Young illegal immigrants worry about deportation after DREAM Act fails

Several younger illegal immigrants -- many of whom were brought to the U.S. as children -- publicly "came out" about their immigration status last year as they campaigned for the DREAM Act, which could have given them a path to citizenship. That measure failed, and now those young people are worried they've put themselves at higher risk of deportation, the New York Times reports.

DREAM on? Dream on ...

The DREAM Act is probably dead for this year, the Washington Post reports. The bill would provide a way for young illegal immigrants, who were brought to the U.S. as children, to become citizens by serving in the military or attending college. (More about the DREAM Act here ...)

The legislation is a big deal for advocates of illegal immigrants. There have been a handful of cases this summer where younger illegal immigrants, many of them attending college, have staged sit-ins at officials' offices, getting arrested and -- theoretically -- putting themselves at risk of deportation, though I don't how serious that threat is. We've previously blogged about local students involved in the movement here and here.

CNN says one of them, Yahaira Carrillo, is in deportation proceedings, though a Plog post from August says the likelihood of that actually happening is low.

Fed's dropping charges against non-felon illegal immigrants

The Department of Homeland Security is moving to dismiss cases filed against suspected illegal immigrants without serious criminal records. Supposedly it's part of a broader strategy to prioritize deportations of illegal immigrants who "pose a threat to national security and public safety.

Culling the immigration court system dockets of immigrants who aren't believed to be dangerous started in earnest in Houston about a month ago and has stunned local immigration attorneys, who have reported coming to court anticipating clients' deportations only to learn that the government was tossing their cases.

| Sara Shepherd

Laying out the issues in the Arizona immigration case

The AP has a pretty good backgrounder here on the federal government's lawsuit against Arizona's new immigration-enforcement law, spelling out why the feds think the law is unconstitutional -- and why supporters say the government is missing the point.

Homeland Security officials say the government cannot possibly find, arrest and deport everyone who is here illegally. And trying to do so would also upset a balance crafted by Congress that takes into account humanitarian interests and foreign relations.

But proponents of the Arizona solution insist that's no reason not to try. And they say the state's toughest-in-the-nation law is a reasonable way to start.

Should U.S. give amnesty to more Central Americans?

The U.S. has seen more amnesty requests from Central American residents who say they'll be killed by gangs if they're forced to return their home countries, the New York Times reports. But it's very tough to get those requests approved. The Obama White House is taking another look at amnesty standards, to see if they need reworking.

The Times writes about Benito Zaldívar, a Salvadoran who tried to go to his parents, who were legal immigrants living in Carthage, Mo. Zaldívar was returned to El Salvador after his request was turned down. He was afraid that he'd be killed for refusing to join a gang. About two months after he went home, he was murdered.

More states to adopt Arizona-style immigration reform?

If the federal government won't tackle immigration reform, it looks like state authorities will, the Washington Post reports. Everyone knows about Arizona's new law, passed several weeks ago, but the Post says that five other states -- South Carolina, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Michigan -- are considering something very similar. That's not counting other immigration bills, 107 by one count, passed in 34 states. (That aren't as tough as Arizona's, or that -- in some cases -- offer protection to illegal immigrants.)

KCPD wants illegal immigrants to report crimes without fear

Kansas City police had a meeting last night to clear the air over immigration enforcement in Old Northeast, Meredith Rodriguez reports. After Arizona passed its tough new law, illegal immigrants everywhere are more fearful that police are going to deport them if they report a crime -- even though, at this point, Missouri doesn't have a law quite like Arizona's. (Traffic violations don't count, the story notes.)

KCPD leaders say they don't get into a person's immigration status unless they've committed a crime. They want illegal immigrants who've witnessed or been victimized by crime to contact them for help.

Extreme Makeover: Immigration Enforcement Edition

Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- what all the cool kids call "ICE" -- is restructuring its divisions, and the Washington Post says it's partly a "rebranding" effort. When you hear about ICE, the news is almost always about immigration enforcement, but agency officials say that overlooks all of the other work they do, including counter-terrorism and investigations into money laundering.

