From the New York Times:
Published: August 9, 2007
In a further sign of the United States’ growing diversity, nonwhites now make up a majority in almost one-third of the most-populous counties in the country and in nearly one in 10 of all 3,100 counties, according to an analysis of census results to be released today.
The shift reflects the growing dispersal of immigrants and the suburbanization of blacks and Hispanics pursuing jobs generated by whites moving to the fringes of metropolitan areas.
From July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006, metropolitan Chicago edged out Honolulu in Asian population, and Washington inched ahead of El Paso in the number of Hispanic residents. In black population, Houston overtook Los Angeles.
“The new wave of immigration, along with its continued dispersal to the suburbs and Sun Belt, is transforming the places which are now being classified as multiethnic and majority minority,” said William H. Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution.
“The new melting pots are not large international gateways,” Professor Frey said, adding, “Rather, many are fast-growing suburbs themselves.”
In 36 counties with more than 500,000 residents each, non-Hispanic whites are now a minority, up from 29 counties of that size in 2000.
From 2005 to 2006 alone, eight other mostly less-populous counties shifted to a majority of minorities, the Census Bureau said. They were Denver, Colo.; East Baton Rouge Parish, La.; Winkler, Waller and Wharton in Texas; Blaine, Mont.; Colfax, N.M.; and Manassas Park, Va., an independent city that is considered the equivalent of a county.
In a new study for the Population Reference Bureau, Mark Mather and Kelvin Pollard found that Hispanic people were increasingly attracted to job opportunities and lower costs outside major metropolitan areas.
“Between 2000 and 2006, the total population in small towns and rural areas increased by 3 percent, but the Hispanic population in these counties grew from 2.6 million to 3.2 million, a 22 percent increase,” the authors of the study wrote.
So far this decade, they added, “there are also new areas of growth, including exurban counties in the Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C., metropolitan areas, plus parts of Texas, central Florida, and a few other states.”
Since 2000, the Hispanic population more than doubled in metropolitan Winchester, Va.; Scranton, Pa.; Cape Coral, Fla.; and Hagerstown, Md.. The largest numerical increases were in metropolitan Los Angeles (576,630); Riverside, Calif., (545,152); Dallas (472,222); Houston (470,157); and New York (418,720).
Black populations declined in metropolitan New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and New York. The biggest numerical gains were in Atlanta (370,470), Houston (142,364), Dallas (130,367), Miami (126,819) and Washington (114,915). The growth in Atlanta, Houston and Dallas was attributed in part to survivors of Hurricane Katrina moving to those cities.
The highest growth rates among Asian populations were in metropolitan Napa, Calif., and Ocala, Naples, Cape Coral and Port St. Lucie, Fla. The greatest numerical increases were in New York (309,773), Los Angeles (216,987), Washington (105,390), San Francisco (103,073) and Chicago (93,237).
Metropolitan Phoenix; Atlanta; Dallas; Houston; Las Vegas; Austin, Tex.; Charlotte; Portland, Ore.; and Raleigh, N.C., each recorded gains in non-Hispanic whites of more than 100,000 since 2000. The largest losses were registered by metropolitan New York (248,422), Los Angeles (193,109), San Francisco (127,151) and New Orleans (111,162).
Harris County, Tex., home to Houston, gained 121,400 minority residents from 2005 to 2006, the most of any county. Sixty-three percent of its residents were members of minorities.
Maricopa County, Ariz., home to Phoenix, recorded the biggest numerical increase in Hispanic residents (71,000) and also the biggest increase in non-Hispanic whites (35,500).
Harris County and East Baton Rouge Parish registered the biggest increases in black residents, 52,000 and 19,000, respectively.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
We're Not Such Bad Kids
Well, I called my father yesterday and we actually talked for 5 minutes!
My father is not a big talker in person and even less so on the phone. Everytime, if he answers the phone, he will hand off the phone to my mom within 5 minutes.
Last night, at about 9:45, I called home. My dad answered. I told him happy father's day, what did you do yesterday to celebrate? Sorry we (the kids) didn't call yesterday. He said that they didn't do much, he and my mom just got some cupcakes (aww how cute) since none of us kids were there in person, so it's not such a big deal.
I asked if they were going to come visit at Thanksgiving, as mentioned earlier this year. He said, let me find your ma and ask her. He left me hanging on the phone and I could hear him calling for Ma, then she came on the line.
