Latest on Immigration Reform

http://wireupdate.com/wires/10788/president-obama-pleased-with-proposed-bill-to-fix-broken-immigration-system/

The proposed bill for immigration reform is the most recent news on immigration today. The bill was introduced by Senator Robert Menendez and President Barack Obama is apparently pleased with it. The bill would increase the number of border patrol agents and recourses (which I imagine has been increasing every year anyway) but would also work to legalize millions of Undocumented immigrants.

The idea being that undocumented workers would be more beneficial to the economy if they were tax payers. Of course it's not that easy though to just legalize millions of people over night. The bill includes "important building blocks" which would require background checks as well as for the immigrant to learn English. Do you think asking immigrants to learn English is unreasonable? To me it seems like a vital part of assimilation, but is assimilation even the ultimate goal for undocumented immigrants?

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20101005/OPINION01/101004028/1005/NEWS01/Immigration+bill++Good+legislation++bad+timing

This reaction to the bill is that it covers what needs to be done, which includes fostering a progressive relationship between liberals and conservatives on the issue. On the other hand though a point is made that the timing for Menendez to introduce the bill was wrong. The claim being that the senate has recessed for November elections and it will fail to get any consideration.

Someone tell me what you think of this bill. Do you think it's a progressive step towards the never ending regulation of immigrants?

States take immigration into their own hands.

http://www.racismreview.com/blog/2010/05/11/governor-patersons-pardon-panel-sets-a-better-example-than-arizona/

Here, a liberal article applauds Governor Paterson for taking immigration policies into his own hands. The writer pits Patterson's pardon panel against the more conservative approach to immigration reform put in place by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. (Brewer's signing of SB 1070 is the policy we talked about in class which requires immigrants to carry papers.)

Paterson's review panel helps him to make more personal decisions about the deportation of legal immigrants who have commit a crime in the past. For example; he takes into account the severity of the crime and how well the person has contributed to society after serving time. In Arizona however the laws have been changed to criminalize undocumented people. The writer commends Patterson for not changing the law as blatantly as Brewer did. Instead Paterson utilizes his power to make pardons in favor of immigrants who have changed their ways, but are still being prosecuted by the rigid federal immigration laws.

Do you think Patterson is doing a good thing by allowing legal immigrant criminals to be heard? Should Brewer have the right to enforce a more strict policy for policing undocumented persons?

Guidelines

Guidelines for posting on Blog:

• Your posts should be relevant and related to topics being covered in class. You can comment on or question anything we've read for class, discussed in class, or anything else related to the class that sparks discussion.
• Posts should be a minimum of two paragraphs long (about 5-6 sentences per paragraph). If your blog post does not meet this minimum requirement, your post will not merit extra credit.
• I encourage you to post links to other stories on the internet. When you do so, however, please also provide a commentary. Otherwise, they will not accrue credit for you.
• I will at times use the blog to post links to stories and material that are related to things being discussed in class.
• Please be respectful of the opinion of others. You do not need to agree with everything others post, but you do need to be respectful.
• Profanity is UNACCEPTABLE. While the point of the blog is to help create a more comfortable and laidback atmosphere in which to discuss issues/questions related to the course, keep in mind that it is still for an academic class and I will not tolerate profanity or any other inappropriate language. By no means do I mean to censor anything that's posted on this blog, but posts that are obviously unsuitable or disrespectful will be deleted.
• Each blog post that meets the above requirements will count as half a point in extra credit. You can receive a maximum of 5 points, equivalent to 10 blog posts, in extra credit. While comments on other students’ posts will not be counted, I encourage you to comment because lively discussions are usually the very heart of any blog. You can certainly write more than 10 posts if you want to, and I encourage you to do so!
• Please note that only a maximum of two blog posts per week will be counted. This policy is solely to prevent a deluge of posts in the last few weeks of class.
•  Have fun! This is your blog - take ownership of it!