It is long past time to reform an immigration system that right now doesn’t serve America as well as it should. We could be doing so much more to unleash our potential, if we just fix this aspect of our system. 

 

Speaking in the city with a large Asian population in the Chinatown neighbourhood, Obama said a quarter of the foreign-born population in the U.S. in 2011 came from Asian countries. 

 

More people were prosecuted for immigration violations in the last year than ever before. NPR’s Ted Robbins says most of the charges were illegal entry or illegal reentry into the U.S.. 

 

More than 97,000 defendants were charged with immigration crimes during the last federal fiscal year. That’s about 6% more than the year before, and 22% more than five years ago. The rise has not explained, but it correlates with the federal government’s operation streamline that’s the program in federal courts in which illegal crossers caught by the border patrol appear before magistrates and are sentenced in one day. The 97,000 number comes from the Justice Department through a Freedom of Information Act request by the track project of Syracuse University. Ted Robbins, NPR News.

 

Israel will send a team to Washington soon to consult on next steps with Iran. Now that the U.S. and five other world powers have signed an interim agreement with Tehran about its nuclear program. As NPR’s Emily Harris reports from Jerusalem Israel’s goal for a final agreement hasn’t changed.

 

Israel’s National Security advisor will lead the team. President Obama said Sunday he wants Israel and the U.S. to begin consultations immediately on the next round of negotiations with Iran. Israeli officials lobbied world leaders and members of Congress to try to influence the interim deal with Iran. A day after that deal was signed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his government’s pressure was partially successful. Although he still dismissed the value of the agreement overall. There’s much discussion in the Israeli media about whether tensions over Iran will affect other aspects of the U.S.-Israeli relationship. Netanyahu says his goal for a final agreement with Iran has not changed, make it impossible for Iran to develop a nuclear bomb. Emily Harris, NPR News, Jerusalem. 

 

American Airlines parent company is asking a bankruptcy court to approve a settlement with U.S. regulators, enabling it to tie the knot with U.S. airways to create the world’s largest airline. A lawyer representing AMR says the settlement involving Justice Department antitrust issues was not opposed by the company’s creditors. 

 

On Wall Street today, the Dow gained seven points to close at 16,072; the NASDAQ was up two points; the S&P 500 lost two points.

 

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Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he has told U.S. officials he has no intention of backing down from his refusal to sign a security agreement with the U.S. and instead plans a further deal to his successor. In  a statement, Karzai saying that he also asked for further  assurances the U.S. will not raid Afghan homes during a meeting with National Security Advisor Susan Rice. Karzai’s decision not to sign the security pact allowing thousands of Americans to remain in Afghanistan pass to 2014 deadline has casted in doubt plans to continue training operations there.

 

Christian organisations have vowed to fight a federal judge’s ruling that tosses out a long standing tax rehousing allowance for clergy. NPR’s John Burnett has more. 

 

The decision would do away with the 59-year-old IRS rule that permits ministers to avoid taxes on their housing. Federal Judge Barbara Crabb of Wisconsin wrote that this favouritism violates the first amendment by providing a state benefit to religious leaders but no one else.  The estimated 600,000 ministers in this country will not see any change in their tax status next April because the ruling has been stayed, pending an expected appeal. The plaintiff is the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison. Russell Moore , president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention said the clergy housing allowance is not government establishment of religion because it’s neutral to all religions. John Burnett, NPR News.

 

Number of hate crimes being reported by federal investigators is down for the latest reporting period. According to the FBI, there were just under 5,800 hate crimes reported last year, down from slightly more than 6,200, the previous year. About six of the incidents were motivated by single bias with most reported crimes involving either racial, sexual orientation or religious bias.