| 
| Current Site Visitors -> 
Daily news updates from CIS
October 23, 2009 -- Click here for 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. Feds crack down on Mexican mafia in U.S.
2. Gov't mulls increase of application fee
3. USCBP struggling with staff shortages (link)
4. So Cal. congressmen oppose citizenship query (4 stories)
5. Sen. Sessions laments failure to make E-Verify permanent (story, link)
6. House members take issue with English-only provisions
7. Dems promise amnesty action in early 2010
8. IL senator to address issue at Chicago forum
9. Congress asked to probe detention of Mexican official
10. Report suggest parents who learn English benefit kids
11. AZ enforcement hawks vow crackdown
12. AZ hawk rumored for head of enforcement agency (story, link)
13. Consortium of police officials oppose enforcement (story, 5 links)
14. AZ county sheriff continues enforcement efforts (story, link)
15. TX county sheriff wants 287(g) continued
16. PA, CT mayors discuss divergent policies
17. Sheriff Arpaio won’t discount gubernatorial effort
18. WA immigrant, refugee group overwhelmed by vaccine demand (story, link)
19. Activists seek Lou Dobbs’ termination
20. Union claims CA firm exploited Filipino teachers
21. Employers fret increased workplace enforcement
22. Illegal kids struggle through legal proceedings
23. Gay couples seek immigration privileges
24. OH girl who fears honor killing now facing questions on status
25. Feds raid Islamic meat plant, question foreign workers
26. Jordanian picked up at airport on terror charges
27. USCIS employee arrested on bribery charges (link)
28. Ex-Border Patrol agent admits accepting bribes (link)
29. Former IRA associate, millionaire jailed for imm fraud (link)
Subscribe to CIS e-mail services here: http://cis.org/immigrationnews.html
-- Mark Krikorian]
1.
Raid targets Mexican cartel; 303 arrested
By Spencer S. Hsu
The Washington Post, October 23, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102204444.html?hpid=sec-nation
U.S. authorities arrested 303 people Wednesday and Thursday in a nationwide sweep targeting the distribution network of La Familia, a fast-rising Mexican drug cartel known for its violence, messianic culture and control over the methamphetamine trade, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. announced Thursday.
More than 3,000 federal, state and local agents participated in the U.S. law enforcement operation, the largest mounted against a Mexican cartel, Holder said.
The raids 'dealt a significant blow to La Familia's supply chain,' Holder said, netting cash, drugs, weapons and vehicles in 19 states. But U.S. officials did not say whether any cartel leaders were caught. 'With the increases in cooperation between U.S. and Mexican authorities in recent years, we are taking the fight to our adversaries,' Holder said.
Arrests took place in 38 cities, from Boston to Seattle, with 77 made in Dallas. The effort involved the Drug Enforcement Administration; the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Charges include drug and gun trafficking and money laundering.
Analysts said the operation appeared designed to allay skepticism among Mexico's political leaders about the U.S. government's commitment to Mexico's crackdown on cartels. The drug-related violence has taken about 15,000 lives since President Felipe Calderón entered office in 2006. Mexican authorities have arrested 80,000 drug suspects, and Washington has responded with $1.4 billion in aid under the Merida initiative, but some in Mexico have grown frustrated with the U.S. market's continuing demand for illegal drugs.
'Many Mexican leaders have viewed the Merida initiative as too little and too late,' said George W. Grayson, a Mexico specialist at the College of William and Mary who has written about La Familia, 'and so Washington is trying to make clear that we are good faith, genuine partners in the war against drugs.'
La Familia, the newest of Mexico's five major cartels, has become entrenched in many U.S. cities after flourishing in Mexico through entrepreneurial zeal, brutality and promises to spin drug profits into 'divine justice,' or social benefits for its impoverished home state.
La Familia opposes the sale of methamphetamine to Mexicans, for example, but is responsible for the 'vast majority' of the lucrative drug entering the United States from Mexico, said Michele M. Leonhart, acting DEA administrator.
The cartel, based in the southwestern Mexico state of Michoacan, has also benefited from a splintering of older cartels, and its effort to gain social legitimacy is combined with a savage program to kill, coerce and corrupt security and government personnel, Mexican analysts said.
In Washington, Holder said that U.S. authorities have targeted La Familia for 44 months. Under the effort, called Project Coronado, the federal government has arrested 1,186 people and seized $32.8 million, 2,710 pounds of methamphetamine, 1,999 kilograms of cocaine, 29 pounds of heroin, 16,390 pounds of marijuana, 389 weapons and 269 vehicles.
U.S. authorities indicted, but did not arrest, La Familia's operational chief, Servando Gomez-Martinez -- known as La Tuta.
Return to Top
********
********
2.
US weighs immigration fee hike
Agence France Presse, October 23, 2009
http://www.hindustantimes.com/US-weighs-immigration-fee-hike/H1-Article1-468200.aspx
The US could raise the price of immigration-related fees as it battles a budget shortfall spurred by the global financial meltdown, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The cash-strapped US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is considering hiking fees, reducing expenditures or seeking help from Congress to address its financial woes, said agency director Alejandro Mayorkas.
'We will, as an agency, potentially have to make cuts, and we will, potentially, have to raise certain fees to meet the financial challenge brought about by a decline in revenue,' Mayorkas said. Immigration-related applications have dropped 'markedly' over the past year amid the economic downturn, and are behind the agency’s revenue decline, he said.
USCIS was flooded with applications in 2007 ahead of last year’s US presidential elections and an increase in citizenship fees from 400 to 675 dollars. A record 7.7 million immigration applications were registered in 2007.
Return to Top
********
********
3.
On the fence and running out of time
By Joe Davidson
The Washington Post, October 23, 2009
One of the most common complaints among federal employees who enforce Uncle Sam's laws and regulations is that there are too few of them to properly protect the public.
But one area where one would expect that not to be the case, given our nation's recent history, is border protection.
Yet testimony before a House subcommittee Thursday painted a picture of potentially weak borders resulting from a shortage of Customs and Border Protection officers. That can lead to longer waits to cross the border, and worse, laxity in the fight against terrorism and narcotics trafficking.
CBP officers are caught between two laudable but sometimes conflicting goals. One is facilitating entry for legitimate travel. The other is keeping out smugglers and would-be bombers.
Wait time is a key measure of how easy it is for legitimate travelers to cross the border. The average vehicle inspection time is 45 seconds or less in regular inspection lanes, according to Colleen M. Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents CBP officers.
'These cargo inspection times per vehicle cannot realistically be further shortened,' she told the House Homeland Security subcommittee on border, maritime and global counterterrorism.
'CBP's continuing emphasis on reducing wait times without increasing staffing at the ports of entry creates an extremely challenging work environment for frontline CBP personnel.'
Anyone crossing the border appreciates short waits. But it becomes a problem if officers are rushed because there are too few of them to do the job. Overworking officers can lead to sloppiness, said Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), chairman of the subcommittee.
'There is a valid argument to be made that staff shortages at ports of entry facilitate the importation of narcotics into the country,' she said in a prepared statement. In an interview after the hearing, Sanchez said she was 'very serious about trying to increase our staffing' and finding the money to do it.
Kelley told the panel that 'CBP's own 2007 staffing model shows that several thousand additional CBP officers and agriculture specialists are needed at our ports of entry.' She said the union has 'repeatedly and continues to call on Congress for an increase of at least 4,000 new CBP officers in order for CBP to achieve its dual mission.'
Todd Owen, executive director of CBP's cargo and conveyance security in the office of field operations, also testified at the hearing but did not directly address Kelley's points about staffing shortages. Calls to CBP's press officer were not returned.
Owen did say that the agency is undertaking initiatives 'toward meeting the challenge of securing our borders and enforcing trade laws . . . without stifling the flow of legitimate trade and travel that is so critical to our nation's economy.' He cited the Southwest Border Initiative as an example. 'The initiative focuses on enhanced border security, including the deployment of hundreds of new personnel,' he said.
