Several states are considering new immigration bills that would restrict access of illegal immigrants to public schools. Meanwhile, teachers and students are banding together to protest the bills before they are signed into law. Communities are also protesting and educating voters on immigration issues as they become more prominent in the 2012 election debates, such as immigrant detention and mandating E-verify for employers. Here is an overview of immigration protests and news that happened in January.

1. Alabama students to protest immigration law

Alabama college students organized several events across the state to protest Alabama’s new immigration law, considered more drastic than Arizona’s controversial immigration bill, reported Hannah Wolfson of The Birmingham News. The protests are intended to call attention to the unfairness of the law, according to one student. The immigration law, called HB 56, enables police to arrest individuals who they suspect are undocumented immigrants during routine traffic stops.

2. Students protest immigration bill

Mike Paluska of CBS Atlanta reported that undocumented students are protesting a proposed bill in the Georgia legislature. The proposed bill, HB 59, would ban all illegal immigrants from attending schools of higher education in the state. According to one student protester, undocumented children already have to pay out-of-state tuition, and the bill would penalize them for a decision their parents made to bring them to this country.

3. Educators criticize immigration bill

In Missouri, teachers are criticizing a proposed bill that would require public schools to verify the immigration status of all students, according to Catherine Martin of the Columbia Daily Tribune. One teacher noted that checking for  illegal immigrant students is not a school’s duty.

4. Group protests immigrant detention in Texas

Protesters gathered outside the Federal Building in Austin, Texas, to protest immigrant detention for families, according to Jessica Holloway of KVUE News. The group, representing a coalition of more than 65 organizations, said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is petitioning the Texas government to add 100 new beds in immigration detention centers to house families. Protesters oppose the proposal, asking for alternatives to placing immigrant families in prisons.

5. The immigration debate

Daniela Guzman, correspondent for The Gainesville Sun, reported that two community organizations were to host a panel debate on immigration to educate voters on the issue. The panel would discuss immigrant and farm worker families in South Florida and Georgia. One panel speaker, for example, was to present her experiences working as a youth minister helping undocumented workers gain citizenship. The Florida Legislature attempted to pass two immigration bills recently, similar to those in Arizona, to check immigration status through the federal E-verify program. The bills never passed due to objections from Florida’s tourism and agricultural industries and widespread political protests. Community organizations in Florida are banding together to educate voters because they believe immigration issues will surface again during the 2012 presidential election.

1. Arizona sheriff’s office gets hit with scathing civil rights report from Justice Department

The Associated Press reported that the US Justice Department issued a report giving Maricopa County Sheriff Arpaio until January 4 to work out an agreement in his office to stop systematic discrimination against immigrants. If Arpaio does not comply with the deadline, the Justice Department will sue him.

The report found that Arpaio’s office violated the constitutional rights of Arizona Latinos when it jailed immigrant inmates in tents and dressed them in pink underwear. A federal grand jury has also instituted an investigation into Arpaio’s office on criminal abuse-of-power allegations.

2. Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Office Targeted Hispanics, U.S. Report Says

The Justice Department’s civil rights investigation of Arpaio’s office revealed that Hispanic drivers in Maricopa County are four to nine times more likely to be stopped, said Bloomberg’s Amanda J. Crawford and Seth Stern. Arpaio’s deputies and detention officers also “routinely” denied “critical services” to Latino inmates who spoke little English. The sheriff’s office arrested many individuals “for no reason” and found “troubling incidents” in which Latino inmates alleged they were subject to excessive use of force and sexual assault by police officers.

3. DOJ Probe Finds Ariz. Sheriff Violated Civil Rights

Ted Robbins of NPR reported that Arpaio “is not backing down” from his policies on illegal immigration. In a press conference, Arpaio defiantly called the report from the Justice Department a “political move by the Obama administration and a witch hunt.”  Arpaio called the termination of his access to the federal Secure Communities database “a sad day for America,” and claimed that the action would lead to waves of new criminal immigrants entering the community.

4. Officials React to Justice Department’s Report on Sheriff Arpaio

Phoenix’s Fox 10 News gathered comments from several prominent Arizona officials in light of the Justice Department’s report.

Governor Jan Brewer said she didn’t want anyone’s civil rights violated. Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and Texas Governor Rick Perry both commented that the Justice Department lacks credibility after the Fast and Furious gun running scandal. Rick Perry called Sheriff Arpaio “a dedicated law enforcement professional fighting to keep his neighbors safe,” and claiming that the Justice Department’s report “smacks of politics.”

Arizona Democratic Party chairman Andrei Cherny called the report “a monumental step toward justice.” The National Day Laborer Organizing Network issued a statement that DHS should have taken these steps years ago and has been Arpaio’s “accomplice in the rights violations.”

