Los Angeles Times, May 11. The U.S. foreign-born population has risen to its highest level since 1920, with 13% of all those living in the nation in 2010 having been born elsewhere, a new report from the Census Bureau shows. Forty million of those residing in the U.S. in 2010 were born in other countries, up from 31 million, or 11% of the total, a decade earlier. The foreign-born share of the population dropped between 1920 and 1970, hitting a low of 4.7% in 1970, before rising again for several decades. But that growth has slowed in recent years as immigration has dropped, census officials said Thursday. Most of the recent increase in the foreign-born population came between 2000 and 2006, said Elizabeth M. Grieco, chief of the bureau's foreign-born population branch. California is home to the lion's share of the foreign-born population, with 1 in 4 residing in the Golden State, the new report shows. Twenty-seven percent of the state's population of 37 million in 2010 was born abroad, up from 26% in 2000.

Fox News Latino, May 11. President Barack Obama is headed to Nevada Friday, to refocus his campaign's attention on the economy and Latino voters. Obama was to promote housing policies to help homeowners avoid foreclosure in a quick visit Friday to struggling Nevada, which ranks second in the nation in foreclosed homes and has the highest unemployment in the country. Obama won in Nevada in his 2008 presidential election. But the economy presents new challenges as well as an opportunity for his Republican rival, Mitt Romney. 'Whether or not he wins it again will depend on how enthusiastically labor works for him there, because they are such a critical part of getting out Hispanic vote, and the Hispanic turnout,' said Anna Greenberg, a Democratic pollster. 'The critical thing is enthusiasm.' Indeed, Obama's push in Nevada includes heavily courting Hispanic voters. Latinos voters are an increasingly important demographic after Nevada's Hispanic population grew to 26.5 percent in 2010, according to census data. Latino voters represented 9 percent of the electorate in 2010. This election cycle Romney has staked out a more conservative policy toward immigration, and his campaign has yet to mount an organized effort to attract Hispanic voters.

ImmigrationImpact.com, May 11. The House Judiciary Committee sent the wrong kind of Mother’s Day message to women this week, proposing to roll back protections for victims of violence that have been in place even before the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was first passed in 1994. While the proposed amendments were discouraging in their own right, the fact they were targeted at immigrant women is an even sadder commentary on just how much some members of Congress will use any legislation as a vehicle for attacking and undermining the immigration system. In this case, the vehicle was a bill providing for reauthorization of the VAWA. The Senate’s version of the VAWA reauthorization passed a few weeks ago with strong bi-partisan support, and included provisions that enhanced existing protections for immigrant victims. In contrast, the House bill considered by the Judiciary Committee this week strikes at the heart of VAWA, stripping away confidentiality provisions that have always been critical to preserving the lives of immigrant women and children abused by U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

IrishCentral, May 10. During his first official visit to the United States last week Irish President Michael D Higgins made his way to Yonkers to visit the Aisling Irish Community Center. Higgins, who was welcomed by hundreds of Irish immigrants and their families, spent an hour at the center. There he met with the Mayor of Yonkers, Mike Spano, who presented him with a key to the city. The President, joined by many aides and security details, also spent a considerable amount of time chatting with local immigrants, young and old. There is great warmth and friendliness and humanity here,' Higgins said. 'I am elected as president for all of the Irish, wherever they may be, and I’m encouraging them to stay in touch with us.' Higgins was elected to a seven-year term as president in October and took office in Dublin in November. He described the visit to the center 'as the most important (visit) I will ever make.' The president, accompanied by his wife Sabrina, spoke in Irish to some of the attendees.

Los Angeles Times, May 10. The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a plan to boost domestic and international tourism, including steps to increase annual visits by foreigners by more than 50% over the next nine years. 'Tens of millions of tourists from all over the world come and visit America every year. They stay in our hotels, they eat at our restaurants, they visit our attractions, and they help create jobs,' President Obama said. 'At a time when too many Americans are still looking for work,' he continued, 'we need to make it easier for more people to visit this country and keep our economy growing.' The administration has a central goal of luring 100 million foreign tourists a year by 2021 by expanding the number of people who can visit without obtaining visas, expediting visa processing and improving entry procedures at U.S. airports. That number of visitors would inject $250 billion annually into the U.S. economy, the administration said. Last year, 62 million foreigners visited the U.S., spending a record $153 billion, according to the National Travel and Tourism Strategy report released Wednesday.

