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In Arizona there is a fierce battle to turn out the vote in the face of SB1070, Governor Jan Brewer and Sherriff Joe Arpaio. In Arizona where Hispanics make up 30.8% of the vote, turning them out in large numbers could be significant in a Governor's race which is tightening.

The Public News Service has more, in their article AZ Latinos Dispute "Apathetic" Voter Label:

A new survey from the Pew Hispanic Center characterizes Latino voters as "less motivated" to cast a ballot this fall than voters in general. Only half the Latinos surveyed said they were absolutely certain they'll vote.

But Tania Marquez of the One Arizona coalition says a new Rocky Mountain Poll shows that's not the case here, in the state she describes as "ground zero" of the immigration debate.

"At least 73 percent of Latinos – of registered voters, Hispanics in Arizona – are strongly planning to vote this November."

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez also  reports on a growing youth movement in Arizona to register Latino voters:

Arizona has a history of passing questionable Anti-Immigration laws, recently that has been SB1070, in the not so distant past there has been the 2007 Arizona Legal Workers Act, which required all business to use E-Verify to discern whether or not their workers were in the country legally.  

With all of the concern that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has raised regarding the "problems" associated with undocumented immigration, cracking down on those in the country illegally and employers who knowingly hire them would make sense.

Not so say local businesses, who have benefitted enormously from the cheap labor provided by immigrant workers.

A Phoenix Fox News affiliate has the full story HERE, excerpts and video are below:

Arizona's employer sanctions law passed in 2007. The controversial and strict immigration law penalizes business owners who knowingly hire people who are in the country illegally.

The law requires employers in Arizona to use the ’E- Verify’ system to verify the employment authorization of all new employees hired after December 31, 2007. But is it working?

However E-Verify is problematic, as it often does not work:

14 people were arrested during an identity theft sweep Tuesday by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. The manager of that business says he used E-Verify -- and everyone passed.

Phoenix's Fox News station convened a debate between Randy Pulled, Arizona Republican Chairman, who supports employer sanctions, and Dave Seldon, a lawyer who will argue the law is unconstitutional before the U.S. Supreme Court. The video is below:

A federal judge has denied a motion by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu to block lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of SB1070.

Michael Kiefer of the Arizona Republic has the full story HERE: 

A federal judge has denied motions by Gov. Jan Brewer, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the tough Arizona immigration law referred to as Senate Bill 1070.


U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton issued a detailed ruling Friday allowing the lawsuit to go forward. In her ruling, Bolton found that the plaintiffs, led by the Phoenix advocacy group Friendly House and the American Civil Liberties Union, had standing to bring the lawsuit and that the moment was "ripe" to do so.

Bolton actually found merit in the lawsuits against SB1070:

And she found merit in their arguments that portions of the controversial law may violate the Fourth and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable search and seizure; the 14th Amendment includes the "equal protection clause," which forbids unequal treatment for different classes of people or racial discrimination.

NDN will bring more on this as it develops.

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is no stranger to controversy, having been a passionate defender of Arizona's anti-immigrant law SB1070 and awarding private prison contracts to companies that would benefit from said law, yet despite all of that she has enjoyed a huge lead in the governors race against Democrat Terry Goddard.

However, wiith a little under a month left Goddard, on the back of a huge advantage in the Hispanic community, is closing the gap.

CNN's Rebecca Stewart has the full story and polling break out here, according to the article Goddard was down by 20 points in July is now within striking distance:

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona has a narrow lead over Democratic challenger Terry Goddard in her bid for a full term in office, according to a new survey.

A Rocky Mountain Poll released Monday indicates that Brewer faces stiff competition from Goddard, the state's attorney general, when it comes to registered voters, with Brewer holding a 38 to 35 point advantage among registered voters, with more than one in five undecided.

With a sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points for registered voters, the survey indicates that this race is a statistical dead heat. Brewer led by 20 points in a Rocky Mountain Poll conducted in July

Goddard has benefited enormously from Hispanic voter intent in the state:

The Rocky Mountain poll also indicates that Goddard largely benefits from Latino support, with 60 percent of the community stating that they are committed to voting for him. Thirteen percent of the Latino community supports Brewer, who has received scrutiny for the controversial immigration and border security bill that she signed into law. It requires individuals who are not American citizens to carry registration documents required by federal law. The bill, titled "Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act," authorizes state and local law officers to enforce federal immigration laws.

Goddard also leads Brewer among women voters in the state:

The survey indicates that Goddard leads among women voters in Arizona 43 to 31 percent while male voters break for Brewer 44 to 28 percent.

And for those who have long ago written off this campaign as an easy victory for Brewer there is still a sizable portion of the state who does not know who they will vote for:

Both candidates will need to convince those who have yet to make up their minds about Arizona's gubernatorial election if they want to move into the governor's mansion this fall. There are plenty of voters to reach, as fifteen percent of likely Arizona voters remain undecided.

Lou Dobbs appeared last night on MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell's Last Word were he debated The Nation reporter Isabel Macdonald, who wrote a whithering expose on Dobbs use of undocumented immigrant labor.

