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

Texans Support Border Control by Water

Texas mayors oppose building a fence at the Mexican border in favor of widening and deepening the Rio Grande River. They believe the fence would damage relations with neighboring Mexican towns and may harm farmers’ businesses by cutting off their line to the river.

Mayors of predominantly Mexican cities have named the proposed fence the “wall of shame.” The mayors said that they are willing to take the government to court if they remain adamant about building the fence.

The mayors believe that altering the depth and width of the Rio Grande would solve all the problems at hand. They think this action would be more effective in hindering illegal immigration. Brownsville mayor, Pat Ahumada, stated, “A widened river would be a bigger deterrent to illegal immigration and the project doesn’t send the wrong message to Mexico that the wall does.”

Brownsville and Laredo are the front-running cities with plans to expand the Rio Grande. The projects would involve tripling the river’s width by digging on the U.S. side and deepening the river to 10 feet at its shallowest points.

By expanding the river, the time it takes immigrants to cross the river would increase by four to five minutes, giving Border Patrol more time to spot border-crossers. Because the river is a bi-national waterway Mexico must also agree to the plan, and, so far, Mexican officials are in favor of the river expansion.

The debates arising now are the safety aspects of the river expansion. Some officials argue that this plan will only result in more immigrant drowning deaths. Rio Grande expansion officials do not agree, but more research is being conducted on the subject before the project will move on.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/usa_border_wall_dc;_ylt=AtrO6E4gTb4UjSVC625ANkJQuk0A

States Could Be Punished for Supporting Immigration

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney promised to cut federal funding for cities and states that are tolerant of illegal immigration. He also went as far as saying that his plan would cut funding for those states that issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and states that allow the children of illegal immigrants to receive in-state tuition discounts at universities.

Romney also outlined a plan to create an employment verification card that, he said, would make it easier for companies to determine a prospective employee's citizenship status. He then went on about tuition and immigration. He said he feel it is unfair the children of illegal immigrants get a price discount on tuition while those children of citizens pay full price. He is not trying to discourage education, hes just trying to make it equal for all.

"The Nevada System of Higher Education does not specifically consider a student's or their parents' citizenship when determining residency for tuition purposes, according to Nevada law." The issue of drivers license is set by social security numbers as required by state law. Democratic opponent, Mike Hucakbee governor of Arkansas, stated that it isn't fair for children to suffer for their parents mistakes.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/romney-promises-to-punish-states-for/n20071117213209990014

Written By: Sergio Morelos

Minuteman Abandoned at CSULB

Approximately 300 students and faculty gathered at the Beach Auditorium in support or protest of the presence and words of Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project. The Minuteman Project has been accused of being a racist, violent and extremist movement that attempts to scare immigrants from crossing the border. According to Jim Gilchrist’s Minuteman Project website, the project has chapters in 15 states, all encompassing the idea that ordinary citizens should uphold immigration laws.

The event was meant to be a debate between conservative Gilchrist and liberal Enrique Morones, who founded Border Angels, a group that lends aid to immigrants in the last stages of their border-crossing. Within the first minutes of the debate, Morones urged students and faculty to walk out on the debate. He called Gilchrist’s behavior hateful, and began a separate discussion outside of the auditorium.

A Long Beach Press Telegram editorial writer criticized the Morones’s opposition (most of the students and faculty gathered), for refusing to even hear what Gilchrist had to say. The behavior on both sides of the argument contributed to an attitude of intolerance and hate, rather than acceptance that all people have their own opinions.

The entire event was more of a spectacle than an informative discussion. Attendees taped signs to their backs identifying where their parents or grandparents had migrated from. Posters telling the Minutemen to “go home” and likening the group to the Ku Klux Klan peppered the crowd, and Gilchrist dramatically wore bullet-proof vest, to later remove it signifying that he was prepared to sacrifice his life for his views.

Gilchrist continued his discussion for two hours for the few dozen people remaining, emphasizing the importance of Americans’ freedom of speech and assembly.

http://www.minutemanproject.com/newsmanager/templates/mmp.asp?articleid=234&zoneid=5

Democrats still unclear about immigration stand

Las Vegas, Nevada, is one of the first places that the Democratic presidential hopefuls united to debate their difference over immigration, foreign policy and the proper tone of an increasingly harsh campaign.

Like every other presidential debate the continuous attacks on Ms. Clinton continued, now from her democratic comrades. Obama and Edwards stated clearly that Clinton didn't respond directly to any of the questions that were being asked to her. "Asked Thursday night whether she was playing the gender card to garner support and sympathy, Clinton said no. "I'm just trying to play the winning card," she said."

This debate clearly consisted of many topics but the one that just doesn't seem to go away is the one of Immigration. This issue had carried over from the previous debate, the main issue was the issuing of drivers license to illegal immigrants. The issue was presented again but the outcome of the debate was different. This time is was Obama who couldn't give a clear direct answer. He went back an forth on the issue and even gave an example of what he did in Illinois to promote this idea. On the other hand, from the previous debate, Clinton was the one who hadn't given her clear answer and there so so much talk about her not being able to decide on the issue. But this time she clearly said she wouldn't support it and every other candidate agreed.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-debate16nov16,1,1429277.story?ctrack=3&cset=true

Written By: Sergio Morelos

Slim Chances in Immigration Court

Any person accused of a crime, and brought before a U.S. court is provided an attorney free of cost if the defendant cannot meet the expense of their own attorney—any person that is not an illegal immigrant. Of approximately 314,000 people who went to trial in immigration court last year, two-thirds represented themselves or went through pro se.

Lack of proper representation in immigration court is likely to account for unfair deportations and slow trial processes. Immigrants are told by judges that they must pay for an attorney or represent themselves, with little to no knowledge of how to find their way through immigration law. Donald Kerwin, Executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Inc., stated, “How do they possibly pick out of everything that’s happened to them in their lives the legally significant points? You have to know the legal standards to do that.”

Immigration laws and border control have been stepped up recently, and according to Kerwin, even children are being called into court now without legal representation. Many immigrants have been transferred to rural detention centers where attorneys are especially difficult to find, much less pay for.

