Up to 12 million illegal aliens now in US: study News
Up to 12 million illegal aliens now in US: study

[JURIST] A new report [text] released Tuesday by the Pew Hispanic Center [organization website] estimates that the total number of illegal immigrants in the US has risen to some 12 million, despite US government attempts to crack down on inflow. The US House of Representatives passed [JURIST report] a controversial bill [bill summary] late last year to tighten border security, but the Pew report says that this has only caused immigrant workers from Mexico to stay longer since movement across the US-Mexico border is now more difficult. Members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] began meetings last week to debate several additional proposals [JURIST report] on immigration reform which have bitterly divided lawmakers.

This latest Pew report estimates that since 2000, nearly 850,000 illegal immigrants have come into the US each year; a previous Pew study [JURIST report] released in September found that the rate of illegal immigration into the United States had increased despite tighter security measures in place since the September 11 terror attacks, but only at a pace paralleling the rate of economic growth. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.