Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Labor and immigration activists are expected to rally and march in Boise in support for an overhaul of the nation's immigration system. The demonstration Wednesday is part of the May Day rallies planned in cities across the country, where demonstrators are demanding changes in the federal government's immigration laws. Activists are expected to meet at Julia Davis Park in downtown Boise before marching a half-mile to the state Capitol. More than 200 people have indicated they plan to attend the rally on a Facebook event created by the Coalition for Immigrant Rights of Idaho, a group pressing for changes in the law. Participants will begin gathering in Julia Davis Park at 4 p.m., where music and speakers are planned, before a “Family Unity March” to the state Capitol at 6.

The Atlantic has an interesting profile of Idaho 1^stDistrict Rep. Raul Labrador this week, headlined, “Does the Fate of Immigration Reform Depend on This Idaho Congressman? Puerto Rican-born, Tea Party-purist, GOP-leadership-defying immigration attorney Raul Labrador has confounded expectations throughout his political career.” In the piece, Labrador talks about immigration reform, saying, “Most hardcore conservatives in the House come from rural agricultural districts, so we understand the need for reform”/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise. More here. (AP file photo of Raul Labrador)

Question: Izzit just me, or has Congressman Raul Labrador become a major player on the Washington scene — and among the national GOP?

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, emphasized substance over style in the upcoming budget and immigration policy talks Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

Addressing the media with other conservative members of Congress, Labrador said he was encouraged by the ideas behind a budget plan set forth by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to balance the federal budget within a decade. He stressed that policy decisions should flow from that benchmark and urged the Republican party to make policy commitments, rather than simply passing the Ryan budget which has no force of law.

“Some people in this caucus believe that the plan is just to pass the Paul Ryan budget,” Labrador said, adding his goal is not to pass “a meaningless document by itself, unless we actually implement the policies that will get us to a 10-year balanced budget.”

Ryan’s budget is just one of competing visions for a federal government spending plan. Last week, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., released her own spending bill that roundly rejected several of the Republican House’s key provisions. The Ryan plan calls for no increase in taxes and complete reduction of the deficit by 2023 through reforms to Medicare and repealing the Affordable Care Act. Murray’s budget, on the other hand, calls for nearly $1 trillion in tax increases targeting the wealthy, additional stimulus spending and no fixed date for a balanced federal budget.

Both plans are working their way through Congress. President Barack Obama, also required to release a spending plan by law, has delayed doing so since February, to the ire of many Republicans. The White House now expects to release its budget next month.

Labrador is widely hailed as the prominent figure in a potential bipartisan immigration reform deal. Last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the freshman congressman reiterated his stance that there should be no new path to citizenship for illegal immigrants in any reform legislation. He called instead for enforcement of existing laws and granting “legal status” to those who entered the country illegally, without the possibility of citizenship.

He responded to comments made earlier in the week by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., in favor of immigration reform. Paul called for a legal status approach in line with his own beliefs, Labrador said, rather than media reports that said he was pushing a path to citizenship. He expressed support for plans to fix what he repeatedly called a “broken system,” including several ideas offered by Paul.

“We’re talking about a minor issue,” Labrador said of the pathway to citizenship proposal. “The real issue that we’re dealing with is immigration reform. Let’s fix it.”

Labrador blamed labor unions for defeating legislation put forward in the Senate in 2007. That law would have allowed for a new type of temporary visa available to undocumented workers. A bipartisan group in the Senate released a set of principles to guide reform in January that included both a new “tough and fair” pathway to citizenship and admitting more workers into the country.

Any immigration reform legislation in the House would have to be vetted by the Judiciary Committee, said Labrador. He said the window for real reform would probably close in December, when campaigning for the midterm elections would begin in earnest.

OLYMPIA — Add immigration to the list of issues that could provoke a heated argument in this year's Legislature. Two mutually exclusive proposals involving undocumented students in the state's colleges will be in the Senate.

Young adults who came to the United States with their parents as young children and were raised and educated in this country would be eligible for some state college aid under a proposal announced Tuesday by Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle.

What's being dubbed the Washington State DREAM Act would open up the State Need Grant and College Bound Scholarship programs to high school students who are undocument residents. Those programs already have long waiting lines; the State Need Grant last year had 32,000 applicants who couldn't get aid because the program ran out of money. . . 

To read the rest of this item, or to comment, click here to go inside the blog. 

