A 2008 fact sheet about the program reported that ICE, which is a part of the Department of Homeland Security, checked the immigration status of '100 percent' of inmates in state and federal prisons, but only 10 percent of the more than 3,000 local jails in the United States were checking to see if criminals in their facilities were in the country illegally.
Obama included in his proposed 2010 budget $200 million for the program, a 30 percent increase from last year's funding.
The CNS News
Chad Foster, mayor of Eagle Pass, Texas, says President Barack Obama's budget request for 2010 doesn't have enough money for key border needs.
In remarks prepared for delivery to a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday, Foster says an additional 1,600 Customs and Border Protection officers and 400 canine units are needed along the nation's southwestern border to stop illegal immigration and the smuggling of arms, drugs and money.
The Associated Press
The Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, or House Resolution 2412, aims to exempt the sons and daughters of Filipino veterans from immigration numerical quotas that have delayed processing of their US visas, leaving them no choice but to wait as much as 18 years.
Hirono said thousands of Filipinos petitioned by their veteran parents stand to benefit once the bill is enacted into law.
The Manila Times (Philippine Islands)
Unemployment in the first quarter of 2009 for immigrants -- defined as those who were not U.S. citizens at birth -- was 9.7 percent, compared with 8.6 percent for the native-born, according to the study by the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that argues for tighter immigration policies.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows the states with the highest immigrant unemployment rates are Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada.
The Scripps Howard News Service
The Center for Immigration Policy, the research arm of the pro-immigration American Immigration Law Foundation, compared rates of unemployment with immigration rates in states across the nation, and found no direct correlation.
'The level of unemployment in the U.S. is painful, sometimes scary and very difficult for those directly impacted,' said Dan Siciliano, executive director of the Program in Law, Economics and Business at Stanford Law School and a research fellow for the Washington, D.C.-based center. 'But the notion that immigration is causally related to unemployment belittles and questions the challenges of unemployment.'
The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City)
In a letter sent last week to the state Department of Corrections, Gregoire outlined the state's approach to transferring illegal immigrant prisoners to federal custody. Her proposal, though, does not give the state as much authority as the original bill.
The slower rate of transferring prisoners to federal custody may also mean less savings for taxpayers because not as many prisoners are expected to be moved to immigration authorities.
The Associated Press
As of Tuesday, all prisoners booked into the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's intake site in Huntsville will have their fingerprints checked with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's biometric system for any immigration record.
Any matches with the biometric system are reviewed and appropriate action is taken after a prisoner completes his sentence. Top priority is being given to illegal immigrants who have prior convictions of major drug offenses, murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping.
The Associated Press
The bill, Senate File 389, broadens eligibility for Hawk-I, the joint federal and state insurance program for children from moderate-income families.
Starting July 1, families could make 300 percent of the federal poverty level - or about $64,000 per year for a family of four - and remain eligible for the program. The limit now is 250 percent of poverty.
The Des Moines Register (IA)
And if they are going to drive, they should be regulated like any other driver - tested for proficiency, their cars inspected and forced to carry liability insurance designed to protect the rest of the people on the road.
That is the conclusion offered by a state panel convened by Gov. Jon Corzine to study immigration and offer recommendations on the best ways to integrate immigrants into society. There are about 550,000 or so undocumented immigrants in the state, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, many of whom the Governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Immigration Policy found 'drive even though they are not permitted to obtain licenses.'
CentralJersey.com
Republicans accused Democratic sponsors of the bill of trying to drum up Democratic votes in the city, which is seeing a rise in Russian-speaking immigrants.
But Democrats say the measure to provide voting materials, instructions, and voter registration in Russian the first new language added in years is needed to assure more immigrant citizens are assisted in voting.
The Associated Press
One example Davis gave of the success of the program was an illegal alien who was processed for the minor charge of having an open container, and it was discovered that he was wanted for rape in Kentucky. Davis said that if it had not been for 287-G that person would have been set free.
Davis said that as far as numbers are concerned the Henderson County Sheriff's Department is just over the 400 mark for 287-G proper, and right at 500 when it comes to drug and gang enforcement. Davis said that almost 70 percent of the people that come into the detention center that are illegal either have a past criminal history, or are still wanted.
The WHKP News (Hendersonville, NC)
To sell their fresh-cooked tacos, carnitas and tortas, each day they spread out across Palos Verdes Estates -- Merida to the east, his wife, Maggie Avila, to the center, and Sonia Avila, Maggie's mother, to the west.
At lunchtime, Merida and Sonia Avila would pull alongside a small park and spend two hours feeding gardeners, construction workers and nannies, and the occasional local.
The Los Angeles Times
'We're very excited about it,' said Carmelita Reyes, principal at Oakland International High School. 'We're being seen as a model for other urban areas facing immigration challenges.'
The E Pluribus Unum Prize, inaugurated this year by a nonpartisan Washington think tank, bestowed $50,000 apiece on four groups working to help foreign-born residents assimilate. They were chosen from among 500 applicants.
The San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
The debate is gaining steam on local Spanish-language radio. Some popular hosts back the boycott effort being led by the D.C.-based National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, which represents about 16,000 churches.
The U.S. Constitution calls for a nationwide count every 10 years.
The Charlotte Observer (NC)