Illegal Immigrants

RALEIGH, N.C. - The driver's license features a bold, pink stripe along the top, and further down the phrase: "NO LAWFUL STATUS. " North Carolina proposes to issue the license to illegal immigrants who qualify for the federal Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals program. The idea has raised howls of protest from immigrant and civil rights groups. They complain that the proposed licenses would stigmatize young immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents. State legislators have expressed concerns that illegal immigrants will use the licenses to vote or obtain social services, despite the pink stripe and a pink "LIMITED TERM" endorsement.

Re "An immigration turning point," Opinion, Sept. 28 It's a boon and also a shame that we have to be told once again by Cardinal Roger Mahony to treat our brothers - in this case immigrants - as brothers. We seem to have lost the feeling for the "human family," as the cardinal states simply and eloquently. One doesn't have to be religious to stand up for the social welfare of all, but this concept is fast becoming an anachronism, one that now unfortunately may be the sole purview of liberals.

Federal authorities are cracking down on immigrants who were previously deported and then reentered the country illegally -- a crime that now makes up more than one-third of all prosecutions in Los Angeles and surrounding counties, a Times review of U.S. attorney's statistics shows. The surge in prosecutions reflects the federal government's push in recent years to detect illegal immigrants with criminal records in what may seem the most obvious of places: the state's jails and prisons.

One morning last fall, Juan Chavez awoke to pounding on his door. Immigration agents had come looking for someone else, but when Chavez couldn't prove he was in the country legally, they arrested him. They released him several hours later, but only after attaching an electronic band to his ankle to make sure he didn't flee the area. The San Jose resident wore the anklet for 10 weeks, concealed beneath one of his cowboy boots.

On Tuesday, The Times reported on a proposal in Los Angeles to turn library cards into photo IDs that illegal immigrants could use to open bank accounts and access city services. My first reaction to the story, I must confess, was to crack a joke. In recommending it to Facebook friends, I added the line: “Just don't forget to return your books or your checks might bounce.” But the photo ID library card is a serious idea with serious advantages for illegal immigrants. City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who proposed the concept, noted that in his Northeast Valley district, some immigrants end up being gouged by payday lenders or robbed if they keep large sums of cash on hand.  That wouldn't happen if they could open bank accounts.

Californians' attitudes toward illegal immigrants have become somewhat more tolerant since Proposition 187 passed in 1994. ALSO: Photo gallery: Ted Rall cartoons Americans can't ignore Europe's jobless mess How should Washington pay the bill run up by Sandy? Follow Ted Rall on Twitter @TedRall    

WASHINGTON - The Obama administration eased the way Wednesday for illegal immigrants who are immediate relatives of American citizens to apply for permanent residency, a change that could affect as many as 1 million of the estimated 11 million immigrants unlawfully in the U.S. A new rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security aims to reduce the time illegal immigrants are separated from their American families while seeking legal status,...

Immigration advocates cheered across Maryland as the state's voters approved a “Dream Act” ballot initiative that allows some illegal immigrant students to pay in-state tuition rates to attend college. The measure passed, 57% to 43%, with large majorities in Montgomery and Prince George's counties and narrowly meeting majority approval in Baltimore County. The initiative, called Question 4, says undocumented students can attend community college as long as students graduate from high school and meet income tax, permanent residency and selective service registration requirements.

Nebraska legislators handed the governor a political defeat by overriding his veto of a bill that forced conservatives to chose among conflicting priorities, such as care for the unborn, illegal immigrants and even fiscal austerity. On the final day of the state's legislative session Wednesday, lawmakers in the single-chamber, nonpartisan house overrode the governor's veto of a prenatal health bill for illegal immigrants in a narrow 30-16 vote with three present but not voting.

WASHINGTON - Eight senators who have spent weeks trying to write a bipartisan bill to overhaul immigration laws have privately agreed on the most contentious part of the draft - how to offer legal status to the nation's 11 million illegal immigrants. According to aides familiar with the closed-door negotiations, the bill would require illegal immigrants to register with Homeland Security Department authorities, file federal income taxes for their time in America and pay a still-to-be-determined fine.