Immigration

An industry report blames government stinginess for a steep slide in how much iron ore ships are carrying across the Great Lakes. Only 30,000 tons left Silver Bay last month compared to one million tons in May 2008, and combined shipments from four Minnesota ports are down by two-thirds. The Lake Carriers’ Association says more [...]

It’s becoming a regular thing in Austin, as rival groups sparred over immigration in front of the Mower County Courthouse. Twenty anti-immigrant demonstrators led by a local National Socialist Movement activist squared off with 50 counter-protesters, including a Socialist Workers Party candidate for Minneapolis mayor. It’s the second anti-immigrant rally in two weeks and the Nazi group says [...]

If the anti-immigrant reactions to the outbreak of H1N1 influenza — “swine flu” — are any indication, advocates for immigration reform are going to have an uphill battle in Congress this year.

The story of Somali youth who vanished from the Twin Cities, possibly to fight alongside jihadists back in their home country, is transforming passionate debates at Minneapolis coffee shops into quieter community introspection about how to rebuild the local Somali community’s image.

“The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand,” said Barack Obama to roaring applause in Berlin last July. Eight months later, hundreds of miles of border fence dividing the United States and Mexico are going up as planned. Despite pleas from some Democrats, environmentalists and local communities to halt construction until the wall’s impacts can be better examined, the Department of Homeland Security under President Obama has so far maintained the same border fence policies as the DHS under President Bush.

Now calling Washington, D.C., home, former Minnesota Independent reporter Abdi Aynte returns to the Twin Cities today to discuss the nuances of covering the local Somali community. A Washington correspondent for the BBC World Service, he’ll discuss how a community that may seem homogeneous to outsiders is truly diverse, highlighting how clan rivalries, ethnic and [...]

A comprehensive report issued by Amnesty International USA Wednesday finds that tens of thousands of immigrants — and, in one case, a Minnesota-born citizen — have been held in detention in the United States, many in violation of international law.

Studies and Congressional testimony show an immigration system with few rules or supervision.

Reps. Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum are cosponsoring legislation that would help bi-national same-sex couples keep their families together. Called the Uniting American Families Act, the legislation would allow non-citizen partners of gays and lesbians to gain permanent resident status in the same manner as married couples.

The Academy Awards often draw attention to a cause or a plight or a social concern, particularly in the categories for documentary films, a genre still enjoying an extended revival. Even being among the nominees for the Oscar (as announced today) can be enough to help films put a spotlight on political or social topics. [...]