Daily news updates from CIS

September 15, 2009

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[For CISNEWS subscribers --

1. Admin presses for renewal of E-Verify (2 stories, link)
2. USCIS suffering revenue shortfall
3. NASA astronaut speaks in support of amnesty
4. USCIS opens new MA branch office
5. Senate health care talks target immigration (story, 2 links)
6. Dems to 'sidestep' issue in attempt to chastise Wilson (story, link)
7. Amnesty push faces a bleak outlook for 2010 (link)
8. TX medical programs misused federal funds
9. NV emphasizes prosecution of wage fraud
10. NJ gubernatorial hopefuls offer views on issue
11. CA judge clears suit against San Fran. sanctuary (story, link)
12. CA county implements Secure Communities
13. NJ city police union to study 287(g)
14. New Orleans police to ignore status
15. NJ city mayor rejects development report
16. Lawyers support proposed San Fran. sanctuary changes
17. U. of New Mexico attempts to spur debate
18. GA hospital to relocate illegal alien dialysis patients
19. Activists escalate debate over health care
20. Haitian advocates increase pressure for TPS
21. CA city residents seek removal of Spanish ads
22. NJ activist to hold vigil against enforcement
23. MN forum prompts discussion of issue
24. WI activists urge Census boycott
25. Columbian immigrant realizes medical aspirations
26. Hmong refugees make ardent attempt for citizenship
27. FL class preps immigrants for test
28. IL ceremony naturalizes 200
29. Horse trainers struggle to access foreign labor
30. Border Patrol catches illegals on jet skis
31. Illegal jailed six years for fatal crash (link)
32. CA man accused of shaking down immigrant businesses (link)

Subscribe to CIS e-mail services here: http://cis.org/immigrationnews.html

-- Mark Krikorian]

1.
Official: E-Verify changes in the works
By Chris Strohm
The Congress Daily (Washington, DC), September 14, 2009
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090914_1765.php?oref=topnews

The newly minted director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sounded alarm bells today over the possible expiration of a program used to verify the legal status of workers in the country -- even as his agency works on plans to expand it as part of an overhaul the nation's immigration laws.

The E-Verify program, which checks a worker's immigration status against Homeland Security Department and Social Security Administration databases, will expire at the end of this month unless Congress reauthorizes it.

'E-Verify is a tool to ensure a legal workforce. It assists employers in abiding by the law and it also protects the workforce,' USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas said after a news conference at department headquarters. 'If E-Verify is not renewed, in my opinion we will need a different vehicle to accomplish those very fundamental objectives.'

'I think it would raise some important questions,' added Mayorkas, a Cuban immigrant whom the Senate confirmed to run the agency last month.

During the new conference, Mayorkas said his agency is already considering changes in E-Verify on the assumption Congress eventually will pass comprehensive immigration reform that would give legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the country.

The agency must ensure that E-Verify has the ability to handle a surge in the number of queries, Mayorkas said. Other changes to the program could include verifying how long a person has been in the country.

The agency is also evaluating a way to use biometrics, such as fingerprints, to verify a person's identity. Mayorkas noted that Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has said that all U.S. workers should verify their identities using biometrics.

Congressional leaders have not provided a timeline for taking up an immigration bill, although advocates who favor reform want to see legislation enacted by the spring.

With regard to E-Verify, lawmakers have included language in the pending FY10 Homeland Security appropriations bills to keep the program running. The House bill includes a two-year reauthorization, while the Senate bill makes it permanent.

But it is not clear when an appropriations bill will be enacted, although one option for lawmakers would be to include language reauthorizing E-Verify in the continuing resolution expected later this month.

But business groups have also expressed concern about E-Verify's fate, especially since the Obama administration implemented a rule this month requiring contractors to verify the legal status of employees who work on federal projects.

When asked if E-Verify could cease to operate at the end of the month, a CIS spokesman said, 'We expect that Congress will provide the necessary authority to continue the program.'

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Obama aide clashes with immigrant groups
By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times, September 15, 2009
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/15/obama-aide-calls-e-verify-reliable/

President Obama's new director of Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday defended the accuracy of E-Verify, the government's electronic verification system for workers, putting himself at odds with immigrant rights groups that have been strong supporters of the president.

Expanding E-Verify is one of several immigrant enforcement moves the Obama administration has made that have caused alarm among rights and immigrant advocates. Those groups had hoped Mr. Obama would move early to overhaul the nation's immigration laws and give the nation's illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.

But Alejandro Mayorkas, who was sworn in last month as director of USCIS, said the agency is continuing to improve the system and get it ready in case Congress mandates it for all U.S. businesses as part of an eventual immigration overhaul. The Obama administration has expanded use of the system, which matches workers' Social Security numbers against a database to determine whether they are eligible to work.

'The error rate is, as I understand it, smaller than it's ever been,' Mr. Mayorkas said, adding that he takes the remaining errors very seriously. 'I understand that a small error rate can still mean a good number of people are impacted, and so we are working every day. I am personally involved in the improvement of that error rate.'

Early studies showed that about 0.5 percent of workers whose names were submitted to E-Verify were initially deemed ineligible but later found to be eligible - often because the worker's name or immigrant status had changed but the Social Security Administration had not been informed of the change.

'It seems that E-Verify has a kind of momentum that's undeniable at this point,' said Steven A. Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that calls for stricter immigration limits. He said E-Verify has passed vetting by federal courts and said if the federal government doesn't push to expand its use, states will.

Mr. Mayorkas said one of his goals is to have USCIS ready to move ahead with a legalization program once Congress acts. Questions include how and when USCIS would accept applications, and how the agency, which is paper-based, can process them.

If the bill restricts legalization to those who have been in the country some period of time, he said they'll also have to work out how applicants can prove they meet the time requirement.

The director would not say when they might be ready, but Mr. Camarota said it's clear USCIS currently can't handle the 'tsunami of applications.'

'Nobody who's serious thinks that USCIS has the administrative capacity to vet 10 million illegal immigrants if we decide to make them legal. The only way we'd do that is rubber-stamp them,' he said.

Mr. Mayorkas also said he will broaden USCIS's outreach to people the agency serves - the legal immigrant community. He held a meeting last week with stakeholders from immigrant rights groups, businesses and law enforcement agencies, and said he'll hold more meetings as he tours the country this month.

Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, which advocates for immigrant rights, said they expect a 180-degree reversal from the policy he said they saw from the Bush administration. He also said they expect Mr. Mayorkas to focus on getting the agency ready for an immigration policy overhaul.

'It's not so much outreach and engagement, it's getting ready for implementation,' he said.

Mr. Mayorkas, who was born in Cuba and whose parents fled to the U.S. in 1960, appeared to choke up in a session with a small group of reporters when he recalled his family's financial sacrifices - including how they saved wax paper from their sandwiches to be reused.

He said stories like that make him determined to ensure immigrants get good services for the money they are paying his agency.

'Some people very well may have to do the very same thing in pursuit of the benefits our country provides them. That hard-earned money has to be appropriately spent,' he said.

USCIS is funded mostly by fees immigrants pay to process their applications. The Bush administration pushed through a series of fee increases to improve the agency's facilities and quality of service, but immigrant rights groups objected, saying the prices were too high.

Mr. Mayorkas said those fees will be reviewed and he won't rule out lowering or raising them.

Still, Mr. Noorani at the National Immigration Forum said he expects Congress to try to reduce those fees when it takes up immigration.

'Our expectation is that we're going to see immigration reform by early 2010 and part of immigration reform is going to be an acknowledgment by the nation that we have to invest in immigrants just as much as they're investing in us,' he said.

+++

IT upgrades, increased public interaction coming for Citizenship and Immigration Services
New director wants transparency, public involvement and updated tech
By Alice Lipowicz
Federal Computer Week, September 14, 2009
http://fcw.com/articles/2009/09/14/new-uscis-director-creates-public-engagement-office-and-updates-web-site.aspx

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2.
Immigration fee hikes not providing more revenue
By Suzanne Gamboa
The Associated Press, September 14, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jC8_JFggjWzK1fjGK2NaweOhLvUQD9ANBTC01

Washington, DC (AP) -- The government has collected hundreds of millions of dollars less than it thought it would from fee increases imposed two years ago on applications for citizenship and other immigration-related services.

The increases were supposed to generate an additional $1 billion in revenue for Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Homeland Security Department. Based on that, the agency predicted it would collect $2.33 billion in fees in this fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, but is expecting to come up about $282 million short of that prediction.

Agency officials blamed the shortfall on an overall drop in immigration-related applications being filed, possibly as a result of the ongoing economic slump. The agency has twice adjusted its estimated number of applications and the amount of revenue they would bring in. Immigration officials also are cutting back on some spending, looking to Congress for some relief, and is studying the fee structure as required every two years.

'Given the current economic climate, we anticipate that the current filing trend will continue. We will therefore continue to make the necessary adjustments while remaining dedicated to delivering on our public service mission,' Alejandro Mayorkas, who took over as the agency's director in August, told The Associated Press on Monday.

The House Appropriations Committee also said immigration application filings are expected to remain down in 2010, and the agency's costs will far exceed fee revenue. A report attached to the 2010 Homeland Security appropriations bill said lawmakers 'cannot, in good conscience,' allow CIS to spend beyond its projected revenue from the fees.

Under the 2007 fee increases, the cost of applying for citizenship doubled to $595, plus an $80 fingerprinting fee. The cost of applying for legal permanent residency tripled to $905 plus the fingerprinting fee.

Mayorkas said his agency has made progress on cutting application times. As of this July the average processing time for citizenship applications was 4.5 months, lower than the five to seven months goal the agency set when it raised fees. Applications for legal residency were taking about 6.2 months on average, slightly more than the fee increase goal of four to six months.

Mayorkas declined to discuss details of the fee review. President Barack Obama has said his administration would improve the immigration system to make it cheaper and faster.

The agency was flooded with a record 7.7 million immigration applications in 2007 as filers tried to beat the fee increase. Applications dropped off after the spike, as they have historically with other fee increases. But they have not returned to levels before the increase.

The agency had asked Congress for $206 million to pay for fees for asylum seekers and refugees as well as military naturalizations. Those costs are usually waived and included in the fees paid by other applicants.

The Homeland Security Department spending bill approved by the House provides $100 million for the waived fees. The Senate provided $5 million. Lawmakers are negotiating a compromise spending bill.

The application drop does not leave the agency without money. The spike in 2007 brought in millions in fees. About 1,500 people were hired using the money. Congress is proposing to provide $112 million to pay for E-Verify, the Web-based system employers can use to check whether their employees can legally work in the U.S.

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3.
US astronaut says legalize undocumented Mexicans
By Julie Watson
The Associated Press, September 14, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jSeGTaesvTO4YrHzYV0ID8QxEmRwD9ANB7BO0

Mexico (AP) -- Spaceman Jose Hernandez said Monday the United States needs to legalize its undocumented immigrants — a rare, public stand for a U.S. astronaut on a political, hot-button issue.

Mexicans have hung on every word of NASA's first astronaut to tweet in Spanish — as Astro_Jose — since the son of migrants embarked on his two week, 5.7-million-mile mission to the international space station that ended Friday.

