Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

The Costs of the 287(g) Program Outweigh the Benefits

The clarion call is getting louder.

October was a busy month for immigration related news.  Rep.

Next year, there will be a count of the country’s population. The 2010 Census is a big deal. It gives the most accurate tally of individuals that live in this country.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finally released the results of a months-long review of its detention system. The report and its recommendations support what advocates have said for years: DHS should stop operating its immigration detention system like the criminal justice system.

Over the past month, the debate over health care has heated up as both sides argue about how immigration plays into reform.  In addition, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) discussed the possibility of increasing the fees to apply for citizenship and a U.S. citizen was deported twice after the FBI ignored evidence of his citizenship.  These stories and others proved to be popular among readers of CLINIC’s daily Immigration News Briefings.  The following are the top five most read stories for the month of September:

Most of us don’t think about our citizenship status. We claim our country of birth proudly. That pride is doubled for immigrants who wait eagerly to apply for citizenship and naturalize as American citizens. There is no doubt it is a moment to remember.

It is Sunday morning at a Dunkin Donuts on Long Island, NY.  It is 5 a.m. in the early hours of Mothers’ Day, and a woman walks in looking distressed.  The manager of the store, thinking she is homeless and feeling sorry because it is Mothers’ Day, gives the woman coffee and food.  He then offers her his sweater because it is quite cold in the store and all she has on is a pair of pants and a towel.  The employees attempt to communicate with her in Spanish, thinking she may be Hispanic, but the woman does not answer.

New USCIS Director, the Obama Administration on Immigration, and One Woman’s Fight for her Child:  August 2009 in Immigration News

In October 2008, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided a poultry plant in Greenville, SC. More than 300 individuals were arrested and a humanitarian and legal crisis erupted.

Patience is a virtue. And in our work, it is a necessity. 

Following an August 20 meeting with more than 100 immigration advocates, President Obama reaffirmed his commitment to immigration reform but also repeated his recent caution that no immigration legislation is likely to come before 2010.