NDLON in the News

Subheading phrase goes here.

Critics say immigration program detains less serious offenders

The chief goal of the federal Se Communities program, in place in Sonoma County since March 2010, is to identify, detain and deport dangerous illegal immigrants. But since the program took effect, critics have said that it actually catches up as many, if not more, people guilty of offenses that most consider minor, such as driving without a license or lifting. Such was the case of Jacobo Farias-Chavez of Santa Rosa, who was pulled over for a traffic violation. Sonoma County advocates for illegal immigrants’ rights are heartened by a steep drop in the number of people handed over to immigration authorities, a drop coinciding with local police agencies’ decisions to accept Mexican consular cards as valid identification.

Details

6 Concrete Steps the President Can Take to Seize the Moment on Immigration

After his reelection, speculation has begun about what the second term of President Obama will mean for immigrant communities.  While we breathed a sigh of relief following the defeat of Mitt Romney and his self-deportation politics, it would be irresponsible for us to return to 2008 levels of hope for change without first taking a critical look at President Obama’s record and seeing concrete indicators that demonstrate his next term will be different. 

Details

Day Laborers Offer Help After Hurricane Sandy

About 50 or so people gathered outside a storm-ruined taco restaurant on Saturday morning in Coney Island, on a backstreet behind the Boardwalk near the Wonder Wheel. They were day laborers, case Hispanic men and women who have been spending weekends as a volunteer brigade, helping other people chip away at the mountains of debris and accepting nothing

Details

Federal illegal immigration strategy shifting – Crime/Safety – NewsObserver.com

Federal officials are scaling back a program that enlists the aid of local police and sheriff’s offices to identify people who are in the country illegally, pharm in favor of a national program that uses fingerprints collected by the FBI. U.S. Immigrations Customs and Enforcement officials say the so-called 287(g) program that includes Wake County will continue at least until the end of the year. But ICE says the program is under review, order and that it will no longer train local police under the program or give them the authority to question, investigate and arrest people they suspect are in the country illegally. The change moves the government away from an approach to immigration enforcement that has been popular among some law enforcement agencies but has drawn fire from civil rights groups, who say it encourages local police and sheriff’s deputies to unfairly target Latinos. The Department of Homeland Security is still reviewing 57 complaints against the Wake County program

Details