• U.S. mulls legalizing classes of undocumented aliens in absence of immigration reform

    An internal U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) memo, titled “Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” indicates that high level officials within the Obama administration may be considering ways to legalize classes of undocumented immigrants in case Congress does not deal with formal legalization for the estimated 10.8 million immigrants without papers

  • U.S. federal prosecutions of immigrants hits all-time high

    U.S. federal prosecutions of immigrants soared to new levels this spring; the 4,145 cases referred to federal prosecutors in March and April was the largest number for any two-month stretch in the last five years; the number of illegal immigrants in the United States has fallen — as of January 2009, an estimated 10.8 million people were in the country illegally, one million less than the 2007 — but deportations have been increasing, climbing from 185,944 in 2007 to 387,790 last year

  • Detailed list of 1,300 alleged illegal immigrants circulated in Utah

    An anonymous group circulated a list containing the names and personal information of 1,300 people, whom the anonymous group contends are illegal immigrants, to government agencies and news outlets in Utah; most of the names on the list are of Hispanic origin; the list contains highly detailed personal information such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, workplaces, addresses, and phone numbers; names of children are included, along with due dates of pregnant women on the list; the group demands that the people on the list be deported immediately; Governor Gary Herbert ordered an investigation; Utah’s Hispanic community terrified

  • Coalition of Tucson businesses launches campaign against Arizona harsh immigration law

    A coalition of 90 Tucson, Arizona businesses launches a “We Mean Business” campaign to show their resistance to SB 1070 — the harsh immigration law set to take effect 29 July; many of the owners agree there is a need for immigration reform; however they do not think the new law is the most effective approach

  • Degree of illegal immigrants' involvement in smuggling drugs, other crimes uncertain

    There are about 500,000 illegal immigrants living in Arizona; Governor Jan Brewer’s recently said that the majority of them are “drug mules” and linked them to beheadings; exploring any link between illegal immigration and other crimes is difficult, however, and there is little in the way of reliable data that indicate what crimes immigrants may commit after crossing the border illegally