In California, GOP Writes Off Latino Voters

Here's a portrait of two bills that are worlds apart, and two very different veterans of the political wars who have come to gain a common understanding.

Marty Wilson, 56, and Richie Ross, 61, cannot think of a single campaign in which they worked on the same side. But like Ross, Wilson understands that California has become a very different place.

Read more:

Posted by Jessica Damian

All bark but no Bit

State Legislatures Slow on Immigration Measures

Under newly fortified Republican control, many state governments started the year pledging forceful action to crack down on illegal immigration, saying they would fill a void left by the stalemate in Washington over the issue.

Still, immigrant advocates in many states say the debate has clearly shifted in favor of tougher enforcement. They say they have had to fight just to hold the line on immigration issues that they thought were long settled.

Bills similar to Arizona’s are advancing in Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina. In Kansas and Oklahoma, even though Republicans control the legislatures and the executive branch, immigration proposals have encountered unusually vocal opposition from business.

To view the entire story, click on the link below

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/us/14immig.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=education%20immigration&st=cse

--amy

Social Domino Affect to families of the deported

A 17-Month Detention, Now an Uncertain Future

It's kind of easy to say just send him back," she says. "But there's a domino effect. This affects his wife, his kids, his family, his friends, his co-workers. I wish they would be open-minded ... and really understand what they're doing to human beings."

Davalos' court hearing isn't scheduled until 2014. He'll have to prove his three U.S.-born children will suffer an extreme and exceptionally unusual hardship if he's deported. It's a very high bar, and Salvatierra knows it.

She already is framing her argument: "He's obviously a good father, a good provider, a good husband," she says, "and he has demonstrated he's a worthy individual to remain in the United States."

"I feel like I have to be the perfect person," he says.

"I was looking for a better life, that's why I came," he says. "It's not because I wanted to do something bad to this country."

He returned to his job cleaning pools.

Click on the link to view the entire article and comments:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/04/10/us/AP-US-Immigration-Limbo-Davalos.html?scp=3&sq=illegal%20immigration&st=nyt

by Amy D