6. News Bytes:

Rhode Island governor-elect firm about repealing executive order

The Associated Press reports that Rhode Island governor-elect Lincoln Chafee has vowed to rescind an executive order signed by Republican Governor Don Carcieri that instructed state police to check the immigration status of suspects in the course of investigations.  In addition, the order mandated the state and state contractors to use the federal database E-Verify to confirm the immigrations status of all new employees.

www.boston.com/news
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Tennessee lawmaker sorry for remarks on immigrants

The Associated Press reports that Republican Rep. Curry Todd apologized for a remark he made in a recent committee meeting that illegally present immigrants can ‘go out there like rats and multiply.’  Todd made the comment during a discussion of a federal law that requires the state to extend prenatal care to women regardless of citizenship because all children born in the United States are citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment. 

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/7297120.html

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Whitman agrees to provide former housekeeper with unpaid wages

The Associated Press reports that former California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman agreed to provide her former housekeeper with $5,500 in unpaid wages.  During the campaign, it was revealed that her former housekeeper, Nicky Diaz Santillan, was an illegally present immigrant.  The revelations became a major distraction for Whitman as she battled Democratic challenger Jerry Brown. 

Whitman and her husband agreed to the settlement after a meeting at the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, but refused to admit any wrongdoing.  The Whitman’s attorney said his clients do not admit owing the wages and that the settlement was a compromise reached for economic reasons.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-california-governor-housekeeper,0,7643803.story

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Miami student leader reveals he is an undocumented migrant

The Miami Herald reports that Jose Salcedo, a 19-year-old student at Miami Dade College and president of its Student Government Association, revealed he was illegally present immigrant at a student rally on the college’s InterAmerican campus.  Salcedo entered the United States from Colombia with his mother at age 9.  Salecdo said he decided to reveal his immigration status to emphasize the importance of the DREAM Act to students like him.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/17/1931298/at-dream-act-rally-a-surprise.html#ixzz15eiDckYe

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Governor pardons six immigrants facing deportation over old crimes

The New York Times reports that New York Governor David Paterson pardoned six immigrants who were facing deportation because of past criminal convictions.  The governor emphasized that the shortcomings of federal immigration laws often resulted ‘in the deportation of individuals who have paid the price for their crimes and are now making positive contributions to society.’  Those pardoned included Mario Benitez, a Dominican immigrant who plead guilty to selling a controlled substance in 1988 and currently serves as a financial administrator at the City University of New York.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/nyregion/07pardon.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Attorney General-elect says RI to adopt federal immigration program

The Associated Press reports that Rhode Island Attorney General-elect Peter Kilmartin plans to implement the federal ‘Secure Communities’ program when he takes office.  Under the program, people arrested in Rhode Island would automatically have their fingerprints checked against a federal database to determine if they are an illegally present immigrant.

http://newsblog.projo.com/2010/12/ag-elect-says-ri-to-adopt-fede.html

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GOP blocks fiery immigration resolution

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Don Larsen, a member of Utah’s Republican Central Committee, proposed a resolution that compared the immigration issue to Nazi Germany.  Chairman Dave Hansen indefinitely postponed the resolution, which stated that the failure to close American borders was undoing the sacrifices of World War II veterans who fought Nazis ‘to prevent the occupation of our country by foreign invaders.’  In 2007, Larsen created another controvery at his county’s convention when he claimed Democrats and the immigration issue were part of a satanic plot to destroy the United States.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50818533-76/larsen-resolution-committee-county.html.csp

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California town passes E-Verify requirement

The Press Enterprise reports that the city council of Murrieta, CA unanimously passed a resolution mandating the use of E-Verify for businesses in the city.  Penalties for noncompliance range from small fines to the loss of a business license for repeat offenses.  Under federal law, E-Verify is a voluntary program and the Supreme Court is currently considering a lawsuit against a 2007 Arizona law that similarly mandated use of the program.

http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_sverify08.3f10f49.html

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