Immigrants and Politics Blog

[KR: This ruling is probably not the final word on the extent to which localities can choose not to cooperate with federal authorities on deportation, but it underscores the “tale of two cities” nature of local immigration policies and practices across the country.]

Judge throws out lawsuit against LAPD rule on immigration queries
The slaying of Jamiel Shaw II put a spotlight on Special Order 40, which limits when officers can ask about immigration status. The jurist rules the order doesn’t conflict with federal or state law.
By Joel Rubin
Los Angeles Times

June 26, 2008

A judge Wednesday threw out a lawsuit filed by a Los Angeles resident who wanted to repeal a long-standing LAPD order that restricts when police officers may ask people about their immigration status.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf M. Treu, granting a motion from the city and the American Civil Liberties Union, said Harold Sturgeon had failed to prove that Special Order 40 was in conflict with federal and state laws that dictate the flow of information between local and federal agencies regarding people’s immigration status.

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[KR: Story in the New York Times about the very low percentage of blacks in the U.S. Border Patrol, and efforts to increase minority agents with a drive to build up the border patrol to 18,000. The article mentions incentives and program modifications such as bypassing English language requirements, but not whether concern over civl rights makes blacks and Latinos more reluctant to join.]

New Outreach to Blacks as Border Patrol Grows
RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD, New York Times
June 23, 2008

MEMPHIS — Nearly 1,500 miles from his post at the Mexican border, Cyril V. Atherton, a Border Patrol agent, embarked on one of his trickiest missions.

He was here recruiting young blacks to an agency few had ever heard of, trying to entice them to the hot, arid Southwest, where few blacks live, for a job that requires learning Spanish proficient enough to know if their lives are in danger while arresting as many as 100 people at a time.

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[KR: We’re back, after a bit of a break in the month of May. Below is a discussion that occurred on a Latino Politics listserv, provoked by a question by David Ayon at Loyola Marymount (LA). The Obama candidacy has opened up many questions about race, and it also has the potential to open up important discussions about what it means to be an “immigrant.”]

Based on a Politico story from June 10:
“… Becerra, who represents heavily Hispanic East Los Angeles, … said he’s hopeful that Obama’s personal story — as the son of an immigrant who struggled to fit in — will transcend racial boundaries and that the candidate’s positions on health care, education and immigration will lead to an instant connection with Hispanic voters.”

DAVID AYON (LMU) wrote:
“Is it relevant or nitpicking to point out that Obama is not really the “son of an immigrant”? His father was a foreign student who returned to his country after finishing his studies. Obama has a great personal story and wide-ranging experience, but I would not consider it part of the immigrant experience in a meaningful way.”

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[KR: This article in the New York Times is in line with my research on local ordinances occurring even in places where the proportion (or growth) of immigrants is small. Given the case (northern Florida), the role of conservative ideology and local partisan (GOP) dynamics likely plays a significant role.

June 9, 2008
States Take New Tack on Illegal Immigration
By DAMIEN CAVE, New York Times

MILTON, Fla. — Three months after the local police inspected more than a dozen businesses searching for illegal immigrants using stolen Social Security numbers, this community in the Florida Panhandle has become more law-abiding, emptier and whiter.

Many of the Hispanic immigrants who came in 2004 to help rebuild after Hurricane Ivan have either fled or gone into hiding. Churches with services in Spanish are half-empty. Businesses are struggling to find workers. And for Hispanic citizens with roots here — the foremen and entrepreneurs who received visits from the police — the losses are especially profound.
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[KR: According to a 2007 report by the Council of Europe, programs of repeated amnesties such as in Spain may have had a small ‘pull effect’ is still a “positive experience from which many European states can learn.” The same may or may not be true for the United States, and this piece does not examine the role of networks of migration that operate regardless of economic or legal push-pull factors.]

June 10, 2008
BORDER CROSSINGS
Spain, Like U.S., Grapples With Immigration

JASON DePARLE, New York Times

MADRID — With the United States riven by calls to legalize millions of illegal immigrants, Americans might consider the possible effects by looking at southern Europe, where illegal immigration has abounded and so have forgiveness plans.

Link to story