Immigrant Roxana Velasco recently experienced this dilemma after she was apprehended while attempting to cross the border at the Rio Grande to re-unite with her husband. Velasco made calls to three different attorneys, two of which were asking $10,000 to represent her, and one who said she could not help. Roxana Velasco was forced to go into court alone with little likeliness of eligibility to remain in the country.

Many immigration lawyers say that most immigrants have no legal right to stay in the country, such as someone to sponsor their visa, or claim to asylum. However, Kerwin and other advocates believe that immigrants need an attorney to explain their options to them and to help them build a case if they may qualify for a sponsored visa or claim to asylum. The Catholic Legal Immigration Network revealed that government data proved that immigrants with legal representation were much more likely to win their cases, than those without.

Lawyers have gained little by arguing violation due process for immigrants; so many advocates are emphasizing that legal representation for all immigrants will save the government money by speeding up the trial procedure.

As for the pro bono lawyers and associations handling such cases, Alberto M. Benitez, director of the George Washington University Immigration Law Clinic, says that they are constantly swamped with applicants. Immigration court judges argue that “justice can be done without lawyers, but it’s tedious.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/07/AR2007010701281.html

Immigration Reform Unlikely

As presidential elections are coming up in the next year, the issue of immigration is something that activist and lobbyist are trying to bring into the candidates campaigning in hope that there is some type of reform. But immigration is not one of the major issue that will be discussed in the 2008 elections, primarily because the Democratic stand is so unclear on the issue.

Key immigrration lawmakers estimate that there will not be any type of bills that will be presented in the upcoming election that will help legalize undocumented immigrants. These predictions are seen after two major measures were turned down.

The first being the Dream Act which would have legalized college bound students whose parents brought them to the United States without visas and the second was when "Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., opted not to attach her move to give legal status to about 500,000 illegal farm workers to a $283billion farm bill." Another major issue that shows the immigriation isnt priority on the Democractic election campaign is when they asked Hilary Clinton wether illegal immigrants should be granted driver licenses and she failed to answer the question.

As it isnt clear if the issue of imigration is a determinant in elections, it clearly that 2008 wont be contributing to the study.

http://www.presstelegram.com/search/ci_7436808?IADID=Search-www.presstelegram.com-www.presstelegram.com

Written By: Sergio Morelos

Democratic Stand on Immigration Issue

The diverse stand on the the issue of immigration in our country has become a political weapon used by the Republican Party against the Democrats. As the presidential race emerges and the political campaigns are being formed immigration is an issued that can not be put on hold.

Democrats have always been seen as having a welcoming stance on immigration. Their liberal views have helped many immigrants become legal residents and citizens of this country by the many programs and laws passed under their command. With the recently immigration marches and issues that have raised in the last decade, this issue is something definitely in the agenda of the 2008 elections.

"If Democrats turn a blind eye to the public concerns about immigration, it would be a mistake," said Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas). Republicans feel that the issue of immigration is something that will give them the win in 2008 because of the diverse political view that is split down the middle in the democratic party.

There has been many immigration issues that have emerged recently that have shown the Democratic unsure views. "In Virginia, for instance, where Democrats took control of the state Senate, one high- profile victory came in the Washington suburbs, where the winner distributed mailings in the campaign's closing days proclaiming his opposition to in-state college tuition for illegal immigrants," and "the Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, and in the presidential campaign, in which party front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has struggled to explain whether she supports the Spitzer plan or not."

These issues an other show that the democratic party is not united in the issue of immigration. The Republican Party will definitely use this as a weapon to win the 2008 presidential election. But the Democratic Party refuses to accept their unsure views and says they will keep their image and not follow Republican ideals as it has been instated before.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-immig11nov11,1,6588376.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Written By: Sergio Morelos

Farmer is Taking His Business to Mexico

California farmer, Steve Scaroni, is moving 20 percent of his farming business to Mexico because of the insecure labor force due to immigration laws.

Scaroni claimed that at least 50 percent of his crews were short on a weekly basis. He attributed this shortage to tightened borders and recent crack-downs on immigrant employers. Employers have 90 days to fire workers whose social security numbers do not match up with the records of the Social Security Administration. Because 70 percent of farm workers are immigrants, Scaroni said that immigration reform is much needed for his business to survive in the U.S.

Scaroni attempted to solve the labor shortage himself by mechanizing his farms in California, but some of his crops require human harvesting to put out the best product. Scaroni has established five farms in Guanajuato, Mexico, where his workers are brought to the fields on buses from their villages. He is relieved that he does not need to worry about losing his labor force in Mexico.

A handful of Scaroni’s California workers, who were never able to gain legal residence in the U.S., followed him to Mexico to work at the new farms. One of his workers lived in the U.S. for 15 years, but was never able to become a legal citizen.

Starting up the business in Mexico has been costly, but Scaroni believes he will quickly see major profits because he is now paying his Mexican workers $11 per day, in comparison to the $9 an hour he paid his workers in the U.S.

Scaroni believes that the U.S. food source will always be grown, harvested, and packed by immigrants. Now he is just wondering whether it will be grown, harvested, and packed in the U.S. or in third world countries.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/i/immigration_and_refugees/index.html

Center Promises Asylum for Immigrants at a Price

A Florida institution must close for accepting donations from illegal immigrants in exchange for refuge to Canada. Hundreds of illegal immigrants were promised legal residence in Canada by the Jerusalem Haitian Community Center of Naples.

The Jerusalem Haitian Community Center was founded by Haitian refugee, Jacques Sinjuste, for immigrants presenting themselves as refugees seeking asylum. Immigration officials revealed that about 450 immigrants traveled from Florida to Canada with the help of this organization in the last few months.

Some immigrants donated as much as $400 to the center to facilitate their travel across Canadian borders. The immigrants, mostly Haitian and Mexican, were seeking asylum, but many are awaiting their hearings.

Florida State Attorney General, Bill McCollum, believes the organization was engaging in misleading practices. Only a fraction of the immigrants Sinjuste helped to transport to Canada would actually be eligible for refugee status. As a result of the current turmoil in Haiti, Haitian immigrants would be much more likely to achieve refugee status in Canada than Mexican immigrants.

