Northwestern University professor Charles Mills married his wife Elle in 1993 to help her secure U.S. citizenship. The two are splitting ways, and Mills is on the hook for support payments — even though their “shell marriage” was never consummated. more ›

A documentary playing at the National Museum of Mexican Art Wednesday looks at one of the low water marks of the recent battle for immigration reform. more ›

The debate over immigration waxes and wanes with such predictable regularity that you could almost set your watch by it. Now more than ever it's crucial to look past the traffic jam that is the 24-hour news cycle, and a forthcoming program from the Chicago Film Archives will do just that. more ›

Both the passage of the Illinois DREAM Act and Gov. Quinn's decision to opt out of the Secure Communities program have caused quite a stir regarding immigrants' rights. The Department of Homeland Security rejected Quinn's attempt to opt out of Secure Communities, a program that calls for checks on immigration status by anyone arrested by local or state police. DHS officials told the Huffington Post that they will still require the state to share fingerprints with ICE. more ›

Gov. Quinn sent a letter to ICE yesterday stating that Illinois will withdraw from the Secure Communities program, saying that it the program is flawed and citing a conflict between its mission and the results of implementation. The Secure Communities program is a controversial federal program that calls for an automatic check of immigration status of anyone arrested by local or state police. According to the Tribune, the program is in effect in 1,200 jurisdictions in 42 states. more ›

The Illinois DREAM Act passed the state Senate yesterday in a 45-11 vote. The DREAM Act would establish a scholarship to dole out dollars to undocumented students for higher education. In addition, the bill would allow undocumented immigrants aged 18 to 29 to invest in the Bright Start and College Illinois programs. The bill was supported by 34 Democrats and 11 Republicans. more ›

A bill closely resembling Arizona’s controversial immigration law (SB1070), which requires law enforcement to detain or question anyone suspected of being undocumented, made its way into the Illinois General Assembly last week. Rep. Randy Ramey, Jr., a Republican representing the 55th district, introduced the Taxpayers Protection Act, which would require Illinois law enforcement to make a “reasonable attempt” to determine the immigration status of any person stopped, detained, or arrested before they are released. The bill would also impose penalties on immigrants not carrying residence permits at all times and provides for sanctions against employers that “knowingly or intentionally employ an unauthorized alien.” more ›

A government body with little oversight, slim repercussions and an exemption from the Freedom of Information Act is supposed to be protecting and serving the public. Instead, employees of the Cook County Adult Probation Department prefer the bare minimum, which led the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl. more ›

A bit of a shocker in the House of Representatives last night, as they voted to pass the DREAM Act by a 216-198 count. more ›

Another day, another Rahm Emanuel-related news item. While Rahm is widely expected to announce his candidacy this Friday, a group of Chicagoans are asking Rahm not to leave D.C.: immigration reform advocates. Maria Pesqueira, president of Mujeres Latinas en Acción, has asked Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and Chicago congressman Luis Gutierrez, both Democrats, to ask Emanuel to stay in Washington until immigration reform has become law. more ›

In what turned out to be one of the funnier Congressional hearings in a while - though don't get us started on what a riot anything involving Ollie North was - Stephen Colbert showed up before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Security earlier today. In character. Hilarity ensued. more ›

Republican Senate Candidate Mark Kirk is launching a new ad today, targeted at Spanish-speaking voters with roots outside of the United States. The ad, in which Kirk shows off his Spanish-speaking chops, touts the congressman's efforts to bring together families that are split between the U.S. and Mexico. "I coordinated the Project 'Abuelita' that reunited grandparents with their grandchildren in Illinois," Kirk says in the ad. "Working as your Senator, I will help Latino families who want to start their own businesses and combat gangs. These are difficult times. Latino families in Illinois deserve a senator who works for them." Kirk is referring to a program that helped secure tourist visas for Mexican grandparents that have family in Waukegan, which is in Kirk's congressional district. more ›

The national fervor surrounding Arizona’s controversial immigration legislation shows no signs of tapering off. While Sarah Palin is urging states to follow Arizona down the road to a “papers, please” society, even some officials who have closer ties to the issue question the state’s recent immigration law. The Tribune reports in a visit to Chicago yesterday, John Morton, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Arizona’s new law is not “good government.” In a meeting with the Trib’s editorial board, Morton also said that his agency may not process illegal immigrants arrested in Arizona under the new law. While he did say that his agency would step up enforcement of immigration laws, he said “the best way to reduce illegal immigration is through a comprehensive federal approach, not a patchwork of state laws.” more ›

We told you earlier today about the planned protest at Wrigley Field before the Cubs-Diamondbacks game, aimed at the state of Arizona over its new controversial immigration law. Friend of Chicagoist Jason Muelver swung by and snapped some photos of the protest for us. Jason guessed the group of protesters to be around 50 people holding signs but that some passers-by, such as Paul D'Amato (photo 5) joined in. more ›

