Today, a federal appeals court struck down a Pennsylvania town’s ordinances prohibiting businesses and landlords from hiring or renting to illegal immigrants. The judges said the controversial ordinances, passed by the Hazelton city council in 2006, usurped federal authority to enforce immigration law.

Similar ordinances that have attempted to crack down on immigration at the local level have been passed around the country, most . . . → Read More: Let's accept reality

Recently Muslim Americans, including Muslim North Carolinians, have felt under attack.

A controversy over a Mosque near Ground Zero has raged for weeks. Certainly there is nothing wrong with discussing, in a civil manner, the best way to develop land near the site of the attacks to avoid division and hard feelings. But many seem to think the debate gives them a right to . . . → Read More: Burning the Quran? Are we still in America?

This past weekend, an essay in the New York Times Book Review argued that business reporters are failing to adequately cover the financial crisis. The author, Chrystia Freeland, says the problem is that people don’t want to hear about the large systemic weaknesses that were the true cause of the economic meltdown. Instead, they want to hear stories about people, about heroes and villains.

. . . → Read More: Immigration is a human story

Many of us tend to think of immigration status in black and white terms. You’re either here legally or illegally, and there is no blurry line between the two. But this week’s edition of The Story on National Public Radio is the perfect example of the gray area that many immigrants fall into. A North Carolina couple has ended up separated indefinitely because of . . . → Read More: Immigrating to the U.S.: More complicated than we think?

Uniting NC is working on a project that we hope will show why North Carolinians care about and appreciate their immigrant neighbors. We are collecting pictures of people from all backgrounds holding signs that sum up why they love and accept immigrants. Or, if the photo subjects are immigrants, why they embrace their adopted home in North Carolina. . . . → Read More: Take 5 minutes to add your voice by participating in our "Photo Challenge"

Uniting NC has created a series of video interviews that tell the stories of immigrants in North Carolina. Today, we posted our newest.

Saleem’s story shows the complex paths that lead people from all over the world to our state, and it challenges the notion that there is a stark divide between immigrants and natives.

Saleem was born in the United States and grew . . . → Read More: Everyone has a story

A recent story in the New York Times reveals how a fight over immigration is creating a deep divide in a small Nebraska town. Its citizens have forced a referendum on an ordinance that would require businesses and landlords to check immigration status.

Residents who have spoken out about the proposal —for and against — say they have become targets for harassment as tensions . . . → Read More: Don't let this happen to us

We frequently hear about murders, assaults and home invasions perpetrated by immigrants. Leaders in Arizona have cited such crimes as the reason for their new law requiring police officers to check immigration status.

But an interesting report today from the Associated Press reveals that, perhaps, the specter of violent crime committed by immigrants has been overblown. The story said that the four big cities . . . → Read More: Does immigration make our communities safer?

Wake County is in the midst of a bitter fight over how best to educate its children. The new majority on the school board has promised to end what they would call “forced busing” in favor of “neighborhood schools,” while those in favor of the former policies argue that the new majority’s proposals amount to “resegregation.”

The move has sparked protest rallies, and school . . . → Read More: Let's have lunch together

After many months of work and with the help of generous volunteers, we have finally finished our first television public service announcement. Please check it out:

We hope this ad will remind people that, while immigrants come from different countries and backgrounds, they share the goals and values that helped make North Carolina, and the United States, a great place to live. We . . . → Read More: Uniting NC's new PSA: "Every North Carolinian Has a Story"

John McCain has long been a widely respected senator.  But his new ad contributes to concerns that the conversation on immigration in the United States is growing more polarized and less productive.

Senator McCain used to have moderate views on immigration. In 2006, he joined forces with Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy to propose immigration reform.

He used to say that immigrants were “God’s . . . → Read More: No longer "God's children"?

Welcome to Uniting NC’s new blog.

We will use this space to share immigration news, keep you updated about our work and let you know how you can help create a more respectful dialogue on immigration in North Carolina. We welcome your comments and participation, so please chime in. We want to hear from you.

Recent events around the country have reminded us why . . . → Read More: Grasshoppers and microchips?