Over $30,000 has already been refunded to immigrants who donated funds to the Jerusalem Haitian Community Center, but officials are unsure of how to find hundreds of other people who gave money to the center.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/10/us/10immig.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

Immigrants Become Politics—Not People

Democrats are moving away from their traditionally pro-immigration stand hoping for more votes in 2008 election.

“If democrats turn a blind eye to immigration, it would be a mistake,” says Texas Democrat, Chet Edwards, who attributes his House reelection to a more conservative line on immigration.

Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Joe Baca, says he is “tired of people trying to scapegoat the immigrants or Hispanics as a platform.” Baca believes Democrats are following Republican suit in order to win reelection, while ignoring their job to represent the communities that elected them.

The recent conflict between democrats stemmed from the Senate’s recent defeat of a bill that would have aided illegal workers in gaining citizenship. President Bush backed the bill, in an attempt to gain Latino votes the GOP believed were lost in House and Senate elections because of their apathetic views on immigration.

While democrats are shying away from liberal immigration rhetoric, republicans are adopting a more moderate stance on the issue. Both parties are shifting their traditional views in order to gain GOP status, regardless of what their communities want from their representatives.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-immig11nov11,1,6588376.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Illegal Immigrants Become Easy Targets

A San Fernando Valley couple was apprehended for posing as law officials and robbing illegal immigrants on the streets of Southern California. Steve Leo, 34 and Sabrina John, 32, were arrested in connection with 21 robberies of illegal immigrants, but authorities believe there were many more.

The couple targeted illegal immigrants, including migrant workers, on their way home from work. Leo and John imitated sheriffs in green uniforms, carried a replica handgun, and even kept a laptop in their vehicle to give the impression of running background checks. Sheriff Lee Baca explained the couple’s tactics, stating: “(They) ordered victims to submit themselves to a pat-down search. The suspects removed the victims' wallet and/or cash and instructed the victims to continue walking.”

Witnesses claimed that the operation seemed suspect, but fear of deportation kept many victims from reporting the crimes. Gaining the cooperation of illegal immigrants who are crime victims has been a long time struggle for authorities, especially in Los Angeles County. LAPD officers constantly attempt to balance their duty to protect the people of Los Angeles and their responsibility to accommodate the Immigration and Customs Enforcement on immigration matters.

Local Latinos said they were not surprised at hearing about Leo and John’s operation. Day-laborer Arnulfo Godoy Chamale stated, “I think this is part of the life of being an immigrant. We don’t have any protection.”

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-shakedown8nov08,1,2189298.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=2&cset=true

Apprehension of Illegal Border-Crossers Down 20%

Officials announced that apprehension of undocumented migrants dropped 20 percent this year, to its lowest point in five years.

Immigration officials announced the drop on Tuesday, attributing the drop to:

1. An increase in Border Patrol Agents: Border Patrol employment grew from 2,500 to 14,923 agents, and 6,000 National Guard troops have also been serving at the border.
2. Additional Fencing
3. Expanded prosecution of illegal border-crossers

A trial program called “Operation Streamline” resulted in the highest apprehension drops in the cities of Yuma and Del Rio. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website, this zero-tolerance program requires criminal prosecution of all border-crossers, and leads to jail terms as long as 180 days. Before the program was implemented, border-crossers were quickly returned to Mexico without formal deportation. The dramatic apprehension decline in Yuma and Del Rio led authorities to believe that the zero-tolerance program is truly effective.

“Operation Streamline” will be implemented in additional border-towns, but lack of detention space and prosecutorial resources will limit the program’s capacity.

Critics and experts on the subject do not follow officials’ reasoning behind the decline, stating that there is no evidence suggesting that the attributed measures actually deter immigrants. They believe that the new statistics do not paint a complete picture of activity at the border. The fall in apprehensions may be due to a slowing U.S. economy drawing fewer immigrants.

The only city to see an increase in apprehensions was San Diego, which led authorities to believe that the established network of human smugglers in Tijuana is enticing to immigrants.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-immig7nov07,1,7223125.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

The New Hot-Button Issue

Amidst the heat of the presidential campaigns, candidates are learning that a relatively new issue is climbing its way up the priority list: Immigration.

Following the Oct. 5 special congressional race in Massachusetts, Democrats learned that public concern on immigration now outweighs concerns over healthcare and Iraq at the polls. With this paramount information, Democratic presidential candidates are now quick to address the issue and attempt to entice the large block of Latino voters.

The battles over immigration have been alive in Congress for years, however, now presidential hopefuls are submitting their opinions on the subject for public analysis.

New York’s Governor, Eliot Spitzer, suggested a plan to grant people who violate immigration laws driver’s licenses. If this idea became a reality, it would partially legalized illegal immigrants. Sen. Hilary Rodham Clinton evaluated both sides of this proposal during last week’s debate between Democratic presidential candidates. Clinton’s failure to take a stance on the issue invoked criticism from her fellow candidates.

Several pieces of immigration legislation have recently been turned down in the House and Senate, including the “Dream Act” which would have offered financial aid for college to illegal immigrants, who entered the country as children with their parents. Failed attempts for such immigration reform bring up the question: Who will act firmly on immigration in 2008?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20071106/cm_csm/eimmigration

May Day Melee Still Under Investigation

On May 1, 2007, the Los Angeles Police Department was involved in a tremendous controversy that left many peoples injured. The incident took place at MacArthur Park in May when immigrants and fellow U.S. citizens rallied in the park to protest immigration rights. The problem wasn’t that the protestors were behaving disorderly but only a certain group was heckling the police.

The LAPD instead of handling the issue in a certain way in which no protestor could get hurt did the complete opposite. Many journalists, protestors including children and mothers, and innocent bystanders were injured when LAPD used batons and excessive force to control the situation. After months of the May Day melee, the LAPD has not yet completed the investigation, which is expected to be completed in December.

On Tuesday, commission members questioned the LAPD on the discipline actions towards the officers involved in the incident, who have not yet been reprimanded for it.

"Some of them strike me as no-brainers," said Shelley Freeman, one of five members of the civilian panel, who said she had watched a lot of video from the demonstration.

