Immigration attorney Marc Van Der Hout, who is representing Meg Whitman\'s former maid, said his undocumented client has been in the United States for nearly 20 years and has a long work history and family ties to bolster her quest for legal residency. \"There are many people who get to stay who were in her circumstances,\" Van Der Hout said of Nicky Diaz Santillan, housekeeper for Republican gubernatorial candidate Whitman for nine years.

Think Arizona’s SB1070 law is tough on undocumented immigrants? Well, not only are several other states currently crafting similar laws, but many are in an immigration law-passing frenzy. In the first half of this year, 44 state legislatures enacted 314 immigration laws and resolutions—21 percent more than in the same time period in 2009. Here are some of the harshest measures making life really hard for undocumented immigrants nationwide

SALT LAKE CITY — As 12 Utah legislators returned from Arizona on Tuesday, a nationally recognized civil rights attorney stopped in Salt Lake City Thursday to reinforce his support to the area\'s Hispanic community. Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Legal Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) made an appearance to the Beehive State on the heels of state lawmakers evaluating and gathering information on SB1070.

Here in Utah, the push toward tougher immigration laws has become increasingly tangled in Mormon doctrine as divided Latter-day Saints defend their politics by pointing to conflicting interpretations of what Jesus would do. Would God, one side asks, demand strict obedience to the law — and penalties to those who transgress it — as suggested in Mormonism’s Doctrine and Covenants 58:21? “Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land.”

SALT LAKE CITY — More than a dozen Utah officials returned from a \"fact finding\" trip to Arizona this week with the understanding that a strict immigration law could possibly hurt Utah\'s economy. The lieutenant governor, his chief of staff and 11 lawmakers traveled on their own dime to learn more about the implementation of Arizona\'s controversial immigration law.

Startling accusations Wednesday that GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman had an illegal immigrant as her housekeeper for nine years have all the elements of a classic late-campaign \"October surprise\" - a sobbing victim, a media-savvy attorney, charges of hypocrisy and dirty tricks.

SAN DIEGO — Why did Congress suddenly turn out the lights on the DREAM Act? A lot of Latinos would really like to know because they\'re trying to figure out — to borrow a line from President Obama in discussing the Gulf oil spill — \"whose ass to kick.\"

PHOENIX — Arizona officials on Monday reopened the investigation into a deputy’s explanation of how he was shot in the remote desert south of Phoenix amid speculation it was a hoax timed to enflame the debate over illegal immigration. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office announced its decision Monday after two nationally known forensic pathologists raised questions about a wound the deputy suffered in a Phoenix New Times story, and then later to other media outlets.

The Republican candidate for California governor Meg Whitman knowing employed an illegal Mexican immigrant as her housekeeper for nine years, it was alleged on Wednesday. Her former maid Nicky Diaz Santillan made the allegations and declared her intention to launch legal action through her attorney yesterday, claiming the U.S. government had alerted Ms Whitman back in 2003 about her dubious legal status.

Illegal immigration continues to flummox Republicans as they try to reconcile tough law enforcement with business-friendly guest-worker programs while not alienating Latinos stung by sharp rhetoric from some in the party.

The rough economy has made many people desperate for a job. In their eagerness for gainful employment, many people may overlook improper interview questions. Depending on how they are asked, questions about personal topics such as marital status, race and health are more than just poor manners -- they are illegal under federal and some state and local laws. These types of questions can be used to discriminate against applicants, and it is your right not to answer them.

SAN DIEGO — Why did Congress suddenly turn out the lights on the DREAM Act? A lot of Latinos would really like to know because they\'re trying to figure out — to borrow a line from President Obama in discussing the Gulf oil spill — \"whose ass to kick.\" The answer is more complicated than you think. Although you wouldn\'t know it from listening to the dozen or so immigration reform groups that are frantically spinning this as another example of Republican obstructionism and a GOP that is hostile to immigrants. Or to those elements of the national media that blame Republicans for every setback on immigration reform.

Eivan Kashat, a housewife and mother of four, is facing the prospect of being torn from her kids and deported to Iraq because of two weak moments in a department store several years ago.

Earmarks is not the dirty word his opponent is trying to make it out to be. That word Tuesday from Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Sam Granato. Granato has the endorsement of Logan Mayor Randy Watts, mainly because Granato has pledged to continue helping cities get federal funding the way Republican Senator Bob Bennett has done.

So now Kris Kobach\'s campaign has degenerated into expecting props for merely floating dreams of rewriting the U.S. Constitution. Last week the candidate for Kansas secretary of state gave a prime example of the contorted language of politics. Claim what you will do for future constituents, regardless of your ability to produce a result.

PHOENIX, Ariz.—Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has found himself at the center of yet another controversy, but this time the issue is not illegal immigration. A county budget report made public Wednesday accused his department of misspending as much as $80 million on immigration sweeps, public-corruption probes, and a range of other unauthorized activities and expenditures over the past five years.