Reporting from San Francisco — A federal appeals court, reviewing Arizona\'s tough new immigration law while protestors outside shouted and waved signs, suggested during a hearing Monday that the state may be permitted to require police to investigate the immigration status of suspected criminals and yet be powerless to do anything about a person\'s illegal residency

Democrats are again taking Latinos for granted. They assume Latinos are likely to vote to re-elect Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) on Tuesday. The Democratic Party, they argue, has always been Latinos’ home. It’s the party for those who need a helping hand from government, for minorities. For most Democrats, it’s unimaginable that Latinos would desert the party and not vote for a liberal stalwart like Boxer.

The Republican class set to sweep into the House after Tuesday’s midterm elections could include several freshmen who have some real world experience cracking down on illegal immigration. Candidates like Lou Barletta, mayor of Hazleton, Pa., promise to pressure Republicans already in Congress to make sure immigration doesn’t get lost among all the talk about creating jobs and otherwise bolstering the nation’s still sagging economy.

SALT LAKE CITY — Contrary to majority public opinion, undocumented immigrants account for only a small percentage of violent crimes committed in Utah, researchers said at a Sutherland Institute forum Friday. According to a Dan Jones & Associates Poll 62 percent of Utahans \"definitely agree\" or \"probably agree\" that illegal immigrants commit a disproportionate amount of crime. In reality, only about 5 percent of criminals in Utah jails are undocumented immigrants, said Charlie Morgan, an associate professor of social science at Brigham Young University

Attitudes about illegal immigration reflect a conflicted Utah — tough but sympathetic, worried yet pragmatic — according to a new poll commissioned by The Salt Lake Tribune. Perhaps that discord is best illustrated by polling numbers that show 59 percent support legislation that would give those already here the opportunity to stay and apply for citizenship while at the same time, 47 percent believe immigrants have had an adverse effect on crime in their community. And 60 percent support requiring police officers to check legal residency when there is reasonable suspicion that a person arrested or pulled over is undocumented.

More than 6 in 10 Latinos in the United States say discrimination is a “major problem” for them, a significant increase in the last three years, according to a survey of Latino attitudes by the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group. In 2007, the center reported, 54 percent of Latinos said discrimination was a major problem. That year, nearly half of Latinos — 46 percent — cited language as the primary cause for that discrimination. In the new survey, 36 percent — the largest number — said that immigration status was the leading cause.

The gubernatorial candidate made the comment about the longtime employee who turned out to be an illegal immigrant on Wednesday. Thursday, she says that voters are more concerned about staying in their homes.

The nation\'s toughest immigration law has been in effect for three months. But after the federal courts prevented key portions from going into effect, it has failed to live up to both opponents\' worst fears and supporters\' greatest hopes. Immigrant-rights groups and major Arizona law-enforcement agencies say they\'ve heard of no arrests made or citations issued using the statutes created under Senate Bill 1070, and no Arizona resident has taken advantage of the portion of the law that allows them to sue an official or agency that is not enforcing federal immigration law to the fullest extent

An NPR story about the origins of Senate Bill 1070 drew an angry response Thursday from its author, who said the radio account exaggerated the role prison lobbyists had in drafting it. State Sen. Russell Pearce, who first introduced a bill in 2003 to require law enforcement to question individuals about their immigration status, denied a report by NPR reporter Laura Sullivan that \"Pearce\'s idea took shape\" last year at a conference of conservative lawmakers and corporate interests.

If you think you have a thankless job, just be thankful you’re not in John Morton’s shoes. Morton is the director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is his responsibility to round up and deport as many illegal immigrants as possible. Much to the chagrin of immigrant activists, Morton is good at what he does. From October 2009 through last month, ICE deported 392,000 illegal immigrants -- a record number. More than half had been convicted of criminal offenses. ICE has also gone after employers who hire illegal immigrants and imposed more than $50 million in fines during the last two years.

Embattled Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday his campaign is not hurt by the failure to enact immigration reform because Hispanic Nevadans \"know\" he has spent more time on immigration in the last two Congresses \"than on any other issue — period.\" In an interview with MSNBC\'s Rachel Maddow in Las Vegas, Reid — who likely needs high turnout from Nevada\'s Latino community to edge out tea party-backed opponent Sharron Angle — defended his credentials on immigration when asked of the validity of charges that \"doing right by Latino voters\" would have meant already passing a bill.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the DSCC, piled on the recent criticism of Sharron Angle\'s Latino-based attacks ads, calling her latest spot \"despicable\" and agreeing that it is indeed \"racist.\" Speaking with MSNBC\'s Lawrence O\'Donnell Tuesday, Menendez pounded the ad and claimed that it was part of what he saw as an effort to discourage Latino voters on election day

Meg Whitman wanted to portray a new Republican face to Latino voters. Then controversy erupted over the undocumented maid she fired, marring her outreach in the California governor race. Whitman, 54, EBay Inc.’s former chief executive officer, has faced $5 million in ad spending by labor allies of Democrat Jerry Brown, 72, in the final weeks before Nov. 2. A contest that had been too close to call shifted to a 48 percent to 42 percent lead for Brown, the attorney general and former two-term governor, a Rasmussen Reports poll released Oct. 23 showed.

Last year, two men showed up in Benson, Ariz., a small desert town 60 miles from the Mexico border, offering a deal. Glenn Nichols, the Benson city manager, remembers the pitch. \"The gentleman that\'s the main thrust of this thing has a huge turquoise ring on his finger,\" Nichols said. \"He\'s a great big huge guy and I equated him to a car salesman.\"

In the final week before the midterm elections, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown now has a commanding 10-point lead over GOP contender Meg Whitman, 49 percent to 39 percent, according to the latest Field Poll. The new poll, released Thursday in collaboration with New America Media, found that Brown is edging ahead among women, Latinos, independents and voters in all-important Los Angeles County.

If state officials were to put a face on a domestic-violence murder victim in Utah, it would be that of a married Latino woman who’d been with her partner eight years before being shot to death at home. That portrait comes from a new report released Tuesday by the Utah Department of Health’s Violence and Injury Prevention Program and highlights, among other findings, the need to reach out to underserved communities, officials said.