Viewpoints: DREAM Act Holds Promise of Economic Stimulus for State
"As early as this week, Congress might decide the fate of thousands of young Californians who would like to fully contribute to our economy, but currently are unable to do so because of their immigration status.  The House of Representatives and the Senate plan to vote on the DREAM Act, which would provide undocumented young men and women of good moral character who attend college or enlist in the armed services with a pathway to citizenship." (11/28/10)
BY MARIELENA HINCAPIÉ & KEVIN R. JOHNSON | READ MORE IN THE SACRAMENTO BEE ››

Attacking the American DREAM
"Senator Sessions (R-AL) has hit a new low this week by releasing a misleading advocacy piece on the DREAM Act. Rather than engage in honest debate about the this legislation designed to provide young people who have been here since childhood with a path to citizenship if they attend college or enlist in the military, Sessions resorted to fear mongering antics and half baked "research" to drown out support. Let me set the record straight." (11/24/10)
BY MARIELENA HINCAPIÉ | READ MORE IN THE HUFFINGTON POST ››

California: A State for DREAMers
"Barbara Boxer returns to Washington in great part because of the support of the Latino community. Last week, nearly 1 in 4 California voters were Latino. We played an instrumental role in electing Democrats and rejecting anti-immigrant candidates. Among the many Latinos and immigrants who worked tirelessly to get out the vote in California, many were young people." (11/9/10)
BY MARIELENA HINCAPIÉ | READ MORE IN THE HUFFINGTON POST ››

Restore Dignity to Elderly and Disabled Refugees
"On September 30, in a rush to leave town, Congress missed a deadline to extend Supplemental Security Income for up to 5,600 refugees who are elderly or have permanent disabilities. Congress’ failure to extend this vital cash assistance resulted in dire consequences for many women and men who lost their only means of subsistence." (10/15/10).
BY MARIELENA HINCAPIÉ | READ MORE IN THE HILL'S CONGRESS BLOG ››

Smoke and Mirrors: FOIA Reveals ICE Deception in Secure Communities Program
The misnamed Secure Communities program appears to be a nothing but smoke and mirrors — a federal program operating without adequate supervision or safeguards. The National Immigration Law Center (NILC) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking information on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) signature immigration enforcement program. The government documents NILC obtained show that ICE’s public statements about the Secure Communities program do not reflect what goes on behind closed doors. (9/1/10)
BY MELISSA KEANEY | READ MORE IN "IMMIGRATION IMPACT" ››

Detention Reform: Change We Want to Believe In
"A year ago today, the Obama administration promised a radical overhaul of the nation's immigration detention system in response to a wave of reports revealing widespread and egregious violations of the basic rights of detained immigrants. Changes to date have been too slow and tinker only at the edges of the problem. Worse, the pipeline to immigration detention is growing: the Obama administration has lifted deportations to historic highs. This ensures that hundreds of thousands of immigrants will face months, and sometimes years, of detention in remote parts of the country and miles from loved ones. This is not the change we had hoped for."  (8/6/10)
BY KAREN TUMLIN | READ MORE IN "DAILY KOS" ››

Enforcement’ Cuts Corners on Immigrants’ Rights
"In a March 29 meeting with immigration advocates that I attended, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief John Morton asked to be judged on ICE’s record, not on rumors. But that’s just why I’m concerned." (4/5/10)
BY JOAN FRIEDLAND, IN "IMMIGRATION IMPACT" ››

Immigrants Can Cheer and Jeer for Health Care Reform
"This week, President Obama signed into law legislation that will bring a sea change to the American health care system. This legislation, known as the Patient Protection and Affordability Act, will stop insurance companies from harmful practices, make health insurance more affordable for low- and middle-income families and small businesses, and will begin to control the skyrocketing costs of the U.S. health care system." (3/25/10) 
COMMENTARY BY SONAL AMBEGAOKAR IN NEW AMERICA MEDIA ››

Immigrant Students Deserve a DREAM
". . . Adey Fisseha became a citizen a week before graduating from Harvard.  Now campaign coordinator for [NILC], Fisseha said her family fled Ethiopia because her father, a trade unionist, was being persecuted.  The family braved the hot sun, attacks by the military and other hardships to finally reach a refugee camp in neighboring Sudan.  They eventually made their way to the United States, where they sought a better life.  Fisseha’s father now works at the AFL-CIO’s Solidarity Center."  (From a Mar. 22, 2010, article by James Parks in the AFL-CIO Now Blog.) (3/22/10)
READ THE ARTICLE ››

Few Care for the Undocumented with Breast Cancer
"The health care system is broken for everybody, but immigrants have a heavier burden to navigate it, said Sonal Ambegaokar, a health policy attorney at the National Immigration Law Center, with headquarters in Los Angeles, California.
   "'It's really hard to think that we will pick and choose who gets to live or die because of their immigration status,' she said." (NILC Health Policy Attorney Sonal Ambegaokar is quoted in an article by Valeria Fernandez on the website of WomensRadio.) (3/10)
READ THE ARTICLE ››
   Read more about Sonal in a Mar. 18 India Journal article, "SABA Affiliate Holds Annual Gala Banquet," an event at which she received the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California's Public Interest Award. (3/18/10)
READ THE ARTICLE ››

