Illegal Immigrant becomes a Police Officer

It is just another story of an immigrant who tries to live the American Dream. Oscar Ayala-Cornejo came to the United States with his family in 1991 to the city of Milwaukee.

Being inspired by law enforcement speaker that visited his high school one day. Ayala-Cornejo decided to pursue that career at the age of 15. A big part in his decision was the neighborhood he was growing up in and the want to do good in his community.

As Oscar had decided to pursue this career his father explained to him that the only way he could become a police officer was if he went back to Mexico and applied for citizenship to the country. It was the first time that the issue was brought to him of being illegal in the country. His father wanting to support his son then spoke to his sister and they came up with the idea that Oscar could use the identity of his cousin Jose who had died at the age of 7, due to stomach cancer. This event changed Oscars life.

Oscar and his family preceded with this plan and Oscar changed his name to Jose. From there on he changed his whole image, changed schools, birthday, and treated his immediate family as aunts, uncles, and cousins.

The plan worked and let Oscar into the law enforcement field after graduating high school. Oscar was a police officer of good who did good deeds by the book. Later his younger brother, who was a U.S. born, also was a police officer and worked under the same district as Oscar.

On May 31 Oscar was arrested by two officers who eventually took him to INS and now is facing court with one year in federal prison or probation. Oscar was charged with falsely representing himself to be a citizen. "Assistant U.S. Attorney Mel Johnson said Ayala's position gave him access to weapons and confidential information, although there was no indication he had abused either privilege."

Oscar is now being deported to Mexico and his brother has been fired from his job for retaining information.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/immigrant-breaks-law-to-become-cop/20071123125209990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Written By: Sergio Morelos

Stopping Cuban Immigration

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a new parole program for Cubans awaiting immigrant visas. Cubans who have been waiting for approved visas but have not received them will be eligible for the new parole documents, a process that should be faster.

The number of Cubans migrating out of Cuba has been a problem that not only the U.S. is faced with. Many other countries, primarily Mexico, is also faced with the Cuban migration that usually arrives in Cancun. Just this year the Coast Guard is at 2,938 detained, a number that has increased over the years. "At least 3,437 more Cubans left the Communist island and reached the United States between October 2006 and September 2007," and this has been by plane, foot, and sea.

The simple explanation for Cubans wanting to leave the communist island is because there is no signs of change. Poverty is on the increase and no other signs of change have cause these people to drastic measures to leave. Also, the dictatorship of both Fidel and Raul has been seen as a step backwards due to the strictness of Raul over Fidel.

"Under the U.S. wet foot/dry foot policy, those who reach U.S. shores are generally allowed to stay, but those caught at sea are usually returned to the island. Those who arrive at land border crossings are generally allowed into the country." Currently the U.S. and Mexico are working on a law to try to stop Cuban immigration.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/v-print/story/318823.html

Written By: Sergio Morelos

Legalization Fees Increase in Mid-Summer

Instead of asking Congress for more money the Citizenship and Immigration Services decided to take matters into their own hands and raise the cost of applications and certain fees to increase their staff. But they were underestimating the workload they were going to receive to their already understaffed departments. Now with millions of people applying all at once before the prices increase again might not have a chance to have a say or make a difference in the 2008 elections.

Many applicants are frustrated because they have had to set plans back to travel due to the delays. Others are anxious because they want to be part of the upcoming elections but it seems like they will just be spectators. At last, some countries and activist are also depending on people becoming naturalized in order to help them pass or at least support certain immigration issues.

The first process, in the whole naturalization and residency,returning receipts for checks written to cover fees, on behalf of these offices, which at this point is months behind schedule. Normally such receipts are returned to applicants within a week to 10 days. Priority is now being given to to naturalization applicants in order for them to vote in the primaries that begin January.


"The American Immigration Lawyers Association, a private legal advocacy group, said it was told by agency officials that 3.5 million applications had come in over a two-month period."

Besides the applications of residency and naturalization, the request for Visa's are always increasing the workload. Due to a current law that was passed anybody traveling to Canada, Mexico, or the Bahamas is required to have a Visa.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/fee-increase-triggers-immigration/n20071121075809990006

English Only

With the 2008 elections having a great focus on the topic of immigration, an issue has come up in the House and Senate over a law that law that prohibits employers from firing people who don't speak English on the job. This issue emerged from a government lawsuit against the Salvation Army. A Salvation Army thrift store in Massachusetts had fired two employees for speaking Spanish while sorting clothes.

This issue has split the political party just as immigration has. The Republicans support the law while the Democrats are against it. The law has been barred for more than 30 years from employers. But Republicans in the Senate have protected those, from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, from enforcing the rules against English-only workplaces.

