Eurosceptics changing views on visa-free regime with Russia

Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin says that some of the European countries which were previously sсeptical about a visa-free regime between Russia and the EU, are now changing their views, adding that even traditional sceptics like some of the Baltic states and Poland are changing their position on the issue.

EU sanctions against Belarus 'a form of coercive pressure' – Putin

Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin considers the sanctions imposed by the European Union against Belarus to be meaningless and irrelevant.

The Prime Minister recalled the 'similar sad events in Iraq and Libya' which lead to unfortunate results.

'Whatever sanctions are imposed, they all lead to intervention. It is a form of coercive pressure', the Prime Minister said.

Boisterous campaign would make victory particularly meaningful – Putin

Presidential Candidate Vladimir Putin believes that a victory in such a turbulent presidential campaign would add a lot more weight to his victory and would be a clear sign that the public trusts him.

Retirement age not to be increased in Russia

At a meeting with his campaign helpers on Wednesday, Russia’s Prime Minister and candidate for the presidency Vladimir Putin said that, despite rumors, the government was not planning to increase the retirement age.

At the same time, Mr. Putin believes that better conditions should be created for people who want to work on although they have reached the retirement age.

“Of course, elderly people must not be made to work,” he said, “but they should be encouraged, including encouraged with money, if they want to go on working.”

Mr. Putin also promised an increase in pensions.

Opposition should act within democracy rules – Putin

Prime-Minister Vladimir Putin has said that the existence of an opposition in the country is perfectly normal, but at the same time he urged opposition representatives to respect the opinion of the majority, adding that 'the minority has no right to impose their opinion on the majority'.

According to Mr Putin, a minority has the right to create a vision, present it to the public and fight for it, but only within the framework of constitutional law and using legal methods.

Vibrant economy key to national survival – Putin

Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin believes the best way to make the Russian state invulnerable to external shocks and attempts to undermine Russia’s sovereignty is to ignite rapid and sustainable economic growth.

He was speaking about this Wednesday at a meeting with his political allies and campaign helpers in the United People’s Front.

Putin vows to help Russian business

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has vowed that the Russian business community will play an active part in improving the country's investment climate.

“We must become strong, competitive, especially amid stumbling global economy,” he said.

The Russian premier pledged to help Russian business strengthen its position.

Putin urges to divide economic disputes and criminal cases

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has stressed he is against general mitigation of criminal case punishments, adding that economic disputes should be viewed separately.

He then vowed to disrupt the existing "indictment connection" between courts and law enforcement agencies to rule out any arbitrariness on their part.

EU sanctions won’t affect Russia-Belarus ties

The newest EU sanctions against Minsk won’t affect the integration process underway between Russia and Belarus, Russian PM Vladimir Putin said.

“I hope that the EU and Belarus will sooner or later normalize their relations. But it will have no effect on our integration process,” Putin said at a meeting with trusted political figures, All-Russian People’s Front and political pundits.

Putin vows to raise citizens’ involvement in govt

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir has pledged to increase the influence of democratic institutions on governmental decisions and extend citizens’ involvement in the government.

He also stressed that Russia’s governmental system should allow for such involvement to take place on all levels, from federal to municipal one.

Russia needs long-term military analysis, strategic planning

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin believes Russia should create its own system of military analysis and strategic planning for 30-50 years ahead.

This came in his Wednesday statement at a meeting with trusted political figures, All-Russian People’s Front and political pundits in Moscow.

Putin urges govt to tackle poverty

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has urged the government to significantly raise salaries and create new jobs by 2020.

“By 2020, we should dramatically change the situation around social inequality and settle the poverty issue in Russia,” the premier said at a meeting with trusted political figures, All-Russian People’s Front and politilogists.

He remarked that certain positives steps had already been made in tackling poverty in Russia, stressing however that as much as 12.5% of the country’s population still lived beyond the poverty line.

Putin said that middle class should become the majority class in Russia, embracing people who may be called the “backbone” of the Russian society.