5. Silicon dreams: Plans revealed for floating city off coast of California to house entrepreneurs who don’t have visas

A California startup, Blueseed, hopes to raise money to dock a ship in the Pacific Ocean that would house foreign entrepreneurs, the Associated Press reported. The idea arose out of frustration with US immigration policy, which has been slow to adopt reforms to enable foreign entrepreneurs to stay in the US after their studies are finished. The ship would give these entrepreneurs a place to build their companies, while communicating via Skype and video conferencing. Residents would obtain temporary business or tourists visas when they come ashore, which are easier to get.

Today we complete the list with 4 items that made the headlines over the last year, all having to do with deportation and detention.

And remember: tell us in the comments if you think we forgot any important immigration story you think should have been included in the list!

1. Secure Communities program expands

In 2011, the Department of Homeland Security rolled out the Secure Communities program in 44 states and territories. The program is designed to identify immigrants in US jails who are deportable under immigration law. By partnering with local law enforcement, the program allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to obtain fingerprints of detained individuals in local jails and cross-check them against immigration databases. Immigrant advocates have expressed concerns that the program leads to racial profiling and co-ops local law enforcement to act as immigration agents.

2. Deportation policy shifts to focus on criminal immigrants

In August 2011, the White House announced that the Department of Homeland Security would suspend certain deportation proceedings against those who did not pose a public safety threat. During a seven-day sweep of the country called Operation Cross Check, ICE embarked on a campaign to arrest criminal offenders in all 50 states. Operation Cross Check was the largest enforcement and removal operation in history. DHS announced that it would also conduct a sweeping review of cases in immigration courts now to halt those of many illegal immigrants with no criminal record.

3. More immigrants deported in 2011 than ever before

Despite ICE’s shift in policy to deport the most dangerous immigrants, 2011 was the busiest year for the agency yet. The agency set a new record for deportations in 2011, removing nearly 400,000 undocumented immigrants from the United States. Critics on the left claim that the high number of deportations results in broken families now stratified across borders. Critics on the right claim that more deportations are needed.

4. Immigrant detention system draws criticism

The nation’s immigration detention system continues to draw harsh criticism after several non-profits and advocacy groups released reports of ill and abused detainees being held for many years without representation. The massive patchwork of prisons confines almost 400,000 people per year as they await deportation or asylum proceedings. A report by Human Rights First revealed that half of detainees are being held in highly restricted prisons along with dangerous criminals. Another report by the American Civil Liberties Union uncovered almost 200 allegations of sexual abuse of immigrant detainees. Although the Obama administration vowed to reform the broken system by transferring immigrant detainees to less restrictive facilities, only minor steps have been taken.

And so we’ve compiled a list of what we think are the top immigration stories of the year. (Look for Part 2 here next week).

What do you think? Let us know in the comments if you agree that these were the top immigration stories of the year — or what you would add.

Without further ado (and in no particular order) …

1. USCIS embarks on campaign to attract immigrant investors

Amid urges from academics and businesses, USCIS instituted a series of initiatives aimed at attracting foreign investors and entrepreneurs to the US. Business leaders claimed that US Citizenship and Immigration Services has been too slow and restrictive in adjudicating visa petitions filed by innovative and small companies to bring talented employees to the US. In response, USCIS announced several policy and outreach efforts designed to promote start-up enterprises, including changes to the adjudication of EB-5 immigrant investor visas and implementing a series of public outreach opportunities for small business owners to talk with agency representatives.

2. Various states attempt to regulate immigration-related matters

Given the lack of reform efforts on the federal level, many states took measures to curtail illegal immigration within their borders. Many of the state laws have been challenged in court on the basis that they interfere with existing federal law. A case regarding Arizona’s SB 1070 will be heard by the Supreme Court. Other states, including Utah, South Carolina, Indiana, Georgia and Alabama, have also passed laws restricting public benefits for immigrants and requiring law enforcement to detain suspected illegal immigrants. Many of these states are also battling court challenges.

3. The DREAM Act fails in the Senate

After narrowly passing in the House of Representatives, the DREAM Act failed to get the necessary votes in the Senate required to pass. The DREAM Act would have provided an opportunity for children of illegal immigrants to have a path to citizenship if they pursued military service or a college education. Meanwhile, California passed its version of the DREAM Act, making undocumented children eligible for state financial aid.