To burnish the agency's image, ICE officials are considering a strategy that has helped the FBI for years: the aid of Hollywood and other venues of popular culture. Timothy Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University, said such efforts could be squandered if internal problems aren't addressed. 

Immigrant advocates say that ICE has real problems that need to be fixed:

The agency is hounded, too, by reports of poor treatment of noncitizens in ICE custody and allegations that the agency's rigid policies break up immigrant families. The agency has faced criticism over medical care for detainees, hiding the truth about deaths in detention and setting quotas for deportations.

A kinder, gentler detention center for illegal immigrants

Several detention centers for illegal immigrants are introducing changes to make these places "less penal and more humane," the Houston Chronicle reports. A lot of these are aimed at the low-risk detainees, giving them longer visiting hours and more access to phone lines. And there will be more healthy food and more recreation opportunities, including movie nights, bingo and art classes in some places.

An ICE spokesman says the point of these centers isn't punishment, but to hold people until they can be deported. A union representing ICE guards is unhappy about the changes, saying they put employees' safety at risk.

Mexico, U.S. argue over jurisdiction in teen's fatal shooting

It's not clear where a Border Patrol agent was standing when he fatally shot a Mexican teenager, and that could complicate an already tense situation between the two countries.

As we noted yesterday, a 15-year-old named Sergio Adrian Hernandez Huereka was killed Monday under a railroad bridge between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. A U.S. source says they have video showing the agent was on the U.S. side of the border and suggests that Mexican authorities crossed into the U.S. The teenager's body was found 20 feet on the Mexican side, though, and the wound indicates the weapon was fired from close range, the AP reports. The shell was found "nearby," though who knows how "nearby."

If the shooting happened in Mexico, it'd be a violation of Border Patrol rules. And the Mexicans will probably argue for a homicide prosecution in their country.

The agent reportedly fired in a self-defense because several people were throwing rocks at him as he tried to arrest border-crossers. The head of the Border Patrol union said: "It is a deadly force encounter, one that justifies the use of deadly force." Luckily, everyone is staying calm:

Pointing their rifles, Mexican security forces chased away U.S. authorities investigating the shooting of a 15-year-old Mexican by a U.S. Border Patrol agent on the banks of the Rio Grande, the FBI and witnesses told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

People march in the Chihuahuaita neighborhood of El Paso, Texas for a candle light vigil Wednesday night, June 9, 2010 . The community came together to honor the life of Sergio Adrian Hernandez Güereca,15, who was killed by a Border Patrol agent Monday. (AP Photo/Vanessa Monsisvais/The El Paso Times)

AP: Mexico border is actually pretty safe

The Associated Press looked at crime data available from the FBI, and though drug cartels are fighting in Mexico's northern states, the U.S. side is actually pretty safe, the wire service says.

The top four big cities in America with the lowest rates of violent crime are all in border states: San Diego, Phoenix, El Paso and Austin, according to a new FBI report. And an in-house Customs and Border Protection report shows that Border Patrol agents face far less danger than street cops in most U.S. cities.

But there are areas where there is genuine concern. The Border Patrol says its agents have faced increased attacks near Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley. And there have been a couple of high-profile murders related to border jumping, including the slaying of rancher Robert Krentz in Arizona.

Study: Immigration helps reduce crime

A new study argues that immigration has helped reduce crime in some cities, Newsweek's Christopher Dickey writes. (Dickey opposes Arizona's tough new immigration law.) The study -- the work of a University of Colorado sociologist -- looked at crime rates and Census data between 1990 and 2000. (An abstract of the study, which appears in Social Science Quarterly, can be found here.) Why do some experts think immigration can be credited for the decrease? From Dickey's column:

Robert J. Sampson, head of the sociology department at Harvard, has suggested that, among other things, immigrants move into neighborhoods abandoned by locals and help prevent them from turning into urban wastelands. They often have tighter family structures and mutual support networks, all of which actually serve to stabilize urban environments.

Will tougher immigration enforcement lead to more crime?

Several police departments say they don't want to enforce federal immigration laws because they need illegal immigrants to trust them. That way, if they're a victim or a witness to a crime, they'll cooperate with officers.

