More problems in structuring immigration reform

• DMI Blog reports on the problems with the new face of immigration
  reform: employer sanctions for hiring undocumented workers. Author Suman Raghunathan explains that these sanctions are an underhanded approach to sidestep the main issue, which is not that employers hire undocumented workers, but rather that they exploit those workers with poor labor conditions and low pay.  Raghunathan cites numerous examples of employers that
  force undocumented immigrant workers into low wages, employer harassment, and
  no labor protection, a situation that is equally bad for undocumented workers and native born workers alike.
  • Our view: Holding employers accountable is important, but let's be
    clear about the real issues and make sure the frame of this debate doesn't
    shift away from what is important – that we're all in this together: African Americans,
    immigrants, native born workers and undocumented workers. If we improve working conditions for one
    group, they will be improved for all groups. Focusing on the worker sanctions Raghunathan highlights can only divide
    us and pit one group against the other. If we want to see real change, we need to work together. For more information about immigrants and
    their contributions to the workforce, check out our immigration reform fact
    sheet.
• Our friends at the Sentencing Project have released a new report: Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration by
  Race and Ethnicity (pdf).  This report compares the
  racial and ethnic disparities in incarceration in all 50 states, including
  prison and jail populations. Highlights
  include
  • African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six (5.6) times the rate of
    whites and Latinos at nearly double (1.8) the rate of whites.
  • There is broad variation among the states
    in the ratio of black-to-white incarceration, ranging from a high of 13.6-to-1 in Iowa to a low of 1.9-to-1 in Hawaii.
  • States with the highest black-to-white
    ratio are disproportionately located in the Northeast and Midwest, including
    the leading states of Iowa, Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Wisconsin.

For more information about racial disparities in
incarceration populations, check out our Criminal Justice fact sheet or visit The Sentencing Project.

• Facing
  South reports that John Edwards' Poverty Tour stopped
  in New Orleans,
  where the Senator spoke about his plan to create "50,000 stepping stone jobs"
  in places like schools, libraries and community to help revitalize the community
  and build a "work ethic."