Here's a news item from the Associated Press: WASHINGTON (AP) ― The House has approved legislation to offer green cards to foreign students with advanced degrees, but only after a partisan fight that portends trouble when Congress attempts a wholesale immigration overhaul next year. In approving what is called the STEM Jobs Act on a 245-139 vote, Republicans who control the House were signaling Hispanic voters who abandoned them in the election that they're serious about fixing the flawed system. The bill passed Friday would provide 55,000 permanent residency visas to foreign students with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But it drew fire from Democrats because it would kill a program that helps less-trained people from Africa and elsewhere gain entry to this country.

Click below to read Labrador's news release on the House vote; you can see his floor speech here in favor of the bill, in which he compares himself to Charlie Brown and the Democrats to Lucy, saying they keep pulling away the ball in a game of political football over immigration reform.

Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador has his STEM jobs act up for a vote again in the House today, after it failed in a September House vote; he was interviewed by NPR's Renee Montagne about it this morning. The bill would replace the current diversity visa program, which grants 55,000 immigration visas a year through a lottery, with one targeting those completing post-graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering or math fields. “The diversity visa doesn't make any sense for the United States for the problems that we have today,” Labrador told Montagne. “We need high-skilled workers.”

Labrador said President Obama has come out against his bill “because it is not part of a comprehensive immigration reform plan.” He said, “If we do a comprehensive package, what you're going to have is a bill that every single member of Congress hates a certain aspect of it, and no one is going to vote for it. Let's start with the easiest thing first. … If we don't do it this way, it's never going to get done.”

Montagne asked Labrador about the Dream Act, which would allow young people brought illegally to the country as children a way to stay legally in certain circumstances, and Labrador said, “That should be the next thing we work on.” You can listen to the interview here, and read more here on today's vote from the Washington Post, which reports that the bill is likely to pass the GOP-controlled House, but not be taken up in the Senate.

Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador says the Republican Party will never win the presidency again unless it can attract Hispanic votes, and he said that requires action on immigration reform. Idaho Statesman columnist Dan Popkey reports that Labrador made the comments at a Capitol Hill news conference Wednesday sponsored by a group he co-chairs, Conversations with Conservatives. “One of the main reasons that we lost is because Romney got 27 percent of the Hispanic vote,” Labrador said. “If we continue to get 27 percent of the vote for the rest of our lives, we will continue to lose every single presidential election that’s out there.” You can read Popkey's full report here.
  

Clay Bennett/Chattanooga Times Free Press

The U.S. Supreme Court is issuing major rulings this week, but it now appears it won't issue its ruling on the federal health care reform law until Thursday. This morning, the high court ruled on the Arizona immigration law, overturning much of it, but upholding the controversial provision requiring police to check the immigration status of someone they suspect is not in the United States legally. That decision upholds the “show me your papers” requirement for the moment, but it takes the teeth out of it by prohibiting police officers from arresting people on minor immigration charges, the Associated Press reports; you can read a full report here at spokesman.com, and read the court's full three-page decision here.

Also this morning, the high court struck down a Montana law limiting corporate campaign spending; the case was seen as a test of the 2010 Citizens United decision that opened the door to unlimited independent campaign expenditures by corporations. It was a 5-4 decision; you can read a full report here at spokesman.com, and read the 76-page full court decision here.

Idaho was one of 22 states that filed a brief in support of Montana's law, even though Idaho has no state laws restricting corporate campaign spending. Idaho allows direct corporate giving to campaigns, and unlimited corporate independent expenditures on campaigns, but does subject corporations to the same contribution limits to candidates as individuals, and requires reporting. The state Attorney General's office said Idaho weighed in on a state sovereignty basis, seeking to protect state authority.

Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador, an immigration attorney who touted his expertise on the issue as he ran for Idaho's 1st District congressional seat two years ago, blasted President Obama's announcement today of a major change in the nation's immigration law enforcement: Young illegal immigrants will be able to avoid deportation if they can prove they were brought to the United States before they turned 16 and are younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have no criminal history, graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED or served in the military. They also can apply for a work permit that will be good for two years with no limits on how many times it can be renewed.

“Our nation's first commitment must be to follow the rule of law and this action by the president bypasses the existing legal process,” Labrador said in a statement. “President Obama had two years in the White House to move immigration legislation through a Democrat-controlled House and Senate and he failed to do so. There are many Republicans in Congress who have been working to fix our broken immigration process. Instead of joining them to produce legislation in a constitutional manner, the president acted unilaterally in a blatantly political manner.”

Click below for a full report on the president's announcement from the Associated Press in Washington, D.C.

OUTDO – A group of anglers is trying to get all Spokane River anglers speaking the same legal language about the fishing restrictions designed to protect the struggling native redband trout.

