Tucson, Arizona, Apr 17 (EFE).- While lawmakers in Washington are preparing to begin debate on possible immigration reform, in Arizona deportations and the separation of families are continuing, activists said here Wednesday. "Today is an historic day. Finally a plan was presented for immigration reform for which we've waited for so long. However, here, in Arizona, our community reaffirms that it continues to be the target of unfair laws that do not provide relief for our reality," Raul Alcaraz, an organizer with the Southside Worker Center, told Efe.

Phoenix, Mar 19 (EFE).- The number of immigrant deaths on the southwest U.S. border with Mexico increased 27 percent between 2011 and 2012, the National Foundation for American Policy said Tuesday. According to a NFAP study based on statistics from the Border Patrol, 477 immigrant deaths were reported in 2012, compared with 375 in 2011. Stuart Anderson, executive director of NFAP, said in a press release that these figures are particularly alarming considering the drop in the number of immigrant arrests in recent years.

Phoenix, Mar 4 (EFE).- The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday rejected an attempt by the state of Arizona to enforce a provision of its SB 1070 immigration law that targets day laborers and their potential employers. In a unanimous decision, the panel of three judges rejected Arizona's argument that its only interest in applying this section of the law is traffic safety. The regulation seeks to punish all those people who interrupt traffic or halt an automobile to ask for employment, just as it seeks to criminalize drivers who stop to pick up day laborers.

(Adds detail from decision, reaction, background, byline) By Alex Dobuzinskis March 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday on the side of day laborers seeking work in Arizona, upholding an injunction that bars the state from enforcing part of its immigration law that prohibits motorists from stopping traffic to pick up workers.