THIS WEEK IN IMMIGRATION: 
For FULL ARTICLES, go to: www.immigrationimpact.com

Utah Attorney General Condemns Immigration Knock List
Utah officials and community leaders reacted swiftly and with revulsion to the announcement this week that confidential state records had been breached to compile a list of more than 1,300 supposedly undocumented people living in Utah, including pregnant women and children. At a press conference this afternoon, State Attorney General Mark L. Shurtleff condemned the list, noting that "some call it a blacklist, but I call it a hit list." Speaking for himself and on behalf of the governor of Utah, Gary R. Herbert Shurtleff made it clear that the release of confidential information was "not the way we do things in Utah" or in this country. Read more...

A Closer Look at the Seven Lawsuits Challenging Arizona Law S.B. 1070
Almost immediately after Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed S.B. 1070 into law, lawsuits were filed in federal court in Arizona challenging the law. The lawsuits all seek the same result - a halt to the law's enforcement-although each suit argues different grounds. Some suits cite civil liberty violations, racial profiling and unlawful regulation of federal immigration law, while another suit states that the police training videos exacerbate conflicts between federal and state law. As July 29, 2010, the date S.B. 1070 is set to go into effect, draws near, litigants and supporters on both sides of the lawsuits are seeking swift resolutions. Ultimately though, the timing of any resolution will depend on the court. Read more...

The List: A Modern Day Witch Hunt in Utah
It's the stuff of fiction. A vigilante group with a vaguely patriotic name creates a list with the help of someone - perhaps a disgruntled government-employee/mole - who is fed up with the system (think Michael Douglas in Falling Down). The list contains the names, social security numbers and other private information of hundreds of people whom the vigilantes deem "undesirable." The list even identifies pregnant women and their due dates and recommends that they be first on the list for "elimination." The list is delivered to a wide range of government, law enforcement and media groups, accompanied by a letter insisting action be taken to remove the undesirables. Read more...

The Right Side of History: Religious Leaders Urge Immigration Reform at Hearing
At a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration hearing Wednesday, a panel of conservative religious leaders made the case for common sense solutions to our immigration problems - comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) that secures our borders, follows the rule of law and provides a pathway to citizenship for the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. While the hearing, The Ethical Imperative for Reform of Our Immigration System, started off with ethical and biblical arguments supporting and opposing reform, it later evolved into what most immigration debates eventually boil down to - fairness, justice and the punitive aspects of a reform effort. Read more...
 Undocumented Youth Pin DREAMs on Congressional Action
Every year, undocumented immigrants come to the U.S. along with their young children. These kids grow up in the U.S., speak English, and hang out with their friends just like other American kids. But unlike their classmates, they cannot join the military, work, or pursue their dreams because they don't have legal status. Every year, roughly 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school, but many don't apply for college, even when they're at the top of their class, because they can't afford it. These hard-working students are not eligible for loans or work study and must often pay high out-of-state or international tuition rates. They often live in fear of detection by immigration authorities. The DREAM Act - which would benefit these students as well as the U.S. economy - proposes to fix these problems, but not without the political will of Congress.Read more...
 It's the Constitution, Governors! Why Playing Politics with the DOJ's Lawsuit is a Bad Idea
Republican and Democratic governors alike might need a tutorial on the concept of checks and balances, given the dismay they are expressing over the federal government's lawsuit against Arizona's SB 1070. Democrats are purportedly worried that it will hurt their chances in tough state elections, while Republicans are calling the lawsuit hypocritical because the federal government is litigating instead of legislating immigration. Let's review. As the lawsuit very clearly and eloquently lays out, the Constitution empowers Congress to regulate immigration. The President and his executive branch carry out the laws (and are given the discretion regarding how to exercise them). And when the states pass laws that conflict with this scheme, the federal courts are the referee. Read more...

THE DREAM ACT 

Each year, approximately 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school, many at the top of their classes, but cannot go to college, join the military, work, or otherwise pursue their dreams.  They belong to the 1.5 generation—any (first generation) immigrants brought to the United States at a young age who were largely raised in this country and therefore share much in common with second generation Americans.  These students are culturally American, growing up here and often having little attachment to their country of birth.  They tend to be bicultural and fluent in English.  Many don’t even know that they are undocumented immigrants until they apply for a driver’s license or college, and then learn they lack Social Security numbers and other necessary legal documents. 

According to Professor Roberto Gonzalez of the University of Washington:

[t]he experiences of undocumented children belonging to the 1.5 generation represent dreams deferred.  Many of them have been in this country almost their entire lives and attended most of their K-12 education here.  They are honor roll students, athletes, class presidents, valedictorians, and aspiring teachers, engineers, and doctors.  Yet, because of their immigration status, their day-to-day lives are severely restricted and their futures are uncertain.  They cannot legally drive, vote, or work.  Moreover, at any time, these young men and women can be, and sometimes are, deported to countries they barely know.  They have high aspirations, yet live on the margins.  What happens to them is a question fraught with political and economic significance.

Because of the barriers to their continued education and their exclusion from the legal workforce, many undocumented students are discouraged from applying to college.  It is estimated that only between 5 and 10 percent of undocumented high-school graduates go to college—not because they don’t want to, but because they cannot afford it or because some schools will not allow them to enroll.  Even worse, there is often little incentive for them to finish high school, leading to high drop-out rates and the potential for them to become involved in gangs and illegal activities.

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or “DREAM Act,” would provide a pathway to legal status for the thousands of undocumented students who graduate from high school each year.  On March 26, 2009, Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) introduced the DREAM Act as S. 729 and H.R. 1751, respectively.  To date, the DREAM Act has at least 39 co-sponsors in the Senate and 124 in the House.

For the remainder of this article, please visit: http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/dream-act

TRANSLATION AGENCY NON PAYER

Ryan Vetter of the Vetter Group is banned by Pro Z (http://www.proz.com/blueboard/15575) and the STIBC (Society of Translators & Interpreters of British Columbia). He owes 20K to many translators. Many are pursuing criminal action against him. Please forward this message to all the translators you know so we can prevent him from stealing from more translators. Also if you can post this on your wall, it would help all translators in solidarity.

We believe in respecting translators 110% so it bothers us greatly that there are agencies out there that take advantage of translators.

Thank you.