Immigration

Why Dean Heller’s hard line on immigrants might sting later: Sunday, November 8, 2009; LETTER FROM WASHINGTON:; By Lisa Mascaro; The Republican Party has been told again and again that it must tone down its rhetoric against illegal immigrants if it has any hope of keeping Hispanic voters who were once gravitating to the party from moving further toward Democrats.

More welfare going to parents here illegally: Tuesday, October 27, 2009; The number of families with citizen children receiving aid has nearly doubled since ’07; By Timothy Pratt; Jose Silva had just obtained an appointment in three weeks to see whether his family would be eligible for monthly welfare benefits. “Now I just have to not eat until then,” he joked, standing with his wife outside the state office on Flamingo Road.

New census query on immigration status would diminish state’s clout: Friday, October 23, 2009; Daily Memo: Immigration: Two GOP senators introduce amendment to keep illegal immigrants out of the count; By Timothy Pratt; Sen. David Vitter, R-La., and Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, tacked an amendment onto an appropriations bill this month that, if passed, would greatly affect Nevada because of its relatively large Hispanic population.

Two sentenced for holding smuggled immigrants hostage: Tuesday, October 6, 2009; By Mary Manning; Two men were sentenced today in federal court after they pleaded guilty to holding seven illegal immigrants in a Las Vegas hotel room against their wills and for ransom.

A different view outside AFL-CIO’s big tent: Tuesday, October 6, 2009; Carpenters union detests a company the federation admires, highlighting old rift; By Michael Mishak; Is Pete King Corp. an abusive contractor or a pillar of the region’s construction industry?

Visas for victims: Mother with college dreams among valley's ﬁrst to beneﬁt: Monday, October 5, 2009; By Timothy Pratt; Rosa Parra sits in a comfortable, neat kitchen, talking about how her former husband attacked her with a machete, burned down her house and kidnapped her younger son. Before he could be tried in connection with any of those allegations, he escaped to Mexico after posting bail in 2003.

Why Nevada protects workers here illegally: Tuesday, September 15, 2009; daily memo: immigrants: One reason cited: To avoid ‘perverse incentives’; By Timothy Pratt; A class-action lawsuit recently filed by the undocumented employees of a local cleaning company underscores that workers who are in the country illegally have many of the same workplace rights that U.S. citizens have.

Suit raises illegal immigrant rights issue: Monday, August 31, 2009; DAILY MEMO: LABOR: Attorney says cleaning company shortchanged hundreds of workers; By Michael Mishak; A workplace lawsuit filed by a group of immigrant laborers against a cleaning contractor popular with posh Strip restaurants is the latest controversy over how third-party operators conduct business in the strictly-regulated atmosphere of casinos.

Fired workers’ claims typical of nonnatives who mull union bids: Thursday, August 20, 2009; DAILY MEMO: labor: They say employer questioned immigration status to foil plan; By Michael Mishak; Elias Garcia and his co-workers were fed up. They wanted more pay and better benefits for working the line at a Las Vegas recycling plant operated by Republic Services. More important, they wanted safer working conditions. They wanted to organize.

In opposing Sotomayor, is GOP risking the Hispanic vote?: Friday, August 7, 2009; Ensign cites an issue Nevadans hold dear, saying Sotomayor has 'a bias against firearms'; By Lisa Mascaro; When Republican Sen. John Ensign announced his opposition to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor this week, he cited disagreements with her judicial approach and his “need to protect the sanctity of our Constitution.” It was an awkward phrase for a senator who recently admitted an affair after a career spent emphasizing the sanctity of marriage and a decade earlier called on President Bill Clinton to resign for lying about his affair with an intern.

State bars physician from J-1 visa waiver program: Sunday, August 2, 2009; FOREIGN DOCTORS:; By Marshall Allen; State authorities who oversee a program that brings foreign doctors to medically needy communities have taken their first drastic enforcement action, revoking a Las Vegas doctor’s participation because he repeatedly did not comply with the rules.

Group presses Metro Police on immigrant policy: Saturday, July 18, 2009; It says federal program targeting illegal defendants for deportation is flawed; By Timothy Pratt; A coalition of immigration lawyers, civil liberties advocates and community activists is pressuring Metro Sheriff Doug Gillespie to abandon a controversial eight-month-old program that identifies illegal immigrants in jail for eventual deportation.

Las Vegas welcomes 102 new citizens in ceremony: Thursday, July 2, 2009; Officials praise diversity as group represents 35 countries; By Jinae West; Feelings of patriotism ran high today at Las Vegas City Hall as the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services welcomed 102 new U.S. citizens during a ceremony in the council chambers. In all, the new citizens represented 35 countries, from Australia to Vietnam. The largest group hailed from the Philippines. An oath of allegiance sounded throughout the chambers as all 102 stood to recite it. Afterward, they waved their small American flags in the air, their smiles lit up by the camera flashes of friends and family. Mayor Oscar Goodman said his family came to the U.S. from Europe not knowing ...

Immigration advocates rally for system overhaul: Monday, June 1, 2009; Las Vegas rally one of 40 nationwide aiming for grassroots reform; By Torey Van Oot; Supporters of immigration reform gathered on the steps of the Lloyd George Federal Building on Monday for the Nevada launch of a national campaign to reform American immigration law. The event was one of 40 being staged in 20 states across the country today by Reform Immigration for America, a national umbrella organization pushing for grassroots immigration reform. About 40 supporters cheered and waved signs and banners declaring “Si, se puede” ("Yes, it can be done") as community leaders and representatives from the labor and business communities delivered remarks.

Nevadans may be key to new push on immigration: Saturday, May 30, 2009; Reid, Ensign are on opposite sides of an issue important to labor, business interests; By Timothy Pratt; Nevada has stood out during four years of congressional efforts to overhaul immigration law because the state boasts several heavyweight supporters of far-reaching changes in the federal system -- the Culinary Union and the hospitality industry, in addition to the highest ranking member of Congress.