The bill ratifying recent legislative changes passes easily.
Congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama!
Barack Obama's share of the Latino vote jumped eight percent in the final days of the campaign, according to a Zogby poll taken between October 30th and November 2nd. The poll showed Obama getting 78% of the Latino vote compared to 70% at the beginning of October.
America's Voice has released this helpful chart to give folks an idea of what to look for when analyzing tomorrow's Latino vote. Polling for the past several weeks has shown McCain getting between 25% and 33% in most surveys, a substantial drop from 2004. Combined with the addition of three million new Latino voters, tomorrow could be a tough day for Senator McCain.
|
2004
Election Results in States with Large Latino Populations |
||||
|
State |
2004
Presidential Result |
2004
Presidential Result: Latinos |
2004
Latino % of Electorate |
2004
Latino Turnout # |
|
AZ |
55-44 Bush |
43-56 Kerry |
12% |
269k |
|
CA |
45-54 Kerry |
32-63 Kerry |
21% |
2.69m |
|
CO |
52-47 Bush |
30-68 Kerry |
8% |
165k |
|
FL |
52-47 Bush |
56-44 Bush |
15% |
1.11m |
|
IL |
44-55 Kerry |
23-76 Kerry |
8% |
454k |
|
NM |
50-49 Bush |
44-56 Kerry |
32% |
268k |
|
NV |
51-48 Bush |
39-60 Kerry |
10% |
87k |
|
NY |
40-59 Kerry |
24-75 Kerry |
9% |
693k |
|
TX |
61-38 Bush |
49-50 Kerry |
20% |
1.59m |
|
NATIONAL |
51-48 Bush |
44-53
Kerry |
8% |
7.6m |
America's Voice also posted the Latino vote from the last three cycles: 1996 - Clinton 72% to Dole 21%; 2000 - Gore 62% to Bush 35%; 2004 - Kerry 56% to Bush 44%
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It's hard to have a lot of sympathy for Agriprocessors, a company that appears to have acted in a pretty brazen fashion not only in hiring illegally present workers, but in how it allegedly treated those workers. On the other hand, the meat and poultry industry in this country has been placed in a no win situation where it can choose between hiring illegal workers, going without US workers or simply moving its operations overseas.
While John McCain, Barack Obama and Joe Biden all have solidly pro-immigration records, less is known about the positions of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The governor has indicated, however, that her views are consistent with her running mate and that she would seek to find a path to citizenship for many of the millions of illegally present immigrants in the country.
Palin spelled out her views in a recent interview with Spanish-language television network Univision. The Washington TImes reports on Palin's remarks:
She said she doesn't support "amnesty" because those here illegally should be shuttled to the back of the line for services.
"Not total amnesty. You know, people have got to follow the rules. They've got to follow the law, and we have got to make sure that there is equal opportunity and those who are here legally should be first in line for services being provided and those opportunities that this great country provides."
She also said she opposes driver's licenses for illegal immigrants and said she would not halt immigration raids. She said decisions on raids should be made "on a case-by-case basis to consider all the ramifications of each individual action."
There are not very many immigration measures on ballots around the country tomorrow, but Arizona voters will decide on a referendum that many legislators around the country will be watching. The measure would add a number of business-friendly changes to one of the nation's toughest immigration laws. Under Arizona law, employers can lose their business licenses if they are found to have hired illegally present workers. The referendum would tighten standards for reporting violations and for proving cases and it would strengthen the safe harbors available to those complying with the law. Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has remained neutral on the measure, though she recently signed legislation passed by the legislature making these changes. The referendum would make it impossible for lawmakers to reverse that legislation without a new voter referendum.
I am not a big fan of most reality television shows, but one big exception is CBS' The Amazing Race. I watch it religiously with my kids every Sunday night and it's a fun way for us to see the world from our living room.
One of the ingredients that makes the show a hit is Phil Keoghan, the show's New Zealand-born host. Phil has won six Emmys for his television work and is an adventurer in his personal life. He holds the world record for bungee jumping, has gone diving in the world's longest underwater caves and has dined at the top of an erupting volcano.
By now you've probably heard about Barack Obama's half-aunt who was revealed to be living illegally in Boston since the denial of her asylum petition four years ago. The Obama campaign released a statement yesterday indicating they had no knowledge of the aunt's status and that he had not spoken with her in over two years. Another aspect of the story that has gotten less attention is that an ICE official leaked the private information to the media.
