The Nation adds a new perspective to my story from earlier this week about Pedro Guzman, a man fighting against deportation charges in Stewart Detention Center near Atlanta. Jacqueline Stevens visited the Stewart Detention Center and tells of numerous abuses of justice in the immigration courts there, including by William Cassidy, the judge dealing with Guzman’s case. Cassidy and other judges ordered deportation for 83 percent of the detainees held in Stewart Detention Center during 2008, a higher rate than the 72 percent of detainees who were ordered deported nationwide.

Stevens, a Northwestern University political science professor, writes that she documented numerous examples of misconduct by Cassidy over an 18-month period, but claims the Executive Office of Immigration Review ignored her reports. What’s so bad about Cassidy? Quite a few things, according to the long history of complaints that have been made against the judge:

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New York Gov. David Paterson’s (D) office is sifting through thousands of applications by detainees awaiting deportation who hope to be pardoned by the governor, hurrying to make pardon recommendations before Paterson’s term ends on Dec. 31, The New York Times reports. The pardon initiative only applies to legal permanent residents who face deportation because they have committed a misdemeanor or felony. Still, as the federal government doubles down on immigration enforcement, the pardon panel, appointed by Paterson, points out what the governor sees as a problem with the current system: its lack of discretion.

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A number of lawmakers are up in arms this week over vague comments by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the controversial TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline, which is slated to run from Alberta, Canada, to Texas.

Clinton, speaking in San Fransisco earlier this week, suggested that the State Department, which is currently reviewing the massive pipeline project, would eventually approve it. But her comments were a bit unclear. The questioner asked about the Alberta Clipper pipeline, which has already been approved. But Clinton appeared to talk about the Keystone XL pipeline, which is still pending.

“So as I say, we’ve not yet signed off on it,” she said. “But we are inclined to do so.”

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Special interest groups of all stripes are taking advantage of the loosened limits on outside spending in this election cycle, but one group in particular still isn’t satisfied with the campaign finance landscape in the states, and it’s continuing to step up its challenges against them.

The National Organization for Marriage, the 501(c)(4) group which famously led efforts to pass propositions banning gay marriage in Maine and California, has been steadily challenging state laws governing campaign spending that it says are unconstitutional, especially in the wake of recent court decisions like Citizens United. Many state laws require all groups spending over $1,000 in state elections to register as political committees and disclose their donors, but NOM says its spending is primarily issues-based and therefore it shouldn’t be compelled to do so:

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Critics of the media will allege that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have both betrayed their slants today, publishing stories about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, respectively, each claiming its target to be this election cycle’s top outside spender.

The Times’ piece digs into corporate tax filings and finds that while the Chamber claims 300,000 members, nearly half of its $140 million in contributions in 2008 came from just 45 donors — and  many of those large donations coincided with lobbying or political campaigns that appeared to benefit those donors. Its accompanying graphic, which calls the Chamber “The Top Non-Party Spender,” says the Chamber has thus far spent over $21 million on this election cycle — more than any group save three of the traditional political party committees.

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Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, sent a letter to key Obama administration officials today asking for more information about reports that China is blocking shipments of rare earth minerals to the United States.

The letter is addressed to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

Markey asks whether the administration has determined whether China is in fact blocking rare earth mineral exports to the United States (China has denied the reports) and what implications a a shortage of the minerals would have on national security and clean energy technology. Rare earth minerals are used in key military communications and smart bomb technology as well as in wind turbines and hybrid vehicles.

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On a conference call today on the Obama administration’s efforts to determine the extent of natural resources damages from the oil spill, an Interior Department official gave reporters a sense of the impact of the spill on wildlife.

Of the 8,000 oiled birds found by the government in the aftermath of the spill, just 2,000 were alive, and 1,300 of those have been released back into the wild. Of the 1,100 sea turtles found covered in oil, 535 were found alive, and 360 have been released back into the wild.