Daily news updates from CIS

October 12, 2009

Support the Center for Immigration Studies by donating on line here: http://cis.org/donate

ATTN Federal employees: The Center's Combined Federal Campaign number is 10298.

[For CISNEWS subscribers --

1. U.S. unable to track visa violators
2. Amnesty initiative on legislative horizon (2 stories)
3. Gov't fortifying Lake Erie security
4. New USCIS boss laying amnesty groundwork
5. Feds adjusting detention policies
6. Sen. Vitter seeks Census citizenship query
7. Congressional Dems torpedo fence funding
8. SCOTUS to hear detainee rights case
9. Report criticizes gov't support of Iraqi refugees
10. Pew finds cities unprepared for inclusive Census count
11. Study: remittance payments fueling obesity
12. AZ employer sanctions law remains unprosecuted
13. Legal loophole allows foreigners access to CO pension funds
14. AZ county: illegal-alien crime down with enforcement (story, link)
15. GA county fends ACLU suit over enforcement (story, link)
16. VA county to implement new 287(g) standards
17. FL cities encourage Census participation
18. VA town stokes smoldering resentment over enforcement
19. Foreign population in CA city declining
20. FL city houses new high-tech Border Patrol station
21. CA city to host new Border Patrol facilities
22. TX city scraps detention center plan
23. Latino activists threaten Census boycott (story, link)
24. DC Cardinal presses for amnesty
25. Amnesty activists to march on DC
26. MN activists head to lobby for amnesty in DC
27. NH summit addresses integration efforts
28. Activists bemoan fallout of Zazi terror investigation
29. CA activists march for amnesty
30. SD driver training course caters to newcomers
31. $6m awarded to family of dead illegal worker
32. Camps of illegals a health, fire hazard in San Diego
33. IA kosher meat plant raid heads to trial
34. Judge explains reprieve of former terror suspect's expulsion (link)
35. Judge places stay on deportation of terror suspect's brother (link)
36. CA family fights deportation (link)
37. CT hostage claim uncovered as hoax (link)

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

-- Mark Krikorian]
1.
U.S. Can’t Trace Foreign Visitors on Expired Visas
By James C. McKinley and Julia Preston
The New York Times, October 12, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/us/12visa.html?hp

Dallas -- Eight years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and despite repeated mandates from Congress, the United States still has no reliable system for verifying that foreign visitors have left the country.

New concern was focused on that security loophole last week, when Hosam Maher Husein Smadi, a 19-year-old Jordanian who had overstayed his tourist visa, was accused in court of plotting to blow up a Dallas skyscraper.

Last year alone, 2.9 million foreign visitors on temporary visas like Mr. Smadi’s checked in to the country but never officially checked out, immigration officials said. While officials say they have no way to confirm it, they suspect that several hundred thousand of them overstayed their visas.

Over all, the officials said, about 40 percent of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States came on legal visas and overstayed.

Mr. Smadi’s case has brought renewed calls from both parties in Congress for Department of Homeland Security officials to complete a universal electronic exit monitoring system.

Representative Lamar Smith of Texas, the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said the Smadi case 'points to a real need for an entry and exit system if we are serious about reducing illegal immigration.'

Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York and chairman of the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on immigration, said he would try to steer money from the economic stimulus program to build an exit monitoring system.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, immigration authorities, with more than $1 billion from Congress, have greatly improved and expanded their systems to monitor foreigners when they arrive. But despite several Congressional authorizations, there are no biometric inspections or a systematic follow-up to confirm that foreign visitors have departed.

Homeland security officials caution that universal exit monitoring is a daunting and costly goal, mainly because of the nation’s long and busy land borders, with more than one million crossings every day. The wrong exit plan, they said, could clog trade, disrupt border cities and overwhelm immigration agencies with information they could not effectively use.

Since 2004, homeland security officials have put systems in place to check all foreigners as they arrive, whether by air, sea or land. Customs officers now take fingerprints and digital photographs of visitors from most countries, instantly comparing them against law enforcement watch list databases. (Canadians and Mexicans with special border-crossing cards are exempt from those checks.)

But homeland security officials said that a series of pilot programs since 2004 had failed to yield an exit monitoring system that would work for the whole nation. They have not yet found technology to support speedy exit inspections at land borders. And airlines balked at an effort last year by the Bush administration to make them responsible for taking fingerprints and photographs of departing foreigners.

The current system relies on departing foreigners to turn in a paper stub when they leave.

Last year, official figures show, 39 million foreign travelers were admitted on temporary visas like Mr. Smadi’s. Based on the paper stubs, homeland security officials said, they confirmed the departure of 92.5 percent of them. Most of the remaining visitors did depart, officials said, but failed to check out because they did not know how to do so. But more than 200,000 of them are believed to have overstayed intentionally.

Immigration authorities have put in place a separate system for keeping track of foreigners who, unlike Mr. Smadi, come on student visas. That system has proved effective at confirming that the students have stayed in school and do not overstay their visas, officials said.

Immigration analysts said that given the difficulties of enforcing the United States’ vast borders, it remains primarily up to law enforcement officials to thwart terrorism suspects who do not have records that would draw scrutiny before they enter the United States.

'You can’t ask the immigration system to do everything,' said Doris Meissner, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, a research center in Washington, and a former commissioner of the immigration service. 'This is an example of how changes in law enforcement priorities and techniques since Sept. 11 actually got to where they should be.'

Mr. Smadi, like many tourists who overstay visas, was able to fade easily into society and encountered few barriers to starting a life here, according to court documents and people who know him. He enrolled in high school, obtained a California identification card, landed jobs in two states and rented a string of apartments and houses. He bought at least two used cars, and even procured a handgun and ammunition.

Mr. Smadi’s arrest on Sept. 24 for the attempted bombing was not his first encounter with American law enforcement. Two weeks earlier, a sheriff’s deputy in Ellis County, Tex., pulled him over for a broken tail light just north of the town of Italy, then arrested him for driving without a license or insurance.

When the deputy checked his identity, Mr. Smadi’s name showed up on a watch list by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which was already investigating him. But the background check turned up no immigration record. The deputy called the F.B.I. and was told there was no outstanding arrest warrant for Mr. Smadi. So on the evening of Sept. 11, Mr. Smadi paid a $550 fine and walked out of the county jail.

'There was nothing to indicate to us that this person was currently in the States illegally,' said Chief Deputy Dennis Brearley.

Mr. Smadi had come to the United States from Jordan in early 2007 on a six-month tourist visa, immigration officials say.

For a few weeks he stayed in San Jose, Calif., with Hana Elrabodi, a retired Jordanian businessman who knew his family, according to Mr. Elrabodi’s wife, Temina. Though Mr. Smadi was not authorized to work, he found a job at a local restaurant. In late March, Mr. Smadi obtained a California identification card using Mr. Elrabodi’s address.

In October 2007, Mr. Smadi moved into an apartment in Santa Clara with his younger brother, Hussein Smadi, and another man he identified as his cousin, according to the manager of the apartment complex, Joe Redzovic. Mr. Smadi took another job, in a falafel restaurant, and in the winter he briefly enrolled in the Santa Clara High School.

After a fire gutted his Santa Clara apartment, Mr. Smadi moved to Dallas. Though his visa had expired by April 2008, he landed a job working behind the counter at Texas Best Smokehouse in Italy, Tex., about 45 miles from Dallas. He rented a bungalow nearby, using his California identification and passing a criminal background check, said his former landlord, David South.

Three months later, Mr. Smadi married one of his co-workers, Rosalinda Duron. They separated in the fall of 2008 after only three months, Ms. Duron said.

Investigators have found no evidence that Mr. Smadi, during his first year in the United States, openly espoused Islamic fundamentalism. Neither have they found any evidence that he received terrorist training abroad or came to the United States intending to commit a terrorist act, said Mark White, a spokesman for the F.B.I. in Dallas.

But by the spring of 2008, he caught the attention of the F.B.I. by posting incendiary remarks about wanting to kill Americans on Jihadist Web sites. Over the summer, he met with agents posing as members of Al Qaeda and planned to bomb the Fountain Place office building in downtown Dallas, according to an indictment unsealed on Thursday.

His arrest on terrorism charges came after he parked a truck that he had been told was carrying explosives in the building’s underground garage, according to court documents.

When the F.B.I. later searched his residence, they found a Beretta 9 millimeter pistol and a box of ammunition, along with his passport and the expired visa, the court documents show.

Return to Top


********
********

2.
Signs of movement on immigration in Congress, federal agencies
By Patricia Zapor
The Catholic News Service, October 9, 2009
http://www.catholicreview.org/subpages/storyworldnew-new.aspx?action=6980

Washington, DC -- After two years of essentially no change in the 'on hold' status of immigration reform legislation, as well as eight years of increasingly restrictive federal policies toward immigration enforcement, signs of movement on both fronts are now coming fast and furiously.

President Barack Obama has repeatedly said he wants to begin consideration of a comprehensive immigration bill this fall, after health care legislation is finished.

As Congress neared votes on health care, progress was reported on drafting immigration legislation and supporters of comprehensive reform were rallying their forces and carefully laying the groundwork for the legislative battle to come.

Meanwhile, promised administrative reviews of some of the most harshly criticized aspects of federal immigration policies also were beginning to produce results that generally made advocates for immigrants happy.

The same week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano outlined an overhaul of the system for immigrant detention. The changes address many of the long-standing complaints about the treatment of detainees, most of whom have applied for asylum, are awaiting resolution of applications to stay in the U.S. or have pending deportation proceedings.

Among the changes she said she anticipates are housing people with no criminal records and no history of violence in more residentiallike facilities, such as converted nursing homes or hotels, rather than in prisons and jails, where most are now kept. Others are likely to be released to their homes with ankle bracelets to monitor their whereabouts.

In late September, her agency announced it had moved the last of the families in detention out of the much-criticized T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility in Taylor, Texas. Soon after the privately run medium-security prison was converted for use by families in 2006, Hutto became the subject of a lawsuit over conditions inside.

Though a settlement agreement resulted in improved living conditions, it retained its prison character, with parents and children sharing small cells in a strict institutional atmosphere. Napolitano announced in early August that families would be moved out of Hutto and the entire system of immigrant detention evaluated.

Families detained at Hutto were either to be released with monitoring or moved to a more open type of residential setting, such as a family detention center in a former nursing home in Pennsylvania.

On the legislative front, hearings began in the Senate and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., scheduled for Oct. 13 an announcement of the principles that outline a comprehensive immigration reform bill he intends to introduce later this fall.

Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, told the immigration subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing Oct. 8 that the U.S. bishops are anxious for comprehensive reform legislation to get moving, and also want changes in the refugee program and federal help to address the root causes of migration, such as underemployment in the 'sending countries.'

The cardinal also urged the Senate to tackle head-on the uncivil tone that has recently characterized debate about immigration.

'The U.S. bishops are very concerned with the tone on Capitol Hill toward immigrants, most recently in the health care reform debate,' he said. 'Such harsh rhetoric has been encouraged by talk radio and cable TV, for sure, but also has been used by public officials, including members of Congress.'

He said he hoped the coming debate would focus on the contributions of both documented and undocumented immigrants 'and not scapegoat newcomers for unrelated economic or social challenges we face as a nation.'

The type of rhetoric the cardinal referenced was in evidence at an Oct. 7 event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies, a research organization with ties to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a leading supporter of immigration restrictions.

At a press conference in Washington, a Maryland Catholic priest took issue with the position on immigration reform taken by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and, particularly, the bishops of Maryland, in their 2007 statement 'Where All Find a Home: A Catholic Response to Immigration.'

Father Dominique Peridans, ordained as a member of the Congregation of St. John but now serving as an associate pastor of St. Louis in Clarksville, argued that the church’s obligation is to follow the law on immigration, not to reach out to people who are here illegally. He particularly dismissed efforts to provide ministry in Spanish.

He and other speakers at the press conference – an evangelical minister and a former official of the American Jewish Committee and other Jewish and interfaith groups – complained about the number of Mexican immigrants in particular, and decried what they said were misinterpretations of Scripture by religious supporters of immigration reform.

But 24 hours later, the list of religious leaders backing comprehensive reform grew when the National Association of Evangelicals joined the long-standing partnership of faith groups working for immigration reform. The evangelical organization adopted a resolution calling for, among other things, a pathway to legalization for undocumented immigrants, changes in visa priorities for family members and workers, and fair labor and civil laws.

+++

Hispanic reps targeting immigration reform
By Gary Martin
The San Antonio Express-News (TX), October 11, 2009
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/63940102.html

Washington, DC -- Hispanic lawmakers in the House are writing an immigration reform bill that will outline the minority community's position before the debate begins in Congress.

The House and Senate are not expected to take up comprehensive immigration reform until next year, but those involved in writing the bill say the legislation being prepared by Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., will lay down a marker on what is expected.

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are behind the effort to lay a legislative blueprint.

Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, said the bill is 'a marker so everyone understands we are unwavering on what we refer to as comprehensive legislation.'

Gonzalez, the first vice chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said the bill would include a pathway for citizenship for the estimated 12 million unauthorized immigrants in this country.

Similar measures in the past have been opposed by Republicans in the House and Senate, who consider it an amnesty for lawbreakers.

'This bill is not going anywhere this year, and I would be surprised if it goes anywhere next year, in an election year,' said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio.

'The American people are opposed to amnesty, and this is an amnesty bill,' said Smith, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, which has oversight of immigration laws.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus staunchly supports citizenship measures, as well as a reduction in the backlog of application for family visas.

The bill is expected to include a robust employment verification system to eliminate exploitation of unauthorized workers.

Gutierrez, who heads the caucus' task force on immigration, told supporters last month that the legislation could be ready to be introduced in the House by the end of October.

'We simply cannot wait any longer for a bill that keeps our families together, protects our workers and allows a pathway to legalization for those who have earned it,' Gutierrez said.

Advocacy groups that favor immigration reform and citizenship for unauthorized immigrants are pressing Democratic lawmakers to move on the legislation.

Gutierrez and caucus members are holding a prayer vigil on the West Lawn of the Capitol on Tuesday, when a broad outline of the draft legislation will be unveiled.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said the House will wait for the Senate to first act.

A comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2007 died in the Senate when Republicans objected to measures in the bill that included citizenship status for unauthorized immigrants.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chairman of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, is expected to file an immigration bill late this year or early next session.

Until then, President Barack Obama has appointed Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano as the point person for a House-Senate task force to identify areas of mutual understanding to move forward on immigration reform.

The working group includes administration officials, as well as Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

Immigration reform advocacy groups are disheartened by the administration's pace on achieving reform and have pressed allies in Congress to move ahead of the White House.

'The president has consistently said we would begin work on comprehensive immigration reform this year, and that's what we are doing,' a White House spokeswoman said.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a sponsor of the 2007 bipartisan bill that died in the Senate, warned that one stumbling block to immigration reform could be organized labor's opposition to temporary, or guest worker programs — a measure sought by business groups.

And Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who helped defeat the Senate bill, said citizenship proposals would have to follow strengthened border security.

Cornyn said Congress had to regain the confidence of the American people and show 'that we are serious about border security and work site enforcement, and about enforcing reasonable immigration laws.'

Although debate over immigration reform will begin in earnest next year, Democratic lawmakers are being pressed by advocacy groups to set the tone and the pace.

The National Association of Evangelicals, representing 40 denominations and groups, called for urgent reform of immigration laws.

'Efforts to maintain secure and efficient borders have been ineffective and, too often, inhumane,' said Leith Anderson, NAE president.

The miles of fence being installed along the U.S.-Mexico border 'doesn't make any sense,' said Rep. Solomon Ortiz, D-Corpus Christi.

'What we have to do is put better technology and border patrol on the ground,' Ortiz said.

Ortiz and Gonzalez both concede that tackling immigration reform in an election year will be difficult.

Return to Top


********
********

3.
U.S. fortifies Erie security
By Craig Smith
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review, October 11, 2009
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_647512.html

As dawn broke over Lake Erie, two Customs and Border Patrol agents made their way up the aisle of Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited, which runs from Chicago to New York. They looked at every passenger.

'Are you a U.S. citizen?' one agent asked a man who stood to stretch his legs when the train stopped in Erie.

'Yes,' the man said, reaching for his wallet. The agent waved him off and moved farther up the aisle to where his partner was inspecting another passenger's paperwork. After verifying the information by phone, they moved on.

Many people don't think of Erie as a border town, said Agent Robert Signorino, because the U.S. border with Canada sits in Lake Erie in water up to 200 feet deep.

But Erie is a choke point for land and water transportation, agents said. Major north-south bus routes pass through town. Erie is a stop for trains traveling between Chicago and New York. Boaters fish in secluded coves and inlets that dot the shore.

All this appeals to illegal immigrants trying to quietly blend in, officials said.

'We're looking for the immigrant who walked across the border at Dylan, Ariz., ... maybe got a smuggler to bring them up here on their way to Chicago or New York,' said Signorino, a Uniontown native who has served with Customs and Border Patrol in Erie for two years.

'They are not expecting to see border patrol agents in Erie, Pa.,' said Patrol Agent in Charge Andrew Scharnweber.

But the border patrol has increased its presence in Erie.

The Erie border station, the only one in Pennsylvania, opened in 2004 with six agents. Next year, it will move from its headquarters in an old cruise ship terminal to a facility that will be located near a notorious drop-off for illegal aliens that is in a cove abutting a residential neighborhood. The new office will accommodate 50 agents, up from 30.

The agency was directed in 2005 to track terrorists and halt transport of illegal aliens.

In 2007, 12 agents were added to Erie's original staff of six as part of a nationwide push to add 6,000 agents by this year. The Erie station's coverage area extends from the Pennsylvania-Ohio line to Dunkirk, N.Y., south of Buffalo.

During the fiscal year, from Oct. 1, 2008, through Sept. 30, Erie Border Patrol agents apprehended 558 people, an 8 percent increase over last year, and confiscated 1,330 pounds of marijuana and $18,555 in cash, as well as smaller amounts of heroin and cocaine, Scharnweber said.

The Erie arrests were part of more than 2,600 made in the Buffalo sector of Customs and Border Patrol during that period.

'Intelligence gleaned from these apprehensions has provided a significant increase in our situational awareness regarding both smuggling trends, criminal organizations and their activity,' said Agent A.J. Price, spokesman for the Buffalo sector, of which Erie is a part.

The Erie station averages two apprehensions a day, Scharnweber said. Forty-one percent of apprehensions in Erie happen at bus and train stations, Signorino said. The Erie station has three K-9 teams trained to sniff out drugs and another smuggled commodity: people.

'They hide under the dashboard or in the seats of cars,' Scharnweber said.

Erie agents made the following arrests during the 12 months ending Sept. 30: 307, or 55 percent, were Mexicans in the country illegally; 234, or 42 percent, were from countries other than Mexico and Canada; 3 percent were considered 'aliens from special interest countries,' those known to have ties to terrorists or countries that support them.

'It's more difficult to find terrorists. You can't just follow footprints in the sand,' Signorino said.

The climate and geography of Erie challenge that mission, said Signorino, who began his career patrolling the country's border with Mexico.

During the day, fishermen stand almost shoulder-to-shoulder along the lake shore trying to hook Lake Erie steelhead. Under cover of darkness, the coves and inlets offer privacy for those trying to enter the country illegally. Border patrol agents travel back roads and suburban streets to reach the shoreline.