Russia can solve housing issues – Putin

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin believes that Russia may soon be able to solve its century-long housing issue, adding this wasn’t one of his campaign promises.

At a meeting with the All-Russian People’s Front, political pundits and trusted figures, the premier said he was deeply convinced there were all economic and industrial prerequisites to settle this problem, which had been plaguing the country since the times of the Russian empire.

Russian govt to draw roadmaps for Putin’s initiatives

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has tasked the government with laying down ‘roadmaps’ for all key initiatives presented in his program articles.

At a meeting with representatives of the All-Russian People’s Front and political experts, the Russian premier said that special instructions had already been sent to all ministries and departmentsinvolved in the proposed programs.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has taken a day off today to meet with representatives of the All-Russian People’s Front

TASS, IF, RIAN

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77 foreign NGOS under watch, face visa woes

The government has put 77 foreign NGOs on its global watchlist, making it difficult for their officials to get visas to India. The step comes within days of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh complaining that foreign NGOs were trying to influence Indian policies and projects.
The home ministry put together the list based on information from intelligence agencies and the suspicious conduct of representatives of these NGOs in the past.

Top government sources said the watchlist had been circulated to all Indian missions and posts with an advice to "monitor" visa requests from the NGOs - a euphemism for putting the applications through greater scrutiny that would lead to delays or rejection.

Officials refused to name the NGOs, insisting this would have serious diplomatic repercussions. But one of them confirmed that most were from the US and European Union. In 2010, US-based NGOs accounted for one-third of the foreign funds worth Rs 9,000 crore to Indian NGOs.

In an interview to Science magazine, the PM had blamed NGOs funded by US and Scandinavian countries for campaigning against the Kudankulam nuclear project and use of biotechnology.

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India’s tit for tat to UK on visa norms

NEW DELHI: Indians have often been at the receiving end of UK visa regulations in the recent past but New Delhi for once has managed to tame the British authorities. In yet another visa row between the two countries - this time around in a third country - India has forced the UK to roll back its decision to bar Indians to apply for UK visas from Belgium.

In what is being described by officials as a strange decision, British authorities stopped issuing visas to Indians in Belgium and instead asked them to travel to Paris to apply for the same.

With its new-found assertiveness, the foreign ministry retaliated by not just issuing a note verbale to British authorities to protest the decision but also immediately stopped issuing visas to UK nationals seeking Indian visa in Brussels. They were asked to go back to London and apply for Indian visa there.

Highly placed sources told TOI that the decision forced the UK to beat a quick retreat. Now, London has approached India, formally communicating its decision to roll back its decision and ensure visa facility to Indians from Brussels.

The Indian retaliation though was not limited to restricting UK nationals from applying for visa in Brussels. It also increased the visa fee, bringing it on par with the money charged from Indians for UK visa.

"Now that they have given in, we have also decided to restore visa facilities for UK nationals in Belgium. There will be no change in the visa cost though," said a source. Apparently, the number of UK nationals seeking Indian visa in Brussels was more than the other way round.

The UK decision not to issue visa to Indians inconvenienced not only diplomats and other Indians based in Belgium, but also many Indian travellers, including VIPs, who wished to fly to London and did not have a visa. Belgian capital Brussels is not only a travel hub in Europe, but also one of the main centres of international politics.

Besides, Britain announced further restrictions in its immigration system this week that could severely impact Indians planning to settle there. British immigration minister Damian Green declared that the changes in the UK immigration system will mean that migrant workers coming to the UK on a skilled worker visa will no longer be able to settle in the UK based on the amount of time they have spent in the country.

Breaking the link between coming to the UK to work and staying forever, the new rules will ensure that only "exceptionally talented people, investors and entrepreneurs" will have the option to stay in the UK. "Skilled temporary workers who want to apply for settlement will have to earn at least £35,000, or the going rate for their job, whichever is higher," said the British High Commission in a statement.

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Swiss visa application centres in ten more cities

Applying for visa for Switzerland will become easier as Swiss visa application centres ( VAC) will soon be opened in 10 more cities.

