New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg today said the U.S. has become the “laughing stock of the world” because of policies that force highly skilled immigrants to leave the country. He and other speakers at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce forum said encouraging high-skilled workers to immigrate to the U.S. would lead to more job creation. One idea being proposed would allow immigrants obtaining an advanced degree from a U.S. university eligible for permanent residency.

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Arizona Governor Jan Brewer was in a San Francisco court as judges heard oral argument on the state’s immigration law. A Ninth Circuit Appeals Court will decide if an Arizona state law requiring its police to arrest & detain suspected illegal immigrants based on a reasonable suspicion is constitutional. A lower court ruled that Arizona pre-empted the federal government’s authority to set immigration law and stopped enforcement of this part of Arizona’s law.

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The Brookings Institution in Washington hosted this discussion on immigration policies needed to attract highly skilled workers. Participants examined what can be done to attract and retain a skilled immigrant workforce while maximizing the talents of native-born Americans. They also discussed new research findings on immigration’s role in business innovation. 

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Friday, the Supreme Court released audio from Wednesday's oral argument in Arizona v. U.S., an immigration case that pits Arizona’s state powers against the federal government.

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50 years ago, on April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” while being held in prison for his involvement in a city-wide civil rights protest called the Birmingham Campaign. King’s daughter, Bernice King, CEO of the King Center in Atlanta, joins Alabama’s governor, Birmingham’s Mayor and others for the unveiling of a historical marker aside the Birmingham Jail.

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham civil rights campaign. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famed “Letter from Birmingham Jail” after being arrested for taking part in the protests. The campaign gained national attention after local officials used dogs and water cannons on kids after they took to the streets in what was known as the “Children’s Crusade.” A panel of authors and historians recall the turmoil of the time, as well as how Birmingham has chosen to remember its past. This event was part of the Alabama Historical Association’s annual conference.

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At the direction of Congress, the voices and experiences from the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20^th century are being documented in an oral history project. This effort is a collaboration of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, the Library of Congress and the Southern Oral History Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Birmingham Civil Rights Campaign in Alabama. The protests gained national attention after local officials used dogs and water cannons on kids after they took to the streets in what was known as the “Children’s Crusade.” This event features first-person accounts of the events in Birmingham that spring, including remarks by those who took part in the children’s protest, as well as student leaders of a boycott of segregated businesses. The discussion took place at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. 

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June 10th marks the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s commencement address at American University, when he called for high-level negotiations with the Soviet Union, a nuclear test ban treaty and an end to the Cold War.  This is a conversation with two veteran journalists, Tom Brokaw and Nick Clooney, on the Kennedy presidency and the significance of his “Peace Speech.”  This program is hosted by American University’s School of Communication and the Newseum, which is featuring two new exhibits on the Kennedy presidency – “Three Shots Were Fired” and "Creating Camelot".

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