It seems that history is going to repeat itself. It was November 1986 when the US Representative, Mr. Dan Lungren congratulated the President Ronald Reagan after he approved a bipartisan immigration bill. It was the first bill in the history of US to legalize the largest number of illegal immigrants or unauthorized workers. But what happened after the approval? Did it become possible for the officials to restrict the entry of illegal workers in US? No, the subsequent three decades proved to be failure for the implementation of immigration laws. It allowed many illegal immigrants to soar in Massachusetts. A Republican “Lungren” said, “There was no enforcement and I mean literally, no enforcement”.

So, passing a new immigration bill will not bring any pivotal and concluding solution but strong measures for implementation will prove to be the key for success. Congress is again planning for a new roller coaster immigration discussion. A “gang of eight” is busy in drafting new set of rules for the solution of immigration problem. There are four Republicans and four Democrats with a plan to introduce their bill on coming Tuesday. There is huge struggle and hard work behind this draft and the group of eight has negotiated for months to finalize this bipartisan immigration bill. President Barack Obama is hoping for the advancement of one of his top priorities of 2013 in Congress.

The major milestones for this bill emphasize on the opening of official doors to eleven million people who are living illegitimately in the United States of America. It is quite obvious and expected that the bill will get acceptance from Congress but the most difficult part will start after approval. An Iowa Republican, Senator Charles Grassley said that he has warned his colleagues that enforcement must come first. He was the one who voted for the act of 1986 to legalize the illegal immigrants and put a lock on the doors for illegal workers. However, it could not become possible and the illegal immigrants who accounted for 5000 in 1990 increased to 75000 in 2010 as reported by Pew Hispanic Center. Moreover, Grassley said, “I want immigration reform, but the point is that the advocates for immigration reform are the ones that want to make everything real easy; Well, it ain’t gonna be easy.”

But on the other side, supporters of this forth coming immigration law argument that they only have one way to make it possible and that is to offer legal citizenship to illegal workers residing in the country. They are supporting to legalize eleven million immigrants that are four times bigger than the illegal immigrants legalized through 1986 law. Rocio Saenz (SEIU Local 615 President) said, “We understand this is going to be difficult, but this is the time to find a solution, now, once and for all, not piecemeal.”

At last, it will not be wrong to say that Democrats are going to enjoy win-win situation whether Republicans choose to pass these new laws or put all this down. According to Morrison, “The Republicans need this”. According to him, if Republicans fail to pass this law then Democrats will get a chance to blame them in the coming elections of 2014 and 2016.

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Swedish blue-collar workers increasingly sympathize with the anti-immigration Sweden Democrat party, an opinion poll review showed on Friday.

Members of the unions within the Swedish Trade Union Confederation LO, the umbrella blue-collar union organization in Sweden, still in large part support the opposition left-of-centre Social Democrat party.

However, the Sweden Democrats have now surpassed the Moderate Party, which leads the current government coalition, to become the second most popular political party among LO members, a review of opinion polls ordered by Sveriges Television (SVT) showed.

"One in six LO members would vote for the Sweden Democrats if we went to the polls today," Sifo pollster Toivo Sjörén commented on the findings. "Immigration has been in spotlight so we see increased Sweden Democrat support not only within LO but within other groups."

The review looked at opinion polls conducted in the autumn of 2012 and over the holiday season. About 4,800 people were surveyed.

The Local, 8 February 2013

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A Swedish lawmaker once seen as a future leader of the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats party announced Sunday he was quitting parliament and the party after a racist scandal.

Erik Almqvist, 31, was one of three party officials caught on film hurling racist abuse at two men, arming themselves with iron bars after a heated argument outside a fast-food restaurant, and calling a woman who tried to intervene a little "whore".

"No, this is not your country, it's my country," Almqvist is seen telling one of the men in the clip.

Almqvist, who had been the party's economic affairs spokesman, stepped down from that position in mid-November when the Expressen newspaper published excerpts of the two-year-old video clip, filmed by the party's justice spokesman Kent Ekeroth on his cell phone.

On Sunday Almqvist said he was leaving the party immediately and would resign from his seat in parliament once it reconvened after the Christmas break. He will be replaced in parliament by Anna Hagwall, 59, the Sweden Democrats said.

"This has been an incredibly difficult and weighty decision for me. I realise that my behaviour that night two-and-a-half years ago has hurt both the party and me as a politician," Almqvist said in a statement on Sunday. "I have decided, after consultation with the party, to resign from both parliament and the party," he said.

Ekeroth meanwhile announced after the film clip emerged in November that he was taking a temporary break from his position as justice spokesman, but he remains a member of parliament.

Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Aakesson recently announced a purge of racist and "extremist" elements in the party.

