Infographic: The Costs of E-Verify

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/06/e_verify_infographic.html
From the Center for American Progress -- A great summary of costs of the E-Verify program, the government’s Internet-based work authorization system. The graphic highlights the system’s known costs, such as lost tax revenue and monetary burdens on small businesses, and estimates the costs of additional fiscal burdens—to individuals verified through the system, to employers utilizing the system, and to the federal government in running the system—absent from much of the dialogue. E-Verify expands the size of government while decreasing revenue, places a crushing burden on small businesses, and imposes a “jobs tax” on ordinary Americans.

Coming Out of the Immigration "Closet"

A successful young journalist reveals that, in addition to being gay, he is an undocumented immigrant. This article in the NYTimes Sunday Magazine is his public "coming out." His well-placed supporters will most likely be able to help him negotiate a path toward legal status; nonetheless, this was a brave act. And one hopes that he will continue to advocate for passage of the Dream Act that can help other dreamers like himself.

Read the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/magazine/my-life-as-an-undocumented-immigrant.html?_r=1&ref=magazine

Freedom From Fear Award

Freedom From Fear Award Commends 15 “Ordinary People” for Extraordinary Acts of Courage on Behalf of Immigrants and Refugees

Four students from Philadelphia will receive a Freedom of Fear award for organizing against the violence at South Philadelphia High School where many immigrant students were harassed and terrorized. By standing up for their human right for a safe and non-violent place to learn, they brought the community and the Philadelphia School District to account.

Other awardees include several Dream Activists, the founders of No More Deaths, and the former Phoenix police chief

Another State Tries to Opt Out of Secure Communities

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick follows the lead of Illinois and New York governors in choosing not to participate in Secure Communities, because the program is not “accomplishing its goal of deporting immigrants who were convicted of serious crimes.” In fact, it may have the opposite effect, it “may deter the reporting of criminal activity.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/us/politics/07immig.html?ref=opinion

It is uncertain, if the state can even opt out of the program. “States like New York signed contracts with the Department of Homeland Security to enter Secure Communities, and now the administration insists that they must participate.” The need for real immigration reform is evident.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/opinion/08wed1.html?_r=1&emc=eta1