Daily news updates from CIS

October 20, 2009 -- Click here for overseas news

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[For CISNEWS subscribers --

1. ICE alternative detention program deeply flawed
2. Vitter Census bill drawing opposition
3. GOP party chairman addresses issue
4. AZ delegation silent on Sheriff Arpaio-ICE dispute
5. Indian political hopefuls tap community for fundraising
6. Mexican gov't to aid detainees caught in Arpaio sweeps
7. India likely to lobby for more H-1B visas
8. CIS poll: amnesty would encourage Mexican immigration
9. Economy, enforcement driving Jamaican exodus
10. CA city councilmember cleared of wrongdoing
11. AZ county sheriff's sweeps land 30 illegals
12. MA city mayoral candidates gloss over immigrant issues
13. Police forces nationwide examine profiling issues
14. Latino pastors throw weight behind Census participation
15. Evangelicals scramble over fallout from amnesty endorsement
16. CO activists rally for amnesty
17. CA activists oppose 287(g) program
18. FL activists rally for foreign students
19. NYC West Africans endure testy Bronx reception
20. Mexican human rights official declining asylum
21. Iraqi refugee seeks U.S. Army enlistment (story, link)
22. Feds probe IL meatpacker over imm. irregularities (link)
23. Major retailers pull controversial ‘alien’ costumes (link)
24. African immigrant crowned tribal king (link)
25. Salvadoran convicted of MD woman's immolation (link)
26. NC poultry firm protests deportation of witnesses (link)

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

-- Mark Krikorian]

1.
Flaws found in options for immigrant detention
By Susan Carroll
The Houston Chronicle, October 20, 2009
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/immigration/6675443.html

Nearly one in five suspected illegal immigrants who went through an Immigration and Customs Enforcement intensive monitoring program absconded while under supervision during the past five years, newly disclosed records show.

The records, obtained by the Houston Chronicle through a Freedom of Information Act request, raise questions about the effectiveness of ICE's alternatives-to-detention programs, which President Barack Obama's administration touted this month as a key component in the planned overhaul of the nation's immigration detention system.

Immigrants enrolled in the programs are expected to comply with a range of measures, including checking in by phone, wearing ankle monitors and obeying a curfew. The programs are designed to improve court appearance rates for non-violent offenders.

On its Web site, ICE boasts a 99 percent appearance rate in immigration court for participants in its restrictive Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP). Yet records maintained by private contractors that administer ISAP show they were 'unable to locate' 18 percent of 6,373 illegal immigrants who passed through the program between 2004 and the end of January. Five percent were re-arrested by ICE, records show.

Those who absconded were simply 'terminated' from ISAP and not included in ICE's nearly perfect court attendance rate, which includes only 'active' participants, the records show. Carl Rusnok, an ICE spokesman, confirmed ICE's methodology in calculating the appearance rates, but did not answer questions about whether ICE's data mislead the public.

Another alternatives-to-detention effort, the Enhanced Supervision Reporting program, which is in place in Houston, suffered from poor data tracking of immigrants who have absconded from the program, according to records. ICE officials say they are reviewing this program and will correct any errors.

Some critics charged that immigration officials have been 'cooking the books' to bolster support for the programs, and called for more study before ICE moves ahead with a planned nationwide expansion.

But supporters of the alternatives-to-detention programs say they are the most humane option for many immigrants facing deportation, particularly those with no criminal records and strong family ties in the U.S.

In a report issued this month, ICE officials acknowledged some problems with the programs, particularly the need to better assess illegal immigrants' flight risk and danger to the community before placing them on supervision.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and ICE chief John Morton said this month they intend to submit to Congress by mid-December an implementation plan for the expansion of the supervision programs, which have 19,000 participants.

On a typical day, about 31,075 immigrants are held at more than 300 federal, state, local and private prisons, jails and detention centers across the country and in Houston. The typical daily population of detained immigrants in Texas is 8,690.

The majority of those detainees are deemed to have 'a low propensity for violence,' according to an October report into ICE's detention and removal programs.

'There are literally tens of thousands of people who are taken into immigration custody and held in jails who pose neither a risk to the safety of the community (nor) a flight risk,' said Gregory Chen, director of legislative affairs for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.

He said the programs should be expanded, not only in the interest of 'fair and humane' immigration detention, but also because of potential cost savings.

ICE officials said the supervision programs cost about $14 per day, compared with $100 for detention.

Mark Krikorian, executive director for the Center for Immigration Studies, a research organization that supports stricter border controls, said ICE is fudging the numbers with its alternative detention program statistics. He called for a careful review of the programs and their effectiveness.

Yet while ICE has publicly touted the high court attendance rates, the contractor that administers the program, Colorado-based BI Inc., has reported to ICE that it cannot find 1,145 former participants, roughly 18 percent of those who passed through ISAP in the past five years. It its records, the company said those cases are 'of the highest concern.'

Donald Kerwin, vice president for programs at the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, said ICE's methodology for calculating appearance rates is 'misleading at best.'

Donald Kerwin, vice president for programs at the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, said ICE's methodology for calculating appearance rates is 'misleading at best.'

But, he said, that does not mean ISAP is a failure, calling it a 'foundation from which ICE can build a better program.'

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2.
ACLU, Hispanic groups decry Senate proposal to add citizenship questions to 2010 census form
By Mike Sunnucks
The Phoenix Business Journal, October 19, 2009
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/10/19/daily11.html

Hispanic groups, labor unions and liberal advocacy groups are opposing an effort to have federal census forms ask questions regarding U.S. citizenship and immigration status.

U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., is pushing an amendment to the U.S. Census Bureau’s budget requiring questions be added to census surveys asking respondents to disclose their citizenship and immigration status. His goal is to ensure illegal immigrants are not counted in the upcoming 2010 Census.

The Service Employees International Union, American Civil Liberties Union, and Hispanic groups including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund and the League of United Latin American Citizens are lobbying hard against the Vitter amendment, which is under consideration in the Senate.

Those critics argue that asking about citizenship status will decrease census participation among Hispanics (including American citizens), resulting in undercounts in Latino-heavy states such as Arizona, Texas and California.

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3.
Steele: Eat some pie, get to work
By Andy Barr
The Politico (Washington, DC), October 19, 2009
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28477.html

Asked about the GOP’s plan for immigration reform during an interview that aired Sunday on Univision, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele offered a distilled version of his party’s views.

'I can sum it up for you this way. The party as I said is always…the party of assimilation,' he told the news show 'Al Punto.'

'Something that we believe in very firmly and basically what we should be saying is that there are rules that you need to get into the country, go [through] the right door, fill out the right form, have some apple pie, hum a few bars of the Star Spangled Banner and get to work,' Steele said. 'God bless you, and I think that that begins to set us on the right road to dealing with this issue.'

Steele went on to say that he is 'sick and tired of people playing the hot politics of immigration' and urged his fellow Republicans to 'have a level head in dealing with this issue' when Congress takes up immigration reform sometime next year.

Asked why the Republican Party lost Hispanic votes to Democrats in the 2008 election, Steele said the 'Republican Party failed to engage in a creative way, or an honest way as it had done in the past with many members of the Latino community.'

'The Republican Party stands a lot closer to the hearts and souls of Hispanic families, Hispanic businesses, and the Hispanic community at large, than a lot of people want to give us credit for,' Steele argued. 'I’m hoping over the next few years as we engage in debates in the battle of big ideas, to be right at that table with my Hispanic friends and neighbors making the case for the GOP.'

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4.
Arizona representatives have little to say on Arpaio-ICE flap
By Mike Sunnucks
The Phoenix Business Journal, October 20, 2009
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/10/19/daily18.html

Most of Arizona's congressional delegation is staying out of the fight between the Obama administration and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio over the sheriff's arrests of illegal immigrants.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has amended its 287(g) deal with the Sheriff's Office to allow Arpaio and his deputies to make illegal immigration arrests only when suspects are booked into county jails on other charges.

The Republican sheriff previously used a 287(g) accord with the federal government to pick up illegal immigrants during crime sweeps. ICE changed that agreement to restrict Arpaio's use of the 287(g) authority, but the sheriff continues to conduct immigration sweeps under state laws.

U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., criticized the Obama administration for changing the agreement with the MCSO, saying the county police agency used the agreement to arrest drug traffickers and human smugglers.

'Currently, over 33 percent of inmates in Maricopa County Sheriff facilities are illegal, and more than 53 percent of violent crimes in Maricopa County are committed by illegal immigrants. The fact is, the 287(g) program works. Thousands of illegal immigrants apprehended for other crimes are being identified and deported,' Franks said in a prepared statement.

U.S. Sen. McCain, R-Ariz., has written to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano asking for more details on the reworking of the 287(g) pacts and why they were changed.

The rest of the state's Republicans -- including Jon Kyl, the second-ranking GOP senator -- have stayed out of the MCSO-ICE fight.

McCain, Kyl and U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., did not comment for this story. Both of them support some kind of legal citizenship path or amnesty for illegal immigrants.

On the other side of the aisle, U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., is no fan of the 287(g) agreement or Arpaio’s tactics -- but, like most of the state's delegation, he has not spoken out during the latest flap. The state's three other Democratic congressional members also did not comment on ICE and Arpaio.

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5.
Immigrant ‘Uncles and Aunties’ Help Indian American Candidates
By Shira Toeplitz
Roll Call (Washington, DC), October 20, 2009
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000003225899

On the last day of the third quarter, Democrat Manan Trivedi hosted a fundraiser for friends and family — his extended network of 'Uncles and Aunties' — that raised $10,000 in two hours at the Lantern Lodge, an Indian-American-owned restaurant and hotel in southeastern Pennsylvania.

As one of the higher-profile Indian-American candidates running for Congress next year, Trivedi estimates that 20 percent to 25 percent of the $127,500 he raised in the first three weeks of his campaign for Pennsylvania’s 6th District seat came from his connections to the Indian-American community. And he said he’s only begun to tap into the affluent ethnic network, which has recently become fertile fundraising ground.

Fellow physician and Indian-American candidate Ami Bera raised more than $600,000 in five months for his campaign as a Democratic hopeful in California, while Kansas state Rep. Raj Goyle, also a Democrat, raised $403,000 in the past three months for his open-seat bid. According to Bhavna Pandit, a Democratic fundraiser who specializes in the Indian-American community, the influx of Indian-American candidates this cycle is unprecedented.

'This is a deluge,' Pandit said. 'We’ve never had this many people running for office. It’s kind of insane.'

Bera, who is running in the primary for the opportunity to face Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., estimated that about 50 percent to 60 percent of his money came from Indian Americans.

'The Indian-American community has responded overwhelmingly in a way that I don’t think they’ve responded previously,' Bera said. 'Obviously, there’s a fair amount coming out of our community and also from the broader medical community, and the overlap between the two.'

The goal for politically active Indian-Americans has been to elect one of their own to Congress ever since now-Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal , a Republican, left the House in 2008.

Even with an extensive fundraising network, the three candidates have a long and challenging path to Congress.

Goyle faces an uphill battle in the race to replace Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., in a conservative Wichita-area district. And both Bera and Trivedi will need to continue fundraising at a torrid pace in order to be competitive in their Democratic primaries.

'I think this goes towards again the political growth of an emerging community,' said Raghu Devaguptapu, a Democratic consultant. 'We’ve seen the numbers rise on the state legislative level and it’s only a matter of time until they reach the Congressional level.'

In the 2008 cycle, Iraq War Veteran Ashwin Madia, a Democrat, lost a competitive open-seat race to now-Rep. Erik Paulsen , R-Minn.

Madia raised about $2.4 million for his race.

His fundraiser, Pandit, estimated that 25 percent to 30 percent of that money was from the Indian-American community.

'I think sort of emulating the Jewish community is what we’re doing right now,' Pandit said. 'We’re aspiring to get where that community is.'

Goyle’s parents immigrated from the Punjab region of India and did medical residencies in Cleveland before settling as doctors in Wichita in the mid-1970s. Like many first-wave Indian immigrants, the parents of all three of this cycle’s Indian American candidates landed highly skilled jobs in secure fields such as medicine, engineering or higher education. Their children eventually branched out to less traditional careers — such as politics.

'Over the last 10 years, Indian Americans have begun to become more politically engaged in the life of the nation now that they’ve achieved a certain degree of economic success,' said Anil Mammen, a Democrat who runs a political consulting firm, the Mammen Group.

'You wouldn’t have had political consultants in my parents’ generation,' said Mammen, a son of Indian immigrants. 'They just didn’t have that cultural connection with this country.'

At the age of 51, Maryland state House Majority Leader Kumar Barve has seen the change in the community over the course of his 20 years in office. Democrat Barve recalled that at the beginning of his career, Indian-Americans were hesitant to donate to candidates, and that they often times only did so to get a photo with a politician to hang in their homes.

'In the ’90s, it was like pulling teeth getting Indian-Americans to part with their money,' Barve said. 'They just didn’t understand the importance of having one of their own at the table.'

But he said 'something clicked' in the late 1990s that changed the community’s mindset. Nowadays, the community is a wealthy network with a sometimes unique way of delivering support for its own candidates.

'In the Indian-American community, you have to have another person ask on your behalf in order to be successful,' Barve said. 'Because Indians don’t want to give their money to anybody. We’re cheap.'

Indian-American candidates typically hit up their parents’ generation — otherwise known as the 'Uncle and Auntie' generation of well-educated and affluent immigrants — when they are on the hunt for donors.

And while most politicians dial for dollars on the phone, Indian-American candidates sometimes make their appeals at the home of an Indian-American through an intermediary trusted in the community.

Devaguptapu, a first-generation Indian-American, said his community is especially powerful for candidates because it tends to be large but close-knit. Because India is such a big and diverse country, he said it’s easier to have a larger community here in the states because immigrants tend to worry less about regionalism.

'I guess the benefit of the Indian-American community is you tend to have larger friends and family units,' Devaguptapu said. 'And that’s where all the early money comes from.'

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6.
Mexico to Aid Migrants Arrested by Controversial Arizona Sheriff
The Latin American Herald Tribune (Caracas, Venezuela), October 20, 2009
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=345841&CategoryId=14091

Mexico City -- The Mexican government is aiding 13 undocumented Mexicans nabbed by an Arizona sheriff’s department that does not have the authority to enforce immigration laws, the foreign ministry said.

