Immigration Policy

ICE Detainee Commits Suicide, and a Not-So Modest Proposal

Watch A clip from The Undocumented on PBS. See more from Independent Lens. I have very little to go on with the press release below from U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement concerning the "apparent suicide" at the Eloy Detention Center by a 24 year-old Guatemalan woman named Elsa Guadalupe-Gon ... More >>

Jan Brewer's Bigoted Policy Denying Driver's Licenses to DREAMers in Federal Judge's Hands

Few public acts by Governor Jan Brewer have been so odious, so hateful and so obviously unfair as her executive order denying driver's licenses to those young men and women, brought here as children, who benefit from President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. See also: -Jan Brewer No ... More >>

Bill Montgomery Skewered in Puente March, SANE Defends Monty

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery took it on the chin today, as about 120 demonstrators protesting Monty's discriminatory policies toward undocumented workers marched more than 3.5 miles from Steele Indian School Park to Montgomery's offices in the county administration building in downtown P ... More >>

Arizona's Republican Congressmen Take the Jan Brewer Route on Immigration Proposals

The anti-immigration-reform crowd's broken record is currently playing in the offices of Republican Congressmen Matt Salmon, Trent Franks, Paul Gosar, and David Schweikert.The congressmen, like Governor Jan Brewer, insist that they can only even fathom immigration reform proposals if the border is s ... More >>

President Obama Talked Immigration Reform While Jan Brewer Got Stale at the Border

President Obama got some heavy applause during his bits on immigration reform during yesterday's State of the Union address, as he delivered points that were almost echoed in  Republican Senator Marco Rubio's response.Then, we read what seem to be some unintentionally hilarious accounts of Gove ... More >>

Arizona Immigration Laws (and Joe Arpaio) Called Out by Cato Institute for Economic Woes

The Cato Institute -- a libertarian think-tank -- needed just seven words to sum up its report today on how Arizona's immigration laws are affecting business, and put those words right at the front of its analysis: "Arizona's immigration laws have hurt its economy."Not only that, but the Maricopa Co ... More >>

DREAM Act Lite: DHS Releases Deferred Action Forms for Undocumented Immigrants

See also President Obama Approves Version of the DREAM Act, Grants Immunity from Deportation for Certain Young Undocumented Immigrants See also DREAM Act Has Support From 73 Percent of Arizonans, According to Poll The Department of Homeland Security has released the forms undocumented immigrants br ... More >>

Puente's "Undocubus" Set to Travel to Democratic National Convention

See Also: Arizona Congressman David Schweikert Falsely Claims Illegal Immigrants Are No Longer Afraid While most pro-immigrant activists are focusing on educating people about President Obama's new immigration policy regarding DREAM Act students, which promises to stop the deportations of ... More >>

SB 1070 Fuels a Movement of New Voters

SB 1070 Ruling: States Do Not Have Carte Blanche in Immigration Sphere

If right-wingers such as Arizona's clueless, incompetent Governor Jan Brewer had actually read today's U.S. Supreme Court's decision on Senate Bill 1070, they would not be so quick to issue press releases spinning the court's 5-3 ruling as a victory for xenophobes, or even for the idea of some sort ... More >>

DREAMers Score a Win with Obama's Immigration Initiative, But the War Is Far from Over

David Schweikert Also Offers a Bill to Block Obama Immigration Policy

Congressman David Schweikert, not to be outdone by his primary opponent, Congressman Ben Quayle, introduced his own bill to block the implementation of the Obama administration's new immigration policy.This move by Schweikert may seem familiar, since Quayle did just about the same thing yesterday to ... More >>

Obama Blocks DREAMers' Deportations, Outflanks GOP

Republicans are stumbling all over themselves to denounce President Barack Obama's executive action today to block the deportation of students who would benefit from the proposed DREAM Act. And in doing so, they're bumbling right into the trap the White House has laid for them. Obama's move, initial ... More >>

Lemons: SB 1070 Civil Disobedience Must Escalate

Joe Arpaio and Barack Obama Protested by Puente Moms and Their Children

Many would like to believe that even the most guileful and nefarious of individuals are capable of compassion, particularly toward the weakest among us.Sadly, human behavior argues otherwise. To rationalize away the sufferings of others is a fairly easy mental trick, and when the payoff fo ... More >>

Russell Pearce Apologist Linda Bentley's Denial of Guilt Over J.T. Ready

I've often said that in Arizona you don't have to be a swastika-carrying neo-Nazi to have the same or similar beliefs. Which is why the presence of neo-Nazis and other right-wing wackjobs in the midst of the immigration donnybrook here in Sand Land has caused little or no outrage. And yet, when ... More >>

Larry Dever Is a Real Arizona Sheriff

How Undocumented Immigrants Helped Change Phoenix's City Council Race

Feds Pull 287(g) Authority From Maricopa County Jails Due to Civil Rights Violations

Janet Napolitano, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, announced today that she's yanking the 287(g) program, which helps identify illegal immigrants, from Maricopa County jails.​ U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano yanked the 287(g) program from Maricopa County jails today due to ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Opponent Mike Stauffer Comes Out in Favor of Proposed "Arizona Compact" for Immigration Reform

​As Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio stands by his hawkish approach to solving the illegal immigration problem, Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer, the man who hopes to put an end to Arpaio's reign, has come out in favor of a more moderate approach to immigration reform.Stauffer, a life-long Re ... More >>

Russell Pearce Recall a Warning to Arizona's GOP?