. . .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/22/AR2009102204539_pf.html?
Return to Top
********
********
4.
Minority lawmakers: No census citizenship question
By Hope Yen
The Associated Press, September 22, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g4E6eAhJiEtJPh2FfoGg9F2GVMpQD9BGCH002
Washington, DC (AP) -- A coalition of black, Latino and Asian lawmakers on Thursday expressed opposition to a proposal that would require next year's census forms to ask about the status of a person's citizenship.
The House lawmakers criticized a proposal by Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Bob Bennett, R-Utah, as a political ploy designed to discourage immigrants from participating in the high-stakes count, which begins April 1.
They also echoed warnings from the Census Bureau that making a last-minute change to the census would add burdensome costs to print new forms and prevent the head count from being completed on time, as legally required.
'Every census since 1790 has included citizens and noncitizens alike, and presidential administrations of both parties have repeatedly upheld counting all persons residing in the United States,' Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said at a news briefing.
She was joined by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., as well as leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
'With only 160 days until the census, Congress should be encouraging constituents to get counted, not debating the contents of the questionnaire,' Velazquez said.
The Republican proposal, which currently remains in limbo in the Senate, would freeze Census Bureau funds if it doesn't add the citizenship question to the more than 600 million forms. More than 400 million have already been printed.
Vitter has said the goal of his measure is to ultimately block illegal immigrants from being included in the decennial count, which is used to apportion House seats, redraw congressional boundaries and distribute billions of dollars in federal aid.
'If the current census plan goes ahead, the inclusion of non-citizens toward apportionment will artificially increase the population count in certain states, and that will likely result in the loss of congressional seats,' he said.
In House testimony this week, Census Director Robert Groves said he opposed the Senate proposal. He noted that the exact wording of the questionnaire was made available to Congress last year and that there was no opposition then.
'I can say with absolute confidence, that if we add a question to this census questionnaire at this point, we will not deliver the reapportionment counts in 2010 on time, and we will not provide the data for redistricting,' he said.
The census has long disproportionately missed minorities. In 2000, the bureau noted for the first time an overcount of 1.3 million people, due mostly to duplicate counts of whites with multiple residences. About 4.5 million people were missed, mostly blacks and Hispanics.
California, with its slowing population growth, could lose a House seat if its high numbers of Asian and Hispanic immigrants — both legal and illegal — aren't fully counted.
New York City faces challenges with a resident population that is more than one-third foreign born. The state is projected to lose either one or two House seats.
Florida could pick up one or two seats depending on a count of residents, who have seen high rates of mortgage foreclosures. Arizona, North Carolina and Texas also stand to gain seats.
(This version CORRECTS story to say previous administrations of both parties have repeatedly upheld counting all persons, not just citizens.)
+++
Southern California congressional members protest Census citizenship question
By Kitty Felde
The KPCC News (Pasadena, CA), October 22, 2009
http://www.scpr.org/news/2009/10/22/local-congressional-members-protest-citizenship-qu/
Next spring, the U.S. Census begins its once-a-decade survey of people living in America. Two Republican senators want census takers to ask one more question at each household. Some Democrats don’t like that question at all.
The amendment by Republican senators David Vitter of Louisiana and Robert Bennett of Utah would withhold funding for the 2010 Census unless it includes a question about citizenship status. A coalition of black, Hispanic, and Asian lawmakers call the last minute amendment a political ploy designed to discourage immigrants from participating in the census.
'There’s lots riding on this.'
Democratic Congressman Xavier Becerra of Los Angeles says federal spending decisions are based on census numbers. So are decisions about how many members of Congress each state should get.
'We need to have the full slate of representatives that we’re entitled to. And if you don’t have accurate count, you do run the risk of losing a member of Congress that should be representing California.'
That’s not all, says Congressman Mike Honda. The Silicon Valley Democrat, who chairs the Asian Pacific American Caucus, says adding one more question means reprinting millions of census forms.
'It is simply too late and too expensive to shift gears in this point in the process.'
The Bennett-Vitter amendment could come up for a vote in the next few weeks. Census forms go out in the mail early next year.
+++
Hoyer: Census 'doesn't exist to score political points'
By Jordan Fabian
The Hill (Washington, DC), October 22, 2009
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/64385-hoyer-census-doesnt-exist-to-score-political-points
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Thursday said 'the census doesn't exist to score political points' in response to a Republican amendment that would exclude illegal immigrants from being counted.
Sens. David Vitter (R-La.) and Bob Bennett (R-Utah) introduced a controversial amendment to a Senate spending bill that would would require the census to include a question about an individual's citizenship or immigration status.
Vitter previously accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) of wanting to include illegal immigrants in the census, alleging that doing so would skew the reapportionment of Congressional seats, which is based on the census, in favor of Democrats.
But Hoyer counted Vitter's efforts, saying in prepared remarks that 'the census doesn’t exist to score political points -- It exists to give us an accurate picture of our country.'
He continued, saying that 'adding a new question to the census, especially at this late date, would be damaging and irresponsible. That's also the opinion of every living Director of the Census.'
Hoyer also said that such an effort would discourage legal immigrants from participating.
'It would also lead to an inaccurate count. With a question about citizenship, immigrants who fear being deported, along with their families and friends, are much more likely to avoid the census,' he said.
The majority leader echoed the calls of many lawmakers, saying that including such a questions would be costly and wasteful because it would involve reprinting new census materials and destroying old forms.
Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) yesterday introduced a bill that would ensure all U.S. residents -- potentially including illegals -- are counted.
+++
House Dem floats bill to require all residents counted in census
By Michael O'Brien
The Hill (Washington, DC), October 21, 2009
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/64099-house-dem-floats-bill-to-require-all-residents-counted-in-census
A House Democratic lawmaker introduced legislation Wednesday to ensure all residents of the U.S. -- potentially including illegal immigrants -- would be counted in the 2010 census.
Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) introduced legislation to counter an amendment offered by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) in the Senate that would seek to exclude illegal immigrants from being counted in the census.
'We must not jeopardize a timely or accurate count because of the whims of some who choose to play politics with this issue,' Baca said in a statement. 'The Vitter amendment clearly violates the spirit of the Constitution, which mandates a count of all our nations’ residents for apportionment purposes, and would cost our nation millions of dollars during this time of economic duress.'
Vitter has accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) of wanting to include illegal immigrants in the census, which Vitter has alleged would skew the reapportionment of seats in Congress, which is based on the census, toward Democrats.
The Louisiana senator's amendment would require the census to include a question requiring information on an individual's citizenship or immigration status, while the Baca bill would specifically eliminate any questions to that end.
The California Democrat characterized his bill as the way to most accurately base congressional reapportionment, which Baca said would underrepresent Latinos under the Vitter plan.
'Census data is absolutely necessary for an accurate determination of Congressional representation and Electoral College figures,' Baca said. 'My legislation can help to guarantee an accurate count in the upcoming Census, and protect our nation from costly and discriminatory tactics like the Vitter amendment, which risks disenfranchising millions of Latinos from participating and being accurately counted.'
Return to Top
********
********
5.
Sessions: Congress erred in E-Verify extension vote
By Deborah Barfield Berry
The Montgomery Advertiser, October 23, 2009
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20091023/NEWS02/910230321/Sessions++Congress+erred+in+E-Verify+extension+vote
Washington, DC -- The Congressional bill to extend a program that lets employers check the legal status of new hires is now awaiting the signature of President Barack Obama -- but it does not include a proposal from U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, that would have made the program permanent.
Obama is expected to sign the bill, which extends the E-Verify program for three years. Congress also approved $137 million for the program as part of a $43 billion spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security.
The Senate in July approved Sessions' amendment to the spending bill. But House and Senate lawmakers who negotiated a final bill altered the provision to extend E-Verify rather than make it permanent.