The EEOC regulation states that this rule of English only can be enforced if it is crucial to the purpose of the job. But in this case clothes sorting was not. The rules have their legal origin in the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The EEOC says it doesn't get many cases of this type of discrimination and the cases they do get are usually settled out of court. But this case was genuine because they two women had worked for the Salvation Army for 5 years and them speaking Spanish had never been an issue. "In other cases, the agency has defended workers who complained they weren't allowed to speak their native languages while on their lunch break or in telephone conversations with their spouses."

Senator Lamar Alexander, Tennessee, insists that he is not anti-immigrant, but that speaking English is crucial for immigrants to assimilate into society.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-english20nov20,1,6801969.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Written By: Sergio Morelos

Virtual Fence vs. Real Fence

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a republican hopeful for the presidential candidacy for the 2008 elections, speaks out on immigration. Giuliani spoke in Mission, Texas about having a virtual fence along the border rather than real one.


The fence hasn't been built in this part of Texas, the biggest border between the U.S. and Mexico, primarily because of opposition by Texans. But Giuliani believes that a physical fence is needed in some places of the border, but most of the border should be policed with high technology monitoring. He also believes that this virtual fence is better because it alerts when people are approaching the border.

Even though the Rio Grande Valley is the biggest and most populated, Giuliani did not address the idea of building a fence in that area. Most locals are heavily against building a fence in this area because they feel it would create a "no mans land."

Governor Rick Perry, a supported and endorser of Giuliani, is against the construction of a 1,200-mile wall, instead, he supports fencing at strategic points. Also the belief that if they add more border patrol agents and they tighten security by using this virtual fence immigration will
decline. Starting next year Perry has a plan to broadcast live video footage from mobile cameras on the border between Texas and Mexico.

Giuliani has been heavily criticized for his immigration policies in New York. The "sanctuary policy", which barred city workers during his administration from reporting suspected illegal immigrants who enrolled their children in school or sought hospital treatment. But Giuliani says his approach cracked down on crime.

Giuliani believes his method was the best that addressed immigration in the history of the U.S. While opponents feel that Giuliani's approach created a haven in New York for immigrants. Giuliani said his approach could end illegal immigration within three years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071120/ap_on_el_pr/giuliani_border_6;_ylt=Ak6OPi_Kc5OTF6T3Wq2nPMBQuk0A
Written By: Sergio Morelos

San Francisco: Immigration Sanctuary

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors expects approval of a bill mandating that identification cards be made for all residents of the city, including illegal immigrants, on Tuesday. LA Times writer, Maria La Ganga, wrote that while this may be big news elsewhere, people expect nothing less from ultra-liberal San Francisco.

The proposition may, however, be big news for San Francisco’s large illegal immigrant population. The new bill would help immigrants to prove residency and gain easier access to services offered by the city or businesses. Supervisor Tom Ammiano has also spoken with local banks that will allow the ID cards to be used to open accounts. The proposed ID cards can be used as valid proof of identification at all city departments or companies with city contracts, unless state or federal law requires other forms of identification.

Ammiano argues that the ID cards may also encourage undocumented immigrants to report crimes that they witness or experience. Authorities have stated that there are likely many crimes that go unreported merely because the witnesses or victims fear deportation.

The ID card bill is not the first legislative action that San Francisco has taken to create an immigrant sanctuary. The city has already refused to offer funds or aid of any type to the progression of immigration raids. Ammiano believes that local undocumented immigrants contribute greatly to the economic condition of the city, stating, “Without the hard work of a lot of people who are residents but not citizens, we wouldn’t have a successful tourism or hotel industry.”

This type of immigration policy may someday make it to our neck of the woods. Executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Angelica Salas called the proposition a “fabulous idea.” She believed the measure to be a step towards the recognition “that there are actually people who live and work in that city who should not be ignored.”

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-idcard19nov19,1,6845649.story?ctrack=7&cset=true

Immigration Agent Charged With Sexual Assault

It is evident that the dangers of immigration are present when entering a country illegally. Not only putting your life in danger and coming to a country where everything is unfamiliar but not knowing what lye in ones future is something of great concern.


A Jamaican women was being transformed from a Miami-Dade detention center to one in Broward by an immigration agent, 35-year-old Wilfredo Vazquez, who took her to his home instead and raped her.

"A criminal complaint filed in Miami federal court alleges that Wilfredo Vazquez, 35, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, sexually assaulted the 39-year-old Jamaican mother of two on the afternoon of Sept. 21 at his Tamarac home."

Vazquez has denied the accusations and stated that he had only stopped once to get gas. But the investigators found out that he indeed had stopped more than once, and this being in the place where the crime took charge, according to an affidavit by Homeland Security. The affidavit also showed that he had got on an on ramp near his home. The victim also described in detail the neighborhood and the Vazquez home.

This has been the first case since 2000 and now they have removed all females from the Miami-Dade detention center. U.S. customs and Immigration reported that they have fired Vazquez eve since the accusations.

http://cbs4.com/local/sexual.assault.immigration.2.570345.html

Written By: Sergio Morelos