Ma and I chatted and they will just come at Chinese New Year next year when they have 3 weeks off, instead of coming in November when they can't get away for as long. Now that Brother Two is in NYC, Sister in DC, me in Atl, and Brother One's location TBD, they need more time to travel around to see all their kids.
Also, one reason they thought about coming at Thanksgiving is that Ba will turn 65 right around then and he wants to fill out the paper work regarding Social Security (ah, at least that's still there for them, unlike anyone coming after the baby boomers). However, many government workers will be on vacation around then too, I'm sure, and that would be a less efficient time to go get government paperwork done.
After some more chit chat, I asked Ma to put Ba back on the phone, since it is a Father's Day call. However, true to form, he ended the call soon after. I told him, that this was just the first call of the day, he's got three more coming.
Need to make sure he doesn't use up all his words right away :P
My father is not a big talker in person and even less so on the phone. Everytime, if he answers the phone, he will hand off the phone to my mom within 5 minutes.
Last night, at about 9:45, I called home. My dad answered. I told him happy father's day, what did you do yesterday to celebrate? Sorry we (the kids) didn't call yesterday. He said that they didn't do much, he and my mom just got some cupcakes (aww how cute) since none of us kids were there in person, so it's not such a big deal.
I asked if they were going to come visit at Thanksgiving, as mentioned earlier this year. He said, let me find your ma and ask her. He left me hanging on the phone and I could hear him calling for Ma, then she came on the line.
Ma and I chatted and they will just come at Chinese New Year next year when they have 3 weeks off, instead of coming in November when they can't get away for as long. Now that Brother Two is in NYC, Sister in DC, me in Atl, and Brother One's location TBD, they need more time to travel around to see all their kids.
Also, one reason they thought about coming at Thanksgiving is that Ba will turn 65 right around then and he wants to fill out the paper work regarding Social Security (ah, at least that's still there for them, unlike anyone coming after the baby boomers). However, many government workers will be on vacation around then too, I'm sure, and that would be a less efficient time to go get government paperwork done.
After some more chit chat, I asked Ma to put Ba back on the phone, since it is a Father's Day call. However, true to form, he ended the call soon after. I told him, that this was just the first call of the day, he's got three more coming.
Need to make sure he doesn't use up all his words right away :P
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
My Father has Bad Children
We all forgot Father's Day.
Today, August 8, is Father's Day in Taiwan, where our parents live. The word for "8" and for "dad" are homophones. That is, they sound the same: ba.
So today is August 8, which is 8/8, which is ba/ba, which is ba ba, which is father.
However, while it is 8/8 in the US right now, it is 8/9 in Taiwan because Taiwan is 12 hours ahead. If I called right now, it'd be 5:30am the day after Father's Day. Damn!
I just realized all this half an hour ago as I was taking a phone message, and wrote in today's date, 8/8. Light bulb went off and guilt kicked in.
Called Sister right away to ask if she called. She didn't. Crap! Ironic, because Sister's the only one who writes home regularly (she's the only one I know who still writes letters on stationary) and had just mailed off a letter two days ago. Plus, she's Daddy's Little Girl.
Called Brother One. He didn't call home either. On the other hand, he did send a Father's Day card in June, so someone remembered at some point this year. It helped that he works at a Hallmark store, surrounded by holiday reminders. I think one of us may have called home in June too. But I don't remember.
Sister called Brother Two, who said he didn't call either. He had an excuse. He had just moved to NYC this past weekend and started a new job.
So tonight, one day late, my father will get calls from all four of his kids, all of whom have forgetten Father's Day.
Shame on all of us.
Today, August 8, is Father's Day in Taiwan, where our parents live. The word for "8" and for "dad" are homophones. That is, they sound the same: ba.
So today is August 8, which is 8/8, which is ba/ba, which is ba ba, which is father.
However, while it is 8/8 in the US right now, it is 8/9 in Taiwan because Taiwan is 12 hours ahead. If I called right now, it'd be 5:30am the day after Father's Day. Damn!
I just realized all this half an hour ago as I was taking a phone message, and wrote in today's date, 8/8. Light bulb went off and guilt kicked in.