4. Green card lottery mishap subsides

In an unprecedented computer glitch, the US State Department erroneously notified more than 20,000 foreign green card applicants that they won diversity visas and later invalidated the awards. Vowing to be more careful, government officials fixed the error and quickly held a new lottery. However, some 22,000 foreigners filed a class action lawsuit against the State Department arguing that they should be allowed to receive the visas due to the inconvenience caused by the erroneous notification. A Washington judge rejected the claim.

5. Presidential candidates battle about immigration policy

Immigration reform has long been a subject of debate at the state level, and could become an important issue for the 2012 presidential election. Candidates expressed their views on immigration at various engagements.

The Obama administration touted its record of securing the border and increasing deportations. This claim frustrated many of his Hispanic supporters.

Meanwhile GOP candidates discussed immigration in several major debates. Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney said they favor a fence along the US-Mexico border and oppose government benefits for illegal immigrants and their children. Rick Perry opposed a complete US-Mexico border fence and supported educational benefits for immigrant children.

Check back here next week for top immigration stories, part 2!

Many states have passed immigration laws enabling local law enforcement to apprehend individuals suspected to be illegal immigrants. In conjunction with these efforts, Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to use its resources to identify and arrest illegal immigrants across the country. In Arizona, drug smuggling is an issue, while in Utah the number of immigrants has declined.

Here is a sampling of immigration headlines across the country. Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter for even more top headlines!

1. Immigration agents release Occupy Oakland activist

Matt O’Brien of the Oakland Tribune reported that a Mexican immigrant, Francisco “Pancho” Ramos Stierle, was placed into deportation proceedings after he was picked up by Oakland Police for protesting as part of Occupy Oakland. Ramos Stierle was meditating outside of Oakland City Hall when he and 31 other protesters were arrested by Oakland Police. When the fingerprint check with the federal Secure Communities database revealed that Ramos Stierle was deportable, he was transferred to ICE custody. Ramos Stierle came to the Bay Area on a student visa that expired in 2008 and has since been a full-time peace activist.

2. Immigration agents pay visit to restaurant

ICE agents raided a China Buffet restaurant in Waterville, Maine, according to the Kennebec Journal. The agents reportedly arrived at 11 a.m., before the restaurant was to open, and began asking for identification of employees. Although ten employees were questioned by the agents, no one was taken into custody. Agents also searched other Asian restaurants in nearby Portland, Brewer and Lewiston.  In September an owner of a Mexican restaurant was arrested and charged with harboring illegal aliens.

3. Updated: ABQ Firefighter Won’t Be Deported

The Albuquerque Journal reported that an Albuquerque firefighter who was being held in ICE custody would not be deported after all. The firefighter, Jose Gonzalez, a legal resident who has lived in the US for more than 20 years, was picked up by immigration authorities last month after being charged in connection with a drive-by shooting 15 years ago when he was a juvenile. Gonzalez won his case and will return to his job at the Albuquerque Fire Department.

4. Drug tunnel found in Nogales rental house

A 70-foot long tunnel discovered in Nogales, Arizona, was being used to smuggle drugs across the border, according to Daniel González of The Arizona Republic. The tunnel, concealed under the front porch of a home, was the first discovered in Arizona since October. Twelve tunnels were discovered last fiscal year in Arizona. Federal officials attribute the increase in tunnels to increased security along the border.

5. Bad economy slows foreign-born immigration to Utah

Lee Davidson of The Salt Lake Tribune reports that surveys of foreign-born residents of Utah revealed that immigration decreased in the state from 2008 to 2010. Experts attribute the decline to a combination of factors, including job shortages and a local heated debate on illegal immigration. Others say that immigration has decreased due to the increasing danger of traveling across the border through regions controlled by drug cartels. The decrease is not specific to Utah; immigration is down across the country.

The law is the most restrictive of the immigration laws passed in multiple states this year. One provision of the Alabama law authorizes police to check the immigration status of drivers. However, the provision requiring schools to review birth certificates of all incoming students at public schools was blocked pending a Supreme Court decision.

Here is a sample of reactions as most of the law was implemented.

1. Alabama’s tough immigration law awakens echos of old civil rights battles for some observers

Although Alabama “seems ill-suited to be the nation’s immigration battleground,” the case conjures up images of civil rights court battles in the 1950s and 60s. The Associated Press reported that the scene is all too familiar. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on controversial state immigration laws, but it looks like Alabama’s strictest laws yet will offer the Court the first opportunity to make a decision.

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley says out-of-state advocacy groups are out of touch with the progress that Alabama has made in civil rights in the last 50 years, so the association is a misperception.

2. Alabama immigration law not getting support from federal government

According to Alicia A. Caldwell of the Associated Press, a federal appeals court in Atlanta temporarily blocked part of the law that required public schools to check the immigration status of students. However, other parts of the law will be implemented while courts reach a final decision over the next several months. For example, law enforcement officials will be authorized to detain anyone suspected of being in the country without proper documentation.

