Bill Ong Hing

In the Obama administration's challenge to Arizona's anti-immigrant SB 1070, Department of Justice lawyers avoided arguing that any of the law's provisions, including the requirement that state police check the documents of suspected undocumented immigrants, invite racial profiling. In fact, at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Chief Justice...

The tragic shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin highlights the sad truth that racial profiling of African Americans and the country's racial divide continue. The juxtaposition of this incident and the winding down of our military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan provides us with an opportunity to declare another...

As the Republican presidential contenders moved into Alabama and Mississippi, one local issue that they all appear to agree upon is the anti-immigration laws that have been bandied about in these states. Yes, Newt Gingrich might consider withholding deportation of 80-year-old grandmothers or DREAM Act students who join...

This Sunday, February 19, marked the 70th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which authorized the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. On that day in 1942, then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, setting the wheels in motion for one of the largest violations of civil liberties...

The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision striking down California's Proposition 8 attempt to take away marital rights from same-sex couples sends a strong immigration-reform message to Congress: it's time to allow U.S. citizens lawfully married to same-sex partners the opportunity to apply for lawful immigrant status. Under current...

Eight U.S. soldiers serving in Afghanistan have been arrested in connection with the apparent suicide of Pvt. Danny Chen, a 19-year-old infantryman who was Chinese American. The arrests came after family members pressured the Pentagon to investigate allegations that Chen had been repeatedly taunted with racial slurs. The...

With great fanfare recently, Congress approved Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. Congress, the White House, and big business cheered, while labor groups derided the move, arguing that the FTAs will result in more U.S. job losses. Obscured by the the debate, however, is the potential...

With great fanfare last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced the arrest of some 3,000 convicted "criminal aliens" during a its seven-day national "Operation Cross-Check" enforcement operations. The attention-grabbing announcement emphasized that more than 1,600 had felony and highlighted seven of the arrestees who had been convictions...

We are told at a young age that we are a land of immigrants. But we are reminded all too often that we are a land intolerant of diversity.

Consider the experience of the Muslim American Society in Westchester County, New York, this past Tuesday. In celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr, the...

With much fanfare last week, White House officials announced that the deportation of thousands of undocumented immigrants could be halted if they are not criminals and pose no national security threat. Once terminated, the individuals can apply for permission to work. A special government working group will be...

If you believe that undocumented Mexican migration is a problem, and you believe that the reason most undocumented migrants come to the United States is to work, then it really does not take a brain surgeon to understand that the way to address the challenge is to help Mexico with...

Jose Antonio Vargas' story is remarkable. He disclosed in a New York Times Magazine essay that he is an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines who learned of his true status at the age of 16 when he applied for a driver's permit. In spite of that challenge, he...

Last week, the Supreme Court upheld Arizona's "Legal Workers Arizona Act" (LAWA) enabling the state to revoke the business licenses of employers who hire undocumented workers. The ruling on the state's version of an "employer sanction" law passed in 2007 (not to be confused with the state's broader anti-immigrant SB...

The abolitionist group Death Penalty Focus has just announced the appointment of Jeanne Woodford, the former warden at California's San Quentin prison, as its new executive director. Woodford, who also was the director of the California Department of Corrections at one point, will be lobbying against the death penalty. After...

Must we dump on undocumented immigrants whenever we talk about comprehensive immigration reform? President Obama's El Paso speech on the need for comprehensive reform on Tuesday was an important call to action and a challenge to policy makers -- Republicans and Democrats alike. However, in the process of...

Addressing the challenge of undocumented immigration was a front-burner issue in the summer 2001. A day before 9/11, Mexico President Vicente Fox was making demands that the United States provide some type of relief for undocumented Mexican workers in the United States. President Bush was receptive, pledging a...

Our detention and deportation system failed Anya (her name has been changed for confidentiality purposes). She was born in Russia with heart defects and deformed hands. She was rejected by her parents for many years, spending her infancy in hospitals and institutions. Later she was abused by her parents, then...

On Monday, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the preliminary injunction issued by the federal trial court in Arizona halting the implementation of the primary features of Arizona's SB 1070 immigration law. The court held that Arizona's law interferes with the federal enforcement efforts by directing state and...

First of two parts on the lack of options available to federal immigration judges.

Last week marked the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Padilla v. Kentucky -- a deportation case involving a 40-year lawful permanent resident of the United States who was a Vietnam War veteran. About...

Amidst the important announcement two weeks ago that the Obama administration is backing off of its defense of DOMA, the news that the administration is recognizing same sex partners of U.S. diplomats entering the country got lost. Now the question is whether the Obama administration will step up and endorse...