Winter along the lake can be brutally cold, making surveillance difficult.

Beefing up Customs and Border Patrol in Erie has had an impact, said Charbel G. Latouf, an immigration attorney.

'They've assisted local police with people who have no identification,' he said, 'There was a time when local police officers didn't know what to do. ... If there was no crime, they'd just let them go.'

Randy Bowers, deputy police chief in Erie, said border patrol agents have acted as interpreters and helped police deal with suspected foreign nationals. Before the border patrol station was established, police called the Immigration and Naturalization Service or anyone they could think of for help, he said.

'We did a lot of waiting,' Bowers said. 'Having them up here makes a lot of sense.'

Nationwide, from January through September, Customs and Border Patrol officers identified and denied entry to 129,779 inadmissible aliens at ports of entry, 23,386 of whom had criminal backgrounds. Patrol officers seized 19,530 fake or fraudulent documents.

When an agent questioned David Hess before he boarded a bus in Erie recently, he said he understood the reason for the scrutiny.

'I'm from Florida. They need them there. It's been completely overrun. You don't know who's coming in,' he said as he waited for his bus to Meadville.

Return to Top


********
********

4.
New director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services visits New Orleans
By Michelle Hunter
The Times-Picayune (New Orleans), October 10, 2009
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/10/new_director_of_us_citizenship.html

Alejandro Mayorkas, the newly appointed director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for the nation, made a stopover in New Orleans on Friday to introduce himself to employees and head up a roundtable on immigration concerns with several local organizations.

'In an effort to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, we in the Department of Homeland Security have held these roundtable discussions in communities both big and small around the country to understand people's views . . . the questions they might have and the concerns they might have,' he said.

Mayorkas, a former U.S. attorney in California's Central District, was nominated by President Barack Obama in April. The Senate confirmed the nomination Aug. 7.

Friday's trip to New Orleans was the fifth stop on his tour. Mayorkas met first with the 28-member staff of the New Orleans District Office of the agency, which handles citizenship procedures, conducts national security background checks and processes applications from immigrants seeking asylum or benefits. The office oversees the state of Louisiana and southern Mississippi.

Mayorkas later met with about 40 to 50 'community stakeholders' from various agencies such as the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana, the New Orleans Workers Center for Racial Justice, Tulane University, Mary Queen of Vietnam Catholic Church and several representatives of elected officials, according to Sharon Scheidhauer, an agency spokeswoman.

That session was closed to the media, but Mayorkas conducted a sit-down with members of the media to lay out his vision for the agency. He said he wants to create greater transparency and more efficiency and consistency in his agency.

In an effort to better communicate with the public, he said the agency has revamped its Web site and created an office of public engagement, promising better customer service.

'One thing I want to achieve for the agency is to develop a perspective throughout the agency to view our work through the eyes of the public we serve,' Mayorkas said.

Return to Top


********
********

5.
Federal immigration plan would affect small number of county inmates
By Tom Joyce
The Daily Record/Sunday News (York, PA), October 10, 2009
http://www.inyork.com/local/ci_13533898

On any given day, about 700 to 750 immigration detainees are housed at York County Prison, according to Warden Mary Sabol.

And of that group, she said that about 95 percent of them are criminals -- meaning they've been adjudicated for a crime and are subject to deportation. So a proposed federal initiative to get non-criminal immigration detainees out of prisons probably wouldn't have much impact on you if you're a county taxpayer, Sabol said.

It would, however, be of major importance if you happened to be among that five percent who haven't been charged with a crime, according to Kathleen Lucas, area coordinator for Amnesty International.

Lucas said the non-criminal detainees could be asylum seekers -- imprisoned in violation of international law -- or legal U.S. citizens caught in some bureaucratic mix-up.

'They're not criminals,' Lucas said. 'Immigration is civil law, not criminal law.'

She contributed to a report from Amnesty International that came out in March, addressing the plight of non-criminal immigration detainees. Lucas said that report served as the basis of Homeland Security's proposed reforms.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the reform initiatives last week. Mark Medvesky, regional spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said they're long-term plans and the federal agencies still have to work out the details.

The initiatives Napolitano announced include the following:

* Finding places to house non-criminal immigration detainees other than prisons. They may include renovated hotels or nursing homes.

* Centralizing all contracts under the ICE headquarters' supervision. Right now, more than 300 contracts are negotiated under disparate ICE field offices.

* Coming up with a system for classifying detainees, to figure out how much of a threat they represent and where they should be placed.

Doug Hoke, president of York County's prison board, said federal funding in exchange for housing the ICE detainees makes up a big chunk of York County Prison's operating budget. Without it, the county would be scrambling to make up the shortfall.

But Hoke isn't worried. The county is building a new ICE courtroom in the prison, using $1 million in federal funds.

'Whatever they're doing, I doubt they would be putting money into our facility if they're talking about not using it,' Hoke said.

Lucas said the system definitely needs to change.

Although housing people who aren't criminals there is far from an ideal situation, Lucas said, York County Prison does a good job of attending to its responsibilities.

Amnesty International's report, however, catalogued many alleged abuses at other immigration detainment centers throughout the country. They included detainees being denied medical care, or being abused by corrections officers and other prisoners.

'Other places, the abuses that occur, they could make your hair stand on end,' Lucas said.

Return to Top


********
********

6.
Vitter pushes census reform
By Deborah Barfield Berry
The Gannett News Service, October 12, 2009
http://www.dailyworld.com/article/20091012/NEWS01/910120301

Washington, DC -- With the census less than six months away and immigration reform stalled, Sen. David Vitter has proposed requiring the once-a-decade survey to include a question about a person's citizenship.

'Illegal immigration is a very real and significant concern for our country,' Vitter, R-La., said in a statement. 'In the past, some states have included illegal immigrants during the census, resulting in the allocation of additional congressional seats. We shouldn't let these states be rewarded for skirting our federal laws.'

Vitter proposed an amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science spending bill that would ban the use of federal funds if the census does not include questions about citizenship or a person's legal status. The 2010 census form, which has only 10 questions, does not ask that.

The Senate is scheduled to continue debating the bill Tuesday.

The census is a constitutionally mandated count every 10 years of people living in the U.S. Much is at stake, from the distribution of $400 billion in federal funds to the number of congressional seats a state gets.

The Census Bureau has stepped up efforts to count every person, including spending billions on outreach to minority groups and printing forms in languages from Spanish to Vietnamese. Civil rights groups say they are working hard to ensure immigrants don't fear filling out the forms.

Vitter's amendment contradicts the intent of the census to get an 'accurate portrait of America,' said Trupania Bonner, executive director of Moving Forward Gulf Coast, which represents residents of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi.

'The Vitter amendment is about intimidating individuals,' Bonner said. 'If anybody is here, regardless of how they got here, they should be counted. It's only fair.'

Census Director Robert Groves said the legal status of a resident has not been asked since the first count in 1790.

Kat Smith, a spokeswoman for the Dallas Regional Census Center, which covers Mississippi and Louisiana, said 'everybody has an argument for and against.'

'We are not in the business of enforcing the law,' she said. 'We implement the count as instructed by Congress.'

Groves said adding the question now would create a logistical problem, since more than 100 million forms are being printed for the start of the April 1 count.

The citizenship question is included in the American Community Survey, an annual questionnaire that replaces the census long form and that's sent to a sample of the population, said Jill Wilson, a senior research analyst with the Metropolitan Policy Program of the Brookings Institution think tank.

She said Vitter knows the census form isn't going to be changed at this late date. 'There's just no way,' Wilson said. 'It's just to make his constituents happy.'

Immigrants' advocates agree. 'Vitter is trying to give conservatives in his district the thing that they want. They don't want the undocumented folks to be counted,' said Bonner, whose group is based in Slidell. Others argue that counting illegal immigrants penalizes states with smaller immigrant populations.

While states with large numbers of illegal immigrants are likely to gain congressional seats, others like Louisiana and Mississippi stand to lose seats, said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla. Coburn said the Constitution calls for the census to count resident citizens.

'It's not about partisan issues. It's about doing what our Constitution says,' he said.

Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that supports tighter immigration controls, said demographers suspect that 10 million of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. may respond to the census.

Return to Top


********
********

7.
Democrats stymie Republican efforts to pass immigration reform measures
By Walter Alarkon
The Hill (Washington, DC), October 11, 2009
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/62585-democrats-stymie-gop-efforts-to-pass-immigration-measures

Republicans failed last week to keep provisions addressing illegal immigration in the Homeland Security spending bill, the latest sign that Democrats want to hold off on that debate until next year.

GOP senators had succeeded in attaching a pair of border security and enforcement provisions to the Senate version of the appropriations bill: one would have completed the 700-mile fence authorized along the Mexican border and the other would have permanently extended a requirement for all federal contractors to verify their employees through a government database.

But Democrats stripped both provisions out in conference. They did extend the verification program by three years along with several expiring visa programs, including one for international medical graduates in rural states and another for religious workers.

'Clearly in our bill, we assumed nothing was permanent,' said Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee for Homeland Security. 'We took some stop-gap measures.'

Lawmakers, Price said, know that immigration won't be a top priority in coming months, when Congress is looking to pass bills on healthcare, climate change and financial regulations, and address the struggling economy. Price said he believed Congress had the political will to tackle immigration early in 2010 but that it would be hard to pass anything once campaigning for the mid-term elections begins next summer and the presidential race begins in 2011.

Leaving the provisions out will give advocates for a path to citizenship for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in they country more leverage to win over centrists once the immigration debate begins.

The most recent immigration overhaul stalled in 2007 when lawmakers couldn't agree, even though the effort was supported by President George W. Bush, Democratic leaders and centrist Republicans.

The path to citizenship, which was in that bill, ended up being a dealbreaker for conservatives, who view it as amnesty.

Sen. Lindsay Graham (S.C.), one of the Republicans who backed the immigration overhaul, said that the 3-year extensions of current policies were good steps but no substitute for broader reform.

'You may extend a program or two, but you're never going to solve this problem piecemeal,' Graham said.

He suggested that compromises will be necessary to pass any legislation that realistically deals with the millions in the country illegally.

'I think America is ready to embrace give-and-take politics on this issue only if you can convince them that this will solve the problem,' he said. 'That's our challenge, to convince the American public that the border is more secure.'

Republicans who opposed the last immigration overhaul are again pushing for increased immigration enforcement provisions in the 2010 spending bills.

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) failed to get an amendment attached last week to the Commerce, Justice and Science spending bill that would have barred local law enforcement groups from receiving federal money for community policing programs if they refused to report illegal immigrants they encountered to federal authorities.

Large police departments, including those in New York City and Philadelphia, have long objected to the proposal to end 'sanctuary cities'. They say it would have a chilling effect on policing in immigrant communities, with potential witnesses to crimes avoiding police for fear they will be reported.

Senators voted to table the amendment on a 38-61 vote, with every Democrat opposing the measure.

Vitter said that he hasn't seen any evidence that the gap between supporters and opponents of the comprehensive immigration overhaul has shrunk.

'I think there's very much still the same divide in Congress,' Vitter told The Hill. 'And I think there's still very much the same support among the American people for getting serious first with enforcement.'

Return to Top


********
********

8.
High Court Set To Hear Kentucky Immigration Case
The Associated Press, October 12, 2009
http://www.kypost.com/content/news/commonwealth/story/High-Court-Set-To-Hear-Kentucky-Immigration-Case/KEtNAI_790mlEIyOTNMH4g.cspx

Washington, DC (AP) -- The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments about whether immigrants must be told by their lawyers that they face deportation if they plead guilty to serious crimes.

The case involves a Honduran national who pleaded guilty in Hardin County to trafficking in marijuana after his lawyer assured him he would not face deportation. Jose Padilla is a Vietnam-era veteran who has lived in the United States for decades, although he never became a U.S. citizen.

Padilla's lawyer was mistaken and the federal government began proceedings to deport Padilla because trafficking is regarded as an 'aggravated felony,' for which deportation is mandatory.

Padilla later sought to withdraw the plea. The state Supreme Court said criminal lawyers have no duty to advise their clients about immigration issues.

The case set for argument Tuesday morning.

Return to Top


********
********

9.
Report: Iraqi refugees in U.S. and Michigan face problems
By Niraj Warikoo
The Detroit Free Press, October 7, 2009
http://www.freep.com/article/20091007/NEWS06/91007072/1001/NEWS/Report--Iraqi-refugees-in-U.S.-and-Michigan-face-problems

A report out of Georgetown University released today says the U.S. government is failing to help Iraqi refugees resettle.

'Iraqi refugees face odds so heavily stacked against them that most end up jobless, some even homeless,' the report says.

The report was based on interviews with Iraqi refugees – more than half of them from metro Detroit – that were conducted by students at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C. in partnership with human rights groups at the university. In recent years, thousands of Iraqi refugees have been accepted in the U.S., a significant percentage of them coming to Michigan because of relatives and the high numbers of Arabic speakers.

Titled 'Refugee Crisis in America,' the report criticizes the United States Refugee Admissions Program, which is administered by the U.S. State Department, for what it called 'poor planning and coordination.' A department spokeswoman was not immediately available to comment.

The report recommends that refugee assistance be extended from eight to 18 months and be administered separately from regular poverty assistance. It also calls for improved planning.

In 2008, the U.S. resettled 13, 822 Iraqi refugees, according to government figures cited in the report. As of Aug. 31, there were 16,965 Iraqi refugees in 2009. Since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, more than 33,000 total have been resettled. The U.S. increased the number of refugees it accepted over the past two years after critics said it was not admitting enough.

Basim Yacoub, 42, of Troy is one of the refugees. A native of Baghdad, Iraq, Yacoub said he fled in part because he is an Assyrian Christian, a minority in Iraq. Yacoub said that he and his family suffered numerous threats because of their religion.

He moved to Syria and then came to Michigan in February. He said he’s glad to now live in a safe region and that things are OK for him in general. But the unemployed man said he and other refugees could use some assistance in sorting out all their paperwork, given that many have problems with English and a lack of transportation.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Georgetown University report is available at: http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=hri_papers

Return to Top


********
********

10.
Cities lag in preparations for high-stakes census
By Hope Yen
The Associated Press, October 12, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5joxab8oEo5QKDTRPM3vi_Mv9VudAD9B9KB582

Washington, DC (AP) -- With the 2010 census looming, major U.S. cities whose residents are at high risk of being missed are struggling with a shortage of money and manpower to prepare for an accurate count.

A study by the Pew Charitable Trusts, released Monday, found several cities with substantially fewer resources than it had in 2000. City officials also expressed concern about a possible poor turnout next year, citing difficulties in finding displaced residents due to home foreclosures and skittish immigrants wary of filling out government forms.

Earlier this month, the Commerce Department ruled out seeking a temporary halt to large-scale immigrant raids as a way to boost participation in hard-to-count communities.

'Nobody is expecting a good census in 2010,' said Joseph Salvo, New York City's population division chief. 'I'm not optimistic. Since the last census we had 9/11, privacy issues, trust of government issues. And there's been no public declaration that we're going to suspend immigration raids like in 2000.'

Pew's review of preparation efforts in 11 major cities, which had undercounts of residents in 2000 of up to 1.5 percent, found only five cities had committed public funds to census outreach — Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Phoenix and Baltimore. Even when cities had allotted funds, most were at sharply lower levels compared to 2000, due to the recession that has made state budgets tight.

Los Angeles faces difficulties of finding many of its residents who are now living in foreclosed houses and recreational vehicles, or 'doubling up' with friends and relatives in single-family homes. Yet the city's $770,738 budget for outreach work is about half the amount it had in 2000.

Chicago, which missed an estimated 32,000 residents in 2000, spent nearly $1.3 million in city funds a decade ago; this year, it has allocated no money.

Philadelphia, the nation's sixth largest city, has been particularly slow in getting preparations under way, although officials insist they can catch up. A decade ago, the city set aside $200,000 for the census effort, but it has no such funds this time. Philadelphia also has not yet put in place a city outreach committee — unlike many other major cities — and has been relying on some support staff from the Census Bureau's regional offices.

Other cities with no public funds for census outreach include Atlanta, Boston, Detroit and Pittsburgh.

To boost participation, the Census Bureau is mounting a $300 million national media campaign and partnering with more than 80,000 groups to help get the word out that filling out the 10-question census form is safe and easy. But Census director Robert Groves has acknowledged that the risk of error and missteps in counting remains high, depending partly on factors beyond its control.

Among them:

_Whether there is a major outbreak of the H1N1 flu, which could isolate large segments of the U.S. population.

_Heated rhetoric over immigration reform, which could incite either side of the debate to seek a boycott or other ways to deter participation.

_Distrust of the government, possibly seen in last month's slaying of a part-time census worker in Kentucky, who was found with the word 'fed' scrawled on his chest. Door-to-door visits in Clay County have been suspended until more information is known.

'Whether cities can beat the census participation or mail response rate from 2000 is going to be tough,' said Thomas Ginsberg, project manager of The Pew Charitable Trusts' Philadelphia Research Initiative and author of the report. 'Cities will have to rely on unpaid organizing and grass-roots networks that are already out there.'

The stakes are high since the population figures are used to apportion House seats, redraw congressional districts and distribute more than $400 billion in government funds for schools, roads, hospitals and other vital programs.

But there are also broader financial consequences if there is a poor turnout, since the Census Bureau has committed to spending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to locate residents with repeated visits if they fail to immediately mail in their paper form.

In 2000, the bureau noted for the first time an overcount of 1.3 million people, due mostly to duplicate counts of more affluent whites with multiple residences. About 4.5 million people were ultimately missed, mostly blacks and Hispanics.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Pew report is available online at: http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=55388

Return to Top


********
********

11.
Experts focus on migrants' health issues
By Claudia Melendez Salinas
The Monterey County Herald (CA), October 10, 2009
http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_13533062

In this era of globalization and transnational communities — groups with strong bonds in two or more countries — a lot more than e-mails and remittances are crossing borders.

In the case of Mexicans living in the United States, the money they're sending to Mexico is not just allowing a higher standard of living for their relatives. It's making it easier for those families to consume more highly processed foods with high fat content and carbohydrates, resulting in obesity and the health problems that come with it.

Those are the findings of Lucia Kaiser, a nutrition specialist at the University of California-Davis, who has researched the eating habits of Latinos in the United States. Kaiser presented her findings during the kickoff event of the ninth annual Binational Health Week at the National Steinbeck Center on Friday.

Health Week includes events designed to promote healthful habits among Latino migrant communities in the United States and Canada.

About 100 people gathered to launch the monthlong event and hear health experts speak about the health challenges facing the migrant community.

Thirty-one events through the end of October will take place in Monterey County, all designed to increase awareness in the migrant community of common health problems, such as diabetes and pesticide poisoning. There also will be nonhealth-related seminars on topics such as renters' rights and higher education.

'Many Latino immigrants and their families do not have health insurance,' said David Figueroa Ortega, consul general of Mexico in San Jose, during the opening event.

'They suffer in silence. They arrive in good health and dedicate themselves to work and, as time goes by, they lose something very valuable, which is their health.'

