Republican ideas on immigration could legalize up to 6.5 million, study says - New York Times From the story: "Between 4.4 million and 6.5 million immigrants illegally in the United States could gain an eventual pathway to citizenship under proposals being discussed by Republicans in the House of Representatives, according to an estimate published Tuesday." The study is based recent ideas discussed by GOP lawmakers that would favor immigrants who can be sponsored.

Unauthorized immigrant license cost: $65M and growing - UT San Diego The proposed California state budget lays out $64.7 million for the first year of implementing a program that will allow unauthorized immigrants to apply for driver's licenses starting next year. But opponents want for applicants to pay more than the proposed $33 fee, which is the standard for conventional licenses.

Lawmakers seek to limit ‘shackling’ of pregnant immigrants - Fusion Federal officials have restricted the practice of handcuffing and restraining pregnant women since 2011, but "the guidelines get fuzzier when women are being held in the custody of local authorities on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Only 18 states have laws restricting shackling."

Border-patrol drones being borrowed by other agencies more often than previously known - Washington Post From the story: "Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are increasingly borrowing border-patrol drones for domestic surveillance operations, newly released records show...Customs and Border Protection, which has the largest U.S. drone fleet of its kind outside the Defense Department, flew nearly 700 such surveillance missions on behalf of other agencies from 2010 to 2012."

Petition on White House site calls for public schools to recognize Muslim holidays - Christian Post A group of Muslim students has created a petition on a White House website in hopes of getting public schools to recognize Muslim holidays: "Posted on the White House's 'We the People' site last month, as of Tuesday morning the petition has garnered over 28,000 signatories from across the United States."

How tunnels are built, used along US-Mexico border - Associated Press A little insight on the nearly 170 tunnels found since 1990, mostly between Arizona and California's borders with Mexico: "Miners and other laborers hired by cartels use hoes, jackhammers, shovels and picks to gouge out soil and load the dirt into buckets that are brought back out of the tunnel's starting point in Mexico. Their tools are old-fashioned and can be bought at home improvement stores."

The thinnest Americans are Asian Americans, CDC data show - Los Angeles Times From the story: "New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that 38.6% of Asian American adults have a body mass index over 25, the threshold for being considered overweight. That’s far below the 66.7% rate among whites, 76.7% rate among blacks and 78.8% rate among Latinos."

Obama picks Latino bank founder to head SBA - Reuters President Obama reportedly plans to nominate Maria Contreras-Sweet to lead the Small Business Administration. Contreras-Sweet, who was born in Mexico, is founder and chair of ProAmerica Bank. She is also a Southern California Public Radio trustee.

This post has been updated.