Immigrants and Politics Blog

The proposals being drafted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security, could nearly double application fees, toughen the required English and history exams, and ask probing questions about an applicant’s past, such as ‘Who is your current wife’s ex-husband?’

In an interview yesterday, a USCIS spokesman said the contemplated changes are necessary to pay increased administrative costs and to standardize an application that is subjective and varies across the country.

But immigration rights advocates say the changes would amount to a second wall, a potential barrier against legal immigration that is as formidable as the newly authorized southern border fence is supposed to be against illegal migrants.

Full story in Washington Post

[News article with some stories from foreign-born MPs in Canada on their early immigrant experiences.]

Foreign-born MPs recall arrival in Canada
The Canadian Press, June 29, 2006

Back when Canada was just a babe, dozens of the men who sat in the House of Commons were born in Ireland, England and Scotland, with a few Americans and French thrown in to the mix.

Fast forward 139 years, and parliamentarians hold birth certificates from countries as diverse as Uganda, Haiti and Malta, a reflection of the immigration patterns that shaped the country.

Currently, 41 of 308 MPs are foreign born. Some of their families escaped political persecution overseas. Others came to Canada for a better economic life. Here are a few recollections from MPs on coming to Canada:
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[Story in Toronto Star referencing a study of municipal voting participation.  An excerpt of the story is on this page; click on “more” below for the full story and link to the study]

Without a voice at the polls Few immigrants, non-whites vote in city elections: Report
Oct. 13, 2006
LAURIE MONSEBRAATEN
Toronto Star

If you are an immigrant and also happen to be non-white, chances are high that you didn’t vote in the 2003 municipal elections.

That’s the finding of a new study on municipal franchise and social inclusion in Toronto to be released today. The study by Ryerson University urban politics professor Myer Siemiatycki is the first in Canada to look at voter demographics at the municipal level.

The report shows that in Toronto, where a disappointing 38 per cent of voters turned up at the polls in 2003, immigrants and visible minorities voted in significantly lower numbers than white Canadian-born residents - regardless of their socio-economic status.
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[KR: Oh the ironies when you mix political opportunism, an immigrant biography, and Orange County politics. The decision by the County GOP is interesting as well, but perhaps not surprising given Nguyen’s recent conversion to the party.]

Calif. candidate urged to exit race

By PETER PRENGAMAN, Associated Press Writer Thu Oct 19, 6:26 PM ET

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Orange County Republican leaders on Thursday called for the withdrawal of a GOP congressional candidate they believe sent a letter threatening Hispanic immigrant voters with arrest.

Tan D. Nguyen denied knowing anything about the letter in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press but said he fired a campaign staffer who may have been responsible for it.

County Republican Chairman Scott Baugh, however, said that after speaking with state investigators and the company that distributed the mailer, he believes Nguyen had direct knowledge of “obnoxious and reprehensible” letter. He told the AP that the party’s executive committee voted unanimously to urge Nguyen to drop out of the race against Democratic U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez.
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[KR: Quite a stunning development, especially given the demographics of Escondido. There was a lot of activism in San Bernardino against a similar measure, which failed on technical grounds as a referendum and by a vote of the City Council]

ESCONDIDO, California (Reuters) - Local authorities in Escondido, California passed a controversial measure on Wednesday to prohibit landlords from renting to illegal immigrants, a law which opponents say is racist.

The city is the latest of several from California to Pennsylvania which have passed laws in recent months to deny access to housing or jobs to illegal immigrants in their communities.

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[KR: Here is a fairly long feature in the New York Times Sunday Magazine that looks at the politics of border control and immigration in Arizona, and what that means to Republican strategies there and in other states. From the tone of the article, it still seems unclear whether this will be a significant issue this November, let alone beyond then. I think this issue will have legs in conservative circles well into the next Presidential season, which pretty much gets started in January.]

Russell Pearce’s single-mindedness has proved to be a force in Arizona, setting the political agenda, helping to make illegal immigration the single most important and contested issue in the state.

[..] In Arizona, it becomes evident, the battle over illegal immigration is, in one of its dimensions, a battle over the future of the Republican Party in the state and, because of McCain’s ambitions, nationally as well.
Story in New York Times Sunday Magazine

Across Europe, Worries on Islam Spread to Center By DAN BILEFSKY and IAN FISHER NY Times Published: October 11, 2006
BRUSSELS, Oct. 10 - Europe appears to be crossing an invisible line regarding its Muslim minorities: more people in the political mainstream are arguing that Islam cannot be reconciled with European values.
“You saw what happened with the pope,” said Patrick Gonman, 43, the owner of Raga, a funky wine bar in downtown Antwerp, 25 miles from here. “He said Islam is an aggressive religion. And the next day they kill a nun somewhere and make his point.
“Rationality is gone.”
Mr. Gonman is hardly an extremist. In fact, he organized a protest last week in which 20 bars and restaurants closed on the night when a far-right party with an anti-Muslim message held a rally nearby.
His worry is shared by centrists across Europe angry at terror attacks in the name of religion on a continent that has largely abandoned it, and disturbed that any criticism of Islam or Muslim immigration provokes threats of violence.

See full story at  http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/world/europe/11muslims.html