The Chicago Tribune’s Alejandro Cancino reports that federal Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials arrested 370 immigrants in ten Midwestern states the past week. John Morton, the director of ICE, said that 56 percent of those arrested had once been convicted of serious crimes like armed robbery and drug abuse. And nearly all had been convicted of lesser crimes, like driving under the influence. In other words, most immigrants apprehended were guilty of something in addition to the civil offense of being undocumented. The Obama administration has captured illegal immigrants at a higher rate then the Bush administration. But the more salient issue is which immigrants ICE targets.

Is there a difference between an illegal immigrant and an illegal immigrant who has filed papers for residency status?  Immigration raids across the country have rounded up both categories of undocumented workers, and, as Julia Preston reports in the New York Times, Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division has decided there is a difference.  Prosecuting a smaller number of illegal immigrants may help ease a backlog of court cases besetting another Homeland Security department -- Citizen and Immigration Services.  But it's also inciting an ideological debate and tension in the ranks at ICE.

The Chicago Tribune has a headline today proclaiming that, according to a Tribune/WGN poll, "Most Chicagoans don't want police to hunt illegal immigrants." That should come as no surprise: Chicago is one of the most pro-immigration spots in the country, with a city hall that has prevented police from checking the immigration status of residents. In fact, what seems more surprising

The Wall Street Journal has a story today with the Web headline "Immigration Fees Set to Rise." However, the most important news from the Homeland Security's Citizenship and Immigration Services is that applying to become a citizen will still cost $675.

The Wall Street Journal's Louise Radnofsky and Miriam Jordan report that E-verify, the Dept. of Homeland Security program to catch illegal immigrant workers, isn't catching illegal immigrant workers. E-verify's social security check was only able to catch 1 in 2 illegal workers. E-verify is now required for all businesses ...

Rallies in Chicago put the local spotlight on an issue that has struggled to maintain relevance in Washington By Matthew Blake Stephen N. Smith does not lack for enthusiasm. A 30 year-old community organizer who has already written a book about his political activism, Smith was hired ten days ago by the Illinois Coalition of Immigration and Refugee Rights to campaign for immigration reform – the ambitious legislative goal to preserve national security while bringing an estimated 11 million illegal aliens out of the shadows of American society. There Smith was – on a dark, windy and freezing Wednesday afternoon in Chicago relaying the fun he was having talking to Congressional staffers about immigration rights. “The next step is for America to pivot from health care reform to immigration reform,” Smith told a small group of post-adolescent activists huddled in front of downtown Federal Plaza. “We are raising a ruckus to make sure that this is the number one next issue on the national agenda.” The pitch came during a week of immigration demonstrations that culminated with a rally Saturday afternoon at Chicago’s elegant First Baptist Church, fifteen blocks west of downtown. Nationally, other cities with high Latino populations – like Los Angeles and Phoenix – also staged demonstrations. In Washington, though, reform of an increasingly punitive immigration policy vies for attention with job creation, financial regulatory reform, and climate legislation – issues that also received scant attention during 2009 (or “The Year of Health Care").

Charlie Peters called this one in following problems at the Department of Homeland Security reported on by the New York Times (and following a post from our own Matthew Blake which should be nominated for best 2009 immigration-related-blog-post headline).  Charlie says that "eight years after 9/11 they still ...

The New York Times' Kevin Sack positively reviews changes in the federal government's medicare pay system for hospitals. Medicare is no longer footing the bill for "reasonably preventable conditions" caused at hospitals. It's part of the new "performance-pay" model at the Center for ...

The Wall Street Journal’s Kelly Evans says that new restrictions on non-agricultural seasonal labor are hurting small businesses. Last year, in the midst of unsuccessfully trying to craft a comprehensive immigration bill, Congress let expire an exemption in its H2-B Visa program allowing for non-agricultural seasonal labor.

So ...

The New York Times’ Julia Preston reports that after five days the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration arm received 163,000 visas from highly-skilled potential immigrants. The visa application window is now closed and a lottery will be held next week to choose the 85,000 lucky winners.

These immigrants ...