3. State immigration law sparking public health worries

Jay Reeves, also of the Associated Press, reported that Alabama’s new immigration law could increase the risk of illnesses when Hispanic immigrants, afraid of being locked up, discontinue medical care at government clinics.

Although most health programs administered through clinics are federally funded, community leaders are concerned that immigrants don’t know that the new law doesn’t affect federally-funded clinics. The drop in patients has been noticeable especially in north Alabama, home of the region’s poultry and agriculture industry.

4. Alabama’s immigration law impacts local church, school attendance

According to Hannah Garcia of the Foley Onlooker, some local Hispanic residents are moving to other states out of fear that they will be locked up under the new immigration law. Several small towns in Baldwin County, Alabama, have seen a dip in attendance of Hispanic residents in local schools and churches.

5. Huntsville Police Department beginning to enforce Alabama immigration law

The Huntsville Police Department is encouraging all motorists to carry their driver’s license, said Brian Lawson of The Huntsville Times. If an officer cannot verify that you have a license and has a reasonable suspicion that you are out of status, the officer will bring you to a local magistrate to have your immigration status verified. Law enforcement cannot use race, color or national origin as a basis to stop drivers on the highway.

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Rick Perry, a front-runner, was attacked by his competitors for his decision as governor of Texas to support favorable tuition rates for children of illegal immigrants, opening the room up to booing from his Tea Party supporters.

“If you say that we should not educate children who come into our state for no other reason than that they’ve been brought there through no fault of their own, I don’t think you have a heart,” Perry said. “We need to be educating these children because they will become a drag on our society.”

Here is a breakdown of the opinions about Perry’s performance across the nation and abroad.

1. Perry’s immigration policy takes national stage

Alana Rocha of Austin’s YNN News reported that Perry found himself defending his policy to provide in-state tuition to illegal immigrants in Texas at a recent GOP debate. But Hispanic voters say that Perry’s stance on border security and his new voter ID law could sway Hispanics away from Perry in 2012.

2. Is Rick Perry ‘Soft’ on Illegal Immigration?

Stewart J. Lawrence writes in the Huffington Post that Perry’s stance on immigration is more moderate than his GOP competition. Lawrence cites Perry’s opposition to Arizona’s SB 1070, his opposition to the construction of a US-Mexico border fence and his defense of a Texas bill that gives illegal immigrants in-state tuition.

3. Perry’s Immigration Problem

According to New York Times’ Michael D. Shear, Perry must “repair the damage that his immigration comments have created without leaving the impression that he is ready to flip-flop on the particular issue of tuition assistance for immigrant children.” One way to repair the damage is to focus on the benefits of educating illegal immigrants in Texas, so long as the other GOP candidates do not prevent him from reshaping the issue.

4. Rick Perry walks away from last night’s Republican debate looking less conservative and less like a winner

“Perry decisively lost the debate when it turned to illegal immigration,” said Tim Stanley in The Telegraph in the UK.  Perry’s views on immigration left him looking like “another hack politician,” damaging his reputation with the right.

5. Perry’s Slide Continues

According to Robert Stacy McCain in The American Spectator, Perry’s debate performance may have “forfeited his lead” in the GOP race when he stood by his record of subsidizing immigrants’ college tuition. Due to this “weak showing,” Perry and Mitt Romney will probably be tied in the next national polls.

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In a letter to a group of senators, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano announced a plan to review the approximately 300,000 deportation cases pending in immigration courts on a case-by-case basis. DHS will focus on deporting illegal immigrants who are criminals or pose a threat to national security first.

Here are a few reactions from across the nation.

1. Illegal to legal: Immigration changes could mean work permits

According to Steve Myrick of The Martha’s Vineyard Times, the Napolitano letter would “grant indefinite reprieve” to low priority cases, and in most cases, allow the individual to apply for a work permit and stay in the United States legally. This policy shift may affect many people in Martha’s Vineyard, an area that ranks 7th among American cities with the highest percentage of people claiming Brazilian ancestry.

2. ICE releases jailed North Georgia students

Two Georgia students were released from federal detention while awaiting deportation, according to Devin Fehely from 11 Alive, an Atlanta news station. The two students were arrested in separate traffic stops and immediately transferred into federal custody after it was discovered that they were illegal immigrants.

3. New US Deportation Policy Spares Some

Ted Robbins of National Public Radio reported that an immigration lawyer received a call from an ICE prosecutor suggesting that she ask for her deportation case to be dismissed. This was a first for the immigration attorney, who thought her client, a 22-year-old student, qualified under Napolitano’s new guidelines.