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Binational Health Week '09 publications are available online at: http://www.binationalhealthweek.org/publications.aspx

Return to Top


********
********

12.
Employer sanctions coming up short
By Jim Small
The Arizona Capitol Times (Phoenix), October 12, 2009
http://azcapitoltimes.com/blog/2009/10/12/employer-sanctions-coming-up-short/

Two years ago, a bitter debate raged between supporters and opponents of the state’s new employer sanctions law. The first of its kind in the country, the law gave the state the ability to revoke the business licenses of companies that knew their workers were illegal immigrants.

The law has been in effect for 21 months, yet no businesses have been shut down over hiring practices. In fact, there hasn’t yet been a single business forced to defend itself in court.

Investigations have been mounted, but charges have failed to materialize.

'It’s ironic that what was billed as the toughest immigration law in the country, in a state with a reported 500,000 undocumented workers, hasn’t had any prosecutions. Something’s not right there,' said attorney David Selden.

When first put into place, business groups declared the law an unnecessary burden on businesses that would cripple Arizona’s economy and punish companies far too severely for failing to take precautions when hiring new employees.

Those business interests were joined by Hispanic advocates, who said the law was destined to breach the constitutional rights of minorities, especially those from Mexico and other Latin American countries, while discouraging employers from hiring Hispanic workers, for fear the company could run afoul of the new law and be shut down.

But supporters at the Capitol and across the state touted the law for its ability to do what no other immigration-related policy enacted this decade has: reduce the number of illegal immigrants living in Arizona.
It would do that, they said, by removing the enticement - jobs - that drew foreigners to enter this country illegally. And, once the jobs dried up, illegal immigrants already living here would self-deport.

Sen. Russell Pearce, a Mesa Republican who spearheaded the sanctions effort, said it has dramatically changed the way businesses in the state operate and has sent the message that Arizona does not want illegal-immigrant residents. He said he also believes the law has led to an exodus of illegal immigrants.

'The message is clear: We’re not going to put up with it anymore.' said Pearce, who is working on new legislation that would make it easier for law enforcement agencies to pursue cases against businesses that break the law.

But Jason LeVecke said the unintended consequences of the law have been far too great. He points to Texas, which will increase employment this year and hasn’t had major budget problems. The major difference between Arizona and Texas, he said, is the employer sanctions law.

Levecke owns dozens of Carl’s Jr. and Pizza Patrón restaurants and is the chairman of Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform.

'I think you can lay most of our economic woes on its doorstep,' he said. 'My problem with the law always was that it burns the village to save the people. We’re doing that by driving out a lot of people who are legal, too.'

Rep. John Kavanagh, who supported the sanctions measure as it moved through the Legislature, said critics have been 'crying wolf' about the effects. However, he did acknowledge the law has some deficiencies. 'It is a strong deterrent,' he said. 'As an actual weapon, it falls short.'

Those tasked with enforcing the law agree that the law falls short from a strictly legal standpoint. County attorneys in each of Arizona’s 15 counties said it’s difficult to prosecute businesses.

'Every time you try to take a step forward, you’ve got a hundred other things in your way, some of them blocking you,' said Jack Fields, a deputy county attorney in Yavapai County and supervisor of that office’s civil division.

His office has conducted investigations of 23 businesses since the sanctions law went into effect in January 2008, but has closed 20 of the probes without seeking civil enforcement action. The three other investigations are still open.

'It was basically determined that we did not have enough evidence to substantiate our case,' he said. 'It’s just a very difficult law to enforce.'

Other counties have had similar experiences. Investigations in Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties have all ended the same way, with businesses escaping prosecution.

Barnett Lotstein, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, said investigators are unable to gather the business records needed to prove an employer knowingly hired an illegal immigrant.
Officials from several other counties also told Arizona Capitol Times that was the biggest impediment to enforcing the law.

While prosecutors can gather business records after obtaining a warrant, the existing law does not allow them to issue subpoenas to obtain records.

'We are somewhat stymied there,' Lotstein said.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has raided 22 Phoenix-area businesses suspected of hiring illegal immigrants since 2008. The most high-profile raid, conducted on a pair of water parks in June 2008, followed a four-month investigation of the parks’ hiring practices.

Three months later, an East-Valley candle company was raided.

Although 310 employees have been arrested for identity theft and fake identifications, none of those businesses faced punishment under the state law.

Maricopa is one of several counties pushing for civil subpoena power to enforce the employer sanctions law. The county attorneys say it is impossible to prove what the employer knew, or should have known, about the employee’s immigration status without being able to examine personnel records.

'It would give us the ability to gather records and make determinations that people have used E-Verify or done their I-9s properly. Right now, we can’t do that,' Fields of Yavapai County said.

Lotstein called it 'unusual' that county attorneys weren’t given subpoena power when the law was created.
'Every other administrative body that enforces civil administrative statutes has subpoena power. The Liquor Department has it and other departments have it, but in this case, we don’t,' he said.

Without that power, county attorneys are left to rely on the voluntary disclosure of personnel records by the businesses under investigation.

Alternatively, said Pima County Deputy Attorney Dan Jurkowitz, the person filing a complaint against his or her employer may bring in the necessary documents.

'If someone brings us smoking guns, we could bring enforcement,' he said.

Pearce said he will draft legislation next year to give county attorneys subpoena power in sanctions cases.
But that doesn’t sit well with everyone. Selden, who is part of the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the sanctions law, said the subpoena power isn’t about granting access to records - it’s about avoiding the scrutiny of the judicial system.

In each of the raids conducted by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, investigators were first able to procure a search warrant, which allowed them to seize business records. Det. Aaron Douglas, an MCSO spokesman, said the warrants were possible because there was probable cause that crimes - in most cases, identity theft was cited - were being committed at the businesses.

If investigators were given civil subpoena power to enforce the employer sanctions law, they could issue the subpoenas directly to businesses they suspect are violating the law. Search warrants require approval from a judge.

'They don’t want to have the courts looking over their shoulder,' Selden said.

But Lotstein defended the need for civil subpoenas. He said search warrants were only granted because crimes were being committed. Absent the criminal acts, a search warrant wouldn’t be possible to enforce employer sanctions, which is a civil matter.

'In those incidents where there isn’t any other criminal conduct…then they couldn’t get a search warrant,' he said. 'In order to gather records relating to (employer sanctions), they’d need a subpoena.'

Pinal County Attorney Jim Walsh said giving county attorneys civil subpoena power could lead to abuse. Investigators would be able to conduct 'fishing expeditions' on businesses, he said.

'You don’t have to go to court and prove that you have any probable cause to go look at this guy’s records. You just say, ‘I’m going to issue a subpoena.’ Then the burden’s all on the business owner to defend (himself). That doesn’t seem to me like the American-fairness way,' he said. 'I wonder about giving that kind of power to people who might not always use it as the Legislature intended.'

Lotstein said it is 'conjecture' that Maricopa or any other county would use the subpoenas frivolously. And he also challenged the contention that it makes things easier for investigators at the expense of the business owner.

'Subpoenas can be challenged. If the other side feels it is a ‘fishing expedition’ or it isn’t warranted, they can challenge the subpoena,' Lotstein said.

Pearce said he intends to do everything in his power to give county attorneys the ability to issue subpoenas. He said the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has been particularly vocal on the issue.

'This is an additional tool they’re telling me they need, and I’m going to give it to them,' he said. 'They’re asking for it. They told me it would greatly help.'

Constitutional questions about the law remain unanswered. It was upheld in 2008 by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, but it has been submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court for consideration. The high court hasn’t indicated whether it will accept the case.

Return to Top


********
********

13.
Loophole costing Colorado millions in payments to legal immigrants
By Tim Hoover
The Denver Post, October 10, 2009
http://www.denverpost.com/statehouse08/ci_13530103

A loophole in state law allows elderly legal immigrants to receive the same pension poor, older Colorado residents get, regardless of whether the immigrants' families can provide for them.

Lawmakers this year resisted eliminating the loophole in the state's Old Age Pension program because doing so would have prevented the state from receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds for Medicaid programs.

But with the state set to be free of the federal stimulus requirements in 2011, there is talk of reviving legislation next year to tighten requirements for the pension program and cut off what could be thousands of elderly legal immigrants who have relatives that sponsored their immigration and agreed to care for them.

'It's just kind of odd the way it's in law right now,' said Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, who co-sponsored a bill last year that would have closed the loophole.

The pension program made headlines last week after it was announced that a Lakewood man bilked the state out of $1 million by signing up elderly Vietnamese immigrants for the program and keeping most of the pension benefits for himself.

But state officials, lawmakers and a former Denver caseworker say the program has a bigger problem than occasional fraud. The way state law is written, thousands of legal immigrants whose families said they would take care of them are instead receiving help from Colorado taxpayers.

Under federal law, family members who sponsor relatives as immigrants must agree to be financially responsible for them until they become a citizen, have worked for 10 years or have become self-sufficient. The immigrants cannot receive federal benefits for at least five years or until they have received citizenship.

Pension program created in 1936

However, Colorado law, which allows legal immigrants to receive the Old Age Pension, also says that a relative's income can't be counted against the eligibility of someone applying for the pension. Taken together, this means that the income of a legal immigrant's family sponsor isn't counted in getting the state pension, state officials said.

Voters added the Old Age Pension program to the state constitution in 1936. Originally, recipients had to have lived in Colorado for 35 years before getting the pension, but courts struck down the requirement.

Today, the program provides nearly 24,000 low-income Colorado residents who are at least 60 with cash benefits of up to $699 per month, and in some cases, medical benefits. In a majority of cases, people who qualify for the pension also automatically qualify for Medicaid benefits.

The cash-assistance portion of the pension program alone costs the state just over $80 million, of which about $53 million goes to nearly 8,700 legal permanent residents, which includes family-sponsored immigrants and those sponsored by churches and nonprofits, refugees and people granted asylum.

Department of Human Services officials say elderly immigrants typically qualify for larger cash benefits because they have no demonstrable income.

The department last year pushed the legislation to tighten eligibility, and the bill essentially would have aligned state rules with federal law.

The bill would have saved an estimated $31 million per year when fully phased in by fiscal year 2012, human-services officials said, eliminating the benefit for an estimated 4,000 legal immigrants whose families sponsored their immigration.

Shifting burden to taxpayers

Michael Whalen, a former Spanish-speaking caseworker for the Denver Department of Human Services, said that while a number of legal immigrants are legitimately in need of the benefit, it's clear the sponsoring relatives of others are shifting their responsibility to taxpayers.

Whalen said that during his three years as a caseworker, it was not uncommon to see elderly immigrants who had arrived in the country only weeks earlier applying for the pension despite having sponsoring relatives who had agreed to care for them.

Whalen said he and other Denver caseworkers observed a high concentration of applicants all from the same region in the north-central Mexican state of Zacatecas.

'Clearly, the message has gotten out,' he said. 'People know that you can do this. And who can blame them? No one's minding the store.'

Loophole not a big issue, group says

Chandra Russo, spokeswoman for the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, said the loophole was not a 'big issue' because it likely applies to so few legal immigrants.

'I guess I'm not so concerned about a small group of people who have played by the rules and who have waited to get in the country getting some help if they need some help,' Russo said.

Pommer and Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo, sponsored the legislation to close the loophole. They quickly found out they would have to scuttle the bill.

Under state law, Old Age Pension eligibility is also a category of eligibility for Medicaid, the state and federally funded program that provides health care to the poor and disabled.

Colorado, like many states, was set to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds to help shore up its Medicaid program. But any reduction to existing Medicaid eligibility levels would have disqualified the state from receiving stimulus funds to help with its Medicaid costs.

'We needed to do it last year, but we ran into a conflict with federal law,' Pommer said. 'I think we should do it again. It's outrageous. We should have tougher regulations on this.'

Return to Top


********
********

14.
County attorney: Crime by illegal immigrants down
By David Woodfill
The East Valley Tribune (Phoenix), October 11, 2009
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/145694

Crimes committed by illegal immigrants dropped by 18.5 percent from 2007 to 2008 thanks to law enforcement’s hardline against those in the country unlawfully, said Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas on Sunday.

A study by Thomas’ office shows the amount of illegal immigrants sentenced for felonies in Maricopa County Superior Court dropped from 4,731 in 2007 to 3,855 in 2008.

That’s an 18.5 percent drop, more than double the 8 percent reduction in overall crime, Thomas said.

Put another way, 18.7 percent of the people sentenced for felonies in Maricopa County Superior Court in 2007 were in the county illegally. In 2008, only 14 percent of that group were illegal immigrants.

Thomas said the reductions 'have not been nearly as dramatic for murders and sexual assaults, but that also can reflect the fact that those cases take longer to process by the court system.'

'What we seem to be witnessing is a substantial reduction in the population of illegal immigrants in this county over the last two years,' he said.

He pointed to a Center for Immigration Studies report released in July, which showed the population of illegal immigrants dropped nearly 14 percent from 12.5 million in the summer of 2007 to 10.8 million in first quarter 2009. The study reportedly said Arizona led the nation with the biggest drop of illegal immigrants.

'And we have a lot of anecdotal evidence of areas in the Valley that have a large number of presumed illegal immigrants leaving (such as) businesses that cater to illegal immigrants suffering or going out of business entirely,' Thomas said.

'So you have all of this evidence that supports the conclusion that illegal immigration is being curbed significantly, and I believe the main reason for that is the crack-down efforts of the law enforcement and particularly the sheriff’s office and our office.'

The study by the Center for Immigration Studies — which describes itself on its Web site as pro-immigrant, while stating a vision of 'fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted' — said tougher law enforcement efforts as well as the recession are attributed to the decline.

But Thomas dismissed the poor economy and the nation’s border enforcement efforts as being a major factor in the population drop.

'It’s not as if the economy is a lot better in Mexico,' he said. 'The reality is the economy worldwide has suffered and the most reasonable conclusion is that they’re just feeling too much heat from law enforcement.'

He added that border enforcement hasn’t improved much saying the National Guard is no longer there and, according to reports, the Department of Homeland Security is pulling officers away from the border.

He added: 'They’re not building the fence as they had pledged to do — the federal government, I mean. So I think the really tough enforcement efforts are happening north of the border here in Maricopa County frankly.'

+++

County Attorney attributes crime dip to immigration control
By Eric English
The KNXV News (Phoenix), October 12, 2009
http://www.abc15.com/content/news/phoenixmetro/central/story/County-Attorney-attributes-crime-dip-to/JcGY4PjPHk2V9WPSIY2jyA.cspx

Return to Top


********
********

15.
ACLU: Ga. immigration program has led to profiling
By Kate Brumback
The Associated Press, October 12, 2009
http://www.macon.com/220/story/877537.html

Atlanta (AP) -- A 2-year-old program that gives the Cobb County sheriff's office power to enforce federal immigration laws has led to racial profiling and other problems, a civil liberties group said in a report released Monday.

'Terror and isolation in Cobb: How Unchecked Police Power under 287(g) Has Torn Families Apart and Threatened Public Safety' also claims that immigrants have been unnecessarily detained under Cobb County's 287(g) program. The program, is named for the section of immigration law that governs it.
Click here to find out more!

The report is based on interviews with 10 residents who have been affected by the program and five community advocates and attorneys based in Cobb County, said report editor Azadeh Shahshahani of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia.

'Cobb County residents who appear to be foreign-born have been subjected to rampant racial profiling and are routinely picked up by the police for minor or nonexistent violations,' the report said. 'Families have been torn apart as people are arrested on their way to conduct everyday business, leaving many wary of leaving their homes.'

Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren did not return a phone call seeking comment about the program and did not respond to questions sent by e-mail.

The report said the program causes immigrants to distrust law enforcement, making them less likely to report crimes and emboldening criminals.

'We had someone call us. He was arrested for false ID. He was walking down the street. A police officer came up to him and asked for his papers. They said they were fake and they arrested him. We do not live in a police state,' civil rights lawyer Jamie Hernan said in an interview quoted in the report.

The report's release coincides with the departure this week of 18 deputies from another metro Atlanta county for about a month of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement training in Charleston, S.C. The Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department in July became the fifth law enforcement agency in Georgia to be approved for participation in the program. In addition to Cobb and Gwinnett counties, Hall and Whitfield counties and the Georgia Department of Public Safety also participate.

Earlier this year, the Government Accountability Office - the investigative arm of Congress - said ICE had not clearly explained to local law enforcement agencies that serious criminal offenders, such as drug smugglers and murderers, should be the main targets.

The U.S. Homeland Security Department, which oversees ICE, said changes have been made to incorporate the GAO's suggestions in the program.

The ACLU report released Monday echoes complaints by many immigrant rights advocates nationwide that the changes don't go far enough to prevent racial profiling.

Cobb County resident and anti-illegal immigration activist D.A. King is the founder of the Dustin Inman Society, which seeks stricter laws against illegal immigration and is named for a Georgia teen killed in a traffic accident caused by an illegal immigrant.

King bristles at the notion raised by opponents of the program that people are deported for relatively minor offenses like having a busted tail light or driving without a license. They are deported, he said, because their illegal status is revealed when they are arrested for these or more serious offenses.

'287(g) was never intended to only go after a certain group of criminals,' he said.

The law essentially allows local officers to perform the same functions as immigration officers. However, it also says local agents are beholden to Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, who has said the program should be used 'to identify and remove dangerous criminal aliens.'

Hernan, the civil rights lawyer, said in a phone interview that he doesn't disagree with the program's premise but thinks it's used incorrectly.

'I believe that the original intention of the 287(g) program was to identify serious criminals who were already in detention and allow the federal government to deport them,' he said. 'That's a sound policy. But if you look at the history of the program and how it's being used, it's clear that it is profoundly flawed.'

+++

Cobb policy: Law enforcement or racial profiling?
Critics say county's policy on illegal immigration has targeted, arrested the wrong people
By Andria Simmons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 12, 2009
http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/cobb-policy-law-enforcement-160656.html

Return to Top


********
********

16.
Prince William immigration policy to undergo revision
By Cheryl Chumley
The News and Messenger (Woodbridge, VA), October 11, 2009
http://www2.insidenova.com/isn/online/site_information/contacts/

Prince William supervisors Tuesday are expected to put in place a new directive from Homeland Security that will standardize how 287(g) immigration policies are implemented around the nation.

'[Immigration and Customs Enforcement] has made changes to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOA), terminating the original agreement and requiring execution of a new and revised MOA,' state background documents to the board, which will meet to discuss the issue at 2 p.m. at the McCoart Administration Building.

Supervisors have to authorize the police chief to sign and execute the new agreement.

The new agreement will not limit the number of officers eligible for 287(g) training and require ICE to give credentials for those who pass the course. It will also require the police department, as well as ICE, to perform background checks, according to the background documents.

Further: The new agreement states that 'ICE must give approval for an immigration arrest where no state or local charges are made [and] ICE must give prior approval of planned operations where immigration enforcement is the sole function.' One more revision 'provides levels and types of criminal offenses that ICE directs to be a focus, rather [than] pursuing immigration enforcement based on specific charges,' according to the background documents.

The cost of the 287(g) program to the county is not expected to change because of the new agreement, 'unless additional officers are designated for training,' the background documents state.

Also Tuesday, supervisors will receive a 2010 legislative program presentation from Dana Fenton, legislative director; a presentation on sound financial management from Chris Martino, with the finance department; and a presentation on 2012 strategic plans from Laura Mortell, with the office of executive management.

The board will consider the feasibility of a workforce development center at the Woodbridge campus of Northern Virginia Community College.

