation rancher by suspected members of a Mexican drug cartel has become a flashpoint in the immigration debate as residents of border states and politicians cite the episode as further proof that the U.S. must do more to secure the violent U.S.-
Mexico border. The murder of Krentz comes at a time when well-armed cartel factions have lately battled each other and federal authorities in several Mexican border cities, resulting in thousands of brutal killings, kidnappings and gun battles. The increased violence has brought renewed cries by border state residents for help from the government in securing the U.S. border.

Published in the Dayton City Paper

Published on Mon, May 03, 2010

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer cited “border violence and crime due to illegal immigration” as motivations for signing a controversial law requiring people in Arizona to carry proof that they are in the U.S. legally.

But FBI and U.S. Department of Justice data show that Arizona’s violent crime rate is lower than the U.S. average and has been declining more rapidly than the U.S. average, The Independent found.

Published in the The New Mexico Independent

Published on Sun, May 02, 2010

Having been born on the banks of the Rio Grande (Eagle Pass, Texas) and after living 25 years among 2.4 million people in El Paso-Juárez — more than two-thirds of whom speak primarily Spanish — I have acquired a layman’s understanding of international relations. One lesson I’ve learned: Never treat a beehive like a piñata.

Published in the The Columbian

Published on Mon, May 03, 2010

Arizona’s controversial immigration law was revised over the weekend. The changes, specifying that police may only question the immigration status of those they suspect of being in the country illegally if they have already stopped them for a different reason, represent a state backtrack that critics are latching onto.

Published in the The Christian Science Monitor

Published on Tue, May 04, 2010

Democrats want immigration reform on the table as the White House fiscal commission examines ways to reduce deficits, saying there is a “credible connection” between the issue and the country’s fiscal situation.

Service Employees International Union (SEIU) President Andy Stern and Rep. Xavier Becerra (Calif.), both Democrats on the bipartisan fiscal commission, said reforms giving the 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States a chance to stay in the U.S. legally could boost the economy and thereby help pay down the debt.

Published in the The Hill