Weekly Immigration News Round-Up, 10/15

Mexico is setting up a call center in Tuscon, Ariz., to help Mexican citizens who run into immigration problems. Mexican officials say the center is designed to help illegal workers, and that it was prompted by an increase in anti-immigrant sentiment in Arizona. The center, which will have a toll-free number and be staffed 24 hours a day, is to be the first of several in border states.
A California anti-immigrant group linked to FAIR-founder John Tanton is running an ad alleging immigration contributes to global warming. Their stated aim is to put the immigration issue back in the spotlight.
More than half a million illegal immigrants are still in the country because they defied deportation orders, the Associated Press reports. As long as they stay out of trouble, most of them won’t draw ICE’s attention, since the immigration agency places a priority on criminals.
Immigrants’ rights groups are planning a protest for January 21, to remind President-elect Barack Obama about his promise to reform immigration. Latinos, who supported Obama by overwhelming margins, hope the future president remembers their support.
ICE will scale back a planned crack-down on federal contractors after business groups protested the plan. Only contractors that do $100,000 or more in federal work will have to use the computer system E-Verify to check the status of their workers.