The Hill, May 10. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said the White House is trying to sabotage his version of the DREAM Act by 'ordering' activists not to work with him so that President Obama can maintain his hold on the Latino vote in the 2012 election. 'One of the things that already been documented is that the White House has been — the articles that have been written, two or three by now, the White House has been calling in DREAM Act advocates and asking them, almost ordering them, not to work with me on this issue,' Rubio said Thursday on the Laura Ingraham radio show. 'They have been counting on using this issue as a wedge issue in October to drive up turnout.' Rubio is considered to be on Mitt Romney's short list of possible vice-presidential choices. Rubio’s proposal, expected to be finalized this week, is a scaled-back version of the Democrat-backed DREAM Act, which offers a pathway to citizenship to illegal immigrants who came to the United States when they were young and then go to college or serve in the military.

National Journal, May 9. On immigration, most Americans favor the velvet glove—and the iron fist. The latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll found that a solid, if slightly diminishing, majority of Americans support key elements of Arizona’s anti-illegal-immigration law that the White House is seeking to overturn. But the survey also found that a preponderant majority of Americans reject the option of deporting all of the estimated 11 million immigrants here illegally, and an even larger percentage believe that young people brought to the U.S. illegally should be allowed to remain if they attend college or join the military. Presented with a Democratic proposal that would guarantee those young people a pathway to citizenship, and an emerging alternative from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., that would not, a plurality said they prefer the Democratic version of the so-called Dream Act. These contrasting impulses reaffirm a balance long evident in public attitudes. Most Americans consistently have displayed a strong commitment to enforcing existing law and border security, tempered by a pragmatic and humane streak that questions the plausibility of uprooting millions already settled here. Race, age, and party loyalty all influence how Americans tilt between those poles.

ImmigrationImpact.com, May 9. A local election in Travis County, Texas, is bringing to light important questions surrounding the controversial Secure Communities program. As recently reported by the Texas Tribune, Democratic primary challenger John Sisson has criticized incumbent Sheriff Greg Hamilton for honoring federal immigration “detainers”—the lynchpin of Secure Communities—because of their harm to immigrant communities. While Hamilton has said he is bound by federal law, contrary policies in jurisdictions around the country show the sheriff is either misinformed or confused. Immigration detainers are official requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) asking law enforcement agencies to detain immigrants for 48 business hours after they would otherwise be released so that ICE can take custody. As we have previously explained, detainers are requests, not commands, meaning that local law enforcement agencies do not have to honor them.

Huffington Post, April 25. OPINION. Today, the Supreme Court is hearing a case about the constitutionality of Arizona's anti-immigrant legislation, SB 1070. It will be months before the case is decided but a broad spectrum of the Christian community already has their minds made up. This legislation is not just ethically bankrupt but undermines basic Christian values and American ideals. The court will decide whether it is legal, but it is already clear it isn't moral. We are both evangelical Christians. One of us is white and one of us Hispanic. It is our common faith commitment, not the color of our skin, that unite us on the need for comprehensive immigration reform and in opposition to patchwork punitive legislation like we have seen in states like Arizona and Alabama.

Los Angeles Times, April 24. The Supreme Court hears oral arguments Wednesday on the constitutionality of Arizona's 2010 immigration enforcement law. If upheld, SB 1070 would require local police in most circumstances to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop based only on a reasonable suspicion that the person is unlawfully in this country. It would also compel residents to carry their immigration papers at all times and create state immigration crimes distinct from what is covered by federal law. A few other states, such as Alabama and Georgia, and some cities have passed similar laws, and many more may consider such laws if the Supreme Court finds Arizona's law to be constitutional. The primary legal debate in U.S. vs. Arizona will focus on the issue of whether a state government can engage in immigration enforcement without the explicit consent of the federal government. The state of Arizona will argue that its measure simply complements federal enforcement, while the federal government will argue that Arizona's law undermines national authority and that immigration enforcement is an exclusively federal responsibility.