The VACs would be opened at Chandigarh, Kolkata, Cochin, Jalandhar, Chennai, Pondicherry, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune and Hyderabad, in addition to the existing VACs in New Delhi and Mumbai.

"Switzerland and VFS Global have partnered to open branches of Swiss Visa Application Centres (VACs) in 10 cities across India," a statement from Swiss Embassy said today.

Switzerland-appointed VFS Global for outsourcing started its visa application processing services in Delhi in November 2007 and subsequently in Mumbai in August 2008.

"The opening of these VACs will strengthen our endeavours and strong will to intensify people-to-people contact through travel. 76,700 visas were issued to Indians travelling to Switzerland in the year 2011 while the figures for 2010 stand at 61,686," said Kurt Gruter, Acting Head of Visa section, Embassy of Switzerland, in the statement.

The VACs would collect visa applications and, if necessary, arrange an interview with the Swiss Embassy in New Delhi or the Consulate General in Mumbai.

The partnership would be a pilot project and is limited to two years, it said.

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Georgia to establish visa-free regime with Russia

During his annual report to Parliament on Tuesday, President Mikheil Saakashvili announced that Georgia is unilaterally abolishing visa requirements for citizens of the Russian Federation, “to give a greater chance to peace".

Since October 2010, Georgia has granted 90-day visa-free entry to those Russian citizens registered as residents of Russia’s republics in the North Caucasus, while other Russian citizens must obtain a visa upon arrival in Georgia.

“While deepening close ties with the West, we are simultaneously interested in improving relations with Russia. We know it is not easy, but Russia is and will always be our neighbour, which determines our desire to have peace... But it must be a peace with Russia that recognizes and complies with all the international legal norms of relations between two sovereign countries,” Saakashvili said.

He noted that the recent WTO deal with Russia was a good example of the possibility “to reach a result even if you stand firm on your principles”.

“We welcome economic ties with Russia. So we are ready to give a greater chance to peace, and we put forth the new initiative to lift the visa regime with Russia unilaterally,” he asserted.

“Let every Russian business[person] know that they can come to Georgia, invest in Georgia, make business in Georgia, employ people in Georgia, and they will be protected here like any other representative of other countries… Let Russian tourists know that they may arrive here at any time,” he said, adding that in Georgia no one would “ban them from drinking Georgian wine and Borjomi, which they miss so much”. Russia banned the import of Georgian wine and mineral waters in 2006.

Deputy Foreign Minister David Jalagania hailed the President’s initiative, hoping that it will be well-received by the Russian Federation. As Jalagania said before the parliamentary debate, this initiative is a continuation of the friendly policy Georgia has towards its neighbours.

“I would like to remind [you] that the visa regime between Russia and Georgia was established not by Georgian initiative. Despite aggression and further occupation of Georgian territories, we separate the Russian people from Kremlin policy,” he said.

Political analyst and former Georgian Ambassador to Moscow, Zurab Abashidze, also hailed the policy, as it may attract more tourists to Georgia. “It will be good for Georgians living in Russia, who are mainly Russian citizens. It is also a positive message to Russian society that we do not have any problems with Russia,” Abashidze said.

However, Caucasian affairs analyst Mamuka Areshidze believes that the President’s plan to unilaterally remove the visa regime with Russia will not change much, as this proposal is, in reality, oriented towards the West. According to Areshidze, Russia will not make any progressive steps in this regard and will completely ignore this initiative. Besides, Russian citizens have not faced any visa problems as of yet, he added.

“I think that this approach is oriented not towards the improvement of Russian-Georgia ties, but it is to show the West some positive steps from Georgia. The Georgian government will be able to say that the recommendations from the West to improve relations were considered and adequate steps have been made,” Areshidze maintained.

