Two stories are in the news this week that serve as reminders of why we need legislation to help young people without legal immigration status. One involves Eric Balderas, a Harvard undergraduate who came to the US from Mexico at the age of four and speaks English as his primary language. The other involves Paulina Ameneyro, who has just graduated as valedictorian of her high school class in Charlotte, NC. She arrived in the US at the age of 12 and in just seven years has not only mastered English, but risen to the top academically. Both face years in exile from the countries they know and as a county we will lose out on their great talent. Members of Congress are considering bringing up the DREAM Act this year even if CIR doesn't have a great chance. And the DREAM legislation could offer a real pathway for young people like Eric and Paulina to become contributing members of our society.

Oh, the irony. Minuteman Founder Chris A. Simcox is a fugitive on the run from law enforcement for failing to pay child support.

The mayors of 200 of America's largest cities weigh in on the Arizona law.

If you ever hear someone from the GOP say that Democratic attacks that the GOP is anti-immigrant are unfair, remember that Steve King is the person given the ranking member position on the House Immigration Subcommittee. ThinkProgress reports on the latest nonsense to come from the mouth of Mr. King:

Today on G. Gordon Liddy’s radio show, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) discussed Arizona’s new anti-immigration law and claimed President Obama’s criticism of it demonstrates “that he has a default mechanism in him…that favors the black person.” While majorities of Americans and Arizonans support the new law, King also claimed that even Latinos favor it and that support is only getting stronger, despite “quasi-militant” opposition to the law: KING: They’re getting stronger there because people understand you’ve got to have the rule of law and, I’ll say, the radical quasi-militant Latinos that are leading this; they are willfully misinforming the American people. And by the way I think that starts right down the line from the President of the United States willfully misinforming the American people, the Attorney General doing the same thing. … [D]o I believe them or do I believe my lying eyes when I read the language and understand that this doesn’t…promote racial profiling. In fact it prohibits it.