Al.com, May 5. Zougmore came a long way to attend college. She’s so far away from home that her family won’t be able to attend commencement Sunday to watch her graduate from Bishop State Community College. Zougmore is one of the more than 300 graduates in this year’s class. The 26-year-old woman said that people in her native West Africa think of the U.S. as “heaven on Earth, a place you really want to go to.” The 26-year-old woman said that people in her native West Africa think of the U.S. as “heaven on Earth, a place you really want to go to.” So while riding a bus one day in Africa she saw a sign that said “LOTTERY VISA.” One of five children, Zougmore said that they had fallen on hard times after her father, an accountant, died. She knew that in the U.S. she could get a degree and a good-paying job. She applied for the Green Card Lottery through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, aware that the odds against her were long. Only 50,000 people from around the world get Green Cards to the U.S. every year.

American Thinker, May 5. OPINION. Those conservatives who argue against "birthright citizenship" have just been thrown under the same bus as the "birthers" -- whether or not they like it, or the GOP admits it. The mainstream media, longtime foes against reform of the anchor baby practice, have been happy to help. And instead of quietly watching while a sizeable portion of the Republican party is run over, as in the case of the "birthers," we now have the GOP establishment lending the media a hand in brushing aside many immigration reform advocates -- by pushing the selection of Senator Marco Rubio for the VP nomination. "Birthers" have been insisting that not only is Obama not eligible as a "natural born" citizen, but neither is Rubio. Now the media is paying attention. And of course, the media says the "birthers" are wrong. According to Fox News's Bret Baier:

ImmigrationImpact, May 4. OPINION. Though it has yet to be introduced in Congress, Senator Marco Rubio’s alternative to the DREAM Act received an appraisal from the Washington Post this week, which noted that it represents an effort to shake the hard-line anti-immigrant sentiment voiced by many leading conservative politicians. The editorial also noted, however, that the outlines of his proposal promote what’s tantamount to “permanent second-class status.” Rubio has attempted to sidestep the controversial issue of legalization—a key component of the DREAM Act—by arguing that Congress can give undocumented youth “nonimmigrant” legal status and then let themfind their own path to citizenship. Rubio states: “All this does is award a nonimmigrant visa to these kids who find themselves in this very difficult circumstance. At some point in the future, they would have no more or no less rights than anybody else in the world. They wouldn’t be getting any preferential treatment.”

WFPL News, May 4. It’s often the trainer, the horse owner, then the jockey that are celebrated after a Triple Crown race; but behind the glitz and glamour, preparing the horse is often a demanding 365 day a year process. 'People who is out of the track, don’t know what is behind the race,' says Arturo Espinosa who’s visiting Churchill Downs’ Backside Learning Center, which offers education and life skills services to backside workers including grooms, hot-walkers and exercise riders. Industry professionals estimate no less than 70 percent of the backside is composed of foreign migrant workers. But a potential change to federal visa laws will make the process of hiring workers outside the country more arduous and expensive for trainers. The changes encourage giving American workers first crack at employment, but these are jobs many American’s won’t take. 'They’re basically forcing the U.S. employer to hire Americans,' says Julio Rubio, a liaison for the national Horseman Benevolent and Protective Association. HBPA members are owners and trainers but the organization also oversees certain issues affecting backside workers. 'We do above and beyond to try and hire Americans,' says Rubio.

