This Diary is inspired by a Diary done by Pernoclone Immigration Raid in Iowa: Up to 700 Arrested a couple of hours ago.

National Council of La Raza did a Study on the effects of the raids on children.

Paying the Price: The Impact of Immigration
Raids on America’s Children
It looked into the effects on the children of the Greeley, Colorado; Grand Island, Nebraska; and New Bedford, Massachusetts raids.

Are we punishing the kids?
Or is this the Bush Administration's "CHILD LEFT BEHIND" program?

One of our society’s fundamental principles is that, to the extent possible, children should not be punished for the sins of their parents. This principle has deep roots in both religion and law.

Are we as a society willing to pay the costs that these policies will incur?

Five Mistakes Hillary Made by Time.com
(Make that Six)

1. SHE MISJUDGED THE MOOD

That was probably her biggest blunder. In a cycle that has been all about change, Clinton chose an incumbent's strategy, running on experience, preparedness, inevitability — and the power of the strongest brand name in Democratic politics.

There were times when I thought I could have run a better campaign. She also misjudged the anti war sentiment of the Democratic voters in the primary. If she were smart she would have said "I made a mistake on the Iraq vote but I'm against the war now and I will bring home the troops as soon as possible". She said too little too late. And the voters wanted her to be more honest. More straight talk than spin and games. She misjudged.

The other day the New York Times had an interesting article about the positive impact that "other than legal" immigrants have on the Social Security system, usually meaning undocumented immigrants.

In the fine print of the 2008 annual report on Social Security, released last week, the program’s trustees noted that growing numbers of "other than legal" workers are expected to bolster the program over the coming decades.

As I've said before, so many right wingnuts (and far too many on the left) just talk about how undocumented immigrants hurt their life. This is just one of many examples that show that nasty anti-immigrant rhetoric  doesn't match reality.

By a wide margen Moezeldin Elmostafa, a Sudanese immigrant with a green card was chosen the 2008 Readers Digest Hero of the Year.

You remember the 2006 Duke University Lacrosse team case. The Players were cleared, DA Nifong got disbarred and one of the key witnesses was Taxicab driver Moezeldin Elmostafa, a Sudanese immigrant with a green card.  Even when faced with the intimidation of criminal charges, Moezeldin refused to be intimidated by the police and testified in favor of the Duke students.

HERE ARE SOME POINTS THAT NEED MAKING.

1.  He had only 2 years of Washington experience. I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness -- a certain audacity ... he said. I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. After becoming a lawyer he practiced law in Illinois before running for congress. During those 2 years in Congress, one of his major stands was denouncing the War.

2. If it had not been for his being a good speaker he would not have been as successful.

He's known as "a speaker who appealed not to intellect alone, but also to the hearts and souls of citizens.

3. He had the audacity to give his "A house divided against itself cannot stand" speech on the steps of the Old Statehouse in Illinois.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston criticized how the government handled the March arrest of 361 immigrant workers at a New Bedford leather-goods factory, according to the Boston Globe on 11/27/2007.

The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said yesterday that the raid by the US Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which drew widespread public criticism for separating parents from children, was "ham-handed" and seemed callous.

The court upheld the dismissal of a civil suit brought by immigrants who were transferred to a Texas detention center. The tranfer prevented many of them from contacting their families and lawyers.

The appeals court said it hopes ICE views the raid as a "learning experience in order to devise better, less ham-handed ways of carrying out its important responsibilities."

For about a year now I've been leaning towards Hillary as my "If the election were today, who would you vote for?" candidate. And lately I was feeling that Hillary was being attacked too much here. A little while ago I was at another diary defending Hillary as having the most liberal congressional voting record. Another comment pointed out that the National Journal has Hillary as not being most liberal (in 2006).

I'm not withdrawing my support because she is less liberal in the National Journal in 2006. I was looking for her voting record with other liberal organizations. I know she had a 95% rating with ADA (Americans for Democratic Action) in 2006.

But then I came across this "Hillary's Now against Licenses for Illegal Immigrants." If she had said it was for the states to decide and Spitzer backed down and she supports Spitzer's decision, I would understand.

This case shows how out of whack the immigration system is.

While Petty Officer Eduardo Gonzalez is being shipped everseas for the third time, his wife Mildred is in danger of being shipped back to Guatemala. He told CNN "I like being in uniform and serving my country, but if she goes back I'm going to have to give it all up and just get out and take care of my son and get a job," and  "Defending the country that's trying to kick my family out is a thought that always runs through my mind."

In September United States Citizen Gonzalez testified before Congress that he is proud to serve, plans to reenlist but claims that he is unable to give 100% while he's worried about his wife and son being deported back to a country where she is not familiar with the culture, language or society.

by conservative commentator Richard Nadler reveal an analysis of Hispanic voting patterns in "Border Wars: The Impact of Immigration on the Latino Vote" which was released by conservative  Americas Majority Foundation,

It shows  the effect on candidates in districts with an "enforcement only" policy, a somewhat neutral policy, and a pro-undocumented policy toward immigration especially in districts with high percentages of Hispanic voters.

He warns that the Repubs are in danger of losing the 2008 elections in certain Red States, as well as the presidency, because of their anti "undocumented immigrant" agenda.

The Republicans believe, wrongly, that Hispanic voters don't care about their "undocumented" immigrant brethren. Almost all Hispanic in these areas have family, friends, neighbors, and members of their churches that are undocumented. Or their family, friends etc. have family, friends, etc. who are undocumented immigrants.

was posted on the Immigration Prof Blog.