At 7 p.m. in the Development Services Building in Room 202, supervisors and Planning Commission members are set to gather for a discussion of Comprehensive Plan updates to the chapter on the environment. This meeting, too, is open to the public.

Return to Top


********
********

17.
Northwest Miami-Dade cities launch census campaign
Starting in January, municipalities plan to pass out fliers, phone homes and pay for advertising to ensure residents fill out 2010 census forms.
By Yudy Pineiro
The Miami Herald, October 10, 2009
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/northwest/story/1273873.html

Much like Miami, municipalities across Northwest and North Central Miami-Dade County are organizing campaigns to spread the word about the 2010 Census.

The goal: To ensure residents fill out the forms so officials can gather an accurate count, primarily of racial and ethnic minorities, which experts and Census officials say tend to be undercounted.

In Hialeah, where officials plan to hit the air waves and streets to inform residents, Mayor Julio Robaina said past counts have been short by at least 50,000 people, mostly because illegal immigrants fear immigration authorities have access to the paperwork.

``There's a lot of misinformation out there,'' Robaina said. ``We need to make sure everybody gets counted.''

Starting in January, most cities will launch their own efforts. Officials particularly fret about the matter because the undercount can cost cities millions of dollars in federal and state funds that are tied to population.

Miami Gardens officials said they plan to phone homes.

``People will be given a message that the census is confidential and they can feel free to report anyone who is living in a given home,'' said Jay Marder, development services director for the city.

``It's against the law to use that information for any purpose other than for the census.''

In Hialeah Gardens, officials said the city will be giving census officials space to advertise in their regular newsletter. They plan to add information to the water bills.

William Rodriguez, assistant to the Hialeah Gardens mayor, said in the past only 67 percent of the city's Hispanic population was counted.

He said a contributing factor to the inaccurate count was that only English forms were available.

``We are predominantly a Spanish-speaking community, so the new forms will come in Spanish and be short so community members are not bogged down with long forms,'' he said.

``We expect a positive response, a higher percentage for this upcoming census.''

The Miami campaign, which goes by the slogan ``Ya es hora! Hagase contar!'' (It's time, make yourself count!), is partnering with Univision to tap community groups, unions and Spanish-language media for help in persuading residents to fill out the forms.

Return to Top


********
********

18.
Herndon Officials' Protest Stirs Debate Over Free Speech
By Derek Kravitz
The Washington Post, October 12, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/11/AR2009101101889.html

The decision by Herndon's mayor and several Town Council members to protest a Democratic fundraiser last month and a fiery community meeting that followed have ignited a free-speech debate and opened old wounds about the town's tough anti-illegal immigration policies.

The hubbub started Sept. 16 outside Jimmy's Old Town Tavern in downtown Herndon, a town of about 23,000 in northwestern Fairfax County. Mayor Stephen J. DeBenedettis and council members Dennis D. Husch, William B. Tirrell Sr. and Charlie D. Waddell, all Republicans, joined a handful of sign-holding protesters outside a fundraiser where Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) was speaking.

The event was being held for Loudoun County Supervisor Stevens Miller (D-Dulles), who is running for a state House seat against Del. Thomas Davis Rust (R-Fairfax). Republicans used it as a chance to hold a 'tea party' to protest policies of President Obama.

Photos were taken, and left-leaning blogs were aflutter. At a Herndon Town Council meeting a week later, several residents complained about the elected officials' presence at the protest. But the person who really got things stirring at the meeting was Ruth Tatlock, 81. Tatlock, originally from Sweden, has lived in Herndon since 1974.

She criticized the mayor and council members for attending the protest, saying that it showed poor judgment and that it could negatively affect the town's relationship with the governor's office.

'Yes, I know it's a free country and everyone is allowed to protest, but when to do it is important,' Tatlock read in prepared comments.

A noticeably agitated DeBenedettis interrupted Tatlock several times before she could finish, and Husch stopped her altogether, as shown on videos posted on YouTube. After Husch said he attended the protest as a private resident, not as a public official, he told Tatlock that she was done speaking for the night.

'This building is to do the town of Herndon business,' Husch said, referring to the council's chambers on Lynn Street. 'It's not to make political statements. It's not to attack individuals.'

As Tatlock tried to read a letter from a friend, Husch lost his temper. He shouted, complaining of lingering vitriol from the town's immigration debate. Since Herndon's taxpayer-funded day-laborer center closed three years ago, Husch said, a small number of disgruntled residents, including Tatlock, had continued to complain.

The furor over the town's day laborers led to the ouster of the mayor and council members who had approved the center in 2005. It also thrust Herndon into the national debate on immigration policy. Herndon has the highest proportion of foreign-born residents of any locality in the Washington area.

Since then, the new anti-illegal immigration council has looked at several measures that touch on immigration, including supporting a statewide proposal to confiscate the vehicles of drivers who lack a state-issued license. Last month, Husch told the town's police chief to step up petty-nuisance arrests in a three-block area of downtown, where Hispanic men are known to congregate.

Town leaders say the issue is still a sore subject with some residents.

'There's still something hanging over the town,' said council member Richard F. Downer, who has served three separate terms since 1971.

Three days after the meeting, the town's attorney, Richard B. Kaufman, issued a memo addressing residents' free-speech rights. The memo has not been released publicly, but several officials who have seen it said it sides with Tatlock and other speakers who were silenced. The officials requested anonymity because the memo is confidential.

DeBenedettis said he thought it was not in the town's best interest to release the memo. Most council members agreed.

'I think everyone that spoke got their point across,' DeBenedettis said. 'We need to move on.'

Husch said in an interview that the illegal-immigration debate has at times threatened to take council members away from more pressing issues related to public safety and downtown development.

'These people are spending so much time trying to demean and undercut the council over the day-laboring site that we're not getting to the business of the town,' he said. 'It's all political.'

And Husch defended his silencing of the people who spoke at the meeting last month, saying that Tatlock and others were 'out of line' by personally attacking council members.

Critics said they think the council members acted inappropriately. Such behavior by public officials during community meetings runs counter to the spirit of civic engagement and open dialogue, said Ira C. Lupu, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University. Although lines can be drawn to differentiate between relevant public concerns and unrelated personal comments, he said, town meetings should allow a free flow of debate.

'With town meetings, you can imagine some lines being drawn,' Lupu said, but in this case, it seems to be 'simply because a mayor and council members are being criticized and acting defensive.'

After watching a video of the meeting, Lupu said there was a 'delicious irony in the councilman defending his own First Amendment rights to protest Gov. Kaine's appearance by shouting down this woman who is criticizing him in this official forum.'

Tatlock said she wondered why the town attorney's memo won't be released. She also said Husch has 'dirtied Herndon by harping on the illegal immigrants' and vowed to continue speaking up, regardless of who tries to shut her up.

'I'm one of those old ladies who will keep coming back,' she said.

Return to Top


********
********

19.
Going where there's work: Declining number of immigrants in S.J. likely due to economy's plunge
By Jennifer Torres
The Stockton Record (CA), October 12, 2009
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091012/A_NEWS/910120319/-1/A_NEWS02#STS=g0pf11ye.vre

Typically around this time of year, said James Vidal, who owns California Travel on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, business increases as clients come in to book flights and bus trips to Mexico.

'One of the reasons is, for the people who work in the fields, that work is done,' Vidal said.

Another reason, he said, is that many families traditionally spend the long winter holidays with relatives in Latin America.

And now, he said, 'The other reason is the economy.'

From 2007 to 2008, the number of immigrants living in San Joaquin County dropped by more than 10,000 people. It is the first such decline in at least five years and one that some attribute to financial instability and lack of jobs in the United States.

Several reports over recent months have documented a leveling off of immigration, especially from Mexico. Discouraged by uncertain employment opportunities and increasingly expensive and dangerous border crossings, immigrants seem to be entering the country in smaller numbers than in the past.

Most recently, U.S. Census Bureau figures showed a drop in the country's foreign-born population, particularly in California.

Immigrants still account for more than 22 percent of all residents in San Joaquin County. But until 2008, their numbers were steadily increasing.

Between 2004 and 2005 alone, the county added about 12,000 immigrants, Census records show. At the time, construction was booming.

'These current times are a bit more difficult, especially for those who were working in construction,' said Jose Lopez, who oversees the migrant ministry program for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Stockton.

Fidel Vazquez, who came from the Mexican state of Chiapas about 10 years ago, said competition for agricultural jobs has increased, in part because of displaced construction workers.

'There is less work than before,' Vazquez said, 'and more people trying to get jobs.'

Lopez said he does not know of immigrants who have left the county permanently and returned to Mexico. But many, he said, are going further afield to find work - traveling to Oregon and Washington, for example - than they would have in the past.

Others, facing mounting instability and economic pressure, are attempting to seek legal residency or citizenship, said Gloria Briscoe of St. Mary's Interfaith Community Services.

The nonprofit agency has volunteers who help clients compile documents and complete immigration forms.

'We've been doing it for about three or four years now, and our numbers have increased,' Briscoe said.

Overwhelmingly, immigrants living in San Joaquin County entered the country before 2000. About 55 percent of them come from Latin America, predominantly Mexico. That is down from 57 percent in 2007, which suggests that most of the immigrants who have left the county were originally from Mexico.

Meanwhile, the segments of the county's foreign-born population comprised of Asians (36.7 percent to 37.5 percent) and Europeans (2.7 percent to 4.5 percent) have grown slightly.

Return to Top


********
********

20.
Dania Beach now home to Florida's largest Border Patrol station
40,000-square-foot station replaces previous facility in Pembroke Pines; grand opening held Thursday
By Alexia Campbell
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), October 8, 2009
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-border-patrol-grand-opening-bn100809,0,7566471.story

Dania Beach, FL -- Dania Beach is now home to Florida's largest U.S. Border Patrol station.

'It's strategically perfect,' said Lazaro Guzman, a supervisory border patrol agent, during the station's grand opening today.

The 40,000-square-foot station, sandwiched between Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, will replace the agency's aging home in Pembroke Pines.

Everything is larger, quicker and more high-tech, officials said. The station's two buildings can withstand a category-5 hurricane and have a generator that can power the entire facility.

Flat-screen televisions give agents a clear view inside the 10 cells where drug traffickers, human smugglers and illegal immigrants are held. The old station near Perry Airport had three cells and no cameras.

'Now I can look up and make sure they're not having medical difficulties or make sure they're not getting attacked,' said James DeMatteo, patrol agent in charge of the Dania Beach station. The cells also separate women, men and children for their own safety, he said.

Outside the cells, fingerprinting scanners help agents check identities and criminal backgrounds. The new station has 15 processing stations, compared with five at the old location.

All the changes will allow agents to triple the number of detainees they process each day -- up to 30 an hour, DeMatteo said. Their station processed 1,400 people between September 2008 and September 2009, he said.

Immigration advocates appreciate the effort to improve conditions, said Susana Barciela, of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center. But more or better border patrol facilities won't solve the problem, she said.

'What we need is sensible immigration reform,' she said in an e-mail.

The Dania Beach station serves Miami-Dade County, Broward County, Monroe County and Collier County.

Return to Top


********
********

21.
Border Patrol plans new building
Public comment ends Tuesday
By Anne Krueger
The San Diego Union-Tribune, October 10, 2009
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/oct/10/border-patrol-plans-new-building/?metro&zIndex=180398

Boulevard, CA -- The Border Patrol is planning to build a new station on 33 acres in Boulevard that the agency says will relieve overcrowding at its current building.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers posted an environmental assessment of the project on its Web site Sept. 11, and the public comment period ends Tuesday. Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2010, finishing in September 2012.

The Border Patrol's current station in Boulevard, designed for 19 agents, now holds 200. An additional 50 agents are expected to be assigned to the station next year, the Border Patrol said.

The new station, on the east side of North Ribbonwood Road, is two miles north of the Mexican border. It will include an administration building, detention center, maintenance garage, dog kennels, a helipad, a 160-foot communications tower and an indoor shooting range.

The study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that the proposed station would not have a significant effect on the environment, noise or traffic.

Fred Kerth, who owns a weekend home in Boulevard across the street from the proposed station, disagrees. He said he didn't receive any official notice about the plans. 'It took us completely by surprise,' he said.

Kerth said he is concerned that lights from the station will disrupt the night skies he enjoys in rural Boulevard, about 60 miles east of San Diego. He said he is also concerned about noise and traffic.

The Boulevard planning group, which offers advisory opinions to government officials on land-use issues, also sent a letter raising concerns about the proposed station. The group said a full environmental review should be conducted, instead of the briefer environmental assessment that was done.

The group said more study needs to be done on the effect the station will have on the area's water quality, and questioned whether a detention facility should be built in a residential area.

Last year, the Border Patrol opened a new $28 million station accommodating up to 350 agents off Old Highway 80 in La Posta. The 45,000-square-foot station replaced trailers near the Campo post office, includes a detention center and a 15,000-square-foot maintenance garage.

Return to Top


********
********

22.
Mineral Wells immigration detention center scrapped
By Elizabeth Campbell
The Fort Worth Star Telegram (TX), October 9, 2009
http://www.star-telegram.com/texas/story/1675305.html

Plans to build a $35 million Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Mineral Wells were scrapped this week when the City Council failed to support a public-financing proposal.

Mineral Wells City Manager Lance Howerton said Emerald Cos. proposed issuing public bonds through the Mineral Wells government corporation to finance building the 1,000-bed maximum-security prison to house detainees awaiting deportation.

'Emerald was not able to obtain satisfactory financing. The financing they would have obtained would be prohibitive in terms of the interest rates,' Howerton said. The public financing would mean more financial obligations for Mineral Wells, which he said played into the council’s decision to back away from the project.

The proposal died after no one seconded a motion calling for the public financing option, Howerton said.

The project ran in to a snag this year when residents vigorously opposed building the facility on land near the Mineral Wells Airport. The city’s industrial foundation bought land at the Wolters Industrial Complex, and it looked like everything was moving forward until the weak economy helped drive up interest rates for private financing, said Steve Afeman, chief operations officer for Louisiana-based Emerald Cos.

'It’s a clear message, and other counties are dying for the 140 jobs and other benefits we have,' Afeman said.

Afeman said Emerald is looking at three counties closer to Dallas-Fort Worth, but he declined to say which counties are being considered.

Ronda Olson, an opponent of the ICE facility, said she is relieved that Mineral Wells is no longer being considered. Olson and her husband Marc, who live in Shreveport, plan to retire on land they own.

'We are just so happy that it’s not going to be in our town,' Olson said. 'We are going to keep our ear to the ground so that the City Council and county won’t fund this. We want them [Emerald] to go away and not come back.'

Return to Top


********
********

23.
Hispanics mull boycotting 2010 census
By Stephen Dinan
The Washington Times, October 12, 2009
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/12/hispanics-mull-boycotting-census/?feat=home_headlines

Angered by President Obama's lack of success in legalizing illegal immigrants, some Hispanic activists are urging all Hispanics to boycott the 2010 census as a sign of displeasure.

Other groups have asked the federal government to suspend immigration raids while census takers are in the field, hoping that will make illegal immigrants more likely to respond to questions.

It's just the latest trouble in what's turning into a rocky run-up to the census next year.

During a congressional hearing last week, a Democratic senator told Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves that the American Community Survey - a yearly survey the bureau mails to a small sampling of Americans - pries too deeply and is so confusing that it appeared at first to be a case of mail fraud.

Meanwhile, a group of Republican senators is trying to have the 2010 census form include a question about citizenship. They are trying to set a precedent that congressional seats be reapportioned based on a count of citizens, rather than all residents.

The census issue is roiling Hispanic and immigrant rights groups. Major organizations and broadcasters are mounting a campaign for participation, but some activists argue that Democrats and Mr. Obama haven't done enough to earn Hispanic support for the effort.

'The only thing left for the immigrant to bargain is something they want from the immigrant, and that is that the person be counted. If that person refuses to cooperate, refuses to participate, refuses to comply, now he has a modicum of leverage,' said Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association.

The Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, is calling for a boycott specifically by illegal immigrants.

He said a count can't be accurate with so many people living in the shadows and that counting illegal immigrants inflates numbers in places where many residents can't vote. He said he fears those residents who are counted can't ever get true representation.

'The truth is that counting undocumented immigrants creates what we call ghost electoral districts, and that is completely immoral,' he said.

He said Mr. Obama has moved too slowly to legalize illegal immigrants and has instead embraced tougher enforcement measures.

'We're the ones who are seeing what is happening to the members of our churches,' he said.

Mr. Rivera and Mr. Lopez are being vehemently fought by Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), who calls a boycott 'nonsensical and irresponsible.'

'What they actually are doing is emboldening the very same people that are holding up comprehensive immigration reform, the very same people who would like to see immigrants leave the country,' he said.

Mr. Vargas said the census is the third part of Hispanic leaders' longer-term strategy.

After the immigrant rights marches and legislative battles several years ago, Hispanic political leaders have pushed legal immigrants to apply for citizenship. Last year, they broadened that effort by asking new voters and all Hispanic voters to turn out in the presidential election. Next year, they'll try to show their numbers in the census.

'This is the most important census for the Latino community because it's the first census in which Latinos make up the nation's second-largest population group,' he said.

NALEO has teamed with major Spanish-language media outlets to push for broad participation. One example is the Univision television network, which will include pro-census messages in its newscasts and its regular entertainment programming.

Still, some Hispanic advocates say there's too much fear in the immigrant community to conduct an accurate count. They're calling for the Homeland Security Department to suspend immigration raids for part of next year.

Joseph Villela, policy advocate for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said the Census Bureau requested in 1990 and 2000 that immigration law enforcement cease. He said no such request has been made this time.

'Given that there's no clear message from, in this case, the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau to specifically request [the Homeland Security Department] to stop these raids, then obviously folks are not going to trust any census workers,' he said.

Raul E. Cisneros, chief of the publicity office for the 2010 census, said the Census Bureau will not ask Homeland Security to suspend raids. But he said his office is making a giant effort to try to boost participation with an advertising budget of several hundred million dollars and tens of thousands of partner organizations lined up to help.

'We're asking the public to take the few minutes to answer these very few questions, very straightforward questions,' he said.

Congress reviews the questions and has oversight over the census, but some lawmakers have bristled at the broadness of the census. Earlier this year, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, touched off controversy when she told The Washington Times' 'America's Morning News' radio program that she plans only to fill out the number of people in her household on her 2010 census form.

Mr. Rivera and Mr. Lopez said they personally agree with her.

'We tell people, and I'm the first to declare it, I absolutely will not cooperate, nor comply, with the Census Bureau nor the federal law,' Mr. Lopez said, adding that if the bureau tries to impose penalties on him, 'I am willing to suffer those consequences.'

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey took fire from senators last week.

Sen. Roland W. Burris, Illinois Democrat, told Mr. Groves, the census director, that his former job as state attorney general gave him plenty of experience with mail fraud and that he initially thought the survey was a scam.

The American Community Survey is a long questionnaire sent each year to a small sampling of households. It's designed to give the government a sense of demographic trends in between the decennial censuses. Mr. Burris, whose daughter received a questionnaire recently, said the whole thing was too confusing.

'Do you all really expect people to send these back?' he asked Mr. Groves.

Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, said he received an American Community Survey last year and filled out only half of the questions.