Politico, May 3. 'Desperate Housewives' star and Obama re-election campaign co-chair Eva Longoria zings Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, via The Hollywood Reporter: Longoria lists several political issues, which are going in a direction that troubles her and help to drive her politically such as the possibility that the Supreme Court will uphold Arizona’s 2010 Immigration law, SB70; the Department of Labor’s lack of support for the CARE Act, which would ban child labor on corporate farms; and possible vice presidential contender, Senator Marco Rubio from Florida, has caught her critical eye. 'Marco Rubio has been coming up with some silly stuff that we really have to sort through,' she says. 'So, I’m a political news junkie and all of that is discouraging. That’s why it’s doubly important to me to make sure that the person who best represents America and reflects my values is elected. That’s Obama.' Dismissing those who say celebs should stay out of politics, the actress said, 'I always scoff at that, because I’m an American first and foremost and I’m very civically engaged.'

Business Insider, May 3. Immigration is a dichotomy in a way in America right now. With 2012 looking like a continuation of poor economic and employment figures, whether the main stream media or politicians spin it away or not, and 2012 being a major election year, the ironies seem endless sometimes. Promises were made in the 2008 campaign for more secure borders and comprehensive immigration reform. Nothing meaningful has really been done in Washington to keep these promises. The same promises are now being made to special interest voting blocks in the 2012 campaigning. Who is coming to the United States and why? Just as telling, who is leaving the United States and why? Against this backdrop of immigration and economic politicizing, reports are surfacing reflecting many illegal immigrants are self-deporting back to their home countries due to the poor employment realities with the U.S. economic climate. An April 23 Washington Post headline says it all, “For first time since Depression, more Mexicans leave U.S. than enter.”

Washington Post, May 1. OPINION. A new level of provocation came to the immigration fight this week when Democratic members of Congress paraded a quartet of undocumented immigrants on the Capitol grounds and used them as a backdrop to taunt the Republicans. Rep. Nydia Velazquez of New York, speaking Spanish to the cameras, counseled Latinos not to vote Republican. “As long as Republican candidates cling to radical anti-immigrant ideology, they will lose another generation of Hispanic voters,” she said in English. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa of Texas accused Republicans of “a slap in the face.” Rep. Silvestre Reyes, another Texan, accused likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney of being a “basher” of immigrants’ hopes and of making “the most reprehensible and most irresponsible statement that any presidential candidate could ever make.”

ImmigrationImpact.com, April 30. OPINION. Proponents of “attrition through enforcement” would have you believe that, given the right conditions, unauthorized immigrants will choose to leave the U.S. and return to their home countries. The Myth of Self Deportation, by Alexandra Filindra, questions the assumptions behind the attrition strategy and concludes that self-deportation is not rational because unauthorized immigrants have invested too much in the U.S. to return home. According to Kris Kobach, Mark Krikorian, Mitt Romney, Russell Pearce, and others, attrition through enforcement is simple: if the federal government ups its enforcement efforts—and if states and localities pass laws granting them additional immigration control responsibilities—and if the police, schools, employers, and state agencies check for proof of legal status, the costs and risks of staying in the United States will increase significantly for unauthorized immigrants. Faced with a high risk of being caught and imprisoned, “rational” unauthorized residents will “give up and deport themselves,” returning to their home countries rather than remaining in the U.S and risking capture, detention, and possible incarceration.

Washington Post, April 30. OPINION. BETTER LATE than never, a prominent Republican has begun fashioning a stance on immigration policy that breaks from GOP orthodoxy. Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), who is Cuban American and a possible running mate for Mitt Romney, has broached the outlines of what would be a Republican version of the Dream Act. It would extend legal status — but no clear path to citizenship, as Democrats have sought — to young illegal immigrants brought to America by their parents. Mr. Rubio clearly hopes his proposal might begin mending fences with Hispanic voters alienated by the hard line against undocumented immigrants that has featured in the Republican presidential primary. His idea qualifies as a genuine attempt at compromise; no Senate Republicans signed on as co-sponsors the last time Democrats introduced their Dream Act, in 2010.

Washington Post, April 28. OPINION. THE WAVE of immigration from Mexico that began four decades ago, most of it unauthorized, has ended, possibly for good. As a report from the Pew Hispanic Center confirms, net migration from Mexico to the United States sank to about zero in the past five years. The number of Mexicans living in the United States without documents shrank from 7 million in 2007 to 6.1 million last year. Causes include tougher U.S. border enforcement and fewer U.S. jobs, especially in construction. Did the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) play a role? President Bill Clinton pushed the controversial pact through Congress in 1993, arguing that slashing tariffs would create jobs and increase incomes in Mexico, resulting in “much less pressure on them to come to this country in the form of illegal immigration.” Has NAFTA finally fulfilled this promise?