The ministry noted in a statement that last week’s arrests in and around Phoenix took place after the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department lost the immigration-enforcement jurisdiction it had under a 287(g) accord with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

That accord 'empowered sheriff’s deputies to exercise functions of immigration control,' but was not in effect when the incidents occurred that led to the arrests of a Mexican minor and 12 adults, all of them undocumented.

Maricopa’s headline-chasing sheriff, Joe Arpaio, claims the 'crime suppression' operation launched last Friday did not involve racial profiling.

But the self-proclaimed 'toughest sheriff in the West' has been investigated by the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly discriminatory conduct.

The 'crime suppression' operation took place northwest of Phoenix in the town of Surprise, where personnel from the Mexican Consulate went to the immigrants’ aid, the foreign ministry said.

'All of them were interviewed to determine their emotional condition and the state of their health. At the same time, contact was made with family members to explain the legal situation of each one of the detainees,' the communique said.

It also rejected 'actions tending to categorize as criminals Mexican migrants for the mere fact of being that.'

Mexico’s foreign ministry vowed to continue offering 'consular aid and deploying all its people, legal resources and protection corresponding to the laws of that country as well as international law to defend the Mexicans’ rights.

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7.
India to ask US for more H-1B visas
The Economic Times (India), October 19, 2009
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5137427.cms

New Delhi -- India is likely to ask the United States to raise the cap on visas for skilled workers at the bilateral trade forum meeting to be held in New Delhi later this month, a government official told ET. India may also push for a special mechanism for Indian professionals travelling to the US for short-term assignments arising out of contractual obligations.

The issue of a more liberal and simple US visa regime for professionals will be high on India’s agenda at the bilateral meeting to be chaired by Indian commerce minister Anand Sharma and the US trade representative Ron Kirk, the official said.

H-1B visas, which are non-immigrant US visas for skilled professionals, given for up to six years, are highly popular with Indian IT companies such as Infosys, Wipro, TCS and Satyam, which usually corner a big chunk of such visas issued by the US. The subsidiaries of these companies in the US usually employ H-1B visa professionals to deliver services at customer’s location.

“The number of world-wide H-1B visas issued to professionals was reduced by more than half to 65,000 per year about two years back. This has affected the functioning of Indian companies in the US, especially ones in the IT sector,” the official said. He added that India was keen on taking up with the new US government the issue of a possible increase in the cap on such visas. Although, this year, the entire quota of 65,000 H-1B visas has not yet been utilised because of the on-going global economic slow down, the official pointed out that it was a temporary phase and the demand for US work visas would soar the moment the global economy began to look up.

India is also likely to discuss with the US delegation the legislation introduced by two US Senators seeking a restriction on the number of H-1B visas that can be issued to a company so as to bring about a balance between the number of foreigners and Americans employed by it.

This will again impact Indian IT companies in the US which mostly use Indian software professionals to deliver services there.

Commerce and industry minister Mr Sharma has already raised these issues with Mr Kirk in his recent visit to Washington DC. India has been raising the issue of a more liberal visa regime and a higher number of work visas also multilaterally at the World Trade Organisation.

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8.
Poll: Amnesty = more illegal immigration
By Jim Brown
One News Now, October 20, 2009
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=729432

A conservative author and commentator says a new public opinion poll of Mexican nationals is further evidence that granting amnesty to illegal aliens encourages more unlawful border crossings by 'wage thieves' who steal American jobs.

The survey by Zogby International finds that adults in Mexico think granting legal status to illegal immigrants in the United States would encourage more illegal immigration to the U.S. A clear majority of people in Mexico (56 percent) thought giving legal status to illegal aliens in the United States would make it more likely that people they know would go to the U.S. illegally.

Also, 69 percent of people in Mexico thought that the primary loyalty of Mexican-Americans should be to Mexico. Just 20 percent said it should be to the United States.

Phil Kent, national spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control, says the poll confirms that granting amnesty will only increase the country's illegal immigration problem.

Phil Kent: 'It's absolutely incredible to think that all of these Mexicans just want to come here -- but on the other hand,' he says, 'you could argue, 'Who would want to blame them?' It's the land of milk and honey....'

And the border status, he adds, does little to dissuade those who want to cross over. '...Eight years after 9/11 [we still] have weak border controls and people jumping their visas without verification,' Kent points out. 'So, it's entirely understandable that we have to continue to have more border enforcement, more border control, more workplace verification. The poll just speaks for itself -- we have got to tighten up.'

Another key finding in the Zogby poll was that 69 percent of people in Mexico felt that the Mexican government should represent the interests of Mexican-Americans in the United States.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Zogby results are available online at: http://cis.org/ZogbyPoll-EffectsOfAmnesty

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9.
More J'cans said fleeing America
Tough economy, stricter enforcement of immigration policies trigger return home
By Ingrid Brown
The Jamaican Observer, October 20, 2009
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20091019T210000-0500_162138_OBS_MORE_J_CANS_SAID_FLEEING_AMERICA_.asp

Scores of Jamaicans are believed to be among the 1.7 million illegal immigrants in the United States who have opted to return home in the last two years, rather than endure the harsh realities of a tough American economy and stricter enforcement of immigration policies.

According to the US Centre for Immigration Studies (CIS), the population of undocumented persons in the United States declined by some 14 per cent or 1.7 million people between the summer of 2007 and spring of 2009.

Analysing Census Bureau data, researchers Steven Camarota and Karen Jensenius calculate that the number of immigrants entering the USA illegally has fallen by one-third, while the number returning home has more than doubled.

'Both increased immigration enforcement and the recession seem to explain this decline,' they report.

But so far there are no clear cut figures as to how many Jamaicans are choosing this route, since persons turning up at the two international airports on the island are not required to declare what their status was in the country from which they are arriving.

However, those closely connected to the migrant communities in New York, one of the largest settlements of Jamaicans in the US, say there is an ever increasing number of our citizens who are falling into this category.

Dr Basil Wilson, dean of criminal justice at Monroe College and former provost and senior vice-president of academic affairs at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York, said navigating the US system as an illegal immigrant has become much harder, forcing many to give up their American dream.

Although certain sectors, such as restaurants and hotels, depend largely on immigrant labour, stringent measures imposed by the federal government have made it much more difficult for illegal immigrants to find employment.

Within the last two years, the US has tightened its borders and punished employers who hire undocumented persons.

'The share of the US border that has a fence has increased significantly in the last three years and the number of Border Patrol agents has more than doubled,' the CIS report notes.

Removal and deportation of unlawful aliens 'has increased dramatically', as federal agents have repeatedly raided workplaces where immigrants are employed.

But it would appear that what is driving the immigration outflow is the recession.

With legal residents competing with American citizens for the shrinking number of jobs, illegal immigrants are jostled further to the bottom of the unemployment heap.

'In many of these workplaces you have to show that you are a bonafide resident of the US before you can get a job,' Wilson explained.

Despite this, he said, the United States is a huge society and as such the estimated 12-14 million illegal persons in that country have, for sometime, been able to function underground, in some instances creating their own jobs.

But despite all of this, navigating the system is still very difficult.

'There are studies showing that more people are leaving the US than are coming and while I don't have the figures I know that a lot of Jamaicans are among them,' Wilson said.

He explained further that under recent immigration legislation there has been insistence that local law enforcement become more vigilant about illegal immigrants.

Wilson said while the New York Police Department will not randomly select persons off the street to ascertain their immigration status, persons who are arrested for even the most minor of crimes can be asked to show proof of status.

Persons, he explained, who would usually try to beat the system by having children in the US with the hope that this would automatically grant them a green card, are not able to do so after the laws were revised in 1996.

'Under this revision, these American-born children can only file for their parents when they get to age 21,' he explained.

He said there has also been a tightening up on the system for persons who marry with the intention of remaining in the US. They are actually being charged or face deportation if it is discovered that their marriages are not real.

Wilson said there is mounting pressure on President Barack Obama, particularly from the Hispanic community, for immigration reform. However, with the health reform agenda now taking priority, Wilson believes Congress will not get to the issue before next year.

When they do, Wilson said the Caribbean will be set to benefit as illegal immigrants may be required to change their status through some form of an amnesty.

Patrick Beckford, North East director for Jamaica Diaspora, admitted that Jamaican illegal residents are returning home and that this will only increase.

He said Jamaicans are becoming homeless and living in shelters, especially those who are illegal and cannot benefit from state support.

'If you go and search in a lot of shelters in New York you will find Jamaicans,' he said, adding there are people who are hungry and are joining long lines to get free food.

Additionally, with the stronger enforcement of immigration laws, Beckford explained that some persons are opting to leave before they are picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported without being given the opportunity to take their possessions with them.

'When they choose to go home at least they can take what they have with them,' Beckford said.

He added that the harsh economic climate is also causing legal immigrants to reconsider returning home, and many would have already done so were it not for the crime situation in Jamaica.

'If the crime rate was 50 per cent lower a lot of people would return home,' he told the Observer.

But not even the crime wave across the island will prevent 65-year-old George Bailey from returning home, having lived illegally in the United States for the last 18 years.

His three barrels are packed and he is now waiting to get enough money to buy a one-way ticket home.

'Me just want to come home,' he told the Observer. 'Even if me have to leave me barrel them, me just want to come home,' he insisted when his sister reminded him how much money he needs to clear the barrels from the wharf when he arrives in Jamaica.

Eighteen years ago, the prospect of joining relatives in the United States seemed the best option to acquiring a sound future. Bailey knew he would one day return to the land of his birth, but in his mind the script was different.

He would have been married to an American citizen and received a green card. By then, he had hoped to save enough from his odd jobs in restaurants to be considered among the elite 'returning residents'.

But nearly two decades later, the dream still eludes him, resulting in the hard decision of getting to spend the remainder of his days in a country where he is constantly looking over his shoulder or scrounging for food.

The choice for Bailey, therefore, is simple - return to his plot land in deep rural St Catherine, where he plans to eke out a living from farming.

'Mi nuh waan stay so till mi nuh have nuh use to miself, so mi ready fi leave because tings getting way too hard here... this wasn't what I expected,' he said.

His passport has expired, but he is hoping it will be enough to help him lay claims to the Jamaican rock when he arrives at the Norman Manley International Airport.

Security attaché at the Jamaican Embassy in Washington, Clifford Chambers, explained that persons like Bailey can return to Jamaica on an expired passport as no questions are asked if the person is leaving the US voluntarily.

For those who may have travelled to the US on fraudulent papers and have no travel documents to return home, Chambers explained that the embassy will issue an emergency travel certificate once they are able to determine that such persons are in fact Jamaicans.

'All that person needs is to buy a ticket and he can go home,' he said.

Some Jamaicans have been able to live illegally along with their children as the school system cannot deny a child the right to education. Additionally, these children can receive health care at hospital emergency rooms if they have no insurance.

But as Dr Wilson explained, these children usually cannot go beyond the high school level as they must have proper documentation in order to be accepted to universities.

'Young children are allowed to be in school whether they are illegal or not as Government finds that it is counter-productive to exclude kids from an education,' he said. As such, there are state laws that prohibit school officials from questioning the status of a child seeking admission.

However, for many of these children, this is where their education ends and the cycle continues as they too must live looking over their shoulders or opt to return home.

Lorna Fairweather, a community consultant, told the Observer that the greatest social need in the Jamaican communities is housing.

'It is hard for the documented person, but it is even harder for those who are undocumented because a lot of persons are homeless and you have to understand that if you are not sleeping in one place for more than two nights, then you are considered homeless,' she said.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The CIS backgrounder, “A Shifting Tide: Recent Trends in the Illegal Immigrant Population” is available online at: http://www.cis.org/IllegalImmigration-ShiftingTide

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10.
Redwood City council member didn't violate city by contacting police chief
By Shaun Bishop
The Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA), October 20, 2009
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13599650

Council Member Barbara Pierce did not violate Redwood City's charter when she relayed concerns to the police chief about the location of a DUI checkpoint, according to the city manager's review of the incident.

Police shut down the July 2 checkpoint after Pierce called Chief Lou Cobarruviaz to pass on concerns she heard from a leader at the Fair Oaks Community Center, which police used as a staging area for the checkpoint.

The center offers a variety of programs, including services for illegal immigrants, and one official there said the police presence could hurt its image as 'a safe place for all Redwood City residents.'

The incident has drawn criticism from some residents who say the checkpoint was canceled for politically correct reasons, and has raised questions about communication between council members and department heads. Last month, Mayor Rosanne Foust asked City Manager Peter Ingram to re-examine what happened and see whether the council should take action.

In a four-sentence e-mail released by the city Monday afternoon, Ingram told Foust he reviewed the events of July 2 to determine whether there was a violation of the city charter, part of which prohibits 'interference' between council members and department heads.

'Upon my review of the circumstances and documentation, as well as interviews with involved parties, I have found that no violation of City Charter, Section 27, 1.-D. occurred as a result of Council

Member Pierce's communications with the police chief,' Ingram wrote in the e-mail, dated Oct. 16. 'Based on my review, I have also determined that no further action or inquiry into this matter is warranted, and I have closed my review into the events that occurred on July 2, 2009.'

That charter section says council members should not 'attempt to unduly influence or intervene in the city manager's, administrative officer's, or department director's exercise of supervision or control of any subordinate employee.' A violation of the section is a misdemeanor and could result in removal from office.

Pierce, who has said she did nothing wrong in contacting the chief, could not be reached for comment by press time Monday.

Foust said Monday she is 'satisfied' with Ingram's review and does not plan to bring up the DUI checkpoint at a future council meeting.

As for the immigration issues, Foust said, 'Immigration is a federal issue and I've said that time and time again.'

Asked whether she thought the city should re-examine its policies on council member to department head communication, Foust said, 'I want to think about that one.'

Pierce called the chief on July 2 after she was contacted by Sheryl Munoz-Bergman, the director of a nonprofit group at the Fair Oaks center that provides services to immigrants, including those here illegally. Munoz-Bergman told Pierce in an e-mail that the checkpoint's location outside the center would jeopardize 'our relationship with the community' and noted the center is seen as 'a safe place for all Redwood City residents.'

Pierce then contacted the chief, who has said he did not want the operation to impact the services at the center. He told his patrol captain to either move the checkpoint or end it, and the captain shut it down.

