Migrants from Central America who cross México to get to the United States are now faced with a new mortal danger: kidnappers who hold them for ransom. Nearly 10,000 immigrants attempting to make it to the U.S. were kidnapped in Mexico between February of '08 and '09, according to Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission.

More undocumented immigrants with no criminal records are being detained and deported as a result of more aggressive and coordinated local and state law enforcement. Immigration laws have traditionally been enforced by federal agencies.

The Department of Homeland Security has removed controversial Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio's ability to arrest undocumented immigrants solely due to their immigration status. The U.S. Department of Justice is currently investigating Arpaio's department for racial profiling.

In an effort to cut costs, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced detained undocumented immigrants may be housed in hotels and nursing homes rather than prisons. Last year, the U.S. spent an estimated $2.1 billion on keeping undocumented immigrants behind bars.

The United States Border Patrol shut down the U.S.-México border for several hours yesterday after a shootout between federal agents and human traffickers who attempted to enter the U.S. in three vans. The caravan was carrying at least 70 people when the smugglers opened fire on federal agents. Three people in the vans and a driver were injured.

Mexican-American astronaut Jose Hernandez says he won't censor his opinions about the unfairness of federal immigration laws despite objections from his employer, the federal government (i.e., NASA). Hernandez ruffled feathers when he said undocumented immigrants in the U.S. should be "legalized".

Ten things the late Senator Ted Kennedy did for Latinos.

"I felt completely destroyed." The New York Times exposes shady lawyers, some Latinos, who rip off illegal immigrants with promises of green cards and work visas.

The amount of money Latino immigrants in the U.S. send back home is expected to drop by seven billion dollars this year. An estimated four million people in Latin America will receive less money compared to 2008.

A Miami judge has awarded $125,000 in damages to two Peruvian maids who sued their former boss, an IBM executive who made them work 19-hour days and sleep in a closet. (via Living in Peru)