And they're still listening to him now that he is back on Earth.

During a telephone interview with Mexico's Televisa network, Hernandez pushed for U.S. immigration reform — a key issue for Mexico that has been stalled in Washington amid fierce debate.

'The American economy needs them,' said Hernandez, 47, a California native who toiled in the cucumber, sugar beet and tomato fields alongside his Mexican-born parents. 'I believe it's only fair to find a way to legalize them and give them an opportunity to work openly, so they can also retire in a traditional U.S. system.'

NASA spokesman James Hartsfield told The Associated Press that Hernandez was expressing his personal views, 'not representing NASA, the astronaut office or any NASA organization in his responses.'

Hernandez said he wished all world leaders and politicians could see the Earth as he has, 'so they could see our world, that really we are one, that we should work together.'

'What surprised me is when I saw the world as one. There were no borders. You couldn't distinguish between the United States and Mexico,' he told Televisa.

Hernandez's success shows why Mexican migrants have risked their lives to cross the U.S. border illegally to work their way out of poverty.

Millions in Mexico watched Hernandez's mission daily on Televisa, as well as following it on Twitter, where his dispatches appeared in English and Spanish. Hernandez also danced salsa, munched burritos and discussed Mexico's World Cup aspirations while floating in space aboard the shuttle Discovery.

Past NASA space missions barely got a mention on Mexican newscasts.

Hernandez's trip into orbit came at a time when the American dream for Mexicans and their families is fading. Deportations of illegal immigrants are at record levels, while tightened border security and the recession have caused a historic drop in the number of migrants heading north.

The rookie astronaut was one of two Mexican-Americans aboard, marking the first time two Hispanics have flown in space together. Astronaut Danny Olivas was making his second space flight. Rodolfo Neri Vela, a scientist, was the first Mexican citizen to make it to space, flying aboard the shuttle Atlantis in 1985.

Hernandez learned English at age 12, and applied for 12 straight years to become an astronaut before getting picked in 2004.

President Felipe Calderon has invited him to dinner at the presidential residence to talk about a future Mexican space agency. Hernandez's parents are from Calderon's home state of Michoacan, which has one of Mexico's largest populations of migrants in the United States.

The Michoacan town of Ticuitaco, meanwhile, wants to build a science museum in his name to inspire others to follow in Hernandez's footsteps.

'Jose Hernandez sets an example for our youth,' said the town's mayor, Ricardo Guzman.

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4.
US immigration field office opens in Lawrence
By Maria Sacchetti
The Boston Globe, September 15, 2009
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/09/us_immigration.html

Lawrence, MA -- Massachusetts’ 'immigrant city'' is getting its own federal immigration agency today.

Federal officials from as far away as Washington, D.C., will open the city’s first field office of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is in charge of processing applications for work permits, green cards, citizenship and other benefits.

Previously, immigrants had to journey 30 miles to the John F. Kennedy building, a forbidding skyscraper in downtown Boston, but now they can take their citizenship tests, apply for legal residency, and get fingerprinted at 2 Mill St. in Lawrence, in the shadow of the hulking mills and smokestacks that earned the city its nickname more than a century ago.

'Lawrence, Massachusetts, is a very fitting place for an immigration facility,'' David Santos, spokesmen for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, said at the opening. 'There's going to be a significant segment of the immigration population of the state that's going to come to this building.''

The new office serves the counties of Berkshire, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, and Worcester. Federal officials expect to process 13,000 applications in the first fiscal year alone.

Lawrence has one of the highest proportions of immigrants in the state – 35 percent of the 71,000 residents are foreign-born – and it is the most Latino city by far, with 70 percent of the population.

In today’s ceremony, US District Judge Nancy Gertner will swear in 15 new citizens from Albania, Brazil, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Ukraine, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Tunisia, and the United Kingdom.

Officials will also recognize Eartha Dengler, an immigrant from Germany and the founder of Immigrant City Archives, and Eva Millona, executive director at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition and an immigrant from Albania, for their work on behalf of immigrants.

Lawrence is known as an 'immigrant city' because of the successive waves of immigrants that poured into the city starting in the 1840s and continuing today. In the 1800s and 1900s Lawrence attracted French Canadians, Germans, Italians, Irish and more to work in the textile mills that still dominate the city’s landscape, though they are long defunct.

In the mid-to-late 1900s the city had significant immigration from the Dominican Republic and elsewhere in Latin America, and more recently, from Vietnam and Cambodia.

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5.
Illegal Immigrants Still an Issue in Senate Health Care Negotiations
By Patricia Murphy
Politics Daily, September 15, 2009
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/09/15/illegal-immigrants-key-issue-in-senate-health-care-negotiations/

Despite the Obama administration's assurances that illegal immigrants will not receive health insurance benefits under health care reform, six key senators dealt with the increasingly contentious issue as they worked behind closed doors Monday.

The 'gang of six' senators-- three Democrats and three Republicans-- are in the final stages of fashioning a compromise on health care that could get the 60 votes necessary to pass out of the chamber. Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Monday that the group had discussed several specific items in negotiations, including the treatment of illegal immigrants. 'We want to make sure that (illegal) immigrants are not part of the exchange and get no benefits here,' Baucus said.

Although the House version of the bill specifically excludes illegal immigrants from receiving federally-funded health benefits under the 'Affordable Health Choices Act,' several Republicans, including Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) have complained that the bill lacks a mechanism to verify an applicant's immigration status before being included in the program. The House bill also does not explicitly prevent undocumented workers from spending their own money to enroll in a health care exchange.

Wilson's now-famous outburst came during President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress when Obama said, 'The reforms I am proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.' When Wilson yelled, 'You lie!' Obama responded to Wilson, 'That's not true.'

The next day, however, the White House put out a clarification to several news organizations saying that proof of legal residency will be required for anyone enrolling in an exchange under health care reform under the President's guidelines.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), the chairman of the Budget Committee and another negotiator, also said that illegal immigrants had been a focus of the senators' discussions. He said the group worked on 'further refinements on how we make certain that no one who is here illegally would benefit from these additions.'

Conrad added that the senators had made 'very substantial progress' on several other issues, including medical malpractice reform, preventing federal funding for abortion and cost-sharing with states on Medicaid. Both Conrad and Baucus said that the Congressional Budget Office had scored the Finance Committee's trimmed-down health care reform bill as deficit-neutral and costing less than $880 billion over ten years, far less than the House's $1.3 trillion version.

In terms of timing, Baucus said he is 'on track' to release the Finance Committee's bill this week and schedule a committee vote next week. He added that all three Republican senators, Mike Enzi (Wyo.), Olympia Snowe (Maine), and Charles Grassley (Iowa) are still actively negotiating with Democrats. 'We're all talking. We're all meeting,' Baucus said. 'We're all trying to figure out what we can do.'

Ultimately, Baucus predicted that he will win so-far elusive Republican support for the measure. 'I think basically as senators on and off the committee and the public get to know more about all of this, the comfort level will start to come up. I believe that in the end we will have significant bipartisan support.'

Details of the Senate bill, including provisions dealing with illegal immigrants, are expected as early as Wednesday. But no matter what the bill ultimately says on insurance coverage, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius told Politics Daily last week that anyone seeking treatment in emergency rooms will continue to receive care regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. 'It has been a tradition in this country that we don't turn away somebody who is ill or dying potentially,' she said. 'That will remain the federal law unless Congress changes it.'

+++

Reform Bill Will Address GOP Fears
But Affordability Questions Remain
By Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray
The Washington Post, September 15, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/14/AR2009091403573.html?hpid=topnews

Baucus Bill Would Bar Illegal Immigrants From Insurance Exchanges
By David M. Herszenhorn
The New York Times, September 14, 2009
http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/baucus-bill-would-bar-illegal-immigrants-from-insurance-exchanges/

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6.
Democrats sidestep immigration to rap Wilson over remark
By Mike Soraghan
The Hill (Washington, DC), September 14, 2009
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/58687-dems-sidestep-immigration-to-rap-wilson

Democrats will step carefully around the immigration issue when they seek to scold Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) for his finger-pointing flare-up last week.

But Republicans are expected to fight back fiercely, stomping right into the topic of whether or not President Barack Obama’s healthcare proposal would cover illegal immigrants.

The GOP line of attack demonstrates the reason some Democrats, particularly Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), were reluctant to press the issue last week after Wilson shouted, 'You lie!' at Obama during a joint session of Congress.

'That’s the risk,' said a Democratic leadership aide. 'You give Republicans a forum to talk about this phony issue of immigration.'

House Republican Leader John Boehner (Ohio) announced Monday he would vote against any resolution disapproving of Wilson’s conduct, which led Democrats to charge the minority leader with flip-flopping on the matter of whether Wilson should offer an apology on the floor.

Benefits for illegal immigrants is a divisive topic for the Democratic Caucus. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus oppose clamping down on immigrants, but centrist members fear voting for any taxpayer dollars to go to illegals. And Republicans have used it to force those centrist Democrats from conservative districts to take difficult votes.

'They want it to go away,' a senior Democratic aide said of the Wilson issue.

Most Republicans are expected to vote against the 'resolution of disapproval.' Aides said a handful of GOP 'institutionalists' appalled by the outburst or vulnerable members from districts won by Obama might defect from Boehner’s position.

Wilson gave a one-minute speech on the floor Monday afternoon, but did not directly mention the Wednesday night outburst or immigration. He talked about the town halls he held in his district during the August break, which were part of his explanation in an interview Sunday for why he was so emotional about the topic. He said he had a 'town hall moment.'

In the interview, on 'Fox News Sunday,' Wilson said he would not apologize on the floor of the House. Democratic leaders say if he doesn’t, they will introduce and call a vote on a resolution of disapproval condemning his conduct.

Last week, Pelosi at first said she wanted to move on and get the focus back on healthcare, but House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and other leaders prevailed on her that Wilson’s behavior had to be addressed or a precedent would be set for incivility.

The 'resolution of disapproval,' which could be introduced as early as Tuesday, allows for an hour of debate, and each side gets half. It will steer away from the truth of what either Obama or Wilson said, focusing narrowly on the impropriety of berating and disparaging the president in a joint session of Congress.

'It’ll be written in a nonpartisan way and address the breach of decorum and the congressman’s conduct,' said a House Democratic leadership aide.

But each side gets half an hour to make its case on the floor.

Republicans will start by noting that Wilson has apologized privately to Obama, after being asked to do so by Republican leaders.

Then they’ll start in on the talking point that Wilson, while uncouth, was right.

Democrats say language in the House legislation specifically excludes illegal immigrants, but Republicans contend it doesn’t include sufficient verification or enforcement. Republican amendments on the issue have been voted down by Democrats, who say that the GOP provisions would exclude eligible citizens.

But Democratic senators and the Obama administration have given ground on the topic, agreeing to add 'proof-of-citizenship' requirements for participating in the insurance exchanges the bill creates.

In a statement, Boehner indicated that Republicans will also use Pelosi’s reluctance to go after Wilson against her.

