News briefs – Immigration

* The U.S. Senate is expected to vote today on the DREAM Act; the proposal would grant a path for legalization of immigrant children who have completed a minimum two years of military service or post-secondary education.

* Representatives of a labor union representing construction workers in the Dominican Republic have denounced the “quiet invasion” of Haitians into that industry. Of the approximately one million Haitians live in the neighboring Dominican Republic most work in the construction and sugar industries.

* Los Angeles police chief William Bratton and a former White House antiterrorism czar have publicly backed a New York plan to provide driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, a bill that would overturn the license plan was passed in the state Senate but is unexpected to be approved by the Assembly.

* Chile’s government has offered amnesty to about 20,000 illegal immigrants residing there. In addition, Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley announced a plan that would allow migrant laborers in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America to shift their retirement benefits to their home nations.

Sources (English)- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, USA TODAY, New York Times – City Room, Gothamist, BBC News, International Herald Tribune

Source (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Image- NPR