Still LAPD defend the way they are handling this case and that before anything cans be released or said about the episode they have to examine everything from start to end. They said the findings will be turned over to LAPD commanders, who will advise Chief William J. Bratton whether disciplinary action is appropriate.
"Just because we think we know something now. . . . Sometimes we get information later that can alter that," said Deputy Chief Mark Perez, head of the Professional Standards Bureau, which oversees internal probes. "We don't want to jump the gun."

LAPD officials said Tuesday that they had so far questioned 48 officers about incidents at the rally.A total of 27 complaints of LAPD’s misconduct from the media and 289 from the public have been received by the department.The LAPD’s excuse for the delay of the investigation is that trying to identify the officer responsible for firing the foam bullets and bean bag rounds.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lapd31oct31,1,1162311.story

Driver’s license for undocumented.

On Oct. 28, in Washington a three-tiered structure for driver’s licenses including driver’s license for illegal immigrants was signed off by top state and federal officials. The controversial plan to license the illegal immigrants is led by Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

According to Spitzer, the immigrant licenses would be unusable for boarding planes or would not be recognized as a federal identification and they must prove their state residency and require a passport. However, immigrant rights advocates are already upset with the governor for the two major changes.

Following in the examples of Arizona, Vermont and Washington, New York is the forth state to establish this license option which would allow people to drive into Canada without a passport.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff now seems intrigued with the compromise Spitzer has brought to the table.

Chertoff has already said that he doesn’t like Spitzer’s idea of licensing illegal immigrants; he really can’t do anything about it.

"I don't endorse giving licenses to people who are not here legally, but federal law does allow states to make that choice," Chertoff said.

However Chertoff seemed happy that Spitzer was working on improving his proposal of driver’s license in New York.

Spitzer's move "is a lose-lose political decision that betrays his most ardent supporters and emboldens the anti-immigrant opposition," said Chung-Wha Hong of the New York Immigration Coalition.

Immigrant-rights groups said the deal could make it impossible for some to apply.
Republicans see this effort of driver’s license for illegal immigrants as an incentives for immigrants to move to New York and as a way of undermining security, approximately half a million to 1 million illegal immigrants already reside in New York.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-licenses28oct28,1,5543341.story

San Diego police deporting fire evacuees?

As the fires in the San Diego County grew and homes were being destroyed by the flames, the well being of many evacuees were also at risk. Many of the evacuated from the San Diego homes are illegal immigrants and feared immigration authorities. Thus not seeking help at the shelters. Many feared that if they went to any shelter offering food for them, then those immigrants would be deported back to their countries.

"We decided that we wouldn't go because they ask for your name and everything," said day laborer Jose Salgado, waiting for work off the 5 Freeway near Rancho Santa Fe.Many of these immigrants worked in tomatoes fields in San Diego and without a home and possible without a job to go to many were left with nothing. Border Patrol agents took part in helping with the evacuated citizens at the Qualcomm Stadium. As more immigration authorities participated many immigrants feared that if they asked for help they would automatically be reported and deported.

"We are not arresting fire evacuees. It's absolutely ludicrous to suggest otherwise," said Lauren Mack, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The American Civil Liberties Union and Immigrant rights group have said that U.S. authorities are in fact rounding up immigrants for deportation, however the Mexican Consulate in San Diego has encountered these shelters and have not found any type of evidence to confirm the round up.

Many federal agents as many as 100 were assigned to help with the fires leaving their border posts, they assisted in evacuating people from homes, staff checkpoints, protected against looters and helped at the shelters.

President of the Border Angels, an immigrant rights group, Enrique Morones said, “Having people at the evacuation sites in Border Patrol uniforms is asinine.”

A Mexican family was arrested by the San Diego police at Qualcomm Stadium after they allegedly stealing food which they intended to sell. The San Diego police then handed over the family to the border patrol agent, which deported them after living in the U.S. for several years.

The footage of the arrest has been playing over the air on various television stations which has helped elevate the fear of illegal immigrants seek help. Rumors of deportations grew Wednesday when San Diego police arrested a Mexican family at Qualcomm Stadium for allegedly stealing food they intended to resell. After being handed over to border agents, the family, which had been living in the U.S. for several years, was deported. Footage of their arrest was replayed numerous times on local television stations.

"They were petrified," said Remy Bermudez, a teacher who served as a volunteer at the stadium. "They said, 'After what happened . . . we're afraid."

The ACLU and immigrant rights groups claim illegal immigrants were subjected to racial profiling at Qualcomm and were abused by some volunteers who questioned their legal status. They have also said the city did not go out to migrant camps to tell people to evacuate.

According to Fred Sainz, a spokesman for San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, identification wasn't required to enter shelters. The mayor, he said, has always looked out for the needs of the migrant community and has tried to protect them from encounters with Minutemen and other groups that oppose illegal immigration.

"The mayor has bent over backward to protect the migrant population," said Sainz.Critics say local and federal officials should be more sensitive to how immigrants might perceive things. A checkpoint that might seem inconvenient but understandable to a citizen could represent potential deportation to an immigrant, they say.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-border28oct28,1,2904297.story

Missouri's Governor against illegal hiring

The owner of a janitorial company that had a contract with the state has filed a lawsuit against the State Governor of Missouri, Matt Blunt.

The owner of Sam’s Janitorial in Jefferson City, Missouri, K. Asamoah-Boadu had nine contracts cancelled with the state because he had employed illegal immigrants in his company. According to the lawsuit presented by Asamoah-Baodu, on March 6, 25 of the Sam’s Janitorial employees were arrested in Jefferson City by federal and state law enforcement officers.

After loosing his state contracts Asamoah- Boadu is seeking monetary damages. He also argues that Gov. Blunt cancelled his contracts not only for hiring illegal immigrants but because Blunt has overused his power as governor and of racial discrimination.

Asamoah-Boadu, an African-born U.S. citizen, alleges racial discrimination because the state contract in past years was given to white-owned B&G Cleaning before Sam's Janitorial won the bid.

In his defense Blunt stated, “that's ludicrous."
Blunt recommended this advice to the county prosecutors who think a contractor employs illegal immigrants need to: check the Missouri accountability portal, a database that tracks what companies receive tax credits; contact the Missouri information analysis center for background checks; and contact local law enforcement agencies.

