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First place winner, Cameron P. Busby, 11, is a fifth grade student at Whitmore Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona. Busby, a Stephen King fan, beat out thousands of fifth grade students from around the country. According to Busby, the inspiration for his entry, "America is a Refuge," came from thinking about his ancestry, his immigrant friends and all the reasons why people might come to this country.

"I think a lot of immigrants are coming to this country," Busby said. "Some are not being treated as well as people who are citizens, but I think that for the most part America is a safe place. Our country is a little safer than other countries and lots of people come here for a better life. And I think that they do find it."

AILF sponsors the annual "Celebrate America" Creative Writing Contest in an ongoing effort to educate the public about the benefits of immigration to our society.

"The value of the annual essay contest is immeasurable," commented Ben Johnson, AILF'S Executive Director. "It gives America's youth the chance to express the finest of America's values. This year, Cameron's poem gives a voice to the voiceless. His poem brings to life the story of this great nation and its promise of freedom and hope for today's and tomorrow's newcomers. Cameron's words serve as a reminder of America's challenges and responsibilities of leadership in the 21st century."

According to Sharon Keown, Cameron's teacher at Whitmore Elementary, there are many challenges that arise in the classroom when teaching immigration, especially in Arizona.

"There is a lot of prejudice here in Arizona regarding illegal versus legal immigration," Keown said. "We integrate the topic of immigration into our social studies program at the beginning of the year and then I have my students look into their own family to see the immigration pattern there. We talk about the different countries everyone is from. But the immigration discussion really begins when I start explaining the naturalization process."

Keown, a teacher of 37 years, believes its Cameron's strengths as a writer, sensitivity to issues and quirkiness that make him an exceptional student and citizen.

"Cameron is an excellent writer," Keown said. "He's a very imaginative boy and very sensitive. I think that came out in his poetry. In fact, he wowed the whole class when he read the poem out loud. He's out there. But he's also concerned about a lot of serious issues. He's a deep thinker."

Other finalists include 2^nd place winner, Ananda Ewing-Boyd of Elsie Whitlow Stokes Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., 3^rd place winner Kasey Bruce of Sheridan Elementary School in San Francisco, CA and honorable mention winner Noah Dearth of Our Lady of the Ridge School in St. Worth, Illinois.

As a grand prize, Busby and his family will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to AILF's Annual Benefit Dinner in Vancouver, Canada, on June 27, 2008. AILF will honor Busby who will read his winning entry aloud at the Benefit Dinner. Busby also receives a travel stipend, engraved plaque, his winning entry printed in the Congressional Record and a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol in his honor.

This year's National Judging Panel for the contest included author and activist Mary Williams, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Dave Eggers, Senator Ted Kennedy and author Gish Jen.

To read more on AILF's Fifth Grade Creative Writing Contest, including finalists' entries, a Q&A with Cameron Busby, judges' biographies and past winning entries, please visit AILF's website at http://www.ailf.org/awards/essaycontest/.

America is a Refuge

AILF's Immigration Policy Center gives a simple reason why it is a bad idea for Congress to require employers to adopt an electronic verification system for employees that is based on the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security databases-databases that contain numerous errors. According to a recent IPC fact sheet ( ERROR! Electronic Employment Verification Systems: What Will Happen When Citizens Have to Ask the Government for Permission to Work? ), "If the government data base is not accurate, Americans will be denied employment and paychecks, at least temporarily, while they attempt to resolve the problem with the government agencies."

The American Immigration Law Foundation's Curriculum Center recently hosted the 5^th Annual Washington, D.C. Symposium "Appreciating America's Heritage: Teaching Children about Immigration." Focused on African immigration and community, the symposium featured distinguished speakers from the Smithsonian Institute, the African Immigration and Refugee Foundation, teachers from area K-12 schools and activist/author Mary Williams, founder of the Lost Boys Foundation.

Although the focus was primarily on African migration, the Curriculum Center's mission to promote a better understanding of immigrants and immigration by providing educational resources that inspire people to engage in thoughtful dialogue, creative teaching, and critical thinking was well served. Teachers and community leaders not only learned the history of immigration, immigration curriculum and the immigration experience, but heard firsthand about the lives and experiences of two young African immigrants attending high school in the Washington D.C.

Texto escrito por www.aila.org/stateguide

El bombardeo cotidiano de retórica asfixiante en televisión por cable y radio ha provocado la frustración del público tanto por nuestro inoperante sistema migratorio como por la ineficiencia de la clase política para repararlo. La política migratoria ha sido transformada de un debate constructivo a choque político sacudiendo congresos y ayuntamientos a lo largo del país.

Los legisladores federales y locales en un arrebato constituyente han introducido una serie de políticas y disposiciones mareadoras. En el mejor de los casos estas medidas son una expresión legítima de frustración local enfocada a problemas específicos resultantes del flujo de inmigrantes; en el peor, son trucos baratos que dividen comunidades y causan estragos en las economías locales.