Sessions said that was a mistake.
'We should do it, particularly now that we are in a time of serious economic downturn and unemployment,' he said.
There is no state-wide law requiring employers in Alabama to check the legal status of new hires. But 12 other states -- Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Utah -- require some or all employers to use E-Verify, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, support the program.
Homeland Security officials say E-Verify is used by more than 126,000 employers nationwide, with 1,000 businesses joining each week. Federal contractors and subcontractors are required to use E-Verify.
'We absolutely should make it so that anyone who obtains a contract or a job as a result of government taxpayer money should be legally in the United States,' Sessions said Tuesday on the Senate floor. 'If they are not, they shouldn't get the job. It should be set aside for American taxpayers.'
Critics of the program, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, say the federal databases it uses are so error-prone that many legal immigrants and citizens are mistakenly disqualified.
'The program should be canceled,' John Verdi, a lawyer at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said Wednesday. 'You have hundreds of thousands of Americans who are impacted. The impact can range from a small hassle to a loss of employment.'
The Homeland Security agency says the program is 94 percent accurate, but Verdi said that still means about 9 million workers could incorrectly be ruled ineligible for employment.
Immigration groups also say the program is flawed and Congress instead should overhaul the immigration system.
'The fact that E-Verify was reauthorized for three years as a voluntary program shows that Congress is not ready to embrace wholeheartedly a mandatory expansion of the program,' said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum.
+++
E-Verify gets extension and more money in spending bill
Employment verification program would get $137 million funding
By Alice Lipowicz
Washington Technology, October 22, 2009
http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2009/10/22/everify-gets-three-year-extension-in-dhs-spending-bill.aspx
Return to Top
********
********
6.
Rep. calls for English-only consumer protection
By Victoria McGrane
The Politico (Washington, DC), October 21, 2009
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28582.html
Financial reform just wandered into the culture wars.
Democrats erupted over an amendment offered by New York Republican Rep. Chris Lee Wednesday night that would bar the proposed consumer financial protection agency from mandating financial firms provide disclosures in any language other than English.
'In America we are all equal, and we should not allow ourselves to be divided by this notion that one language is better than another,' declared Rep. Al Green (D-Texas).
Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas) produced Census data showing that Lee’s district of 652,000 people includes 46,000 who speak languages other than English in their homes, and asked what those constituents think of his amendment. He also recalled that his own grandmother, an American citizen, could understand only 'some' English and insisted her grandchildren grew up bilingual.
'This type of legislation should not be in the books, not for the United States,' said Hinojosa, who is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus leadership.
Illinois Democrat Rep. Luis Gutierrez gave a particularly passionate response, accusing Republicans of trying to drag financial reform into the immigration debate.
Soldiers drafted in American wars were never required to speak English, he observed. 'You know how I know? Because my dad served in the military and he only spoke Spanish. I don’t think he did that shabby of a job.'
He mocked advocates of English-only measures, suggesting it makes Americans less sophisticated than the rest of the world.
'You know, if you go to Europe and you’re in Germany and you only speak German, you’re considered kind of not an educated person. If you go to France and only speak French – and let me tell you, the French think very highly of their French – no, you’re really not considered that educated of a person. Why is it in America that we want to pass laws where ‘We Learn English’ and we feel somehow satisfied and somehow important?' he asked.
Lee jumped in to explain that he meant 'no disrespect for any culture in this country' and that his amendment was strictly intended to shield private businesses from the expense of having to produce disclosures in multiple languages.
American businesses don’t need another bureaucratic burden, while the additional cost would surely be passed on to consumers 'and at the end of the day destroy jobs,' Lee said earlier in the debate.
'I get your point, thank you very much,' Gutierrez replied. 'But let me make the point this way, okay. Pick up the telephone today and call Target. Call any major American corporation right now… and here’s the first thing they’re going to tell you. ‘Para espanol, oprima el dos,’' he said to laughter. 'They certainly want our business.'
Return to Top
********
********
7.
U.S. Immigration Reform Bill Could Be Introduced By First Quarter
By Felicia Persaud
The Carrib World News, October 23, 2009
http://www.caribbeanworldnews.com/home_top_stories.php?sid=1887&a=5&cut=301&ad=topstory
A bill pushing for comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. may be introduced by next February or March, CaribWorldNews understands.
Sources tell CWNN that New York Senator Chuck Schumer this week promised a group of over 100 clergy in Washington, D.C, that the bill will be introduced by the first quarter of 2010.
Schumer also reportedly expressed confidence that the bill, which has as many critics as it has supporters, can be passed. In fact, as he told the gathering, he promised the late Senator Ted Kennedy he will see the bill passed.
The pastors under the group Churches United to Save and Heal were in D.C. as guests of Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, and were calling for action on comprehensive immigration reform that could put millions of undocumented migrants on a path to legalization.
The pastors discussed how a broken immigration system has negatively affected their parishioners and also discussed how the Caribbean and African immigrant communities can expand the debate of CIR to help bolster support for pending legislation in meetings with a number of lawmakers including, Gary Ackerman, Kendrick Meek, Alcee Hasting, Gregory Meeks, James Clyburn, Louise Slaughter, Elijah Cummings, Jesse Jackson, Jr., Charles Rangel, John Conyers, Barbara Lee, Ed Towns and Luis Gutierrez.
CUSH representatives said Congressman Peter King of New York declined to meet with them on the issue but, Joshua DuBois, director of the White House Faith-Based office were among those who met with them on Capitol Hill. Chairman of CUSH, Bishop Orlando Findlayter, Reverend Dennis Dillion, Rev. Herbert Daughtery and Rev. Dr. Philius Nicholas were among the participants.
`We are asking the Obama Administration to focus on Comprehensive Immigration Reform like a laser beam. Who better to fully understand the importance of this issue then the son of a Kenyan immigrant? This is the next challenge for our nation and no more will we let this issue fall to the wayside,` said Congresswoman Clarke. `The time is now to expand the face of the CIR debate. Everyone`s voices must be heard particularly in the Caribbean and Africa immigrant communities. When we turn our back on those who come to these shores to become Americans, to be a part of building our great nation, and to embrace the American Dream, we are turning our back on ourselves. We must never forget that this debate is critical to improving the lives of all American citizens, American businesses, and the lives of those who seek to be Americans.`
Return to Top
********
********
8.
Ill Sen. Durbin to discuss immigration policy at DePaul University
The Associated Press, October 23, 2009
http://www.wqad.com/news/sns-ap-il--immigrationreform-durbin,0,7558915.story
Chicago (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin plans to discuss immigration policy during a daylong forum at DePaul University in Chicago.
The event is called 'Perspectives on Immigration.' Several speakers, including activists and educators, will present.
Durbin, a Democrat, has sponsored the failed DREAM Act. It is a bill designed to help provide citizenship for undocumented immigrants who are brought to the U.S. as children and educated here.
His comments come as other Illinois legislators, mainly Congressman Luis Gutierrez, say they are inching closer to drafting federal immigration reform legislation.
The workshops on Friday will feature first-person perspectives on topics like immigration law, raids and refugees.
Return to Top
********
********
9.
Lawyer disputes Mexican rights official's arrest
By Alicia A Caldwell
The Associated Press, October 22, 2009
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6681564.html
El Paso, TX (AP) -- Supporters of a Mexican human rights investigator whom immigration authorities detained for nearly a week as an asylum seeker — even though he never asked for U.S. protection — are calling for a congressional probe into his arrest.
Carlos Spector, an El Paso lawyer for Chihuahua state human rights investigator Gustavo de la Rosa Hickerson, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection authorities had no reason to detain his client on Oct. 15 and try to force him into an unwanted asylum case.
Spector wants to know who made the decision to jail the white-haired lawyer and why.
'They arrested him ... knowing that he is an official with the Mexican government,' Spector told a news conference. 'He's broken no law and he's seeking no asylum.'