Called Sister right away to ask if she called. She didn't. Crap! Ironic, because Sister's the only one who writes home regularly (she's the only one I know who still writes letters on stationary) and had just mailed off a letter two days ago. Plus, she's Daddy's Little Girl.
Called Brother One. He didn't call home either. On the other hand, he did send a Father's Day card in June, so someone remembered at some point this year. It helped that he works at a Hallmark store, surrounded by holiday reminders. I think one of us may have called home in June too. But I don't remember.
Sister called Brother Two, who said he didn't call either. He had an excuse. He had just moved to NYC this past weekend and started a new job.
So tonight, one day late, my father will get calls from all four of his kids, all of whom have forgetten Father's Day.
Shame on all of us.
Monday, August 6, 2007
sleeve problems
I have sewed on one sleeve of Sister's sweater and found a problem:
The sleeve is much, much too long and too wide, even though I held it up to my arm as I was knitting it. Also it's too wide in the shoulders, so the sleeve droops even more.
The sleeve is much, much too long and too wide, even though I held it up to my arm as I was knitting it. Also it's too wide in the shoulders, so the sleeve droops even more. On the other hand, the body of it fits well and I'm very happy with my first try at knitting cables.
I may have to re-knit the collar, though, for the third time.
And I thought I was almost done.
Well, I guess Sister may have to wait until winter to get this.
No longer a gardener
Here in Georgia, we have been in a drought condition to one degree or another for about the last 5 years. We have watering restrictions, and in some parts of the state, homeowners can water only on Saturday or Sunday, and only between 10pm and 10am.
For the last 7 years, since we moved to our house, I had been a gardener, mainly into roses, hostas, irises, daylilies, all named varieties ordered from specialty growers. All the plants had their own labels that I made from wooden plaques. In the vegetable garden, we had tomatoes, okra, and peppers. I would tour the garden after work everyday, inspecting everything. Each time I planted or moved something, I would make a dated map showing the changes. I would hand dig new beds and add amendments to the hard, dense, Georgia red clay.
However, I have lost my interest. I admit I'm lazy and don't want to get up at 9am to water. Plus the mosquitoes are ferocious and the heat and humdity (despite the lack of rain, it's still humid) is unbearable in July and August and so slowly, my garden is dying, and I'm letting it.
The only things now that get care are the 4 tomato plants and potted plants and only because Husband does the watering. I mow the lawn, and that's all the "gardening" we do.
We had the 9 pine trees removed from our front lawn, leaving only the 2 dogwood trees. Prior to the tree removal, I dug up a lot of perennials and moved them to the vegetable garden and may the fittest survive. The first to die were the lilac and peony, neither of which do particularly well in hot weather anyway.
The front lawn is patchy. There are at least nine bare spots where the trees used to be, and then there's a quarter of the lawn that's just dirt. A few years ago, we used a lawn service to kill the weeds. Well, the weeds were what would grow and now that they're gone and the drought is here, the grass won't grow into that area and it's just eroding away. When I do mow the sparse tufts of grass within that area, huge dust clouds blow up.
We plan to have the front lawn torn up and sodded in the fall, when the rains return. I also had a landscape designer come out and give us a garden plan for the front yard. He recommended that we cut back the overgrown azaleas and holly bushes in the front yard to 6 inches, which we did. I'd like to dig up and remove the hollies entirely, but will wait for cooler weather to do so. I don't need to suffer heat stroke and sharp holly punctures.
Perhaps when the weather is better, my gardening interest will come back. But for now, I'm no longer calling myself a gardener.
For the last 7 years, since we moved to our house, I had been a gardener, mainly into roses, hostas, irises, daylilies, all named varieties ordered from specialty growers. All the plants had their own labels that I made from wooden plaques. In the vegetable garden, we had tomatoes, okra, and peppers. I would tour the garden after work everyday, inspecting everything. Each time I planted or moved something, I would make a dated map showing the changes. I would hand dig new beds and add amendments to the hard, dense, Georgia red clay.
However, I have lost my interest. I admit I'm lazy and don't want to get up at 9am to water. Plus the mosquitoes are ferocious and the heat and humdity (despite the lack of rain, it's still humid) is unbearable in July and August and so slowly, my garden is dying, and I'm letting it.
The only things now that get care are the 4 tomato plants and potted plants and only because Husband does the watering. I mow the lawn, and that's all the "gardening" we do.
