Tagged: Immigration

SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon House has approved a controversial bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to qualify for in-state college tuition rates. Supporters called Friday’s vote historic. But not very many students are expected to actually take advantage of the measure.

SALEM, Ore. – Supporters of a bill to allow some undocumented students to qualify for in-state tuition rates packed several hearing rooms at the Oregon Capitol Wednesday. They refer to the legislation as “tuition equity.” A House committee held a public hearing on the issue.

Among those to testify was Karla Castaneda, a junior at Parkrose High School in Portland.

Momentum is building in Salem for a bill to give children of undocumented immigrants in-state tuition rates at Oregon universities. Gov. John Kitzhaber threw his weight behind the idea Monday.

SPOKANE, Wash. - As Congress prepares for a debate over immigration reform, one group of immigrants in the Northwest quietly completed their paths to citizenship Tuesday. Fourteen people became U.S. citizens at a ceremony in Spokane, Wash.

One of them was Mukti Ryan. She wanted to be able to travel more easily with her American husband and daughter, even though she had to give up her Indian citizenship.

“India doesn't allow dual citizenship, so I can't call myself an Indian citizen anymore," Ryan says. "It's a bittersweet feeling.”

RICHLAND, Wash. – A group of Northwest farmers plans to bring in thousands of legal Mexican guest workers to their fields and orchards this year. Last season many farmers were scrambling to pick their crops because of a worker shortage.

The federal H-2A guest worker program is so cumbersome and expensive, that most farmers haven’t wanted to use it. Employers have to pay for transportation, approved housing and usually more money than the going wage for workers already in the U.S.