Illegal immigration

DHS IG critical of ICE deportation review process
DHS Inspector General’s report on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (ICE) handling of the review process of 300,000 pending deportation cases offers ammunition to critics of the administration’s immigration policies
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Texas unveils armed patrol boat
The Texas Highway Patrol recently added a fully-armed patrol boat to help officers secure the Texas-Mexico border
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Tough, controversial immigration laws go into effect around U.S.
The beginning of the new year saw tough immigration laws go into effect in several states, including Alabama, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Most of the laws require employers to use E-Verify to check to employment eligibility of job applicants, and in some authorize law enforcement personnel to inquire about the immigration status of individuals stopped for conduct unrelated to immigration.
Giant weed complicates border security
To add to the difficulties of patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border, an invasive species of giant weeds has infested rivers throughout the southwest, particularly the Rio Grande in Texas, providing dense cover for illegal activities
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Volunteers and cash pour in for private border fence
Donations and volunteers continue to pour in for a privately funded fence along the U.S.– Mexico border in Arizona, according to Republican state legislator Steve Smith
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DHS to drawdown troops along U.S.-Mexico border
Beginning in January the National Guard troops deployed along the U.S-Mexico border will begin heading home to their respective states as part of a broader shift in their mission; the 1,200 troops currently deployed will be reduced to 300, with the majority of them focusing on supporting border patrol efforts in the air rather than on the ground
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CBP wasted $69 million in building border fence
A recent government report reveals that DHS wasted $69 million by buying too much steel for a border fence project
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Another foreign executive arrested in Alabama on immigration charges
For the second time in recent weeks, Alabama law enforcement officials arrested a foreign car manufacturing executive under the state’s strict new immigration law
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Congressional Hispanic Caucus moves against Alabama immigration law
Representative Luis Gutierrez (D – Illinois) is stepping up his attacks against Alabama’s immigration law by seeking to enlist DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano; this week Gutierrez and other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus met with Secretary Napolitano to request that top federal immigration officials make it clear that immigration enforcement is a federal matter and out of states’ jurisdiction
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DHS will provide immigration data demanded by House Republicans
The Obama administration has agreed to provide information requested by House Republicans regarding its Secure Communities program and the process it uses to determine which illegal immigrants should be deported
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DHS launches wide-ranging review of immigration court cases
DHS said it will begin reviewing about 300,000 deportation proceedings to implement prosecutorial discretion measures laid out in a June 2011 ICE memo. The review is intended to allow overburdened immigration judges to focus on deporting foreigners who committed serious crimes or pose national security risks.
DHS will comply with subpoena regarding non-deported aliens
House Republicans want to know how the Obama administration decides which aliens to deport and which aliens to allow to remain in the United States. DHS says it will comply with a congressional subpoena seeking DHS records on the issue.

Coyotes using GPS and smartphones to smuggle immigrants, avoid capture
Human smugglers, or coyotes, have increasingly taken advantage of GPS equipped smartphones to sneak illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border; using the GPS capabilities of smartphones, coyotes stand at elevated points to carefully guide groups of illegal immigrants
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DHS offers new guidance for when to dismiss immigration cases
On Thursday, DHS issued guidelines to federal officials, advising that they should consider dismissing pending immigration cases involving some groups of illegal immigrants, among them children, college students, the elderly, and victims of domestic violence.
Alabama lawmakers backpedal on tough immigration law
Republican senators in Alabama are currently working on a series of amendments that would ameliorate the tough immigration law that has sharply divided the state
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