President Obama stated his opposition to a bill in Georgia, similar to the anti-immgration bill struck down in Arizona, that would allow law enforcement to investigate the immigration status of criminal suspects.

“It is a mistake for states to try to do this piecemeal. We can’t have 50 different immigration laws around the country. Arizona tried this and a federal court already struck them down,” Obama told WSB-TV in an interview taped Tuesday.

To help the Georgia bill overcome the legal challenges that halted Arizona’s bill, Georgia legislatures removed the “reasonable suspicion” aspect of the bill. In its place, Georgia police can perform an immigration check if the criminal suspect cannot produce any form of identification or give basic details that could help an officer verify their identity.

A immigration bill passed late Thursday night by the Republican-dominated Georgia House and Senate.  This bill, similar to the Arizona’s, authorizes law enforcement to question suspects in certain criminal investigations about their immigration status. It also authorizes long prison terms for those who use fake documents to get a job and punishes people who transport illegal immigrants during the commission of a crime. 

The new law would also require private employers to check the immigration status of newly hired workers E-Verify federal database.  The new bill exempts small businesses from the E-Verify requirements and gives the businesses required to use it a 30-day grace period to correct good-faith violations.

House Democrats on Thursday re-introduced the Uniting American Families Act, legislation that would grant same-sex couples the same rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples under U.S. immigration law.  Under current law, one member of a married couple may sponsor their partner for U.S. citizenship, but same-sex couples cannot.  

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution has been working on the issue for over a decade.  However, Democrats worry the bill is unlikely to pass the Republican-led House.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided today to uphold a preliminary injunction against Arizona’s anti-immigrant legislation, SB 1070. The court denied the state’s appeal of a federal district court’s July decision that prevented segments of the law from going into effect due to U.S. Constitutional violations. 

One of the most controversial provision of SB 1070 requires state and local police to ask for proof of immigration status from every individual stopped for a traffic violation or other civil infraction if they have a ‘reasonable suspicion’ that the person is in the U.S. in violation of the immigration law.  The Ninth Circuit decision confirms the notion that the federal government has the exclusive power to regulate and enforce immigration laws.

July 12, 2010:   The immigration debate has spread to America’s favorite pasttime – baseball.   The 2011 MLB All-Star Game is set to take place in the state of Arizona, the home of a new immigration law which has fueled contraversy across the nation.  Opponents of the new law, including civil rights organizations, politicians, and even some MLB players, are urging the MLB to move next year’s All-Star Game to another state. 

Set to take  effect on July 29th, the new Arizona law makes it a crime under state law be in the country illegally.  It empowers polic officers to question a person about his or her immigration sattus if they are investigating a crime, responding to a complaint or making a lawful stop.  The law has been challenged by the U.S. Department of Justice, which filed suit in federal court on July 6, 2010.

With this year’s All-Star Game hours away, a number of MLB players are voicing their opinions.  San Diego Padre’s catcher, Yorvit Torrealba, a native of Venezuela, supports moving the game.  According to an article by ESPN, Torrealba stated, “I don’t think anyone has the right to approach me or my family just because we’re Latino.”   If the game is not moved from Arizona, Torrealba says right now he’s “50-50″ about whether he’d attend.  ”I think they should move [the game], because it’s going to be a lot of Latin players in the All-Star Game,” Torrealba said.  “I guarantee you they want to take their families.  In my mind, I would be like, ‘I wonder if my family is all right here?’ That’s why they should move it; that way nobody has to worry about that stuff.”

The Presente.org, a political activist group, has initiated an internet campaign to move the game.  Sources have said that the group has already collected over 100,000 signatures through its webpage www.movethegame.org.

To view the full text of the ESPN article, visit:  http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=5372305

Yesterday, July 6, 2010, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) challenged Arizona’s immigration law in federal court.  In its brief, DOJ argued that the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on the federal government’s authority to establish and enforce immigration policies.  Additionally, DOJ stated that Arizona’s law results in burdens to federal agencies; takes resources away from areas of high priority such as terrrorism; and, will result in harrassment of foreign nationals who are in the US lawfully and even US citizens.

On February 24, 2010, Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar proposed new type of visa – the Start-up Visa.  The Startup Visa Act of 2010 would make a 2 year visa available to foreign national entrepeneurs who can raise a minimum of $250,000.  At least $100,000 of the investment funds must come from a qualified U.S. angel or venture investor.  After 2 years, the foreign national investor would be eligible for a green card (permanent resident status) if the investor can create 5 or more jobs, attract an additional $1 million in investment funds or generate $1 million in revenues.  The bill creates a new employment-based preference category – the EB-6 category.  The EB-6 category is essentially a spin off from the EB-5 category, which is subject to a higher threshhold. 

For more information about the Start-up Visa, visit:  http://startupvisa.com

On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed a law extending the E-Verify employment-authorization verification system, the Conrad 30, EB-5 Investor, and Non-Minister Religious Worker programs until September 30, 2012.