'There's nothing in the Constitution, in the first article, that gives the power of the census to do that,' he said, adding that he would 'defend anybody' who doesn't want to complete the long-form questionnaire.

Mr. Groves said he accepts the criticism that his bureau has not publicized the American Community Survey well enough but that fewer responses raise government costs because workers have to visit the homes to try to track down the answers.

The law says there is a penalty for not filling out the American Community Survey, but Mr. Groves said he knows of no prosecutions.

+++

Census boycott threatened by Latino immigrant advocates
By Matt O'Brien
The Oakland Tribune, October 10, 2009
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_13527861

Oakland, CA -- The U.S. Census Bureau and its Bay Area partners might have activist Miguel Robles to worry about as they prepare to count every local resident in the 2010 census.

'Be counted' is the slogan the government will be spreading on billboards, bus advertisements and shopping bags in the months leading up to this spring's once-a-decade count of every U.S. resident.

'Don't be counted' is the contrary message espoused by Robles and some Latino groups who promise a widespread census boycott if Congress does not move to legalize the nation's millions of undocumented immigrants before April.
. . .
That puts the boycotters in an unusual alliance of ideas with their fiercest ideological opponents — groups such as the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates reducing illegal immigration and does not believe illegal immigrants should ever be counted in the census.

'The potential result (of a boycott) is the districts created in California as a result of illegal immigration would disappear,' said Jon Feere, legal policy analyst for the center based in Washington, D.C. 'Some might say that's a good thing because it increases the representation of citizens elsewhere.'

Robles, the Bay Area boycott organizer, said the movement has barely gotten off the ground locally, but he said he is committed to it and knows many others who share his views.

'The most important thing is we demonstrate the value immigrants have economically,' he said. 'If other people think different, they should do something, not just criticize the actions we are going to do.'

Return to Top


********
********

24.
Cardinal McCarrick brings immigration reform message to Senate
The Catholic News Agency, October 11, 2009
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=17355

Comprehensive immigration reform is needed to help bring undocumented immigrants 'out of the shadows' and to reunite them with their families, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick told a Senate subcommittee on Thursday.

Addressing the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees, and Border Security on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, the cardinal said the United States requires an immigration system that links legal immigration with the country’s long-term economic needs, with family unity and with basic human rights.

'Now, our immigration system accomplishes none of these goals,' commented Cardinal McCarrick, who is a consultant to the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration.

He added that immigration reform would restore the rule of law and would provide order and legality to 'an otherwise chaotic system,' a press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reports.

The cardinal urged that any immigration reform legislation help bring undocumented immigrants 'out of the shadows' and give them the opportunity to achieve permanent residency and citizenship. He recommended that family-based immigration be strengthened in order to preserve family unity and that legal avenues be created to help migrant workers enter the country legally and safely.

Cardinal McCarrick also called for legislation that would give immigrants 'their day in court' by restoring due process protections he said were removed in 1996. In addition, he encouraged international cooperation that would address the 'root causes of migration' and help immigrants and their families remain in their home countries to 'support their families in dignity.'

Though immigration has economic, social and legal aspects, the cardinal explained that from the perspective of Catholic teaching immigration is ultimately a humanitarian issue.

'In our view, our immigration laws ultimately must be judged by how they impact the basic dignity and God-given human rights of the human person.'

He exhorted the Senators to keep the discourse 'civil' and to refrain from both de-humanizing immigrants and 'scapegoating' them for unrelated economic or social challenges.

Cardinal McCarrick pledged the Catholic Church’s assistance for the legislators who 'lead the nation toward a humane and just immigration system which both restores the rule of law and respects the inherent human dignity of the person.'

Return to Top


********
********

25.
Border Network for Human Rights planning trip to D.C. to promote reform
By Marissa Monroy
The KVIA News, October 10, 2009
http://www.kvia.com/Global/story.asp?S=11293999

El Paso, TX -- Cities across the nation are gearing up for a rally in support of immigration reform and a Borderland organization plans to join nationwide efforts.

Officials with the Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR) will be in Washington D.C. next week to educate officials about what they feel are necessary immigration policies.

'If [reform] doesn't happen between now and March, it's probably not going to happen until 2011,' said Zelene Pineda, with BNHR. 'Since next year is an election year, we need to put pressure on D.C. now.'

It's been several months since president Barack Obama really pushed for changes in immigration policy. The lack of results has organizers with BNHR planning to take action.

Saturday, leaders within the organization met to finalize the details for their trip to the capital. They will join about 80 other Texans who will deliver a petition asking elected officials to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Organizers say the move is necessary to develop a practical system for the millions of immigrants already in the U.S. and to keep families from being separated by immigration laws.

President Obama had previously touted the issue as one of his top priorities, but his administration has also cautioned that legislation could be a long time coming.

Return to Top


********
********

26.
Minnesotans Head To D.C. For Immigration Reform
The Associated Press, October 12, 2009
http://wcco.com/local/immigration.reform.minnesotans.2.1242404.html

Minneapolis (AP) -- A group of about 30 immigrant workers, their family members and supporters are traveling to Washington to lobby Congress on immigration reform.

The group is leaving early Monday morning with a small rally at the United Labor Centre in Minneapolis. They will participate in rallies in Chicago and Washington and have plans to meet with Minnesota senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Rep. Keith Ellison.

Local advocates of immigration reform have collected over 2,000 signatures for a petition asking for comprehensive changes to an immigration system they say is broken.

Return to Top


********
********

27.
Summit focuses on immigrants’ road to integration
The Nashua Telegraph (NH), October 11, 2009
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091011/NEWS01/910119995/-1/XML19

Nashua, NH -- Immigrants who freshly arrive here struggle with everything from learning how pedestrian crossing signals work to adapting to cold weather.

Simple acts of daily life aside, one of the largest frustrations is education.

During the second annual immigration summit held here Monday, several immigrants talked about how frustrating it is to have college degrees and years of experience in a career in their native land, only to be told they have to start from scratch in the U.S. Starting from scratch can mean not only having to go to college again, but also first needing a GED.

As bad as that may be, their kids can have it worse. One immigrant said high school teachers have told students they didn’t belong in their math class. These were students bright enough to do the work, but were labeled as being slow or incapable because of a language barrier, she said.

The irony is that their parents had immigrated to the United States in the first place because they wanted their children to get a better education and have more economic opportunity.

'Here, I came to realize I was black,' said Damaris Crayton, an immigrant from Kenya. 'Back home, I did not know that.'

Another immigrant, Christine Kiana, taught elementary school in Kenya for 15 years. She was distressed to learn that her degree and experience didn’t count in the U.S. when she arrived in New Hampshire six years ago. Kiana had to earn her GED. A mother of three, she recently has been accepted to Springfield College in Boston.

The Gate City Health and Wellness Immigrant Integration Initiative summit was sponsored by the city’s health department and held at Nashua Community College. Participants included representatives of the Nashua Police Department and the city school department’s English Language Learner program, as well as other city and civic organizations.

The summit brought the various groups together to discuss issues related to helping immigrants integrate into city life.

Discussions that led to the initiative started in 2007, when a group of refugees mainly from the African nation of Burundi settled in Nashua. There were no coordinated services, and the refugees had a tough time adjusting to life here.

A refugee task force was formed during the administration of former Mayor Bernie Streeter. The city received a grant to form an integration plan for refugees and immigrants, and Foqia Ijaz, who moderated the summit, was hired to oversee the process.

The Gate City Health and Wellness Immigrant Integration Initiative was created to develop a integration plan that will help to reduce social and cultural barriers to health, well-being and economic mobility of immigrants and refugees. It’s funded by the N.H. Endowment for Health.

The first year of the initiative ended Sept. 30. The summit included an update on the planning that has occurred so far.

Among those issues was developing sensitivity to the struggles immigrants face.

'We’re not asking people to be best friends. We’re not asking them to sing ‘Kumbaya,’ ' said Cheryl Hamilton, communications director for the New Migration Project at the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence in Portland, Maine. Hamilton was the summit’s keynote speaker.

'We are saying people deserve to live in a respectful community,' Hamilton said.

Hamilton cut her teeth in immigration matters by working to ease tension in Portland and Lewiston when Somali immigrants selected the area for resettlement.

When Jairus Olocho’s plane landed in Boston last winter, the Kenyan who had only before seen snow at the top of Mounts Kenya and Kilimanjaro thought he had 'entered a freezer.'

But the weather was toasty compared to the job climate Olocho encountered. Armed with a green card, the immigrant hadn’t been able to find employment.

'The greatest need for newcomers is jobs,' Olocho said.

Return to Top


********
********

28.
Man says life 'on hold' because of NY terror probe
By Jen Marnowski
The Associated Press, October 11, 2009
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=124836&catid=188

New York (AP) -- The friend of an Afghan-born immigrant accused of planning a terror attack in New York City said Saturday that his life has been put 'on hold' because of the federal investigation into the accusations.

Naiz Khan said during a rally organized by Muslim advocates outside the Flushing Public Library in Queens that he has been unable to get a job or to travel to Pakistan to see his wife and children for the Eid al-Fitr holiday since his friend of nearly 10 years, Najibullah Zazi, became the focus of the terror probe.

'My personal life has been so affected,' Khan said.

Last month, Zazi stayed at Khan's apartment during a visit to New York City, leading authorities to raid the apartment as part of the investigation centered on Zazi, who has denied being involved in a plot and is being held without bail after pleading not guilty to conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction.

Khan has said that he did nothing wrong and that he has been under constant surveillance by authorities.

He said at the rally that people in the Afghan immigrant community are living in fear because of law enforcement tactics, such as raids and what he said was racial profiling.

Yesha Mahmooda, an organizer of the rally and member of the immigrant rights group Desis Rising Up and Moving, said she has heard from many community members complaining of being watched by law enforcement officials.

'They are very scared of being surveilled,' Mahmooda told the Daily News in Saturday editions.

Other Muslim advocates said that a climate of fear in their community had led to plummeting attendance at Abu Bakar Mosque in Queens.

Return to Top


********
********

29.
Latinos march in Indio for immigration reform
By Kate McGinty
The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA), October 11, 2009
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20091011/NEWS01/910110322/Latinos+march+in+Indio+for+immigration+reform

Indio, CA -- President Barack Obama has one more campaign promise to fulfill before he can say he's really earned his Nobel Peace Prize, if Comité Latino has anything to say about it.

About 80 members of the group marched through Indio Saturday afternoon, waving flags and banners with messages for the president.

They urged Obama — who was awarded the prestigious Nobel prize on Friday — to take action on immigration policies.

'I think he still has a lot of work to do,' Teresa Quintanar, 38, of Indio, said. 'I hope he fulfills his promises to make it (the Nobel prize) something he earned.'

The energetic group gathered in the Kmart parking lot, 81-691 Highway 111 in Indio, and waved American flags for nearly an hour.

They then took off on a 1.2-mile march to the Larson Justice Center, 46-200 Oasis St., also in Indio.

It was a walk that leaders called a symbolic journey.

They paraded massive banners that urged Obama to 'not separate me from my parents' and boasting 'no human being is illegal.'

Jose Valdez, 40, of Indio, has been a regular at previous marches since Comité Latino began organizing them in 2006.

'We want legalization for everybody. We want the privilege of green cards for everybody,' he said. 'We want to stay in this country and support the economy for all the country.'

The turnout was much smaller than the 1,000 people leaders hoped would attend. Comité Latino competed against a busy weekend in the valley that included the Phoenix Suns-Golden State Warriors exhibition game, a festival in downtown Indio and the Art Under the Umbrellas festival in La Quinta.

Still, Comité Latino sent a message to the public on Saturday, according to Carlos Galaviz, 25, one of the group's organizers. 'This country was founded by immigrants. We're all immigrations, not just us,' he said. 'This is it. This is my country here.'

Return to Top


********
********

30.
Driving course for new immigrants marks 10th year
By Megan Luther
The Argus Leader (Sioux Falls, SD), October 12, 2009
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20091012/NEWS/910120305

Behind the wheel, Meaza Yirga is an attentive, but nervous, driver. She has her hands exactly at the 10-and-2 position while she stares intently at the road.

'Turn left. Good job.'

To her right is Qadir Aware, who is giving directions and testing her driving skills. After Yirga takes a left out of the parking lot, she drives down the middle of the road.

'Come back to the side. You gotta know the line,' Aware tells her.

She gets back to the right lane, but after a few blocks, Aware cuts the testing short and instructs her to return to the Multi-Cultural Center.

Yirga is part of the center's drivers education program for refugees and immigrants. The program, marking its 10th year, has been nationally recognized for its approach to educating newly arrived drivers.

It is an approach that is needed. Many immigrants who arrive in Sioux Falls never have driven. Others need to learn basic safety lessons and the rules of the road - American style.

In the past decade, more than 3,500 refugees and immigrants have passed the coursework.

Students start with a pretest to gauge their English comprehension and then sit through classroom instruction on U.S. driving laws. They must score 75 percent or better to pass their final written test.

Then, it's on to the driver's seat of a simulated car. Like a video game, they must brake at the right time and use the correct turn signal to get a high score.

Once the instructor gives them the green light, they may then visit the state driver's license station and apply for a permit. The Multi-Cultural Center requires them to practice driving with a licensed driver for at least three months, unless they previously drove in their home country, before their road skills are tested by Aware, who also is director of the center.

And Aware is not an easy grader.

'I believe strongly that if they are not capable to drive, I don't pass them,' he said.

Aware hopes his tough standards ensure the safety of the student and community. And he knows what his students are going through.

When he arrived in Sioux Falls in the late 1970s as an Iraqi refugee, he already knew how to drive. But after getting 12 speeding tickets in 11 months, his license was suspended.

Years later, he became part of the group that hatched the idea for the program.

Sioux Falls Police Officer Greg Schmidt also was on that committee. He knew there was a need. He once responded to an accident where both drivers spoke little English. When he asked one driver for his license, the man tried to bribe him, Schmidt said.

So, a partnership was formed among the Multi-Cultural Center, police and the South Dakota Safety Council, a nonprofit that teaches the classes.

The program is open only to immigrants and refugees who entered the country legally. Students pay $40 for the classes and pay for their own permit and driver's license. The rest of the program is paid for annually with $35,000 from the city of Sioux Falls and $12,000 from Citibank.

In its first year in 1999, the program got national recognition by receiving an award from the National Crime Prevention Council. In 2001, the program's partners were asked to present their strategies at the National Conference on Preventing Crime in Washington, D.C.

Aware said the center is on track for teaching more than 450 students this year, a record number.

As for Yirga, she didn't pass Aware's test. But she is scheduled to take it again in two months.

Yirga came to Sioux Falls from Ethiopia only six months ago. She drove a motorcycle in her home country but never a car. She hopes to get her driver's license so she can drive to her job at John Morrell & Co.

The Multi-Cultural Center's program has helped, she said through an interpreter. 'Traffic rules are completely different (here).'

Return to Top


********
********

31.
Suit Puts Focus on Immigrant Workers' Rights
By Kari Lydersen
The Washington Post, October 11, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/10/AR2009101001478.html

Decatur, IL -- Gloria Garcia Barragan, 52, boarded a plane for the first time this summer to travel from her home in southern Mexico to Decatur. She came to this industrial central Illinois town to testify in the wrongful death lawsuit concerning her son, who died in 2007 at age 26 of burns from an accident at the BioProducts plant of Archer Daniels Midland.

Every week, Garcia's son, Francisco Garcia Moreno, sent money to his family. He came to the United States as a teenager and was earning about $16.50 an hour working for a contractor at the ADM plant, which makes lysine and other additives. Besides helping Garcia and his father, Antonio Garcia Valencia, an unemployed field worker with health problems, the funds helped support Francisco's five adult siblings in a town near Guadalajara.

ADM, whose global headquarters are in Decatur, offered the family $500,000 to settle. Attorney Donald Shapiro thought the family deserved more.

Shapiro knew declining ADM's offer and going to a jury trial would be a gamble, especially given anti-immigrant sentiment apparent in the highly charged national debate. Like many Midwestern cities and towns, Decatur has experienced an influx of immigrant workers in the past decade. Latinos make up only about 2 percent of Decatur's 75,000 population, but their growing presence is noticeable. Long-time residents welcome the new Mexican restaurants, but many resent the competition for jobs in a town with 12.4 percent unemployment, up from 8.3 percent a year ago.

He 'wants to come up here and get killed, that's one more job for an American,' said retired locomotive engineer Kenny Smith, noting that he has friends who get up at 3 a.m. to drive hundreds of miles to Chicago or Indianapolis in search of work.

The Garcias decided to put their faith in a local jury, declining Archer Daniel's $500,000 and a later offer of $1 million.

On Sept. 11, a jury awarded the family $6.7 million, among the largest such judgments in state history for a childless man.

Shapiro said the award shows the jurors -- 11 white, one black -- 'really tried to treat this family just like any other family that had lost a son.'

'I think they cut across all the lines of prejudice, both prejudice against people who are Mexican and who are poor,' he said.

Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said anti-immigrant feelings are always a concern with juries, but he said people typically sympathize with an individual even if they have negative feelings toward immigrants as a whole.

'That's human nature,' he said.

Decatur is known as a proud union town that has had more than its share of hard knocks. In 1999, Jesse L. Jackson led high-profile protests over the expulsion of seven African American students for fighting at a high school football game.

Many residents are still dealing with the effects of bitter labor conflicts in the 1990s involving Bridgestone/Firestone, Caterpillar and the A.E. Staley Manufacturing's starch and corn syrup plant. More than 1,500 people were laid off when the Bridgestone-Firestone tire plant closed in 2001, blamed for the recall of millions of tires prone to dangerously unraveling.

Archer Daniels employs 4,000 people in Decatur, a stable economic presence even as it was plagued by price-fixing and workplace-accident scandals in the 1990s. Some say the acronym stands for 'Another Dead Man.'

In 2007, Garcia was suspended 15 feet in the air when a machine malfunctioned and blasted him with steam and hot caustic liquid. He tumbled to the ground and co-workers dragged him into a safety shower; nearly 90 percent of his body was covered in third-degree burns and his skin was sloughing off. He died at a hospital 32 hours later, on March 24, 2007.

Archer Daniels spokesman Roman Blahoski said that injury rates have been significantly reduced at the company's facilities in Decatur and globally in recent years, and that Garcia's is the only death at the BioProducts plant.

'The safety of employees and contractors who work at our facilities is always a priority at ADM,' said Blahoski. 'All of us at ADM were deeply saddened by Francisco Garcia's death. . . . We admitted liability. The issue at trial was compensation for the family. We are reviewing the court's decision and considering next steps.'

Nationally, Latino immigrant workers are significantly more likely than members of other races to die or be seriously injured on the job. A National Council of La Raza report released in September notes that Latinos have had the highest workplace death rate of any ethnicity for the past 15 years. In 2007, 937 Latinos, 'the majority of them immigrants,' died of occupational injuries, a rate of 4.6 per 100,000. The rate was 3.9 per 100,000 for white workers and 3.8 for black workers.

Officials say the injury-death rates are so high because Latinos tend to work in dangerous professions such as construction, meatpacking and forestry.

Saenz said multimillion-dollar verdicts for immigrant workers killed on the job are rare. Many immigrant families avoid taking legal action because of the language barrier and unfamiliarity with the system. Garcia's estate could also sue Archer Daniels for an amount much higher than workers' compensation law would have allowed because he was employed by a contractor, not ADM -- hence ADM was not subject to workers' compensation limits.