Townhall.com, April 30. OPINION. Why should the GOP nominee choose New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez as a running mate? For starters, there are voter demographics: She is the first Latina to ever be elected governor in the United States. In the past few election cycles, the Republican ticket has struggled to garner both the Hispanic and women’s vote. Martinez would appeal to those voters in addition to the conservative base and independents, and her nomination would throw the race card out the window. Plus, Martinez is an avid supporter of the Second Amendment—she even recently received a 100 percent score on her concealed carry permit renewal. Although Martinez holds the same principles most conservatives do—limited government, protection of life, hard work, lower taxes and more—she has her own unique American story. As a teenager and throughout college, she worked at her father’s small security company as a security guard. As small business owners, the Martinez family began to understand the value of entrepreneurs investing more of their money in their business for growth rather than giving it to the government.”

Newsday.com, April 27. OPINION. How long before the smugglers who have made millions helping Mexicans enter the United States illegally figure out that the next big idea is to help them return home? Researchers at the Pew Hispanic Center report that net migration from Mexico to the United States has slowed to a trickle, and that one of the big reasons is that would-be immigrants have decided their job prospects are better at home. It's only a matter of time before the 6.1 million Mexicans who are already living without documents in the United States decide that opportunity is knocking -- south of the border. According to the report, the Mexican-born population in the United States, which had been increasing since 1970, peaked at 12.6 million in 2007. It has dropped to 12 million since then. This makes for interesting times in the age-old and codependent relationship between the United States and Mexico.

Wall Street Journal, April 27. India has been threatening to file a formal complaint to the World Trade Organization against the U.S. over its visa policies for a while. Now, New Delhi seems determined to finally go through with it. A senior official at the Ministry of Commerce told The Wall Street Journal that the complaint is expected to be filed soon. India has long lobbied against a 2010 U.S. law that significantly increased fees for visa applications, saying it violates the country’s commitments on trade in services. The law, which almost doubled visa fees for skilled workers to $4,500 per application, applies to companies with more than 50 employees, when more than half of them are on work visas. Although it doesn’t explicitly target Indian IT companies, they have been most affected by the law. The higher cost of visas and an increase in visa rejections have posed 'huge challenges' to the IT industry in India, says Ameet Nivsarkar, vice president of NASSCOM, India’s main software trade body. Michael Wildes, a New York-based immigration attorney, says the revised visa fees are 'discriminatory' against Indian firms.

South Florida Business Journal, April 27, The city of Miami is seeking federal approval to offer foreign investors an additional option within the increasingly popular federal Immigrant Investor Program. The program, also known as an EB-5 visa, begins a road to citizenship for foreign investors, who can receive a green card by creating 10 U.S. jobs. Currently, investors must apply for an EB-5 visa as an individual creating a new company or new project through either a $1 million investment anywhere or a minimum $500,000 investment in a targeted employment area. If the investor meets all requirements after two years, he or she can apply for ...

Washington Examiner, April 26. OPINION. "The largest wave of immigration in history from a single country to the United States has come to a standstill," declares an authoritative new study from the Pew Research Center. "After four decades that brought 12 million current immigrants -- most of whom came illegally -- the net migration flow from Mexico to the United States has stopped and may have reversed." It's a trend experts have suspected for quite a while, but look for the new report to become a major point of contention in the immigration debate. Advocates of comprehensive immigration reform -- known as amnesty in some conservative circles -- will make an argument that boils down to this: The problem is over. We don't need to keep beefing up border security and spending millions on enforcement. Now, we can get to work on a "path to citizenship" for millions of illegals. But it's not at all clear from the report that the problem is really over. It's in pause, certainly, but could come roaring back, especially if the U.S. eases up on enforcement.