[February 15, 2006]

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....                 that U. S. citizens are now required to present a valid passport to enter (or re-enter) the United States when arriving by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere (Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, South and Central America, and the Carribean) beginning January 23, 2007?

....                 that United States citizens can visit the State Department’s travel website: travel.state.gov, or call the U.S. National Passport Information Center at (877)4USA-PPT for special instructions on passport and travel?

....                  that instructions for obtaining a passport are available through the U.S. Postal Service: http://www.usps.com/passport?

....                 that U.S. citizens living outside the U.S. should contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for information regarding passport?

....                  that foreign nationals should contact their respective governments to obtain passports that comply with specifications to enter the United States?

....                 that according to the State Department, approximately 70 million citizens hold U.S. passports, an estimated 25 percent of the population overall?

....                 that in September 2006, 90% of passengers departing Canadian airports were traveling with a passport according to the Department of Homeland Security specifications?

Statistics on Undocumented Immigration

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....                 that in 2005, undocumented immigrants accounted for about 10 percent or more of the total population in only 27 (or roughly 6 percent) of the 435 congressional districts in the U.S.?

....                 that conversely, undocumented immigrants comprised about 5 percent or less of the population in more than half (or 232) of all congressional districts in 2005?

....                 that between 2000 and 2005, the undocumented population of 107 districts doubled, although most of these districts had relatively few undocumented immigrants to begin with?

....                 that 39 districts experienced either a decline or no change in their undocumented population between 2000 and 2005. Many of these districts had been major destinations for new arrivals in the past, but are becoming less so as immigrants move to other parts of the country?

Undocumented Immigrants are Settling in New Areas 

....                 that increasingly, undocumented immigrants to the United States are choosing to settle in new areas like North Carolina, Nebraska, and Nevada rather than traditional immigrant destination states such as New York, Florida, and California?

....                 that California received almost 54 percent of all non-citizen Mexican immigrants who arrived in the country in 1990-2000, but during the subsequent 2000-2005 period received only 18 percent of the national total?

....                 that the settlement patterns of undocumented immigrants are changing along with those of legal immigrants?

....                 that a case in point is the district of Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-47th/CA), located in Orange County, which experienced a decline of about 18,000 undocumented immigrants between 2000 and 2005?

....                 that at the same time, the district's foreign-born population as a whole fell by nearly 15,000, and the Mexican foreign-born population in particular fell by more than 10,000?

....                 that these shifting settlement patterns among immigrants raise the question of how elected officials will respond to growing numbers of undocumented constituents in their districts?

....                 that these immigrants are likely to remain in the United States for long periods of time and warrant attention from local officials charged with promoting economic and social development?

....                 that deciding how to interact with and, indeed, represent undocumented constituents and their families will be an increasingly important task for many congressional representatives?

USCIS Publishes Civics Lesson

....                 that U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Office of Citizenship recently released a 19-page document entitled “Learn About the United States: Quick Civics Lessons?

....                 that the booklet provides short lessons, based on 96 sample civics questions modeled after the U. S. naturalization examination?

....                 that the booklet also contains a 75-word glossary?

....                 that the booklet is available on the internet at http://uscis.gov/graphics/citizenship/flashcards/M-638.pdf?

Study Explores Shifting Latino Voting Patterns

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that Republicans enjoyed unprecedented Latino support in the 2004 elections, causing many to believe in a permanent shift in Latino voting patterns?

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that comparisons of the 2006 exit polls with those from 2004, however, suggest a significant swing among Latinos back in favor of the Democrats.

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that a study released on November 27 by the Pew Research Center sheds some light on the answer, but also suggests that more research must be done before a definitive conclusion can be reached?

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that the Pew study compares the 2006 and 2004 exit polls and reveals that blacks, who traditionally support Democrats in large numbers in every election, showed only a modest increase in the percentage of those that voted Democratic. Comparisons of white voters, meanwhile, showed a 6% increase in Democratic voting?

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that Latino voters, by contrast, demonstrated the largest shift, with a remarkable 11% increase from 2004 of those who voted Democratic in 2006?

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that according to the Pew study, one major reason for this shift may have been Latino interest in the immigration debate, to the benefit of Democrats?

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that anti-immigration hardliners such as Randy Graff and J.D. Hayworth, who ran for House seats in Arizona, a state with a sizeable Hispanic population, both lost in their re-election bids, having made a crackdown on illegal immigration a centerpiece of their campaigns?

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that the Pew study cautions against overstating the benefit to Democrats provided by the shifted Latino vote?

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that other pro-enforcement incumbents like Senator John Kyl, also a Republican running for re-election in Arizona, won elections?

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that furthermore, a close look at the results shows that, in large part due to geography and redistricting, the increase in Latinos voting Democratic did not impact election results on the whole: none of the sixty Congressional districts with the largest concentrations of Hispanic voters produced a turnover of seats in the House; and in those House races that did produce a net Democratic gain, Latinos made up at least 10% of voters in only four of them?

?span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">                 that as the Pew report suggests, more research must be done to uncover the full nature and impact of the Latino vote in the 2006 elections? The full report is available on the Pew website.

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