'There's a great amount of myth about the limitations on rights of people who are not citizens; legal and undocumented immigrants often make an assumption they are not entitled to the same rights, when in this case they are,' said Saenz.

At the Sundown Lounge, Archer Daniels millwright Al Kramer ticked off the circumstances of eight people killed since 1995 at the company's Decatur facilities. They include two killed in a fire at a wet corn mill in 2008 and two, like Garcia, by steam explosions in 2002 and 1995.

'What about them?' said Kramer. '[Garcia] was an illegal immigrant in the first place. I'd like to see United States citizens have jobs before immigrants.'

Blahoski said contractor ECF, which hired Garcia, was required to verify his legal status. ECF did not return calls for comment.

'Six million for a dead man is fair, but sending the money to Mexico -- I don't agree with that,' said a locomotive engineer in a cowboy hat and denim jacket who declined to give his name.

But Decatur Federation of Labor President Bill Francisco, 35, said the judgment sends a message to firms that workers' rights should be respected regardless of race, nationality or citizenship status.

'They come to chase the American dream, and for Francisco Garcia it was demolished all in a day's work,' he said. 'The exploitation of the immigrant worker is something that needs to cease. It seems the country is taking advantage of them.'

Return to Top


********
********

32.
Migrant camps draw ire from residents result in cool response from police
By Kimberly Dvorak
The Examiner (San Diego), October 12, 2009
http://www.examiner.com/x-10317-San-Diego-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2009m10d12-Migrant-camps-draw-ire-from-residents-result-in-cool-reponse-from-police

San Diego canyons are teeming with illegal migrant camps, prostitution and numerous fire hazards. A week after a prostitution ring was uncovered, San Diego residents are still complaining about the illegal traffic through local communities.

Week-long expensive helicopter flyovers have produced no results with the San Diego Police Department. One reason for the lack of results from the helicopter flyovers is many migrants have covered their tents with camouflage tarps which make them nearly impossible to spot from the air.

It definitely takes officers on the ground to scavenge the canyon area and walk the trails that lead to the tents and small shacks high on the hillsides or deep brush. Hiking the canyons is treacherous and often requires hands and knees maneuvers. This journalist spent six-hours hiking 10-miles inside the canyon on Saturday in the treacherous canyons.

'We uncovered many recent open-fire pits, trash areas and migrant campsites. It appears they (illegal migrant squatters) are moving from one location to the next,' said J.C. Playford a video photo journalist.

The collision course of home owners and migrants is about to erupt again. Evidence of fire hazards and prostitution will push this canyon-living community to move again. A pair of female child jeans were recovered from the prostitution site and pose the difficult question concerning underage Mexican girls possibly being trafficked in to service at the migrant camps which has occurred in the past all over San Diego County.

Although there didn’t appear to be any substantial police presence in the canyons on Saturday, there was one fire truck cruising the fire break roads and two patrolmen on horseback. Neither official wished to comment about the migrant story.
The Rancho Villas Apartment Complex sits directly on the ridge above the canyon and has been hit hard by the illegal population that calls McGonigle Canyon home.

'This is a huge problem, my husband is the Manager of the complex and has called the police several times a week because these illegals have been loitering and drinking on the property,' Stephanie Jahn, McGonigle Canyon resident said.

'The first time he called the police, they (police) asked for a description once he said they were Hispanic migrants they refused to come. The second time a guy was literally passed out in the parking lot, he called and stated there was an injured man on the property, they came, called an ambulance, but again no charges.'

Jahn explained that she has her cars broken into constantly and nothing is done. 'This is personal to me.'
Most want to know who owns the land in order to pressure them to do something about the subsequent crime taking place in the community. It is many residents’ understanding that they can and should go after the owners for maintaining a nuisance property.

There are also reports that local grocery store, Stater Bros., has a problem with shop lifting that is directly related to this large migrant population.

While witnessing the migrants living situation it can pull at the heartstrings; a reality check is clearly needed. All agree the migrant population are making $8 to $10 an hour, they lay claim to the idea they cannot afford to pay rent and send money home to their home country.

Can American citizens do the same thing? Even if they wanted to pitch a tent at a campground they are paying $20-$30 per night.
If they plan to immigrate legally into this country, they must assimilate and that requires obtaining a legal residence, unless a property owner decides to let migrants live on their land and that rarely happens.

It is worth pointing out that it is illegal to camp in the canyons. The landowners are currently looking the other direction because the migrants continue to call McGonigle Canyon home.

The reason these property owners do not allow the migrants to live off their land freely is because the migrant workers come with a host of problems.

These life-threatening issues include; fire hazards from propane or open-flame fires, sanitary issues, drinking, environmental destruction, pollution of the streams and finally illegal prostitution.

While local authorities blame the lack of low-cost housing the migrants admit they will not take advantage of it because they want to send all their money to their families back home. This is hardly assimilating to the American way of life.
The migrants also claim they only do work Americans will not perform, with the exception of agricultural work, this is untrue. It was the African-American community who lost construction jobs to the Latino workers.

If anything the Latinos have an advantage over Americans who are poor, because Americans must live on the minimum-wage job minus taxes; most Latinos make minimum wage or more and pay little to no payroll taxes.

A dozen concerned citizens and anti-illegal immigration activists walked the canyon neighborhood over the weekend to hand out flyers. 'We blanketed about 200 homes with information and contact flyers,' Jeff Schwilk of San Diego Minutemen said. 'We spoke with dozens of concerned residents.'

Most residents continued to be worried about fire hazards inside the canyon. 'After a three-year drought that canyon could go off like a torch at any time and the city of San Diego is doing virtually nothing to remove the migrant camps and fire danger,' he said.

One home owner voiced specific concerns that deemed to be quite alarming. 'A Long-time resident stated Border Patrol will not go in the canyon due to the belief that if they do roundups of the illegal aliens, the migrants will torch the canyon in retaliation,' Schwilk said.

If this claim is true, residents living near McGonigle Canyon have plenty to be afraid of and they could be the next victims in this tragic story.

Return to Top


********
********

33.
Iowa, U.S. gripped by trial in wake of historic immigrant raid
By Grant Schulte
USA Today, October 12, 2009
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-10-11-illegal-immigration-raid-kosher-meatpacking-plant-Iowa_N.htm

Des Moines -- The man who managed a once-dominant kosher meat empire heads to trial Tuesday to face allegations involving what U.S. Attorney Matt Dummermuth describes as the largest single-site immigration raid in United States history.

The trial, in which Sholom Rubashkin will challenge 91 fraud-related charges, marks the latest turn in a case that dealt a blow to the northeastern Iowa town of Postville and stoked the national debate over immigration. Publicity surrounding the case has been so intense that the trial was moved from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Sioux Falls, S.D.

The 22-year-old plant, Agriprocessors, which had grown into the nation's largest kosher meat supplier under the Rubashkin family, had become Postville's largest employer, attracting a blend of New York rabbis, immigrant workers and longtime Iowans.

The trial's outcome 'will affect our community, especially the Jewish community, quite a lot,' said Paul Ouderkirk, pastor at St. Bridget's Catholic Church in Postville.

Prosecutors also have charged Rubashkin with 72 immigration-related counts for his alleged role in a plan to hire illegal workers, according to federal court documents.

A second trial on those charges is expected to begin a week after the first concludes, Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan said in a memo.

Rubashkin was a top executive at Agriprocessors when agents raided the business in May 2008. Court documents show 389 illegal immigrants were arrested and most were deported.

Prosecutors will present evidence that Rubashkin ordered employees to create fake invoices so he could obtain advances on a revolving bank loan, Deegan wrote in court papers.

Rubashkin was supposed to repay the bank, but is alleged to have diverted the payments to keep the money.

'By diverting the payments, the defendant was, in effect, stealing the bank's collateral and then lying to the bank about it,' Deegan wrote.

Defense lawyer Guy Cook, of Des Moines, has said his client denies all of the charges.

Return to Top


********
********

34.
Judge issues written order in Megahed deportation case
By Kevin Graham
The St. Petersburg Times (FL), October 10, 2009

Tampa, FL -- The immigration judge in Miami-Dade County who spared Youssef Megahed from deportation said in a written order Friday that the government failed to prove the University of South Florida student is linked to a terrorist cell or that he has an escalating interest in terrorism.
. . .
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/judge-issues-written-order-in-megahed-deportation-case/1042844

Return to Top


********
********

35.
Brother of Dallas bomb plot suspect held
By Jason Trahan
The Dallas Morning News, October 10, 2009

A Dallas federal judge has temporarily halted the deportation of the younger brother of Hosam 'Sam' Smadi, the 19-year-old Jordanian man arrested in an FBI bombing sting.
. . .
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-smadi_10met.ART.State.Edition1.4c431cd.html

Return to Top


********
********

36.
Novato family fights deportation
By Jim Welte
The Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA), October 11, 2009

As a boy, Gilbert Mejia-Perez of Novato went to work with his father Salvador, a carpenter. He learned the tools of the trade, but as Mejia-Perez got older, he developed higher aspirations. Instead of helping to build and remodel homes, he wanted to design them himself. Now 18 and in his first semester at Santa Rosa Junior College, Mejia-Perez is on his way to fulfilling his dream.
. . .
http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_13542300

Return to Top


********
********

37.
Immigration officials: August 'human smuggling' incident was fabricated
By Debra Friedman
The Greenwich Time (CT), October 11, 2009

It was described as a 'human-smuggling bust' and a 'botched ransom,' but one week after Greenwich police and immigration agents detained four people stemming from a August melee in Riverside, officials determined the incident was neither.

In fact, the dispute in the Riverside Commons parking lot -- an episode that sparked national media attention -- turned out to be an argument over money between three illegal immigrants who had just entered the country and a driver who requested more money to continue the trip to Willimantic where the passengers' relatives lived.
. . .
http://www.greenwichtime.com/ci_13540354?IADID=Search-www.greenwichtime.com-www.greenwichtime.com

Return to Top

Overseas News

1. Canada: Deportations up 50% in ten years
2. Canada: Legislation would protect foreign workers
3. Canada: Activists rally for foreign workers (story, link)
4. E.U.: Swedish immigration plan divides Parliament
5. U.K.: Gov't relaxing restrictions to backlogged asylum cases
6. U.K.: Attorney General to face full investigation
7. U.K.: Courts permitting dangerous ex-cons to remain (story, link)
8. Ireland: Report suggests 'clustering' of immigrants beneficial
9. France: Illegals openly squat while demanding 'regularization'
10. France: Illegals ousted from 'the Jungle' remain in limbo
11. Belgium: Gov't tightening restrictions on citizenship
12. Germany: Rightist pols using issue as leverage
13. Russia: Immigrant vies to be first black elected to local council
14. Greece: Hundreds protest beating, death of Pakistani
15. Italy: Bulgarian agri-workers endure squalid living conditions
16. Libya: Vatican's chief representative blasts E.U.
17. Israel: Legislator calls for tighter border security
18. Israel: Pols seeks leniency for foreigners' kids (2 stories)
19. Indonesia: Navy nabs 260 en route to Australia (link)
20. Australia: Asylum granted to Afghan victims of boat explosion

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

-- Mark Krikorian]


1.
Deportations from Canada surge 50 per cent in a decade, documents show
The Canadian Press, October 12, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gtfW6Y0QlrzX7aH0TWS0EovwUqBQ

Montreal (CP) -- Federal documents indicate deportations from Canada have skyrocketed more than 50 per cent in the last decade.

Statistics obtained under the Access to Information Act show the country deported more than 12,700 people last year - compared with about 8,300 in 1999. About three-quarters of those getting the boot are failed refugee claimants. Refugee advocates fear many of them are being sent home to torture and persecution because of a flawed asylum system.

They say it's not right that the fate of claimants rests with a single Immigration and Refugee Board decision-maker and are calling for a proper appeals process.

Ottawa's expected to unveil changes to the system aimed at streamlining the process and weeding out false claims in order to address a backlog of 61,000 cases.

While some may fall through the cracks, officials say recourse already exists for failed applicants and that an appeals system would delay the process even further.

Return to Top


********
********

2.
Feds move to protect foreign workers, limit their stay
The Canadian Press, October 9, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5i72BrAFxmgMoUwD2iMHmU1QWEAAQ

Ottawa (CP) -- The federal government has introduced proposed regulatory changes to prevent temporary foreign workers from abuse.

The move would also cap on the number of years a foreign worker can remain in Canada.

Under the changes proposed by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, companies offering temporary jobs to foreign workers would face tougher assessments.

Employers failing to live up to wage, working condition and other promises made to foreign workers would be banned from hiring temporary foreign workers for two years - and their names placed on the Citizenship and Immigration website.

The proposals come just two days after Manitoba's Department of Labour launched an investigation into the case of four Filipino workers who said they faced intimidation and broken promises after being recruited to work in Canada.

The workers complained that they were not paid wages owed to them, had to pay thousands of dollars in fees and airfare to an Ontario employment recruiter, and were forced to pay rent for a home owned by their employer.

Kenney says he has a duty to ensure the Temporary Foreign Workers Program is fair and equitable.

Under the plan, foreign workers who qualify would be able to work in Canada for a cumulative four years, but would then not be eligible to work in Canada for six years.

'This reflects the fact that the program is designed to address short-term labour market shortages and is not a solution to long-term labour needs,' said a statement from Kenney's office.

Exceptions would be allowed under certain circumstances.

Return to Top


********
********

3.
Foreign workers rally for rights
The CBC News (Canada), October 11, 2009
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2009/10/11/edmonton-foreign-workers-rally.html

Several dozen people rallied in Edmonton pm Saturday to raise awareness about the struggles faced by temporary foreign workers.

Carrying signs that read 'Respect the work, respect the worker,' protesters at Churchill Square called for an end to the exploitation of temporary foreign workers.

They say workers come to Alberta looking for better opportunities but many are taken advantage of by employers.

Clarizze Truscott, who organized the rally, said it's painful to watch her friends who are foreign workers being abused at work.

'The way the program is, it is generally flawed,' she said. 'It creates second-class citizens, it sets people up for exploitation and abuse. This is unacceptable, and this is why we're drawing attention to those issues.'

Joe Delana, originally from the Philippines, moved to Edmonton from Dubai in 2006.

He says he was taken advantage of when he first arrived, being forced to take on extra duties and work overtime without being paid for it.

'Here in Canada, there's a lot of opportunity, but not for foreign workers.'

Delana and others at the rally called on the federal government to make changes that would loosen restrictions and allow temporary foreign workers to apply for citizenship.

'I think Canada is a free country but you cannot move freely because there is a lot of restrictions on us,' Delana said.

New Democrat MLA Rachel Notley came to the rally to show her support for Edmonton's temporary foreign workers.

'We should welcome them and embrace them and treat them like equal citizens and give them everything Canada has to offer,' she said.

Earlier this week, the federal government proposed changes to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program aimed at protecting the rights of foreign workers.

Truscott said she has little hope it will make a difference, because the federal government has failed to make good on similar promises in the past.

+++

'Exploited' workers rally for better rights
By Clara Ho
The Edmonton Sun (Canada), October 12, 2009
http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/edmonton/2009/10/11/11371461-sun.html

Return to Top


********
********

4.
Parliament split on 'progressive' Swedish immigration programme[de]
Euractiv, October 12, 2009
http://www.euractiv.com/en/mobility/parliament-split-progressive-swedish-immigration-programme/article-186266

MEPs last week (8 October) debated the Swedish EU Presidency's proposed new programme for freedom, security and justice in the EU. The plans, which are in line with Sweden's progressive national policies, were welcomed by liberal MEPs but described as weak on immigration by southern Europeans.

The meeting in the European Parliament, which featured no less than four parliamentary committees as well as representatives from national parliaments, aimed to explore the proposed Stockholm programme, which will set out the EU's priorities for the next five-year period on thorny issues such as EU citizenship - including measures to protect citizens - solidarity, access to justice and reaping the full benefits of the single market through European contract law.

British Liberal MEP Diana Wallis, speaking to EurActiv, welcomed the method of linking discussions across committees, as well as the message of yesterday's meeting. 'I think it was a very good process in the sense that four committees had to meet together and see the whites of one another's eyes. It seems to me that we were heading towards a much more balanced outcome than we might have had in the past,' she said.

Wallis believes that the Swedish plans strike the correct tone, shifting the emphasis from immigration and security to 'how we can make people's lives easier when they take up the opportunities offered by mobility around Europe'.

The UK MEP argued that in recent years, the sensitive issues in this debate had been 'blown off course by 9/11,' but was quick to stress that now, the 'civil law side of things' receives 'equal billing with everything else'.

Familiar faultlines emerge

However, as expected the programme provoked criticism from southern Europeans who believe the Swedish priorities do not go far enough in their treatment of security and immigration.

Maltese centre-right MEP Simon Busuttil argued that 'the axis on security seems to have been watered down' in the text, a point echoed by a number of Italian MEPs.

Diana Wallis said that 'we're beginning to see where the fracture lines in the house are,' and added that 'security is the main sticking point'.

'Do we want to go further in terms of underlining security? Who knows what the final outcome will be in terms of immigration and migration? That could be difficult,' she concluded.

Bigger battles await

In reality, while last week's debate may prove useful in determining future areas of conflict, it will have very little legislative impact, Kris Pollet, senior policy officer at the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), told EurActiv.

'This was purely a political debate,' Pollet said, emphasising that the actual decision on what will be in the Stockholm Programme lies solely with EU leaders at European Council level. In fact, the ECRE official doubts that the debate will have any impact whatsoever on the final wording of the programme.

The same political faultlines exist at Council level, meaning that in order to find consensus on the final draft, Sweden will push for as broad a programme as possible, Pollet argued. As a result, it is only after the Council has approved a programme that the real political battles will emerge.

When the Commission uses this broad, vague programme as a roadmap for proposing specific legislative instruments in these sensitive areas, the ideological faultlines will harden and likely lead to heated debates, he concluded.

Return to Top


********
********

5.
At least 154,000 asylum seekers to stay
By Tom Whitehead
The Telegraph (U.K.), October 12, 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6283126/At-least-154000-asylum-seekers-to-stay.html

Less than one in ten of 450,000 historic cases that were ignored for years will face deportation, according to official projections in a leaked memo.

And tens of thousands more are unlikely to ever be traced, officials predict.

Human rights laws are the root cause for most of those who will be allowed to stay because the delays in dealing with their claims mean they have effectively settled in the UK.

The Conservatives said the Government had allowed the situation to result in a back door amnesty.

It comes a day after it emerged immigration rules have been relaxed to allow up to 40,000 of the cases to stay so that a deadline to clear the backlog can be met.

Ministers have pledged to clear the 450,000 so-called 'legacy' cases, some of which date back to the 1990s, by 2011.

Just under 200,000 cases have been dealt with so far and more than 63,000 have been told they can stay.

A memo seen by this newspaper contains an official projection of how the remaining cases will be dealt with.

It shows that by completion some 154,000 cases will have been approved for indefinite leave to remain. In contrast less than 40,000 will face removal.

Human rights laws will be the reason most cases are approved, either because it is unsafe to return the asylum seekers or because they have been here so long they now have families and are protected under the right to family life.

Tens of thousands more will be written off as untraceable or because it have been confirmed they are dead or have left the country.

