ICE

In what its authors admit is almost certainly an underestimate, a new study says the catastrophic climate changes coming to the Arctic will cost at least $2.4 trillion by mid-century. (To put that into perspective, President Obama just proposed a $3.8 trillion federal government budget for next year.)

The true cost is likely to be a whole lot more -- probably in the range of the combined gross domestic products of Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom, says the report, which was financed by the Pew Environment Group.

A melting Arctic heats the climate in two basic ways: First, when all the white snow and ice on the land and in the ocean melts, the darker colors underneath absorb more heat instead of reflecting it.

The second thing that happens is that as the permafrost melts, it releases methane -- remember methane, that other greenhouse gas, the one we fingered not long ago for its powerful greenhouse punch?

The researchers came up with estimates of how much both of these effects will have and converted those numbers into carbon dioxide equivalents -- i.e., how much of that better-known greenhouse you'd have to release to create this much climate warming.

Those figures are sobering: The amount of warming to be wrought this year alone by Arctic melting will equal about 42 percent of all the emissions from the United States! That's the equivalent of building 500 new coal-burning power plants.

We reported in July that Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Obama had initiated an audit of employers with illegal immigrant employees in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Antonio and New York.

Now, a major janitorial services firm owned by local conservative talk radio host Peter Weissbach has fired about 100 janitors suspected of being illegal.  The Seattle Times reports that Seattle Building Maintenance will continue to let go workers in waves so managers can hire replacements.

At first, the Obama Administration's approach was heralded by immigrant advocates as more humane, since it keeps enough of a buffer between immigration agents and illegal immigrants so the former don't deport the latter wholesale.

Conservative Law Professor Kris Kobach has also focused on making it more difficult for employers to hire and employ illegals.  The federal strategy also  includes roping in local law enforcement to identify illegal immigrants with criminal histories in preparation for deportation.

The government's more targeted, two-pronged approach is aimed at chipping away at the illegal immigration population by reducing the supply of jobs that draws people to this country illegally and speeding up deportation proceedings by focusing them on criminals.

U.S. treatment of illegal immigrant once they have been detained has been criticized as inhumane due to the dirty, overcrowded private contractor facilities for housing those detainees.

The federal government is rapidly expanding its program to make local and state enforcement agencies its eyes, ears and cuffs on illegal immigrants.

The Los Angeles Times reports that 67 local and state law enforcement agencies are going to continue enforcing immigration law but be subject to more oversight.

Arizona Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio  -- under investigation by the Department of Justice for possible civil rights violations -- can't sweep his county for illegal immigrants.

Whether in California, Las Vegas or Arizona, local and state agents across the country have spotted more than 130,000 illegal immigrants.  About 24,000 illegal immigrants identified have been deported this year.

Every day, about 32,000 illegal immigrant detainees -- including women and children -- are kept in conditions criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union as overcrowded, inhumane and unsafe.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security is reforming its illegal immigrant detention policies for nonviolent detainees awaiting their day in court -- such as those who just arrived, seeking asylum from their home countries' conflicts and persecution. 

In addition to centralizing its scattered, fractured oversight, the U.S.