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Judge blocks Arizona immigration law's day labor rules

Posted: Wednesday, 29 February 2012 08:55PM

By Tim Gaynor

PHOENIX (Reuters) - A federal judge blocked Arizona on Wednesday from enforcing a part of the state's immigration law that prohibits vehicle occupants from stopping traffic to pick up day laborers waiting for work.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton, in issuing a preliminary injunction, ruled that plaintiffs seeking to overturn the law were "likely to succeed on the merits of their claim" that the rules violate the First Amendment.

Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer passed the state's tough immigration law in April 2010, seeking to clamp down on illegal immigrants in the Mexico border state.

The section of the controversial law Bolton blocked on Wednesday sought to target people who employ migrant workers in the country illegally, many of whom gather in store parking lots and on curbsides in Phoenix to tout for work.

The non-profit National Day Laborer Organizing Network, which was a plaintiff in the suit, hailed the ruling.

"Today's decision is a victory for day laborers and everyone who cherishes the First Amendment right to free expression on public streets and sidewalks," network attorney Jessica Karp said in a statement.

"In seeking to silence day laborers, the state of Arizona trampled on the U.S. Constitution. Day laborers fought back and bravely defended the First Amendment for the benefit of all," she said.

Arizona's tough immigration crackdown had wide support in the state but was opposed by President Barack Obama, many Democrats and civil rights groups.

Opponents of the law said it would lead to harassment of Hispanic-Americans. Obama has called such "piecemeal" state legislation a mistake and warned that having 50 different immigration laws around the country is untenable.

In addition to the day labor provisions, the Arizona law includes a requirement that police check the immigration status of anyone they detained and suspected was in the country illegally. That was among measures blocked by Bolton before it came into effect in July 2010.

Arizona appealed the previous rulings placing the most controversial parts of the law on hold to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear the case on April 25.

Brewer said in a statement she was disappointed by Wednesday's ruling, which she described as an "erroneous decision by the U.S. District Court to strike down a significant public safety component" of the law, dubbed SB 1070.

"The provision, which would have prohibited day laborers from blocking traffic when seeking work on public roadways, was put in place as a necessary traffic safety measure," Brewer said.

"This ruling provides yet another reason why I look forward to the Supreme Court providing guidance on the constitutionality of SB 1070. I am confident that, when the case reaches the High Court in April, the constitutionality of SB 1070 will be affirmed," she added.

The Supreme Court's hearing next month on Arizona's appeal will be closely watched by Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah, which have all passed "omnibus" immigration crackdowns since the desert state blazed the trail two years ago.

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In Arizona, Republicans shy away from immigration debate

PHOENIX, Arizona — Immigration fuels fierce passions in Arizona, both for and against the waves of immigrants who cross its southern border with Mexico -- but you would hardly know it to listen to Republican candidates.

Mitt Romney, who won the party's primary here handily this week, barely mentioned it in his campaign stops, as he focused on the economy and jobs, issues on which it is easier to find common ground in these tough times.

Arizona Senator John McCain, who won the Republican candidacy in 2008 but lost the White House to Democrat Barack Obama, acknowledged as much here on Tuesday when he spoke on behalf of Romney, who he has endorsed since January.

In a brief speech he trumpeted the former Massachusetts governor's economic credentials, as well as his ability to be commander in chief and restore America's power and influence in the world.

But not a word about immigration.

"I think it's pretty clear that immigration was not the biggest issue in this campaign, in fact it wasn't mentioned that much. The biggest issue on this campaign is jobs and the economy," he told AFP.

Arizona, which has a vast legal and illegal Hispanic population, has been in the eye of a storm since it became the first US state to vote a law -- so called "SB1070" -- allowing police to stop and search any person they suspect.

The Obama administration opposed the law, and has managed to freeze its most contested parts until a Supreme Court ruling in June -- although this has not stopped other states including Utah and Alabama from following Arizona's lead.

Republican state lawmaker John Kavanagh agrees with McCain that immigration has not featured as prominently as one might have expected.

"It's gone on the back burner because our dismal economy has pushed (it) to the side," he told AFP, adding "immigration is still a big problem in Arizona."