The same day as the raid, were 25 employees were arrested, Governor Blunt gave an executive order reinforcing the issue about hiring illegal immigrants. He said, "If the state determines that a current contractor employs any persons who are not eligible to work in the United States in violation of federal law, the contractor shall be in breach of contract and the state may lawfully terminate the contract and suspend or debar the contractor from doing business [in] the state of Missouri."

http://www.mercurynews.com/natbreakingnews/ci_7278694

http://www.komu.com/satellite/SatelliteRender/KOMU.com/ba8a4513-c0a8-2f11-0063-9bd94c70b769/d96beb71-c0a8-2f11-0103-e8a9d25730ba

Dream Act Shut Down

Today United States Senate rejected the Dream Act which would have allowed young people brought to the U.S. as children by their illegal immigrant parents the opportunity to gain legal status with the condition they attend school or join the military.

60 votes were required by the Senate in order for the bill to continue but it fell short 52-44.

"I believe in this bill passionately," said lead sponsor Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), who has lobbied for the so-called Dream Act for five years and says he knows many young people who would be helped by it. "Some of their stories are heartbreaking. Many know no other country, know no other language, and now they are being told to leave by our government."

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act -- DREAM Act for short -- was a popular part of a broad immigration plan that would have legalized as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants and fortified the border.

The Democrats that favored the bill assured that if the bill passed, that American business would benefit from the skilled graduates and that it would boost the military force.

"Children should not be penalized for the actions of their parents," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). "Many of the children this bill addresses came here when they were very young. Many don't even remember their home countries or speak the language of their home countries. They are just as loyal and devoted to our country as any American."

Conservative groups attacked the bill as it seems to be an "amnesty" measure and that it would provoke a storm of public outrage. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said, “It's a slap in the face to all of those who came in here legally."

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Congress-Immigration.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-immig25oct25,1,39366.story?ctrack=6&cset=true

Immigrants learning to speak "American"

More and more immigrants are learning the proper way to speak English. This is not just occurring in Los Angeles but throughout the United States, it seems that immigrants want to lose their native accents to become “Americanized”. This kind of classes which help reduce accents have been around for many years however according to a study done by the American Speech-Language Hearing Assn. reported an increase of 15% from 2005 to 2006.But not only are accent reduce classes growing, so are books which teach how to speak English correctly.

The author of the book and CD set “Speak English Like an American”, Amy Gillet, said the book copies have tripled in the past years. Her book was released in 2004 and only sold 1,500 copies, today the count is 5,000.

The main priority people are seeking these accent reduction classes are not only to seek better job opportunities but to help them in their everyday social life. Many are very self-conscious about their speech and want to sound “normal”.

Jennie Lo, 43, of Culver City said her accent has been an embarrassment since she arrived in the United States from Taiwan in 1988.

"It was a handicap," she said. "I couldn't say the things I wanted to say." "I just want to feel good about myself," she said. "If I really work hard, if I practice every day, I can't be perfect. But I can be better."

These classes however don’t come cheap, usually for an hour class it’s about $100 for an individual class. Imagine having a 13-week session it could range from $1,200 to $2,500, that can be one or two months of a house mortgage, leaving many immigrants already living pay check to pay check with no funds.

According to Dennis Baron, a linguistics professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says taking course is a waste of money. Baron says that the only way to reduce the accent is be calming it and that takes years of interaction with native English speakers.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-accent23oct23,0,38076,full.story?coll=la-home-center

Border Fence to Destroy a Conservation Area

Today the United States homeland security, Michael Chertoff, went against federal court ruling in order to re-instate the border fence construction. Chertoff waived various environmental laws which many environmentalists were trying to protect the construction of the border fence through a national conservation area in Arizona.

According to Chertoff, if the border fence or virtual border as it has been acknowledged is postponed further it would be an “acceptable risk to our nation’s security”. The fence would be approximately 6.9 miles along side the United States-Mexico border and would unfortunately be built through the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in Cochise County in southeastern Arizona.

On Oct. 10, Judge Ellen Segal Huevelle of the Federal Court for the District of Columbia ruled to suspend the construction of the border fence. This decision was made because the Judge Segal Huevelle evaluated that the government did not assessed the grounds on which the fence was going to be built, the government didn’t take the environment into consideration. This environmental concern was brought to the court by the Sierra Club and the Defenders of the Wildlife.

Sean Sullivan, a spokesman for the Sierra Club in Arizona, said that “we can secure our borders while we protect our public lands” and that “bulldozing” the conservation area was not necessary to manage the border.
The Department of Homeland Security criticized the ruling made by the court and said that 19,000 illegal immigrants have been detained through the conservation area. Thus, illegal crossing of immigrants has caused more harm to the conservation area by trash and human waste left behind by the immigrants than the fence itself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/us/23fence.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1193112595-aeVk0Hu1Yv63m0iSZ2Wg9Q

Obama arrives in Southern California

Illinois Senator and Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama arrive yesterday to Southern California to get the Latino vote in Los Angeles. Obama was received by approximatley 300 people at Garfield High School located in East Los Angeles where the heart of the latino community is present. He talked about various topics that are part of his campaign agaenda but his main points or concerns where on education and immigration. He critisized Gov. Arnold

Schwarzenegger, who on Oct. 10 vetoed the SB 1, “The California Dream Act”, whcich would allow students of an illegal immigrant status to receive scholarships for their college studies.

"That was wrong," Obama said, "Instead of driving thousands of children who were on the right path into the shadows, we need to give those who play by the rules the opportunity to succeed."
Another topic Obama was defensive about was immigration. He supports a constructive plan or program to help legalize the millions of immigrants in the U.S. as well as a secured border. As well as working with Mexico to create jobs in Mexico and to stop U.S. companies from hiring illegal immigrants, which would stop the flow from Mexico to U.S.

