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DHS Designates E-Verify as Employment Eligibility Verification System for All Federal Contractors
President George W. Bush has amended Executive Order 12989 in order to direct all federal departments and agencies to require contractors, as a condition of each future federal contract, to agree to use an electronic employment eligibility verification system – designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security – to verify the employment eligibility of all persons hired during the contract term and all persons performing work within the United States on the federal contract. .......... see story

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ICE chief Myers calls on companies to help stop illegal immigration.
The government cannot stop illegal immigration on its own, Julie Myers, the head of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, said today in Kansas City. .......... see story

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The cost of hiring 126 illegal aliens: $6.8 million.
A family owned commercial fishing business in Virginia and two of its owners paid $6.8 million in fines and forfeitures after pleading guilty to hiring 126 illegal aliens to work on their boats. .......... see story

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Immigration raid spurs calls for action vs. owners.
Worker advocates and lawmakers say the fact that nearly 400 workers were arrested in the May 12 raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville -- or more than one-third of the total number of employees -- proves that company officials must have known they were hiring illegal immigrants. .......... see story

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S.C. businesses face deadline to comply with state law aimed at illegal immigration.
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The clock is ticking for thousands of S.C. businesses to figure out how they will comply with a new state law aimed at curbing illegal immigration. .......... see story

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U.S. to raise fines on employers of illegal immigrants
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration said Friday that it plans to significantly raise fines for employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, part of a broader effort that includes improved border security after Congress failed to pass immigration-related legislation in 2007. .......... see story

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Fake Documents Operation Shut Down in Del.
WILMINGTON, Del.- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Tuesday the arrest of a Mexican national on federal charges that he was producing and misusing immigration documents. Pedro Altatenco-Luna had his initial appearance in federal court for the District of Delaware and was ordered held in custody. Altatenco-Luna has been charged by the United States Attorney for the District of Delaware with producing identification documents and fraud and misuse of immigration documents. .......... see story

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Illegal-immigrant push adds landlords
PHOENIX — A House panel approved legislation Wednesday night designed to hit illegal immigrants where they live — literally. The Appropriations Committee voted 10-6 to make it illegal for landlords to rent to those who do not present certain documents showing they have the right to be in the United States. Violators could be fined up to $250 a day. HB 2625 now goes to the full House. .......... see story

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U.S. catching illegals in record numbers
The Department of Homeland Security, continuing to enforce what it calls a "strict policy of arresting, prosecuting and jailing" illegal immigrants, deported a record number of those caught on the nation's borders last year — more than 280,000 in fiscal year 2007 compared to 186,000 a year earlier. .......... see story

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California GOP unveil immigration plan
Republican lawmakers in California have released a legislative package intended to crack down on illegal immigration and punish companies that hire illegal workers. The 20 bills would take a number of steps, including eliminating tuition benefits for illegal students. Another bill asks the federal government to reimburse California for the cost of holding illegal immigrants in state prisons. .......... see story

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A fast-growing illegal influx from India
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The nation's fastest-growing group of illegal immigrants is not one that would readily come to mind. Turning stereotypes on their head, a recent federal analysis of unauthorized immigration says the most rapidly growing source of illegal immigration is India - the same country whose engineers and programmers help power Silicon Valley companies such as Google, whose doctors heal the sick, and whose entrepreneurs and venture capitalists have become a force on both sides of the international date line. .......... see story