'Last Thursday, Speaker Pelosi said that she believed it was time to move on and discuss healthcare. I couldn’t agree more,' Boehner said. 'Instead of pursuing this type of petty partisanship, we should be working together to lower costs and expand access to affordable, high-quality health coverage on behalf of the American people.'

But Democrats say Boehner, by opposing their resolution, is also flip-flopping on the question of an apology. They say he urged Wilson to apologize Thursday morning. Boehner would allow only that 'he did have a conversation with Mr. Wilson,' but wouldn’t say if he asked him to apologize on the floor.

Resolutions of disapproval are a rare, though not unprecedented, way of punishing a member. They’re more commonly used to express dissatisfaction with the action of a foreign government.

'It’s rare to use for an individual member,' said Fred Beuttler of the House Historian’s Office.

+++

Plan to rebuke Wilson stirs discord
Democrats plan public rebuke; Republicans defend colleague
By Kara Rowland
The Washington Times, September 15, 2009
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/15/wilsons-outburst-drives-house-discord/

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7.
Promises May Be Even Harder to Keep Next Year
By Steven T. Dennis and Emily Pierce
Roll Call (Washington, DC), September 14, 2009

Democrats were swept into power in 2009 vowing to deliver change, but they have found those promises hard to keep and fear next year will prove even more challenging.

Despite having control of the White House and Congress, internal divisions and partisan rifts tripped up Democrats' early legislative priorities such as health care reform and climate change. And many fear the hangover from 2009 will stretch way into 2010, particularly as the midterm elections loom.
. . .
Having the immigration reform debate in an election year 'is one of the great unknowns,' the second senior Senate Democratic aide said. While the aide noted that it's 'definitely something we want to do,' a decision on whether to have the fight will likely depend on how much pressure the Hispanic community puts on Democrats as well as how the overall political landscape looks for the majority, the aide said.

The House has deferred to the Senate on immigration, preferring not to put their Members on the record without the certainty that something will emerge at the end.

The second House aide called the issue 'toxic.'

'I just think there is no way Members are going to be comfortable voting for that,' the aide said.
. . .
http://www.rollcall.com/features/Guide-to-Congress_2009/guide/38388-1.html?type=printer_friendly

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8.
State violated federal reimbursement rules for immigrant health services, audit finds
By Darren Barbee
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX), September 15, 2009
http://www.star-telegram.com/health/story/1613650.html

Illegal and legal immigrants in Texas received taxpayer-subsidized healthcare services and thousands of prescriptions for nonemergency conditions in violation of the law, according to a federal watchdog agency.

At fault, an audit says, is the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which provided lax oversight in restricting immigrants to emergency services, such as childbirth, for which the state can seek federal reimbursement. The audit found that more than 20 percent of the cases it reviewed weren’t for emergency situations.

The state also provided prescription drugs in cases that weren’t true emergencies and overrode controls aimed at preventing immigrants from receiving family planning services, the audit says.

The report, released Monday, comes amid a furor over whether healthcare reform proposals will allow immigrants to get taxpayer-funded healthcare.

Stephanie Goodman, a spokeswoman for the state health commission, said the federal reimbursement rules are stringent. For instance, an emergency appendectomy is covered under the rules, but a follow-up prescription for antibiotics isn t because 'we don t know if it would be life-saving.'

'I think they went pretty hard-core on their definition of an emergency,' Goodman said.

The federal government is asking Texas to refund $286,427 for the federal share of medical and prescription services not eligible for emergency Medicaid coverage, the report shows.

Goodman added that the primary issue in the audit seems to be coverage of tests for services provided in conjunction with emergency care.

'Part of the treatment didn’t meet the standards for emergency care,' she said. 'An example listed in the audit was . . . a person . . . getting chemotherapy and being treated for convulsions. Emergency Medicaid can cover the treatment for convulsions but not the chemotherapy.'

Goodman said the commission will work with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to review standards for emergency care and make changes if necessary.

Anne Dunkelberg, associate director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin, said the audit is 'not any big deal.'

'Texas Medicaid paid for $18 billion in medical care in [fiscal year] 2008,' she said. 'This is routine federal oversight, followed by a request for corrective action, which the state agreed to.'

Illegal immigrants qualify only for emergency care. Immigrants granted temporary resident status are restricted to emergency services for their first five years in the country.

Audit findings

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department s Office of the Inspector General reviewed 854 medical claims. Of those, 193 claims totaling $262,366 with a federal match of $159,702 did not meet the criteria for an emergency. The state agency also did not have medical documents to determine whether services billed on 32 other claims worth $5,903 were for emergency care.

Other findings include:

The commission wants reimbursement for 170 medical claims for nonemergency services totaling $165,494 roughly $100,000 in federal matching payments.

It seeks $58,966 in federal reimbursement for 23 claims for nonemergency services totaling $96,872. The claims were initially denied but, after an appeal, were paid.

The commission sought federal reimbursement for 7,114 claims for prescription drugs totaling $147,805 that did not meet the state s own definition of emergency care. The federal match was about $90,000.

In response, the commission said that before the audit, it did not realize that outpatient pharmacy drugs that are not part of emergency treatment are not eligible for federal reimbursement.

The commission said it will work with the federal government to review claims for allowable prescription drugs and identify any additional federal funds paid for prescriptions filed before and after the audit period.

Additionally, the audit found that the state s system to prevent payment of family planning services for immigrants didn t always operate correctly or was manually overridden to allow services to be claimed. Those are paid at an enhanced federal medical assistance rate of 90 percent. Many immigrants are not eligible for family planning services or the enhanced rate that is paid for these services.

The commission claimed enhanced matching for $126,178 to bring in $113,560 in federal money for 350 claims. As a result, the commission claimed overpayments totaling at least $36,756 from the federal government, the report says.

The report also details some claims improperly filed for reimbursement.

In one case, a patient who had a history of convulsions, hypertension, asthma and circulatory disease, and who had previously had a colostomy, went to a hospital complaining of abdominal pain. She stayed in the hospital for three days and received scans of her abdomen and pelvis. When her pain subsided, she was discharged.

Only the abdominal pain was an emergency; the other diagnoses were not. The state claimed $2,323 ($1,414 federal share) for the nonemergency medical services.

The audit period was from Oct. 1, 2004 to Sept. 30, 2005. The state processed 303,266 claims, or about $314.2 million, of which $191.2 million was federal match, for emergency medical services provided to illegal immigrants. Prescription drugs cost $148,000, $90,000 of which was picked up by the federal government. Of the $314.2 million total, about $218.3 million, or 70 percent, was for labor and delivery.

What s an emergency? Texas maintains a list of 3,987 diagnoses considered to be emergency medical situations, such as abdominal pain, shortness of breath, chest pains, normal labor and delivery, and altered mental status. The condition must have a 'sudden onset.'

Federal law states that an emergency medical condition has acute symptoms of such severity that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in:

Placing the patient s health in serious jeopardy.

Serious impairment to bodily functions

Serious dysfunction of any body part or organ.

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9.
Why Nevada protects workers here illegally
One reason cited: To avoid ‘perverse incentives’
By Timothy Pratt
The Las Vegas Sun, September 15, 2009
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/sep/15/why-nevada-protects-workers-here-illegally/

A class-action lawsuit recently filed by the undocumented employees of a local cleaning company underscores that workers who are in the country illegally have many of the same workplace rights that U.S. citizens have.

That’s particularly important in Nevada because illegal immigrants make up an estimated 12.2 percent of the state’s workforce, according to a 2008 Pew Hispanic Center study.

But the idea that undocumented workers have rights is also controversial. Members of the 'What part of illegal don’t you understand?' lobby have consistently expressed indignation about workers in such cases receiving anything but a deportation order.

Nevada Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek says his agency is firmly resolved to remove what would otherwise be a 'perverse incentive' for employers to hire and take advantage of undocumented workers by paying them less than the minimum wage — or nothing at all.

'We’re not going to let them play that game,' the labor commissioner says.

Tanchek points out that state law was amended in 2003 to specify that employers’ treatment of employees must comply with existing laws, no matter whether those workers are 'lawfully or unlawfully employed.'

The change came about 'to address the issue of undocumented immigrants,' Tanchek says.

In 2002, his predecessor had issued the landmark ruling that all workers hired on public works projects deserved prevailing wages, whether in the country legally or not.

Tanchek recalls the case of a mine worker in Elko who filed a complaint seeking about $1,200 in back wages. The worker also faced deportation. Tanchek’s staff told the worker the state agency could send the money to Mexico if the case was resolved in his favor. As it turns out, the state moved faster than the federal government and the check was cut before the worker’s flight to Mexico left the ground.

Angela Morrison is now legal director of the Nevada Immigrant Resource Project at UNLV’s Boyd School of Law, but she served as the first local trial attorney for the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, from 2006 to last year. She says her office would see cases that invoked 'an intersection of state and federal laws' because the same workers would be victims of more than one type of discrimination.

'Undocumented immigrants are ... ripe for abuse by unscrupulous employers who use it (their status) as a threat,' Morrison says.

Tanchek’s agency doesn’t keep statistics on immigration status, precisely because the status doesn’t matter when it comes to resolving a complaint, the director says.

But historically, he says, immigration status has been mentioned as investigators interview workers, 'enough so that we know it’s part of the reality of the job market in Nevada.'

Many more undocumented workers might not even complain. Investigators have heard workers say that their friends aren’t getting paid but are afraid to enter a government office, Tanchek says.

'We tell them, we only take claims, we don’t keep track of status,' he says.

Of course, for workers to file complaints, there need to be jobs, and recent economic trends may make this less of an issue.

Larry Dizon, chief investigator at the labor commissioner’s Las Vegas office, says he hasn’t heard complainants mention immigration in a case crossing his desk for months.

That is likely attributable to many illegal immigrant workers, especially in construction, having left the state or entered the largely invisible, part-time and occasional workforce.

Still, Morrison insists the issue won’t go away until the federal government resolves the fate of millions of undocumented immigrants. When the economy picks up, jobs will return.

Then, she says, one truth will remain: 'They don’t have authorization to work, but they’re here.'

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10.
NJ gubernatorial candidates on immigration
The Associated Press, September 15, 2009
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/new_jersey/20090915_ap_njgubernatorialcandidatesonimmigration.html

Newark, NJ (AP) -- Immigration reform may not be the main issue in the New Jersey gubernatorial race, but it remains a priority for many voters.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine and Republican Chris Christie have said the federal government must reform the system.

As far as issues the state controls, both agree that New Jersey should not issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

Corzine and Christie say they have reservations about a program that allows local law enforcement to question people about their immigration status.

The candidates differ on whether illegal immigrants who are brought to the state as children should be eligible for in-state college tuition.

Corzine supports the idea and Christie opposes it.

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11.
Judge lets victims' kin sue S.F. over sanctuary
By Bob Egelko
The San Francisco Chronicle, September 15, 2009
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/15/BAC519N0BR.DTL

San Francisco -- The family of a father and two sons who were slain in San Francisco last year can go to state court with a claim that the city is to blame for failing to turn their alleged killer over to immigration authorities when he was arrested earlier as a juvenile, a federal judge has ruled.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera had asked U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to rule on the claim herself after dismissing the rest of the suit last month by Tony Bologna's widow and daughter. But Illston said Friday that the remainder of the family's case - that the city's negligence caused the killings - belongs in Superior Court because it is based on state law and challenges San Francisco's policies.

Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16, were shot to death near their home in the Excelsior district in June 2008. Edwin Ramos, 22, is charged with murdering them.

Ramos, a native of El Salvador whom prosecutors describe as a member of the MS-13 gang, was arrested twice as a juvenile, for an assault in October 2003 and an attempted purse-snatching in April 2004. Juvenile courts sent him to a shelter after the first incident and to the city-run Log Cabin Ranch in the Peninsula hills after the second.

Case records don't show whether police or juvenile courts knew that Ramos had entered the United States illegally. But under juvenile authorities' interpretation of the city's sanctuary policy at the time, they would not have passed that information along to federal immigration officials. Federal authorities learned of Ramos' status later but did not take him into custody for deportation proceedings.

The family's lawsuit says the city was responsible for the shootings because its policy allowed Ramos to go free.

Last month, Illston rejected the family's claim that the city's actions violated the shooting victims' constitutional right to due process of law. She said the city might be held to account if it knew Ramos posed a specific threat to the Bolognas, but not for releasing someone who allegedly endangered a large segment of the public.

Herrera's office urged Illston to address the negligence claim as well, arguing that it was governed by the same legal standard: a requirement that the plaintiffs show city officials knew the Bolognas were in danger and had a duty to protect them.

But Matthew Davis, the family's lawyer, said Monday that California law makes it easier to hold government officials accountable for allegedly harboring illegal immigrants or preventing police from reporting them to federal authorities.

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Victims' kin can take San Francisco to court
The Associated Press, September 14, 2009
http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_13335959

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12.
Imperial County adopts database that accesses federal immigration records
The San Diego Union Tribune, September 15, 2009
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/15/imperial-county-adopts-database-accesses-federal-i/?metro&zIndex=166041

Imperial County has become the latest California county to adopt a database that allows local officials access to immigration records, federal immigration officials announced Friday.

The county has joined San Diego, Los Angeles and dozens of counties nationwide in what is called the Secure Communities program, administered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The program, announced by the federal government last fall, provides participating jurisdictions with technology that checks for criminal records maintained by the FBI and immigration records listed by the Department of Homeland Security.

Officers booking an individual into a county jail are able to obtain both by running the person's fingerprints. If an individual is found eligible for deportation, immigration authorities are notified.

San Diego County joined the program in May. About 79 counties around the country participate, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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13.
Morristown police union to study 287(g) immigration enforcement program
By Tehani Schneider
The Daily Record (Morristown, NJ), September 14, 2009
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20090915/COMMUNITIES/309150001/1005/NEWS01/Morristown+police+union+to+study+287%28g%29+immigration+enforcement

Morristown, NJ -- The town's police union has formed a committee to explore the ramifications of deputizing its police officers to enforce federal immigration laws, a move that has delayed Mayor Donald Cresitello's plan to implement the program known as 287(g).

In a statement issued Monday to the press, Police Benevolent Association Local 43 officials noted the union recently received the first official document from the town regarding the implementation of 287(g).

'This correspondence marks the first occasion in which the Town Administration has had any contact with the union in reference to this program,' the statement said.

'In response, PBA Local 43 has formed a committee to examine and research all aspects of this program in order to make an informed decision and to determine if participation in this program is in the best interests of our members and the community as a whole.'

Under 287(g), Morristown officers would train to become immigration agents -- allowing them to enforce federal immigration laws and begin deportation proceedings.

The Morristown police department, which was approved for the program by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in July, would join the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office, and the Hudson County jail as the only state representatives in the program run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But the town must sign a Memorandum of Agreement with Homeland Security before officers can undergo a four-week training program by federal officials.

It was unclear how long the police union's committee plans to analyze 287(g). Neither PBA President Daniel Widdis nor the union's attorney, Paul Kleinbaum, returned calls seeking comment Monday afternoon.

Cresitello, who has four months left in office, said Monday that the PBA's planned review of 287(g) is one reason for his setback in signing the agreement.

'We're hoping that they would agree, but don't need their approval,' he said. 'Hopefully, they'll come to the same conclusion that I did -- that this is best for the residents of Morristown, considering the past activities, the past crimes that would not have been committed had we had this policy in place several years ago. There are individuals who have been in custody who are in this country illegally that were released and went on to commit serious crimes.'

But PBA support is essential before the agreement can be signed because the officers must commit to two years under 287(g), said Matt Chandler, a Homeland Security spokesman.

If the police union does agree to support Morristown's implementation of 287(g), Cresitello hopes the town can begin deputizing a small number of its 58 officers before the end of the year.

'We would send two officers initially and see what the benefits of the training would be, and report back to (Morristown Police Chief Peter Demnitz), and let those guys make the final determination if we want to commit more people to training,' he said.'

ICE overhauled 287(g), which began in January 2006, following reports that local agencies used the program to target illegal immigrants for relatively minor offenses, as opposed to serious crimes.

Since the inception of 287(g), more than 70,000 individuals who are suspected of being in the United States illegally have been identified and more than 840 officers nationwide have been trained, according to ICE.

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14.
New Orleans Police Department won't report compliant illegal aliens
The New Orleans City Business, September 14, 2009
http://www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/viewStory.cfm?recID=34046

New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Warren Riley backed a call for comprehensive immigration reform Wednesday while ensuring the NOPD will not report illegal aliens to immigration if they are the victims of or witnesses to a crime.

Flanked by Mayor Ray Nagin, representatives of the Hispanic community, and Hispanic and Asian police officers, Riley said the NOPD's job is to protect and serve everybody, whether they are in the country illegally or not.

The department's focus is solving crimes, and it is impossible to do so if undocumented workers are afraid to come forward out of fear of deportation, he said.

'We are not going to victimize somebody who is the victim of a crime a second time by deporting them,' Riley said. 'Unless you are a violator of the law, there is no threat of arrest or deportation.'

Joining Riley at the press conference was Arturo Venegas Jr., retired police chief of Sacramento, Calif., and project director of the Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative.

The initiative brings together law enforcement leaders from throughout the country in a call for comprehensive immigration reform that includes proper legal status for those of the estimated 12 million immigrants working and living in the United States.

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15.
Mayor Cresitello calls Morristown sustainability report a bunch of 'pipe dreams,' and gives thumbs-down to prize-winning garden film
The Star Ledger (Newark, NJ), September 14, 2009
http://www.nj.com/morristown/index.ssf/2009/09/mayor_cresitello_calls_morrist.html

For the record, Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello said he supports bike lanes, community gardens, the redevelopment of Headquarters Plaza, and lots of other things in a new sustainability report prepared by national planning experts.

But the 'disappointing' document is largely a work of fantasy, he said, because it lacks a 'road map' to achieve the goals it sets forth.

'I've seen these reports for 30 years in government,' said the Mayor, who leaves office in January after a primary defeat this year. 'In the end, they are pipe dreams.'

The Sustainable Design Assessment Team study, or SDAT, was compiled by American Institute of Architects planners and design experts, who visited Morristown in 2008 at the behest of the Morristown Partnership, a local business organization.

Those experts proclaimed that the historic Morris County seat can become 'the greenest community in New Jersey' and 'a model for the world,' with smarter planning and a more cohesive vision of the future. The survey explored how to balance environmental, economic and social concerns.

But the Mayor bristled at one paragraph that warned how town policies on immigration enforcement could paint Morristown as 'a community of intolerance or even racism.'

The Mayor advocates deputizing police to start deportation proceedings against illegal aliens accused of committing serious crimes.

He called the report's criticism 'off-base,' contending the authors never discussed immigration issues with him. He challenged the document's implication that such enforcement would dissuade people from coming to Morristown.

If anything, he said, lax immigration enforcement could scare people away. He suggested that large gatherings of day laborers on Morris Street may hurt rentals at the new Highlands apartment complex. He also blamed immigration loopholes for freeing violent criminals.

The report also knocks Headquarters Plaza, asserting the fortress-like complex killed pedestrian traffic in its shadow.

Yet it's unrealistic to think anyone would invest hundreds of millions of dollars to re-invent HQ, the Mayor said. Likewise, he doubts downtown business owners would trade customer street parking for bicycle lanes, despite the environmental appeal of such lanes.

'It's easy to say things, but very hard to implement them,' said the Mayor.

He also gave a negative review to Growtown Motown, a documentary about a temporary community garden on Early Street. (See below.)

Viewers awarded it third prize at last month's MorristownGreen.com Film Festival, and it was shown at last week's town council meeting.

The film includes cameos by Councilwomen Michelle Harris-King and Rebecca Feldman, who supported Tim Dougherty, the victor in the June mayoral primary.

'I visited the gardeners, too, but they didn't include that in the movie,' the Mayor said. 'That movie is a political document.'

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16.
Legal Experts Say Supe’s Sanctuary Proposal Legit
By Helene Papper
Mission Local (San Francisco), September 15, 2009
http://missionlocal.org/2009/09/immigrant-experts-say-campos-ordinance-on-undocumented-juveniles-would-hold-up/

All but one immigration expert defended District 9 Supervisor David Campos’s effort to relax the city’s year-old policy on undocumented juvenile suspects—a proposal that a Board of Supervisors committee will consider this week when members return from the summer recess.

Instead, the experts said, it was Mayor Gavin Newsom, not the proposed change, that put the city at risk.

A confidential memo, leaked to the San Francisco Chronicle last month after Campos introduced his proposal, said the city risked lawsuits if undocumented juvenile offenders are given due process before alerting Immigration and Control Enforcement, known as ICE.

At present, if an undocumented juvenile is arrested and charged with a felony, ICE is alerted before a hearing takes place.

Campos’s proposal has eight backers—enough to override a mayoral veto. However, it will be considered by the Public Safety Committee at the next meeting on September 28 at 11 a.m. before going back to the board for a full vote.

The dean of the University of California at Davis Law School and an expert in immigration law, Kevin Johnson, said Campos’s proposal to give juveniles the opportunity for a hearing was a welcome development.

It was, he said, Newsom’s policy that has put the city at risk because keeping police away from questions about immigration status is a policy grounded in security concerns. Good relations with the police allows crime victims—documented and undocumented—to come forward without fear of being deported.

'There is no law that requires state or local governments to cooperate with federal immigration efforts.' Johnson said. 'Police officers in California aren’t allowed to inquire about immigration status.'

'If the police become viewed as immigration enforcers, they’re not going to get community assistance enforcing criminal laws,' he said.

The 1989 Refuge Ordinance states that city and state employees are prohibited from helping with arrests and investigations 'unless such help is required by federal or state law or a warrant.'

And, the ordinance clearly states that the sanctuary prohibition excludes undocumented immigrants charged with a felony or booked in a county jail.

The issue has always been over how to treat undocumented juveniles. In July 2008, Newsom said city and state employees should begin alerting immigration officials as soon as an undocumented juvenile was booked on a felony charge.

