Arizona

HB2306: AZ Legislature proposes increasing the influence of big money on elections

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Citizens united

by Pamela Powers Hannley

So, here's the deal…

Arizonans passed the Citizens Clean Elections Act in 1998, but since the Arizona Legislature likes to do whatever they want to do and not necessarily what the people want, they have been trying to kill Clean Elections for years.

The Supreme Court helped them out in 2010, when it said matching funds to help level the playing field for Clean Elections candidates was unconstitutional because it violates free speech. (The Roberts Court made this decision basically the same week as the infamous Citizens United case which said corporations are people and money = speech.)

Now, Rep. Eddie Farnsworth– obviously doing the bidding of corporate masters– has proposed HB2306 which would increase the influence of big money on Ariozna politics.

From Arizona Advocacy Network:

HB 2306 would double the allowable PAC contributions to candidates, thus disregarding limits set by Arizona voters in the Clean Elections Act.  Not only does this spurn voters, but it also violates the Voter Protection Act because it does not promote the intent of voters to reign in Big Money influence.

Find out how you can stop this legislaion after the jump.

Immigration Reform questions for Obama from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network

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Brownskin-201x300by Pamela Powers Hannley

Good questions from the National Day Laborer Organizing Network…

Key Questions for the White House on Immigration Reform 

1.  It is widely reported that the Obama administration has deported unprecedented numbers of immigrants, and it is widely suspected that the Department of Homeland Security is operating under a self-imposed a deportation quota.  Is there a deportation quota?  If so, where does it come from, and will it be reduced or eliminated as part of the President’s proposal on immigration reform? [More good questions after the jump.]

ACLU/Feds smack down Brewer’s drivers license stance for Dreamers

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by Pamela Powers Hannley The ACLU is claiming that, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), young people eligible for deferred deportation are  "authorized to stay and lawfully present in the country" — not "illegal people." Within the last year, Governor Jan Brewer had issued an executive order stating that Dreamers were not eligible to … Read more

New US immigration report reveals ‘formidable’ & expensive machinery to secure border

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Brownskin-201x300by Pamela Powers Hannley

A detailed new report release by the Migration Policy Institute reveals the sophistication and cost– both human and monetary– of the United States' immigration policy in recent years.

According to the nearly 200-page report, the US system is based upon 6 pillars: border enforcement; visa controls and travel screening; information and interoperability of data systems; workplace enforcement; intersection between criminal justice system and immigration enforcement; and detention and removal of noncitizens. Each area is described in detail. 

The report includes a wealth of information about the intricacies of the Department of Homeland Security and how immigration enforcement intersects with the criminal justice system, the FBI, and the CIA. Probably the most dramatic finding is:

The US government spends more on its immigration enforcement agencies than on all its other principal criminal federal law enforcement agencies combined. In FY 2012, spending for CBP [Customs and Border Protection], ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], and US-VISIT reached nearly $18 billion. This amount exceeds by approximately 24 percent total spending for the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Secret Service, US Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), which stood at $14.4 billion in FY 2012.

Judging by resource levels, case volumes, and enforcement actions…immigration enforcement can thus be seen to rank as the federal government's highest criminal law enforcement priority.

Whoa. More key findings after the jump.