On Wednesday U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn did not stop several provisions of Alabama’s HB 56—signed by Governor Robert Bentley on June 9, 2011—in a court ruling following Department of Justice efforts to block the bill. Following Arizona’s SB 1070, Alabama is the fifth state to enact legislation targeting undocumented immigrants and is the first to be upheld. This year federal judges have blocked the implementation of copycat laws in Utah, Indiana, Georgia, and South Carolina.

In August, the Department of Justice filed a suit against HB 56 at the District Court of the Northern District of Alabama on the basis of its unconstitutionality. In announcing the suit, Attorney General Eric Holder highlighted that “that setting immigration policy and enforcing immigration laws is a national responsibility that cannot be addressed through a patchwork of state immigration laws.” The law was also challenged by countries like Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, and civil rights organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
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Rhode Island will begin offering in-state tuition fees at public colleges and universities for undocumented immigrant students next year, according to a measure approved Monday night by the state’s Board of Governors for Higher Education. This measure will significantly decrease the financial barriers undocumented immigrant students face in accessing higher education, while also enabling them to reach their full potential and contribute to economic growth in their state.

In-state tuition fees in Rhode Island are markedly lower than out-of-state fees. At the University of Rhode Island, for example, out-of-state tuition is $27,262, compared to the $10,556 that in-state students pay; at Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island, the numbers are $16,878 and $6,986, and $9,792 and $3,652, respectively. To be eligible, students who immigrated to the U.S. illegally must have attended high school in Rhode Island for at least three years, graduated or obtained an equivalent degree, and signed an affidavit saying they will pursue citizenship as soon as possible. (more…)

On September 25 the co-founder and executive director of Nashville’s Conexión Americas, Renata Soto, will receive the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award from the Tennessee Titans at a game against the Denver Broncos. This award was launched by the NFL and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) this year to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through October 15.

The work of Soto and Conexión Americas also has been highlighted as part of AS/COA’s Hispanic Integration and Immigration Initiative and in AS/COA’s working paper Economic Opportunity and Integration: Nashville’s Hispanic and Business Communities

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Republican frontrunners took to their podiums last night for the second televised debate, where a discussion on immigration reform and border security featured prominently. Texas Governor Rick Perry’s debut in the GOP race was rare opportunity for guest-moderator and Telemundo anchor Jose Diaz-Balart to press candidates on their views on immigration, with a focus on the undocumented population.

Gov. Perry, who currently leads the race despite announcing his candidacy for president less than a month ago, stirred things up with his criticism of President Barack Obama’s immigration speech in May. “For the President of the United States to go to El Paso, Texas, and say the border is safer than it’s ever been,” said Gov. Perry, “either he has some of the poorest intel in the history of this country or he was an abject liar to the American people.”
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