Congressman John Conyers, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee (which includes the Immigration Subcommittee) was angered by the leak and fired off this letter to DHS Secretary Chertoff:
I was startled to read in today's Associated Press that a "federal law enforcement official" has leaked information about an immigration case involving a relative of Senator Obama. Even more troubling, the AP reports that it could not "could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved," a very disturbing suggesting indeed. This leak is deplorable and I urge you to take immediate action to investigate and discipline those responsible.
I note that this is not the first leak of law enforcement information apparently designed to influence the coming Presidential election -- in recent weeks law enforcement sources leaked information about an alleged investigation of a community services organization, a leak that the Department of Justice informs me is now under investigation by the Department's Office of the Inspector General and Professional Responsibility.
Such leaks are deeply harmful to the political process, and the American people expect and deserve better from their government and its law enforcement agencies.
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
Ben Smith at Politico reports that ICE is now investigating. According to ICE press secretary Kelly Nantel:
Early this morning, the matter was refered to Inspector General and ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility for action. They are looking into whether there was a violation of policy in publicly disclosing individual case information.
Today's New York Times has an opinion piece by activist Irshad Manji that caught my attention. Ms. Manji writes about her experience on October 31, 1972 when the family arrived for entry as refugees in Montreal. They were fleeing Uganda after Idi Amin decided to kick out the Indians who had helped over generations to build up the economy of the central African country. The piece talks about the kindness of an immigration inspector who left an impression so strong on the family that decades later they still remember the woman fondly.
The inspector saw that the family was terrified about being turned away and instead of treating the newcomers with suspicion and as a burden, the officer talked with the family and helped them realize that they would be smarter choosing a different part of the country where they would likely be happier:
As an adult, I've come to understand why I'm so blessed to have immigrated to an open society. Here, the individual - and the choices she makes - matter. The agent chose to practice the first lesson of human rights: just because a problem doesn't affect you personally doesn't mean it ceases to exist. I've seen Ms. Manji on the always witty show Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO and so was somewhat familiar with her work promoting the reform of her Islamic faith. She is the director of the Moral Courage Project at the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University and the author of the best-selling book "The Troubel With Islam Today".
Agriprocessors, the large Iowa meatpacking company that was the site of a massive work site raid in May, has been fined $10,000,000, the largest penalty ever levied against an American company for immigration-related violations.
And ICE announced yesterday that one of the company's human resource managers has plead guilty to harboring illegal aliens and aggravated identity theft.
[UPDATE: Sholom Rubashkin, the former CEO and VP of Agriprocessors has been arrested.]
For those who think we don't enforce the laws, talk to folks at this company.
Australian writer Peter Carey is an award-winning author of works like Oscar and Lucinda and True History of the Kelly Gang. The 65 year old is a long time resident of New York and also the Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Hunter College. He wrote the screenplay for the film version of Oscar and Lucinda as well. Carey is still quite active and is working on a new novel.
My friend Steven Thal has co-written an article on this topic here on ILW.com and its very thorough. Get out and vote!
Want to stimulate the US housing market and create jobs? Take advantage of the fact that many people around the world are still anxious to become American and put their capital and entrepreneurial spirit to work. Dori Segal and Brian Lee Crowley have come up with a creative plan that has two primary elements:
America should immediately offer fast-track immigration to foreigners willing to do two things.
First, they must buy a house in the United States worth a minimum of $200,000 or with a minimum area of 2,000 square feet, paying cash up front.
Second, they must place a further $250,000 in a government-insured account with a U. S. financial institution or spend $250,000 to create a business in the United States employing a minimum of three American citizens.
About The Author
Greg Siskind is a partner in Siskind Susser's Memphis, Tennessee, office. After graduating magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University, he received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago. Mr. Siskind is a member of AILA, a board member of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and a member of the ABA, where he serves on the LPM Publishing Board as Marketing Vice Chairman. He is the author of several books, including the J Visa Guidebook and The Lawyer's Guide to Marketing on the Internet. Mr. Siskind practices all areas of immigration law, specializing in immigration matters of the health care and technology industries. He can be reached by email at gsiskind@visalaw.com
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