Spector said he wants Congress to determine if politics played a role in the detention and to review the policies that jail most asylum seekers.
De la Rosa said immigration agents asked him at least 10 times if he was seeking asylum in the United States. The human rights official said he repeatedly refused — even after one immigration officer reportedly threatened him with deportation if he would not sign documents seeking U.S. protection.
He was held at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement jail in El Paso. De la Rosa has a tourist visa that allows him to stay in the United States for up to 30 days.
'For five or six days I was in prison without any cause ... because I said I was afraid,' de la Rosa told reporters in Spanish. 'I feel unjustly treated, unjustly jailed and morally tortured.'
Roger Maier, a Customs and Border Protection spokesman in El Paso, said the agency does not comment on individual cases, but that people trying to cross the border into the United States do not need to specifically ask for asylum to be taken into custody as an asylum seeker.
'If during this interview, an applicant expresses fear of being returned to their home country, our officers are required to process them for an interview with an asylum officer,' Maier said. 'The applicant does not have to specifically request asylum. They simply must express fear of being returned to their country.
De la Rosa told reporters he has compiled at least 170 claims of human rights abuses at the hands of Mexican soldiers assigned to northern Mexico's Chihuahua state to help quell violence from the ongoing cartel war. The complaints have been forward to Mexican military justice officials in Mazatlan but ignored, he said.
As a result, he has received threats that, he said, have made him fear for his and his family's safety.
Mexico's Defense Department said Thursday it would not comment on de la Rosa's case. It said any complaints of abuse by members of the armed forces are investigated, but noted that no such complaint had been filed in the case.
Thousands of soldiers and federal police have been patrolling Ciudad Juarez, just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, as part of efforts to quell violence between warring drug cartels that has left more than 3,000 people dead since January 2008.
De la Rosa said he is not yet sure what he will do when his visa runs out.
Return to Top
********
********
10.
Report: Immigrant parents who learn English better able to help kids
By Lisa Schencker
The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City), October 23, 2009
http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_13621262
Yolanda Nacasio wants to learn English for many reasons.
But one reason trumps them all: her kids.
She said Thursday she wants to learn English to 'help with homework, for when I have an appointment for the doctor for her ... for when we go to the store.' Nacasio has been taking English classes at Jackson Elementary School for about a month.
Offering immigrants more such opportunities to learn English helps them better support their families, according to a new report released earlier this week by Voices for Utah Children.
The non-profit advocacy group hopes the report will shed more light on Utah's immigrant families. For example, children born to immigrants made up about 16 percent of Utah's child population in 2007, and the vast majority of those children -- about 80 percent -- were U.S. citizens.
'There's a lot of misconceptions about the immigrant community,' said Terry Haven, Kids Count director at Voices for Utah Children. 'The reality is they look an awful lot like us, and, in some ways, their families are stronger than ours, if you look at the statistics.'
According to the report, children in immigrant families were slightly more likely to live in a two-parent household than non-immigrant Utah families between 2005 and 2007, and slightly less likely to have five or more children in their families than non-immigrant families.
But the report, which is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, also shows that Utah children who live in immigrant families are less likely to have parents who graduated from high school and more than twice as likely to live in poverty as children born to non-immigrant parents.
Learning English, however, might be key to reversing some of those statistics, the report shows.
Children of immigrant parents who speak English aren't much more likely to live in poverty than children born into non-immigrant families. That's why the report recommends, among other things, that more opportunities to learn English be made available to immigrant parents.
Pam Perlich, a senior research economist at the University of Utah, agreed that teaching immigrants and their children English is key to not only their welfare but also to the state and nation's well being. But she said it can often be more difficult for many Utah immigrants, especially those coming from places such as Africa and east Asia, to learn English than it was for immigrants who arrived generations ago from European countries with languages more similar to English.
'We're in an information and knowledge-based economy, and so to get English language acquisition to these kids more rapidly is critical for the economic development potential of our state and nation,' Perlich said. 'We need to get resources to kids so they can accomplish in one generation what it maybe took our ancestors two or three generations to do.'
She said about 8 percent of Utah's population now is foreign born, down from 18 percent in 1910. About 44 percent of Utah's foreign born-population is from Mexico, about 18 percent is from Asia, and about 11 percent is from Europe.
Bill Barton, who has worked with the anti-illegal immigration group Save Utah, said he also thinks it's important for immigrants to learn English, but he doesn't want to see taxpayer dollars fund such programs for illegal immigrants. A number of organizations, including schools and private non-profit groups, now offer English classes to immigrants.
'The tax money is being paid by citizens ... there's a lot of tax supported services that are going to the illegals now,' Barton said.
He also said he is not sure if some of the report's statistics, such as those about family structure, apply to illegal immigrants. The report did not differentiate between legal and illegal immigrants.
Haven said it's important the U.S. take care of children of all immigrant families. And that includes giving their parents opportunities to learn English so they are less likely to live in poverty, she said.
Sarah Little, coordinator of the English Skills Learning Center parent program attended by Nacasio and about 165 other adults, said parents mainly say they want to learn English to help their children, according to the program's surveys.
Eileen Meiners, a volunteer English teacher with the center, said one of her students, a Somali woman, even refused a translator when it came time for parent teacher conferences at her child's school this year. She wanted to do it herself, in English.
'She was proud of herself,' Meiners said. 'And we were proud of her.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Voice for Utah Children report is available online at: http://www.utahchildren.org/documents/APictureofImmigrantChildreninUtahIssueBrief10-20-09.pdf
Return to Top
********
********
11.
Stiff measures prepared against illegal immigrants
By Howard Fischer
The Capitol Media Services, October 22, 2009
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/314310
Phoenix -- The leading sponsor of legislation to combat illegal immigration said Wednesday that he is preparing three new measures, with the promise to take the issues directly to voters if colleagues or the governor balk.
The package being put together by Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, would:
* Allow local police to arrest those in this country illegally under state trespass laws.
* Bar local governments from having 'sanctuary' policies that prohibit police officers from inquiring about the legal status of those they encounter.
* Let prosecutors subpoena business records and testimony to investigate whether companies are hiring undocumented workers, without first getting a warrant from a judge.
Pearce said he wants a special legislative session in January, running concurrent with the regular session, to push the measures, a maneuver that would let the laws take effect sooner. Most legislation adopted during the regular session can't be enforced until late summer or early fall.
Pearce said quick action to empower police is needed in the wake of a decision by the Department of Homeland Security to revoke the authority of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to have his deputies enforce federal immigration laws. Federal officials said 'crime suppression sweeps' conducted by Arpaio to round up illegal immigrants were not what they had in mind in giving him the authority in the first place.
Pearce said aides to Gov. Jan Brewer have told him she 'absolutely' supports what he is trying to do.
Gubernatorial press aide Paul Senseman said Brewer is 'conceptually supportive' of the trespass and sanctuary measures. He said, though, the governor supports the existing laws that make it illegal to hire undocumented workers, and needs to know more about what Pearce wants before backing that change.
Pearce, who has seen some of his prior legislative efforts fall short of votes or get vetoed, said he is not taking any chances this time: He already is working on an initiative to bypass the Legislature entirely by gathering the necessary 153,365 signatures to put the issues on the 2010 ballot.
'I guarantee you, the citizens will have the last say on this,' said Pearce to a small crowd of supporters.
Central to the theme is empowering police and prosecutors to do more about illegal immigration.
Pearce said some communities have rules or policies restricting the ability of law enforcement to question people about whether they are in this country legally.
Several police chiefs say those rules make sense because they do not want to deter illegal immigrants who are crime victims or witnesses from coming forward. Pearce disagrees.
'If I've got a gang shootout and the victim's an illegal, the shooter's an illegal, the witnesses are illegal, I don't question anybody?' Pearce said. 'That's the dumbest thing in the world that one can do.'