The questions to Obama were asked by Jennifer Chacón, Bill Hing, and Kevin Johnson, who have served as members of an Immigration Policy Group for the Obama campaign. In spite of the fact that the are connected to the campaign, they did ask tough questions and the answers were very enlightening.

When Obama was asked what he would you do as President on the difficult issue of immigration reform he responded that:

"We need comprehensive immigration reform that creates a system that is fair, consistent, compassionate, and emphasizes both maintaining the rule of law and the security of our borders while working to keep families together and putting the undocumented on an earned path to citizenship. "

According to an article in today's USA Today.  Until recently, undocumented immigrants, had been relatively quiet. Now they are increasingly standing up to be heard. Work stoppages and boycotts are now being used to show the impact of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
Many immigrants  figure that the risk of speaking out is outweighed by fears they will lose their jobs or even be deported if they don't make their case to the public, according to the article.
The Center for Immigration Studies, which wants less immigration to the U.S.,  blames this on the disappointment caused  when immigration reform fell apart in June.

No HOME TEAM Advantage for Romney in Massachusetts

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is so unpopular in Massachusetts that a  Rasmusssen Poll has  Romney trailing Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton by 26 percentage points, 60% to 34%. He also trails John Edwards by 21-points (54% to 33%) and Barack Obama by 18-points (54% to 36%). I guess the moral of the poll is "to know him is not to love him".

His constant attacks on undocumented immigrants, and the same old division politics and flip flops on pro choice, gay rights and making fun of Massachusetts on the stump, have not helped.

Also, Rudy Giuliani  trails Clinton 58% to 33% and Freddie Thompson, trails Clinton 61% to 27%.

In addition, sixty-five percent (65%) of Massachusetts voters have a favorable opinion of Clinton while 62% offer an upbeat assessment of both Obama and Edwards. The Republican candidates don’t fare as well. In the Bay State, 47% have a favorable opinion of Giuliani, 43% say the same about Romney, and 36% have a positive assessment of Thompson.

Just a short reminder for those interested in IMMIGRATION REFORM. Tomorrow, Thursday 09/06/2007 at 1:00 PM there is a scheduled hearings at the Rayburn House Office Building. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law will have the Hearing on H.R. 1645, the "Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007 (STRIVE Act)". Included in the Strive Act is the Dream Act, AgJobs, and a comprehensive provision for those who have been here long enough and stayed out of trouble to become conditional legal residents.

Sorry the Diary is so short, but I did post a longer one last week.

If you want to watch and listen to the hearing tomorrow afternoon go to the link and then
Click on September 6 or the Immigration Subcommittee box and then click on "view live webcast". Good luck.

The Suskinds immigration blog and the Lawprofessors blog on 8/31/2007 explain the halting of the sending of letters to employers this week, telling  employers that workers who have social security numbers that don’t match the Social Security Administration’s  records might have to be let go.

In San Francisco A federal judge today issued an order temporarily blocking the government from implementing the new Department of Homeland Security  rule.

There were some strong rumblings in the internet that the House will be having Hearings on immigration reform (Strive Act) next week when they get back from recess.

The Strive Act contains both the Dream Act and AgJobs.

Back from vacation Congress will start talking about the Immigration Reform. Apparently, the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, of the House Judiciary Committee, is TENTATIVELY scheduled to hold a hearing on the STRIVE Act. Supposedly, there is bipartisan support for the bill.

Dream Act (S. 774 & H.R. 1275)
The Dream  Act would allow eligible high school graduates, who entered the U.S. as children, to become conditional residents for 6 years. They must have arrived in the U.S. before 16 years of age and be present in the U.S. for 5 years prior to enactment. They need to be a person of good moral character. In order to become a permanent resident they would have to finish 2 years of college in a 4 year program or have done two years of military service and not have been dishonorably discharged.
The Dream Act is important because it keeps kids in school and gives them hope to normalize their situation. Why should they be punished for something that they had no control over?

Some groups that support immigrants are starting to fight back aginst the ignorance, intolerance and hate on some radio stations. They're even talking about boycotting the sponsors of immigrant bashing radio stations.

Hispanic News requested that other organizations join with Hispanic News in beginning a national boycott of anti-migrant conservative talk radio sponsors.

http://www.bluedogs.us/...

And New Jersey Immigrant leader threatened to boycott after a radio show promoted "la cucaracha gotha" campaign encouraging people to turn in undocumented residents.

http://www.northjersey.com/...

http://www.hispanictips.com/...

A slew of veteran House Republicans are retiring (US News & World Report)

The most high profile of the retirements is former Speaker Dennis Hastert's, which is slated for a Friday announcement.

Another is Ohio Rep. Deborah Pryce, who was the No. 4 House Republican before the 2006 election, said she'd retire at the end of her term.

The other recent high-profile Republican retirement announcement came from Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood.

"With yet another open seat to defend, this is a significant blow to national Republicans already burdened with a record of standing with George Bush at the expense of a new direction in Iraq and change here in America," said Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Doug Thornell.

Using Religion and the Bible in the Immigration Debate
"We worship an awesome God in the Blue States"

For a long time I’ve been thinking about how the ultra-conservatives have used religion and the bible to get our nation into the predicament that it’s in. And the moderates and progressives have just stood by and let them get away with it. The first time I heard Barack Obama speak was on July 27, 2004 at the Democratic National Convention. When I heard him say  "We worship an awesome God in the Blue States" it made me think we were finally standing up.

But during the recent debate on Immmigration Reform the righteous conservatives kept saying "We can’t reward illegal activity"...