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11.
Weekend sweep nets 66 arrests, sheriff says
By Amy B Wang
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), October 20, 2009
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/10/20/20091020sweeps1020.html

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office announced Monday that it arrested 66 suspects during its 12th crime-suppression sweep over the weekend. Thirty of those arrested were suspected of being in the country illegally.

The two-day operation took place across the northwest Valley, including a raid on a car wash in Peoria as part of an employer-sanctions investigation.

Deputies turned over 19 of the 30 suspected illegal immigrants who were not suspected of any other criminal violations to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio has been accused of racial profiling and civil-rights violations while conducting his controversial sweeps. In the past, the sheriff used a 287(g) agreement with the federal government to detain illegal immigrants. The agreement expired last week.

ICE's agreement with the Sheriff's Office allowed deputies to arrest immigration violators in the community and to screen the immigration status of people booked into the jail. The new agreement limits the sheriff's authority to the jail.

ICE officials told The Republic last week that when deputies contact ICE to turn over suspected illegal immigrants, ICE officials will evaluate each case on its merits before deciding whether to take them into custody.

A spokesman for the Sheriff's Office said they turned the suspects over to ICE without incident.

Arpaio has maintained that he can continue to arrest undocumented immigrants during such sweeps even without the special agreement with ICE.

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12.
In any language, no love lost between Quincy mayoral candidates
By Jack Encarnacao
The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA), October 20, 2009
http://www.wickedlocal.com/quincy/news/x1801873024/Koch-and-Phelan-take-questions-from-Quincy-Asian-community

Quincy, MA -- Their audience was mostly Cantonese-speaking Asian voters, but mayoral candidates Thomas Koch and William Phelan didn’t tailor their messages much.

The two rivals came at each other with much the same rhetoric as before, leaving it in the hands of patient, even-toned translators to convey their verbal jabs.

'You tried Bill Phelan for three terms,' Koch, the incumbent, said of the former mayor. 'It cost you a fortune.'

'The choice is clear,' Phelan said. 'Elect Tom Koch, and get more of the same high taxes.'

The candidates spoke before a crowd of about 100 at North Quincy High School at a bilingual candidates night. The event was run by Quincy Asian Resources and co-sponsored by The Patriot Ledger and the Episcopal Boston Chinese Ministry.

After greeting the audience in Cantonese, both candidates mostly pivoted off questions that were specific to the Asian community in order to hit their talking points.

Asked what he thinks the most pressing needs are specific to Quincy’s immigrant community, Phelan responded: 'Holding the line on taxes.'

'I’m running for mayor because I’m concerned about Mayor Koch’s mismanagement of the city,' Phelan said.

The candidates fielded four prepared questions from audience members, many of whom were elderly.

Both were asked if they would commit to establishing a Cantonese-language phone line for residents to get answers to concerns. Phelan said he will commit to it, calling it 'a wonderful idea.' Koch said the idea is 'something we can explore.'

While the candidates may not have tailored policy discussion to the Asian community, they did try to relate to them by citing elements of their records and backgrounds.

Phelan took credit for moving the city’s annual August Moon Festival, one of the biggest celebrations of Asian culture in the state, from North Quincy to 'the heart of city' in Quincy Center. He also talked about requesting foreign language Civil Service exams to bring Asians onto the police force.

'Asian businesses flourished during my term,' Phelan said. 'In the end, you and I are the same, not different. We all want a city that we can be proud of.'

Koch talked more about his background as the son of an immigrant from Germany. He also harped on his roots in North Quincy, and the growing number of Asian families that have moved onto the street where he lives, Newbury Avenue.

'We are a great city because of the great diversity we have here in Quincy,' Koch said.

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13.
In a switch, police invite scrutiny of racial profiling
By Kevin Johnson
USA Today, October 20, 2009
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-10-19-profiling_N.htm

Denver -- By the time police Sgt. Robert Motyka responds to the disturbance call at a local hospital emergency room, the man at the reception counter is clearly agitated.

His speech is unintelligible. He becomes frantic as the officer slowly approaches, urging him to calm down. In a blur of flailing arms, the man reaches for something in his back pocket.

Motyka has no time to consider the possible consequences of one of the most potentially combustible scenarios in America: a confrontation between a black man and a white officer.

When the man pulls a knife and lunges forward, Motyka drops him with four quick pops from his 9mm Beretta. But there will be no public second-guessing of the 13-year veteran's actions. No racially charged demonstrations by civil rights activists. No calls for a review of police dealings with minorities.

In this case, Motyka was reacting to a large-screen, video simulation designed to test officers' judgment when using lethal force and scrutinize their dealings with minorities. In the end, the officer acted appropriately, according to his examiners.

The live-ammunition exercise, confined to the department's shooting range, is part of a growing body of research and training in nearly a dozen law enforcement agencies across the country aimed at eliminating persistent racial profiling by police. Researchers are examining virtually all facets of police behavior, from officers' interactions with new immigrants to car stops and the use of lethal force. More unusual, criminal justice analysts say, is that police officials are inviting the increased scrutiny, representing a generational change in law enforcement in a country that is now 34% minority.

If the July White House 'beer summit' was supposed to offer a simple teaching moment after the high-profile arrest of a black Harvard scholar by a white Cambridge, Mass., officer, the research in Denver and elsewhere could provide some of the most instructive case studies on the intersection of race and law enforcement, some police analysts say.

'Law enforcement's willingness to confront issues of race represents a huge shift in modern policing,' says Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement think tank. 'I think you would be hard-pressed to find another institution in America more challenged by race than police. Coming out of the civil rights era, most departments were viewed (by minority communities) as occupying armies.'

Wexler is leading a review of the Cambridge Police Department's role in the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and convened the first meeting of a special panel there last week.

Gates' arrest on disorderly conduct charges, after a 911 caller mistakenly identified him as a possible burglar at his own home, sparked a heated national debate over racial profiling and prompted President Obama to criticize the police. Obama later apologized for saying police acted 'stupidly' and hosted Gates and the arresting officer, Sgt. James Crowley, in an effort to move the nation past a legacy of mistrust between police and minority communities.

Former federal prosecutor Paul Butler, an associate dean at George Washington University Law School, says some of the ongoing research is 'promising,' including the work in Denver. 'Police need to acknowledge there is a big problem,' says Butler, who analyzes race and the criminal justice system. 'I just don't think the police are there yet.'

The Denver Police Department has served as a research laboratory on race for about five years. Yet in the past two years, the work has intensified as hundreds of officers have volunteered for rigorous testing to identify racial and gender bias. That includes blunt questions about all officers' views on race and the simulated use-of-force scenarios.

It is overseen by an unusual partnership between a prominent academic, Phillip Goff — a social psychology professor at the University of California-Los Angeles and a former assistant to Gates — and a top local law enforcement official, Denver Deputy Police Chief Tracie Keesee, who has a doctorate in intercultural communications.

The rare collaboration, University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris says, is shattering officers' tradition of resisting outside scrutiny, especially on race and ethnic relations. 'The history of openness in American policing has not been good,' says Harris, who recently joined the research team.

Goff's and Keesee's national Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity is now working with agencies in Los Angeles, San Jose, Houston, Salt Lake City, Toronto, Virginia Beach and Portland, Ore.

Among the areas of study for the researchers:

*San Jose. Researchers are combing through two decades of arrest records to see whether police have improperly targeted Hispanics and other minorities in traffic stops and arrests for public intoxication and disorderly conduct.

Last year, a San Jose Mercury News report found San Jose had the most public intoxication arrests of any city in California and that 57% of those arrested were Hispanic. About 32% of the city's population is Hispanic, city spokesman Tom Manheim says.

San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis says the researchers' access to department data is 'unprecedented' and that 'if there is some evidence of biased policing, we want to know whether we're missing something in recruiting, hiring or training.'

* Salt Lake City. Researchers are examining the impact of controversial state legislation that allows local police to enforce federal immigration laws, including the detection of illegal immigrants. Among the department's concerns, Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank says, is that the law is fostering mistrust of police in Hispanic communities and discouraging Hispanics — legal and illegal — from reporting crimes. About 30% of the city's population is Hispanic, Burbank says.

* Houston. Researchers are studying stun-gun use after a 2008 city audit found that black suspects are disproportionately involved in stun-gun incidents. About 25% of Houston's population is black.

The audit of 1,417 stun-gun uses from 2004 to 2007 also found that white and Hispanic officers were more likely than black officers to fire their stun guns when suspects were black.

In each city, Goff says, police invited the scrutiny. 'My sense is that law enforcement is in the midst of a sea change in leadership on this issue,' he says.

Tense relations in Denver

Denver has not had the incendiary racial profiling incidents that have plagued some other cities.

It has avoided the iconic images of the 1991 Rodney King beating in Los Angeles or the national uproar after the 1999 mistaken fatal shooting in New York of black immigrant Amadou Diallo.

Yet Denver, like most other large U.S. cities, has not been immune to officers' struggles with race.

Joseph G. Sandoval, a criminal justice professor at Metropolitan State College of Denver, says the police department has labored to overcome a reputation for aggressive treatment of minorities.

One of the most controversial incidents occurred in July 2003. During a domestic disturbance call, an officer fatally shot a 15-year-old mentally disabled black child who was wielding a knife at his family's home. The officer was suspended for 'tactical and judgment errors' related to the encounter; a city review of the incident concluded he helped force the confrontation. Less than a year after the shooting, the city settled a civil lawsuit for $1.3 million filed by the boy's family.

Since 2005, activists, including Lisa Calderon, an organizer for the Denver group INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, have accused police of racial profiling in their enforcement of a citywide 'broken windows' policing strategy. The concept is that cracking down on small crimes, including vandalism and public intoxication, will reduce the likelihood of more serious crime. Calderon says the strategy has targeted minorities and has demanded that the department change its tactics.

Keesee says the unsettled relations between the minority community and police prompted the department to confront delicate issues, from gender and race to enforcement tactics, and led to the collaboration with Goff. 'You have to have these conversations,' she says.

Critics such as Calderon and Sandoval are encouraged by the research on possible bias. 'I think there is a commitment to change the culture,' says Calderon, who is working with the department to secure a $400,000 private grant to create a community 'immersion' course for new police recruits. The goal, she says, is to require recruits to spend time in the communities they will police before they start working the streets.

In one of the most elaborate research efforts, consortium investigators have tracked 200 Denver officers since 2004 to try to measure which is more effective in reducing racial or ethnic bias: experiences in the training academy, or time patrolling.

The work grew out of an earlier project involving about 124 Denver officers and a sample group of civilians. That review, published in 2007, used an interactive computer program to determine that both police and civilians displayed 'robust racial bias in response speed' in shooting scenarios involving racially mixed targets. Researchers also found that officers were less likely to shoot when they shouldn't.

'It can be a daunting proposition to start something like this,' says Joshua Correll, an experimental social psychologist at the University of Chicago, who is leading the 200-officer review. 'Historically there has not been a lot of trust between police departments and academia.'

Diallo shooting a 'turning point'

One of the most important catalysts for change among police departments, Wexler says, was the Diallo shooting in New York a decade ago.

In that case, four officers fired 41 times at Diallo, who they wrongly believed was pulling a gun. Police later determined he was reaching for his wallet.

'That was a huge turning point, showing that racial profiling does exist,' Wexler says.

It's no coincidence that on the Denver police range, the video-simulated shooting scenarios display eerie similarities to some of the nation's most tragic confrontations between police and minorities, including Diallo's.

Motyka, who has never fired on a live target in 13 years on the force, acknowledged thinking before shooting that the man in the hospital video — like Diallo — 'could have been pulling out a wallet.' But Motyka says the only factor that influenced his decision to shoot was the threat of the knife, and the man's race played no role.

That type of thinking, Denver firearms technician Robert Winckler says, is a product of the department's special training. 'The only thing that should matter is whether you have the legal right' to take the shot when the officer is threatened, he says.

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14.
Latino pastors gather to support full census count
They hope to counter a boycott call that could curtail participation.
By Teresa Watanabe
The Los Angeles Times, October 19, 2009
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-census20-2009oct20,0,6691505.story

Southern California pastors representing 1,200 Latino Protestant congregations unveiled plans Monday to marshal their collective forces to urge full participation in the 2010 census and reject calls to boycott the decennial count.

The pastors, who represent evangelical, Pentecostal and mainline Protestant churches, said they were worried that widespread media coverage of the boycott call might inhibit participation in the census, particularly by undocumented immigrants. The boycott call was launched earlier this year by a national Latino evangelical clergy group to protest the lack of progress on immigration reform.

But the pastors said at a Los Angeles news conference Monday that they would urge participation with a new campaign driven by the motto 'We all count in God's eyes: Make yourself count!'

Their group, the Network of Latino Pastors in Southern California, was formed in 2006 to press for immigration reform. The campaign represents the first time most of the pastors have ever taken political action; many say it illustrates the awakening power of the Latino evangelical movement.

The census outreach campaign, funded by a $50,000 grant from the California Community Foundation, will organize 200 key Latino Protestant churches to develop census materials, train pastors how to promote participation in the count, help congregants fill out the forms and arrange interview opportunities for faith leaders with media.

'We feel God calls us to participate as fully as possible in society,' said the Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, director of the Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice of California, a grass-roots alliance of faith leaders that acquired the grant.

Bishop Jose Garcia of the Church of God of Prophecy in Walnut said his denomination supports the census as a way to quantify the growing Latino population and help bring the community more resources and political influence. The census is used to apportion seats in state Legislatures and the U.S. House of Representatives and to allocate more than $300 billion in federal funds.

But Los Angeles Latino activist Nativo Lopez said a boycott threat represents powerful political leverage on the Obama administration and the Democratic-controlled Congress to pass an immigration reform bill offering illegal immigrants a path to legalization.

'God bless this network; we respect them,' Lopez said of the pastors' evangelical group. 'But we absolutely will promote the boycott until we have immigration reform.'

Regardless of the boycott, Latino pastors acknowledged that broad efforts are needed to persuade immigrants to participate in the census. Some immigrants, accustomed to corrupt governments in their native countries, fear the information will be shared with immigration authorities or used to deny their children medical help and schooling, according to the Rev. Martin Garcia, former director of Vision L.A., an evangelical organization.