Russell Pearce -- and his pal, white supremacist J.T. Ready -- apparently are too extreme for Arizona.​Soon-to-be-former Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce got the boot from office last night, becoming the only sitting state Senate president to lose in a recall election in the history of the ... More >>

Russell Pearce Bashes Immigrants While Hispanics Are Saving Arizona's Economy

Senate President Russell Pearce claims illegal immigration costs taxpayers beaucoup cash; in reality Hispanics, legal and illegal, are aiding the state's economy.A boom in Arizona's Latino population has resulted in a powerful purchasing bloc that could help save the state's struggling economy.This, ... More >>

Barack Obama Using DREAM Act to Raise Campaign Dollars; Activists Upset By Exploitation of Issue

United We DreamObama's solicitation​A national coalition of DREAM Act student activists is furious over Barack Obama's latest fundraising letter soliciting re-election funds based on his "support" of the DREAM Act. United We Dream is circulating a petition calling on Obama to stop using the D ... More >>

Under Mark Spencer's Leadership, the Phoenix Police Union Has Become an Anti-Immigrant Juggernaut, to the Detriment of Its Members

Russell Pearce Denied by 9th Circuit on 1070; Judge Susan Bolton's Injunction Remains

Pearce and his nativist allies were served a defeat today by the Ninth CircuitState Senate President Russell Pearce, Governor Jan Brewer, and the forces of nativism here in Arizona and nationwide have suffered a crushing blow. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has today upheld District Court Judge ... More >>

Another "Failed State" Article About Arizona Implies Everything Would be Rosy, Except for Conservatives

​ Arizona's conservative, anti-immigrant politics help make it a "failed state," says the Boston Review in a lengthy article published today. The piece makes plenty of good points, but gets watered down by writer Tom Barry's overly simplistic solution. If Arizona simply raised taxes, elected ... More >>

Richard Mellon Scaife's Cash Pays For Judicial Watch's Ideologically Motivated Lawsuits

Sidebar: Mexican Macroeconomics

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, August 26, 2010

Barack Obama's $600 Million Border Boondoggle

Obama: $600 million-tough on landscapers and nanniesSo President Barack Obama, who still talks a good game about "comprehensive immigration reform," has now signed a supplemental border security package worth $600 million to add 1,000 Border Patrol agents, as well as hundreds of new officers for Imm ... More >>

SB 1070 Injunction: If You're Running for Office in Arizona, it's Awesome

www.babble.com​If you're running for office in Arizona and haven't issued a detailed statement outlining your position on Judge Susan Bolton's decision to grant an injunction for certain parts of SB 1070, it's time to get to work. Today was a political opportunist's Christmas in July.No matter whi ... More >>

An SB 1070 Prediction: The Feds Will Come to the Rescue

U.S. Department of Justice Files SB 1070 Lawsuit Against Arizona

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's Justice Department filed suit over SB 1070 todayAs was anticipated, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit today in federal district court against the state of Arizona and Governor Jan Brewer over Arizona's new "papers, please" legislation, SB 1070.In the lawsu ... More >>

Flee Circus

Plan your great escape at the Arizona Highways Travel Show

Governor Jan Brewer Won't Take Action on Immigration Bill Today; Will Unveil Border Security Plan Instead

​ Governor Jan Brewer announced this afternoon that she won't take any action today on a  contentious anti-illegal-immigrant bill. Instead, Brewer says she'll unveil a new border security plan at a news conference scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Papago Park Military Reservation, ... More >>

On Ignant Racism and a Donkey Leaning Against a Cactus

Emil Pulsifer's Intriguing Essay on the Subject of Immigration

If Emil's right on immigration, it may all come down to oil... Regular readers of the Feathered Bastard blog are familiar with the trenchant, and often amusing observations of regular commenter Emil Pulsifer. So you will be interested in Pulsifer's recent, thought-provoking guest column for Jo ... More >>

Denver University's "Architecture for Immigration Reform" and the Possibility for Compromise

Why the nativists hate America: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..."After a year of debate and study amongst its 20 panel members, the University of Denver's Strategic Issues Program released a final report today titled "Architecture for Immigration Reform ... More >>

White House Delays Immigration Powwow (Again), and Why U.S. Hispanics Need to Raise Some Hell

Wanna snag the administration's attention? Borrow a page from the (peaceful) protesters in Iran. So I've just thumbed through a passel of recent White House statements and releases, looking for something about that big immigration meetup that President Barack Obama was ... More >>

Former INS Agent from Valley Pushes Heavy use of E-Verify Program

 The government has a program in place that could freeze illegal workers from the workplace -- E-Verify. But political leaders on both sides of the aisle don't want to use it. Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass makes this point today with quotes from a former immigration ag ... More >>

Rob Haney, Maricopa County GOP Chair, and His Anti-Mexican Rant to the Catholic Church

Maricopa County GOP Chair Rob Haney I've really got to wonder about these so-called "Christians" who spend all of their time hating on Mexican immigrants, legal and otherwise. I mean, did they ever go to Sunday school? Hear the parable of the good Samaritan? Read the Sermon on the Mount? Or an ... More >>

Critics of Arpaio's Immigrant Policies Can Put Hope in Homeland Security Position for Napolitano

Police State: How the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency Turned All Local Authorities Into La Migra

Trent Franks Criticizes Sheriff Arpaio's Enforcement Priorities

Update: Napolitano yanks Arpaio's immigration funding

Dems, activists at state convention demand Gov. Janet Napolitano veto HB 2807. (w/UPDATE: GUV COMPLIES, VETOES BILL.)

The Bermudez Triangle

The immigrant rights movement needs Elias Bermudez, only there's a problem: A lot of his own people don't trust him

Dueling Mormons

Marshal Jeff Flake goes toe-to-toe with Russell Pearce, and a former New Times staffer's popped for armed robbery

Pardon Me

It's no fun being an illegal alien

Jingo All the Way

Outside groups leading the anti-immigration campaign in Arizona are trying to distance themselves from their own bigoted pasts.