If there's a controversial new anti-immigration law that's captured national attention, chances are that it has Kris Kobach's imprimatur. A telegenic law professor with flawless academic credentials—Harvard undergrad, Yale Law School—Kobach helped Arizona lawmakers craft the infamous immigration law that passed in the spring of 2010. Continue »
THE LAST SATURDAY of September—game day in Alabama, the Crimson Tide and Tigers both at home—Birmingham seemed to have all but emptied out, fans having bolted west to the big one in Tuscaloosa, or south for the rout in Auburn. I was heading north to the farmland of Cullman... Continue »
It seemed inevitable that immigration would come up at the Republican presidential candidates' confab last week in Arizona, a state at the epicenter of a debate over what to do with the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Continue »
A federal appeals court pressed Georgia and Alabama attorneys Thursday on whether the states' new laws targeting illegal immigration conflict with federal rules and challenged critics of the crackdown to explain why local authorities can't use the measures to complement federal efforts. Continue »
"An elephant never forgets," they say. A handful of new studies confirm that this old adage has some truth to it. Turns out, what the lumbering creatures remember best is which elephants have been friendly to their herd and which have not. Continue »
Breaking news: Arizona's Sheriff Joe Arpaio is not just extremist, vindictive, and corrupt—he's a full-fledged, flaming, deny-the-facts birther as well. We wrote, last September, about how he assigned a five-member "Cold Case Posse" to investigate the authenticity of Barack Obama's birth certificate. Continue »
Today in Atlanta a three judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will hear arguments over Alabama's and Georgia's anti-immigration laws. In mid-April, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments about Arizona's "show me your papers" law S.B. 1070, the precursor to the... Continue »
Today in Atlanta a three judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will hear arguments over Alabama's and Georgia's anti-immigration laws. In mid-April, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments about Arizona's "show me your papers" law S.B. 1070, the precursor to the... Continue »
Mother Jones has an excellent series exploring the different aspects of issue of the immigration issue. The first article, by Paul Reyes, is titled, "'It's Just Not Right': The Failures of Alabama's Self-Deportation Experiment." The magazine also exposes the inner-workings of those agitators in articles about Kris Kobach and... Continue »
DREAMers in Arizona, Florida, and Washington DC staged coordinated rallies today for their National Day of Action, designed to draw attention to Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and his anti-immigrant positions on the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform. Participating groups include Presente Action and United We Dream. Continue »