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Congress Debates On Immigration Reform

This week, the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee started the controversial debate on immigration reform. The debate on the 12 million undocumented population started, but the committee deferred any votes on the subject until after next week's congressional recess.

Salvadorans immigrants are returning to their home country and make significant impacts in more than financial ways. Here's the story from the Washington Post.

TPS Extended for El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua

Temporary Protected Status (TPS) was extended for an additional 12 months for El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The decision was made to assist these countries in recovering from the natural disasters that have affected them.

Senate to Begin Debate on Comprehensive Immigration Reform on Thursday

The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to begin debating comprehensive immigration reform tomorrow, March 2. Please call, fax, and write the Senate Judiciary Committee today and tell them:

(1) Any workable immigration reform bill MUST provide the current undocumented population with the opportunity to earn permanent legal status. (2) Limitations on judicial review and due process for noncitizens deny our democracy's deeply held values and are an affront to the rule of law, which is founded on fundamental principles such as the right to a day in court, checks and balances, and freedom from unjust and arbitrary detention.

Senate Judiciary Committee (by state):

Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Phone: (202) 224-4124
Fax: (202) 224-3149

Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Phone: (202) 224-4521
Fax: (202) 224-2207

Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954

Joseph Biden (D-DE)
Phone: (202) 224-5042
Fax: (202) 224-0139

Charles Grassley (R-IA)
Phone: (202) 224-3744
Fax: (202) 224-6020

Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Phone: (202) 224-2152
Fax: (202) 228-0400

Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Phone: (202) 224-6521
Fax: (202) 228-1265

Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
Phone: (202) 224-4543
Fax: (202) 224-2417

Charles Schumer (D-NY)
Phone: (202) 224-6542
Fax: (202) 228-3027

Mike DeWine (R-OH)
Phone: (202) 224-2315
Fax: (202) 224-6519

Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Phone: (202) 224-5754
Fax: (202) 224-6008

Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Phone: (202) 224-4254
Fax: (202) 228-1229

Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Phone: (202) 224-5972
Fax: (202) 224-3808

John Cornyn (R-TX)
Phone: (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856

Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Phone: (202) 224-5251
Fax: (202) 224-6331

Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
Phone: (202) 224-4242
Fax: (202) 224-3479

Herbert Kohl (D-WI)
Phone: (202) 224-5653
Fax: (202) 224-9787

Russ Feingold (D-WI)
Phone: (202) 224-5323
Fax: (202) 224-2725

Immigrants Contribute to US Olympic Team

Immigrants have long contributed to the success of the US Olympic team. This year includes: Tanith Belbin, who with partner Ben Agosto, won a silver medal in Ice Dancing; Korean-born Hyo Jung Kim who competed in speed skating; and Russian-born Denis Petrukhov, who represented the U.S. in ice dancing.

Halliburton, KBR, Awarded Million Dollar Contract to Build Detention Centers

The New York Times reported that Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary, was awarded a contract worth up to $385 million to to build temporary immigration detention centers in the case of an "unexpected influx of immigrants." According to a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement the centers will only be built if an emergency situation arises.

New Senior Advisor for Refugee and Asylum Policy

Igor V. Timofeyev is the new senior advisor for refugee and asylum policy. The is a new position created as part of a six-point agenda for improving DHS.

Expedited Removal Expanded

On January 30, 2006, the Dept. of Homeland Security announced that expedited removal will now apply to those who have spent 14 days or less in the U.S. and are apprehended within 100 miles of the border or arrive by sea and are apprehended within 100 miles of a coastal border area.