The backlash against a proposed mosque and Islamic cultural center in lower Manhattan has spurred Muslims in New York to get involved in local politics.

With help from grassroots groups, Asian Americans are becoming a rising force in New York City politics. Watch Larry Tung’s video documenting their ascent.

New York City Council member Ydanis Rodriguez says he will introduce a resolution calling on Governor Paterson to remove New York from the controversial immigration enforcement program known as Secure Communities.

Part of the effort is encouraging new citizens to represent those who can’t vote at the polls–the undocumented.

Secure Communities is a federal program designed to find and deport undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes like murder, kidnapping and crimes that threaten national security. But advocates say it makes immigrants less secure.

Listen to Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska’s appearance on Connecticut public radio station WNPR.

Despite an anti-immigrant platform, Austria’s Freedom Party has won the support of some Serbian immigrants in Vienna. Listen to Jelena Kopanja’s report for PRI’s The World.

The swirling political debate around undocumented immigrants and the lack of tangible progress on immigration reform is surely going to have an effect on the midterm elections–the question is what that effect will be.

After a long silence from Andrew Cuomo regarding immigration in general and Latinos in particular, the candidate for governor finally addressed Hispanic leaders in New York this weekend.

El Diario/La Prensa reporter Catalina Jaramillo was a guest on WNYC Radio this morning talking about the potential for immigration policy to shape the race.