Legal immigrant health coverage:

An article in the New York Times lays-out arguments that members of Congress are using in the health care reform debate. Among the sticking points is the if and when coverage under plans such as Medicare and Medicaid should be granted to legal permanent residents (LPR). Currently, there is a five-year wait period before LPR's can access these programs, which some Republicans want to continue. Some Democrats want to eliminate the waiting time all-together. Both sides generally want illegal immigrants restricted from receiving public health benefits.

The article can be found on the New York Times website at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/04/health/policy/04immig.html

DREAM Act lingers:

The proposed DREAM Act, which would allow for the naturalization of illegal immigrants who came to America as young children with their parents, while having relatively broad support has still failed to make its way through Congress. Efforts to include this legislation as part of a comprehensive immigration reform package will likely make it even more difficult for the DREAM Act to see reality, a there is much greater support for DREAM than other aspects of immigration reform.

The article can be found on the StatePress.com website at:

http://www.statepress.com/node/8935

Guitierrez makes case for immigration reform now:

In a recent interview with NPR, Rep. Luis Guitierrez from Illinois calls for immediate Congressional action on immigration reform. In this interview, he lays out a case for matching American policy with realistic labor needs.

The transcript can be found on the NPR website at:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=114199526

Article discusses political pitfalls of illegal immigration:

Interesting article by Prof. Daniel J. Tichenor from the University of Oregon about how recent Presidential Administrations and campaigns have discussed and dealt with the ugly topic surrounding illegal immigration. The article is titled: Navigating an American Minefield: The Politics of Illegal Immigration, and appeared in a recent issue of The Forum.

The article can be accessed from bepress at:

http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol7/iss3/art1/

Members of Congress seek private bill to keep Marine's family in country:

Soon after marrying a Japanese woman by proxy, an American serving in the Marines died in Iraq. Because the marriage was never "consummated" after the taking of vows, the marriage is not recognizable under US immigration law. Unless efforts to enact private legislation by Congressman on Hota Ferschke's behalf are successful, the widow will have to return to her native county. Among the legislators taking up the cause is Sen. Jim Web of Virginia who is a retired Marine Corp officer.

The article can be found on the Knoxnews website at:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/oct/14/mom-fights-for-reform/

Supremes to hear case on immigrants & advise of counsel:

Today, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The court will decide if the Sixth Amendment's effectiveness of counsel guarantee includes be apprised of the effects to immigration status after accepting a plea deal for aggravated felony. Since such a conviction automatically triggers deportation proceedings, an argument can be made that failure of counsel to notify defendant of this fact constitute ineffective assistance of counsel.

A write-up of the case, and links to court briefs can be found on the Scotus Wiki at:

http://www.scotuswiki.com/index.php?title=Padilla_v._Commonwealth_of_Kentucky

An article on the Washington Post website gives a good summary of the events leading up to Padilla's arrest, and can be found at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/12/AR2009101202441.html

Govt agencies can't track immigrants on expired visas:

A story on the New York Times website chronicles how difficult it is for government agencies to track immigrants who overstay their visas. Making this a main-stream media story, is how one such immigrant was arrested, suspected of making plans to destroy a building in Dallas, TX in a "terrorist attack."

The article can be found at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/us/12visa.html?_r=1&hp