Under Campos’s proposal, officials would notify immigration on minors only after a judge ruled that the juvenile’s felony charge had merit.

In a statement to the press, Newsom spokesman Nathan Ballard defended the mayor’s policy, saying it strikes the right balance between protecting public safety and guaranteeing the rights of criminal suspects.

'We can’t run afoul of state and federal law and expect our sanctuary policy to survive,' said Ballard.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello, a Republican appointee and vocal critic of the city’s sanctuary policy, accused San Francisco of 'harboring illegal aliens' and warned that employees could face federal criminal prosecution.

There have already been lawsuits, before the mayor changed policy. It’s not wild speculation to say the city could face more, should anyone enforce (Campos’s) this proposal, Russoniello said.

Angela Chan, staff attorney with the Asian Law Caucus, said Campos’s proposal does not challenge the right of federal law that says immigration authorities can operate in San Francisco. The original sanctuary ordinance also recognizes this right.

'The city attorney could not have approved district Campos’s proposal if it was illegal,' said Chan, 'He just wrote a cautionary memo, saying the city could be sued, but not that the city would lose such a lawsuit. That’s a key point.'

Chan said that while conservatives who oppose immigration might sue, there’s no case law that shows they would succeed.

'Look at the very sad and tragic Bologna case,' she said referring to the June 22, 2008 incident in which an undocumented immigrant, Edwin Ramos, 22, fatally shot Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Ramos had been arrested earlier as a minor.

'The family filed a lawsuit against the city but it really hasn’t gone very far,' she said. 'They’ve lost on most of their claims.'

That case is still in court.

The legal director at the Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, Robert Rubin, who helped write San Francisco’s Sanctuary ordinance in 1989, said federal law does not require state or local authorities to report on anyone’s immigration status.

'The U.S Attorney is full of hot air,' he said referring to Russoniello’s statements. 'The City Refuge law does not bar federal agents from enforcing federal immigration laws.

'It’s important to understand this. But it’s not the job of the local police. They have enough problems enforcing state criminal laws.'

Chan said that Mayor Newsom was trying to garner support for his governor’s campaign through scare-mongering. Doing so, she said, put the city in a vulnerable position.

'It’s unfortunate that the mayor has raised the red flag and invited law suits to happen. It’s a big departure from where he used to be. He’s doing this for political gain.'

Newsom announced he was running for governor in July. It was the same month he changed the city’s sanctuary policy on juveniles.

'Being tough on crime and tough on immigration has usually been a way for politicians to gain points. But it’s changing,' said Chan.

Johnson said in addition to the security issues that could arise from crime victims fearing police, local and state officials don’t have any training in immigration law and are prone to making a lot of mistakes.

'It’s a dangerous thing when local governments try to play the role of the Federal Government,' he said. 'State and local authorities don’t know how to do it, so they will tend to slide into racial profiling.'

Racial profiling has been a growing concern in San Francisco and cases of kids being arrested based on the color of their skin are on the rise, Chan said.

'San Francisco is a place where people felt safe. The effect Newsom’s policy has had on the immigrant communities is terrible,' said Chan.

U.S. Attorney Russoniello, racial profiling is not an issue.

'If you are looking for members of a Sicilian gang you are going to look for certain types of people. That’s the way it is,' Russoniello said. 'State and Local officials can report people to ICE when need be on the basis of what’s called reasonable suspicion.'

Rubin disagreed and said the mayor’s proposal also opened the door to innocent children being deported.

'If children are a danger to society they can be dealt with in Juvenile court, but turning them over to ICE before even being convicted, that’s against the fundamental that each and every person is innocent until proven guilty.'

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17.
UNM Reading Program Aims To Build Community
Freshmen urged to read book on immigration
By Martin Salazar
The Albuquerque Journal (NM), September 14, 2009
http://www.abqjournal.com/cgi-bin/decision.pl?attempted=www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/142256164161newsmetro09-14-09.htm [Subscription]

Even before stepping foot on campus, University of New Mexico freshmen were asked to do some homework.

That homework was reading 'Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration' by Sam Quinones, who now writes for The Los Angeles Times.

Participation in the freshman reading program isn't mandatory, but university officials hope it will help build community on the sprawling campus and get people at UNM to explore the issue of immigration.

Freshman reading programs are common throughout the United States, but this has been UNM's first attempt at launching one.

'I really have hopes that this will begin to build a sense of intellectual community that for all of our education and academic horsepower on campus, we don't often have,' said Wynn Goering, UNM's vice provost.

As part of its socalled Lobo Reading Experience, the university has been hosting discussion sessions throughout campus and will host lectures focusing on immigration.

Quinones, who lived in Mexico for 10 years as a freelance journalist, will be at UNM at 7 p.m. Tuesday to discuss his book at the Continuing Education Center. And former Mexican President Vicente Fox will lecture on immigration Sept. 21 at Popejoy Hall.

Goering said the idea to launch a freshman reading program came from Provost Suzanne Ortega, who 'thought it was a really good way to build some engagement and some community with the freshman class starting even before they got on campus.' A committee was formed to choose the book, and 'Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream' was selected.

'We were looking for something that would have particular relevance for the Southwest,' Goering said.

The book is a collection of true stories that delves into the lives of Mexican immigrants and explores the impact of immigration on both sides of the border.

'The challenge over time will be to build participation in something that's not a required experience,' Goering said. 'We have a number of instructors that have chosen to use it in their classrooms for assignments. When Sam Quinones is going to be on campus, there are some others that have invited him in to talk to their classes, so we're going to engage people that way.'

Lobo Reading Experience events

Author Sam Quinones will discuss his book, 'Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration,' at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Continuing Education Center. He will sign copies from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday at the UNM Bookstore.

Former Mexican President Vicente Fox will speak from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 21 at Popejoy Hall. Free, but tickets are required. They will be available to the general public beginning Tuesday at the UNM Student Services Center, 1155 University, and at the UNM Bookstore on main campus. Tickets also will be available online at unmtickets.com or at local Albertsons stores, but service fees may apply.

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18.
Grady offers 6-month reprieve to patients of dialysis clinic
By Craig Schneider and Shelia M. Poole
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 15, 2009
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/grady-offers-6-138414.html

Grady Memorial Hospital is offering to relocate about 60 outpatient dialysis patients to other states or send them back to their home countries as the hospital prepares to close its dialysis unit.

Hospital officials say they are willing to spend thousands of dollars to help relocate each patient and their family, including plane tickets, moving expenses and rent security fees.

'We're committed to ensuring that every patient has a place for care, and every patient gets the right medical care,' said Grady spokesman Matt Gove.

But some patients are scared and panicking. They say they cannot move to another state or back to their home country. Many are poor, uninsured and undocumented immigrants. Grady has been their last resort. They're afraid when the clinic closes, they'll have nowhere to go and their health will spiral.

'I have no place to go,' said Ismael Sagredo, 52, of Tucker who has been on dialysis for 18 months. He spoke through an interpreter. 'I'm afraid I'm going to die.'

Grady officials say they understand that some patients will not take the relocation offer, and the officials said these people will not be left out in the cold.

If the patient resides in Fulton or DeKalb --- the two counties which provide direct subsidies to Grady --- then Grady will find a private dialysis provider and pay their bill, Gove said.

If they reside outside those two counties, the hospital will work to find a care provider in their home county to help care for the person, he said. But Grady won't pay that bill.

But several dialysis patients said they were never told this. They said they didn't know that if they chose not to relocate, Grady would help them find them care and take care of their bill.

About 100 patients and advocates crowded a meeting of Grady board Monday to protest the planned closing of the clinic Sunday.

Grady spokesman Gove acknowledged that some of the patients were not told early on that they had the option to stay with Grady footing their bill. He said the hospital wanted to emphasize to patients their options beyond being dependent on Grady. If those options were not available, patients were informed they could stay and Grady would continue to assist them, he said.

Grady Memorial Hospital officials on Monday offered up to a six-month reprieve to patients concerned their health would spiral after the closing of the outpatient dialysis clinic.

The Grady board, acting on a motion by board member Michael Hollis, voted to extend the license on the clinic for up to six months. The license was set to expire Sept. 30.

That doesn't mean the clinic will stay open another six months, officials said. It means the clinic will stay open until each of the patients has a viable plan for receiving care elsewhere, said hospital CEO Michael Young.

'I'm committed to not letting anyone die,' Young said.

Grady officials said the clinic could still close shortly.

Gove said a handful of the patients have already relocated under the plan, and several more are in the final stages before leaving.

Grady officials said they plan to close the outpatient dialysis unit because the clinic is old, uses outdated equipment and has lost between $2 million and $4 million a year in recent years.

The problem is that about 60 of the clinic's 90 patients are undocumented immigrants who cannot collect government aid such as Medicaid. That makes it difficult to transfer them to a private provider. Virtually none of these 60 patients has insurance or government assistance.

Advocates for these patients have blasted the plan as an elaborate way to dump these patients and make them someone else's problem.

The advocates say these patients have had a short time to make major life-changing decisions. They are worried about moving family members, leaving others behind, finding work and upsetting the lives they've established in the metro area. They also say that Grady officials are scaring them about their prospects should they stay.

Patricia Ventura, 32, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, said a Grady representative told her that if she stayed, she would have to seek care through the emergency room.

Grady officials, for their part, say they are taking extra steps to ensure patients continue to receive care, as the charity hospital struggles with an expected $35 million operating deficit this year.

Grady loses about $75,000 a year providing care to each of these nonpaying patients.

Grady plans to shift about 30 of the outpatient dialysis patients to private providers in metro Atlanta. These patients are U.S. citizens and almost all either have Medicaid or Medicare or are soon to receive it.

Gove, the hospital spokesman, said hospital officials expect as many as 20 of the patients who are undocumented immigrants will relocate to another state. He said Grady has found about 11 states in the country that provide Medicaid assistance for undocumented immigrants for outpatient dialysis treatment. Georgia does not. The states include New York, North Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, Washington, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin.

Gove said these patients will receive some guidance from Grady on setting up their health care in the new state, but will be largely left on their own in negotiating the system.

Officials say that eight patients have committed to locate back to their home country, and more may follow. Many come from Mexico but others are from Togo, Ethiopia, Honduras, El Salvador, the Philippines and Guyana. The hospital is working with the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta and a private group that specializes in relocating people to Latin America and helping them obtain health care there.

After the center closes, patients in transition would receive care at a local provider and Grady would foot the bill, Gove said.

While Grady plans to close its outpatient dialysis unit, it plans to continue operation of its inpatient dialysis.

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19.
Immigration, Health Debates Cross Paths
Activists on Both Sides Step Up Efforts
By Spencer S. Hsu
The Washington Post, September 15, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/14/AR2009091401498.html

As Congress's debate over health-care legislation lumbers toward a defining test for the Obama presidency, partisans on both sides of another issue -- immigration -- escalated their own proxy war this week, concluding that the fates of the two issues have become politically linked.

Trying to beat back a furor over whether President Obama's centerpiece initiative would subsidize health care for illegal immigrants, liberal supporters of an immigration overhaul on Monday called a main proponent of that claim a 'hate group,' citing its founder's ties to white supremacists and interest in racist ideas, such as eugenics.