"Less illegals are crossing the borders because there are less jobs, but the underlying problem is still there, and we know that when the economy improves and the jobs come back, so too will the illegals," he added.

For civil rights groups, the real problem for Republicans -- who held a TV debate here last week -- is not that they relegate immigration to a secondary campaign issue, but that they don't propose any solutions.

"They are basically talking about keeping 11 million in the same situation, and they are talking about deportation," said Eduardo Barraza, director of the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues in Mesa, outside Phoenix.

In the debate, the candidates did agree on one thing: the need to secure the border with Mexico, by whatever means possible.

And Romney took the opportunity to vigorously defend Arizona's immigration law, and to reiterate his opposition to the so-called DREAM Act, which would let youngsters who came to the US illegally to go to college or join the army.

"I wouldn't say that immigration has not been addressed," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, head of the Arizona branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

"I feel like they are propagating and perpetuating immigration myths to please their public... what is certainly missing is a serious discussion about it. We have to move beyond this extremist rhetoric."

For Camila Gallardo, spokeswoman of the National Council of La Raza, the main Hispanic rights group in the US, "so far unfortunately the Republicans' arguments are pretty negative."

"We hope that once the primaries are finished, the person chosen will make an effort to talk to our community respectfully, and that they will make real proposals," she added.

Because, while neglected in the primaries, immigration could return as a major theme in the real presidential campaign, between whoever wins the Republican nomination and Obama in the run-up to the November vote.

Soler Meetze said the Supreme Court's decision in June will "send a very important message to the states.

"It's gonna answer this question as to who has the authority to regulate immigration matters. I do think that after this decision, the issue is going to rise again."

Barraza is more doubtful, notably if the economy is still flagging during the campaign leading up to the November 6 presidential election.

"Because how in the world could anybody think now, in the political context, that bringing all these people into legality, legalizing all these people is gonna benefit the economy?" he asked.

"In a way yes, because they will pay taxes, but in the same way it is gonna be seen as millions of people being able to get jobs legally. So is that something that this society is ready to accept? I would say no."

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Court to rule later on Georgia, Alabama's anti-illegal immigration laws

A federal appeals court in Atlanta announced Thursday that it would wait until after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration law before it acts on similar statutes in Georgia and Alabama, keeping parts of those measures on hold for months to come.

Judge Charles Wilson of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals made the announcement at the start of a three-hour-long hearing on parts of Georgia and Alabama’s laws.

As dozens of people loudly protested against those laws outside the downtown courtroom, Wilson said his three-judge panel agreed to wait until the higher court rules because some of the issues are similar in their cases.

The Supreme Court is expected to take up Arizona’s law next month and rule by the end of June. A lower court put two key parts of Georgia’s law on hold in June following a legal challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil and immigrant rights groups. Georgia is appealing that lower court’s decision to Wilson’s panel.

At issue in the courts is how far states can legally go in combating illegal immigration. Officials in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina and Utah have enacted similar anti-illegal immigration laws in recent years, saying they must act to protect jobs and taxpayer-funded resources because the federal government has failed to seal the nation’s borders.

Opponents of these measures say they are divisive and unconstitutional and complain they are tearing families apart, driving migrant workers away and damaging states’ economies.

“The panel has conferred preliminarily and we have agreed not to issue any opinions in this case until the Supreme Court has decided the Arizona case,” Wilson said Thursday, “since I believe that some of these provisions of both the Georgia law and the Alabama law are very similar to the provisions in Arizona.”

Wilson and the other two judges then proceeded to ask many probing questions of the attorneys representing Georgia and Alabama, including whether their measures interfere with the federal government’s authority to regulate immigration and manage foreign relations.

Wilson singled out a provision in Georgia’s law that would authorize state and local police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects and detain those who are determined to be in the country illegally and take them to jail.

The judge asked what would happen if all 50 states adopted statutes similar to Georgia’s. Specifically, he asked how that would affect federal immigration officials who are required to respond to queries from local police about the legal status of suspects.

