Signaling an additional layer of complication to the already complicated and fractured immigration debate, the Washington Times is reporting today that some African Americans are joining together with the Minuteman vigilante groups that have been hounding illegal immigrants along the border and in day laborer centers, most locally in Herndon, Virginia. Though seeming like an alliance of strange bedfellows, African Americans in the region and across the nation tend to see immigrants as a threat to their livelihoods. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, some 50 percent of African Americans in the region and more than 75 percent nationwide claim that increased immigration has led to difficulties in finding a job.

Supreme Court to Decide on Commuter Tax Arguments: The U.S. Supreme Court is set to announce today whether or not it will hear oral arguments concerning the District’s bid for a commuter tax, writes WJLA. In November a federal appeals court ruled that the commuter tax — which would allow the District to tax the incomes of non-residents who work in the city — was only permissible by Congressional legislation, a decision appealed by a number of civic and business organizations. District leaders have long argued for the tax, claiming that hundreds of thousands of workers come into D.C. on a daily basis and use public infrastructure, leaving the city to pick up the tab.

Virginia Leads Nation in Personalized License Plates: Virginia drivers seem to want everyone else know what their allegiances and pet names are, so much so that they use their license plates more than any other state in the country to express them, notes WJLA. Yes, it’s true — some 1 in 5 Virginia drivers sport personalized license plates, over 1.4 million in total. So why the obsession with vanity plates? Says the article:

…in an often anonymous world, a license plate gives them a chance to express an intimate part of themselves. It can be a pronunciation of pride, a message for the masses or a way to signal to your peeps that you’re one of them.

We’ve seen some great ones in our day, but our all-time favorite remains the state-sanctioned “Traditional Marriage” plates.

Norton Launches Re-Election Bid: Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s non-voting representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, has kicked off her re-election campaign for what could well be the most thankless of jobs in city politics, reports the Post. Norton, who is seeking her ninth term, only briefly enjoyed a vote in the House, from 1993 to 1995, but has since battled for attention and other District causes. She is set to face Andy Miscuk, a Ward 1 advisory neighborhood commissioner, who is to be her first challenger since she won the seat in 1990.

Briefly Noted: D.C. school closure plans to be announced today … Long, long year ends for American University … Anne Arundel County police kill 18-year-old man.

Picture taken by Ben in DC.