GOP Tries “Threading the Needle” On Immigration

GOP Tries “Threading the Needle” On Immigration

“Senior Republicans say the party is struggling to thread the needle on immigration reform, an issue emerging as the next big item on the political agenda once the ongoing deficit talks reach their conclusion,” The Hill reports.

“On the other hand, internal skeptics fear that a GOP rush to embrace a more liberal approach to immigration would risk sundering the conservative movement without paying any electoral dividends.”

Compliance With E-Verify Rising in Arizona But Not Perfect

“Five years after it took effect and more than year after it was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, an Arizona law requiring that businesses check the citizenship of every new hire is often disregarded and rarely enforced,” the Arizona Capitol Times says.

“Fewer than half of Arizona businesses – 43 percent – had enrolled in the system by this month, according to Homeland Security enrollment figures and Census Bureau statistics on the number of Arizona businesses. That rate falls to 19 percent for businesses with four or fewer employees, or less than one business in five.”

“But those less-than-impressive numbers are largely due to the way the law was designed. Unlike South Carolina, which has audited thousands of businesses this year for compliance with its version of E-Verify, Arizona designed its law to encourage business participation and avoid what Crandall called the ‘bureaucratic nightmare’ of checking up on every business in the state.”

Setting The Record Straight on Frederick Arrest

“The premise of the lead anecdote in Sirine Shebaya’s op-ed (“Local police, federal law,” Dec. 11) is incorrect. The deputies who questioned the referenced Hispanic woman were not acting, and did not purport to act, pursuant to the Section 287(g) immigration enforcement provisions. The two deputies who were involved in fact knew nothing about Section 287(g),” says Daniel Karp, an attorney, representing Frederick County Sheriff Charles Jenkins and the deputies in the litigation about the woman’s arrest.

“The woman at issue filed suit in federal court claiming a violation of her federal constitutional rights. The federal court found that the detention and arrest were proper and dismissed the case, which is now on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.”

Eighth Circuit Hears Freemont Appeal

“The city of Fremont might be a step closer to knowing the legal fate of its controversial immigration ordinance. Fremont voters in 2010 approved an ordinance that requires every potential apartment renter to show proof they are in the country legally,” Journalstar.com reports.

“A three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, meeting in Minnesota, heard arguments in the case Thursday.”