Census officials say all information is strictly confidential. In a recent visit to Los Angeles, Census Director Robert Groves said those pledges are so airtight that census officials in the past even rejected requests by the Secret Service to share information to find a safe neighborhood for then-President Truman's temporary residence.

To assure the wary, Salvatierra said faith leaders will act as buffers between immigrants and census officials as needed by using their churches as census stations and accepting completed forms at Sunday services.

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15.
NAE Deals with Criticism After Immigration Statement
By Michelle A. Vu
The Christian Post, October 18, 2009
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20091018/nae-deals-with-criticism-after-immigration-statement/index.html

Leaders of the National Association of Evangelicals have issued several clarifications on the group’s stance on immigration reform in the days since it released its resolution on the issue.

Over the past week, various groups – Christians as well as secular – have criticized the NAE’s decision to take a strong stance in favor of undocumented immigrants already in the country. Among the criticisms are that the evangelical body is supporting amnesty for those that break the law and that the group is becoming more liberal.

'NAE is adopting the sad trajectory of the National Council of Churches, speaking to detailed political issues beyond its traditional moral purview and the consensus of its constituency,' decried Mark Tooley, president of the conservative Institute on Religion and Democracy.

Tooley further said that while the NAE acknowledges that the Bible does not offer specific guidelines for modern legislation on immigration, the group has done so.

'So who is speaking here, if not the Bible?' he challenged the NAE.

On Oct. 8, members of the NAE Board of Directors had held a press conference on Capitol Hill to release its new resolution on immigration. The resolution called for more humane treatment of undocumented immigrants in the United States and the creation of a pathway for them to obtain legal status or citizenship.

NAE leaders argued that their policy stance is based on the belief that everyone, regardless of their residency status, is made in the image of God and thus deserved to be treated with respect. They also contend that the current immigration system is fueling an underground industry for false documentation and human smuggling.

'Our current immigration system is broken,' said NAE president Leith Anderson, who leads the network of tens of millions of believers.

'Those who want to play by the rules – both employers and employees – often have no realistic options,' he said.

But NumbersUSA, a public policy group that favors reducing the United States’ annual immigration levels, has denounced the NAE’s resolution as lobbying for amnesty and increasing foreign labor importation when American citizens are struggling to find jobs.

Based on its interview with Major George Hood, the Salvation Army’s national community relations secretary, NumbersUSA emphasized that not all members of the NAE have endorsed the immigration resolution.

Hood told NumbersUSA that the Salvation Army, one of the largest denominations in the NAE, did not endorse the resolution because it wanted to remain neutral on the immigration issue in terms of U.S. policy. Whether illegal immigrants should be given a pathway to become U.S. citizens is not the kind of political issue the Salvation Army is involved with, Hood said.

However, when it comes to helping people, the charity provides services regardless of someone’s legal status, Hood added.

In response to the criticisms on the resolution, several NAE leaders have issued statements and video messages to clarify the group’s position.

Roy Taylor, chairman of the NAE Board of Director, wrote an article in 'byFaith,' the Web magazine of the Presbyterian Church in America, in which he addresses false assertions about the immigration resolution.

At the onset of the article, Taylor noted that the resolution was the result of 18 months of study and discussion by evangelical leaders. He then went on to say that claims that the NAE advocates open borders, blanket amnesty, and that every denomination that is a member of the NAE endorses open borders and blanket amnesty are all false.

The resolution calls for humane and efficient enforcement of the border, Taylor said. It also calls for earned citizenship or legal status instead of blanket amnesty. And lastly, the NAE resolutions are non-binding documents that its members can choose to officially adopt or ignore, stated the chairman of the NAE Board.

Similarly, George O. Wood, the general superintendent of the Assemblies of God, released a video message on AGTV in an effort to 'ease misunderstanding' that resulted from inaccurate e-mails that circulated. Wood is a member of the NAE executive committee.

In the video, Wood cited the Bible’s teaching on how to treat immigrants and stated that the NAE is not calling for amnesty for illegal aliens, but for the government to create humane ways to address the issue.

Prior to this year’s resolution on immigration, the NAE had released two other policy declarations on immigrants – one in 1995 and the other in 2006. But the 1995 and 2006 resolutions were much briefer and far less controversial than the one released this year as they did not go into policy suggestions.

After the release of the latest resolution, the NAE has been more active on the issue of immigration. NAE president Leith Anderson last week appeared before a Senate subcommittee to testify in favor of immigration reform and the organization hosted a track on the biblical response to the immigration debate during its biennial Evangelical Leaders Forum last weekend.

The NAE says it represents 30 million evangelical Christians in the United States.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Recent CIS analysis of immigration and theology can be found online at: http://cis.org/Announcements/ReligousPerspectivesOnImmigration

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16.
Group to rally for immigration reform today
The Greeley Tribune (CO), October 20, 2009
http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20091020/NEWS/910209972/1002/NONE&parentprofile=1001

A group called Reforming Immigration Policies will hold a rally at 4 p.m. today at Lincoln Park in downtown Greeley.

The group is taking a stand against what it calls injustice in the treatment of illegal immigrants in the United States. RIP is made up of University of Northern Colorado students, Greeley residents and immigration reformists. The group's goal is to make a stand against current immigration policies — specifically those preventing non-citizens from obtaining citizenship in a timely and just manner.

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17.
Immigrant advocates demand update on jail accord
The Associated Press, October 20, 2009
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_13601265

Los Angeles (AP) -- Immigrant advocates are seeking information on negotiations between Los Angeles County and federal officials on a partnership that lets sheriff's personnel screen inmates' immigration status.

A group of Southern California immigrant rights groups Tuesday asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release information on the ongoing negotiations to revise the program that was implemented in 2005.

The advocates oppose the program, which the federal government announced plans to revise in July.

Last week, ICE said 55 law enforcement agencies across the country had signed up to participate in the revised program.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is still negotiating with ICE. A report to the board of supervisors this month claimed the new agreement would heap more work on the department.

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18.
Dozens turn out to support student immigrants
By Rafael A. Olmeda
The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), October 20, 2009
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/pompano-beach/sfl-immigration-demo-bn101909,0,2492803.story

Pompano Beach, FL -- A Miami-Dade College student stood outside the Broward Transitional Center on North Powerline Road Monday afternoon. He has no desire to see the inside of the building. It's a detention center. They put people there until their immigration status is determined, or until they're deported.

The student, Nahuel, entered the United States legally as a child, but his visa expired in 2002, and his family, he said, has waged a long and unsuccessful battle against the immigration bureaucracy to legalize their status. The rest of his family has been deported to Argentina. Nahuel, 19, who declined to give his last name, is the last one here, and that may end after his next hearing.

Dozens of demonstrators organized by the Florida Immigrant Coalition protested Monday on behalf of students like Nahuel, who face deportation despite efforts to obtain college degrees and their professed desire to become U.S. citizens.

'This place was set up for people who have committed no crime,' said Maria Rodriguez, the coalition's executive director. 'Do we want our tax dollars spent on housing and detaining people who have committed no crime?'

Nahuel said he's trying to work within the law to correct his status. As the crowd around him chanted 'Education, not deportation,' Nahuel said he wanted to finish his education and take the oath of citizenship. 'I want to make a living and contribute to society,' he said.

Nahuel's hearing is scheduled for Thursday in Miami.

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19.
For African Immigrants, Bronx Culture Clash Turns Violent
By Sam Dolnick
The New York Times, October 20, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/nyregion/20africans.html?hp

The storefronts on a stretch of Webster Avenue in the South Bronx tell the story of local shifts as well as any census: a Senegalese-run 99-cent store, an African video store, an African-run fast-food spot, a mosque, several African restaurants.

The owner of Café de C.E.D.E.A.O., named for the coalition of West African nations, envisioned it as a community hub in the Bronx neighborhood of Claremont, where Americans would try his wife’s cassava soup and realize it’s not so foreign after all. But a year in, the owner, Mohammed M. Barrie, said he could count the number of American patrons on one hand.

Meanwhile, he and his customers have been taunted, he said, and his restaurant’s window urinated on. Someone tried to break into a diner’s car. Then there is the bullet hole in the front window, a mark from a gunshot through the window late one night last summer.

'Those people, they don’t respect African people,' said Mr. Barrie, a Sierra Leone native who settled in the United States in 1998. 'I pay my bills, I pay my taxes, they still ...' He trailed off.

Down the block, Muhammed Sillah sat in front of the tiny Al Tawba mosque, eyeing the jungle gym across the street and remembering when he used to let his children play outside.

'Spanish kids, American kids — but no African kids,' said Mr. Sillah, a Gambian mechanic raising five children in Claremont. 'We’re scared.'

Their fear and frustration are shared by many local West African immigrants, whose fast-growing presence in the neighborhood — and in the city over all — has been accompanied by increasing tensions with the local black American residents.

'They think they’re better than black people,' James Carroll, a retired Army specialist standing in front of a busy convenience store, said of the West African immigrants. 'We’re supposed to be one community — we’re supposed to be able to get along — but they don’t give it a chance.'

Some of the tension can be attributed to cultural differences that all immigrants face, though the West Africans in Claremont, as conservative Muslims, have the added challenge of adjusting to a post-9/11 New York. But resentment and mistrust has escalated to actual violence, and, they say, left them feeling under siege.

After reports of nearly two dozen attacks on West African immigrants in the last two years, community leaders reached out to the police, who interviewed 17 Africans in the neighborhood and filed 11 criminal complaints. Two of those were deemed hate crimes, including an attack in June that left a Gambian immigrant hospitalized for eight days. They have made no arrest in either bias case, but a police mobile truck with a video camera now stands outside the mosque.

Claremont straddles the 44th and 42nd Precincts, two of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. This year, there have been 319 robberies in the 44th Precinct and 237 assaults in the 42nd. At the Butler Houses, part of a complex of housing projects that loom over the neighborhood, police sirens provide a background soundtrack, and residents of all colors and nationalities caution against walking around at night.

But the West Africans say the attacks on them are calculated. 'It’s prejudice,' said Dembo Fofana, who said a beating in June by 10 to 15 men left him with broken ribs and internal bleeding. 'It’s because we’re African, and we’re Muslim.'

Mr. Fofana, who came to this country 21 years ago, has not returned to his job at a bakery since the assault. He stays home, recovering, receiving disability checks and caring for his five children.

'There’s a lot of tension,' he said. 'Just yesterday, someone said, ‘What would you think if I came to Africa and tried to take your property?’ I told him, ‘Brother, I’m not taking anything from you. I’m just trying to live my life.’ '

The African population in the Bronx has grown considerably in recent years: the census reported 12,063 sub-Saharan Africans in 1990, while the most recent census estimate was 61,487.

In the community district that includes Claremont, black Americans made up 44 percent of the population, according to 2000 census figures, with 52.9 percent of the area Hispanic. African immigrants were nearly 10 percent of the population, a number likely to be much higher in the 2010 census.

The Africans in Claremont hail mainly from poor, French-speaking countries: Guinea, Mali, Senegal. Like immigrants across New York, many are here illegally, working long hours for little pay. Many work as taxi drivers, convenience-store clerks, fast-food cashiers — jobs that keep them on the street late at night.

But some say the Muslims deliberately hold themselves apart. A 37-year-old American man who gave his name as Dre pointed to the pavement in front of the mosque where the African men, easily identifiable in their beards and skullcaps, gather each afternoon. 'If you don’t give praise to Allah, don’t go there,' he said. 'It’s just like Afghanistan.'

Kantara Baragi, the imam of the Al Tawba mosque, acknowledges that insularity is part of the problem. 'We don’t hang around,' said Mr. Baragi, whose delicate frame nearly disappears inside his long, flowing robes. 'We just go to work. We don’t have a relationship with people here. They don’t know us.'

So community leaders organized two meetings this summer with police officials, politicians, community board members and housing association leaders. The goal, Mr. Baragi said, was 'to let them know us so they don’t look at us like strangers.'

Zain Abdullah, an assistant professor of religion, race and ethnicity at Temple University in Philadelphia, says it is common for African immigrants to suffer harassment when they settle in traditionally black neighborhoods in big cities, like Detroit, New York and Philadelphia.

'Many African-Americans feel that the influx of Africans coming in represents a kind of invasion,' he said. 'Culturally, African-Americans have always imagined themselves as Africans, or at least of African descent, but they might have never encountered Africans from the continent. The actual encounter is shocking.'

Mr. Baragi, the imam, says he tries to accommodate his neighbors. His mosque, which blends in with the other storefronts, does not sound the call to prayer through speakers because 'we don’t need to force everyone to hear what we’re doing.'

Instead, five times a day, from the sidewalk or, when it is cold, from behind the front door, a man from Al Tawba sings the call in a voice drowned out by the rumbling traffic.

Down the block at Café de C.E.D.E.A.O., a young man walked in last week wearing a Yankees hat tilted askew, an oversize military-style jacket and baggy pants. He looked like any member of the crowd hanging out in front of the Butler Houses, but Fofana Alhusane’s outfit was calculated, a camouflage to hide his Gambian roots.

'African clothes are dangerous,' he said. 'I used to wear them, but I saw a few people get beat up, so now I wear New York clothes.'

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20.
Mexican official in US custody doesn't want asylum
By Alicia A. Caldwell
The Associated Press, October 19, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g6S5edKvvoAXFLGLPtcSqsxccMJwD9BED8IG1

El Paso, TX (AP) -- A Mexican human rights official who has publicly said he feared for his life has been detained by U.S. immigration authorities as an asylum-seeker — even though he doesn't want American protection, his lawyer said.

Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson is being held indefinitely at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement jail in El Paso while the U.S. decides whether to grant him asylum.

De la Rosa, who travels frequently to the U.S. on a tourist visa, was detained Thursday when he tried to cross the border from Ciudad Juarez, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, said de la Rosa's El Paso lawyer, Carlos Spector.

A border agent asked him about previous comments that he feared he might be killed after claiming he had evidence of at least 170 cases of Mexican army human rights violations, Spector said. De la Rosa confirmed the media reports and reiterated his fears but never asked for asylum in the U.S., the lawyer said.

Roger Maier, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection whose agents interview people trying to enter the U.S. and refer asylum seekers to immigration officials, said if during an interview at the border someone expresses fear of being returned to their home country, officers are required to turn their case over to an asylum officer.

