By Jon Feere*

Illegal-alien and open-borders advocates may succeed in getting the Arizona Supreme Court to ban numerous immigration-related phrases, including “illegal alien” and “open-borders advocates.”

In a significant blow to the First Amendment and the use of legally-correct terminology, Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor has advanced the demands of the Arizona Hispanic Bar Association by moving to ban the following language from all of the state’s courtrooms:

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By Mark Krikorian*

Now that we know who’s going to be in the White House and Congress next year, what are the prospects for immigration?

Despite big Democratic gains in Congress, the results aren’t as bad for the cause of immigration enforcement as a simple partisan approach to the issue might suggest. After all, one of the ways Democrats have been picking up formerly Republican seats over the past few elections has been to nominate immigration hawks like Heath Shuler of North Carolina and Brad Ellsworth of Indiana.

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WASHINGTON (October 1, 2008) - A new Center for Immigration Studies Backgrounder finds that immigration law enforcement has been highly effective in fighting gang activity around the country. Local law enforcement agencies that shun involvement with immigration law enforcement are missing an opportunity to protect their communities, according to the authors. Since 2005, ICE has arrested more than 8,000 immigrant gangsters from more than 700 different gangs under an initiative known as Operation Community Shield.

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WASHINGTON (September 18, 2008) — The E-Verify program, which allows employers to check the immigration status of new employees, has been steadily improving and is now 99.5 percent accurate, according to a new paper by the Center for Immigration Studies. This voluntary program is already screening more than one in ten new hires nationwide, and as of September 13, 2008, has processed 6.21 million queries.

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WASHINGTON (September 2008) – In this contentious election season, one thing that’s taken for granted is that American citizens will be the ones choosing the next president.

But a new paper from the Center for Immigration Studies reveals a concerted effort gathering force to allow new immigrants to vote without becoming citizens. It is being mounted by an alliance of academics and law professors, local and state political leaders, and community and immigration activists.

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By the Center for Immigration Studies

WASHINGTON (August 13, 2008) — The findings of a new study indicate that future levels of immigration will have a significant impact on efforts to reduce global CO2 emissions. Immigration to the United States significantly increases world-wide CO2 emissions because it transfers population from lower-polluting parts of the world to the United States, which is a higher-polluting country.

The report, entitled “Immigration to the United States and World-Wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” is available at this link and a video regarding the report is available at this link.

Among the findings:

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Preface by Melanie Phillips*

In February 2008, Gwyn Prins, a professor at the London School of Economics, and Robert Salisbury, the marquess of Salisbury and a privy counselor, published a breakthrough essay in the RUSI Journal on the incongruity between current British defense discourse and the threat posed by radical Islam.[1] The essay, a portion of which is excerpted below, represents the consensus view not only of the authors but also of ten former military chiefs, diplomats, analysts and academics. As important as are the authors is the place of publication: The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) sits at the heart of Britain’s defense establishment and is recognized internationally as an authority on defense and security issues. Their paper highlights the profound conceptual flaws at the heart of Britain’s strategy for combating the threats facing the country, criticism made more devastating by the combined weight and authority of its authors.

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New Report Estimates 1.3 Million Decline Since Last Summer

WASHINGTON (July 30, 2008) — A new analysis of monthly Census Bureau data shows a significant decline in the number of less-educated Hispanic immigrants. The report is the first to show systematic evidence that the illegal population is decreasing. There is good evidence that recent immigration enforcement efforts are a key factor causing the decline.

The report, entitled “Homeward Bound: Recent Immigration Enforcement and the Decline in the Illegal Alien Population,” is available at the Center for Immigration Studies web site www.cis.org.

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New Report Finds Significant Decline Since Last Summer

WASHINGTON (July 25, 2008) — A new analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies of monthly data collected by the Census Bureau shows that the illegal immigrant population has declined significantly between last summer and May of this year. The study is the first to find quantitative evidence that illegal immigrants are leaving the country. It also examines the extent to which stepped-up enforcement and the downturn in the economy account for this trend.

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By Phyllis Chesler

Has everyone seen Thomas McCarthy’s universally praised film The Visitor? Or at least read the reviews about it? Having no idea what the film was about, I slipped in yesterday expecting to see a “romantic comic drama” which is how the snapshot review described it.

What I saw instead was a poignant, touching film about illegal immigration in post 9/11 America which, I now understand, has been embraced by almost every film critic.

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WASHINGTON (May 2008) – Lobbying groups frequently claim that foreign students are a benefit to America’s balance of payments, comparable to a booming export sector. For instance, the Institute for International Education (IIE) asserts that foreign students contributed a net $14.5 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2006-07 school year by paying for tuition and living expenses with resources from abroad, representing a net inflow of nearly $25,000 per year, every year, from the average foreign student.

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WASHINGTON (April 2008) — A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies demonstrates that most H-1Bs are ordinary people doing ordinary work, not the geniuses claimed by industry lobbyists.

Those arguing for an increase in the number of H-1B visas (ostensibly temporary visas for ’specialty occupations,’ many of them in the computer industry) claim that continued U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics hinges on our ability to import the world’s best engineers and scientists. But this new data analysis shows that the vast majority of H-1B workers — including those at most major tech firms — are not the innovators industry portrays them to be.

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WASHINGTON (March 2008)* — While presidential candidates promise to secure the border, the other major source of illegal immigration is largely ignored — lax visa policies. Visa overstays account for between one-quarter to one-half of the illegal-alien population, and fencing, unmanned aerial vehicles, National Guard patrols, etc., are irrelevant to controlling this part of the immigration problem.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

Mexican local and national government seems unwilling to crack down on continual gang-related drug violence. Certainly, many illegals are just seeking jobs in the U.S., but when did America become responsible for solving Mexico’s rampant corruption and unemployment problems? Certainly, a good number of illegals are drug gang members seeking to acquire turf and revenue in the U.S. Read the following, then think about whether the U.S. should have an open-door immigration policy:

Mexican medical investigators are working to identify four burned bodies discovered on a ranch near the Mexican border town of Palomas, which is across the border from Columbus, New Mexico. …

The latest violence in the border town of 8,000 came the day after the town’s chief of police requested U.S. asylum saying that he feared for his safety.

Luna County deputies and border patrol officials said that Chief Emilio Perez was under the protections of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Also last week, Colmbus Mayor Eddie Espinoza reported he had been getting a root canal in a Palomas dental office when two armed man burst in and robbed the dentist.

Officials believe the surge in violence in and around Palomas signals an escalation of a turf battle by rival drug gangs along the U.S-Mexico border.

DOH! Notice that the Palomas police chief didn’t ask the Mexican government for asylum.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

“The Dutch government is set to impose a ban on the Muslim burqa in schools and government offices,” reports Reuters. While some argue this is strictly a safety issue — a prophylactic against terrorists who would hide bombs under the Islamic head-to-toe women’s coverall — there is more to the ban: a very subjective, non-”practical” side. This is about cultural reassertion (preserving liberal democracy) as much or more so than it is about pragmatism (preventing bombings).

Many Dutch believe their European roots are being threatened by all their new Muslim immigrants. Their concerns are based in firm reality, e.g., the savage murder of Theo van Gogh in downtown Amsterdam. Many Muslims have expected that their host countries will adapt (submit) to them, as opposed to them assimilating European values (e.g., where stoning your wife is illegal, where drawing a picture of a religious figure is not punishable by death, where other religions are tolerated, etc.).

Yes, this is a limitation on free expression, but in a war to preserve civilized values, a necessary one.

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