We had the 9 pine trees removed from our front lawn, leaving only the 2 dogwood trees. Prior to the tree removal, I dug up a lot of perennials and moved them to the vegetable garden and may the fittest survive. The first to die were the lilac and peony, neither of which do particularly well in hot weather anyway.
The front lawn is patchy. There are at least nine bare spots where the trees used to be, and then there's a quarter of the lawn that's just dirt. A few years ago, we used a lawn service to kill the weeds. Well, the weeds were what would grow and now that they're gone and the drought is here, the grass won't grow into that area and it's just eroding away. When I do mow the sparse tufts of grass within that area, huge dust clouds blow up.
We plan to have the front lawn torn up and sodded in the fall, when the rains return. I also had a landscape designer come out and give us a garden plan for the front yard. He recommended that we cut back the overgrown azaleas and holly bushes in the front yard to 6 inches, which we did. I'd like to dig up and remove the hollies entirely, but will wait for cooler weather to do so. I don't need to suffer heat stroke and sharp holly punctures.
Perhaps when the weather is better, my gardening interest will come back. But for now, I'm no longer calling myself a gardener.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Wanted: Emerald Green DK warm weather yarn
Not to be picky or anything, but how can it be so hard to find?
The conference will be in Atlanta, which will still be very warm, so the yarn has to be cotton or something similarly cool. Plus gauge is 22 sts = 4 inches, so that's DK weight.
Very close to finishing Sister's sweater. The sleeves are seamed, the body of cardigan is done, the collar knitted on (I-cord bind-off takes forever, but looks very nice), and it's all washed, blocked, and drying. Then all I have left is to sew the sleeves on, buy and sew on buttons, hem the sleeves, and weave in the ends.
Finishing takes forever. There's so many little things that need doing. It's so close to being done, I just want it to be done and be able to move on to the next thing. However, I do have a couple of deadlines to motivate me.
First, Sister's birthday is in late September, and I want it to be done by the time I go see her. You may be impressed that I'm done with it in early August. However, I had promised it to her last September and it's taken me about 18 months to do this.
Second, last weekend in September is a conference where I'll see many of my friends I did the Europe trip with. I want to make the Honorine sweater from MagKnits.com to wear to the conference.
The conference will be in Atlanta, which will still be very warm, so the yarn has to be cotton or something similarly cool. Plus gauge is 22 sts = 4 inches, so that's DK weight. The yarns used is Rowan, but it doesn't come in the rich, saturated, emerald green that I want. I did order some CotLin from Knitpicks.com in Moroccan Red, along with Big Girl Knits (promised Ma a sweater), and Fitted Knits.
If anyone knows where I can find warm weather yarn, DK weight, in emerald green, please leave a comment and let me know.
Maybe I'll make the short sleeve version in the red CotLin, and then make the long sleeve version in green later if I ever find the yarn.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
The Yarn Harlot is Coming! The Yarn Harlot is Coming!
To Atlanta, finally.
Stephanie Pearl McPhee will be coming September 19 to read from her latest book, Stephanie Pearl McPhee Casts Off!
It's being organized by my favorite yarn shop, Knitch. They began taking reservations this morning at Knitchknitting.com and I got myself registered ASAP.
There are clips of her talks on You Tube (everything's on You Tube), but it'll be really nice to see her in person, and to knit in public en masse and surprise the Muggles.
Speaking of Muggles, I work with Muggles, in the Harry Potter sense. One co-worker doesn't like fantasy because she anything that isn't realistic and "normal" freaks her out.
What I like about HP is that wizarding is a subculture that most mainstream don't understand. That resonates with me because knitting is a misunderstood subculture. And I work with refugees and the majority of Americans have no idea who refugees are (those who flee persecution and can't go back to their home country). Given the general state of zenophobia going on, refugees get lumped in with all foreigners who should all be deported. There was an article in the Atlanta paper that illustrates this zenophobia. It's reprinted below.
Anyway, the Yarn Harlot is coming, that's definitely a good thing to look forward to.
Asylum a tough sell in Atlanta
Immigration courts here OK lowest percentage of cases of the top 17 courts in U.S.
By Anna VarelaThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 07/29/07
As an immigration attorney, Charles Kuck has found himself in an awkward spot with potential clients from Colombia. If they want to apply for asylum to avoid getting deported to their home country, he advises them to move out of Georgia before filing a claim.
