• Arizona denies driver licenses to those eligible for DHS deferred action program

    The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil rights groups have filed a lawsuit to overturn Arizona governor Jan Brewer’s order to deny driver licenses to illegal immigrants who qualify for the federal governments “deferred action” program; Brewer contends that although DHS is not deporting the 1.4 million people eligible for the program, this does not mean they are in the country legally

  • New U.S/Canada Border Conference aims to advance “Beyond the Border” declaration

    To further the goals of the February 2011 U.S.-Canada joint declaration, “Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness,” Eagle Eye Expositions, LLC will present a new event called the U.S./Canada Border Conference; the event will take place 10-11 September 2013 at the Cobo Center, Detroit Michigan

  • New Georgia immigration bill makes state health professionals feel the pain

    Starting in January 2012, a Georgia House bill required health employees to prove their citizenship or legal residency when they apply for or renew a professional license; the bill has licensing administrators tied up in knots as understaffed offices cannot keep up with the deluge of new paperwork and increased responsibility

  • DREAM Act could generate billions for U.S. economy

    A new study estimates that passing the DREAM Act would contribute $329 billion to the U.S. economy by 2030, or $18 billion a year; under the act, illegal immigrants would be able to go to school, work legally, obtain professional licenses, and enjoy other benefits, which will see them earn more, pay more in taxes, and consume more goods and services

  • iPhone app lets border crossers determine best time to cross U.S. border

    Excessive border waits cause $2.5 billion in losses annually to the San Diego regional economy, with typical two-hour delays for trucks at commercial crossings into San Diego County costing the county $455 million in annual revenue from reduced freight activity; new “crowdsourced” information app allows motorists to decide the best time to cross the border by car or truck; the app’s information is meshed with the data on wait times at the border from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to improve the accuracy of the wait times

  • Administrations temporarily waives some immigration measures in wake of Hurricane Sandy

    The Obama administration has waived immigration laws for illegal immigrants now in the United States, saying that the immigrants’ ability to maintain their lawful status or collect benefits has been effected by Hurricane Sandy; this measure will provide relief for immigrants, but some people are not happy with it

  • Face-recognition e-Gate at Amsterdam airport moving passengers at rapid pace

    E-Gate, the automated border control system developed by Accenture and Vision-Box for the Netherlands Ministry of Internal Affairs, is on target to process its one-millionth passenger at Schiphol Airport  in December

  • DHS finally investigates Border Patrol policies on deadly force

    It was reported last week that DHS’s Office of the Inspector General was investigating charges of excessive force by Border Patrol guards at the Mexican border; to change the dysfunctional culture prevalent among some Border Patrol agents in certain border stations, however, will require much more than an investigation by DHS IG of policies regarding the use of deadly force; what is required at a bare minimum is more, not less, professional training at the national academy, a legitimate mentorship program for all new agents by experienced mentors, legitimate agency support for continued professional development of agents, promotions based on merit rather than paternalistic decision-making, and a number of other reforms neither DHS nor the CBP are willing to acknowledge

  • L.A. sued for detaining foreign nationals on “immigration holds”

    The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a class-action lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) accusing it of illegally detaining people for days, weeks, or months after they should have been released. The reason for the continued detention is that those detained are subject to what is called “immigration hold”

  • Border Patrol relies in obsolescent surveillance gear

    An Obama administration plan to update equipment the Border Patrol is using did not materialize, and now officials are concerned about  outdated equipment putting the lives of agents in danger; the sensors now in use were originally said to be able to put Border Patrol agents in position to capture 90 percent of border invaders, but the DHS inspector general determined that just 4 percent of the alarms were confirmed cases of smugglers and border crossers; 34 percent were false alarms, and 62 percent were undetermined

  • New book discusses on immigration issues in Arizona

    In a new book, State Out of the Union: Arizona and the Final Showdown over the American Dream, JeffBiggers that SB 1070 has changed the way people look at Arizona, and that the history of revolutionary politics in the state has been forgotten; Biggers wants people to remember the political figures of the past – for example, the liberal Morris K. Udall and the conservative Barry Goldwater — who made Arizona prominent in U.S. history and politics

  • To ensure success, Mexican drug cartels emulate corporate business model

    When the subject of Mexican drug cartels come up, most people think of bloody violence, pounds of cocaine or marijuana, and so much money people have to weight it instead of counting it; what people do not think about is the business models the cartels emulate – and they emulate the models and management charts of typical American corporations

  • Employers in a bind over the administration’s deferred deportation executive order

    The administration’s 15 June executive order defers deportation action against 1.2 million illegal immigrants who meet certain criteria; those who apply for the 2-year deferment should prove, for example, that they have lived in the United States for at least five years, and one way to do so would be a job verification from their employers; employers, however, are concerned that those employers who agree to these requests may be acknowledging that they knowingly hired an illegal immigrant, a violation of federal law

  • Immigrant entrepreneurship in U.S. has stalled for the first time in decades

    New study finds that high-tech, immigrant-founded startups – a critical source of fuel for the U.S. economy — has stagnated and is on the verge of decline; the proportion of immigrant-founded companies nationwide has slipped from 25.3 percent to 24.3 percent since 2005; the drop is even more pronounced in Silicon Valley, where the percentage of immigrant-founded startups declined from 52.4 percent to 43.9 percent

  • Leading Latino supermarket entrepreneur criticized for using E-Verify

    Juvenal Chavez built his Mi Pueblo supermarket chain from the ground up into twenty-one stores, revitalized San Rafael’s Canal neighborhood in San Jose; he has been hailed  the king of Latino supermarket; now the entrepreneur has come under fire: Mi Pueblo shocked some of its 3,000 employees last month when it told them the supermarket chain has joined E-Verify, a DHS program that aims to verify the immigration status of new hires and existing employees