The second part of the package would expand state laws to make it a crime for any illegal immigrants to enter into or be on any public or private land in Arizona.
Pearce said he believes local police already have 'inherent authority' to enforce federal immigration laws, even without the kind of approval and training the Department of Homeland Security previously gave the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department.
But Pearce said changing trespass laws would create the necessary state crime clearly giving police the power to arrest illegal immigrants, and for prosecutors to seek to incarcerate them on state charges.
Mark Spencer, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, said officers are not interested in routine immigration enforcement. But he said the changes Pearce wants would give them 'discretionary ability to take enforcement action in dealing with illegal immigration.'
The third part of Pearce's package is designed to make it easier for county attorneys to investigate complaints companies are violating Arizona's two-year-old law making it illegal to knowingly hire undocumented immigrants.
No charges have been brought under this law. Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said part of that is because prosecutors can't get the information they need because of restrictions on the ability to subpoena records in civil cases.
Glenn Hamer, president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said expanding subpoena powers in civil cases has the potential for abuse, with no requirement to first provide evidence to a judge there is reasonable suspicion a firm is breaking the law.
But Pearce said lawmakers have given the state insurance and liquor license departments similar powers to conduct their investigations.
Return to Top
********
********
12.
Russell Pearce rumored for head of DPS
The KTAR News (Phoenix), October 21, 2009
http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1222691
Phoenix -- There is talk at the state capitol of Arizona Republican Senator, Russell Pearce, possibly being named as the head of D.P.S. His name is one of the more controversial rumored for the position due to his stance on illegal immigration.
Pearce is a staunch supporter of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and helped create the employer sanctions law, which punishes companies for hiring illegal immigrants.
Sources familiar with the situation says Arizona Governor Jan Brewer could replace current DPS Director Roger Vanderpool, who was appointed by former Governor Janet Napolitano.
Vanderpool's five year term ends in January. Earlier this week, Vanderpool told Channel Eight's 'Horizon' program, he wants to continue on as the head of DPS.
'I love this agency,' Vanderpool said on the program. 'It's kind of like sailing into the storm. I want to this ship out the other side into calmer waters and I think we are doing good.'
Paul Senseman, spokesman for the governor's office, tells KTAR it would be unconstitutional for the Governor to appoint Pearce as head of D.P.S. during the term in which he was elected to serve (which runs through January 2011.) Senseman says even if Pearce were to resign, Governor Brewer could not touch him for that spot.
+++
Talk of Russell Pearce heading state police swirls around Capitol
By Mike Sunnucks
The Phoenix Business Journal, October 21, 2009
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/10/19/daily49.html
Return to Top
********
********
13.
Some police leaders say Congress needs to fix a broken immigration system
By Diane Smith
The Star Telegram (Fort Worth, TX), October 22, 2009
http://www.star-telegram.com/crime/story/1705655.html
The nation’s immigration system is broken and taking a toll on police and sheriff’s departments trying to build trust between law enforcement and immigrant communities, some police leaders said Thursday.
'We don’t stop people based on their race or ethnicity or what we suspect their country of origin to be,' said Kim Lemaux, deputy chief with the Arlington Police Department.
Police officials in California and Iowa echoed that message. Lemaux and others took part Thursday in a discussion moderated by the Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative, a movement based in California and headed by Arturo Venegas, a retired police chief from Sacramento.
Police leaders said fear of police among immigrants makes it difficult to protect communities. They want Congress to listen to their concerns as immigration reform heads back to the front burner. Some leaders want a pathway to legalization for undocumented people to be part of efforts to secure borders.
Arlington police said they participated so lawmakers can hear a local law enforcement perspective.
Police said immigrants fear deportation, while American-born Hispanics worry about racial profiling.
Immigrants tend to avoid police because they believe they will be asked to prove whether they have permission to work and live in this country. Sometimes immigrant witnesses or victims choose to walk away from a situation (car accidents or scenes of crimes) rather than face police, said Rick Braziel, Sacramento police chief.
Those worries are fueled by the different ways in which immigrant rules are enforced on the ground, police leaders said. Immigrants get mixed messages — San Francisco is considered a sanctuary area while cities such as Farmers Branch have stepped up local immigration enforcement. Of particular concern are partnerships between local police and the federal government that allow officers in certain departments to enforce immigration rules.
'It creates confusion for the people out there,' Venegas said.
Arlington is not partnering with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement through a 287(g) program, the agreement that allows the federal government to train local police. Arlington has a large Hispanic community and tries to recruit Spanish-speaking officers, who are eligible for a monthly language stipend.
Not all North Texas police departments have the same philosophy. Carrollton and Farmers Branch police departments have 287(g) agreements.
Federal officials tout the 287(g) alliances as an essential tool. From January through Oct. 16, local officers trained through the program were credited with removing about 24,000 undocumented people nationwide. There have been 1,075 local officers trained through the program nationwide, according to ICE.
+++
Arlington deputy police chief joins fight against immigration enforcement
By Dianne Solis
The Dallas Morning News, October 23, 2009
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-immigpolice_23met.ART.State.Edition1.4bcd5d5.html
Polk County's sheriff is among those in a law enforcement group lobbying lawmakers.
By Daniel P. Finney
The Des Moines Register, October 23, 2009
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20091023/NEWS01/910230379/1001/NEWS
Sacramento's top cop joins call for immigration overhaul
By Stephen Magagnini and Susan Ferriss
The Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/sacramento/story/2275917.html
Law enforcement officials call for immigration reform
By Ken Black
The Marshalltown Times Republican (IA), October 22, 2009
http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/520370.html?nav=5005
Arlington PD Says It Doesn't Want to Be in the Business of Enforcing ...
By Megan Feldman
The Dallas Observer, October 22, 2009
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/10/arlington_police_reject_unfund.php
Return to Top
********
********
14.
Arpaio uses ICE manual to back enforcement tactics
By JJ Hensley
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), October 23, 2009
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2009/10/23/20091023mcsopolicy1023.html
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio unveiled a new justification Thursday to support his deputies' immigration-enforcement tactics in the absence of a street-level agreement with the federal government.
Arpaio tore a page from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement manual that was used to train local law-enforcement agencies participating in the 287(g) program and declared that his deputies would abide by those rules.
ICE removed the authority earlier this month for Arpaio's deputies to participate in the street-level enforcement program and limited that authority to immigration screenings in the jails. But that has mattered little to the sheriff.
'Our people are well-trained,' Arpaio said of the deputies who turned in ICE badges in a symbolic gesture. 'One thing you can't do with our deputies is take that training and erase it from their mind.'
The deputies had each completed a five-week course in immigration law to gain the certification to act as ICE agents.
Arpaio's decision to reference the ICE protocol came a week after the sheriff took criticism for citing a section of U.S. criminal code that doesn't exist in an attempt to show legal support for a deputies' authority to detain and question suspected illegal immigrants who aren't suspected of violating state laws.
The policy states that federal agents and law enforcement authorized to perform immigration duties have the authority to interrogate suspected illegal immigrants based on a series of identifiable facts including language, appearance and demeanor.
Arpaio's deputies no longer have that authorization. An ICE spokesman released a statement Thursday that indicated the training manual the sheriff cited is outdated.
'The materials in the workbook referenced by the sheriff are from 2005 and thus do not reflect the current priorities or guidelines of the updated (memoranda of agreement). New training materials will be circulated to participating jurisdictions in accordance with the revised MOA,' the statement read.
Sheriff's officials said the factors Arpaio previously cited, which are repeated in the ICE training manual, are indicators deputies look for only after they've contacted someone suspected of some sort of violation.
The Department of Homeland Security early this year ordered a review of all 287(g) agreements. Agencies were presented with new agreements in July and given until Oct. 15 to sign the contracts that included a renewed focus on criminal illegal migrants for street-level enforcement.
