Some people in Italy believe foreign-born residents are the main cause of crime in the country, according to a poll by Ispo published in Corriere della Sera. 35 per cent of respondents share this view.

Additionally, 44 per cent of respondents say all illegal immigrants should be expelled, even if they have not committed any crime or misdeeds, and 34 per cent disagree with the idea that immigrants are necessary for the national economy.
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On Feb. 12, Berlusconi surprised his Albanian counterpart Sali Berisha during a press conference after discussing matters of immigration, jokingly saying, “We will only accept pretty girls from Albania.”

A Third of Italians Say Immigrants Cause Crime

Thousands of immigrant rights advocates marched in front of a county jail in Phoenix Saturday in a protest that was aimed at Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration efforts and was marked by a clash between a small group of protesters and police officers.

Organizers say the protest was meant to show officials in Washington that Arpaio shouldn’t handle immigration enforcement, and that Congress and the Obama administration need to come up with a way for immigrant workers to come to the country legally.

Source/Full Story: Yahoo! News

The vast majority of people in Italy would like all immigrants seeking citizenship to take a test of Italian civic values, according to a poll by Arnaldo Ferrari Nasi. 80.2 per cent of respondents share this view.

Additionally, 76.9 per cent of respondents say immigrants who do not share Italian values or commit crimes should be stripped of their citizenship. On the other hand, 79.2 per cent of respondents want immigrants who contribute to a city’s economy to be allowed to vote in municipal elections.

	Agree	Disagree	Not sure
Immigrants who play a role in the economic life of a city, after a number of years, must have the right to vote in municipal elections	79.2%	15.4%	5.4%
All immigrants should take a course in Italian and civic values before being regularized	80.2%	18.5%	1.3%
Italian citizenship should be revoked if an immigrant is found to not share our values or commits crimes	76.9%	17.7%	5.4%

Source/Full Story: Angus Reid Global Monitor

Two officials said Thursday night they have been subpoenaed to answer questions next week before a federal grand jury about a high-profile Arizona sheriff who gained attention for aggressively cracking down on illegal immigration.

In statements read by a county spokesman, Maricopa County Manager David Smith and Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson said they met with a federal prosecutor to discuss the case and will testify Wednesday.

Wilson said the general subject of the inquiry was abuses by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office. Neither Wilson nor Smith offered specifics, said county spokesman Richard de Uriarte, who spoke with the two officials Thursday night.

Arpaio is widely known for tough jail policies and pushing the bounds on local immigration efforts. He has led a dozen crime and immigration sweeps, some in heavily Latino areas.

Source/Full Story:  FOXNews.com

Then along comes Mauricio Escalante. The 33-year-old illegal immigrant was arrested Saturday for stabbing to death a 17-year-old on the streets of Immokalee.

The teenager’s affront that set off the fatal confrontation — daring to speak English in America.

According to Sheriff’s Office reports, around 3 a.m. Saturday Charlie Guzman and some friends gathered at the laundry of an apartment complex on Colorado Avenue. Three others, including Escalante, were already there and the two groups began talking until a dispute erupted over the victim’s group speaking English, not Spanish.

Escalante went to a nearby apartment, got a knife, and fatally stabbed Guzman, according to reports.

So much for the notion that illegal immigrants are universally a hard-working, law abiding set committed to doing the jobs Americans won’t do, all while trying to assimilate.

Source/Full Story: Naples Daily News

As federal lawmakers continue to debate overhauling immigration law, the Census Bureau on Wednesday released a set of population projections that highlight the effects of immigration on the U.S. economy.

The country’s financial meltdown and post-Sept. 11 immigration enforcement have slowed the growth of minority groups here. If those conditions remain the norm, whites would make up the majority of the population until 2050, eight years later than previously projected.

In addition, the Census Bureau last year predicted that the U.S. would hit the 400-million population mark in 2039. But if current migration patterns continue, the nation will not have hit that milestone by 2050.

Source/Full Story: latimes.com

Immigration agents arrested 280 people in California in their biggest push yet to round up suspected illegal immigrants with criminal records, authorities said Friday.
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More than 80 percent of the people arrested this week had prior convictions for serious or violent crimes, according to ICE. Seventeen people will face federal charges for re-entering the country illegally after being deported.

Source/Full Story: msnbc.com