“I wonder what the increased burden would be on the Department of Homeland Security to respond to all these data-gathering requests?” he asked. “You would have to create an entirely new bureaucracy, wouldn’t you, just to respond to these requests?”

Senior assistant Attorney General Devon Orland pointed out Georgia’s law makes it optional for police to do immigration status checks. She also denied the measure is preempted by federal law.

“What the plaintiffs are talking about is -- their definition of harm is they are more likely to get caught,” she said. “More likely to be caught is not sufficient for standing, it is not sufficient for harm and it is not sufficient to show preemption.”

The judges then turned to parts of Alabama’s law, including a provision that that would require public school officials to determine the immigration status of their students. The Obama administration is suing to block that law. And in October, the appeals court temporarily put that provision on hold.

Judge Beverly Martin expressed concerns about how information about students’ immigration status could be used. She pointed out that Alabama must turn over such information to federal authorities if they ask for it, potentially making it possible for students to be deported. The Supreme Court has ruled that school districts must educate all children regardless of their legal status.

“Once they declare themselves, doesn’t that interfere with their constitutional right to a basic public education, which has been declared by the Supreme Court, as you know?” she asked.

Moments later, Wilson asked whether the law is a “scare tactic.”

Alabama officials denied that and said the law would not deny students their constitutional rights. Prim Escalona, a deputy solicitor general for Alabama, said federal officials are the ones who determine who is deported. She added collecting information about the immigration status of students could help Alabama officials make school spending and policy decisions.

“Perhaps they collect this data and the numbers are low and it informs the public debate and they say, ‘Well, maybe we don’t need certain laws or maybe we do need certain policies,’” Escalona said.

Near the end of Thursday’s hearing, Cecillia Wang, director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, pressed the court to not wait and instead issue an injunction against several parts of Alabama’s law – also called House Bill 56 – that have not been put on hold. Among those provisions is one that would require police to investigate the immigration status of certain suspects.

Wang said some of the plaintiffs in the case are seeking legal status in the United States and would be “subject to police inquisition if they should be stopped for a traffic violation. They are subject to detention, arrest and indeed criminal prosecution.”

“The plaintiffs that we represent in this case are suffering an ongoing harm because of HB56 and these particular provisions,” she said.

Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens, who sat by Orland’s side at Thursday’s hearing, said it makes sense for the appeals court to hold off on acting on Georgia’s law until the Supreme Court rules on Arizona’s statute since similar issues are at play in both cases. He defended Georgia’s law in an interview during a break in the proceedings.

“The states,” he said, “would not be passing these laws if the federal government did its job.”

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Court Hears Immigration Challenges

ATLANTA
A federal appeals court in Atlanta heard
arguments Thursday in the case against Georgia’s immigration law. But the judges say they won’t rule until after the U.S. Supreme Court settles a case against a similar law enacted in Arizona.

The judges asked the state’s attorney what would happen if every state -- like Georgia -- passed its own immigration law.

They said it could create new burdens for federal immigration officers.

Attorneys suing Georgia argue that the law violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. That says federal law trumps state law.

But Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens says the state and federal governments often work together on law enforcement.

He cites two initiatives where the federal government asks local police for help in tracking illegal immigrants:

“We have programs such as 287g and Secure Communities," he said outside the courtroom. "It is extremely common for law enforcement to work both on the state and federal area together, and what we need quite frankly is more of that collaboration, rather than less.”

Olens said Georgia and other states have only enacted immigration laws because officials felt they had to do something.

But Marielena Hincapie, one of the attorneys suing Georgia, says state immigration laws undermine the federal government’s jurisdiction over the issue.

“We will have a patchwork of 50 states with completely different immigration laws where every single person will be treated differently in Georgia, Alabama, Minnesota, New York, California, you name it,” said Hincapie, who's executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.

A federal judge has already blocked parts of the law that would allow police to check the immigration status of some suspects and punish anyone who harbors illegal immigrants while committing another crime.

The hearing Thursday in 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pertained to the state’s appeal.