Yesterday, in fact, police chiefs from Los Angeles, Phoenix and Philadelphia met with Attorney General Eric Holder to argue that point and oppose Arizona's new immigration law, which requires cops to check the papers of anybody they reasonably suspect of being here illegally. The chiefs are worried that crime will go up if they're forced to do a lot of immigration enforcement.

The Washington Post quotes the head of an Arizona sheriff's group, who doubts that:

Babeu said cooperation from illegal immigrants, particularly those coming from Mexico, is already low because they are in the United States illegally and because of law enforcement corruption in their native countries.

The Post notes that -- even as civil-rights group have raised issues about the law's constitutionality -- opinion polls show support for Arizona's law standing as high as 70 percent.

It's an interesting debate, but it's hard to find studies that can settle the dispute. The Atlantic has a good roundup here, noting that Prince William County, Va., saw lower crime rates even as it increased immigration enforcement -- but that Phoenix, which has a lot of illegal immigrants, also saw its crime rates decrease.

Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villasenor, left, accompanied by Chuck Wexler of the Police Executive Research Forum, center, and Sahuarita, Ariz. Police Chief John W. Harris, gestures during a news conference outside the Justice Department in Washington, Wednesday, May 26, 2010, following a meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The dumbest thing you'll read today

Dora The Explorer's status has officially became part of the illegal immigration debate. In related news, Diego is being sought by ICE.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, You're A Mean Drunk R2D2!

KC activist could be deported over sit-in

A woman named Yahaira Carrillo -- an illegal immigrant living in Kansas City -- was arrested Monday for a sit-in at Sen. John McCain's offices in Tucson, Ariz. There's an excellent chance that she's going to be deported.

Tony's Kansas City has been following the story, with posts here and here. The sit-in even made the New York Times. The protesters -- who were dressed in caps and graduation gowns -- were urging McCain to support the DREAM Act, a piece of legislation that would help younger illegal immigrants become citizens, if they get a college degree or serve in the military. It's not clear how the bill will fare.

Carrillo has a biography here, on a site advocating for the DREAM Act. Sen. Dick Durbin, one of the bill's sponsors, argues his case here. Congressman Tom Tancredo argues against it here.

Report: More immigrants cross into Arizona

More illegal immigrants are crossing into the U.S. via Arizona, despite that state's new immigration law, the U.S. Border Patrol reports. Overall, though, crossings into the U.S. are down.

Most Americans like Arizona's immigration law, survey suggests

From McClatchy:

A strong majority of Americans support Arizona's controversial new immigration law and would back similar laws in their own states, a new McClatchy-Ipsos poll found. Sixty-one percent of Americans — and 64 percent of registered voters — said they favored the law in a survey of 1,016 adults conducted May 6-9.

2 Arizona cities sue over immigration law

Flagstaff and Tucson have voted to file lawsuits against Arizona's new immigration law, which would require local police to help enforce federal immigration law. Flagstaff argues the law is an unfunded mandate that will wreck their police and jail budget. Tucson's concern is financial, too -- though they're more concerned about the effect on tourism.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Tȟatȟaŋka Iyotȟaŋka (Sitting Bull)

Arizona revises immigration law

Arizona's governor has signed a bill that slightly changes the big immigration law passed there recently. The new language says police will check the immigration status of anyone they "stop, detain or arrest." Supporters say they hope this will mollify people who worried police would investigate the status of witnesses and victims.

The revision also says police can check the immigration status of people involved in municipal or city code violations, the Arizona Republic reports.

How do police like new Arizona law?

Arizona's new immigration law has a big impact on police there, who'll be enforcing the rules. Some lawmen, like Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, are happy about the changes, though others say it's an unfunded mandate that will destroy their jail budgets. They're also worried about training -- they've got 90 days to teach all of their officers how to enforce the federal laws. One Tucson cop, a naturalized U.S. citizen, is suing to stop the law, CNN reports. 

Time magazine's report is illustrative of the divide. The group that represents Arizona's police chiefs is against the new law. But the group representing the rank-and-file officers is strongly supportive of enforcing immigration laws.