Arizona's controversial immigration law (SB 1070) has angered many around the nation in recent days, with everyone from Canadian dream-pop outfit Stars to San Francisco and Los Angeles city employees mulling boycotts of the state. Here in Chicago, activists, who demonstrated this week in Broadview, are preparing to rally against the law as part of the annual May Day event. The rally, set for Saturday at 1 p.m., will begin from Union Park, followed by a march downtown. more ›

Arrests at an immigration reform protest in Broadview this morning highlight a busy week of stories across the nation surrounding the issue. more ›

Chicago's City Council passed a resolution Wednesday demanding that the Obama Administration tackle comprehensive immigration reform. “Our President — a President we’re very proud of — promised to address this issue after the first 90 days of his administration, then after 180 days, then after a year. It’s been 14 months,” said 25th Ward Alderman Danny Solis. “In the meantime, there’s been more deportations. There’s been families that have been broken. It’s a national disgrace. ... This has to stop. Enough is enough.” more ›

We love a good cultural experience here at Chicagoist, but, like you, don't always want to pay out the nose for it. Good news: for a measly four bucks, you can meander through the Swedish American Museum in Andersonville, which contains rotating art exhibits and a permanent exhibition on Swedish immigration to Chicago. more ›

Taking the reins from Hispanic-focused immigration rallies, hundreds of Asian and Pacific Islander immigration advocates will gather for a “town hall meeting” in North Park today, Chicago Breaking News reports. more ›

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were busy in Chicagoland this past week, rounding up people with known gang ties in the city and various suburbs. 19 arrests were made in Chicago, Addison, Bensenville, Blue Island, Carpentersville, and Hanover Park. The majority arrested reportedly are in the U.S. illegally from Mexico, with one person from Guatemala, another from El Salvador. All 19 are facing deportation. ICE also tagged for deportation 6 known gang members already sitting in various county jails, who will be turned over to the federal agency after they serve their time. more ›

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear the case of Ignacio Carlos Flores-Figueroa, an illegal immigrant and worker at an East Moline steel plant who earlier this year was convicted of aggravated identity theft and sentenced to 75 months in the federal pokie. (That's a lot of tax dollars going to incarcerate another country's citizen. Just saying.) The issue in this case involves the federal charge of aggravated identity theft and intent: i.e., must the government show that a defendant knew that the identification he or she used, owned or transferred belonged to somebody else in order to score a conviction? more ›

Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran says rising crime is due to Chicago's role as a "sanctuary" for illegal immigrants. He says there's only so much he can do to stop "the terror inflicted by many of these illegal aliens." And then the fun started. more ›

As promised, the city council's Human Rights Committee held a hearing Tuesday to investigate who has been "tipping off" the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, leading to the arrest of nearly 60 people with Spanish surnames. "We will not tolerate this in Chicago...We want to know where it's coming from and who is filing these reports," said 26th Ward Alderman Billy Ocasio, chairman of the City Council's Human Relations Committee. more ›

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a new self-deportation program Tuesday. Chicago, along with four other cities, has been chosen for the pilot program, known as "Scheduled Departure". The program asks illegal aliens who have already been ordered by a court to leave the country, but have stayed illegally, to voluntarily to report to ICE to coordinate their departure. According to ICE, the program is designed "for fugitives with no criminal record, who pose no danger to the community and who have the ability to verify their departure from the United States." Fugitives are aliens who were previously ordered removed from the US but stayed illegally. more ›

Led by 25th Ward Alderman Danny Solis, immigration rights activists and several aldermen announced that they will hold hearings next week to investigate claims that city and county officials allegedly violated immigrants civil rights. "We understand the value that immigrants hold in our society, whether documented or undocumented," said Solis. The allegations include charges that undocumented immigrants are being held in custody longer than the 48 hours required by law, and that city police have been pulling over Latino drivers to inquire about their immigration status. Such profiling is prohibited by a 2006 city ordinance. "This is a very serious issue," said County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado. more ›

Yesterday's protests brought together thousands of immigrant-rights supporters and activists and included performances by Tom Morello, Perry Farrell and Ben Harper, plus a speech from Mayor Daley. [S-T] more ›

Today's immigration-reform march downtown is drawing thousands of protesters calling for immigrant rights and the opportunity for millions of undocumented residents to become US citizens. While the rally is thus far much smaller than the 2006 and 2007 protests, officials are still expecting around 50,000 people to gather near Federal Plaza. more ›

The Adalberto United Methodist Church and its leader Reverend "Slim" Coleman have returned to the forefront of the immigration debate. You might remember them as the church who gave refuge for a year to Elvira Arellano, an illegal immigrant facing deportation for falsifying documents in order to secure employment at O'Hare. Arellano left the church last August and was subsequently arrested in Los Angeles and escorted to the Mexico border. more ›

Here’s what you missed while you were sneezing and burning: Guest #18, your comments are hilarious, but how do you fare with a live audience? If you think you’ve got the chops, submit a 1-2 minute video to Time Out Chicago by September 20. Best entries will be screened online for their discerning website visitors. The top four will compete live for the chance to be crowned “Chicago’s Funniest Person.” (... at least according to... more ›

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked... more ›