"That's prudence," said Kuck, who knows that Colombians dramatically improve their odds of winning an asylum case by having it heard almost anywhere but Atlanta. "They approve fewer cases percentage-wise than any immigration court in the United States," said Kuck, an Atlanta attorney who is president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
A recent study titled "Refugee Roulette" found that 12 percent of all asylum claims heard by Atlanta's immigration courts are approved, the lowest percentage among 17 courts that hear large numbers of cases. The national average among "high-volume" immigration courts was a 40 percent approval rate.
People from Colombia and China are almost certain to be denied, according to the study released this spring by three law professors and scheduled for publication in the Stanford Law Review in November.
Cases filed by Colombians had a 19 percent approval rate in Atlanta's courts, compared to 36 percent nationwide and 63 percent in Orlando. Asylum applicants from China won 7 percent of their claims in Atlanta. That's well below the 47 percent approval rate nationwide and the 76 percent approval rate in Orlando's immigration courts.
Under U.S. law, asylum can be granted to immigrants who are likely to face persecution if they return to their home countries. Typically, asylum seekers must prove they could face imprisonment, torture or death because of their political views, race, religion or membership in an ethnic group.
Tewodros "Teddy" Dagne is one of the lucky ones who won his asylum case. The native of Ethiopia fled his home country in 1999 because his work for a human rights group put his life at risk. Dagne, 31, said one of his colleagues was shot dead by government soldiers and Dagne started getting phone calls telling him to stop his investigations of government torture and killing of dissidents.
"When this kind of threat comes from the top governing body, there's no way to protect yourself," said Dagne, now the editor of Dinq Ethiopian Magazine in Atlanta. "They can do anything they want."
H. Glenn Fogle Jr., an Atlanta immigration attorney, said he has represented clients in asylum cases in about 20 immigration courts in the United States. Outside Atlanta, he said he has lost about 3 out of 100 cases. Here, he said he loses 90-95 percent of the time.
Part of the problem, he says, is that most of Atlanta's immigration judges used to work for the government, making them more likely to side with the government lawyers who go into court trying to block asylum petitions. Official biographies of Atlanta's four immigration judges show that three of them used to work as lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security, or the former Immigration and Naturalization Service.
"You have basically the equivalent of prosecutors being the judges now," Fogle said. "They don't believe anybody, they don't want to believe anybody."
The immigration courts are part of the Department of Justice. The department does not allow immigration judges to be interviewed.
One of Atlanta's judges, William A. Cassidy, is considered one of the toughest in the nation when it comes to denying asylum petitions. Over a five-year period, Cassidy denied slightly more than 93 percent of the 926 cases that he decided, according to a different study that was conducted by Syracuse University. During that period —- 2000-2005 —- the denial rate nationwide was close to 62 percent, according to the 2006 study.
That put Cassidy in the top 10 in denying asylum requests, according to the study's analysis of 224 immigration judges who decided at least 100 cases.
Phil Kent, spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control, said he's pleased that Atlanta's immigration court is tough on asylum-seekers. Kent said it's likely that local judges are following the letter of the law more closely than in some other jurisdictions.
"Just like with our borders, workplace verification and everything else on this issue [immigration], we do need to tighten up on asylum," said Kent, a former editorial page editor of the Augusta Chronicle.
Kuck, the immigration attorney, called Cassidy "a good, fair judge" who probably sees asylum as a form of protection that should only be granted in extraordinary cases.
But Kuck said there is a problem when similar cases can be treated so differently across the country. "It says our system is broken."
Stephanie Pearl McPhee will be coming September 19 to read from her latest book, Stephanie Pearl McPhee Casts Off!
It's being organized by my favorite yarn shop, Knitch. They began taking reservations this morning at Knitchknitting.com and I got myself registered ASAP.
There are clips of her talks on You Tube (everything's on You Tube), but it'll be really nice to see her in person, and to knit in public en masse and surprise the Muggles.
Speaking of Muggles, I work with Muggles, in the Harry Potter sense. One co-worker doesn't like fantasy because she anything that isn't realistic and "normal" freaks her out.