The remaining numbers will be written off as duplications or erroneous files.

Damian Green, shadow immigration minister, said: 'However you look at this, this is an amnesty by stealth.

'The Government may as well come clean and admit the system has broken down so badly that they have lost control of our borders and of the whereabouts of tens of thousands of people.'

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch, said: 'This is another back door to Britain.

'All these people, once granted settlement can bring their dependants.'

The memo, from Matthew Coats, the head of immigration for the UK Border Agency in July, was signed off by Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, and was also sent to Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary.

The Daily Telegraph revealed yesterday how the Home Office allowed officials to change guidelines to grant indefinite leave to remain to 40,000 people because it is going to be too difficult to remove them.

The change means that some who have been in the country for as little as four years will be allowed to stay because of the delays in processing claims.

Immigration staff are also working through 40,000 historic files of migrants who were told before 2003 that they no longer had a right to stay. No record has been made of whether they left the country and it raises the prospect that thousands could still be here unlawfully.

Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, said: 'There is no amnesty.

'Thousands of illegal migrants have already been removed by our enforcement teams, and we will continue to track down those with no right to be here – targeting lawbreakers first.

'We’re working through these cases quicker than ever, with 800 dedicated staff already concluding almost 200,000 cases.

'Our decision making has been strengthened and only around 35 per cent of people are being granted leave. I am confident all these cases will be cleared by 2011.'

Return to Top


********
********

6.
Baroness Scotland 'to be investigated by legal watchdog over cleaner'
By Caroline Gammell
The Telegraph (U.K.), October 11, 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6298040/Baroness-Scotland-to-be-investigated-by-legal-watchdog-over-cleaner.html

The Government’s chief law officer faced censure last month after she hired Loloahi Tapui-Zivancevic, a Tongan national, as her cleaner.

She was fined £5,000 for failing to keep records of documents purporting to show that Mrs Tapui-Zivancevic was entitled to live and work in Britain.

Now, the Bar Standards Board – part of the Bar Council - is investigating the peer after it received a complaint about her behaviour, according to a Sunday newspaper.

The Sunlight Centre for Open Politics, which campaigns for transparency in politics, said she had breached the barristers’ code of conduct and damaged the profession’s reputation.

It argued that she had flouted a piece of legislation which she helped to introduce.

'Baroness Scotland helped take the legislation on employing illegal workers through Parliament when she was a Home Office minister,' the group said.

'She admitted she had committed a technical breach and should be penalised. Lawmakers should not be lawbreakers.'

The Bar Standard Board was set up in 2006 to regulate barristers in England and Wales and has the power to refer complaints onto a tribunal.

This can lead to a fine, suspension or disqualification.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney General refused to comment yesterday.

In September, Lady Scotland apologised for hiring Mrs Tapui-Zivancevic, who was working illegally in Britain after overstaying by five years on a student visa.

She said: 'This is not a case of a criminal act, this is the case of failing to photocopy a document which I absolutely accept was wrong and I have apologised for that wholeheartedly.'

Despite calls for her to resign, she received the full backing of Gordon Brown.

Last week, Mrs Tapui-Zivancevic claimed that Lady Scotland initially failed to deduct tax from her salary.

She alleged that her employer spoke about sorting out her tax affairs only when the scandal over MPs' expenses broke, after disclosures in The Daily Telegraph.

But Lady Scotland has made clear repeatedly that she paid tax and National Insurance contributions for her former housekeeper directly.

Return to Top


********
********

7.
Revealed: courts let dangerous foreign criminals stay in Britain
Dangerous foreign criminals are beating the Home Office to remain in the UK at the end of their prison sentences, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose.
By David Barrett
The Telegraph (U.K.), October 10, 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6292414/Revealed-courts-let-dangerous-foreign-criminals-stay-in-Britain.html

An investigation has uncovered scores of cases where offenders from overseas, including killers and sex attackers, have been able to stay in Britain despite strenuous attempts by the Government to deport them.

The findings demonstrate how criminals are using the 1998 Human Rights Act to avoid being sent back to their homelands – despite a pledge by Gordon Brown to remove any foreigner who breaks the law.

In cases thought to have cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds, immigration judges have overturned attempts by the Home Office to remove at least 50 foreign criminals from the country in the past 12 months, after lawyers argued that deporting them would breach their human rights.

In July 2007, shortly after becoming prime minister, Mr Brown told foreign nationals to 'play by the rules or face the consequences', warning: 'If you commit a crime you will be deported from our country.'

Yet in several cases, criminals were allowed to remain in the UK despite courts acknowledging that they pose a danger to the public.

Foreign offenders who have won the right to stay in Britain include:

*: Mark Cadle from Belize, jailed for having sex with a 14-year-old girl, who judges said would have his human rights infringed if deported because his family live in Britain.

* Rohail Spall, a Pakistani businessman man jailed for attempting to spike a woman's drink so he could rape her, but allowed to stay because deporting him would breach his right to family life.

* A Pakistani man in his forties who indecently assaulted a friend's six-year-old daughter at a cinema. He was jailed for two years, but on release was allowed to remain in the UK on family grounds. He arrived in Britain as an adult but has several children who were born here.

* A Somali with convictions including manslaughter and robbery, who the court said would be 'at serious risk of persecution' if returned because he is from a minority clan.

The 50 cases, which were all rigorously opposed by the Home Office in court, include 15 criminals with convictions for violent crime, four sex offenders and 13 with drug convictions.

The total is likely to represent only the tip of the iceberg because they were all heard at the second tier of appeal, and many more criminals could have won the right to remain here at the lower level. Official figures are not available, according to the Home Office and the courts.

In most of the cases, lawyers argued that deporting the criminals would breach their right to a family life under the Human Rights Act, because they have children or other relatives in this country. In other cases, courts found that they would be in danger if deported.

The Act, which became law during Tony Blair's first term as prime minister, incorporates into domestic law a European treaty signed in 1950.

Chris Grayling, the shadow home secretary, said: 'If you come to Britain and commit a serious offence you should expect to be deported, full stop.'

The Conservatives have pledged to repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a new Bill of Rights.

Simon Reed, vice-chairman of the Police Federation, said: 'What do these individuals have to do to be deported from this country?

'Most fair-minded people will be dismayed that the tribunals make such decisions. They should consider the human rights of the general population and not of a few criminals individuals.

'The police, immigration service and the Home Office work hard to identify these people, and clearly the courts are out of step with reality. We have enough criminals of our own – we do not need additional offenders thrust upon us by the courts.'

One of the most disturbing cases uncovered by this newspaper is that of Cadle, 42, originally from Belize, who was sentenced to three years and four months' imprisonment for having sex with a 14-year-old girl. He infected her with a sexually-transmitted disease.

Cadle, who lives in Norwich and came to the UK at the age of 18, had a string of other convictions including racially-aggravated assault.

The appeal judges noted that according to lawyers for the Home Secretary, Cadle was a 'significant danger to the public' and: 'It was considered that there was a likelihood ... of the appellant reoffending in the United Kingdom were he not to be deported.'

Yet Cadle's lawyers persuaded the immigration tribunal that it would breach his human rights to split him from other family members. He has five children by five different mothers, and his mother and half-siblings live in Britain.

Spall, 42, from Pakistan, was caught dropping a sedative into a woman's drink so that he could rape her. Police found a blister pack of the drug Xanax – a weaker version of date rape drug Rohypnol – in his pocket, and hundreds more in the boot of his chauffeur-driven Mercedes.

He was sentenced to three years and six months in prison after the original two-year sentence was increased following a public outcry.

Yet in October last year Spall successfully argued that removing him would breach his right to a family life, because his wife and four children are settled in Ilford, east London.

Beris Simpson, 56, a reggae musician who arrived in Britain from Jamaica in 1982, has several convictions for violent crimes including causing grievous bodily harm, and drugs offences.

In 2004, a court ordered him to hand over £29,000 after convicting him of possession of drugs with intent to supply.

Simpson, who records under the name 'Prince Hammer' and has toured with bands including The Clash and UB40, has five children by two mothers. The court ruled that because the youngest have no links with Jamaica he should be allowed to remain in Britain.

In another case, a Congolese national, who came to Britain aged five or six, last month defeated the Home Office's attempts to deport him even though the appeal judges noted: 'The appellant was regarded as very dangerous when convicted (up to and including possible rape and murder). He remains at moderate risk of future violent offending.'

The tribunal described the 25-year-old as 'a long-time user of crack cocaine, a burglar on an industrial scale and a convicted sex offender'.

During a burglary in 2000 he discovered a young woman asleep, sexually assaulted her and beat her unconscious when she protested. He was jailed for five years.

Despite his long history of serious crimes, immigration judges concluded that the man should not be deported to the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country which they described as 'a very difficult and dangerous environment'.

In their ruling on the case, which took more than five years to resolve, the judges added: 'However unattractive his behaviour may be, the appellant is a 'home-grown' criminal who has grown up in the United Kingdom and cannot properly now be said to belong anywhere else.'

In another case, a Jamaican gangster was convicted of attempted murder after he fired a shotgun at close range at a man, blinding him in one eye. He was jailed for 12 years and recommended for deportation by the judge.

But the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) decided in February that it would breach his human rights to send him back to Jamaica on the completion of his sentence, because his life may be put at risk and he may face 'torture or inhuman or degrading treatment'. He said he feared retribution after a feud between two branches of his family led to one of his relatives being shot dead.

Several foreign nationals convicted of robbery have defeated deportation moves, including a man from the Democratic Republic of Congo who was handed a five-year jail term for what the trial judge described as a 'particularly nasty' robbery of a shopkeeper involving two accomplices, a 10-inch knife and stun guns.

The offender, who arrived in Britain in 1993 when he was aged nine or 10, escaped deportation because Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, enshrined in UK law under the Human Rights Act, requires 'respect for private and family life'.

At least two foreigners convicted of causing death by dangerous driving have successfully challenged deportation moves. One, a Turkish man who entered Britain illegally in the late 1990s with his family when he was aged 12, was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving in June 2007 and sentenced to two years and eight months in jail. At an immigration tribunal appeal in August, his lawyers persuaded judges that, under Article 8, it would be 'disproportionate' to deport him.

The issue of foreign criminals came to prominence at Westminster in 2005 when Charles Clarke was sacked as home secretary after it emerged that more than 1,000 overseas offenders had been released from prison without being considered for deportation.

Lin Homer, chief executive of the UK Border Agency, said: 'We have made it clear that we will not tolerate those that come here and break our laws, and last year we deported a record 5,400 foreign criminals.

'The UK Border Agency vigorously opposes any appeal against detention or deportation but if the courts insist a detainee should be released and cannot be removed we have to accept their judgment.'

She added: 'The system for dealing with the consideration and removal of foreign national prisoners is robust, with all foreign national prisoners considered for deportation before release.

'Over the past three years we have improved the way we work with the Prison Service to ensure that in the majority of cases we are able to remove foreign national prisoners before they complete their prison sentence, and around a quarter go before the end of their sentence.'

+++

Victim's anger at sex attacker we can't deport
By Robert Mendick
The Telegraph (U.K.), October 11, 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6292515/Victims-anger-at-sex-attacker-we-cant-deport.html

Return to Top


********
********

8.
Migrant 'clustering' can be beneficial
By Ronan McGreevy
The Irish Times, October 9, 2009
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1009/1224256256500.html

Policies that encourage the clustering of migrant communities can be beneficial to society, a new report suggests.

Making a Home in Ireland documented the experiences of Chinese, Indian, Lithuanian and Nigerian migrants in settling in parts of Dublin within the Fingal area.

The report, which was commissioned by Immigrant Council of Ireland and Focus Ireland, called for the mainstreaming of migrant integration into local and national housing policies.

Focus Ireland chief executive Joyce Loughnan said clustering of migrant communities was a 'natural occurrence' as long as the communities did not turn into ghettos.

'To avoid clusters becoming ghettos, it is vital there is investment in youth services, housing advice and information and local amenities which benefit all the community.'

The report found those who lived in local authority housing, owner-occupied housing and newly built premises to rent generally had good housing conditions

Many, though, living in privately rented accommodation reported serious problems including overcrowding, damp, insecurity of tenure and, in some cases, discrimination by landlords.

Return to Top


********
********

9.
In Paris Without Papers, And Seeking Visibility
By Scott Sayare
The New York Times, October 11, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/world/europe/11illegal.html

Paris -- The 2,000 illegal immigrants camped in this vacant warehouse are not hiding. Quite the contrary.

These West Africans, Turks, Pakistanis and Chinese have done all they can to publicize their camp, a sprawling colony of mattresses and cardboard, quilts and concrete at 14, rue Baudelique, in the 18th Arrondissement. They march every Wednesday, distributing fliers, hanging banners and hoping to rally public support as they petition the state for legal status. It is a gamble, though, a knowing admission of guilt: they are seemingly flirting with deportation.

''If it is going to come, it will come -- it is destiny,'' said Moussa Konte, 36, who arrived here from Mali nine years ago. He flashed a knowing smile. ''But I do still prefer that it doesn't.''

Known as ''sans-papiers'' -- people without papers -- their approach is bold, but by no means uncommon. Illegal workers regularly hold labor strikes here, demanding that their employers procure them residency permits. And for years, immigrants have been forcing their way into French churches, government offices and universities, refusing to leave without guarantees that they will be considered for ''regularization.''

The Rue Baudelique camp is almost unparalleled, though, in both scale and visibility. But the government has made no move to shut it.

''In practice, in France we don't do police checks in public shelters, for example, where there are lots of sans-papiers,'' said Marie Lajus, a spokeswoman for Paris's police prefecture. The same goes for camps like the one in the Rue Baudelique, she said; the police often negotiate the immigrants' departure from such a site without deportations.

Sans-papiers have long proved to be an awkward issue for the government. While many French have called for tightened restrictions on illegal immigration, which is widely viewed as a colossal drain on state services, government action against sans-papiers has historically drawn public reproach.

The French still proudly refer to their nation as the birthplace of human rights, and France remains a bastion of social activism; the country's labor unions have also taken up the sans-papiers' cause, inscribing them in France's rich tradition of workers' struggles.

''France remains a welcoming country, even if it is stiffening its immigration policies,'' said Djibril Diaby, the leader of the sans-papiers' association that organized the Paris camp. He came to France from Senegal in 1999, and received his papers in 2003. Mr. Diaby, 35, now hosts a Thursday morning radio show called ''The Voice of the Sans-papiers.''

The immigrants began arriving in the Rue Baudelique on July 17. About 1,200 came en masse from an administrative building near the Place de la Republique. A yearlong occupation there won 126 residency permits, renewable annually -- a typically modest success, organizers conceded, but a success nonetheless. Only one man was deported, and he has reportedly made his way back to Paris.

At the new camp, one or two sans-papiers receive residency permits every day, organizers said. Word of their success has spread, and immigrants have been flocking to the Rue Baudelique from across the Paris region: since mid-July, an additional 800 or so have arrived, according to organizers.

''This is the first time we've seen such a crazy number of people,'' Mr. Diaby said. Asked why the immigrants living at the camp had not been rounded up and sent away, he erupted in laughter.

''It is a bit surprising,'' he admitted. But, paradoxically, it is their very visibility that seems to protect them.

''They can do identity checks in the street, stop people in the street,'' he said, referring to the police, who routinely detain lone sans-papiers. ''Mass arrests, the French are not ready for that. French national opinion wouldn't accept it, and the government knows this.''

Government estimates have placed France's illegal immigrant population near 400,000; the country has deported over half that number in the past two decades, official statistics show. President Nicolas Sarkozy was elected in 2007 with a pledge to stiffen immigration policies; his government is aiming to expel 27,000 sans-papiers in 2009, about triple the annual average from 10 years ago.

But France remains relatively generous compared with other European nations. The country awards citizenship to about 150,000 applicants annually, which ranks it second in the European Union. In 2008, it received and granted more asylum requests than any other nation on the continent, according to government and United Nations numbers.

And the sans-papiers have had particularly strong support from France's leftist political parties and powerful labor unions, where populist ideology runs deep.

For the sans-papiers themselves, the overthrow of the bourgeoisie remains, at best, a distant concern. From Mali, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone, but also Ukraine, Kurdistan and Bolivia -- 19 nations in all, at the camp -- most of them arrived with more modest aspirations.

''I came to feed my family, and myself,'' said Nouha Marega, a bashful man who is 32. ''I came for my life.''

On July 11, 2001, Mr. Marega left Mali on a direct flight to Paris with a three-month visa and little else. He has since worked in construction, pouring concrete, and at a recycling plant, sorting plastic bottles with his long, slender fingers. Raised on glossy photos of Paris's gilded monuments and grand boulevards, Mr. Marega said he never expected to find himself living in a warehouse, out of a job -- he was fired in mid-August, he said, after asking his employer for a full-time post -- and still without papers.

Most of the sans-papiers at the Rue Baudelique camp work under the table, they said, earning six to eight euros an hour, or the equivalent of $8.80 to $11.80 (the legal minimum wage is 8.82 euros, or $13). Others work under the names of legal friends. And a majority say they pay taxes -- social security payments are automatically withheld from their paychecks, though they have no access to the corresponding benefits.

A steady stream of men, mostly Africans, mostly moving with the tired gait of the day laborer, flows in and out of 14, rue Baudelique. Despite their efforts to attract popular attention, most of the sans-papiers' energy is dedicated to the day to day. Neighbors say their presence has been little felt, but it has stirred debate.

''We can't take in all the world's misery,'' said Fabian de Villars, 54, a chain-smoking gym teacher, over a half-pint of Record at the nearby cafe Le Flash. ''In a month, there will be 300 more who show up.''

Mr. de Villars's is a common refrain here. But he added, ''Someone who comes to France to work, and then to bring his family later, that doesn't bother me.''

Such was the case for Mr. Marega, the Malian immigrant. He tells his story to family and friends, a warning to those who dream of France, as he once did, as a welcoming, easy-money paradise. But they cannot be deterred, he said.

''They think we have a beautiful life here, with everything we need. Even if we tell them they mustn't come, they don't believe us.''

Return to Top


********
********

10.
Calais migrants still in limbo
The BBC News (U.K.), October 9, 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8299092.stm

Two weeks ago, the makeshift migrant camp at Calais known as the 'jungle' was shut down by French police and 276 people were arrested. But, as Emma Jane Kirby reports, almost all have since been released and many are now living in a state of limbo.

If the authorities in Calais have been getting tougher with illegal immigrants, then so has the weather.

It has now been raining solidly for three days and the Afghan migrants are huddled under damp bridges, their clothes drenched, miserably watching the streams of water that are soaking through their blankets.

Even the sandwiches they have just been given at the soup kitchen are so sodden they fall apart as they try to bite into them.

All of these migrants are 'ex-jungle' and most were arrested there two weeks ago when it was closed.

The French government said the idea behind the camp's closure was to send a strong signal to people-traffickers that Calais was no longer the last stop over before England.

It also aimed to show the UK that Paris was making a big effort to stop the steady flow of migrants who were trying to sneak across the Channel.

So how come the migrants are back now?

'No other choice'

Ashatran was the last jungle resident I spoke to before the police came and arrested everyone.

He is also the first person I see under the bridges.

He tells me he was taken to a deportation centre in Lille, but when he showed the authorities a paper proving he was trying to claim asylum in France, he was just let go.