"When people say, 'Oh, send 'em all back' -- we're not sending them all back," he said. "People aren't telling the truth. We would have to use all our law enforcement resources. We couldn't go after gang bangers, we couldn't go after auto theft. We'd have to use every single law enforcement officer to go around and round up folks who are working at restaurants."

http://www.laopinion.com/primerapagina/?rkey=00000000000002521740

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-obama21oct21,1,92277.story?ctrack=3&cset=true

Virtual border fence is ready fro testing

The U.S. – Mexico border seems to be ready for the high tech “virtual fence,” after being delayed for several months due to minor computer glitches according to a federal official.

This virtual fence would be located in the southwest of Tucson, one section of the U.S. –Mexico border covering approximately a 28-mile radius, which would detect and capture illegal immigrants as well as drug smugglers. This 20- million virtual fence prototype consist of nine towers with sensors, cameras and radar.

Boeing the prime contractor for this project, put it on hold because the computer software for the fence was not reading correctly, in other words it couldn’t distinguish between a human trying to cross the border with a cow grazing. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff stated to a congressional committee that he was going to suspend payment to Boeing until the situation was fixed and the system was ready to be put in use.

Boeing on the other hand has set up a test day for the virtual fence during the last week of October, which would be tested in Arizona since it is considered the focal point for illegal crossings from Mexico to the United States.

If this prototype is a success then approximately 1,800 towers will be in place alongside the U.S. - Mexico border and U.S. - Canada border. By the time this project is completely in 2011 it would have cost the U.S. $8 billion.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-oe-klein20oct20,1,7427730.story?ctrack=5&cset=true

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-fence18oct18,1,2517122.story?ctrack=6&cset=true

4,500 Dead at the Border

In the last 13 years, ranging from 1994 to the present 4,500 immigrants have perished at the U.S. – Mexico border. At this rate it is calculated that at least one immigrant dies each day. The number of immigrants dying at the border increased after The Guardian Operation was established by the United States, in San Diego, California on October 1, 1994 to help reduce immigrants from crossing the U.S. - Mexico border through Tijuana, Baja California. However, this program has been criticized by many for diverting immigrants into isolated and dangerous locations at the border, leaving them to die, thus increasing the deaths. Such organizations include the Coalition Pro Defense for Immigrants and the California Legal Rural Assistance Foundation.

According to Ramon Rivera Director of Communications for the Border Patrol in Washington D.C., from October 2006 to August 2007, a total of 371immigrants have died at the border.
Mauricio Farah, a representative from the National Commission of Human Rights, said “in one decade the United States has opted for spending $30 million on reinforcing the border, the United States has increased their border patrol agents from 6,000 to 18,000.”

Farah assured that in this 13 years the migration towards the U.S. hasn’t been contained but in fact has increased, as well as human trafficking and violence at the border. The migration increased heavily during former Mexico President Vicente Fox’s term., approximately 450,000 to 500,000 people migrated in a yearly rate.

Now no one pays attention to how many people die at the border, only the families of those deceased care about. Not an English media has focused on this topic, more attention is being focused on celebrities and what they do or do not do, while humans are dying at the border who was seeking a better life.

This year a program was established named Operation Border Star, which rescues immigrants who are near death at the border. Through this program over one thousand people have been rescued from locations at the border that are unbearable for any human.

The spokesperson for the Border Patrol, Wendy Lee, said, “If it wasn’t for this organization the number of deaths would be higher.”

People trying to cross the border are usually abandoned by “coyotes” which lead immigrants to the road of death. Coyotes are the persons who sneak immigrants into the U.S., charging higher fees and leaving them heartlessly at the sign of trouble.

http://laopinion.com/archivo/index.html?START=1&RESULTSTART=1&DISPLAYTYPE=single&FREETEXT=un+muerto+por+dia+en+la+frontera&FDATEd12=&FDATEd13=&SORT_MODE=SORT_MODE

Interview with a Homeland Security Agent

I recently interview a federal agent of Homeland Security whose identity cannot be shared for safety reason. This agent has been with Homeland Security since May of 2003 and rank is a government service or GS 11.

These are some of the questions I asked

Do you feel that you were trained properly to do your job?

• “Yes, we get daily publication of new rules and regulations.”

What are some of the problems you see with homeland security?

• We are under staff immensely, which causes many of us to work hours of overtime daily which can cause us to make more mistakes but it has a greater toll on our bodies too
• It can also strain family relationships
• The equipment isn’t up to date. Like printers, computers and radios
• Not everyone has radio
• Which is a big problem because since communications is a big part of our job
• The computer are always running, they never have a day off, their always being used
• The same can be said for shredder and copiers. They don’t get a break
• If the computer are broken during the graveyard shift 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. your out of luck, you just have to used another one until I.T. comes in the mourning
• I.T. only works 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. not late at night.
• They say I.T. can’t work at night since its not in the budget
• Network is slow because everyone is one it. More computers. Fraud section and warrant people.

What changes would you make to improve homeland security?

• Higher more people
• Starting pay more than $30,000
• More funding for equipment
• Process to be hirer takes to long
• Three months of training in a different state, with screening along the way. Background check take to long as well
• It can take up to a year on average to be hired
• It took me seven months and that was annoying
• But their trying to make the screening process quicker by letting people go to training without background checks but if something bad comes out you can lose that job
• This is also a bad idea because someone can see how we would
• Make more interview for the screen process, since these are people who are protecting our national broader from people who want to blow it up
• Communication between the ranks. From high to low. Making suggestion to our supervisor, doesn’t really change anything because that’s the way things just are
• Make a complete background and but also make the screening process quicker
  More up to date training for new developing issues that arise

Being Hispanic, do you feel bad sending Mexicans back even thou you’re an immigrant as well?

• “I feel bad for people who come to this county wanting to make a good life however, in feeling bad I am just following the laws of United States. I’m an enforcer. That’s my job, I took a job to serve and protect.”

Are you proud of your job?

• Yes, that I served my government not just once but twice.

Is their anything else you would like to say?