What I like about HP is that wizarding is a subculture that most mainstream don't understand. That resonates with me because knitting is a misunderstood subculture. And I work with refugees and the majority of Americans have no idea who refugees are (those who flee persecution and can't go back to their home country). Given the general state of zenophobia going on, refugees get lumped in with all foreigners who should all be deported. There was an article in the Atlanta paper that illustrates this zenophobia. It's reprinted below.
Anyway, the Yarn Harlot is coming, that's definitely a good thing to look forward to.
Asylum a tough sell in Atlanta
Immigration courts here OK lowest percentage of cases of the top 17 courts in U.S.
By Anna VarelaThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 07/29/07
As an immigration attorney, Charles Kuck has found himself in an awkward spot with potential clients from Colombia. If they want to apply for asylum to avoid getting deported to their home country, he advises them to move out of Georgia before filing a claim.
"That's prudence," said Kuck, who knows that Colombians dramatically improve their odds of winning an asylum case by having it heard almost anywhere but Atlanta. "They approve fewer cases percentage-wise than any immigration court in the United States," said Kuck, an Atlanta attorney who is president-elect of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
A recent study titled "Refugee Roulette" found that 12 percent of all asylum claims heard by Atlanta's immigration courts are approved, the lowest percentage among 17 courts that hear large numbers of cases. The national average among "high-volume" immigration courts was a 40 percent approval rate.
People from Colombia and China are almost certain to be denied, according to the study released this spring by three law professors and scheduled for publication in the Stanford Law Review in November.
Cases filed by Colombians had a 19 percent approval rate in Atlanta's courts, compared to 36 percent nationwide and 63 percent in Orlando. Asylum applicants from China won 7 percent of their claims in Atlanta. That's well below the 47 percent approval rate nationwide and the 76 percent approval rate in Orlando's immigration courts.
Under U.S. law, asylum can be granted to immigrants who are likely to face persecution if they return to their home countries. Typically, asylum seekers must prove they could face imprisonment, torture or death because of their political views, race, religion or membership in an ethnic group.
Tewodros "Teddy" Dagne is one of the lucky ones who won his asylum case. The native of Ethiopia fled his home country in 1999 because his work for a human rights group put his life at risk. Dagne, 31, said one of his colleagues was shot dead by government soldiers and Dagne started getting phone calls telling him to stop his investigations of government torture and killing of dissidents.
"When this kind of threat comes from the top governing body, there's no way to protect yourself," said Dagne, now the editor of Dinq Ethiopian Magazine in Atlanta. "They can do anything they want."
H. Glenn Fogle Jr., an Atlanta immigration attorney, said he has represented clients in asylum cases in about 20 immigration courts in the United States. Outside Atlanta, he said he has lost about 3 out of 100 cases. Here, he said he loses 90-95 percent of the time.
Part of the problem, he says, is that most of Atlanta's immigration judges used to work for the government, making them more likely to side with the government lawyers who go into court trying to block asylum petitions. Official biographies of Atlanta's four immigration judges show that three of them used to work as lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security, or the former Immigration and Naturalization Service.
"You have basically the equivalent of prosecutors being the judges now," Fogle said. "They don't believe anybody, they don't want to believe anybody."
The immigration courts are part of the Department of Justice. The department does not allow immigration judges to be interviewed.
One of Atlanta's judges, William A. Cassidy, is considered one of the toughest in the nation when it comes to denying asylum petitions. Over a five-year period, Cassidy denied slightly more than 93 percent of the 926 cases that he decided, according to a different study that was conducted by Syracuse University. During that period —- 2000-2005 —- the denial rate nationwide was close to 62 percent, according to the 2006 study.
That put Cassidy in the top 10 in denying asylum requests, according to the study's analysis of 224 immigration judges who decided at least 100 cases.
Phil Kent, spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control, said he's pleased that Atlanta's immigration court is tough on asylum-seekers. Kent said it's likely that local judges are following the letter of the law more closely than in some other jurisdictions.
"Just like with our borders, workplace verification and everything else on this issue [immigration], we do need to tighten up on asylum," said Kent, a former editorial page editor of the Augusta Chronicle.
Kuck, the immigration attorney, called Cassidy "a good, fair judge" who probably sees asylum as a form of protection that should only be granted in extraordinary cases.
But Kuck said there is a problem when similar cases can be treated so differently across the country. "It says our system is broken."
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