Recent polls have suggested that the party has been unharmed by the scandal, with its support hovering around 10 percent. The party entered Sweden's parliament in 2010 after winning 5.7 percent of the vote.

AFP, 30 December 2012

Update:  See "'You won't get rid of me': Almqvist", The Local, 31 December 2012

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A 15-year-old boy mailed the Sweden Democrats seeking the party's view on Islam for a school project and received a link to a website showing close up photos of mutilated, decapitated and burned bodies.

"I was shocked. I had no idea how I was supposed to respond to his mail. I can't describe the feeling, the photos were so horrible," the student, named as Johan, told the Svenska Dagbladet daily.

The teenager was tasked with writing a project about Islam and was told to gather information and attitudes to Islam. He mailed an address on the Sweden Democrats website intended for "general questions about the Sweden Democrats or the party's national policy" and received a reply from Ted Ekeroth, a Lund county councillor.

Ekeroth sent Johan the link which he explained shows victims of Islamic terrorism in southern Thailand. The photos include bloodied bodies and body parts including close ups of severely burned corpses and beheaded torsos. The link was attached in response to a question from the 15-year-old on whether the Sweden Democrats think the media presented a balanced view of Islam.

Ekeroth explained in a mail to SvD that he had warned Johan about the shocking images, adding that he had no idea whether the photos were genuine.

Sweden Democrat spokesperson Martin Kinnunen has described the material on the website as "unsuitable" and said that it was a mistake for Ekeroth to have sent it.

Kinnunen denied that the incident constitutes a breach of party leader Jimmie Åkesson's call for a zero tolerance policy on racism, but said that Ekeroth would no longer be tasked with answering the party's correspondence.

The Local, 24 November 2012

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Some 6,000 members of the Sweden Democrats will be receiving an anti-Islam newspaper at the end of the month, courtesy of the party. "Dispatch International is a paper that plays an important role in the societal debate," MP and editor in chief for the Sweden Democrat paper SD–Kuriren, Richard Jomshof, told local paper Sydsvenskan.

The publication, which is connected to the Swedish anti-Islam group "Freedom of the Press Society" (Tryckfrihetssällskapet), recently featured an article where a professor argues that the Muslim call to prayer should not only be seen as that but also as a threat. The Freedom of the Press Society has previously also posted anti-Semitic comments on its Facebook page.

As the paper will be sent together with the existing Sweden Democrat publication, the party will pay for postage. "There are many connections between us and the Freedom of the Press Society, both personal and ideological. The paper will be sent as a supplement to our paper, so it won't cost a lot extra," said Jomshof to Sydsvenskan.

Jomshof told the paper that he doesn't think that sending the publication along with the Sweden Democrat paper is in any way in breach of the party's recent zero-tolerance policy against racism. "The newspaper can hardly be seen as racist. Not all Muslims are of the same race," Jomshof told the paper.

The Local, 22 November 2012

The International Free Press Society which publishes Dispatch International is headed by Lars Hedegaard, the notorious Danish Islamophobe who was convicted of inciting racial hatred as a result of an interview in which he described Muslims as morally depraved rapists. Last year a former member of the IFPS board, James Cohen, was appointed head of the English Defence League's Jewish Division.

For further background, see Torbjörn Jerlerup, "Dispatch International: CounterJihad publishes a paper", Loonwatch, 6 September 2012

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Banking on concerns of immigration and rising unemployment, far-rightists are gaining popularity in Sweden, amid expectations of becoming the third party in the country’s coming election.

"Immigration is topping the agenda and this benefits the Sweden Democrats," Carl Melin, polling head at United Minds, told Reuters Monday, November 12.

Opinion polls have shown that the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) is growing in popularity in the Scandinavian country. A survey by United Minds pollsters in Aftonbladet newspaper published on Monday showed that SD has about 11 percent support, double its showing in the 2010 election.

Other polls in the last few weeks showed a similar trend. An October poll by Ipsos, published in Dagens Nyheter newspaper showed the SD at 8.5 percent. "We may be entering a recession and this is a good breeding ground for parties like the Sweden Democrats," said Johanna Laurin Gulled, a polling manager at Ipsos.

The SD is notorious for anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant campaigns. Immediately after their electoral win in 2010, the SD started working on imposing a moratorium on building new mosques in the Scandinavian country. The party, whose manifesto describes Muslims as "seriously jeopardizing the Swedish nation", has also sought a ban on the face-veil and halting immigration from predominantly Muslim countries.

It opposes a panel recommendation that all major religions should be given equal time in lesson plans, saying Christianity should maintain a special status.

OnIslam, 12 November 2012

Update:  See "Sweden Democrats in crisis over racist film", The Local, 14 November 2012

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