The Sheriff's Office had operated under a contract that gave deputies on the street and jail detention officers the authority to act as immigration agents, but ICE officials stripped Arpaio of the street-level authority under the new agreement, leading observers to believe it would hinder a deputy's ability to question and detain a suspected illegal immigrant who hadn't committed another crime.
During a crime-suppression operation in Peoria last weekend, deputies detained immigrants who hadn't committed a criminal violation until ICE picked them up for processing.
The sheriff said the policy torn from the ICE manual would adequately cover his deputies' practices, though he said they don't need any extra legal help. He has requested a legal opinion from County Attorney Andrew Thomas to further clarify the issue, and that opinion is pending.
Annie Lai, an attorney with the Arizona American Civil Liberties Union, which has named Arpaio in two separate lawsuits alleging racial profiling, said the ICE agreement shouldn't apply to sheriff's deputies on the street anymore and was curious about Arpaio's desire to share this enforcement policy.
'It seems like he's sending this message out to send it to the public for political reasons,' she said.
+++
Sheriff Arpaio's Office Is Only Law Enforcement Agency in U.S. Denied Authority to Enforce Immigration Laws, Says DHS
By Penny Starr
The CNS News, October 23, 2009
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/55966
Return to Top
********
********
15.
Sheriff Garcia in favor of program that lets deputies check immigration status
By Alex Sanz
The KHOU News (Houston), October 23, 2009
http://www.khou.com/news/local/stories/khou091022_nlc_287g-program-immigration-debate.2419197c2.html
Houston -- Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia wants to continue a controversial, federal program that allows some of his deputies to act as immigration agents.
'A lot are saying, 'Well, you know, you’re deporting somebody for a minor crime,'' said Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Michael Lindsay. 'They’re not being deported for any crime at all. They’re being deported because of their status here. '
The program, known to law enforcement as 287(g), gives eight Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies the power to screen every accused criminal who is processed in the county jail. Through a sophisticated, federal computer program, deputies check fingerprints. Within seconds, they can determine an inmate’s immigration status.
'It’s another tool to get criminals off the streets,' Lindsay said. 'That’s what it is. And that’s what it’s doing.'
Since 287(g)’s inception 14 months ago, Sheriff’s Office deputies have placed an average of 1,000 people on detention every month. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials -- and later, federal judges -- determine if an inmate is deported.
'It doesn’t matter who you are,' said Lindsay '[It] doesn’t matter what color your skin is. What’s your nationality. What your religion is. You’re going to be asked the same set of questions. You’re going to be screened up front. And from that point on, you go to the 287(g) and everybody is going to be screened for immigration status.'
Critics have long contended the program casts a wide net and lumps traffic offenders with serious criminals.
'On paper it looks really good, but once you get it out in the field you do cast a huge, broad net,' said Carlos Espinosa, president of America Para Todos. 'People are getting put into county jail for minor offenses and then because of their immigration status land in deportation proceedings. You’re criminalizing people who committed minor offenses who otherwise may be hardworking people.'
The Houston Police Department recently decided to voluntarily withdraw from negotiations to begin the program, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Mayor Bill White said he would prefer that Houston police officers participate in a different program that would allow them to search the immigration history of accused criminals.
Harris County commissioners will decide whether to give Garcia the go-ahead to continue with 287(g) next week. Critics of the program plan to be there to call on them to terminate the Sheriff’s Office involvement with the controversial program.
Return to Top
********
********
16.
Mayors debate illegal immigration
Barletta, mayor of New Haven put forth their opposing viewpoints at King’s forum.
By Steve Mocarsky
The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA), October 23, 2009
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Mayors_debate_illegal_immigration_10-23-2009.html
Wilkes Barre, PA -- Two mayors with opposite views on how to handle illegal immigrants in their cities presented those views and then answered questions at a public forum Thursday night at King’s College.
Speaking through a video-conference from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, DeStefano said his job is 'to make New Haven a safe and civil place.' He said about 15,000 of his city’s 130,000 residents are illegal immigrants and are important to the local economy.
After concluding that the federal government would not soon solve problems associated with illegal immigration, DeStefano initiated a program in July 2007 in which the city began issuing ID cards to city residents, including illegal immigrants, allowing them to gain access to city services and bank accounts. Opponents considered the cards an enticement for illegal immigrants to move there.
He said New Haven is 'not trying to be a sanctuary city. … We’re trying to make decisions that are good for us.'
Barletta said he and DeStefano share common ground in agreeing that 'the federal government has failed us' on immigration.
He described problems he associated with illegal immigrants that he’s seen since taking office in 2000, including overtaxed schools and hospitals, code violations, crime and a stagnating tax base despite a 50-percent population increase.
Barletta said violent crime in Hazleton increased 30 percent between 2003 and 2007 when he introduced, and council passed, the Illegal Immigration Relief Act, which would have punished employers and landlords who employed or harbored illegal immigrants.
Several students and adults asked both mayors questions on topics ranging from assimilation of illegal immigrants to employment issues.
Dr. Agapito Lopez asked both mayors for statistics to back up their views on crime.
DeStefano said crime in his city dropped 16 percent since initiating the ID card program, and there has been no disproportionate increase in homicide associated with illegal immigrants.
Barletta said that in a city that once averaged a homicide every seven years, nine of 13 homicides during his term were committed by illegal immigrants. He said that after the Relief Act was passed, even though declared unconstitutional in court, violent crime dropped 40 percent, he said.
Joseph George, a junior at the college, said 'both guys seem to have good ideas' and are 'doing what they think is best.'
Sophomore Caitlin Dewey, who is from the New Haven area, said she thought Barletta appeared 'more negative' while DeStefano 'came up with ideas and resolutions for problems.'
Sophomore Katie Kinsman said the forum helped her 'realize how the federal government is absolutely failing us.'
Sophomore Erin Perry thought it was 'interesting to see the contrast between both views after hearing so much about Hazleton and the growing Hispanic population.'
Return to Top
********
********
17.
Arpaio won’t close door on possible gubernatorial run
By Mike Sunnucks
The Phoenix Business Journal, October 22, 2009
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/10/19/daily60.html
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio won’t close the door on a possible run for governor next year, saying he is confident he could win if he ran.
Arpaio also discounted speculation he might soon be endorsing another candidate for governor. Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker has met with Arpaio, and the sheriff had good things to say about Parker at a recent Republican Party event in Fountain Hills.
The sheriff said that doesn’t amount to an endorsement, and he’s not saying either way whether he will enter the race. 'You never say never,' said Arpaio, who has flirted with runs for governor before, but never pulled the trigger.
He said his poll numbers are still high, and he’s been raising campaign funds.
Gov. Jan Brewer is expected to announce her re-election bid next month. She faces a potentially crowded GOP primary field that could include Arpaio, Parker, Arizona Treasurer Dean Martin and Tucson attorney John Munger.
An Arpaio endorsement could be a major boost in a Republican primary dominated by conservative voters who tend to like his aggressive immigration tactics. For example, it could help an upstart candidate such as Parker, who does not have significant name identification, make a mark in the GOP primary.
It might not help so much statewide in a general election, because the large Hispanic population often opposes the sheriff’s immigration raids.
Public relations executive and political consultant Jason Rose has done work for Arpaio and is handling Parker’s gubernatorial bid. Rose said Parker would like Arpaio’s backing.
'Mayor Parker was very pleased with flattering remarks Sheriff Arpaio again made about him at the major Fountain Hills political event over the weekend,' Rose said. 'We want his endorsement and are actively seeking it.'
The sheriff has been in the national spotlight over changes to federal immigration policies by the Obama administration. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency changed an agreement with the MCSO that previously allowed the sheriff to arrest illegal immigrants during crime sweeps. The new agreement between ICE and MCSO allows the sheriff to arrest people on immigration charges only when they are booked into county jails on other charges.
Still, Arpaio conducted immigration raids and crime sweeps in Surprise and Peoria last weekend, citing state laws as the basis for his arrests.