The counterattack comes as opponents of illegal immigration plan a Capitol Hill lobbying push, starting when 47 conservative radio hosts hold a 'town hall of the airwaves' in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday to highlight the costs of illegal immigration.

Strategists on both sides said the clash underscores how Republican activists have stirred populist anxiety against not only Obama's health-care effort but also other parts of his agenda, and how core Democratic groups have concluded that it is time to return fire.

In an ad published in the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call and a teleconference with reporters, America's Voice, an umbrella group of immigrant advocacy organizations, accused the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a prime lobby for reduced immigration, of leading xenophobic efforts to lower the number of Hispanic people in the United States.

Allies of America's Voice, including leaders of the National Council of La Raza, a Latino civil rights group, and Media Matters, a news watchdog group, alleged that FAIR and related organizations play on nativist, racially charged fears to drown out debate.

'The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is designated a HATE GROUP by the Southern Poverty Law Center,' the ad reads, citing a December 2007 listing by an independent group based in Montgomery, Ala., that monitors racist organizations. 'Extremist groups, like FAIR, shouldn't write immigration policy,' the ad concludes.

Dan Stein, president of FAIR, called attacks on the group's founder, John Tanton, false and outdated.

'Saying something that's not true or telling a lie 50 times doesn't make it more true than the first,' Stein said, noting that the SPLC began its attacks earlier this decade. 'They've decided to engage in unsubstantiated, invidious name-calling, smearing millions of people in this movement who simply want to see the law enforced and, frankly, lower levels of immigration,' Stein said.

Ongoing Attacks

Supporters of immigration reform usually stopped short of such blunt attacks when Congress debated the issue in 2006 and 2007.

Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, said conservative activists have been trying to intimidate Congress by tapping into a thin but vocal vein of populist anger. Sharry acknowledged that the best scenario for a successful legalization push would be 'a comeback victory for health-care reform.' Obama has said he will turn to immigration next after energy legislation.

'We didn't call them out last time, we thought we were in a political debate. Now we realize it's part political debate and . . . part culture war,' Sharry said. 'These talk-show guys and FAIR, this isn't about immigration policy, as much as they think there are way too many Latinos in this country and they want to get rid of a couple of million of them.'

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank spun off FAIR, said Obama and congressional Democrats have lost credibility in the dispute over health coverage for illegal immigrants and probably were surprised by its intensity.

'Right now there are a lot of members of Congress who might have thought the immigration issue wasn't as hot for opponents as it was a couple of years ago,' Krikorian said. 'They were disabused of that notion.'

Focus on FAIR Founder

Republican Rep. Joe Wilson's shout of 'You lie!' during Obama's speech to Congress last Wednesday night dramatized the dispute, in which critics say Democrats are not doing enough to verify that illegal immigrants will not receive expanded health coverage at taxpayers' expense. The White House said Obama's plan would tighten restrictions and require more verification of legal residency. Supporters say research indicates that abuse is rare, that enforcement costs outweigh savings and that U.S. citizens may be improperly denied help.

In a series of reports, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League have focused on Tanton, who founded FAIR in 1979. The groups quote from Tanton's correspondence with Holocaust deniers and white nationalist thinkers, his expressed interest in anti-Semitic writers and the study of eugenics, and concerns about the 'educability' of Hispanics and the loss of a 'European American' majority.

'We want to keep that drumbeat going so politicians know when FAIR lobbyists speak to them, this is who they represent,' said Heidi Beirich, an SPLC researcher.

Stein defended FAIR's track record, cited its diverse membership and said the group 'stands four-square against discrimination based on race, ethnicity or religion.' He said attacks on Tanton are taken out of context and 'simply do not reflect the true character of the person,' whom Stein described as a 'Jeffersonian or Renaissance man or intellect' whose interest and writings span a wide range of issues.

He criticized America's Voice and allied groups as 'juvenile mud throwers who seem unprepared to engage in serious public debate.'

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20.
Haitians up pressure for special immigration status
Advocates are stepping up pressure to gain Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants.
By Trenton Daniel
The Miami Herald, September 15, 2009
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/haiti/story/1234089.html

A year after a string of storms battered Haiti, South Florida Haitian leaders are stepping up efforts to press the Obama administration to activate a designation that would allow some 30,000 Haitians in the United States to seek employment.

``Our people need a work permit to continue contributing to this country and to provide for their families,'' said the Rev. Jonas Georges, a pastor at All Nations Presbyterian Church in North Miami Beach. ``It is a status that the president can say, with the stroke of a pen, `there it is.' ''

Georges' plea came Monday at a news conference in Little Haiti that marked the first of several events this week -- from South Florida to Washington, D.C. -- that seek to press government officials to grant Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, to Haitians. The designation would enable some 30,000 Haitians in the United States to apply for work permits and, advocates argue, wire sorely needed remittances back to Haiti.

On Wednesday, several busloads of Haiti advocates from Miami and other Florida cities plan to rally in front of the White House; that afternoon, they plan to meet with Department of Homeland Security officials. And on Friday, local hip hop stars will gather on Virginia Key to lend their support to the TPS cause. ``Miami will fall,'' without TPS for Haitians, Andre ``McKlezie'' Wallace, head of the Grind Mode group, said at the Monday afternoon news conference.

Celebrities have also come to the TPS cause in recent weeks, including Miami Heat forward-center Udonis Haslem.

But securing TPS for Haitians could be a tough fight.

The Obama administration is reviewing the possibility of issuing TPS to Haitians, though the president said this summer that an immigration overhaul would not happen until next year. Obama is also trying to turn around the troubled economy and implement healthcare reform.

Haiti advocates say TPS can't wait.

``Yes, he faces a lot of challenges,'' Georges said. ``The president has been dragging his feet, so to speak, on the issue of granting TPS to Haitians.''

Former President Bill Clinton, the United Nations' special envoy to Haiti, publicly brought up the TPS issue in August. He urged Haiti advocates to keep the pressure on, but to do so respectfully.

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21.
Wells Fargo asked to remove Spanish billboards
The Victorville Daily Press (CA), September 14, 2009
http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/spanish-14425-asked-wells.html

Hesperia, CA -- Local residents concerned with Wells Fargo’s two Spanish-language billboards on Main Street will address the City Council at tonight’s council meeting, according to a press release.

The citizens will request the billboards be replaced with English-language Wells Fargo billboard.

'The official language of California is English — the American culture has always spoken English,' said Raymond Herrera Minuteman, national spokesman for We The People California’s Crusader and the Minuteman Project. 'English is a part of our national identity as Americans.'

In a news release, Herrera called the signs divisive to residents.

'The billboards in Spanish detract from our overall sense of community,' Herrera said in the press release. 'English is a part of our national identity as Americans.'

Herrera said the concerned group seeks a mutually beneficial resolution for Wells Fargo and local residents.

The council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 9700 Seventh Ave.

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22.
Candlelight children's vigils at St. Margaret's and United Latin American Pentecostal churches in Morristown tonight
By Jamie Duffy
The Star Ledger (Newark, NJ), September 15, 2009
http://www.nj.com/morristown/jamieduffy/index.ssf/2009/09/candlelight_childrens_vigils_a.html

St. Margaret's Church on Speedwell Avenue and the United Latin American Pentecostal Church (Bethel AME church premises) on Spring Street will host candlelight vigils in Morristown for children threatened with deportation of a parent. The events are at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.

Statewide, 10 Children's Vigils/Vigilia de los Ninos are scheduled, mostly at Protestant and Catholic churches. The theme is 'We are One Human Family.'

These events will commemorate the signing of the United Nations Convention of the Child, ratified on Sept. 2, 1990, by every nation except the U.S. and Somalia.

Participants are also calling for the passage of H.R. 182, a bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) that would give immigration judges more discretion when sentencing undocumented immigrants.

According to figures compiled by the Department of Homeland Security, more than 108,000 people with children residing here have been deported between 1998 and 2007.

More than 4 million children in the U.S. have at least one undocumented parent and are at risk of losing a mother or father to deportation. Besides the human cost, immigrant incarceration is costing the U.S. taxpayers $1.7 billion a year, say immigrants rights advocates.

In Morristown, outgoing mayor Donald Cresitello has applied for 287(g) status that would allow local police officers to act as federal immigration agents. He awaits approval from the town police union to complete the agreement with the Department of Homeland Security this week.

Opponents such as Diana Mejia, co-founder of the immigrants rights group Wind of the Spirit, maintain that programs like 287(g) split the community and drive immigrants underground, afraid to report crime.

Norma Ponzianno, a Guatemalan immigrant who came here on a visa 10 years ago and now owns George's Deli in Morristown, said 287(g) has brought pain to the immigrant community.

'Now we've got troubles,' she said. 'They're scared to be walking on the street since they heard the police are going to act like immigration. They don't want to go out.'

At the vigils, there will be music and testimony and translations from Spanish, said Mejia, who is helping to organize the local vigils.

There will be a broader call to stop raids by ICE (Immigrant and Customs Enforcement) and end immigrant detention and deportation. A coalition wants to 'restore family values into U.S. immigration policy.'

That coalition includes the Salvation Army of Bridgeton, the St. Anthony of Padua Social Justice Group, the New Jersey Immigration Policy Network, the Hudson Catholic Regional High School, the American Friends Service Committee and the Ministry Office of the Mid-Atlantic Sisters of Mercy, to name a few.

'Everyone is welcome. We are brothers and sisters and human beings,' said Mejia. 'It's very important to respect each other and people 's basic rights. We are all children of God, we are all the same.'

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23.
Immigration discussion asks participants to ponder questions
By Jim Troyer
The Post-Bulletin (Austin, MN), September 14, 2009
http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=28&a=416031

Four hours of presentations, discussions, small group activities and a quiz came down to a single question Saturday afternoon.

Do undocumented immigrants have rights?

'Yes, they do,' said Madeline Lohman and Anna Donnelly in their Immigration 101 approach to the country's troubled system. Lohman cited the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, U.S. immigration law and the International Treaty on Human Rights.

'They don't have any rights,' shouted Sam Johnson, Austin's energetic spokesman for the National Socialist Movement in southeast Minnesota.

Immigration workshop

The clash of minds took place at Austin Public Library during an immigration workshop presented by the Minneapolis-based Resource Center of the Americas. It included testimony from immigrant workers in the nation legally and others who are perhaps not. They told their stories in Spanish, their words repeated in English by the sponsoring organization's interpreter.

'I came to this country to work,' said Enrique. 'I work hard for my family.

'I was a student in Mexico,' said Patricio, 'but I wanted to help my family so I came here. I want to learn English, but it is very difficult.'

Both made it clear that the prospects for work in Mexico are dismal. Jobs pay $3 to $6 per day, and those jobs are hard to find.

'When my kids come home from school here, they are smiling and happy,' Enrique said. 'In Mexico, they were always hungry.'

Questions covered

The workshop agenda covered many of the questions that come up in the debate over immigration.

'Why don't these people (undocumented immigrants) just get in line?'

'Because there isn't any line,' answered Kathleen Gambley, of the University of Minnesota.

