• Minnesotans to Get Emergency Text Alerts on Cellphones
• Source: AP/Minneapolis Star-Tribune   |   Minnesota   |   June 19, 2012
• Severe weather and other emergency alerts are coming soon to Minnesotans' smartphones and cellphones. The Wireless Emergency Alerts are specific to location. That means recipients will receive the alerts based on where they are, not where they live.

• High Park Fire Most Destructive in Colorado History
• Source: The Coloradoan   |   Colorado   |   June 18, 2012
• More than a week into the lightning-caused fire reported June 9, there’ve been more than 3,000 evacuation notices, one death and 181 homes destroyed. The blaze is the most destructive in Colorado history.

• Arizona Gov. Brewer Orders Police Training for Immigration Law
• Source: East Valley Tribune   |   Arizona   |   June 14, 2012
• Anticipating at least a partial Supreme Court victory, Gov. Jan Brewer updated her directive on how police in Arizona must be trained to implement the 2010 state law aimed at illegal immigrants.

• Poll: Drone Use Supported for Border, Rescues -- Not Traffic
• Source: USA Today   |   Nation   |   June 13, 2012
• Congress ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to create a plan for drones to fly in general airspace by September 2015, and states are competing to become one of six locations to help develop that plan.

• 9/11 Health Program May Cover 50 Cancers
• Source: AP/USA Today   |   New York City   |   June 11, 2012
• First responders and residents who were stricken with cancer after being exposed to the toxic ash that exploded over Manhattan when the World Trade Center collapsed would qualify for free treatment of the disease and potentially hefty compensation payments under a rule proposed by federal health officials.

• Deportations Continue Despite U.S. Review of Cases
• Source: New York Times   |   Nation   |   June 7, 2012
• After seven months of an ambitious review by the Obama administration of all deportations before the nation’s immigration courts, very few of them have been halted, disappointing immigrants President Obama hopes to court for his re-election bid.

• New Mexico Wildfire Becomes State's Largest in History
• Source: AP/USA Today   |   New Mexico   |   May 31, 2012
• A massive wildfire that has burned more than 265 square miles in the Gila National Forest has become the largest fire in New Mexico history.

• Wildfires Spark in Six U.S. States
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   May 29, 2012
• A wildfire burned out of control for a fourth day in the steep mountains of southwestern New Mexico on Saturday, one of several blazes that have consumed more than 200 square miles of rugged land in six U.S. states and caused several small towns to evacuate.

• In Far Northwest, a New Border Focus on Latinos
• Source: New York Times   |   Northwest   |   May 29, 2012
• Since the terrorist attacks of 2001, the federal government has kept a more careful watch on the country’s northern border. This month, the agency is completing construction of a $10 million office in Port Angeles.

• New Homeland Security Chief Nominated for the District of Columbia
• Source: Washington Post   |   District of Columbia   |   May 29, 2012
• D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray has nominated a veteran public safety official to head the city’s office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, one of the most important positions in city government.

• Controversial Immigration-Enforcement Program Goes Live in Colorado
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   May 24, 2012
• The controversial federal immigration-enforcement program called Secure Communities went live across Colorado this week — in a cobbled-together fashion and under a cloud of controversy over the potential for entangling domestic-violence victims in deportations.

• Oklahoma Leaders: No New Funding For Schools
• BY: News Staff   |   Oklahoma   |   May 22, 2012
• Conservatives say residents deserve a budget that reflect their values.

• Revised Alabama Immigration Law Sent to Governor
• Source: Montgomery Advertiser   |   Alabama   |   May 17, 2012
• Amid protests that extended to both chambers, the Alabama Legislature approved changes to the state’s controversial immigration law that keep most of the law intact.

• Secure Communities to Launch in Massachusetts over Governor's Objections
• Source: AP/Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   May 10, 2012
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security notified state officials that despite the objections of Gov. Deval Patrick and immigration activists, they plan to launch a federal program aimed at identifying illegal immigrants arrested for crimes.

• Illinois Town Protests Illegal Immigrant Detention Site
• Source: USA Today   |   Crete, Ill.   |   May 9, 2012
• The planned detention center, where illegal immigrants would be held until they are deported, has caused a stir in Crete that reflects national debates over immigration policies and the growing number of people being held in for-profit prisons and jails.