Immigration News

The conservative media and anti-immigrant groups blame the swine flu on undocumented immigrants and demand closing of the border while immigration advocates are responding by strongly condemning any link between the swine flu and immigrants. The affect of this disease outbreak will surely have a negative affect on President Obama's plans to go public with comprehensive immigration reform discussions in May.

On a Friday afternoon, 41-year old Jiverly Wong walked into the American Civic Association Center, a place dedicated to helping immigrants, and killed 13 people, wounded four others, then turned the gun on himself.

Nine months after the first military spouse was naturalized overseas, Martin Miles Ulsano, age 7, became the first child naturalized outside of the United States.

President Obama renews his campaign pledge to move forward on comprehensive immigration reform legislation. His statement comes during the same week as Napolitano's deadline for an agency assessment of current immigration and border security plans and policies. Napolitano recently reiterated her immigration policy during an interview with NPR, which includes securing the border and increasing interior enforcement.

President Obama has signed the Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation, which repeals the 5-year waiting period for immigrant children. Under the new legislation, legal immigrant children from families who meet the income requirements no longer have to wait five years for state health insurance. Matching federal dollars, funded by the new tobacco taxes, will be given to the states that choose to provide this coverage.

The Senate voted 66-32 Thursday in favor of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, supporting last week's House vote, which passed 289-139. The bill renews and expands the State Children's Health Program or SCHIP, a federal program that provides matching funds to states for families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but can't afford private health insurance.

Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand has been chosen to fill Hillary Clinton's former New York Senate seat, and groups on both sides of the immigration issue will be watching closely to see how this conservative Democrat moves forward in her new position.

Barack Obama was sworn in as the nation's 44th president on January 20, 2009. We also said goodbye to former President Bush, who admitted in his final interviews that he made a mistake by not pushing for comprehensive immigration reform in his second term. Should we expect better from the son of an immigrant and nephew of an illegal immigrant? And more importantly, will we get it?

Janet Napolitano, nominated by President-elect Obama to be the next Homeland Security Secretary, scored a home run at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The committee, obviously in favor of Napolitano's nomination, listened as Napolitano communicated her experience and vision for the department. An informed and oftentimes witty Napolitano easily established her readiness to serve as Homeland Security Secretary. The two-hour and 20-minute hearing explored many areas of Homeland Security and immigration played a large part in those discussions.