Immigration

A well-known immigration activist who has become an international symbol for the struggles of illegal immigrant parents has for the first time left the church which she has been taking refuge in to avoid deportation.

Elvira Arellano left the Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago to attend an immigration rights rally in Los Angeles, The Associated Press reported Saturday.

Emma Lozano, head of the immigration rights group Centro Sin Fronteras, said Arellano was traveling to California by car, but declined to say whether her 8-year-old son, Saul, was with her. She also declined to give details on when Arellano left the Chicago church, though Arellano gave a press conference on Wednesday at the sanctuary. more >>

Americans, overall, have a more negative view of the impact of immigrants on society in the United States than earlier this decade, according to a new Gallup Poll survey.

While Americans continue to acknowledge the positive contributions of immigrants to the diverse American culture – such as in the areas of food, music, the arts – a growing number of people currently believe immigrants are harmful to society in other ways.

Average Americans believe that immigrants have had more of a negative than beneficial impact on the crime rate, the economy, social and moral values, and job opportunities, according to the recent Gallup poll. more >>

WASHINGTON – The first nationwide, church-based immigration ministry is not discouraged by last week’s failed immigration bill, but instead vows to continue to help legal and illegal immigrants gain citizenship.

“The pathway to an immigration bill has for over six months now been in question whether there would be a bill at all,” said Suzii Paynter, director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) Christian Life Commission, to The Christian Post on Saturday. “So the fact that the bill didn’t go forward doesn’t really affect our ministry because we designed our ministry to help people under the existing system.”

BGCT and the Baptist social service group Buckner International last week announced their partnership to create the Immigration Service and Aid Center (ISAAC) – the first nationwide effort by a local church-based ministry to help immigrants become U.S. citizens. more >>

WASHINGTON – The hard-pressed immigration bill which sought to repair a broken system suffered a fatal blow Thursday rendering it dead to Congress, yet is predicted to live on as a key issue during the presidential race.

Fierce opposition to the bill from conservative Republicans who called the legislation amnesty has derailed the legislation for the time being. The emotionally-charged immigration problem involving millions of illegal immigrants in the United States and many more waiting to enter the country will remain as it is until most likely after a new president is elected in 2008.

“Everyone knows that our immigration laws are broken,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, according to CNN. “And a country loses some of its greatness when it can’t fix a problem that everyone knows is broken. And that’s what happened today.” more >>

WASHINGTON – The Senate revived the stalled immigration bill that could offer 12 million illegal immigrants citizenship Tuesday, after a crucial test vote helped the delicate compromise pass the first in a series of formidable obstacles lying in its path.

With the 64-35 Senate vote, the controversial immigration bill is once again on the floor for a second chance to address the broken immigration system. A similar test-vote earlier this month found just 45 supporters – only seven of whom were Republicans. This time, 24 Republicans joined 39 Democrats and independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, to back moving ahead with the bill. Bill supporters needed 60 votes.

“The first thing that we've got to recognize in the country is that the system isn't working. The immigration system needs reform. The status quo is unacceptable. Most Americans understand that,” President Bush said Tuesday morning. more >>