He stole aboard the first train to Calais.

'We have no other choice,' he says, shaking his head. 'We have no other place. So we just came back here and now we sleep under the bridges under the open sky.'

He had hoped he would be given a bed to sleep in while his application was being processed and was stunned when he was simply shown the door.

'The jungle is finished,' he says. 'They know we have nothing now... So I don't understand the meaning, I don't understand the purpose of these actions.'

Liberated into limbo

In the queue at the soup kitchen there are more baffled faces like Ashatran's.

Almost all the 276 migrants who were arrested in the jungle have been released - some because they were children; others because they were already in the process of claiming asylum; and some because judges ruled that correct procedures had not been followed and the migrants' human rights not respected.

The problem is, they have been liberated into limbo. Scattered all over France, they are now slowly regrouping in Calais.

Shaffi, who ran away from the camp before the police came, says he has no idea what the authorities want to achieve.

'The French police are very hard - they give us many problems,' he says.

'Every morning they catch us - some people they take to detention centres, some they release. I was taken to the police station this morning and now I am released.'

Voluntary returns

The simple answer to why this is happening is that the French government is keen to make conditions here as tough as possible to discourage the migrants from returning.

It is true there are fewer migrants here now than before, and it is true that there has been a marked increase in Afghan migrants looking for help to return home.

At the soup kitchen, Nazanine Nozarian, project coordinator for the International Organisation for Migration, is handing out leaflets to the migrants informing them about voluntary returns.

Many hands shoot out for the leaflets, which are written in six languages.

'By the end of the year, we expect to double the number of voluntary return applications from Calais,' she says.

'We explain that the rules have changed, especially in the UK, and that the UK is not the promised land.'

Warned to flee

Affredi is tempted to go home, even though he fears for his safety.

A former medical student from the Pakistan-Afghan border, he says his father, a local tribe leader, was killed in front of him after he refused to sign an agreement to work with the local Taliban.

Affredi also refused and was warned to flee.

'I came to Europe for protection,' he says in surprisingly fluent English. 'I came for shelter and human rights.'

He points at the filthy pile of wet blankets under the bridge.

'I didn't know it would be this... Now I cannot think. I am no longer a human being.'

He is a proud man and I can see he's trying hard not to cry in front of a woman.

'I decided to give myself up in the jungle because I thought the police would see I wasn't a criminal and that I was playing by the rules... I didn't know that it could get worse.'

He says he is now seriously considering returning home and abandoning his dream of a new life in Britain.

'It's better to die in front of my family than to die of winter under the bridges here,' he says.

Media stunt?

But there are many who still dream of that sweet new life in England and every day, a couple more migrants return to Calais in the hope of stealing across the Channel.

Philippe Blet, the Socialist deputy mayor of Calais, is frustrated. He claims clearing the jungle was nothing more than a media stunt and a farce.

'We're not solving the problem, the problem is still there,' he says. 'We're just papering over the cracks.

'We want to chase them away but they just keep coming back. It's unavoidable... It's England that has to sort out its immigration policy - not us.'

'In Calais... [the migrants] are just 40km from happiness. It's that simple.'

Return to Top


********
********

11.
Federal accord on asylum and immigration
Expatica, October 12, 2009
http://www.expatica.com/be/news/belgian-news/Federal-accord-on-asylum-and-immigration_57174.html

During the summer federal ministers reached an accord regarding the regularisation procedure for refugees and immigrants in Belgium who meet certain conditions, a critical part of the government's programme for Francophone Socialists and Christian Democrats.

On Friday, ministers of the inner cabinet agreed on a number of stipulations and restrictions on asylum and immigration, amendments sought by Flemish liberals.

The fast-track legislation to acquire Belgian nationality will be made stricter. So-called 'integration criteria' will become a requirement for the acquisition of the Belgian nationality. Knowledge of one of the official languages of Belgium is included in the criteria.

There will be stricter control of so-called 'marriages of convenience' that give one of the partners access to residential papers in Belgium.

Further, bringing family members to Belgium from abroad will also be more difficult. Anyone wanting to bring family over under family unification regulations will have to prove that he or she has a basic source of income.

Return to Top


********
********

12.
Muslims Targeted Again
By Julio Godoy
The Inter Press Service, October 12, 2009
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48811

Berlin (IPS) -- Immigrants and foreigners were again targeted through the election campaign last month by right-wing politicians looking to win votes through racist statements.

The campaign is over, but the debate on the German management of immigration goes on, fuelled by anti-Muslim remarks by Thilo Sarrazin, a director in Bundesbank (the German central bank) and former minister of finance in the Berlin city administration.

Sarrazin, a leading member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), said in an interview with the Berlin-based quarterly Lettre International Oct. 1 that the Muslim immigrant population in Berlin is only good at 'producing more headscarf wearing girls.'

He said Turks are 'conquering Germany very much as the Muslim population conquered Kosovo - through a quite high birth rate.' A large number of Turks and Arabs in Berlin, he said, 'have no productive task other than trading in vegetables and fruits.'

Most Muslim immigrants 'do not respect German authorities, and do not do anything for the education of their children.' Only those immigrants who strive for economic success should be welcome; 'the rest should go see somewhere else.'

Sarrazin apologised after his statements provoked a landslide of indignation. But his remarks have fuelled a recurrent debate on integration of immigrants.

Former president of the German parliament Rita Suessmuth urged the new government to nominate immigrants into the cabinet. 'In a democracy, it must be a matter of course that all population groups be represented in government,' Suessmuth said.

Her call was immediately supported by the Turkish Community, the umbrella organisation that represents some 2.3 million Turkish immigrants in Germany. Kenan Kolat, president of the organisation, proposed Vietnam- born Phillip Roesler as minister.

Turks are the majority among about seven million immigrants in Germany, in a population of 82 million.

'An immigrant as minister would have an enormous identification potential for other immigrants in Germany,' Kolat told IPS. 'Of course, to be immigrant is no qualification per se. But distinguished immigrants must be supported and promoted, with the prospect of occupying high-ranking government positions.'

Many social scientists and commentators agree that Sarrazin's remarks were scandalous, but admit he touched a raw nerve - the failure of society to properly deal with immigration.

Immigration to Germany started after World War II. Post-war economic growth demanded a labour force, not available at home due to the high male mortality during the conflict.

Germany at first encouraged Italian, Spanish, and Yugoslav workers to migrate over. When economic growth began in these countries, ending the flow of migration from there, German authorities invited Turkish workers for simple, low-paid tasks. Most Turkish immigrants who first came to Germany were illiterate peasants.

But foreign workers were never seen as immigrants. They were the Gastarbeiter, literally guest workers. The assumption was they would leave after reaching pension age and return to their countries of origin. For that reason, Germany failed to bring in elementary integration policies, such as German language courses.

But Turkish immigration continued after the economic boom had ended. Most Turkish immigrants today live in what social scientists consider a parallel society, and still score lowest in education and affluence.

According to the German Centre for Studies on Turkey, 30 percent of Turkish immigrants in Germany live below the poverty line.

Meinhard Miegel, former director of the Institute for Economy and Society, says 'education is the only way for immigrants to enhance their chances to become full-fledged member of German society.' Miegel urged German authorities to make education the cornerstone of a new immigration and integration policy.

One consequence of Sarrazin's remarks has been the creation of a new immigrant party. Freelance journalist Vlad Georgescu has set up the United Immigrants Party because 'immigrants have become again the target of German racist jingoism among politicians.'

Georgescu said Sarrazin should immediately be removed from office at the Bundesbank. The bank's president Axel Weber called Sarrazin's remarks 'questionable' and said they did not fit into the organisation's code of conduct.

But Sarrazin can only be fired in case of a criminal offence. A police spokesperson in Berlin said the remarks were being investigated. The SPD Berlin centre is considering expulsion of Sarrazin.

Return to Top


********
********

13.
'Russia's Obama' vies for power
Joaquim Crima, an immigrant from Guinea-Bissau, is seeking to become the first black man to win a seat on a local assembly in Russia.
By Benoit Finck
The Telegraph (U.K.), October 9, 2009
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/6282785/Russias-Obama-vies-for-power.html

The candidacy of Crima, who has been living in Russia since 1989, is so unprecedented that it led him to be dubbed 'the Russian Obama' in national media reports.

'When people started talking about Obama, I knew that I could make my dream come true,' Crima said in the closing days of his campaign to become a member of the local assembly for the Srednaya Akhtuba district.

His district, which has a population of 55,000, is a sleepy area on the banks of the Volga River in the Volgograd region of southern Russia, and seems an unlikely venue for a minor political revolution.

But Crima's candidacy has astonished observers, given that he lives in a country where non-whites are subject to suspicion and sometimes violent racist attacks.

Like any other politician, Crima does the rounds in his district, handing out leaflets to passers-by.

'Dear inhabitants of Srednaya Akhtuba district: I have understood that you are ready to support me and I am ready to work more and better for the prosperity of our region!' he writes in his literature.

'Vote for Joaquim Crima,' it says, next to a photograph of the broadly grinning candidate.

Crima was sent to the Soviet Union to study by his parents, a common move for left-leaning young Africans in the late 1980s.

He finished his studies in biology at Volgograd University in 1995, married a local woman of Armenian origin and made his living selling watermelons.

He has taken Russian citizenship and some people in the region even call him a Russian name - Vassily Ivanovich.

Crima said it was Obama's rise to become the first black president of the United States that inspired him to stand.

'I had been thinking of standing for some time, but when Obama came to power I said to myself: 'This is it, this is the moment',' he recalled.

But life in Russia has not always been easy for Crima.

'For many people I was the first black they set eyes on. They were scared of me,' he said.

'Where is your leaflet? I want to vote for you,' said a young woman as he campaigned in the local market. People want him to improve drainage in the muddy streets and give all households access to natural gas.

'There is money but it is not used correctly,' said Crima, referring to the corruption that he has pledged to fight. He has also promised to rebuild dairy farms and plots for fruit and vegetables that collapsed in the 1990s.

In the streets, many people wish him good luck in the election.

Others refuse to take his leaflet - but this appears to be a symptom of general political apathy in Russia rather than racism.

Between January and the end of September, 59 people were killed and 235 injured in racist attacks in Russia, according to the Moscow Bureau of Human Rights (MBHR), an organisation that monitors hate crimes.

The majority of racist attacks are directed against migrant workers from impoverished ex-Soviet countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus who have moved to Russia to find work and send money back home.

However, blacks have also suffered. According to the MBHR, one African was killed and 18 others injured in racist attacks in the period.

Return to Top


********
********

14.
Protesters accuse Athens police of torturing an illegal immigrant who later died
By Demetris Nellas
The Associated Press, October 11, 2009
http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/world/2009/10/11/11374086.html

Athens (AP) -- Hundreds of activists marched to a police station in Athens on Sunday to accuse officers of beating an illegal immigrant who died after being released from custody.

Muhammad Kamran Atif, a Pakistani in his 20s, was arrested Sept. 28 after attacking a Pakistani teenager with a knife, police said in a statement. Atif was released conditionally on Oct. 1 after being charged with attempted murder and was found dead on Friday by his brother Navit, police said.

However, Atif’s relatives and friends claim police hit the suspect during his arrest and tortured him with clubs and electric shocks after taking him into custody. They say he was afraid to be treated by doctors after being freed because he was an illegal immigrant.

Sunday’s protest was led by two legislators from the opposition Left Coalition and by Petros Constantinou, a peace activist and spokesman for the United Against Racism organization.

Constantinou told The Associated Press the chief of the Nikea police precinct, where Atif was held, told a delegation sent by the protesters that police had used 'necessary force' during the arrest, but denied he was mistreated in custody. An autopsy found that Atif died of pulmonary edema — or swelling of the lungs — and its cause is being investigated, police said.

Under pressure from activists and legal experts, authorities have agreed to conduct a second autopsy, Constantinou said.

But he accused police of a cover up in the case and said further protests would take place, including during the U.N.-sponsored Global Forum on Migration and Development to be held in Athens on Nov. 4-5.

Return to Top


********
********

15.
Bulgarian Migrant Workers Live in Misery in Italian Camp
Sofia News Agency, October 12, 2009
http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=108790

Bulgarian Migrant Workers Live in Misery in Italian Camp: Bulgarian Migrant Workers Live in Misery in Italian Camp
Bulgarians, who are picking tomatoes and grapes in Foggia, Italy, live in misery in a temporary camp. Photo by Adnkronos

Bulgarian citizens, including women and children, live in deplorable conditions at a tent camp in the Stornara suburb in the Italian province of Foggia.

The news was reported in an article of the Italian news agency Adnkronos, saying this is the third such camp the local police discovered in less than a month.

The 45 Bulgarians, according to the article, arrived a month ago and were accommodated in an illegal tent camp on land owned by local farmers, who use the Bulgarians as cheap migrant labor. The farmers have been long known to the local authorities for using illegal migrant workers, the author adds.

The camp is described as 27 tents, erected at the place of a former green house. The tents all have places for cooking and TV sets, but they lack toilets and drinking water.

The Bulgarians, who are picking tomatoes and grapes, live in deplorable conditions. They have dug a hole, covered with boards and sheets, to use as improvised toilet and get water from a nearby well, the article informs.

Return to Top


********
********

16.
Immigration: Tripoli Apostolic Vicar Criticises Italy and EU
ANSAMED (Italy), October 9, 2009
http://www.ansamed.info/en/top/ME13.WAM50217.html

Vatican City (ANSA) -- The Catholic Church's chief representative in Libya accused Italy and the rest of Europe on Friday of ''washing their hands'' on the plight of Africans seeking to migrate in order to find a better life. Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the ongoing African Synod of bishops, the apostolic vicar of Tripoli, Father Giovanni Martinelli, said Italy and Europe could deal with the problem of illegal migrants ''in a more civilised and Christian way'' also through offering more foreign aid to their countries of origin and support for the transit centers in Libya. ''A mass of Africans reach Libya from sub-Saharan Africa in order to cross the Mediterranean. They are willing to do anything to avoid returning to where all that awaits them is hunger and persecution,'' Father Martinelli said. ''The illegal migrants who arrive in Libya, either from the south or because they have been repelled from the European shores, are housed in transit centers where the Libyan authorities, with the help of the Church and some non-government agencies, are only able to offer them the bare minimum,'' the apostolic vicar added. ''Nevertheless, there is not enough space for all of them and thousands of people escape only to wander about Libya without documents, means of support and without hope,'' Father Martinelli said. According to the Church official, the situation is particularly difficult for women, many of whom are forced to turn to prostitution in order to survive.

Return to Top


********
********

17.
'Illegal Immigrants - An Existential Threat to Israel'
Arutz Sheva (Israel), October 12, 2009
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/172390

The Chairman of the Knesset’s Migrant Workers Committee has called for the establishment of a security fence to be built to prevent further illegal border crossings into Israel from Egypt.

Migrant Workers Committee Chairman MK Yaakov Katz (National Union) will tour along the border fence between Israel and Egypt this Thursday in order to inspect first hand the occurence of illegal entry into Israel. According to Katz, each month between six hundred and a thousand refugees illegally cross the border. 'This makes for an annual rate of nearly 12,000 refugees who illegally enter Israel and are filling the back yard of Tel Aviv,' said Katz in an interview with Arutz Sheva.

Return to Top


********
********

18.
MK Nachman Shai: Migrant workers and their children 'must be respected'
The Jerusalem Post, October 12, 2009
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1255204777127&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Children of migrant workers 'should be treated as Israelis,' Kadima MK Nachman Shai said on Monday.

Shai explained that the children and their parents should be treated with respect and 'allowed to stay in Israel.'

In a statement directed at Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Shai asked 'to ascertain that the government does not intend to deport those children of migrant workers who were born and raised in Israel.'

+++

Sa'ar: Deportation of migrant workers' children reflects badly on Israel
The Jerusalem Post, October 12, 2009
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1255204775974&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

'There is something untoward about the [deportation of migrant workers' children] that justifiably damages the way we see the State of Israel,' Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Monday.

Speaking to Israel Radio, the education minister explained that he understood the government's concerns over the growing number of migrant workers, stating that foreign and illegal labor could be socially and economically harmful to Israeli society.

However, Sa'ar emphasized that the children, most of whom had never seen their parents' home countries, were more Israeli than foreign. 'They attend our schools … they speak Hebrew, their identity is Israeli, they usually serve in the IDF,' he said.

1,200 children are listed for deportation, set to begin in November.

Sa'ar stressed that the deportation of children could also affect Israel's image, an area in which 'Israel has no shortage of problems.' He added that he did not think the upper echelons of the Israeli government shared his views on the issue.

Return to Top


********
********

19.
Indonesian navy arrests 260 Sri Lankan migrants
SIFY (India), October 12, 2009

The Indonesian navy arrested 260 migrants from Sri Lanka who were suspected of sailing in to seek asylum in Australia, officials and media reports said Monday.
. . .
http://sify.com/news/international/fullstory.php?a=jkmkEbhbhde&title=Indonesian_navy_arrests_260_Sri_Lankan_migrants

Return to Top


********
********

20.
Australia Grants Asylum to Afghans Who Survived Explosion at Sea
By Phil Mercer
The Voice Of America News, October 12, 2009
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-12-voa16.cfm

A group of Afghan asylum seekers who survived an explosion that killed five people in the Timor Sea are to be granted refugee status in Australia. The government, however, has signaled it will deport anyone convicted of causing the explosion, which investigators suspect was sabotage.

In April, a boat carrying 47 Afghan asylum seekers was rocked by an explosion that killed five men and injured almost everyone else on board.

The Australian navy, which found the vessel about 600 kilometers off Australia's northwest coast, was escorting it when the blast occurred.

Earlier this month, police said that passengers had deliberately started a fire after the boat was intercepted. Despite suspicions of sabotage, senior officers ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime.

Two Indonesian crewmen, however, have been accused of people smuggling.

Immigration officials have assessed the asylum applications of the surviving passengers and have granted them refugee status.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans says police had no objections to the men being granted permanent residency.

'It wasn't appropriate to continue to have these men in detention. There is no charge laid against any of them and there may never be so,' said Evans. 'So, and the Northern Territory Police weren't suggesting anyone was likely to be charged just that that possibility might arise if the coroner found evidence that they hadn't uncovered, so there is no impediment as far as the Northern Territory Police were concerned to these men being granted refugee status and so that has occurred.'

Refugee advocates say the men would have faced human rights abuses had they been forced to return to Afghanistan. However, if any are eventually convicted of causing the explosion Australian officials have indicated they would be deported.

Twenty of the men are being held in immigration detention in Brisbane, while the rest are incarcerated in the western Australian city of Perth. They are expected to be released later this week with residency visas and will be re-settled with help from the federal government.

Conservative politicians in Australia accuse Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of being soft on illegal immigration because he ended mandatory detention for asylum seekers who enter the country illegally. He also changed the rules so that those found to be genuine refugees could receive permanent, instead of temporary, visas.

Several people-smuggling boats have been intercepted this year in Australian waters. Authorities predict that unrest in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan will force thousands of people to seek refuge in Western countries, including Australia.

Canberra resettles about 13,000 refugees under official humanitarian programs each year.

Return to Top

********
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
-------------------------------------------

In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work on this website is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only. Ref.: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

---

 |   | Current Site Visitors ->

---