"What we've seen is inaction, a lot of discussion," he said. "We have officers getting killed, getting severely injured by illegal aliens." He told the story of Officer Marc Atkinson, a young Phoenix cop whom Livingston had personally recruited to the force. Atkinson was slain by an illegal alien, said Livingston, during a drug bust.

(Sorry, I know you're all probably sick of Arizona stories, but I can't help myself.)

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Tȟatȟaŋka Iyotȟaŋka

Feeling RANDy about illegal immigration

The RAND Corporation has a new report about illegal immigration and whether it's a good idea to have local police doing enforcement. A copy of the study costs about $7, though there's a decent summary here. The big problem is there are so many illegal immigrants and not enough "bandwidth" in the federal justice system. ICE estimates it would cost $5 billion and 15 years to catch up. (So, when you see a protest sign saying "They Can't Deport Us All," that's a fairly accurate assessment.)

RAND doesn't dismiss the idea of having local police do immigration enforcement. But there's a danger for local jurisdictions, beyond the civil-rights concerns.

A 2007 partnership between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the sheriff's department in Maricopa County, Arizona, resulted in deputies identifying 16,000 illegal immigrants among 106,000 jail inmates over three months.

However, the effort racked up a debt of $1.3 million in only three months, the percentage of crimes the department solved dropped and the time it took for officers to respond to calls for service grew.

Will Missouri pass Arizona-style law?

Arizona has gotten a lot of attention for its new law on illegal immigration, but Missouri is also considering a bill to punish people who help illegal immigrants, KSHB reports. In fact, the bill's sponsor -- Rep. Mark Parkinson, who represents St. Charles -- plans to change his proposal so that it mirrors Arizona's. (Kris Kobach, a UMKC professor who's worked on several immigration cases, helped write part of Arizona's law.)

It's not likely that Parkinson's bill will go far this year because the legislature is so busy with budget issues, 41 reports. Here's a summary of the bill as it exists now.

A few people from the Kansas City area testified about the bill yesterday at the Capitol. One man with the American Patriots Coalition said the proposal would merely help enforce existing law. Some church volunteers worried they could be arrested for doing charity work that helps illegals. And a West Side businessman argued that it would lead to racial profiling for Hispanics who are full U.S. citizens. (Something that Kobach has denied.)

The Los Angeles Times interviewed Kobach about the Arizona law here. Tony's Kansas City -- Kobach's biggest fan -- has a post about the news here.

A man waits to be processed by Mexican authorities after being deported from the US in Nogales, Mexico, Wednesday, April 28, 2010. The Mexican government warned its citizens Tuesday to use extreme caution if visiting Arizona because of a tough new law that requires all immigrants and visitors to carry U.S.-issued documents or risk arrest. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Ariz. cops need immigration training

There's another wrinkle in the story about Arizona's new immigration law: Police there need training so they can enforce immigration rules correctly, and they're asking the federal government for help. The president has already asked the Justice Department to review the law and see if it violates any civil-rights standards -- so that help might not be forthcoming. State officials say they need the extra assistance, partly because ICE has more expertise, but also because Arizona only has 90 days to train all of its LEOs.

Would Ariz. immigration bill 'legalize' racial profiling?

Arizona's legislature has passed a bill that would require police, if they suspect someone is an illegal immigrant, to verify their status. The governor still needs to sign the bill, and opponents are asking her to not do so. They say it'll lead to more racial profiling -- police, they say, will start asking Hispanic people, and only Hispanic people, to prove they're here legally. Which isn't fair to people of Latino ancestry who also happen to be American citizens.

Supporters of the law say they're doing this because federal immigration enforcement isn't getting the job done.

Drug cartel chases families from border towns

A Mexican drug cartel is reportedly trying to chase civilians from several smaller border towns near Ciudad Juarez, the AP and the New York Times report. It appears that hundreds of families have moved as a result. They say they've received notes ordering them to leave, and in some cases, the Sinaloa cartel is suspected of burning homes and even a church. In one town that's normally home to 3,000 people, only a few hundred people are left.

U.S. border officials say they've seen a jump in the number of asylum requests. And towns in Texas are worried the trouble could follow people who've fled the violence in Mexico.