Arguments in the Arizona case will begin in the High Court in April.

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Video: Immigration was hot topic at white house hispanic action summit

Elyria – February 18 at Lorain County Community College (LCCC) in Elyria was by all accounts a special occasion in which White House officials came to Ohio on their multi – city White House Hispanic Action Summit tour. The discussion groups created by participants ranged from education to how to increase voter turnout, but by far the most pressing issue that day, as it has been around the country from Orlando to San Antonio, has been immigration.

The immigration discussion was allocated the largest space at LCCC, it also hard the largest numbers and the most vocal participants. In the end, information was shared, opinions were changed, and a better understanding of the situation became clear.

When the country discusses of immigration, most immediately turn to the Southwestern states such as Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico, but because of its closeness to Canada and its ever increasing migrant workers, Ohio has seen an increase in undocumented immigrants, not only those from Latino descent, but European as well.

Immigration advocates say many of those who are in Ohio illegally came one of two ways, either they arrived on a work VISA and overstayed the expiration date, or came into the country at a young age without knowledge of the illegal activity.

The plight of illegal immigration and the concerns it causes on both government and people are on display in Painesville, which has increasingly become an area of concern for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. Over the past decade or so, this area has become home to migrant workers that came on a work VISA but did not return to their home country once the VISA expired.

The latest U.S. Census says 4,298 Hispanics live in Painesville, but in 1990, there were just 389. Twenty-two percent of the city’s 19,563 residents identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino and more than half claim Mexican descent.

When participants at the summit mentioned these concerns to the White House, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, said policies may be adjusted based on the summit results and future immigration policies may be dictated from the summit as well, but those in attendance wondered what they can do to improve the situation.

“You need to partner and collaborate,” said Rodriquez. ““We need the business leaders, the community leaders and the churches to stand up”

Rodriquez also said it’s important to strategize and come together and put a “face to immigration.” She also said Congress must pass comprehensive immigration reform to make change. Most recently the DREAM Act was passed in the U.S. House, but failed in the Senate. The DREAM Act is a piece of legislation designed to give path to citizenship to those who either attend higher education and graduate, or join the military. Ohio U.S. 10th Congressional District Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D – Cleveland), attended the summit. He voted for the DREAM Act and could not understand why anyone would vote against it.

“There’ are countless young people who are adversely affected,” said Kucinich. ““We have to make sure that we pursue a path that upholds all of us,”

A Marcus Atkinson Production: White House Hispanic Action Summit speaks on immigration

U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D – Toledo) was one of the House members who voted “no” on the DREAM Act. She shared the same concerns as other representatives did who voted no. One of the provisions in the legislation made it mandatory for all those who signed up for the DRAEM to disclose their parents legal status, during the candidates’ night in Lorain Feb. 22, the 9th Congressional distinct representative said the DREAM Act as written, is the wrong way to pass immigration reform.

According to the 2010 Census, Lorain and Cuyahoga counties lost population over the past decade, but the Hispanic population grew in both counties. Some feel this may hurt the overall economy; cities with high Hispanic populations may become “sanctuary cities” – a city that does not enforce immigration laws – and put a burden on taxpayers to provide bilingual services. Also illegal immigrants may have children or “anchor babies”, which provides a sentimental reason for them to stay in the states while at the same time burdening the already deficit run government heath care system.

Those who do live in Ohio without proper documentation say they fear deportation if they go to a doctor or hospital when ill, there is fear to call police if a crime is seen or if they are a victim of a crime. Those who have children born in the U.S. fear the possibility of being deported and having to make a decision to leave their legal children in the states or take the child back to their native country. In some cases, even those who marry a U.S. citizen can face deportation. .

Lilleana Cavanaugh, Executive Director of the Ohio Commission on Hispanic/Latino Affairs, a non-partisan governmental body says this issue is very important not just for Hispanics but for everyone. She says well have a stake in this issue.

“Our issues are the same across the counties,” said Cavanaugh. “We need to stop dreaming and make it a reality”

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