The group has worked with the Washington Fish and Wildlife Department to tanslate important rules into Russian for signs to be posted along the river.

The issue is about fish conservation, but the fundraising event to raise money for the signs is all about art and painting.

The Tipsy Muse event, set for Saturday (May 19), 1 p.m.-4 p.m. at Arbor Crest Winery, features participants getting  chance to work on a painting alongside a professional artist.  The participants get to keep their painting and everybody enjoys sipping wine and bidding on fly fishing trips, casino packages and other items.

For years, concerns have simmered about illegal fishing among Eastern European-Russian immigants, said Tyler Comeau, an Eastern Washington University student. Comeau has been working on the project with the Spokane Falls Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Fish and Wildlife police confirm that language barriers often are given as excuses for poaching activity on the river.

Cost: $45 (includes tasting fee) or $10 for spectators (non painting, but also includes tasting fee)

Limited tickets are available online only:

Federal agents have increased their presence in the Spokane area in what some believe is an overreaching effort to combat illegal immigration at a local level.

Officials with the U.S. Border Patrol say they’re not specifically targeting illegal immigrants and that their presence at police stops in the Spokane County area is part of an ongoing partnership with local law enforcement.

But a Seattle-based immigrant rights group alleges border patrol agents are responding to calls even when their presence is not necessary, simply because they suspect someone may be an illegal immigrant.

“Only people who are Spanish speakers or are perceived to be Spanish speakers are the ones being questioned,” said Jorge Barón, executive director of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project

Read the rest of my story here.

Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) ― The Idaho Supreme Court ordered a 3-year-old girl in state custody be delivered to her father, a Mexican citizen who has never met his daughter because he's legally barred from entering the United States. The justices ruled Thursday a lower court erred when severing the man's parental rights last December. The man married an Idaho woman in 2007 while living illegally in the U.S. He returned to Mexico under court order, with his wife, in 2008 but she soon went back to Idaho, giving birth. The state took custody of the baby months later, citing neglect. Both parents' rights were terminated at the state Department of Health and Welfare's request. When reinstating the father's rights, the high court questioned the department's motives, noting an employee wanted to adopt the girl.

You can read the full court decision here; click below for a full report from AP reporter Jessie Bonner.

Recent immigration policies enacted by the Administration undermine the rule of law, say Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and a group of Republican senators in a letter to the President urging to remand the proposals. The directives in question call for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to perform case-by-case reviews, focusing on criminals and public menaces, while closing the books on those not considered a threat.  Additionally, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton recently directed the agency to use its “prosecutorial discretion” in deciding which of the pending 300,000 federal deportation cases should be prosecuted.  If DHS determines that a particular individual is not a criminal threat, they could be granted conditional permanent residency. In a letter sent to the President yesterday, the senators ask that DHS rescind the proposals dealing with increased use of prosecutorial discretion and abide by existing immigration laws/Mike Crapo news release. More here. (AP file photo: An supporter of tough immigration laws protests in Arizona)

Question: Who do you trust more to deal with immigration policy — congressional Republicans or the White House and congressional Democrats?

Good morning, Netizens…

Is this morning's David Horsey cartoon depicting truth or speculation?

Granted, our national unemployment has risen to nearly an all-time high of 9.2%, while Mexican unemployment has remained at 4.9%, both facts which remain in question as to whether or not they retain accuracy. However, I haven't seen any statistical evidence that illegal Mexican immigrants are leaving the country in droves, rather I suspect the numbers of illegal immigrants crossing the border into the United States may be largely unchanged in recent months.

Since we are unflinchingly delving into speculative statistics, however, what would happen to our current national unemployment statistical base, if we were able to do so, were we to gather up every immigrant illegally in the United States? Would our employment suddenly ascend like a rocket to Mars?

Would farmers, somewhat dependent upon Mexican illegals for their harvests, simply find another method of acquiring temporary farm hands?

I also suspect that the closer one moves toward the Mexican-United States border, the number of illegal immigrants migrating back across the border into Mexico would decrease. The “coyotes” who are responsible for helping so many illegal immigrants cross the border for a fee are, simply put, too well organized and vastly more efficient than the U.S. Border Patrol.

I just cannot envision a horde of illegal immigrants crossing the border into Mexico. Perhaps the mob of quasi-legal immigrants bailing out of the United States depicted by David Horsey hasn't happened yet. Let our economy worsen a few more points and perhaps it might happen. Of course, your results and opinions may differ.