'There are only 5,000 openings per year for unskilled workers to enter the country under current immigration policy,' she noted, 'but an estimated 500,000 unskilled jobs are available. That's what brings them,' she said.

'It used to be just men who came over, she said. Now, because of the walls and increased border patrols, they can't go back and forth. That's why they bring their families, walking three days through the desert.

The program hit hard at the immigrant cost question, offering information from studies that they say show:

* Each immigrant pays between $20,000 and $80,000 more in taxes than he or she consumes in services.

* Immigrants contribute billions to Social Security, which is helping to fund the program as the native-born population ages.

* Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for any public benefits except emergency medical care.

* In 2005 (U.S. Census study) immigrant households and businesses paid approximately $300 billion in federal, state and local taxes.

Austin City Council member Janet Anderson thanked the resource center representatives for the visit and told them, 'I would like to see more action to dispel myths and encourage dialogue.'

The Resource Center for the Americas was created in 1983. Its mission is to inform, educate and organize to promote human rights, economic justice, democratic participation and cross-cultural understanding. The center's building at 3019 Minnehaha Ave. is also known for its Mural of the Americas, a Minneapolis showpiece.

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24.
Census Boycott Could Affect City Funding
Groups May Boycott Without Bold Immigration Reform
The WISC News (Madison), September 13, 2009
http://www.channel3000.com/family/20883387/detail.html

Madison, WI -- Mexican Independence Day is officially Sept. 16, but the occasion is being celebrated all this weekend in Madison.

Simmering under the joy behind Saturday's celebration at Warner Park was a growing feeling among some that they are being slighted by the federal government. Those sentiments are leading some local leaders to call on lawmakers for bold immigration reform.

The struggle might impact the 2010 census figures, WISC-TV reported.

A national group of church leaders, the Washington-based National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders that represents 20,000 churches nationwide, is calling for illegal immigrants to boycott the census, an idea that is at odds with an upcoming effort by the city of Madison to ensure that all residents participate in the census.

'They need to make sure they complete the census information,' said Madison Common Council Member Shiva Bidar-Sielaff. 'That they answer the door when a census person comes to the door to complete the census information. This really sends the exact opposite message.'

But Jorge Carrera, of the Immigrant Workers Union, said that his group is seriously considering the boycott.

'This national effort to not fill out those census papers is very important so that leaders understand that if we do not participate, their census will not be credible,' said Carrera. 'But to convince us again, they should go through with an immigration reform for everyone.'

On the other hand, the group Latinos United for Change and Advancement (LUCHA) said they appreciate the sentiment behind the boycott, but that if implemented, a boycott could have negative effects.

'I think there's a much stronger rationale that says that the census is precisely to recognize that people exist,' said Salvador Carranza, president of LUCHA. 'We are here, we are growing, you need to count us.'

'I think it is dangerous from the perspective that if we are not counted there's going to be less funds,' continued Carranza. 'Many of them really do trickle down to immigrants.'

It's funding that would potentially be impacted by a census boycott. Because cities get funds for services ranging from road construction to schools based on the number of residents -- both legal and illegal -- that fill out the census.

The city of Madison is taking note of potential losses that could arise from a census boycott.

'Each person is worth $300 a year or $3,000 over ten years,' said Brian Grady of Madison's Department of Planning and Community and Economic Development. 'So if you start to think about all the folks that may not fill out the forms and how much the city could lose out, it's really a very major impact.'

To counteract the boycott movement, on Tuesday the Madison City Council is scheduled to form a group called The Complete Count Committee.

This committee will attempt to encourage every resident in Madison to participate in the census.

But some immigrant rights advocates say that there is a bigger, deeply-rooted problem within immigrant communities in which people don't fill out the paperwork because of fear of exposing themselves as illegal immigrants.

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25.
Out of poverty, she will be a people's doctor
An immigrant from Morristown's Speedwell Avenue achieves her American dream
By Jamie Duffy
The Star Ledger (Newark, NJ), September 13, 2009
http://www.nj.com/morristown/jamieduffy/index.ssf/2009/09/out_of_poverty_she_will_be_a_p.html

Carol Mendez has always wanted to be a doctor to the poor.

'I think it was from very early childhood. My grandmother, after being a kitchen attendant person at a daycare center, worked as an elevator operator in a public hospital in Bogota. She would always take me to work with her.

'I just always found it fascinating and like, really useful how doctors would help all these people.'

In her first year of a three-year residency at Montefiore Medical Center in the South Bronx, the 24-year-old 2001 Morristown High School graduate is making her dream come true.

After her residency is up, she could probably take her pick of places.

'Unfortunately, with living in Morristown, New Brunswick, Camden and the Bronx, there's a need in so many places. I can see myself really practicing everywhere.'

Her road from poverty in Bogota to the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School where she graduated this year is an immigrant's story that can inspire.

She came to Morristown to live with an aunt at age ten, entering the sixth grade at Frelinghuysen Middle School because of her accelerated schooling in Bogota. Starting with preschool, Mendez was enrolled at the same daycare where her grandmother worked, because there was no other childcare available.

Her care was given over to her maternal grandmother at age two after her mother, a secretary, was murdered in a taxi hijack.

'She was like two blocks from home, coming home from work,' Mendez said. A gunman drove up on a motorcycle. 'The guy (driver) was fighting back. He had a revolver. They started shooting and they shot her.'

She was sent to live with her aunt, a housekeeper at Morristown Memorial Hospital, who was living here with Mendez' beloved great aunts, her grandfather's sisters. She was put on an airplane out of Colombia , first to live on Grant Street and later, on Speedwell Avenue 'mostly to look for a better life, to have a brighter future,' she said.

She made friends immediately in the ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and got involved in a friendly rivalry in math class where she, her cousin and her best friend, Catherine Rios, had all come from competitive math classes in Colombia.

'Carol, Cristian and I were in constant competition, especially in math,' recalled Rios. 'Math is universal. We were more advanced in the math level that what they were teaching here. Even though we didn't speak the language, when the teacher would put the problem up on the board, we would automatically raise our hands. [We competed] for the best grade in that class. It was fun.'

Rios, who works as a paralegal in town, says even as kids, Mendez talked about her dream.

'That's Carol from the beginning. What she really wanted to do was be a Doctor Without Borders. She wants to be the people's doctor.'

Life in Morristown centers around family and that includes native customs.

'Morristown is a very Colombian town,' says Mendez. 'We're immigrants. Everything we do, holidays-wise and at home and in our customs, is still very Colombian. We speak Spanish at home all the time, we eat Colombian food every day. We listen to Colombian music, sometimes read Colombian newspapers and visit Colombia.'

Most of Mendez' friends in high school were Latino or African-American. Although there was no trouble between groups, Mendez said she 'never really identified with the other Anglo kids,' even though she learned to speak English in six months.

'I didn't have much in common with Anglos,' but there was a tie 'with the African American community because we rode the same bus and we were in the same classes.'

Anglo friends developed at Douglass College, especially when she enrolled in the Institute for Women's Leadership Scholars program. A friend in that class introduced Mendez to her brother.

Two years ago, that guy, John Bilby, became her husband. The couple was married at the Voorhees Chapel at Rutgers in New Brunswick. He recently got a job as an English middle school teacher in the South Bronx, taking advantage of the federal Teach for America program.

They live in Manhattan's Yorkville section with their two dogs, an eight-year-old cockapoo named Rocky and Messi, a one-year-old miniature poodle, both rescue dogs. The couple is training to run in the Philadelphia Marathon.

When her husband visits with her family, he joins in the family house parties, which include dancing as well as socializing. 'He's very acculturated. We've gone to Shakira and Juanes concerts,' she says, adding that she is a 'pretty good dancer' and enjoys salsa and vallenato music.

Mendez is a proponent of health care for all. Her desire to serve the poor was considered odd by her peers at medical school.

'There's an obvious undertone from the faculty from the Northeast in general that it's like, crazy. Why would you do that?' says Mendez. She will have plenty of medical school loans to pay back, but as she points out, she will have a doctor's salary.

'All I see every day is people being denied medications, procedures, because an insurance company decides your time is up in a hospital stay. They decide 'we're not going to cover any more of your hospitalization.' It just seems to me, even as a young physician, the most viable and most cost effective, the one that makes the most sense that works in every other country, is a national health insurance program.

'It's not an issue of money. We spend the most amount of money,' she says, arguing that the U.S. spends $7,000 to $8,000 per person where as 'every other industrialized nation spends around $2,000 per person.'

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26.
Hmong refugees make willing citizenship students
By J.E. Espino
The Green Bay Press-Gazette, September 14, 2009
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090914/GPG0101/909140544/1207/GPG01/Hmong-refugees-make-willing-citizenship-students

Appleton, WI -- When Yer Lee talks to students in his U.S. citizenship class, he never has to wonder if they are paying attention.

It's a sure bet they are, no matter how broken their English.

'They have this drive to complete something in their lives,' said Lee, 24, of the eight Hmong students he is equipping for next year's naturalization interview and exam.

It's five years after the largest Hmong migration to the United States in three decades, and local agencies anticipate a large push for citizenship during the next few months into 2010 as many of the 3,258 refugees who started arriving in 2004 become eligible to file paperwork.

Fittingly, the lessons covering everything from the American Revolution to government's checks and balances are held in a room called the West Wing at the Thompson Community Center.

The students are motivated senior citizens. Some of them are newcomers in the last five years from Thailand, climbing the final rungs of the resettlement stepladder.

With the shaky economy taking its toll, many applicants are budgeting for the costly process one year in advance.

The payoff is holding up the certificate to prove U.S. citizenship, and it is personal.

'I had a man tell me he has never been a citizen of a country,' Lee said. 'America has given them the opportunity to develop as persons, live here and be with their family and not be persecuted. They don't have to think about anything in the past.'

Hmong community leaders, who've been pushing new members to initiate the naturalization process, project 95 percent of those living in the Fox Cities are working toward citizenship.

Among those in that wave are May Xiong Lor's father, Xaiju Xiong, 65, and Yer Hang, 59, who settled July 2005 in Neenah.

Nine months ago, they enrolled in the citizenship class. They've filled their heads with important dates and timelines in American history. They can name the original 13 colonies. They know each one is represented by 13 stripes on the American flag and that the 50 stars represent the 50 states in the union.

'I'm very proud of them and how far they are coming along,' Xiong Lor said.

The filing and fingerprinting fee is $675.

Lutheran Social Services, which funds the classes taught by Lee, defrays some of their elderly clients' expenses by providing transportation to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in Milwaukee.

The agencies recommend families put away $50 monthly per applicant a year in advance.

'Those who have gotten their citizenship, talk to them (newcomers),' said Kor Xiong, founder of Hmong Wisconsin Radio and a community activist. 'It's easier for them to see the examples and see the benefits of obtaining citizenship.'

Xia Lor, 65, shied away from applying after she became eligible in 2000 because of the complexity of the naturalization test and her limited English proficiency.

With her granddaughter, Chao Xiong, 18, interpreting, she said she pushed herself to get schooled.

Not everything gets across in the classroom, but she said she is motivated because it will mean shaking off worries she could be deported and traveling abroad with fewer restrictions.

