Reuters reports that Cuba's recent decision to make it easier to leave and enter the country could result in a reassessment of the preferential treatment Cuban migrants have long received in the United States. The Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act of 1966 was passed during the Lyndon Johnson administration to adjust the status of about 300,000 Cubans who found themselves in legal limbo after fleeing Cuba's socialist revolution of 1959. The law was unusual in that it did not require Cubans to make a case for political asylum but automatically granted them entry and a path to permanent residency. Under the new rules announced recently, Cubans will no longer need to obtain a special exit visa to leave Cuba and travel abroad; they will only need their passport. U.S. officials say the new Cuban migration rules will not affect existing visa programs for Cubans seeking to travel to the United States. According to State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, the question is more about whether more Cubans will desire to travel or apply for visas. "We need to see how it affects the flow of travel," Nuland said. The United States already accepts more than 20,000 Cubans annually, as well as thousands more under special programs.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-18/news/sns-rt-us-cuba-immigrationbre89h1mk-20121018_1_cuban-exiles-fidel-castro-political-asylum

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The Washington Post reports that Maryland voters broadly support a measure that would allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at public colleges and universities. If passed, Maryland would become the first state nationwide to approve a form of the legislation, known as the Dream Act, by popular vote.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/poll-wide-lead-for-maryland-dream-act/2012/10/18/edd6cd50-1894-11e2-8bfd-12e2ee90dcf2_story.html

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The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that Mayor Luke Ravenstahl recently signed the Partnership for a New American Economy, pledging his support for national immigration reform. The Pittsburgh Mayor believes immigration reform would help to make Pittsburgh a more diverse and successful city. Ravenstahl said Carnegie Mellon University and other universities attract many top foreign students, educate them but then must send them home because of immigration laws. Mr. Ravenstahl said he would like to see more students stay and join the local economy. The Partnership for a New American Economy, an effort led by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has been signed by more than 500 mayors nationwide, including civic and business leaders.

http://old.post-gazette.com/pg/12293/1270382-53.stm

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The Department of State (DOS) recently announced an agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation regarding the adoption of children. The agreement will enhance the safeguards and protections for prospective adoptive parents, birth families, and the children involved. According to DOS, although the majority of past U.S. adoptions of Russian children haven ended positively, there have been tragic cases. The U.S. and Russia hope that this agreement will strengthen the procedural safeguards in the adoption process. The agreement will start on November 1, 2012, with the new procedures replacing the old ones. Not all of the provisions in the agreement will take place immediately but U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) predicts that it will take a period of up to nine months for complete implementation. Most cases already in progress before November 1st will continue under the old procedures.

For more information, a full text of the agreement and FAQ can be accessed at http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=russia_2

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The Michigan Daily reports that Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson has removed the controversial citizenship status question from voting ballots. Federal Judge Paul Borman issued a preliminary injunction Friday against Secretary of State Johnson's enforcement of a citizenship checkbox on voting ballots. The decision came after a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on September 17, which deemed the checkbox unconstitutional. Voters are already required to confirm U.S. citizenship when registering to vote in the state of Michigan. The citizenship status checkbox would have created unnecessary obstacles to voters, Judge Borman's decision stated.

http://www.michigandaily.com/article/10-injunction-declared-against-citizenship-checkbox-9

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The Daily Mail reports that an immigrant actor was detained by federal authorities on his way to watch a film based on his own immigration journey. Praq Rado, an Albanian actor who stars in 'Dreaming American,' was on his way to the Hamptons Film Festival when he was arrested. The film, 'Dreaming American,' is based on his own escape from Albania 11 years ago, where he had been born Prejke Radoina to an ostracized farming family. He arrived in the USA without papers and endured what he describes as years of hardship to gain a place in community college, paying his way through acting school by dancing at a gay bar. The 31 year old Albanian actor remains in police custody.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2214914/Illegal-immigrant-actor-detained-en-route-screening-film--immigration.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

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Hispanically Speaking News reports that the New York Times' public editor said recently that she won't urge journalists to stop using the term "illegal immigrant" to refer to undocumented people living in the United States despite requests that the phrase be discarded as inaccurate and inflammatory. "Illegal immigrant," Margaret Sullivan wrote, "is clear and accurate; it gets the job done in two words that are easily understood. The same cannot be said of the most frequently suggested alternatives - 'unauthorized,' 'immigrants without legal status,' 'undocumented.'" With this decision, the New York Times attempted to definitely settle the debate opened by Filipino-American journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who expressly asked the paper not to use the expression "illegal immigrants," saying that the phrase was "imprecise, inaccurate and inflammatory."

The Huffington Post reports that Univision, the nation's top-rated Spanish-language broadcast network, took The New York Times to task in a series of articles on its English-language website after the announcement. Univision pointed out that Latinos also find the term offensive and suggested that The New York Times' decision may have more to do with lack of diversity than journalistic ethics.

http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-de-noticias/details/media-giant-new-york-times-defends-use-of-illegal-immigrant-label/18926/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/08/illegal-immigrant-debate-_n_1948904.html

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The Hill (DC) reported that Microsoft is lobbying a proposal to produce more applicants with the skills to fill technology and engineering jobs. The proposal would increase visas for high-skilled foreign workers and invest millions of dollars in federal funding for education. Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel and executive vice president, said Microsoft has 3,400 open jobs for researchers, developers and engineers but feels that the lack of qualified job applicants is problematic. Microsoft will push Congress to pass legislation to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to improve education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The funding would boost training for teachers, offer more computer science courses for high school students and invest in community colleges and four year universities. The proposal would also reallocate 20,000 unused green cards for high-skilled immigrants. Congress will take up the proposal next year.

http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/258985-microsoft-lack-of-tech-workers-approaching-genuine-crisis

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The United States Army announced that it has reopened its Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) Program until October 2014. The MAVNI program is a recruiting program which allows certain legal, non-citizens to enlist in the Army. Usually, the Army recruits individuals with specific language or culture skills, as well as individuals who are licensed Health Care Professionals in the United States. Soldiers who are enlisted are eligible to receive expedited citizenship, moving from nonimmigrant status directly to citizenship.

To be eligible for the program, individuals must fall into one of the following categories at the time of their enlistment:

• non-immigrant categories: E, F, H, I, J, K, L, M, O, P, Q, R, S, T, TC, TD, TN, U, V
• asylee, refugee, Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

If you are interested in the MAVNI language program, please visit http://www.goarmy.com/info/mavni

If you are interested in the MAVNI Health Care Professionals program, please visit http://www.goarmy.com/info/mavni/healthcare

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