Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
The Department of Homeland Security wants to prioritize dangerous criminals for deportation, and state laws that fast-track undocumented prisoners are helping. Oklahoma, Arizona, Puerto Rico, New York and Rhode Island all have methods on the books that hasten the deportation of illegal immigrant criminals — and save space in prisons for criminals legally in the country.
The Oklahoman’s Vallery Brown checked in on the Oklahoma Criminal Illegal Alien Rapid Repatriation Act, which deported 185 “non-violent” criminal illegal aliens in its first year. The law was intended as a cost-saving measure, and it has been: Officials said the law saved the state millions of dollars by freeing up space in state prisons.
Still, there’s one problem: Some of the deportees come back, particularly if they have family in the U.S. The Oklahoman reports at least eight of the 185 criminals deported during the act’s first year are known to have returned to the country. If immigrants return, they will again be a drain on taxpayers: convicts caught reentering the U.S. can receive up to 20-year sentences and are sent to Oklahoma afterward to finish out their pre-deportation sentences.
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