4. New Homeland Security rules allow illegal immigrants with no criminal record to stay in US, apply for work permit

The Associated Press and Syracuse.com reported that ICE Director John Morton suggested that ICE agents should use their discretion to release those with long-term residency in the US, close family ties in the US and no criminal record. Republican politicians have criticized the policy shift as granting backdoor amnesty to illegal immigrants and say it will promote unfair competition among American citizen workers.

5. Napolitano: New deportation rules not ‘free pass’

According to Andrew Demillo of the Associated Press, Napolitano stressed that the new rules will not be a free pass to citizenship but instead are aimed at providing more clarity to deportation and immigration policy. Napolitano did not consider her announcement a major shift in immigration policy, but clarified that DHS’s policy has always been to deport criminal aliens first.

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1. Drunken driving, traffic crime deportations way up

The Obama administration was able to set a record number of deportations due to huge increases in deportations of people arrested for breaking minor traffic or immigration laws. According to Suzanne Gamboa of the Associated Press, 27,635 people had been deported for drunk driving violations, double those deported under the Bush administration. These numbers have cast doubt on the Obama administration’s claims that it is focusing on the most dangerous criminals.

2. Companies face federal fines for allegedly employing illegal immigrants

In Massachusetts, eight companies suspected of hiring illegal workers were slapped with steep fines, according to WBUR’s Bianca Vázquez Toness. Embracing a new strategy for finding illegal immigrants, ICE audited Form I-9 documents of companies, rather than employing an immigration raid. Among the employers, a commercial cleaning service in Allston was given a $100,000 fine.

3. Arizona launches website for donations to build fence along US border with Mexico

Arizona state lawmakers launched a fundraising website to build a fence along the US-Mexico border, according to Paul Davenport of the Associated Press. Among the Arizona officials backing the website is Maricopa county Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The website received more than $39,000 of funding within its first 17 hours.

4. Blueberry grower fined by US Immigration

According to Chris Facchini of WLBZ in Bangor, Maine, ICE fined a blueberry grower from Milbridge, Maine, in excess of $100,000 for hiring illegal immigrants. The fine is the highest of any company in the New England region. An ICE agent says that between January 2006 and January 2008 the blueberry grower employed an estimated 200 illegal workers.

5. Suspected immigrant boat found on Ventura shore

A small fishing boat was abandoned in Ventura County, California, raising suspicions that illegal immigrants on the boat are now in the US, according to the Associated Press. Authorities found 15 life jackets and 8 large fuel containers aboard the Mexican boat, along with footprints in the sand.

US  Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been stepping up arrest and detention levels of immigrants in the US as part of the Obama administration’s mandate to clean up the immigration system.

The most recent crop of arrests are part of a seven-day “Cross Check” enforcement operation, the largest of its kind, targeting more than 2,400 convicted criminal aliens and immigration fugitives. “Cross Check” involved the collaboration of more than 500 ICE agents and state and local law enforcement partners throughout the nation. Here is a sampling of June arrests and news reported as part of the major sweep.

1.  NFIB:  ICE planning inspection of companies’ employee records

Knoxvillebiz.com reported that ICE will begin reviewing I-9 forms of 1,000 businesses nationwide. The National Federation of Independent Business offers advice to prepare businesses for an ICE investigation and warns that such investigations should not be taken lightly.

2. ICE arrests gang members at festival

Two gang members were arrested by immigration officers at the Strawberry Days Festival in Glenwood Springs, Washington, the Washington Examiner reports.

3.  ICE sweep in Colorado, Wyoming nabs 81 illegal immigrants with criminal records

Sara Burnett of the Denver Post reported that ICE arrested 81 illegal immigrants with criminal records in Colorado and Wyoming, one stop on ICE’s nationwide sweep to remove convicted aliens. A sampling of the Colorado arrests suggests that some immigrants had drug-related and violent convictions.

4.   Arrests in R.I. part of nationwide sweep of convicted criminal illegal immigrants

ICE arrested 10 illegal immigrants in Rhode Island with criminal convictions including sexual assault and drug-related crimes, according to Karen Lee Ziner of the Providence Journal. Joining in the New England effort were 175 federal, state and local officers.

5. ICE agents arrest 10 county residents

Laura B. Martinez of The Brownsville Herald reported that ICE arrested 10 illegal aliens in Cameron County in South Texas and 12 more in other parts of the Rio Grande Valley. The aliens all had criminal convictions for crimes such as armed robbery, drug trafficking, child abuse and sexual crimes against minors.

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