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Forum in the News
Because Of Budget Cuts, U.S. Releases Hundreds Of Illegal Immigrants
February 26, 2013 - National Public Radio
The U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) says it released several hundred detainees in an effort to prepare for the across-the-board budget cuts scheduled to go into effect March 1. More people may be released in the coming days. Last year, the National Immigration Forum estimated that the cost per ICE detainee ranges $122-$164 per day. The organization also estimated that alternative methods of detention cost significantly less, between 30-cents to $14 per day per detainee.
Wave of Immigrants Released Ahead of Automatic Budget Cuts
February 26, 2013 - New York Times
In a highly unusual move, federal immigration officials have released a wave of detainees from immigration detention centers around the country in an effort to save money as automatic budget cuts loom in Washington, officials said. The government has not dropped the deportation cases against the immigrants, however: The detainees have been freed on supervised release while their cases continue in court, officials said.
DHS releasing illegal immigrants before sequester
February 26, 2013 - Associated Press
A week before mandatory budget cuts go into effect across the government, the Department of Homeland Security has started releasing illegal immigrants being held in immigration jails across the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Tuesday. According to the National Immigration Forum, it costs the government about $164 a day to keep an illegal immigrant facing deportation jailed. In a report on immigration detention costs last year the advocacy group said costs for supervised release can range from about 30 cents to $14 a day.
Prospect of cuts prompting US to release some migrant detainees
February 26, 2013 - Arizona Daily Star
Illegal immigrants are being released from detention across the country on their promise to return for future court dates because of possible upcoming federal budget cuts, Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed. While the total number of people who have been released has not made public by ICE, an official with firsthand knowledge of the agency's effort said more than 100 people had been released from the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona alone. The effort started last week.
Business owners emerge as vocal force in pro-immigration debate
February 22, 2013 - Los Angeles Times
Having business owners involved in negotiations might also help quiet some of the opposition that contributed to the derailment of immigration reform in 2007, when anti-immigration callers overwhelmed and shut down the Senate switchboard. "In order to get the votes we need, we have to think about who can move House Republicans — and business is a big part of that," said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, which brings together different factions on immigration, including business and labor.
More than half of Congress has never debated immigration reform
February 21, 2013 - The Hill
More than half of Congress has turned over since the last time the House and Senate tried to move legislation to overhaul the nation's immigration laws. The high turnover rate bolsters the argument of Republican leaders, who say Congress must move methodically on immigration. President Obama, meanwhile, has pushed for swift passage of a bill, saying lawmakers have long debated the issue.
Behind-the-scenes deal pushes immigration reform closer to reality
February 21, 2013 - Christian Science Monitor
A compromise agreement announced Thursday between the nation’s largest labor union and the top advocate for American business underscores the enormous momentum now behind immigration reform. The agreement touches on what was seen to be potentially one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the immigration reform debate – namely, how the country should handle the flow of low-skilled, temporary foreign workers.
Conservative evangelical Christians sign on for immigration overhaul pitch
February 20, 2013 - Dallas Morning News
After years of silence and even hostility to modifying immigration laws, conservative evangelical Christians have become unlikely allies in pressing for a path to citizenship for those here illegally because, they say, the Bible told them so. A coalition of religious leaders in Texas and elsewhere, many with strong credentials as social conservatives, is engaging congregations in a coordinated call for Congress and the White House to deal with 11 million illegal immigrants.
Citizenship Campaign Launches To Push For Swift Reform
February 19, 2013 - Huffington Post
A coalition of human rights groups and labor organizations will band together to push for a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, starting this week with events in eight states and continuing with a bus tour to 80 cities and a march on Washington, D.C. The group, called Alliance for Citizenship, is aligned with 24 others, including the Service Employees International Union, National Council of La Raza, Church World Service, Center for Community Change, National Immigration Forum, AFL-CIO labor federation and Southern Poverty Law Center.
Coalition makes plea to end Operation Streamline
February 19, 2013 - Brownsville Herald
Regional groups seeking immigration reform hope any policy decisions and legislation will exclude what they call “harsh border enforcement policies.” Astrid Dominguez, a border rights fellow with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Rio Grande Valley Equal Voice Network, said Tuesday that Operation Streamline, a policy launched by the Bush administration, should be halted.