Return to Top
********
********
18.
Swine flu patients separated at St. Vincents
The KGW News (Portland), October 23, 2009
http://www.kgw.com/news-local/stories/kgw_102209_news_swine_flu_hospital_tent_portland.240904e3b.html
Portland -- Multnomah County turned away an estimated 800 people Thursday morning at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization building where 500 lucky people got the shot on the first day the vaccines were provided at several county locations.
At the IRCO site at 102nd and Glisan, the line stretched for two blocks. He reported that to keep order, county health officials created a numbering system not unlike for concert tickets or a store opening.
People set up chairs to wait. Those who arrived two hours early got the vaccination. Anyone who showed up an hour or later were sent away. Some unable to get a shot included people in high risk categories - children with asthma or pregnant women - that need the vaccination.
There was a glimmer of heroics on this day. Greg Bray of Northeast Portland had the ticket for the 500th shot, given to him after a two-hour wait. He gave it up and handed it to a pregnant woman in line behind him. 'I can get a shot when I go see my doctor,' he said.
More: List of county swine flu locations statewide
Meantime, hospitals in Portland are putting up tents outside emergency rooms in anticipation of a flood of patients coming in suffering from flu symptoms.
Dr. Tom Calverley, emergency department medical director at St. Vincent, said about 40 patients a day came to their hospital last week and that number is up to 60 this week.
At St. Vincent's, the tent, Caverley said, is a pre-emptive move in anticipation of even more patients.
'It's much easier to put this up ahead of time and be ready,' he said, 'than to try and do it in the midst of a crisis.'
In Marion County, health officials said those in priority groups could start calling Monday, October 26 at 8:30 a.m. to set up appointments. Caregivers, those with children, health issues and pregnant women could call (503) 584-4870.
The St. Vincent emergency room has 60 beds and the tent provides 20 more. Most who come in with for the flu will be treated in the tent and sent home.
Caverley said many who come to the hospital with simple flu symptoms should stay home.
'Things you want to look for to say okay, I need to head to the hospital, (are) things like shortness of breath,' he said. 'Very dizzy. I have chest pain. I'm coughing up blood. I'm confused or lethargic. All those things would make me say you need to get in and get seen right away,' he said.
+++
Officials ask those not in a priority group to wait for vaccine
By Shellie Bailey-Shah
The KATU News (Portland), October 23, 2009
http://www.katu.com/news/local/65703307.html
Return to Top
********
********
19.
CNN’s Special on Latinos Stirs Protests Against Anchor
By Brian Stelter
The New York Times, October 22, 2009
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/in-wake-of-cnn-latino-special-groups-criticize-lou-dobbs-and-the-channel/
CNN’s broadcast of a four-hour documentary about Latinos this week turned into a political rallying cry for activist groups that are calling on the cable news channel to fire Lou Dobbs, a veteran anchor with anti-immigration views.
An array of minority groups held small protests in New York and other cities on Wednesday, the first night of the 'Latino in America' presentation. They are trying to highlight what they say are years of lies about immigration by Mr. Dobbs, who anchors the 7 p.m. hour on CNN.
CNN, a unit of Time Warner, has not commented on the protests, or covered them on its news programs. One of the activists featured in the documentary said on Wednesday she tried to bring up what she called Mr. Dobbs’ 'hatred' on one of the channel’s news programs, but that her remarks were cut from the interview.
Isabel Garcia, a civil rights attorney who was featured in the documentary and attended an protest against Mr. Dobbs in Tucson on Wednesday, said that she felt censored by CNN after the channel edited her comments about the anchor out of an interview.
She had anticipated a 15-minute conversation about immigration opposite the Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona, a staunch believer in immigration enforcement, on the prime-time program 'Anderson Cooper 360.'
During the taped interview Wednesday, she said she made several unprompted comments about Mr. Dobbs.
She said that she called Mr. Arpaio and Mr. Dobbs 'the two most dangerous men to our communities,' and added that 'because of them, our communities are being terrorized in a real way.' She also asserted that CNN was 'promoting lies and hate about our community' by broadcasting Mr. Dobbs’ program. The comments were not included when the interview was broadcast.
A CNN spokeswoman said, 'the segment was tied to CNN’s documentary ’Latino in America,’ which is a far-reaching look at the successes and challenges Latinos are facing — including illegal immigration. As with all pretaped interviews, they are edited for time and relevance to the topic of discussion. The debate between Isabel Garcia and Joe Arpaio was no exception.'
Return to Top
********
********
20.
Union: Firm Mistreated Teachers From Philippines
The Associated Press, October 22, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/22/us/AP-US-Immigrant-Teachers-Complaint.html
New Orleans (AP) -- A teachers' union is claiming that a California-based firm that recruited teachers from the Philippines to work in Louisiana schools made the educators pay fees of $15,000 or more.
The American Federation of Teachers filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor calling for an investigation. The complaint, dated Tuesday, follows similar ones the union's state affiliate filed last month with Louisiana officials.
The union says California-based Universal Placement International and its president, Lourdes ''Lulu'' Navarro, illegally collected the fees from teachers they recruited in the Philippines.
The union also claims the company holds the teachers' immigration documents to coerce payments.
A spokeswoman for Navarro did not immediately return a call for comment.
Return to Top
********
********
21.
Obama's policy on illegal immigration worries some companies
The WRAL News (Raleigh), October 22, 2009
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/6263977/
Raleigh, NC -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's latest estimate on the number of illegal immigrants in the country is anywhere from 12 million to 20 million, with a suspected 350,000 in North Carolina.
The Bush administration tried to reduce that number by trying to stop the flow of illegal immigrants into the country. Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new strategy under the Obama administration that now also goes after an illegal immigrant's employer and its managers.
'Under the Bush administration, it was more of a big-bang worksite raid, arrest illegal aliens, hit the news,' said Bernhard Mueller, a labor and employment attorney with the Ogletree Deakins law firm in Raleigh.
Worksite raids across the country led to thousands of illegal immigrants being detained in recent years. In August 2007, for example, ICE agents raided a meat packing plant in Bladen County and charged 28 people with identity theft for assuming identities of real U.S. citizens to falsify citizenship and seek employment. Last year, six people were detained after a raid on a Raleigh restaurant.
Mueller says the new strategy is a wake-up call to employers.
'It's not a pretty picture for them. They ought to be concerned,' he said.
ICE has launched a new initiative to audit hiring records and I-9s -- the form every new hire fills out to verify identity and employment eligibility – of current and past employees.
Last year, 503 companies nationwide received inspection notices. This year, Homeland Security notified 652 companies in one day.
'It is one of those things causing indigestion among the employment community,' said George Ports with Capital Associated Industries Inc., an employer association in North Carolina with approximately 1,000 members.
This week, it offered a seminar to address I-9 compliance because of the Homeland Security audits.
'It's a concern of employers, especially if they have a high percentage of Latinos,' Ports said.
Immigration officials have said they are looking for companies that knowingly hired illegal workers. But Mueller says, that's not necessarily the case.
'The government is trying to show – wrongfully, I believe, or rightfully in some cases – that the company, in fact, knows or should have known, and that's a dangerous standard (that it) should have known.'
He says industries known to hire low-skill, low-pay labor, such as the housing industry, are among those being targeted.
Lisa Martin, who represents the North Carolina Homebuilders Association, says she hopes the process is systematic and fair.
'We support the enforcement of immigration laws,' Martin said. 'They need to be targeting people that are willingly evading the law or are just not in compliance, knowingly.'
As jobs have dried up during the recession, thousands of Latinos in North Carolina have returned to their home countries.
Homeland Security believes that, by stopping companies from hiring illegal workers, it gets to the root of the immigration problem.
Tony Asion, director of the statewide advocacy group El Pueblo, says he's already hearing of unintended consequences.