The debate spanned many topics, but a couple of things are clear:

1. Dobb's believes he did nothing wrong.

2. Businesses that use contractors should be held accountable for using undocumented labor, except when said businesses are owned by Lou Dobbs.

The videos are below:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Erin Kelly of the Arizona Republic has an article up on the Arizona District 8 race between Democratic incumbent Gabrielle Giffords and Republican challenger Jesse Kelly . The story entitled Gabrielle Giffords, Jesse Kelly race all about immigration,  does a great job of laying out the Republican strategy of using immigration and border enforcement as a wedge issue.

Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords talks about how she pushed the Obama administration to deploy the troops and helped secure $600 million in funding to add more technology and Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

"It's a full ramp-up," she said. "We're finally getting the attention we need."

But her opponent in the Nov. 2 congressional election, Republican businessman Jesse Kelly, said Giffords hasn't done enough. He is calling for the construction of a double-layer border fence, the hiring of even more Border Patrol agents and the deployment of 10,000 National Guard troops - more than eight times the 1,200 sent by the Obama administration.

"Gabrielle Giffords has betrayed southern Arizona by refusing to secure the border," Kelly said.

Jessie Kelly's assertion that Gabrielle Giffords has refused to secure the border is an outright lie, and a key component to an anti immigrant political strategy.

No matter how secure the border becomes, no matter how much money, predator drones and fences are built it will never be enough for certain groups. Kelly's assertion is especially egregious given that just this week Department of Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano announced record numbers of immigrant deportations and the Obama Administration has spent unprecedented amounts of money on securing the border.

Just in case there was any doubt that both Secretary Napolitano and President Obama and by extension Congressional Democrats are serious (for better or worse) about border security here are the raw numbers:

For DHS In fiscal year 2010, ICE set a record for overall removals of illegal aliens with:

More than 392,000 removals nationwide.

Half of those removed—more than 195,000—were convicted criminals.

The fiscal year 2010 statistics represent increases of:

More than 23,000 removals overall and 81,000 criminal removals compared to fiscal year 2008.

A more than 70 percent increase in removal of criminal aliens from the previous administration

For President Obama and Congress, which passed an expansive border security package this year which included:

Additional Funding for Border Personnel ($254 million)

$176 million for 1,000 new Border Patrol agents to form a “strike force” to be deployed at areas most needed
$39 million for Customs and Border Protection (to keep current levels of officers
$29 million for 250 new Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of entry
$10 million for investigators to stop corruption in border patrol and customs and border protection

Additional Funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ($80 million)

Jessie Kelly and the GOP argument that Gabrielle Giffords and by extension Democrats are  weak on border security is an outright lie, period, end of story.

Former CNN News Anchor Lou Dobb's spent the latter part of his career on television gernerally demonizing immigrants. Often he would unleash his most scathing condemnations on businesses that knowingly hired undocumented immigrant labor.

Fast forward to today, and it turns out Dobb's has hired 5 undocumented immigrants to work at his house in New Jersey.

Isabel Macdonald of the Nation broke the story HERE, it is really long, definitely read it, but for the highlights Michael Calderone of the Politico gives a good synapses HERE:

Lou Dobbs has long railed against illegal immigration and the employers who hire undocumented workers. Dobbs generated controversy—and faced boycotts—for attacking "illegal aliens" as host of a nightly CNN show. And since leaving the network in December 2009, Dobbs has kept talking about the issue in interviews,  in which he's also left open the possibility of running for Senator or President.

As it turns out he has always hired undocumented immigrants:

The Nation magazine, in a year-long investigation conducted with the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, "found that Dobbs has relied for years on undocumented labor for the upkeep of his multimillion-dollar estates and the horses he keeps for his 22-year-old daughter, Hillary, a champion show jumper."

The Nation's Isabel Macdonald writes that while Dobbs has bashed employers for hiring immigrants without papers, he "has been far from vigilant about the status of workers laboring on his own properties." (The Nation's politics are left of center, and the magazine has long editorialized against Dobbs and those who agree with him on immigration.)

From the sounds of it Dobb's used many undocumented immigrants for long periods of time:

Macdonald spoke with several immigrants who have were employed to work on winter property and helped with the upkeep of  Dobbs' horses at stables in Vermont and Florida. "I looked after Dobbs's horses while I was illegal," said Marco Esperanza. Another worker said that he believed Hillary Dobbs knew they didn't have papers. (The workers did not give their real names for fear or deportation).

Macdonald wrote that another worker, Rodrigo Ortega, worked on the garden at Dobbs' Florida property. On one occasion, Ortega said that Lou Dobbs—who referred to himself as "Luis"—instructed him in Spanish to talk to his boss about moving a specific plant. Macdonald interviewed other immigrants who worked at the holiday home.

Dobb's has yet to release a comment but The Nation was kind enough to provide video of his comments lambasting businesses that hire undocumented immigrants:

Today Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton announced on a conference call record breaking immigration enforcement statistics.