Detention center on cusp of change
"Karen Tumlin, one of the authors of the National Immigration Law Center and American Civil Liberties Union's report, 'A Broken System,' said reform 'still remains at the level of talk.' . . . 'You're a detained immigrant and you have to file your legal case that week and you have no ability to get it done, no basic legal text to mount your argument. That ends your case right there,' Tumlin said." (NILC Managing Attorney Karen Tumlin is quoted in an article by Lynn Brezosky in the Mar. 8, 2010, issue of the San Antonio Express-News.) (3/8/10)
READ THE ARTICLE ››

Verificarán estatus a través de licencia
"El National Immigration Law Center (NILC) calificó la estrategia como un atentado contra los trabajadores de este país, ya que sólo aumentará los casos de discriminación al imponer a sus ciudadanos a escrutinios inválidos y obliga a la clase trabajadora inmigrante a recurrir a la economía clandestina, afirmó Tyler Moran, director de políticas del NILC." (NILC Policy Director Tyler Moran is cited in an article by Claudia Núñez in the Mar. 3, 2010, issue of Los Angeles's La Opinión.) (3/3/10) 
LEA EL REPORTE ››

Advocates demand reform of broken immigrant detention system
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 25, 2010 –- Southland advocates today released a video denouncing the current state of the nation’s immigrant detention system and imploring the Obama administration to take immediate action. In their video, advocates, lawyers, and a former detainee described a system where immigrants are routinely denied access to lawyers and loved ones, a fair day in court, or even basic necessities like toothbrushes and sanitary napkins.  NILC's Karen Tumlin is one of the attorneys featured in the video.
WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO ››

Advocates reflect on the 2-year anniversary of the Van Nuys/Micro Solutions immigration raid
How has the National Immigrant Bond Fund assisted individuals affected by the immigration raid in Van Nuys on Feb. 7, 2008?  NILC's Nora Preciado is among the advocates interviewed for this video produced by former NILC staffer Will Coley. (2/12/10)
WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDEO ››

Denuncian 186 cárceles clandestinas de inmigrantes en EEUU
Aunque una de las promesas electorales de Barack Obama fue mejorar la situación de inmigrantes, existen 186 centros clandestinos de detención de indocumentados, denuncian activistas y Abelardo Chávez atestigua lo vivido en el llamado "B-18".  (This TeleSUR report features interviews with NILC Executive Director Marielena Hincapié and General Counsel Linton Joaquin.) (2/10)
VEA EL REPORTE ››

Immigrant Facilities Subpar:
Chronicle review shows ICE not enforcing its own standards of care
"Linton Joaquin, who has investigated detention centers' compliance with ICE's standards as general counsel with the National Immigration Law Center, said ICE's planned measures are positive, but 'they are so inadequate in comparison to the scope of the problem.'" (NILC General Counsel Linton Joaquin is quoted in an article by Susan Carroll in the Feb. 5, 2010, issue of the Houston Chronicle.) (2/5/10)
READ THE ARTICLE ››

ICE and Big Business: Too Close for Comfort
"Our justice system is based on the belief that workers who allege abuse will receive a fair and impartial investigation. The Signal workers were denied this fundamental right. The evidence of collusion between ICE and Signal shows that ICE has a flagrant disregard for the rights of immigrant workers, which casts serious doubt on the agency's ability to effectively enforce federal immigration law." (2/3/10)
BY MARIELENA HINCAPIÉ, IN HUFFINGTON POST ››

Fatal Flaws: Social Security Administration Shows Us How E-Verify Doesn’t Work
"According to a report released this month by the SSA Inspector General, though required by law, the agency failed to use E-Verify on nearly 20 percent of their new hires. The report documenting SSAs myriad mishaps is proof of what workers' rights advocates have long believed: E-Verify is still not ready for widespread use." (1/15/10)
BY TYLER MORAN, IN IMMIGRATION IMPACT ››

New America Media's Sandip Roy Talks to NILC's Sonal Ambegaokar about Health Care Reform
With the promise of health care reform, many immigrants have been left out of the equation. What does this mean for them, their family members, and everyone else?  Sonal Ambegaokar is health policy attorney for the National Immigration Law Center in Los Angeles. (1/10)
LISTEN AT NEW AMERICA NOW ››
READ THE RELATED OPINION ARTICLE ››
("Why Health Care Reform Could Leave Us All Worse Off," by Sonal Ambegaokar, in New America Media's "Immigration Matters.")

Still Waiting for "Change" under Obama
"The Department of Homeland Security announced . . . which localities have signed new Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) delegating immigration enforcement responsibilities to local law enforcement authorities. Not surprisingly, this announcement has been met with condemnation from immigrant and civil rights groups alike, and for good reason. The program, dubbed 287(g) after the section of the Immigration and Naturalization Act creating it, has a history of mismanagement by ICE and of major civil rights abuses and racial profiling." (10/23/09) 
BY JOAN FRIEDLAND, IN THE HILL'S CONGRESS BLOG ››