Today's News and Commentary – March 24

The Chicago Tribune reports that the well-known immigration reform activist, Mexican Elvira Arellano, is back at a church in Chicago where she previously lived for a year in order to escape deportation. Arellano hid in the church from 2006 to 2007 when she was discovered, separated from her son, and sent back to Mexico. Last week, Arellano returned to the U.S. with her sons as part of a protest against President Obama’s immigration policies.  She was captured but released by authorities and allowed to travel to Chicago.  She will have to face an immigration hearing in September.

Meanwhile, USA Today discusses diverse reactions to President Obama’s announcement that deportations of illegal immigrants should be carried out more “humanely.” Advocates like the National Immigration Law Center hope that the President is signaling an end to deportations, while the Federation for American Immigration Reform argues that such a move would violate the President’s legal obligations.

In international news, the New York Times reports that the employees of Israel’s Foreign Ministry are on strike over pay and working conditions.  Foreign Ministry employees are paid on a different scale than other government employees, which the Ministry says has resulted in substandard and unacceptable salaries.  On the other hand, the Finance Ministry says that Foreign Ministry employees received a 20% pay hike just two years ago.  As a result of the strike, more than 103 Israeli diplomatic missions across the world are closed.

The New York Times also reports that the Euro Zone economy expanded in March.  The growth is driven by strong recovery in Europe’s labor market, particularly in France. The stabilization in the job market across Europe is in sharp contrast to this time last year, when the region was facing rising unemployment rates.