'The applicant does not have to specifically request asylum, they simply must express fear of being returned to their country,' Maier said.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa said Monday she could not comment on the specifics of de la Rosa's case. But in a statement issued last week, she said de la Rosa was jailed because of 'mandatory detention provisions and will be afforded all rights and procedures allowed under our laws.'

De la Rosa is a government human rights official in Mexico's Chihuahua state, which includes Ciudad Juarez, where more than 3,000 people have been killed in the ongoing drug cartel war over the last two years. De la Rosa has said soldiers assigned to patrol the nearly lawless city have been committing human rights violations and other crimes.

He told reporters in El Paso recently that all his claims of human rights violations have been forwarded to Mexican military authorities in Mazatlan. But, he said, a judge there has not acted on a single case, including allegations that one soldier shot a man while others held the man's wife and child.

Last month, he said a man dressed in civilian clothes pointed a gun at him in traffic and threatened to kill him if he didn't stop his investigations.

'I'm afraid that my family is afraid. My family is scared,' de la Rosa told reporters in El Paso, but added he would not seek asylum in the U.S.

Spector said the situation is a legal 'nightmare,' with de la Rosa stuck in jail while the asylum case he didn't want is reviewed. Such cases often take months, and the U.S. rarely grants asylum to citizens of ally countries.

'This is a very unusual way of forcing him to seek asylum so they can jail him and deny it,' Spector said Saturday.

In the last few years countless Mexican nationals, including police officials, journalists and a prosecutor, have sought asylum in the U.S.

Asylum cases hinge on proving that a person is being persecuted because of his race, religion, political view, nationality or membership in a particular social group. The applicant also has to prove that his government is either part of the persecution or unable or unwilling to protect him, a difficult task when the asylum seeker is part of the government.

Spector said de la Rosa just wants to go back to work investigating human rights violations in Chihuahua state.

'He wants to remain living and working in Mexico,' Spector said.

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21.
Serving America is ‘in my blood'
Refugee translator’s dream of enlisting in U.S. Army withers in a bureaucratic limbo that has him depressed and uncertain
By Lindsay Wise
The Houston Chronicle, October 18, 2009
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6672824.html

Iraqi refugee Farman Yousif carries a brown folder stuffed with relics of the life he fled three years ago.

There's a compact disc of photos and videos that show him with his arms slung around the shoulders of men in desert fatigues, recommendation letters on U.S. Army letterhead, and shoulder patches from the 101st Airborne and 10th Mountain Division — mementos from grateful American soldiers, who nicknamed him 'Mike.'

'Mike distinguished himself as both an excellent interpreter and as a patriot of the new Iraq,' reads one letter signed by a captain from F Company, 51st Infantry. 'His mastery of four languages (Arabic, English, Turkish and Turkoman) made him an invaluable asset to our organization. Mike was crucial to F Co efforts to stem the flow of foreign fighters crossing the border from Syria into Iraq.'

From April 2003 to March 2006, Yousif says, he worked for American forces in Iraq, first as a security manager, then as a translator. After insurgents killed two of his uncles, Yousif realized he had to leave his native country to save the lives of his parents and eight siblings. 'I know everyone is going to get killed because of me,' he said. 'Enough is enough.'

Yousif is one of more than 34,500 Iraqi refugees who have resettled in the U.S. since 2006, including about 800 in the Houston area. The transition hasn't been easy for the refugees, many of whom have struggled to find work and rebuild their lives in the midst of the nation's worst recession in decades. A few decide to return to the Middle East. Others adjust their expectations and endure life in crime-ridden apartment complexes and menial jobs in the hope that the situation eventually will improve — if not for them, then for their children.

Yousif, 29, feels the only way forward is to return to his past, to the only place he fits in: He wants to enlist in the U.S. Army as a linguist.

'I feel like it's in my blood, the time I spent with them,' he said. 'I worked with them to help my country and build freedom and a new government. I feel in love with them in some way, and I always want to be with them.'

A staff sergeant at an Army recruiting station near where Yousif lives on Hillcroft told him he'd have to get his green card first.

He applied for permanent residency in January, a process that resettlement agencies say typically takes two or three months for Iraqi refugees. Ten months later, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has yet to make a decision on his application, and Yousif finds himself in limbo, depressed and unable to move on with his life. Every few months, Yousif boards a bus or a plane and travels to Fort Polk in Louisiana or Fort Stewart in Georgia, where he works as a cultural adviser and 'role player' at mock villages so that U.S. troops can practice interacting with Iraqis before deploying overseas.

Between three-week rotations at the forts, Yousif has a lot of time on his hands. He spends most of it in the drab one-bedroom apartment he shares with another Iraqi, studying for the standardized aptitude test he'll have to pass to enlist in the Army.

He watches Arab music videos on YouTube, scrawls fragments of song lyrics on scraps of paper, brews endless cups of strong Iraqi tea, and checks the status of his case on the USCIS Web site, over and over again.

Months ago, he wrote his application number on the tablecloth under his laptop, so he'd be able to punch the digits into the computer more quickly. Now he's got them memorized.

The Web site always tells him the same thing: His application is stalled at 'Initial Review,' the step at which USCIS initiates a background check and identifies issues that require further questions or documentation.

'I thought I'd come to this country and it's going to be perfect for me, and I thought I'd get respect here because of the sacrifices I made,' Yousif said. 'People who came with me the same time got (permanent residency status) and people who came six months after me got it. I feel like it's an insult, what they're doing with me. It's not right.'

'Poor guy,' said Yousif's roommate, Fawzi Al-Rashidi, a 74-year-old naturalized citizen from Baghdad. 'He's got better records than most people. It's very strange.'

‘We ask their patience'

USCIS spokeswoman Chris Rhatigan said privacy rules prevent her from commenting on a specific case, but in general, the agency does not approve any application until the completion of all necessary security checks.

'We're committed to doing this as expeditiously as possible,' Rhatigan said. 'Nobody wants a hasty decision if that decision is going to be a wrong one. If the application's taking a little longer than usual, we ask their patience and understanding.'

Lately, Yousif has had trouble sleeping. He wakes shaking from nightmares, his head throbbing. The dreams focus on his immigration troubles, not the violence he left behind in Iraq.

Cheated death

Even when insurgents published his name and picture on posters in his hometown, condemning him as a traitor, Yousif — the Shiite son of a Kurdish father and Turkoman mother — refused to quit. 'I believed it was right,' he said.

Yousif said he escaped three attempts on his life. Once a sniper's bullet missed his head by inches. Another time he outran four armed men, losing them in the narrow alleyways of his neighborhood. Later, riding with U.S. troops, he witnessed explosions and gunbattles that left his Army buddies injured or dead.

Worst of all, Yousif blames himself for the deaths of his uncles. One was kidnapped and shot. The other died in a bombing. Yousif sends most of the money he makes to their families in Iraq.

'After they were killed, I'd get crazy sometimes,' he said. 'I would go outside, screaming: ‘I wish they had caught me, not them.''

No longer Iraqi and not yet American, Yousif is beginning to wonder if he'll ever belong anywhere, if a new life is even possible.

'All this time, I thought I was a person without a heart because of the things I saw,' he said. 'I held body parts in my hand, so much blood. I'm not human anymore.'

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Shock and awe in America
By Sharon Cohen and Lisa Orkin
The New Zealand Herald, October 17, 2009
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10603648

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22.
FBI raid at meat processor believed tied to immigration irregularities
Search at Grundy County plant called part of ongoing probe
The Chicago Tribune, October 20, 2009

Federal agents investigating possible Immigration irregularities conducted raids at a Grundy County meatpacking business and several Chicago locations over the weekend, sources familiar with the probe said Monday.

The FBI's Chicago office confirmed agents took part in the execution of a search warrant Sunday at a First World Management Services plant in Kinsman, northwest of Dwight. FBI spokesman Ross Rice said no arrests were made there.
. . .
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-fbi-raid-20-oct20,0,7712364.story

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23.
Target, Walgreens pull 'illegal alien' costume after complaints
Makes 'mockery' of immigrants, March 10th Committee activist says
By Leticia Espinosa
The Chicago Tribune, October 20, 2009

Some stores have stopped selling an 'illegal alien' Halloween costume after complaints from immigrant-rights activists. The costume includes an orange jumpsuit similar to prison garb, with 'ILLEGAL ALIEN' stamped across the chest, a 'green card' and a space alien mask.
. . .
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-illegal-alien-costumesoct20,0,508626.story

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24.
Former nurse's aide in US becomes Ugandan king
The Associated, October 19, 2009

Kasese, Uganda (AP) -- For years, Charles Wesley Mumbere worked as a nurse's aide in Maryland and Pennsylvania, caring for the elderly and sick. No one there suspected that he had inherited a royal title in his African homeland when he was just 13.

On Monday, after years of political upheaval and financial struggle, Mumbere, 56, was finally crowned king of his people to the sound of drumbeats and thousands of cheering supporters wearing cloth printed with his portraits.
. . .
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113939398

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25.
Silver Spring man convicted of murder in brutal slaying
By Dan Morse
The Washington Post, October 20, 2009

A 33-year-old Silver Spring man was convicted of murder Tuesday for forcing his way into an 83-year-old woman's home in Wheaton, slamming her head into furniture, dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire.

The victim, Lila Meizell, breathed smoke into her lungs before she died, evidence she was burned while still alive, according to trial testimony. Her killing was part of a conspiracy Ramon Alvarado had hatched with his cousin to avoid detection of a check-altering scheme, officials said.

Alavarado also was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and arson. He has been held in the county jail since he was arrested in November. The Salvadoran immigrant also is wanted by federal immigration officials.
. . .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/20/AR2009102001475.html

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26.
Poultry firm: Deportations hurt defense
Columbia Farms wants charges in immigration case dropped, saying key witnesses are gone.
By Ames Alexander
The Charlotte Observer (NC), October 20, 2009

Columbia Farms, set to face trial soon on charges that it knowingly employed illegal immigrants, is taking an unusual legal approach: It's arguing the charges should be dismissed because the government deported workers who might have helped the defense.
. . .
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/topstories/story/1009918.html

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Overseas News

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. Canada: European Union threatens retaliation over Czech visa policy
2. Canada: Sri Lankan illegals allegedly paid smugglers $45,000 per head (story, 2 links)
3. Bahamas: Imm. Dept. investigating allegations of abuse, neglect
4. U.K.: Home Office lost track of 40,000 rejected asylum cases
5. U.K.: Watchdog group says more training needed for Welsh teachers
6. France: Joint op. with U.K. to repatriate Afghan illegals
7. Finland: Study finds immigrant youth share locals' aspirations
8. Israel: Labor bloc calls for leniency towards foreign minors
9. Saudi Arabia: More Filipino expats seek emissary’s assistance
10. India: Gov't to expedite review of visa programs
11. India: Malaysian officials warn against job scams
12. Hong Kong: Police nab illegals, calls made for tighter laws
13. Malaysia: Gov't to consider Aussie request for crackdown
14. Malaysia: Gov't operation registers foreign residents, illegals
15. Philippines: Labor Min. extols virtues of overseas Filipino workers
16. Australia: Gov't to form new partnership with Indonesia (story, 2 links)
17. Australia: Opposition ramps up criticism of policies (story, link)
18. Australia: Gov't debuts new citizenship examination (story, link)
19. Australia: Industrial leader calls for toned-down debate

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

-- Mark Krikorian]


1.
EC hints at backlash if Canada does not lift visas for Czechs
By Clive Leviev-Sawyer
The Sofia Echo, October 20, 2009
http://www.sofiaecho.com/2009/10/20/802240_ec-hints-at-backlash-if-canada-does-not-lift-visas-for-czechs

Irked by Canada’s decision to re-impose visa requirements for Czech nationals, the European Commission has given Canada until the end of 2009 to reverse the decision, or the commission will recommend that Ottawa’s diplomats and service passport holders will have to apply for visas to enter the EU.

Canada requires visa applications from only three EU states – Bulgaria, Romania and since July 14 2009, the Czech Republic.

This was the first time that a non-EU state re-imposed a visa requirement for citizens of an EU member state.

'This highly regrettable situation should be brought to an end as soon as possible,' the EC said in a report on October 20 2009.

The EC said that it 'welcomes the willingness of all sides to engage in a dialogue' and encouraged Canada and the Czech Republic to continue their consultations in the framework of a Canada-Czech Republic Experts Working Group to address all issues in relation to the re-imposition of the visa requirement.

The Commission acknowledged that Canada provides several visa process facilitations to Czech citizens in the Czech Republic, but urged Canada to return to the previous situation regarding issuing visas for Czech citizens by reinstating visa issuing facilities in the Czech Republic.

'The Commission calls upon Canada to set out clearly a path of measures it intends to take to lift the visa requirement for Czech citizens in the near future.'

The EC said that unless these measures were established 'in a satisfactory manner' by the end of 2009, the commission would recommend imposing or re-imposing a visa requirement for 'certain categories of Canadian citizens; e.g. holders of diplomatic and service passports'.

When it announced the visa decision in July, Citizenship and Immigration Canada said that since the visa requirement was lifted on the Czech Republic in October 2007, nearly 3000 refugee claims had been filed by Czech nationals, compared with less than five in 2006.

'The Czech Republic is now the second top source country for refugee claims,' the statement said.

'The relatively higher acceptance rate of refugee claims originating in the Czech Republic masks the troubling fact that more than half of the claims are abandoned or withdrawn before a final decision is made by the Immigration and Refugee Board, indicating that many claimants may not be genuine refugees,' according to the statement.

The statement quoted Canada’s citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism minister Jason Kenney as saying that 'in addition to creating significant delays and spiralling new costs in our refugee program, the sheer volume of these claims is undermining our ability to help people fleeing real persecution.

'All too often, people who really need Canada’s protection find themselves in a long line, waiting for months and sometimes years to have their claims heard. This is unacceptable.

'The visa requirement I am announcing will give us a greater ability to manage the flow of people into Canada and verify bona fides. By taking this important step towards reducing the burden on our refugee system, we will be better equipped to process genuine refugee claims faster.'

'The visa process will allow us to assess who is coming to Canada as a legitimate visitor and who might be trying to use the refugee system to jump the immigration queue,' Kenney said.

'It is not fair for those who have been waiting patiently to come to Canada, sometimes for years, when others succeed in bypassing our immigration system.'

Canada regularly reviews its visa policies toward other countries, the statement said.