From the press release, enforcement statistics achieved under the Obama administration—including unprecedented numbers of convicted criminal alien removals and overall alien removals in fiscal year 2010.

In fiscal year 2010, ICE set a record for overall removals of illegal aliens with:

• More than 392,000 removals nationwide.
• Half of those removed—more than 195,000—were convicted criminals.

The fiscal year 2010 statistics represent increases of:

• More than 23,000 removals overall and 81,000 criminal removals compared to fiscal year 2008.
• A more than 70 percent increase in removal of criminal aliens from the previous administration

DHS has also expanded the Secure Communities initiative:

• —which uses biometric information and services to identify and remove criminal aliens in state prisons and local jails—from 14 jurisdictions
• in 2008 to more than 660 today, including all jurisdictions along the Southwest border.
• DHS is on track to expand this program to all law enforcement jurisdictions nationwide by 2013.
• This year alone, Secure Communities has resulted in the arrest of more than 59,000 convicted criminal aliens,
• Including more than 21,000 convicted of major violent offenses like murder, rape, and the sexual abuse of children.

Since January 2009, ICE has:

• Audited more than 3,200 employers suspected of hiring illegal labor.
• Debarred 225 companies and individuals,
• Imposed approximately $50 million in financial sanctions—more than the total amount of audits and debarments than during the entire previous administration.

NDN has written extensively on the hardships that immigrants face as they attempt to cross over from Mexico to the United States, some of our work can seen HERE and HERE. One story in particular however, Deaths of Immigrants Crossing Sonoran Desert on Rise, has broken into the national media stream.

NPR's Ted Robbins has more in his story Record Number of Illegal's Die Crossing Border:

Authorities have discovered 252 bodies in the Arizona desert over the past year. That is a record.

They are the remains of migrants, who died trying to cross into the U.S. illegally. But overall, the number of people crossing illegally is down, according to the Border Patrol.

The increased number of deaths can be attributed to border partitions that have gone up along the southern part of the country, but have not in fact been finished, and serve merely to push immigrants towards dangerous terrain.

So, why the increase in the number of bodies?

In recent years, the U.S. government has built a border fence, improved technology and hired thousands more Border Patrol agents.

That has helped reduce the number of people caught crossing illegally, but it's also pushed crossers into more remote and dangerous places to avoid detection. Places where sore feet or a broken ankle can mean death from dehydration or exposure.

If nothing else, the increased deaths are a testament to the improved presence of the Border Patrol and overall security along the border.

"We're getting more skeletal remains," Parks adds. "There's greater presence out there by the Border Patrol and whoever, and they're finding more people who've been out there for awhile."

The Border Patrol also reports a record number of rescues since last October.

The Border Patrol is quick to point out that it is not their presence that has increased deaths, rather it is human smugglers who are to blame.

Agent Mario Escalante blames the increases on human smugglers who lure naive crossers into dangerous situations.

"They weren't told that they were gonna have to walk for days. They weren't told that they were gonna have to go over mountain ranges. They weren't told that they were gonna have to sleep in the hot desert or maybe the cold desert," Escalante says.

However, smugglers have become more prevalent along the border as a result of increased Border Patrol presence. Human Smugglers have begun marketing themselves to poor immigrants as the only alternative to escaping the increased presence of Border Patrol agents. For more background on this read this article from the Los Angeles Times on Human Smuggling and the border.

One thing is for certain, despite the risk of a terrible death immigrants continue to cross, and until Congress acts on a comprehensive solution to the problem, the situation will only get worse

Frank James of NPR has a story up entitled Latino Political Sentiment Remains A GOP Dilemma. The story focuses on the quandary that the GOP's current temprement has had on their voting outreach efforts to Hispanic's.

James cites a new Pew Hispanic Center Poll, which shows the GOP is in deep trouble with the Hispanics, from the story:

It would be hard to find stronger proof that former President George W. Bush's dream of pulling significant numbers of Latinos into the Republican Party has been pretty much dashed than the newly released poll from Pew Hispanic Center.

The poll also shows that while Republicans are struggling to connect with Hispanic voter's Democrats are doing just fine.

The poll indicates that Latinos have cast their lot with the Democratic Party and not in a tentative way.

According to the poll, 65 percent of Latinos expected to support the Democrat in their local congressional races compared with 22 percent who planned to support the Republican.

More importantly these numbers appear to be somewhat consistent with numbers that were recorded in 2008 with the presidential elections:

Those numbers bore some resemblance to the 67 percent of Hispanics who supported President Barack Obama in 2008 versus the 31 percent who voted for Sen. John McCain.

McCain's percentage compared with 44 percent who voted for Bush's re-election in 2004 compared with the 35 percent of Latinos who voted for him in 2000.

Looking at the numbers more closely, Hispanics are also skeptical that Republicans have their feelings at heart:

For Republicans, one finding that could prove especially troubling is contained in the response to the question, which party is more concerned about Latinos?

Latino respondents said it was the Democratic Party and not by a small margin. It was 44 percent to six percent.