A new report shows wide differences across the country in a program allowing local authorities to enforce federal immigration laws. In some places 287(g) is leading to the deportation of undocumented immigrants accused of serious crimes, but in other areas immigrants arrested for traffic violations are being deported.
At a packed hearing, council members try to better understand the relationship between the Department of Corrections and Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding immigrants sent to the Rikers Island jail.
New York City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez says he will introduce a resolution calling on Governor Paterson to remove New York from the controversial immigration enforcement program known as Secure Communities.
The Story Line, a new crowdsourcing project is reaching out to immigrant detainees to get their stories heard on the web and to document abuses by the detention system.
The federal government is sending conflicting signals about its deportation policies. Recently, WNYC reported on the human side of deportation in a story about a couple snagged by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Fugitive Operations team.
Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union argue that immigrant detainees suffering with mental disabilities should be provided with a lawyer at no charge.
Judge Susan R. Bolton temporary blocked the enactment of SB 1070 in Arizona by issuing a partial injunction on the most controversial aspects of the law until the court makes a final decision on its constitutionality.
The Obama administration has sued the state of Arizona, setting the stage for a battle over states’ rights and immigration enforcement.
“It ain’t no more about commercial fishermen, it’s about becoming an oil company man,” says a local fisherman with Spanish roots who is feeling the impact of the BP oil spill and the clean-up effort.
On a visit to Louisiana, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said the federal government plans to protect workers’ rights during the oil spill cleanup – regardless of their immigration status.
