Civil Rights News: U.S. Promotes Path to Citizenship; AZ Proposes Medicaid Fee for Smokers & Obese; States Cut Prison Spending

US Gov’t To Promote Citizenship In Ad Campaign
NPR

“The federal government will run a national advertising campaign to encourage more immigrants to become American citizens and become more integrated into society.” The government will spend $3.5 million over three years on a multilingual ad campaign in the hope of attracting the 7.9 eligible immigrants in the United States to petition for naturalization. Once these immigrants take the first step, they must then pass background checks and American history and political awareness tests in order to become citizens.

Under an Arizona Plan, Smokers and Obese Would Pay Fee for Medicaid
The New York Times

“As part of a plan to cut costs, the state has proposed imposing a $50 fee on childless adults on Medicaid who are either obese or who smoke. In Arizona, almost half of all Medicaid recipients smoke; while the number of obese people is unclear, about one-in-four Arizonans is overweight, [studies show].”

Some States Trim Prison Spending
The Wall Street Journal

“Forty states cut spending on their corrections programs in 2009 and 2010. …This year, many states have proposed or have passed additional legislation to curb costs through programs intended to reduce repeat offending or by changing the penalties for nonviolent crimes.” The Supreme Court recently ordered California to reduce its overcrowded system, ruling that it is in violation of the Eighteenth Amendment prohibiting cruel punishment.

Compiled by Sergio Azcona, a Spring intern