Thursday Immigration Blog Roundup

by: The Opportunity Agenda

Thu Oct 29, 2009 at 11:57

This week's immigration blog roundup will cover a number of new studies in immigration, some state news, and more.

A new report from the Department of Homeland Security provides estimates of the number of legal permanent residents living in the United States in 2008. The report includes information on the leading countries of orgin and the leading states of residence.

The House and Senate have voted to pass the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Report, which includes an amendment to abolish the "Widow Penalty." The new law permits widows and widowers of U.S. citizens to apply for a green card for themselves and on behalf of their foreign-born children.

The Opportunity Agenda :: Thursday Immigration Blog Roundup

Lawmakers in Arizona are pushing for a new meaure that would allow local authorities to detain and question suspected undocumented immigrants. This new campaign comes as a result of the recent decision by the Department of Homeland Security to limit the powers of Sherriff Arpaio of Maricopa County in enforcing federal immigration laws through 287(g).

In San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors gave final approval of a measure introduced in August that would keep law enforcement from turning over minors to immigration authorities unless they have been found guilty of a felony. SF Mayor Gavin Newsom is expected to veto the measure ultimately sending the decision to the courts.
Newly published research from the Immigration Policy Center documents the economic significance of immigrants, Latinos, and Asians in Louisiana in terms of employment, tax revenues, and consumer purchasing power. Examples of findings include:

-Immigrants make up 3.3% of Louisiana's total population.
-More than 43% of immigrants in Louisiana are naturalized U.S. citizens who are eligible to vote.
-If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Louisiana, the state would lose $947 million in expenditures, $421 million in economic output and approximately 6,600 jobs.

After complaints from immigrant advocacy groups, stores such as Target and Walgreens are pulling the controversial "illegal alien" costumes from their shelves and websites.

Last week, the Immigration Policy Center released a new report Breaking Down the Problems: What's Wrong with Our Immigration System. The report focuses on how are current immigration system functions, the structural failure of our system, and issues stemming from an inadequate federal response to immigration reform.

This week, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), American Rights at Work (ARAW), and the National Employment Law Project (NELP) released ICED Out: How Immigration Enforcement Has Interfered with Workers' Rights, about how immigration enforcement has undermined labor law enforcement. Read the report here.

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