My Bookmarks's List: IMMIGRATION-ILLEGAL

Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, said proposals that include government coverage for illegal immigrants leave him incredulous. == "If anybody can, with a straight face, advocate that we should provide health insurance for people who broke into our country, broke our law and for the most part are criminals, I don't know where they ever would draw the line," he said. == Mr. King, who opposes Democrats' health care plans in general, said illegal immigrant access in legislation "would be a poison pill that would cause health care to go down" to defeat. == Twenty-nine Democrats signed on to the letter on legal immigrants, while 21 signed the letter on covering illegal immigrants. Although the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus signed the legal-immigrant letter in their capacity as CBC officials, they signed the other letter as individual members of Congress.

Obama Calls Americans Against Amnesty 'Demagogues'

REMEMBER HOW WE HEARD ABOUT THE DANGERS OF THE ENTIRELY NONVIOLENT TEA PARTY PROTESTS? But will we hear the same clucking-of-tongues about the G20 riots?

Word of Britain's welcoming immigration policy has spread worldwide, and possession of a student visa has become the most popular legal route for a foreigner to enter this country. == Official statistics also show that every year 110,000 foreign students are granted permission to stay here for 12 months or more. But what happens when their visas run out? == For the most part absolutely nothing. Only 10,000 return home every year. == The others take a chance that the authorities will not spot they have overstayed and will remain in this country and work illegally.

One place where the bill does mention immigration status is for "affordability credits." These are tax credits for people of modest means need to buy health insurance. The credits would help them buy insurance on a national health insurance exchange. The bill specifically says that people in the United States illegally are not eligible for tax credits, on page 132, section 242.\n\nStill, given all that, we have heard from people who said that other aspects of reform could benefit illegal immigrants.\n\nOne of the most detailed responses was from the anti-immigration group Federation for American Immigration Reform, called FAIR. You can read their statement on the matter on their Web site.\n\nPrimarily, they argue that illegal immigrants would be permitted to purchase insurance on the national health insurance exchange because the bill does not include a mechanism for verifying citizenship. So illegal immigrants would have the chance to purchase insurance in the public option, a government-run health care plan that would offer basic coverage at a low price.

Referencing my column yesterday on illegal immigration and the mortgage mess, Hans Bader at Open Market shares his experience.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris' office on Monday defended allowing about a half dozen first-time drug offenders to clear their records by going through a job-training program, even after prosecutors learned they were deportable as undocumented immigrants.

Since the article made no mention of Lopez's party affiliation, that must mean he's a Democrat.

California Corrections spokesman Seth Unger said that to avoid overwhelming the federal system, the state would keep its inmates behind bars until their deportation hearings were over and their appeals exhausted. In that way, they could be deported almost immediately after being turned over to federal authorities. == Since more than 70 percent of California's immigrant inmates are from Mexico, deporting them would typically involve putting them on a bus. == Officials in other states, including Oregon and Washington, are considering similar moves. == "The fiscal realities that Florida and California and other states are facing will probably put great pressure on trying to reduce the prison population," said Michael Ramage, general counsel for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. "Why should the state be saddled with the expense of having to provide a place for these people to be incarcerated while they wait to be deported?" ==//== U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz said the Obama administration wants to divert the money to border security and immigration enforcement.

Federal stimulus funds have prevented deeper cuts to a public school system that educates 6.3 million children, of which about a quarter do not speak English well, and nearly half are considered poor under federal guidelines.