'It feels great,' Chao Xiong said of being an American. 'You're pretty much equal to everyone.'

Kor Xiong looks to future gains in political participation and activism.

During the 2008 presidential election, organizers mobilized the Hmong vote throughout the state.

'It had been done (before) but not to the extent of this past election,' Xiong said. 'It was the first time we've had in the Hmong community a group or committee in each of the cities to go and talk to them and the (leader) of their community.'

He said the earlier he and other organizers can help new arrivals get used to the system, the better it bodes for their incorporation in the political and social fabric of the country.

Lee tries to help his clients draw connections between the U.S. Constitution and their lives.

'I give them examples - we have the basic right to work; we have freedom of speech, freedom of religion. You can choose your own religion. No one is going to do anything to you. You have the right to choose what you want.'

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27.
Class gives immigrants help with citizenship
By Saundra Amrhein
The St. Petersburg Times (FL), September 15, 2009
http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/immigration-service-offers-free-class-tuesday-night-on-becoming-citizen/1036237

Tampa -- Consider yourself pretty good at civics?

Let's try a little test:

Name one author of the Federalist Papers. How many voting members are in the U.S. House of Representatives? If the President and Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?

Those are just three of 100 possible questions that could appear on the new test that takes effect for all immigrants applying for citizenship after Oct. 1.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or CIS, will hold a free seminar today in Tampa for qualified legal immigrants who want to become citizens.

The class is the third of its kind and part of a nationwide push by CIS to get immigrants to apply for citizenship. Within the past month, the agency held classes in Miami and Orlando.

'We want to tell them about eligibility requirements, the process itself and that it's all moving very quickly,' said Sharon Scheidhauer, a spokeswoman for CIS.

Agency officials said applicants' wait time, which varies by region, is now four months in Tampa, Scheidhauer said. It had been more than a year or two.

Many eligible immigrants don't take the citizenship plunge for fear of the English and civics portion of the test or the cost: $675 in application fees.

To pass, they must answer six of 10 questions correctly during the interview out of a possible 100 supplied on the CIS Web site along with answers. They also must be law-abiding permanent residents living in the United States for five years, or three years if married to a U.S. citizen.

More than 700,000 immigrants in Florida are eligible to apply for citizenship, Scheidhauer said. If they all applied tomorrow, the agency, which operates mostly on applicant fees, would pull in $475.5 million.

For immigrants afraid of the test, which is considered more difficult than the old one, Scheidhauer wants to reassure them that passage rates are higher on the new exam: 91 percent, compared with 84 percent under the old test.

Following years of criticism over what were considered inane and simple questions on the citizenship test, immigration officials rolled out the new exam in stages. Starting last fall, applicants who filed for citizenship after Oct. 1, 2008, took the new test. Those who applied earlier, but who had scheduled an interview after that date could choose between the old and new. Now all new applicants must take the retooled exam.

Among the benefits of citizenship: the right to vote, serve on juries and run for office.

Now, the answer to those questions: The writers of the Federalist Papers were James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay and Publius. There are 435 voting members of the House of Representatives. The Speaker of the House assumes control if the President and Vice President can't serve.

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28.
Oath seals a bond to U.S.
Road to citizenship ends with a pledge
By Lauren R. Harrison
The Chicago Tribune, September 15, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-naturalization-15sep15,0,7808261.story

Natallia Thornton chose her words carefully as she explained the pride of being able to support herself in the United States.

The 29-year-old said that in her home country, Belarus, she would not have had the same opportunities that she has had since moving here five years ago.

'You would either have to have connections or have wealthy parents,' said Thornton, who lives in Woodridge and operates a freight logistics business. 'Here, you can be a self-starter.'

Thornton was one of about 200 immigrants from 52 countries who became U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony at Cantigny Park in Wheaton.

U.S. District Judge Robert Dow Jr., who presided over the ceremony, told the new citizens of the bond they have with other U.S. citizens.

'We all are equal in this country under the law. And that's one of the great premises of our country,' said Dow. 'It's something that you all share regardless of who you are, where you've come from, who your parents are, how much money you have.'

Immigrants took their final step toward naturalization by repeating the Oath of Allegiance, renouncing allegiance to any foreign state of prior citizenship and confirming support and defense of the Constitution and U.S. laws against all enemies.

The crowd, including friends and families, exploded in applause at the completion of the oath.

The ceremony included patriotic music played by the Chicago Brass Band, an elaborate posting and retiring of the Illinois and U.S. flags by Marmion Academy ROTC students and a flag cake. But Balu Nair, 38, of Aurora said that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance for the first time as a U.S. citizen stuck out the most.

'That's really defining that you are becoming part of this country,' said Nair, who came here from India 13 years ago and is looking forward to voting next year.

To become eligible for citizenship, applicants fulfilled requirements that included being a legal permanent resident for five years, being physically present in the U.S. for half of that time and being 'a person of good moral character,' said Stacey Summers, head of the Chicago office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Applicants also took an exam that included reading, writing and speaking English and demonstrating knowledge of government history, she said.

During fiscal year 2009, which will end Sept. 30, about 25,000 immigrants have become U.S. citizens. Many of the former residents of countries from Myanmar to Mexico seemed happy they made it through the process -- smiling for pictures with official documents and waving small U.S. flags.

'It feels like a holiday,' said Inessa Banna, 42, originally of Ukraine. 'When I moved [to the U.S.] the first time five years ago, I didn't speak English at all.'

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29.
Immigration issues impact workers
Matching track jobs with workers isn't as easy as it seems, even in this economy
By Paula Lavigne
ESPN, September 15, 2009
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/hispanicheritage2009/news/story?id=4465735

Del Mar, CA -- In 2008, racetrack employers applied for about 3,000 temporary visas to hire stable attendants from foreign countries, according to the Department of Labor. In 2006, before the economy soured, they were asking for 4,000, as well as another 155 for exercise riders and trainers.

Visa applications cost several hundreds of dollars each, and there's never a guarantee that the government will approve them. In 2007 and 2008, immigration attorney Margaret W. Pascual requested 150 visas each year on behalf of about 50 trainers, and the government didn't approve a single one.

Although the government data doesn't specify where employers are looking for their help, immigration attorneys who work for trainers say most are hiring workers from Mexico and Central America. To get the Department of Labor's approval for the visas, employers have to prove they couldn't hire Americans for the same job.

Making that case is a hurdle Julio Rubio, the Hispanic services coordinator for the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, faces every year as he tries to get workers into Kentucky and several other states.

'When we applied to the Maryland Department of Labor, we needed 50 guys. We got 46 responses from Americans interested in the job. As soon as we told them what the job entitled them to do, out of 46, only seven remained. Out of those seven, only two agreed to work,' he says.

Even in San Diego County, where one in 10 people is unemployed and men standing on street corners are holding up signs asking for food, money and jobs, trainers at Del Mar say they can't find enough workers.

Of course, some trainers try to get around that problem by hiring illegal immigrants. Depending whom you ask, illegal immigrants make up 50 to 80 percent of the workers in the barns nationwide. But because of the number of federal, state and local agencies that govern racing, officials say it's hard -- and risky -- for horse trainers to sneak undocumented workers onto their payroll, especially when many of those workers need special licenses to be back in the barn area.

At Del Mar, many trainers remember the day in August 1985 when U.S. Border Patrol officers raided the backstretch and arrested 100 illegal aliens. At the time, immigration officials estimated one-third to one-half of the 3,000 workers at Del Mar were illegal.

The current economic downtown has given some trainers breathing room in two ways. Owners hit by the recession have found it too expensive to own horses, which means fewer horses and less demand for workers. At the same time, the nation's overall demand for foreign workers -- from house cleaners to landscapers -- has declined, which means that Pascual, the immigration attorney, might actually get the 100 temporary worker visas she's requesting this year.

Hispanic horsemen

Racegoers rarely see them, but behind-the-scenes Hispanic workers are the lifeblood of thoroughbred tracks throughout the country. ESPN's Paula Lavigne visits a Del Mar stable. Story

But when the economy rebounds, and trainers want to bring more horses to the track, it's likely the squeeze will be back on to hire workers, says Pascual and other racing industry supporters.

The worker shortage creates a trickle-down effect that reverberates in the club house. Jay Hickey, the American Horse Council president, spells it out: Having fewer workers means trainers take on fewer horses. Having fewer horses means smaller racing fields. Smaller racing fields mean less wagering and less money for everyone involved.

'People like to bet on races with 10 horses more than races with five horses. The odds are better, and they can win more money,' he says.

Worker shortages also make horses more prone to harm, says C. Reid McLellan, executive director of the national Groom Elite training program. He says he heard of a trainer at a track in Oklahoma last year who had one groom for 26 horses.

'With that little help, there's a horse injury that's going to get overlooked,' he says.

Nationally, McLellan says the industry probably has about 60 percent of the help it needs.

At the racetrack in Del Mar, trainer Byron Hendricks is frustrated. Hendricks is a 30-year track veteran who develops young horses. He has had such a hard time finding hot-walkers, grooms and, especially, exercise riders that he has had to downsize his barn from 45 to 25 horses.

'It's just no fun to do this anymore,' he says. Training someone to groom or hot-walk can take several months, and a good exercise rider needs years of experience, he says.

'Call me for sure, OK?' he shouts out to Milo, a Hispanic exercise rider in his 50s Hendricks is trying to persuade to come back and work for him.

'Yeah, yeah, mañana,' Milo shouts back as he rides toward the track.

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30.
Border Patrol: Immigrants using jetskis to cross into U.S.
The San Diego Union Tribune, September 14, 2009
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/14/bn14jetski-cross-border/

Imperial Beach, CA -- Add personal watercraft to the ways illegal immigrants are trying to cross the border, the U.S. Border Patrol says.

About 9:20 p.m. Saturday, agents were patrolling the shoreline near the U.S.-Mexico border when they spotted a personal watercraft heading north. They later found it abandoned near Seacoast Drive.

Agents searched the area and found two illegal immigrants hiding nearby. The watercraft was seized and the men are expected to be deported to Mexico.

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31.
Illegal immigrant gets 6-year sentence in fatal excavator crash
By Stephen Thompson
The Tampa Tribune, September 14, 2009

Clearwater, FL -- A 20-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico was sentenced to six years in prison Friday, about a month after he pleaded guilty to killing a pickup driver by driving his construction vehicle the wrong way down U.S. 19 in Pinellas Park.
. . .
http://suncoastpinellas.tbo.com/content/2009/sep/14/mexican-worker-gets-6-year-sentence-fatal-excavato/news/

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32.
Man accused of impersonating fire official, shaking down immigrant businesses
The Los Angeles Times, September 14, 2009

A Camarillo man employed by a fire protection business was charged with impersonating a fire investigator and allegedly swindling businesses, Oxnard fire officials said.
. . .
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/man-accused-of-impersonating-fire-official-shaking-down-immigrant-businesses.html

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Center for Immigration Studies
1522 K St. NW, Suite 820
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 466-8185 fax: (202) 466-8076
center@cis.org www.cis.org
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