It's time for calm debate of immigration

Before this nation can reach a sensible immigration policy it must cool the hysteria fanned by politicians who push the misperception that immigrants are enemies of the American economy. There are signs of hope in Iowa that such a change is possible.

One sign comes in the form of a public opinion survey on immigration issues measuring the attitudes of Iowans who say they are likely to attend next week’s Republican presidential caucuses.

The results may be surprising, because they show that solid majorities of these Iowa Republicans and independents are far from opposed to legal immigration. They agree that immigrants do help grow the economy. Indeed, seven in 10 respondents said they are not opposed to increasing opportunities for legal immigrants to enter the U.S. workforce.

The other piece of evidence is a compact signed by a bipartisan group of Iowa elected officials, faith leaders, law enforcement officials and businessmen and women calling for immigration reform. Among the first to sign were Perry Mayor Jay Pattee and Police Chief Dan Bricker, Evangelical Church of America Bishop Michael Burk, Greater Des Moines Partnership President Martha Willits and former Ambassador Mary Kramer. They say immigration is a federal issue, and it is time for Congress to act.

Read More: It's time for calm debate of immigration

Mayor Seeks to Let Illegal Immigrants Vote

Already known as a refuge for people from other lands, New Haven is tightening its embrace of newcomers as its mayor seeks to extend voting rights to illegal immigrants and other noncitizens, a policy challenge that comes shortly after attacks on "sanctuary cities" by Republican presidential candidates.

The Democratic mayor, John DeStefano, helped illegal immigrants come out of the shadows four years ago when he launched a first-of-its-kind program to give them city resident cards. Despite crackdowns elsewhere, he has forged ahead with proposals that he says are designed to find common ground in a diverse city.

"We're a place of differences," he said. "We're a place that sees a strength and places a value on welcoming folks from all over."

Dozens of American cities including New York, San Francisco and Cambridge, Mass., take a hands-off approach to pursuing illegal immigrants. While advocates say they are rightly distancing themselves from a broken immigration system, critics accuse them of flouting federal law as "sanctuary cities" — a label not all of them accept.

Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich has vowed to cut off federal funding for such cities. One of his rivals, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, pushed a bill this year that would have prohibited cities from acting as "sanctuaries" for illegal immigrants and allowed local law enforcement to become more involved in immigration enforcement. Mitt Romney has said he opposed sanctuary cities as Massachusetts governor and, as president, he would "find the right approach" to ending them if legally possible.

Read More:  Mayor Seeks to Let Illegal Immigrants Vote

ACLU: Citizens Jailed Under US Immigration Program

Four U.S. citizens were erroneously arrested in Southern California recently through the federal immigration enforcement program called Secure Communities, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday.

The arrests offer another point of tension between immigrant rights groups and Homeland Security, especially after President Barack Obama's administration said the highly criticized local-federal immigration enforcement program would only focus on illegal immigrants with serious criminal records.

Secure Communities, administered by U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allows fingerprint analysis to identify illegal immigrants in county jails.

Immigrant right groups say Secure Communities can discourage immigrants from reporting crimes and can lead to the deportation of people who haven't been convicted of anything.

"We demand that the county and the city of Los Angeles stop collaborating with (ICE) and that the Obama Administration stop Secure Communities once and for all," said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.

According to the ACLU, three Hispanic men were arrested and put on immigration holds after being processed through Secure Communities in November, and a fourth one went through the same process in July.

Read More: ACLU: Citizens Jailed Under US Immigration Program

Supreme Court to Rule on Immigration Law in Arizona

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Arizona may impose tough anti-immigration measures. Among them, in a law enacted last year, is a requirement that the police there question people they stop about their immigration status.

The Obama administration challenged parts of the law in court, saying that it could not be reconciled with federal immigration laws and policies. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, blocked enforcement of parts of the law in April.

The administration challenged four provisions. The most prominent was a requirement that state law enforcement officials determine the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest if officials have reason to believe that the individual might be an illegal immigrant. The provision also requires that the immigration status of people who are arrested be determined before they are released.

The law also makes it a crime under state law for aliens to fail to register under a federal one. In a brief urging the Supreme Court not to hear the case, Donald B. Verrilli Jr., the United States solicitor general, said this provision created a state “crime of being unlawfully present in the United States.”


Read More: Supreme Court to Rule on Immigration Law in Arizona

Immigrant Initiative: Hiding may be Finished

If a state initiative succeeds, hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants living in California could work without the threat of deportation.

On Friday, California Assemblyman Felipe Fuentes, a Democrat from Sylmar, Calif., filed a proposal with the state attorney general’s office. The move marked the first step in an effort to gather 504,760 voter signatures — the number needed to qualify for a place on the ballot.

Fuentes said his measure, called the California Opportunity and Prosperity Act, is a “moderate, common-sense approach” by the state to compensate for the federal government’s shortcomings, according to an article in the Sacramento Bee.

The proposed act could create around $325 million in new tax dollars from undocumented workers, supporters say. John Cruz, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s former appointments secretary, said longtime undocumented residents would be able to “fully contribute to society by becoming taxpayers as well” under the initiative.

But Tim Donnelly, a Republican from Twin Peaks, Calif., countered that the measure wouldn’t have a “snowball’s chance in hell” with voters. Immigrants must follow a “proper process for coming to this country,” Donnelly added.

Read More: Immigrant initiative: Hiding may be finished