We are pleased Judge Susan Bolton had the wisdom to strike down key provisions of SB1070. Her restraining order says Arizona can't require immigrants to carry immigration papers or require police to question immigrants about their status, By saying federal law has precedence over state law Judge Bolton has, in effect, ruled that SB1070 is unconstitutional. The text of her ruling is available here.The new Arizona law was set to go into effect Thursday, July 29. There have been scattered reports of undocumented aliens streaming into New Mexico to add to our estimated population of 60,000 aliens as a direct result of this law.Right wing advocates, including sponsor ... read more >>

The recent flap over United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) employee Shirley Sherrod points to the lingering influence of racism in America. As immigrants or potential immigrants, many of you may be from countries where racism and ethnic discrimination are virtually pandemic, and you may well wonder why Americans seem to be overly sensitive to this issue.After all, minorities in many other countries seem to live with prejudice, oppression, and even violence as an everyday occurrence.Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines racism as:" ... a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority or inferiority of a particular racial group."The United Nations further defines racial discrimination as:"... any distinction, exclusion, restriction ... read more >>

The results of the 2009 Diversity Visa (green card) lottery are now available. According to the U.S. State Department there were a total of 16.1 million entries including all family (derivative) members. This compares favorably with, but was slightly below, my August 2009 estimate of 17 million total entrants for last year’s lottery.According to the U.S. State Department there were a total of 12.1 million applications filed, meaning that each registration counted for an average of 1.4 applicants each, including the principle applicant, his or her spouse, and children.The highest number of winners in DV-2011 were born in the following countries:... read more >>

Beginning July 1, 2010 entrants in the annual diversity visa lottery sponsored by the U.S. State Department can check on-line to see if they won. The Electronic Status Check (ESC) web address is: http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ESC.Just like last year, you need three pieces of information from your 2009 registration: 1) Your CONFIRMATION NUMBER, 2) your FAMILY NAME (Last Name), and 3) your BIRTH YEAR.If you did not enter using a last name, check the box for “No Last/Family Name”.Your confirmation number was provided if you successfully entered last fall. It is the 16-character number, similar to this: 2011lO0DZWY3DOV9. When checking your number, do not confuse a “1” with an “I” or a "0" with an "O" which, of course, are separate characters. Next, enter the 4 digit “CAPTCHA” code shown on the screen.If you won the lottery, ... read more >>

It is not hard to understand the hatred directed toward illegal immigrants. After all, we have alternately reviled Mormons, the Chinese, Irish, Jews, Japanese, Blacks, and most recently Muslims at one time or another. Why not hate illegal mainly Hispanic immigrants too? Isn't it their turn?Not really. Unlike chimpanzees humans have the capacity to reason. However, some people choose to give in to their baser instincts and others choose to sponsor xenophobic policies for political gain. Maybe that's what it takes to get elected, or re-elected.First find a group that doesn't vote, doesn't lobby, and does not contribute to political campaigns, then sponsor discriminatory laws and build your career on the ensuing controversy an... read more >>

On May 11, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it will begin issuing a redesigned Permanent Resident Card--commonly referred to as the “Green Card.” For the first time in over 30 years, newly-issued Green Cards will actually be green in color.Green Cards are evidence of a non-citizen’s right to live and work in the United States permanently and are valid for 10 years. The existing beige cards currently in use are valid through the expiration date listed the card. When they expire, they will be replaced by the new card.The new card incorporates several new security components, including biometric data and other features designed to reduce or eliminate fraud and thwart counterfeiters.When they expire, they will be replaced by the new card.The new card incorporates several new security components, including biometric data and other features designed to reduce or eliminate fraud and thwart counterfeiters.According to ... read more >>

Last last week Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced moderate increases for most immigration processing services and green cards. Averaging about 10%, these changes will take effect later this summer after a period of public comment. Although most fees will go up, there are some new fees, and five will actually decrease. But the fee for naturalization will be unaffected.This fee was increased 69% to $675 in 2007, triggering a 3-fold increase in applications before the new fees took effect.According to Director of CIS Alejandro Mayorkas, the fee increase is needed because the agency is required by law to be self funding, and revenue from immigration fees was approximately $200 million dollars short of costs due to fewer applications for permanent legal residents, temporary residents, and foreign entre... read more >>

If you follow the annual diversity visa (green card) lottery sponsored by the U.S. State Department, you may be surprised by their lack of transparency. As incredulous as it seems, they refuse to provide visa lottery registration statistics without a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. This is hardly what I expected from Obama’s new open government initiative.Even worse, the KCC does not release the rules of the upcoming lottery until just days before the opening registration date. This places a huge burden on green card lottery services who must upgrade their software and web sites to meet the new requirements within the narrow timeframe of the official announcement and the start of the 60-day lottery registration period. For example, in 2008 the specifications for ... read more >>

I didn’t receive too many responses to my immigration policy questionnaire from the Republican gubernatorial candidates. So I attended last night's KOB sponsored debate at UNM’s Rodey Hall to get more insights into their thinking. As a Progressive, I felt a little like Daniel walking into the lion’s den.   First, I want to preface this article by saying that most of us are not and should not be single issue voters. In fact, I can think of many other topics that should rank far above state immigration policies in importance to New Mexicans, including the economy, jobs, energy, education, health care, and taxes. But this has not stopped gubernatorial candidates on both sides from jumping on the anti-... read more >>

As late as November 2009 we were unclear of Sarah Palin’s immigration policy. That was shortly after she published Going Rogue and well before Arizona’s new S1070 law was passed. (You can download it here.) But now the real Palin has emerged.During a stump speech for Governor Jan Brewer of Phoenix, Palin declared, “We are all Arizonans now”, and urged other states to follow Arizona’s example. Uhh… really, Sarah?Let’s look at the fallout from Arizona’s “Show-your-papers” law. Cities across the country are banning official travel to the state. Tradeshows and conventions are being canceled. And now Arizona is a lightning rod for those who seek to blame illegal immigrants for all the evils of society, including unemployment,... read more >>