WHNT News (Alabama) reports that leaders from the Southern Baptist denomination are calling for immigration reform. The leading figures of the denomination revealed a plan for which they said balances the rule of law with compassion. The Southern Baptist plan would provide a "pathway" to citizenship for illegal immigrants currently present in the United States and would include mandatory criminal background checks, a requirement to learn English, and payment of fines for past undocumented residency. The Southern Baptist denomination is one of the nation's most influential evangelical Christian groups and Hispanic members have become one of the fastest growing segments in the Southern Baptist Church.

http://whnt.com/2012/06/17/southern-baptists-call-for-immigration-reform/

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The Los Angeles Times reports that foreign-born investors are responsible for 76% of the patents that emerged from top American universities last year. According to a report released by the Partnership for a New American Economy, 99% of those patents were in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The report was based on a study of 1, 466 patents from the country's top ten patent-generating schools, including the University of California system, Stanford, and Caltech. The partnership hopes that the study will inspire "new rules" to help international students in the U.S. get green cards or permanent visas more easily. Supporters believe that such an initiative would boost employment in U.S. and discourage immigrants from taking their talents to competing countries. According to the study, for each graduate with an advanced degree in a STEM field, 2.62 jobs are created in the United States. A full report is available here.

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-immigrant-patents-20120626,0,4186387.story

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The Los Angeles Times reports that higher levels of immigration increase high school graduation rates among native-born children, especially among black students. According to a recent study conducted by Economist Jennifer Hunt, an increase of 1% in the share of immigrants aged 11-64 increases the probability that natives aged 11-17 complete 12 years of schooling by 0.3%. Hunt examined Census data from 1940 to 2010 and explained her research in a new paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research. The increase is particularly prevalent among native-born black students, whose probability increased by 0.4 percentage points. Hunt attributes the increase to a larger incentive by native-born children to complete school instead of competing with less-educated immigrants for low-skill jobs.

The full report is available here

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/06/29/study-immigration-increases-high-school-graduation-rates-for-kids-born-here/

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KMSP News (Minnesota) reports that the city of Minneapolis will be the first city in the U.S. to endorse Obama's "deferred action" policy. The federal policy allows young illegal immigrants to continue living and working in America. The criteria to qualify: a.) arrived in the United States under the age of 16, b.) continuously lived in the United States for at least five years prior to June 15, 2012, c.) currently enrolled in school, have graduated high school, have obtained a GED, or have been honorably discharged from the U.S. military, d.) have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor offense, multiple misdemeanor offenses, or otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety, and e.) are not above the age of 30. The city of Minneapolis formally endorsed the undocumented youth plan at a city hall event June 30, 2012.

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/story/18915030/minneapolis-first-city-to-endorse-young-illegal-immigrant-plan

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The Los Angeles Times reports that 35 service personnel became citizens on the flight deck of the carrier Midway. The ceremony was held just before the Fourth of July and 19 countries and territories were represented as the active duty U.S. military members took the oath of allegiance. The federal government has a program that expedites the citizenship applications of military personnel. The naturalization ceremonies are held three times a year-just before Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Veteran's Day. The new citizens came from countries China, Mexico, the Philippines, American Samoa, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Guatemala, Kenya, Poland, Taiwan, Thailand, and Venezuela.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-citizens-20120703,0,2083227.story

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The Miami Herald reports that an illegal immigrant, Jose Godinez-Samperio, filed a motion with the state Supreme Court, stating that the Obama administration's "deferred action" policy makes him eligible for a Florida law license. President Obama announced last month that illegal immigrants no older than 30, who arrived in the United States as children, have no criminal history, and have high school degrees or military service could stay and work in the U.S. The motion, filed by Godinez-Samperio's attorney Talbot D'Alemberte, asks the court to order the Florida Board of Examiners to either conclude its investigation into Godinez-Samperio's application or admit him.

Godinez-Samperio's parents brought him to the U.S. from Mexico on a visitor's visa when he was 9. His parents overstayed their visas and never returned to Mexico. Godinez-Samperio, now 25, grew up in Hillsborough County in Florida, graduated from Florida's New college, earned a law degree from Florida State and passed the bar exam. The Florida Board of Bar Examiners, however, denied him admittance, asking the justices for an advisory opinion on whether illegal immigrants can be licensed as lawyers.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/07/2886039/immigrant-lawyer-says-new-law.html

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The Huffington Post reports that a Chicago-area citizen is suing the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security after he was reportedly detained for two months in a maximum security prison. James Makowski, who was born in India and adopted into a U.S. family at a young age, was misidentified as an undocumented immigrant. According to The Los Angeles Times, Makowski was previously sentenced to four months at drug treatment program after he pleaded guilty in 2010 to a felony charge of selling heroin. However, when a fingerprint search incorrectly identified the Chicago resident as an undocumented immigrant, he was sent instead to a maximum-security prison in Pontiac, Illinois. He was held there for two months before the mistake was corrected.

Makowski alleges that the mistake was part of Secure Communities, the controversial federal program that aims to “crackdown” on illegal immigration by mandating that local law enforcement send the fingerprints of those who have been arrested by local police to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). While the program started as a voluntary program, it is now mandatory and will be implemented nationwide by 2013. Critics of the program say it promotes racial profiling and violates Americans’ right to privacy. ICE told The Los Angeles Times that they are unable to comment on Makowski’s case.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/10/james-makowski-us-citizen-mistaken-for-undocumented-imigrant_n_1658963.html

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The Associated Press reports that a lesbian couple filed a federal lawsuit in California on Thursday seeking to put a stop to the deportation of same-sex spouses. The suit, seeking class-action status, was filed on behalf of Philippines citizen Jane DeLeon. DeLeon, an accounting clerk from Irvine, was sponsored for a green card by her employer but cannot get the waiver she needs to obtain residency because the U.S. government doesn't recognize her marriage to her American spouse. A waiver application must show that a foreign citizen's absence from the country could cause extreme hardship to an American citizen spouse or parent. However, federal immigration authorities denied DeLeon's application for a waiver, even though her 49-year old spouse, Irma Rodriquez, suffers from a medical condition that could make moving to the Philippines devastating to her health. The case is one of many brought by same-sex couples over the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a 1996 law that prohibits the U.S. government from recognizing same-sex marriages. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it will continue to enforce the DOMA until Congress repeals it or until there is a final judicial determination that it is unconstitutional.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jsJvJFI6KcGd_2iqMByz7i0bpuXw?docId=35c507cf5dd0844588ad4dc2d09f32470

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