The Week in Immigration News

By Julissa Treviño 3/5/10 2:40 PM

A roundup of the top immigration stories of the week:

- Yesterday, President Obama met with members of the Domestic Policy Council to talk strategy on immigration reform, focusing on ways to advance the efforts of Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who have been working on a bill for several months. The White House has agreed that the bill should include a path toward citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants, but that it would come with penalties for violating the law and a fine.

- A Texas judge has publicly denounced the volume of court cases involving non-violent undocumented immigrants in Texas. The mounting number of cases has become increasingly problematic for courts across the country, and U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin has issued an order challenging the U.S. attorney’s office to justify each illegal re-entry case brought before him. His action is unprecedented, say lawyers. “It appears the United States Attorney is not screening these cases to eliminate those persons who need no federal prosecution and should simply be returned to their own country,â€