'Countries are aware that if they do not satisfy the conditions of a visa-exemption, a visa may be imposed.'

The change means that nationals from the Czech Republic who want to travel to Canada first need to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa and meet the requirements to receive one.

It is up to the applicant to satisfy the visa officer their visit to Canada is temporary, they will not overstay their approved time in Canada, they have enough money to cover their stay in Canada, they are in good health, they do not have a criminal record, and are not a security risk to Canadians.

'These requirements are the same for anyone who wants to visit Canada,' the statement said.

Applicants from the Czech Republic now have to submit their applications to the Canadian visa office in Vienna, Austria which serves nationals from several other European countries.

'Canada has strong ties with the Czech Republic,' Kenney said. 'We continue to welcome all genuine travellers to Canada from this country.'

Earlier in 2009, Canada stirred controversy when it gave refugee status to a South African who alleged that he was the target of racial discrimination in post-apartheid South Africa. The case is being reviewed.

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2.
Migrants paid $45,000 each
76 men, believed Tamils, likely to seek refugee status
By Kent Spencer
The Province (Canada), October 20, 2009
http://www.theprovince.com/Migrants+paid+each/2122418/story.html

Seventy-six men aboard the rusting freighter Ocean Lady, believed to be Tamils from Sri Lanka, reportedly paid $45,000 US apiece to come to Canada in a cramped cargo hold.

Australian authorities say the men, who are awaiting a detention hearing in Vancouver, are linked to a human-smuggling operation run by Abraham Lauhenapessy, known as Captain Bram, whose specialty is smuggling Tamils.

The illegal migrants told ABC National Radio in Australia that the price for a trip on the Ocean Lady, which has been impounded by authorities in Victoria, was $45,000 US.

The migrant men being held in Vancouver are awaiting a decision from Canada on whether they will be classified as refugees and qualify for protection under Canadian law, or be deported as illegal immigrants.

Their plight has been taken up by the Toronto-based Canadian Tamil Congress, which has lawyers and Tamil translators standing by to assist in Vancouver.

Congress vice-president Roy Ratnavel of Vancouver said $45,000 US is a fortune in a country where the average wage is $1,200 a year.

'This tells you that suffering continues in Sri Lanka from the decades-old brutal civil war. An ocean voyage is a one-way trip. You never know when you'll hit land,' Ratnavel said.

'Several hundred thousand Tamils are being held in concentration-style camps in Sri Lanka. It's been condemned by the United Nations.' Vancouver immigration lawyer Zool Suleman said migrants are charged 'very high amounts to come to Canada.' 'The price is very hard to pay off for a worker in Sri Lanka,' he said.

A man aboard one of the boats linked to Bram, which is being held in Indonesia, told Australian media he knew of the journey to Canada on board the Ocean Lady.

Alex, a made-up name because he fears for his family's safety in Sri Lanka, was offered a place on the Ocean Lady, but chose an Australian destination because it was much cheaper at $15,000 US.

Tamil Congress members 'hope to see the men are given due process,' said Ratnavel.

'If they are true refugees, they should be given status to stay here. If they are sent back, Canada would have blood on its hands.' Suleman said those claiming refugee status could be released while their cases are being processed.

'They could apply for work,' he said.

+++

Notorious people-smuggler may be tied to B.C.-bound migrant ship
By Kelly Sinoski
The Vancouver Sun (Canada), October 20, 2009
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Notorious+people+smuggler+tied+bound+migrant+ship/2121487/story.html

Men aboard migrant ship may get hearing today
The CTV News (Canada), October 20, 2009
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091020/immigrants_091020/20091020?hub=Canada

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3.
Immigration chief denies withholding information on the Detention Centre
By Paul G Turnquest
The Tribune (Bahamas), October 20, 2009
http://www.tribune242.com/news/10202009_Branville_news_pg3

Minister of State for Immigration Branville McCartney yesterday denied the allegation that he is personally withholding information from the press regarding conditions at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

Noting that the ministry has conducted a number of visits to the facility and has even commissioned a committee to investigate the numerous reports of abuse and unsanitary conditions, Mr McCartney said the media will be given the department's final report as soon as it is completed and presented to Cabinet.

'The committee's terms of reference were to investigate and determine the validity of these accusations. The committee members include, Dr David Allen, Father James Palacious, Jack Thompson, representatives from the Department of Social Services and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

'The first tour was conducted March 3, 2009. Following the second tour on April 7, 2009, committee members expressed how pleased they were during their initial visit with the improvements made to the facility. Shortly after, I would have spoken to the improvements made during my budget debate in June.

'A third and final visit is planned at the end of this month before a final report is submitted to Cabinet for review,' Mr McCartney said.

The minister added that although he is not at liberty to disclose any particulars about the unfinished report, he has had an opportunity to review the document and is satisfied that the Detention Centre is a picture of 'extremely humane' conditions that will 'satisfy the highest of standards'.

'These conditions resulted from allegations that I had heard prior to this government's election, conditions that were indeed alarming. When reports of those conditions resurfaced, we wasted no time in investigating, making certain improvements where warranted and in commissioning an independent study as aforementioned.

'Today's Detention Centre is not yesterday's Detention Centre. Today's Detention Centre is a holding facility where international persons without status, who have entered the country illegally, benefit from excellent meals, cable TV, plenty of recreation, hot water, clean beds, laundry facilities, access to medical treatment on site and available telephones,' he said.

Mr McCartney said he anticipates that the report could be released before the end of the year after being presented to Cabinet; noting that it will show the Bahamas has accepted its 'overwhelming immigration burden' and is treating these persons with as much grace, 'diplomacy, and humanity' as anywhere else in the world.

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4.
Home Office has lost track of 40,000 rejected migrants
Richard Ford, Home Correspondent
The Times (London), October 20, 2009
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6882682.ece

The Home Office has lost track of tens of thousands of migrants who were refused extensions to their visas more than six years ago, it emerged today.

Officials have no idea whether the immigrants left the country as required or are still in Britain as illegal migrants.

Lin Homer, chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, disclosed the latest backlog of immigration cases in a letter to the Commons Home Affairs select committee.

The revelation comes three years after John Reid, then Home Secretary, described the Home Office’s immigration department as 'not fit for purpose'. His made his attack over the failure to deport foreign national prisoners after they had served a jail sentence and the backlog of failed ayslum cases.

The Agency is currently working its way through a backlog of between 400,000 - 450,000 old asylum cases and is now preparing to start work on the 40,000 backlog of old immigration cases.

'We are also increasingly giving attentions to our older, archived, non asylum cases, where we have dealt with the application, but we have not formal record that the individual has left the country', Ms Homer said in the letter.

Officials in the Agency have started to look through the 40,000 case files to see if the immigrants are still in the country and can be removed.

Ms Homer said most of the files related to cases dating back before 2003 and were immigrants who have been refused an extension to their visa allowing them to remain in the UK.

In the letter to Keith Vaz, chairman of the Home Affairs select committee, Ms Homer said that the names are to be checked against police records and the anti-terror watchlist to see if any individual is 'harmful' to the public.

Critics of the Home Office said the figures disclosed the 'utter chaos' in the immigration system.

Ms Homer said in her letter that in some of the old immigration cases further action against the individuals might be possible.

'In the last few months we have begun the process of reviewing these files to consider if any further action is necessary or possible. Where further action is required it will be taken and any cases which may be considered as harmful to the public will be prioritised.'

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of Migrationwatch UK said: 'Yet another skeleton in the Home Office cupboard.

'Tens of thousands of case files lying around and the true situation covered up for years on end. This is symptomatic of the utter chaos in the asylum and immigration system during the past ten years.

'Nobody in the private sector would get away with such a performance.'

A Home Office spokesman said the department believed many of the individuals had returned home, been removed or had been allowed to stay in Britain after applying through in another category.

The spokesman added: 'We expect those that are here illegally to return home. Where they refuse to do so, we will seek to enforce their return.'

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5.
Training need for migrant pupils
By Colette Hume
The BBC News (U.K.), October 20, 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8315512.stm

A teaching union has called for more support to educate a record number of children of migrant workers in Wales.

Education watchdog Estyn said while many schools are coping well, some have faced difficulties and more training was needed.

An estimated 2,000 children of migrant workers are taught in Welsh schools.

But NAHT Cymru said head teachers 'strongly believe' this is a low estimate and this in turn makes it hard to provide enough support services.

As well as Polish migrants, many others come from countries including Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia as well as China, India and the Philippines.

Dr Bill Maxwell, chief inspector for education and training in Wales said: 'Nearly all the schools that we sampled have good arrangements in place to provide learning experiences that meet the needs and interests of these children.

'Although in general there is not enough good quality specialist training available for mainstream teachers, support assistants and school co-ordinators responsible for teaching English as an additional language.'

But the head teachers' union, NAHT Cymru, said it cast doubt on the figure of 2,000 migrant worker children.

Anna Brychan, director, said: ''There is a strong feeling amongst our members that these figures underestimate the real population and that this in turn makes it difficult to provide sufficient support services.'

She said there needed to be more training for teachers, more bilingual support staff and more language specialists in particular.

'Our members know that these children can and do make a significantly positive contribution to Welsh life culturally and, in the future, economically,' said Ms Brychan.

'We need more support to make sure that we can help them reach their potential.'

The Estyn report said schools face a number of challenges in educating these children, including teaching them how to communicate.

It also found that some 14, 15 and 16-year-olds often found it hard to complete homework because they had part-time jobs or were looking after younger brothers and sisters.

Although their attendance levels and punctuality rates were good, the report found that a substantial number of students were being taken on extended holidays to their home country.

It also found that younger children did not go to school every day and it is thought this could be because early years education might not be on offer in the parents' home country.

The research was taken from school inspection reports compiled between 2007 and 2008.

The report said the children who were sampled generally made good progress and achieved well, especially in maths.

But it also said that in some cases the sheer numbers that arrived at the school gates meant 'that schools and support services have experienced considerable difficulties and, occasionally, find it difficult to cope.'

It said this is particularly true in Roman Catholic schools favoured by many migrant families because of their religious beliefs.

Support staff crucial

City local authorities are best at providing the kind of help schools need, according to the report.

At St David's RC Primary School in West Cross in Swansea, head teacher Colin Greenwood said having good support staff is crucial to helping the newcomers fit in.

'We have great support from our local authority who give us additional help - it adds up to about half a teacher. That support really makes a big difference,' said Mr Greenwood.

Pupils at his school come from countries including the Philippines, China and India with many of their parents working at the city's hospitals.

The school also has a buddy system where children are paired with pupils who can speak their home language. It's another way of helping the new arrivals fit in.

The report makes 12 separate recommendations for the Welsh Assembly Government, local education authorities (LEAs) and schools.

The assembly government should share the good practice evident in city authorities with all LEAs across Wales, says Estyn.

It should also gather and share information on when and where migrant families are settling and local authorities should report on how the growing numbers of migrant children are impacting on the life of schools.

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6.
France, UK to fly Afghan migrants to Kabul
Reuters, October 20, 2009
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43304720091020

Paris (Reuters) -- France and Britain plan to deport 16 illegal Afghan migrants in a joint flight late on Tuesday, a police source said, part of a crackdown that has met with an outcry from human rights groups.

French opposition Socialists also attacked the move, saying it was a violation of human rights to send the migrants back to Afghanistan given the security situation there.

Immigration Minister Eric Besson declined to comment, though he confirmed that France was in principle ready to deport migrants whose asylum claims had been rejected.

'At the same time, we said that there could be no return unless a certain number of conditions were met -- security at the destination, the possibility of reintegration,' he told reporters on the sidelines of a UMP party conference.

A spokesman for Britain's Home Office (interior ministry) said it was their policy not to confirm or deny such flights until after the plane had landed.

The policed flight will start in London and stop at Paris's Roissy airport before continuing to Kabul, the police source said. France and Britain agreed on such flights in July.

France is one of the main contributors of troops in Afghanistan after the United States, Britain and Germany, with a roughly 3,000-strong contingent.

'It's absolutely staggering that the country of human rights, the host country, sends men and women who flee those we are fighting back into the lion's jaws,' said Martine Aubry, leader of the opposition Socialist party, after a meeting with Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

Last month, French police cleared an improvised camp dubbed 'the jungle' near the port of Calais where illegal migrants gathered before trying to cross to Britain.

More than 10,000 people including Bertrand Delanoe, the socialist mayor of Paris, signed a petition by France Terre d'Asile against forced deportations to Afghanistan.

'The security situation in that country has markedly worsened in recent years,' the petition reads. 'Nothing can ensure people's safety, not even the international coalition in Afghanistan.'

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7.
Immigrant youths’ hopes and dreams are similar to those of native-born Finns
Many are prepared to leave Finland
By Pauliina Grönholm, Teppo Moisio, and Katriina Pajari
The Helsingin Sanomat (Finland), October 20, 2009
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Immigrant+youths%E2%80%99+hopes+and+dreams+are+similar+to+those+of+native-born+Finns/1135250165608

A young lady of Somali origin, Fardowsa Mustafa Muhamed, was asked what she would like to become in the future.

'I will be a director in my own firm. Now I am studying at a commercial college. After graduating I intend to study economics and business administration at a university of applied sciences', the 18-year-old student says.

Muhamed moved to Finland at the age of two and a half. She plans to stay in the country - unless there is a chance to move to Miami.

'In Florida, there are palm trees, sunshine, and handsome men. Whether to move back to Somalia? Not until I am retired, if ever', she laughs.

Before retirement, director Muhamed will hopefully have a family. A husband and maybe some children.

'But not until ten years from now. One has to enjoy life before one gets wrinkles', she adds.

All this sounds like the normal dreams of young women, does it not?

A survey published on October 13th indicated that immigrant youths’ dreams do not differ much from those of native-born Finns.

The survey carried out by the Finnish research company 15/30 Research interviewed youths with Russian, Estonian, or Somali backgrounds.

Those interviewed were dreaming of education, a nice job, safety, and equality.

'Many Finns think that when we receive 100,000 immigrants, 50,000 of them become bus drivers, and the other half will become nurses', claims researcher Markus Keränen.

'But when you ask them, they want to do something altogether different', Keränen says.

Mazlum Elek, aged 17, was born in Finland but considers himself a Kurd.