• Do you know it’s harder for a Mexican citizen to get legal status in the United States than an Iraq citizen that claims asylum. “I don’t like it, but thats the law.” One main reasons is because we fuck up their county so we own them something
• Every state along the broader has a port of entrance, homelands officers at airports like international JFK
• Homeland born in 2001 after 9/11
• Immigration used to fall under the department of justice
• Homeland security employed about 183,000 workers in April of 2006-making it one of the largest federal agencies.

www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2006/summer/art01.pdf

A Crackdown on Hold

A federal judge has halted a reckless plan by the Bush administration to use Social Security records for immigration enforcement. This is good news, not just for the American economy, which would have been crippled by the attempt to force millions of undocumented workers off the books, but also for the untold numbers of innocent citizens and legal residents who also would have been victims of the purge.

The judge, Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California, ruled that the Department of Homeland Security could not enforce a new rule requiring employers to fire workers if their Social Security numbers could not be verified within 90 days. The assumption behind the rule was that workers whose numbers did not match the Social Security Administration’s database were illegal immigrants using fake or stolen identities.

Judge Breyer recognized that assumption as deeply flawed and the new rule as an unlawfully crude enforcement tool. The Social Security database is riddled with errors not related to immigration status. Many of the “no-match” letters — which call attention to database discrepancies — involve legal residents.

“There is a strong likelihood that employers may simply fire employees who are unable to resolve the discrepancy within 90 days,” the judge wrote, even if the problem was caused by data-entry mistakes, misspellings or name changes. He warned that the rule would cause “irreparable harm to innocent workers and employers.” The A.F.L.-C.I.O, a party to the lawsuit that led to the ruling, had estimated that about 600,000 of its members could receive the letters and be vulnerable to firing.

Judge Breyer also scolded the administration for imposing a policy change with “massive ramifications” for employers without a legal explanation or a required survey of the costs and impact to small businesses.

It is not the case — though infuriated hard-liners will insist otherwise — that millions of undocumented workers are now being let off the hook by a soft-headed judge. If the no-match crackdown had proceeded, many workers without papers would still have found jobs in the underground economy, perhaps worse ones or with better-forged papers. Identity theft would have risen.

The shadow economy would have adapted, as always. The world of on-the-books employment would have suffered greatly.

The federal government has embarked on a disastrously one-sided immigration strategy — pulling out one harsh enforcement tool after another without having repaired the broken system. We have already seen the results of runaway enforcement on the agricultural industry — a shortage of workers leading to rotting crops and farmers relocating south of the border. The trouble with crackdowns, like the foolish one involving “no-match” letters, is that they cause oceans of pain and havoc — not just for undocumented immigrants, but also for legal residents and the economy — without actually solving anything.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/opinion/12fri1.html

TAR HEEL, N.C. — Last November, immigration officials began a crackdown at Smithfield Foods giant slaughterhouse, eventually arresting 21 illegal immigrants at the plant and 28 others from their homes in the middle of the night.

Since then, more than 1,100 Hispanic workers have left the 5,200-employee hog-butchering plant, the world’s largest, leaving it struggling to find, train and keep replacements.

Across the country, the federal effort to flush out illegal immigrants is having major effects on workers and employers alike.

Some companies have reluctantly
· raised wages to attract new workers following raids at their plants
· hiring men from a nearby homeless mission
· providing free van transportation to many workers
· ran a flood of television advertisements boasting that the company is a good, safe place to work

So far, Smithfield has largely replaced the Hispanics with American workers, who often leave poorly paid jobs for higher wages at the plant here. Many find the work grueling and the smell awful.

Smithfield’s recruiting challenges are harder because
· many local residents have worked there before and soured on by their prior experience
· As a result, Smithfield often looks far afield for new employees
· are high stress and unsafe, with stingy benefits
· Many are injured or don’t want to work in such an oppressive atmosphere
· the word gets around about peoples bad experiences

Several of the newly hired workers pay $40 a week for the ride in the van. Many said they are unhappy and thinking of quitting because the commute is far and work is so hard.

The average pay at the plant is around $12 an hour, many spend hour after hour slitting hogs’ throats, hacking at shoulders and carving ribs and loins.

Employee turnover has long been a problem at Smithfield and other meat-processing plants, but the problem has grown worse recently. Dennis Pittman, a Smithfield spokesman, said
· 60 percent of the new workers quit within 90 days of being hired
· compared with 25 percent to 30 percent two years ago when many new employees were illegal immigrants.

One of the toughest challenges, Mr. Pittman said, has been training new employees to handle the highest-skilled jobs at a plant that processes 30,000 hogs a day.

Hector David, a longtime worker from Mexico who quit in February, sees it, Smithfield had been eager to hire Hispanics because they worked so hard. “The Americans just don’t work as well,” Mr. David said. “In Mexico, we work from the age of 5 in the corn fields. We’re used to working hard.”

The immigration arrests have also created problems for the union, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union
· Mr. Bruskin, the union official, added, “It’s extremely difficult for workers to stand up for their rights when they’re threatened with arrest or deportation.”

Union officials recently organized educational forums at a Roman Catholic church in Red Springs, where immigrant workers were advised, among other things, to sign power of attorney forms designating someone to take care of their children, finances and homes if they were arrested.

http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?URI=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/us/12smithfield.html&OQ=_rQ3D1&OP=3372eda7Q2FlqdAlQ5EcRQ2A4cctQ27lQ27Q3EQ3EQ7ClQ23Q3ElQ23Q27lnQ2AlQ23Q27Q2AQ7BQ20tgOQ20dQ2FQ5EQ3DgtQ7BQ2F

Judge Blocks Bush Measure on Illegal Workers

Federal judge, Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California today ordered an indefinite delay which could take many months on a central measure of the Bush administration’s new strategy to curb illegal immigration.

For the purpose, the government new rule aimed at getting employers to fire illegal employees whose Social Security numbers cannot be immediately verified.

Under the rule issued by the Bush administration

• Employers would be forced to fire workers within 90 days after receiving a notice from the Social Security Administion that an employee’s identity information did not match the agency’s records

The rule, announced by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, is supposed to

• Crack down on illegal immigration by denying jobs to the immigrants
• The rule is also part of a campaign to step up enforcement since broader immigration legislation favored by President Bush was rejected by Congress in June

Breyer main concern, if the law would be taken into effect

• The rule could lead to the firing of many thousands of legally authorized workers
• Resulting in “irreparable harm to innocent workers and employers”

Another concern would be the massive layoffs in low-wage industries, sweeping up both illegal and legal workers and disrupting the labor force.

