‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration: E-verify; Detention Centers; & The Hope for Reform

America's Voice Blog

Posted 02/26/10 at 12:04pm

A report commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security and conducted by the research firm Westat reveals defects in E-Verify, the immigration status verification system. E-Verify “doesn’t get it right half the time,” the AP writes, while Univision.com headlines its article “E-Verify’s certainty in doubt.”

News agency Notimex and Hoy (a Chicago daily) report on the Chicago city government’s decision to deny a permit for a march, planned for March 10^th, promoting legalization of undocumented youth. The decision has been appealed.

Various outlets report on the launch of a national campaign asking President Barack Obama to stop the “alarming” detention of undocumented immigrants and to end abuses perpetuated against them in detention centers. According to the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC), more than 300,000 undocumented immigrants are detained each year in a network of 350 federal, state and local jails owned by private contractors, at an annual cost to taxpayers of over $1.7 billion. EFE also reports on a protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Phoenix, and that agency’s cooperation with Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Today’s edition of La Raza (Chicago) contains an article titled “Immigration reform…when?” reporting that Illinois advocacy groups plan to send 10,000 people to Washington for the March 21^st march for immigration reform.

Minnesota’s La Prensa reprints a column by Rafael Prieto of America’s Voice titled “March 21^st” about the demonstration planned for the National Mall on that day.

America's Voice has started a new series, ‘Qué Pasa’ in Immigration,’ to bring Spanish-language coverage of immigration and politics to a wider audience. Look for daily roundups (in English) of some of the best Spanish-language news.

Don't forget to check out the latest Spanish-language reporting and analysis on immigration over at MaribelHastings.com.