The young man is studying at a commercial college, while he is also working at the family’s pizzeria.

He is good at customer service, which is why he has planned to make a career in business.

'The likes of us normally make pizzas. But it is not what I wish to do', Elek points out.

Another Kurd, Halo Ali, the same age as Elek, has lived in Finland for almost 10 years. He would like to study to become a motorcycle mechanic.

'That would give me a chance to combine my work and hobby. In addition, I like to do things with my own hands', Ali noted.

According to the survey, the young interviewees would be willing to leave Finland if they cannot achieve their goals regarding work and life in the country.

Somali youths in particular would leave Finland more willingly than those young immigrants who have come from countries in the immediate Finnish neighbourhood.

Racism and prejudices perceived by Somali youths are bound to lower the threshold of leaving.

The researcher says that immigrant youths also frequently have better preparedness to leave than young adults in the mainstream population.

'Immigrants already have an international social network. They also regard themselves as cosmopolitans rather than Finns', Keränen reports.

It is also important what their families think about these questions.

Keränen believes that for example a desire to return to their country of origin, nurtured by the Somali community, is one of the factors contributing to the young Somalis’ dream of going home.

The interviewed Somalis were afraid that they could be labelled as welfare bums who are just sponging off social benefits.

They did not believe that they could get employment in Finland as easily as native-born Finns can. Estonian and Russian youths were more optimistic.

However, Somalia-born Fahmo Aadan is not in the depths of despair. In ten years she has made her dreams come true.

'I was 14 years old when I came to Finland from Somalia, dreaming of having an opportunity to study. Now I am a practical nurse with a permanent job', Aadan says.

Aadan points out that it is of importance that an immigrant has a good mother. A mother who urges a youth to study and work.

'Rules and discipline are helpful in life', Aadan believes.

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8.
Barak: We are obligated to keep migrant workers' children in Israel
The Jerusalem Post, October 19, 2009
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1255694847483&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The Labor Faction on Monday added its voice to the public outcry against the proposed deportation of 1,200 children of migrant workers, calling for the government to grant the children's parents Israeli citizenship.

'It is our Jewish, national, moral and human obligation to keep the children in Israel,' said Defense Minister Ehud Barak during Monday's faction meeting.

Human rights organizations in Israel congratulated their new supporters, expressing hope that Labor ministers and MKs would actively oppose the proposed deportation bill, set to be discussed in a government session on November 1.

Later on Monday, dozens gathered in Tel Aviv's Hatikva neighborhood to protest the living conditions induced by the abundance of migrant workers in the southern part of the city. The residents complained that a Jewish atmosphere was absent from foreign-populated areas and that it was sometimes unsafe to walk around at night.

Others retaliated that the dangers in south Tel Aviv had more to do with its drug and prostitution industry than with its migrant population.

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9.
More stranded Filipinos seek help in Jeddah, KSA
By Ronaldo Concha and Kimerly Jane T. Tan
The GMA News (Philippines), October 16, 2009
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/174802/more-stranded-filipinos-seek-help-in-jeddah-ksa

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia -- Just a few days after 91 stranded Filipinos were repatriated from Saudi Arabia, almost 150 more workers have sought assistance from the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah to be sent home.

According to Consul Leo Tito Ausan, the 'distressed' Filipinos came to the consulate on October 4. He said the number was in addition to the 30 who came in earlier.

Just like the 91 who were repatriated on Oct. 4, the workers - overstayers and runaways - stayed at the consulate compound for a night and were transferred to the Haj seaport terminal the next day.

Many of the workers are among the hundreds of overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who have escaped from their employers due to undesirable working conditions like the non-payment of salary, lack of basic provisions, and physical abuse and even sexual abuse.

Rodolfo Campo, one of those who sought help at the consulate, said he ran away from his employer three years ago because of the delayed payment of his salary. The 60-year-old OFW has worked as a painter and decorator in 24 different companies.

'Our salaries were always delayed by three months. They would pay us only when we complain our to the (Philippine) embassy that’s the only time they pay us. They will give us one month salary then after that they forget us again so I escaped and worked for another company so I can support my family,' he said.

Just like the previous batches that were repatriated with the help of the consulate general, most of those who belong to the latest batch came from Riyadh and the eastern region of the kingdom.

Due to the absence of a repatriation mechanism for a big number of overstayers or runaway workers in Riyadh, where embassies are located, the 'distressed' workers flock to Jeddah, which has a more lenient policy on overstayers.

To attract the attention of immigration officials in Jeddah, the runaway workers usually camp out under the Khandara overpass together with other nationals such as Indians, Pakistanis, and Bangladeshis.

Jeddah officials, however, have of late been ignoring the Khandara dwellers in an attempt to discourage the practice. In their desperation, the stranded OFWs then move to the Philippine Consulate General, which in turn run to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs for help.

The Saudi government repatriate the stranded workers in the end, but immigration officials try to prolong the process and many of the overstayers or runaways have to suffer overcrowding in the deportation area.

'I’m tired and I want to go home, please help us,' said Campo, who added that he would have wanted a splendid final exit from Saudi Arabia.

Seventy-one-year-old Eduardo Dasalla, a barber who started working in Riyadh since 1987, echoed this sentiment. 'I (celebrated) my 71st birthday here in the safe house. But I (hoped) to celebrate it in the Philippines with my family I’m old and really wanted to go home,' he said.

Dasalla said he ran away in 2002 because he was threatened by his employer that he will be thrown to jail for stealing. But instead of going home, he just transferred to another company in order to support his family. He hasn’t returned home in 17 years.

'I do not know why they are accusing me of something I did not do and for that reason I don’t have any choice but to escape' he said.

Thankful

Nonetheless, Dasalla said he was grateful to the consulate for providing them with 'comfortable' shelter and food. Community organizations also continue to help provide food and amenities to the stranded workers.

'This is what we need to stop our distressed OFWs from converging under the bridge in Khandara. Continuous assistance by our government like what they did now will boost the morale of our fellow OFWs,' said Jauhari Usman, president of the group Ating Gabay OFW.

Filipino community leader Atoy Esguerra likewise welcomed the actions done by the consulate, calling them 'very timely.'

Consulate officials promised to continue to exert the same effort that they accorded to those previously repatriated. 'For as long as they keep coming we shall be here to help them,' said Ausan.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque has also said that the Philippine government might continue the procedure of providing shelter to stranded Filipinos waiting for deportation. 'If that would lessen the burden of our distressed workers, then we might continue with the procedure,' he said.

’Before running away…’

But Ausan advised OFWs not to run away immediately if they are having problems with their employers, saying that escape is not the solution. Instead, he said they should file a case before the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in the consulate in Jeddah or at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh or its extension in Alkhobar.

Saudi Arabia remains the biggest destination of Filipino overseas workers and also has the biggest number of OFWs running away from their employers

The number of stranded workers who have been repatriated is in addition to those mostly abused or exploited domestic helpers who are sent home after seeking shelter at the Philippine posts.

Last September when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was in Saudi Arabia on the invitation of King Abdullah, she came back to the Philippines brought home with 120 stranded Filipino workers.

The biggest single repatriation was in mid-2007 when the Saudi government shouldered the one-way Jeddah-Manila plane tickets of 925 OFWs and their dependents upon the representation of the consulate general.

KSA’s ‘backdoor exit’

Jeddah has a systematic deportation system to deal with the perennial problem of overstaying foreigners who go on pilgrimage to the nearby Muslim holy cities of Makkah (Mecca) and Madinah (Medina).

To encourage overstayers to leave, the Immigration and Passport Department accepts those who wish to be deported by waiving required travel documents and accrued fines and providing plane tickets.

Jeddah officials, however, often extend the favor to runaway workers if they are in groups. To take advantage of this exit option, runaways and other overstayers of different nationalities — notably Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Filipinos — camp under the Khandara Overpass in central Jeddah to make themselves conspicuous. When their numbers swell, immigration police begin to round them up and deport them to their respective countries.

This system has often resulted in workers who have committed crimes to escape, although Saudi authorities often catch those who try to flee the kingdom using this escape route.

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10.
Visa issue hits Russians too
The Times of India, October 20, 2009
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Visa-issue-hits-Russians-too/articleshow/5139615.cms

New Delhi -- A fallout of the misuse of business visas by Chinese workers may affect some defence and nuclear projects by Russian companies in India, prompting the government to expedite the process of a visa regime review. The Russian government, suddenly hit by the prospective exodus of its people from India has held a couple of meetings with the foreign ministry to sort out the imminent mess.

The matter will now be raised by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov when he meets foreign minister SM Krishna in Moscow later this week.

By October 31, the Indian government has given marching orders to those who are employed here on business visas. This will affect some 25,000 Chinese workers, and some 700-1,000 Russians, Americans, Germans, British, all of whom are working in India by circumventing India's lazy visa systems.

The Chinese government was alerted in March to the fact that most of their workers were the semi-skilled variety who should never have come on business visas. Most countries, being well aware of India's all-bark-no-bite regime, did little. The problem was then seen to be much bigger. And now the government has finally struck.

The home and foreign ministries are now working overtime to find a solution before crucial projects in India's infrastructure, defence and nuclear sectors grind to a standstill. The laws will not be changed, but officials indicated that a mix of efficiency and smart issuances might tide over the problem for the time being. Basically, it means highly skilled workers will get quicker employment visas while semi-skilled workers may no longer be allowed in.

Of course, none of this would have come to light if a group of Chinese workers did not get into a fight with Indian locals in Jharkhand. That prompted a Parliament question and a search that opened a can of worms.

At the heart of the problem is the fact that issuing norms for an Indian employment visa were drafted in the days when India had virtually no contact with the world. These visas took almost a year in coming, which was ok then, because few people wanted to come her to work.

But in the 21st century, an Indian work visa took exactly the same time, though India's economy had undergone a massive transformation. But India remained unfriendly to foreign skilled workers which India needs, desperately.

Moreover, as an immigration official explained, a work visa has a limit of six months and requires constant monitoring by the employer. 'Business visas are easier to get and can be issued for up to one year and can be extended by another six months,' said the official. This meant projects that had to be executed quickly saw officials -- even on the Indian side -- circumventing the rules to issue business visas instead of work visas.

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11.
Malaysian consulate warns against job scams
By Daniel P George
The Times of India, October 20, 2009
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Malaysian-consulate-warns-against-job-scams/articleshow/5140113.cms

Chennai -- Malaysian consulates in India have cautioned the public to be wary of lucrative job offers' being made by unscrupulous syndicates that have been utilising names of reputed Malaysian companies to cheat people.

Diplomatic sources here said that there have been more than 350 cases of employment-related scams, with international syndicates placing advertisements online and offering jobs in Malaysia with handsome salaries. In some cases, people had remitted between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh through banks or online, but the offers turned out to be fake.

The Malaysian consulate in Chennai issues more than 350 visas -- employment as well as tourist -- a day. The consulate has urged people to double-check with the embassy in New Delhi or itself regarding all such job offers. The consulate has made it clear that ministries and agencies under the government of Malaysia never seeks payment online from applicants. The consulate has also cautioned people about prize-redemption schemes, lucky draws or contests offered by Malaysian companies on the Internet.

According to the Malaysian consulate here, the fraudulent syndicates provide letters or certificates purportedly issued by the Malaysian government to facilitate visa clearance. Applicants are asked to make payments electronically for further assistance in the employment process.

Malaysian companies that have been chosen by the syndicates to attract applicants include: Petronas National Berhad, Caltex Oil Company, Alado Oil and Field Solution, Sarawak Boustead Petroleum, ?BHP Petroleum Company, Van Doren Oil Company, Amax Oil and Gas Company, Proton Edar Sdn Bhd, Billa Vista Hotel, ?Harbour View Hotel, Sarawak and many others.

The consulate-general of Malaysia in Chennai has said that it will pass on any information it receives to the Malaysian royal police and the immigration department for immediate action.

Dr Bernard D' Sami, coordinator, Arunodhaya-Migrant Initiatives, a city-based organisation working amongst migrant labourers, said: 'The ancestors of Malaysian Indians went to that country several generations ago from southern India. The Indians toil for a pittance in Malaysia's rubber plantations, just as their ancestors did.'' Today, Malaysia's 1.8 million Indian population represents almost 8% of the country's total 22-million population. Nearly 90% of Malaysian Indians are of south Indian origin, made up of Tamilians, Malayalis and Telugus.

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12.
HK arrests asylum seekers
Agence France Presse, October 19, 2009
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_444006.html

Hong Kong (AFP) -- Hong Kong marine police seized two boatloads of illegal migrants as authorities called for changes to a law that has led to a recent influx of asylum seekers, police said on Monday.

In one of two interceptions, 10 South Asian men and a mainland Chinese pilot were arrested early on Sunday morning in an eight-metre (27-foot) wooden boat off the coast of the southern Chinese city, the police said in a statement.

The vessel's lights had been turned off and there were no life jackets or other safety equipment on board, police said.

The 10 men had each paid about HK$5,700 (S$1,023) for a seat on the boat, which was designed for only four passengers, according to one media report.

Hong Kong's police said they had arrested another boatload of eight Pakistani illegal migrants on Saturday.

The number of illegal migrants entering Hong Kong has been rising since a court ruling in March allowed asylum seekers to work in the city while awaiting a decision on their immigration status. Legislators are trying to pass a law that will end this concession.

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13.
Malaysia Mulls Australia's Request On Boat People
By Mohd Nasir Yusoff
Bernama (Malaysian News Service), October 20, 2009
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=448354

Jakarta (Bernama) -- Malaysia will study the request made by the Australian government to tighten immigration controls and issuance of visas to prevent human trafficking and the problem of boat people, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

He said the request was conveyed by his Australian counterpart, Kevin Rudd, during their bilateral meeting after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono here.

'The meeting was convened upon Rudd's request. He also expressed his satisfaction with the good bilateral ties between our two countries,' Najib said at a press conference with the Malaysian media.

Specifically, Najib said, Rudd had raised several issues including Australia's concern about the problem of boat people, who were making Malaysia their transit point before making their way illegally into Australia.

A recent example, he said was concerning a group of Sri Lankan boat people who entered Malaysia on their way to Australia, but ended detained by the Indonesian authorities.

He said among the preventive measures that could be considered by Malaysia were by increasing the number of immigration officers at certain countries, who would scrutinise the visa applications to Malaysia, so that tourism and human trafficking activities could be clearly ascertained.