Congress left Mr. Chertoff, a former federal judge with few other options, who’s was relying on the rule as an enforcement tool.

The decision also bars the Social Security Administration from sending out about

• 141,000 no-match letter
• covering more than eight million employees
• which include notices from Homeland Security explaining the new rule

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/11/washington/11cnd-nomatch.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

U.S. Seeks Rules to Allow Increase in Guest Workers

Bush administration officials said yesterday that they were trying to develop new rules for a recurring problem facing the nation’s farmers, not having enough laborers for the harvest. These new rules could bring in more foreign guest workers. This would prevent a recurrence of problems like growers’ letting their fruit rot.

Farm groups have long been asking the administration to ease the standards hurdles to make it easier to bring in guest workers, saying they face a crisis because the stepped-up federal immigration enforcement has reduced the number of farm workers. By many estimates, more than half of the nation’s 2.5 million farm workers are illegal immigrants.

“The program needs to be updated to reflect today’s economy and to utilize technological and other advances,” said a White House representative, Scott Stanzel.

Under the H-2A program, farmers can bring in temporary workers after demonstrating that American workers are not interested in the jobs however the main problem is the lengthy process of the H-2A application. That often takes so long that by the time some farmers obtained guest workers the harvest is over.

So The National Council of Agricultural Employers has urge the administration to easing housing requirements, reducing the required wages and increasing the types of work they are allowed to do. Grower groups have also urged the administration to ease requirements in newspaper advertisements to determine whether American workers want the jobs.

Sharon M. Hughes a council’s executive vice president said the number of farm workers available was down about 200,000 or nearly 10 percent, from last year because of more aggressive border enforcement. Currently, they bring in about 50,000 such workers a year.

“Right now,” she said, “the H-2A program provides about 2 percent of the farm work force and for us to try to double that number with the current government infrastructure would cause it to collapse on itself unless we have these reforms.”

Grower groups say they would prefer the H-2A program to create a path to citizenship for many undocumented farm workers. The main despite David James of The Department of Labor representative says, “Is identifying ways the program can be improved to provide farmers with an orderly and timely flow of legal workers while protecting the rights of both U.S. workers and foreign temporary workers.”

Nevertheless, advocates for farm workers feel that the system been flawed for years but has become even more evident with the crack down on illegal immigrants. The industry’s demands amounts of cheap foreign labor. By simplify the H-2A application, it would make it easier for employers to bring in guest workers and slash wage rates and other labor protections.

The administration also faces criticism from conservative groups that dislike bringing in more immigrants. Since we have an employment rate of 4.7% in America today. Many say why not give those jobs to Americans who really need it but the truth is that many immigrants do the jobs that most Americans don’t want. Therefore, what is the real answer and can we ever find a compromise?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/us/10immig.html

Mexican Leader Critiques U.S. Border Fence

WASHINGTON- On today’s "Good Morning America," Mexican President Felipe Calderon gave praise to President George W. Bush for trying to get the U.S. Congress to approve a comprehensive immigration reform but said the answer to stop illegal immigration is to build economic growth and opportunities in Mexico, not fences.

Since 9/11 our border security has come into question, on how safe they really are and how can they be improved. "It's no longer just an immigration issue. It's now a national security issue" says California Rep. Duncan Hunter, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. "People have made stupid editorial comments about the Great Wall of China," he says, "but the only thing that has worked is that fence."

Many different bills and proposals have been introduced to Congress. Ranging from having night vision cameras along the border, to hiring more border patrol officers to even the idea of having alligators put along the Rio Grande river. However, the most popular idea that seems too been gaining steam, is to build a 2,000-mile fence along the border. Stretching from San Diego to Brownsville Texas. The fence itself could be 16 to 30 feet high and cost into the billions.

So in the first step of having the fence build, Congress authorized the construction of 700 miles of fences last year along portions of the border but yet given final approval to all construction costs. For several reasons, for one the Bush administration argues that a Berlin Wall-style barrier would be a huge waste of money costing up to $8 billion. Second are the environmental regulations.

Fencing the border, is controversial debate on how to stop illegal immigration. Theirs a mix of different ideas and feelings. Many for and against it. People like Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar says it makes more sense to use a mix of additional agents, better surveillance and tougher enforcement of immigration laws and fences.

But Mexican President Mexicans Felipe Calderon predicted the flow of Mexicans illegally crossing into the United States would decrease, possibly within a decade, as Mexico's economy grew. "I want to build the conditions in Mexico to provide the opportunities here in our land."

He said he hoped the United States and Mexico could see each other as allies as they confront challenges from Asian economies. "I hope that one day the people in America could see the Mexican people as friends, like allies."

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-mexico-usa.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-11-17-border-fence_x.htm

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/mexico/stories/MYSA20071007.01B.Border_Fence.32fe56e.html

Immigration sweep targets Valley gangs

Federal immigration agents arrested 28 foreign nationals suspected of having ties to street gangs in the San Fernando Valley early Friday morning during sweeps throughout Los Angeles County. Friday's sweep was part of the agency's ongoing crackdown on illegal immigrants with suspected gang affiliations in the Valley.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 15 street members of gangs in the Valley and Palmdale County. Among them was Jorge Torres, 31, a member of Project Boys in Pacoima whose has a long criminal record including drug charges and battery on a police officer. Torres, has been deported five times and has been indicted by the U.S. attorney's office for reentering the United States. If convicted, he could faces up to 20 years in prison.

Special agent in charge of ICE in Los Angeles Robert Schoch said "the people targeted in these operations are career criminals who often prey on members of the immigrant community." We wanted to send a clear message foreign national gang members that the ICE intends to deal those who ignore our immigration laws and place our neighborhoods at risk.

Of the 28 people arrested Friday, 21 were undocumented and seven had legal-residency status, which is now being revoked. Those arrested were believed to be linked to gangs including the Canoga Park Alabama, San Fer, Barrio Van Nuys, Vineland Boys, Blythe Street and Project Boys.

In September, ICE agents arrested nine alleged gang members suspected of being in the country illegally.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-immig6oct06,1,1471657.story?ctrack=5&cset=true