Dave

Politico yesterday took a look at Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador as a possible “credible face for broader immigration reform” for the GOP. Reporter Marin Cogan writes, “Wading into the tricky politics of immigration reform would seem to be a dead end for any Republican these days — let alone a conservative freshman from Idaho. But Rep. Raul Labrador, a Puerto Rican-born former immigration lawyer and overnight tea party darling, is doing just that — meeting with Republicans and conservative opinion-makers to try to build a 'conservative consensus' to the seemingly intractable problem that defied a national reform effort nearly four years ago and still roils the political landscape on a state level.” You can read the full article here.
  

OLYMPIA — The Senate began discussion of the 2011-13 Transportation Bill shortly afternoon — and stopped fairly quickly.

A ruling is needed to determine whether Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, can get a vote on an amendment that would require applicants for a drivers license to present a valid Social Security number or some other form of identification that proves they are citizens.

Washington is the only state that does not require citizenship before issuing a drivers license, Benton said. That makes it a “magnet” for illegal immigrants seeking some form of state-issued ID.

Sen. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, argued that the amendment is out of order because it's outside the subject and scope of the transportation bill, which she said is about spending money on transportation projects over the next two years. Benton's proposed change would essentially create a new state law on drivers licenses that would extend beyond the life of the spending plan.

Benton argued it fits in the transportation bill, which has money for a pilot program for a new federal licensing program that mentions Social Security numbers as part of its qualifications.

The budget debate was put on hold, pending a ruling on whether Benton's amendment is out of order. A few minutes later, the Senate adjourned until Wednesday morning because its Ways and Means Committee has a hearing at 2:30 p.m. that will require much of the members to attend.

OLYMPIA – A legislative hearing over a proposal to make drivers license applicants give the state a Social Security Number and a verifiable residence was abruptly halted Thursday after some members of the audience called the plan racist and anti-immigrant.
Senate Transportation Chairwoman Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, ended the hearing when several people in the audience tried to shout her down over the purpose of SB 5407…

To read more, go inside the blog.

Let’s start with the good news from the Idaho Legislature. Lawmakers have apparently abandoned the misguided notion of pursuing an Arizona-style immigration law. Here’s the bad news. Lawmakers haven’t given up on this kind of time-wasting windmill tilting because they have had some sort of good-government epiphany. Instead, they are dropping immigration from the agenda in favor of an idea that is just about as bad. Full speed ahead, and in defiance of two centuries of precedent, lawmakers insist upon pursuing the legal non-starter of “nullification,” looking to unilaterally void the federal health care reform law. A nullification bill was introduced in a House committee Wednesday on a party-line vote, with Republicans backing the measure and Democrats opposing it/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Why are Idaho lawmakers prone to chase one unconstitutional windmill after another?

JEROME, Idaho (AP) — Police in Idaho say a man who asked authorities to arrest and deport him to Mexico stole a squad car after his request was denied.

Stateline.org reports that authorities in Maricopa County, Ariz., have raided some 40 workplaces in the past two years, looking for undocumented workers.  Although Arizona reputedly has the nation’s strictest laws against hiring illegal immigrants, fabled Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s forces have arrested and charged scores of workers, but hardly any employers.

Does that seem right?

Here’s a news item from the Associated Press:  IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Federal immigration officers arrested 13 illegal immigrants across southern Idaho last week and all but one are expected to be immediately deported. The Post Register reports the Boise office of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 10 men and three women in a four-day sweep that ended last Friday. Seven people were arrested in Idaho Falls, with one each in: American Falls, Firth, Hamer, Lewisville, Shoshone and Sugar City. ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers says 12 have final orders of deportation. One man was turned over to the Bonneville County sheriff’s office for an outstanding arrest warrant on battery charges.

For the better part of a month, Congressman Walt Minnick, D-Idaho, and his Republican rival, state Rep. Raul Labrador, have been fighting about immigration. More to the point, they’ve been arguing over Minnick’s advertising campaign about immigration. The latest, airing throughout Idaho’s 1st Congressional District, has former Idaho U.S. Marshal Mike Johnson questioning Labrador’s anti-illegal immigration credentials because the Eagle attorney represents immigrants. What a strange debate this is. That is, when you consider they’re in tandem. On everything. Take your pick. Give Minnick a second term. Or send Labrador to Washington. Either way, your next congressman isn’t going to merely take a hard line on illegal immigration. He’s going after legal immigration, too/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

• Winning the water war/Mike Patrick, Coeur d’Alene Press
• Blame Legislature for texting mess/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman
• New rules for mercury control good for Idaho/Idaho State Journal
• Idaho constitutional amendment: SJR 5/Idaho Press Tribune
• Amendments would sidestep voter debt approval/Steve Hartgen, TF Times-News
• Otter’s Molina: You never write, you never call, you seldom pay/Lee Rozen, Moscow-Pullman Daily News
  

Question: Have you figured out which candidate has a stand similar to yours on the immigration issue?