El texto de este blog fue escrito en su totalidad por Por Margaret Stock*

Todo voluntario del ejército Norteamericano se distingue por su patriotismo que no conoce fronteras y ese patriotismo es compartido por los inmigrantes cuyo servicio es escencial para la misión. De hecho los inmigrantes representan casi el 5 por ciento de las fuerzas armadas hoy en día. Son leales a Norteamériica y atienden el llamado para pelear por los principios de libertad y democracia justamente como lo hacen los soldados nacidos en los Estados Unidos. Para los no ciudadanos que reúnen los requerimientos para enlistarse y servir honorablemente, el servicio al ejército estadounidense ofrece una vía única para alcanzar la ciudadanía.

Los soldados no nacidos en Estados Unidos juegan un rol especial en la milicia. Los Estados Unidos son un poder global y para proyectar ese poder de manera efectiva, el ejército necesita soldados, paracaidistas e infantes de marina con formaciones diversas -incluyendo la habilidad de hablar muchos idiomas y entender otras culturas y sociedades. En la lucha contra el terrorismo, los inmigrantes realzan al ejército estadounidense al entender los idiomas y sociedades en las que sus tropas están peleando. Eso es porque la mayoría de los estadounidenses nativos carecen de la habilidad lingüística y cultural necesaria para el éxito de la misión en países como Afganistán e Irak.

Next article was wrote for www.aila.org/stateguide

The daily drumbeat of inflammatory rhetoric on cable television and talk radio has fed the public's frustration with both our broken immigration system and federal failure to repair it. Immigration policy has been transformed from an inside-the-beltway debate into a political flashpoint jolting state houses and town halls across the country.

State and local legislators feeling heat from angry constituents have introduced a dizzying array of bills and ordinances. At their best, these measures are a legitimate expression of local frustration targeting specific policy concerns resulting from an influx of migrants; at worst, they are cheap political haymakers that divide communities and wreak havoc on local economies.

Foreign-born soldiers play a special role in the military. The United States is a global power, and to project that power effectively, the military needs soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines with diverse backgrounds-including the ability to speak many different languages and understand other cultures and societies. In the fight against terrorism, immigrants enhance the military by understanding the languages and societies in which our troops are fighting. That's because most native-born Americans lack the linguistic and cultural expertise needed for mission success in countries such as and .

In 2001 Susan Legere, who received a master's degree in sociology from Boston College in 2005, began making Immigrant Reflections: Three Boston College Service Workers Share Their Stories, a documentary film in which three immigrants tell their stories of coming to America, finding employment at Boston College, and establishing new lives. A novice filmmaker, Legere received training in film production and "moral support" from the Film Studies Program faculty under the University's Jacques Salmanowitz Program for Moral Courage in Film. Soon after the film was completed last spring, it was accepted for screening on October 20 at the Boston International Latino Film Festival. Legere, who is working toward a Ph.D. in sociology, says her dissertation will build on the film's themes, which "put a 'face' on immigration."

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is pleased to introduce Immigration OnPoint www.immigrationpolicy.org/onpoint, an online compilation of fact sheets that provide quick answers to commonly asked questions about immigrants and immigration. Immigration is notoriously complex, and the current immigration debate is filled with misconceptions and misinformation, making reasoned decision-making difficult. OnPoint documents aim to confront myths and provide timely and accurate information on a range of immigration-related topics. While coordinated by IPC, many different organizations have contributed their time and expertise to create these documents. We urge you to check the website frequently as Immigration OnPoint materials will be updated and added on a regular basis.

IPC is a division of the American Immigration Law Foundation. Visit our website at www.immigrationpolicy.org.

Hay dos historias que hoy están siendo contadas acerca de la migración y el futuro de América. Cada una tiene de hecho algo de cierto, a pesar de que una esta basada en las tendencias más nuevas y es más optimista que la otra. Estas historias difieren en sus respuestas a los tres cuestionamientos cruciales: La migración a la Unión Americana esta acelerando de manera descontrolada o está disminuyendo; cuántos migrantes están asimilando a la Sociedad Americana y progresando económicamente con el paso del tiempo y por último qué tan importantes son los migrantes para la economía.

AILA Rebuts the Top Five Immigration Myths of the Campaign Season

The immigration debate is highly charged and clouded with myths and misinformation-impeding productive discussion of fair and effective reforms, and leading to a patchwork of punitive and ineffective actions.The "TOP 5 IMMIGRATION MYTHS OF THIS CAMPAIGN SEASON: Ending the Immigration Spin - Just the Facts" by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) rebuts the most common immigration myths by drawing from a range of sources including work from the University of California; the Pew Hispanic Center; the White House Council of Economic Advisors; the Congressional Research Service; the Russell Sage Foundation; and the Federal Reserve Bank.

Here are the myths, the facts follow further below. If you want to download a copy of AILA's fact sheet on the myths of immigration, a pdf version is available on their website and on AILF's website.

MYTH #1: Enforcement-only policies are a practical solution to the problem of undocumented immigration.

MYTH #2: Immigrant workers suppress the wages of American workers.

MYTH #3: The nation spends billions of dollars on welfare for undocumented immigrants.

MYTH #4: Undocumented immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than are native-born citizens.

MYTH #5: Immigrants don't "assimilate" into U.S. society.

Salió de la capital Mexicana el 7 de octubre y esta semana llegó al frente de la Casa Blanca en la capital de Estados Unidos. El viaje culminará en Nueva York, en la Catedral de San Patricio.

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