The Prime Minister said it was learnt that the human trafficking activities had become rampant because of the handsome profit, as the traffickers would charge between US$15,000 and US$20,000 for each Sri Lankan who wanted to enter Australia.

'This is also linked to Sri Lanka's internal stability. If the Sri Lankan government can assure that the Tamils there can integrate in the country's development, the possibility of them becoming boat people will be reduced,' he said.

Najib said they also discussed about Australia's offer to help Malaysia in enhancing vocational education for school leavers.

'Prime Minister Rudd will send his officials to Kuala Lumpur to discuss further about the offer soon,' he said, adding that they had also deliberated on relevant issues for the East Asia Summit and Copenhagen's climate change conference.

Najib, accompanied by his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, will return to Kuala Lumpur later Tuesday.

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14.
Op finds over 600,000 foreigners in Sabah
The New Straits Times (Malaysia), October 18, 2009
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20091018193734/Article/index_html

Kota Kinabalu -- A total of 610,614 foreigners have been detected so far in operations in the west coast and east coast of Sabah, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said.

He said the number consisted of 5,643 illegal immigrants identified under the first phase of Operasi Bersepadu, 4,425 illegal immigrants identified under the second phase of the same operations, 312,837 under the registration of undocumented workers and their dependents, 57,197 refugees and 230,000 foreign workers with valid permits.

He said that the most significant success of the Operasi Bersepadu was the registration of 312,837 undocumented immigrant workers and their dependents.

'Through the programme, employers were told to obtain proper documentations for their workers,' he said after visiting the marine police station here today.

He said that the approach was taken to protect the interest of sectors in Sabah, especially the plantation sector.

'If we take a drastic action and deport them, the sectors concerned will immediately be affected. At the same time, the registration would also allow the authorities to collect data to facilitate monitoring from time to time,' he said.

Hishammuddin said the ministry had given employers a second chance to register their workers.

'The registration period was to expire on May 31 this year but has been extended to Oct 31 this year.

'At the same time, between July 1 this year and Oct 31 this year, the Home Ministry is giving a discount of 50 per cent in the levy for each of the foreign worker,' he said.

He added that so far, of the 317,837 undocumented immigrant workers and their dependents, only 192,723 of them had been registered legally as workers.

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15.
Good traits make Pinoys preferred abroad
By Joseph Holandes Ubalde
The GMA News (Philippines), October 20, 2009
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/175138/dole-good-traits-make-pinoys-preferred-abroad

Foreign employers hire Filipino workers not because they would take on any job for a cheap pay, but because of their unrivaled skills and good characteristics, Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said Tuesday.

In a statement, he said overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have a number of traits that give them the edge over other nationalities.

Roque disputed a report which said that foreign employers favor OFWs 'because of their willingness to do any kind of work even for the smallest pay.'

'Foreign employers prefer OFWs mainly because of their positive attributes such as their facility with the English language, their industry, flexibility, ability to learn easily, and their happy disposition,' Roque said in the statement.

He asserted that OFWs maintain their competitive edge abroad and they are better paid than other nationalities in labor-sending countries.

Under the country’s Migrant Workers Act, a domestic helper should be paid a minimum of US$400 a month for the services he/ she renders. But other Filipinos often sneak outside the country without proper documents to work abroad.

Without the necessary working permits, these illegal migrants are forced to take any jobs without benefits and a lower salary.

Migrant groups have often criticized the Philippine government for continuously pushing Filipino women in jobs considered as dirty, dangerous and demeaning abroad.

There are an estimated eight million Filipinos abroad, including some six million contract workers. The rest are immigrants, mostly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Overseas Filipinos have been hailed collectively as an important pillar of the Philippine economy, their combined remittances surpassing US15 billion last year.

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16.
'Humanitarian' boatpeople deal breaks deadlock
By Paul Maley and Stephen Fitzpatrick
The Australian, October 21, 2009
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26239800-601,00.html

Kevin Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last night resolved their standoff, with Jakarta agreeing to accept 78 asylum-seekers rescued by Australia at the weekend, citing the plight of a sick child on board.

As the 78 Sri Lankans prepared to spend their third night aboard the Australian Customs vessel the Oceanic Viking, Indonesia agreed the asylum-seekers rescued by HMAS Armidale in the Sunda Strait on Sunday would be brought to shore as soon as possible.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Dr Yudhoyono's spokesman cited the sick child as a factor in the 'humanitarian' decision.

'President Yudhoyono has advised for humanitarian reasons and safety-at-sea reasons the Oceanic Viking will come to the port of Merak where the 78 on board will be put in temporary accommodation until international agencies have had the opportunity to process them,' Mr Smith told ABC TV last night.

'We had a young girl on board who was unwell.

'That's a very good humanitarian result. It's a very good example of co-operation between Australia and Indonesia.'

After high-level talks about how to stem the flow of asylum boats to Australia, Dr Yudhoyono's spokesman, Dino Patti Djalal, said the Sri Lankans' claims for refugee status would be dealt with as soon as possible by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

'Basically, it is because there is a sick child on board and the President is quite concerned about the health of the child,' he said.

'We need a clear framework for how to deal with this in the future so that we don't deal with these sorts of situations on an ad hoc basis.'

He indicated that officials from both countries would be working over the coming weeks to establish such a framework. Mr Rudd and Dr Yudhoyono would discuss the matter in Singapore in November at the APEC leaders conference.

The agreement came as the Prime Minister held bilateral talks with Dr Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak aimed at stopping the boat surge.

Before the deal was struck in Jakarta last night, there were further indications of an emerging schism in Labor ranks over the Prime Minister's toughened rhetoric on boats.

Last night, Labor MP Michael Danby rebuked Mr Rudd over his use of the term 'illegal immigration', pointedly noting he preferred Immigration Minister Chris Evans's 'non-hysterical' approach.

'I don't like expressions like illegal immigration,' Mr Danby told the ABC.

Last night, Mr Rudd was on his way home from the Indonesian capital, where he had been attending the inauguration of Dr Yudhoyono with Mr Smith and Defence Chief Angus Houston.

While in Jakarta, Mr Rudd also held talks with Singapore's Lee Hsien Loong, with people-smuggling high on the agenda.

Mr Rudd's absence from Australia saw no let-up in hostilities between the government and the opposition, with the issue of boatpeople provoking a series of bitter skirmishes in parliament.

As Mr Rudd was meeting regional leaders, a Senate estimates committee hearing in Canberra degenerated into a shouting match between Senator Evans and Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who demanded to know what the Rudd government was doing to address the surge.

'We abolished the Pacific Solution. I'm absolutely proud of that. It was a blight on Australia and a blight on our international reputation,' Senator Evans said.

'But you, senator, you've got a choice, you either argue for it coming back, or you don't.'

Malcolm Turnbull attacked the government for 'unpicking' the tapestry of measures stitched together by the Howard government, while acknowledging they had been controversial.

He defended reviving John Howard's declaration that Australians should decide 'who comes to this country'.

'The previous prime minister, Mr Howard, was criticised for saying that, but the fact is, that is what every Australian expects of their government,' said Mr Turnbull.

The 78 asylum-seekers transferred from their boat to the Oceanic Viking after issuing a distress call in the Indonesian search and rescue zone, includes at least five women and five young children. At Indonesia's request, Australia sent the patrol boat HMAS Armidale to the scene. 'This is not an area or a matter where Australia is saying to Indonesia, 'It's your problem',' Mr Smith said last night.

'This is where Australia is saying to Indonesia, and Indonesia is saying to Australia: 'We need to work together to address a very difficult problem'. It's a very good example of Australia discharging its safety-at-sea obligations. My understanding and my advice is that there's no legal obligation on the part of Indonesia to take them, and that was not a point or a view put to Indonesia by Australia.'

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Indonesia, Australia leaders agree to form boat people plan
Agence France Presse, October 20, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hEnbmTcG8V_uxntDa5pY-Z_QUX4A

Asylum seeker pact starts a new deal
By Ben Doherty and Lindsay Murdoch and Karuni Rompies
The Brisbane Times, October 20, 2009
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/asylum-seeker-pact-starts-a-new-deal-20091020-h6zc.html

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17.
Turnbull ramps up asylum-seeker rhetoric
By Sandra O'Malley
The Australian Associated Press, October 20, 2009
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/turnbull-ramps-up-asylumseeker-rhetoric-20091020-h58p.html

Malcolm Turnbull is ratcheting up the rhetoric over asylum seekers even though continuing poor opinion polls suggest the tough talk isn't finding traction among voters.

Both sides of politics are scrabbling to claim they are tough on people smugglers as more boats carrying Afghans and Sri Lankan asylum seekers head for Australian waters.

During a heated question time, Mr Turnbull led the charge against the Rudd government, accusing it of putting out the red carpet for asylum seekers by softening its border-protection policy.

The argument fell flat as Julia Gillard, the acting prime minister, swatted away question after question on the issue, mocking the coalition for being disinterested in the facts about asylum-seeker arrivals.

Labor is pushing the line that arrival numbers are about the same level they were during the Howard government.

It's walking a fine line trying to show it's taking a tough but compassionate approach.

The first cracks in the veneer appeared on Monday when union heavyweight Paul Howes questioned the Labor strategy but so far caucus is maintaining unity on the issue.

The same can't be said of the coalition, with outgoing Victorian Liberal Petro Georgiou, an outspoken critic of the Howard government immigration policies, warning the coalition against adopting bad policy during a coalition party room meeting.

His warning didn't stop Mr Turnbull ramping up his rhetoric even further on Tuesday afternoon, when - in echoes of John Howard - he thundered that Australia should decide 'who comes to this country'.

The asylum-seeker issue had already shown signs of becoming the new Tampa affair after Kevin Rudd sought Indonesian help to keep a boatload of asylum seekers out of Australian waters.

Now Canberra is in discussions with Jakarta over where to send another boatload rescued by an Australian navy vessel in the Indonesian search and rescue zone.

Labor discipline on asylum seekers is far cry from coalition bickering on climate change, which the opposition leadership has blamed for another disastrous Newspoll result.

The latest Newspoll, published on Tuesday, showed the coalition would be thrashed if an election had been held at the weekend.

On a two-party preferred basis, Labor was ahead of the coalition by 59 per cent to 41 per cent.

During a joint party room meeting, deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop told coalition MPs and senators they'd been behaving like a 'rabble' and the Newspoll result showed the public didn't appreciate it.

'When we are united our stocks go up, when we are a rabble, or seen to be a rabble, they go down,' Ms Bishop said.

But Ms Bishop didn't help the coalition's stocks with her question time performance.

She was responsible for an ill-judged question to Ms Gillard about what input union boss Mr Howes - who supports a softer line - had on Labor's border protection policy.

Ms Gillard's swift response was 'none'.

When Ms Gillard went on to elaborate on her argument, Ms Bishop tried to shut her down - to howls of laughter from the Labor benches.

But just because the coalition looks to be in trouble, Ms Gillard told caucus it shouldn't become complacent.

'We can't take the chaotic state of the opposition for granted but we should continue to work hard delivering on our commitments,' she told a caucus meeting.

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Critics slam asylum policy as unworkable
United Press International, October 19, 2009
http://www.upiasia.com/Top_News/Special/2009/10/19/Critics-slam-asylum-policy-as-unworkable/UPI-56861255967939/

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18.
Hundreds sit new citizenship test
The ABC News (Australia), October 19, 2009
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/19/2718043.htm?section=australia

More than 400 people will sit the new citizenship test today at Department of Immigration and Citizenship offices.

The test assesses applicants' knowledge of Australian democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

There are no questions on Australia's sporting and cultural heritage, which were a feature of the first test introduced by the Howard Government, and all questions are now equally weighted.

Warren Bingwa from Zimbabwe was one of the first to take the new test.

'You do have to study. There's definitely an amount of work that needs to be done to go in and pass it,' he said.

'What it does do is it makes you read the material. It makes you learn about Australia and I think that's important if you are going to become a citizen.'

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New citizenship test set to be unveiled
The Australian Associated Press, October 18, 2009
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/new-citizenship-test-set-to-be-unveiled-20091019-h33n.html

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19.
Call for compassion before politics
By Phillip Coorey
The Brisbane Times, October 20, 2009
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/call-for-compassion-before-politics-20091020-h6yl.html

One of the nation's leading industry figures has slammed the tawdry politics surrounding asylum seekers and called on the major parties to adopt a bipartisan approach for the good of the nation.

Heather Ridout, the chief executive of the Australian Industry Association, said the shrill politics surrounding asylum seekers was ''causing the worst possible outcome''.

As the major parties continued to squabble yesterday, Ms Ridout told the Herald: ''I really feel that it's about time they tried to take a bipartisan approach …

''The whole community is completely confused; they want to be compassionate,'' she said.

Ms Ridout, who plays advises the Government on policy development, was critical of both sides. ''Kevin Rudd has softened the [asylum seeker] policy but he's trying to play a hard line,'' she said. ''The community would be better served by a bipartisan approach to the issue. We're all the worse for that.''

Her comments represent a growing concern outside politics about a return to the divisive immigration debates of 2001. On Monday, the national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, Paul Howes, called on Mr Rudd to show leadership by being more compassionate.

In Parliament yesterday, Malcolm Turnbull continued to blame the Government's abolition of temporary protection visas and the Pacific Solution for the recent surge of boat people.

He then invoked the former prime minster John Howard: ''It should not ever be controversial to state as a matter of policy and principle that Australians have the right to decide who comes to this country - our country - and the manner in which they come.''

Internally this approach is causing consternation. During yesterday's Coalition party-room meeting, the long-time refugee advocate and Liberal MP Petro Georgiou urged his colleagues to back off, saying the attacks were wrong in terms of principle, policy and politics.

He was rebuffed by five colleagues, including the immigration spokeswoman, Sharman Stone, and the architect of the Howard government's immigration policies, Philip Ruddock.

The acting Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, told caucus it was a difficult issue but ''we need to continue to be tough on people smugglers and compassionate towards people seeking asylum''.

''The Liberals are seeking to exploit this situation for their political gain. We are seeking to keep the balance right.''

There had been some expectation that members of the ALP Left might complain in caucus, especially about the increasing reliance on Indonesia to stop boats headed for Australia and to detain the asylum seekers.

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