Idaho has joined Michigan in a “friend of the court” brief siding with Arizona in its appeal from a federal judge’s initial ruling invalidating portions of the state’s far-reaching immigration law; 11 states have now joined in the appeal. Gov. Butch Otter said, “It’s our affirmative duty to protect states’ rights, and that’s particularly important when a lawsuit seeks to punish a state for doing what the federal government has failed to do – protect our borders and American citizens.” Click below to read his full news release.

USA Today reports that state legislators in an array of states - including Idaho - are rethinking plans to introduce Arizona-style immigration laws after a federal court temporarily blocked the core of the law. Among state lawmakers quoted: Idaho Senate President Pro-Tem Bob Geddes. The newspaper reports that he “says his colleagues had planned to file an S.B. 1070 replica but are making changes. ‘I don’t know that we would cut and paste exactly what Arizona has, based on what the judge has already ruled,’ Geddes says. ‘That doesn’t help us much to engage in the same battle that Arizona has lost.’”

Children of foreign workers are seen Sunday in Tel Aviv, Israel. Chinese construction workers, Filipino elder-care aides, Thai farmers and others began arriving in Israel in the 1990s.

JERUSALEM – Israel moved Sunday to deport the offspring of hundreds of migrant workers, mostly small children who were born in Israel, speak Hebrew and have never seen their parents’ native countries.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the new policy was intended to stem a flood of illegal aliens, whose children receive state-funded education and health care benefits, and to defend Israel’s Jewish identity. Read more.

Thoughts?

A federal immigration “enforcement surge” across the Magic Valley area has resulted in the arrest of 22 immigration violators, including two who now face federal charges in Idaho. One of those two had previously been deported four times, and also had been convicted of cocaine possession. Six of those arrested had criminal histories, from drug possession to theft to domestic violence. Fifteen, including those six, had previously been ordered deported. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “fugitive operations teams” based in Boise and Salt Lake City made arrests starting Tuesday in nine Idaho communities including Burley, Buhl, Castleford, Hailey, Jerome, Rupert, Shoshone, Twin Falls and Wendell. Most of those arrested were from Mexico; there also was one each from Nicaragua, Honduras, Peru and Russia.

ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said the two “most egregious violators” will be charged in federal court in Idaho with illegal re-entry after deportation. The other 22 are in ICE custody, where they’ll either face an immigration judge or be deported. “ICE is committed to smart and effective immigration enforcement that targets individuals who pose a threat to public safety,” said Steven M. Branch, field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations  in Idaho.  “ICE is committed to identifying those who come to the United States, commit crimes and blatantly disregard our nation’s laws.”

A white paper from Boise State University’s public policy center, which analyzed the results of immigration questions in the most recent statewide BSU Public Policy Surveys in 2006 and 2007, found strong concern among Idahoans about illegal immigration: 54 percent said undocumented immigrants reduce the overall quality of education for Idaho children; more than 50 percent said Idaho should deny indigent medical care to undocumented immigrants; and 68 percent supported adopting an “English only” policy for the state. Boise State Public Radio interviewed Professor Greg Hill about the research this morning; you can listen to their story and see the white paper here.

At the same time, a new report from the L.A. Times notes that when the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit last week to stop a far-reaching Arizona immigration law from taking effect it said immigration policy is a national responsibility and “a patchwork of state laws will only create more problems than it solves,” but according to experts, that’s what we already have, with states enacting 333 immigration-related laws and resolutions last year, up from 32 in 2005. You can read that story here at spokesman.com.

The Republican nominee for Congress, Raul Labrador, has had to answer questions about his stance on immigration since the day he declared his intention to run for Congress in early December of 2010.  The same day Labrador jumped in the race, state Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, called on Labrador to immediately withdraw from the race due to his positions on immigration and border security.  The coming general election has not reduced questions on where Labrador stands on immigration issues. IdahoReporter.com has obtained an audio clip from 2007 in which Labrador proclaims his support for the controversial DREAM Act/Dustin Hurst, Idaho Reporter. More here.

Question: Will Raul Labrador’s positions on immigration and border security help or haunt him during his campaign against incumbent Congressman Walt Minnick?