'What (companies) do is deny the job (to a Latino), and it could very well be to a legal U.S.-born Latino who is here,' he said.
Having represented many clients who were recently audited, Mueller offers this advice: 'Get your house in order. Conduct internal reviews of all your I-9 forms.'
He adds that if an employer did not know someone was illegal, but ignored the warning signs, the penalty could be jail time and a fine.
Audits that turn up I-9 forms that are not completely or accurately filled out could cost employers up to $1,100 per form.
Return to Top
********
********
22.
Detained immigrant children face legal maze in U.S.
By Rose Marie Arce
The CNN News, October 22, 2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/22/lia.detained.children/
Miami -- When 'Marta' was 12, she entered the United States illegally, hoping to join her mother, who had left her in Central America years ago to search for work. Three years later she was sitting in immigration detention by herself waiting to be deported back home to her grandmother, who was dying of cancer.
Her case is typical of the 7,211 children known to have entered the United States illegally in 2008 by themselves, according to the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, which runs the shelters where the children are detained. Children come searching for family members or a way out of poverty with little understanding of the legal ramifications they face.
Marta had something not every child in those circumstances receives -- legal representation. A lawyer employed by the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, a nonprofit legal assistance group, took her case. It made the difference between being deported and getting a shot at a visa.
But not every child will go before a judge with a lawyer. Last year, as many as 50 percent of the children detained went before judges with no lawyer, according to Wendy Young, director of Kids in Need of Defense. She says it could get worse, because the organizations that provide free legal defense for these children are struggling financially and cutting back.
'The impact [of having fewer legal services] would be devastating, because these are children who can't get through legal proceedings alone. It's just not realistic,' said Young, who added that there have been cases where babies were carried into court to face judges without lawyers.
The Office of Refugee Resettlement did provide $5 million to the Vera Institute, a nonprofit organization that works with the government on justice policy. Vera used that money to help 14 nonprofit organizations provide legal information to children of all ages, but the government is barred by law from providing actual representation to detained children, according to Maureen Dunn, director of the Unaccompanied Children's Services Program for the resettlement office.
'They are children and they don't understand procedures and immigration laws, there are some very arcane laws ... and we help them break down a complex process,' said Dunn, who said she believes no more than 30 percent of detained immigrant children face judges without lawyers.
In Marta's case, her lawyer, Michelle Abarca, determined during interviews with her that she had no place to go home to and no safe place to live in the United States. She argued in court that Marta qualified for a special visa for children who have been abused, abandoned or neglected and need the protection of the United States. She now lives in a foster home in Florida and has a U.S. visa.
Dunn says the government's goal is to demystify the legal process for children by teaching them about the legal process and determine which children might qualify for relief and need representation.
'They are very vulnerable in a system that was created for adults,' said Susan Shah, director of the Vera program. Shah said the program then tries to connect the children with lawyers willing to work free, either with the support of their law firms or through groups like Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center.
But services are not always available. The advocacy center represented 400 children this year, but Cheryl Little, the center's executive director, said its chief funder, Florida Children's Trust, is making severe cutbacks. The trust funds programs for children from money levied through real estate taxes and a bad economy has created deep reductions. U.S. Senator former child refugee of Operation Pedro PanVideo
'We're in the red by at least $400,000. We're looking at layoffs, cutting salaries, benefits and freezing positions we need,' said Little, whose group represented Marta. 'It means the lifeline we now extend to children won't be there. It means that kids will get sent to bad circumstances when they may qualify for the protection of this country. It breaks my heart to think of the consequences.'
Angelina Jolie and Microsoft help fund Kids in Need of Defense. The group worked with 1,000 pro bono lawyers this year and trained them to represent children facing immigration hearings. But volunteer lawyers without day-to-day experience in immigration are not necessarily a replacement for lawyers versed in complicated immigration law, according to Young.
'Getting a good defense can literally mean the difference between life and death for a child who is fleeing war or is the victim of human trafficking,' Young said.
Marta, whose lawyer has handled as many as 100 clients at once, still depends on her attorney to guide her through the legal process that lies ahead.
'I'll be OK,' said Marta. 'Because I have my lawyer and my God.'
Return to Top
********
********
23.
Gay partners seeking immigration changes
By Mackenzie Carpenter
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 23, 2009
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09296/1007756-84.stm
He came here nine years ago from Indonesia, a gifted young student who earned a Ph.D. in structural engineering -- on a full scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh -- met his partner at a Starbucks in Shadyside, got a job in Washington, D.C., bought a condo and got married.
And on Wednesday, he got on a plane to Indonesia -- against his will.
Because he is gay, the man calling himself 'Joe Smith' -- he asked that his real name not be used because he hasn't come out to his Indonesian family -- is not recognized as married under U.S. immigration law. So, when he was laid off from his job in April, Mr. Smith lost his employment-based green card, couldn't qualify for a family-based green card -- and the deportation clock started ticking.
Today, Mr. Smith's partner, Steve Orney, will appear at a congressional briefing on a House bill that would give gay couples the right to obtain lawful permanent resident status, in the same manner that spouses of citizens and lawful permanent residents petition for foreign-born husbands and wives -- by showing that they are in a 'permanent partnership.'
An estimated 36,000 same-sex couples, many with children, face similarly wrenching separations under U.S. immigration law, noted Rachel Tiven, executive director for Immigration Equality, a New York-based group.
The House bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, D-Calif., along with a similar measure in the Senate sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy, complicates the already fractious debate over comprehensive immigration reform, which failed to pass in two previous sessions.
While labor and immigration groups have pressed President Barack Obama to make good on his pledge to take up immigration later this year, few believe it will happen. Moreover, Mr. Leahy has said he wants any immigration equality bill to be part of a larger immigration reform package, which opponents of the legislation say would torpedo that reform.
'It's an overreach, like pouring gasoline into a fire,' said Kevin Appleby, director of migration and refugee policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. While the conference has been a staunch supporter of immigration reform, the Catholic Church's opposition to gay marriage and homosexuality makes this bill's inclusion unacceptable, he said. 'Why add another major controversy to an issue that's already divisive? It's a distraction that will simply hurt the overall effort.'
Another cosponsor of immigration equality for gay couples, Sen. Bob Casey, said he'd prefer to see a bill passed separately -- to give it a better chance of passage, given that wholesale immigration reform proved a tough sell last session and may do so again. Mr. Casey, who supports gay civil unions, believes that it 'makes no sense' to deport people who meet the requirements of this bill.
'We're saying to tens of thousands of Americans, in effect, 'Sorry, we understand you're in this relationship and are committed to each other and to this country, but you have to leave.' '
And when the deportee's education was paid for with U.S. tax dollars, 'that's particularly disturbing,' he said.
Business leaders have been pushing for changes in immigration law that would give credit to applicants with higher education degrees or who have been successful in business, said Robert Whitehill, a Pittsburgh immigration lawyer, citing a Wall Street Journal opinion piece Oct. 19 by MIT President Susan Hockfield, who noted that four of this year's nine winners of Nobel Prizes in chemistry, physics and medicine were born outside the United States, coming here as graduate or post-doctoral students.
'In her article, she noted that one of the reasons we're losing our advantage in science and other fields is that instead of giving these people permanent residency, we're kicking them out of the country and telling them to go home,' he said. 'It's just counterintuitive.'
Regardless of how it comes before Congress, either separately or as part of comprehensive immigration reform, this bill would probably come too late for Mr. Smith, who has filed papers to emigrate with Mr. Orney to Canada. Nonetheless, Mr. Orney, in his appearance today, will be bringing his 88-year-old father, who asked that he be allowed to testify about the strength and commitment of his son's relationship with Mr. Smith, which began eight years ago in Pittsburgh, Mr. Orney said.
After meeting online, the two agreed to meet at a Starbucks in Shadyside, and immediately clicked, said Loretta Barone, a Point Breeze yoga teacher and a longtime friend of the couple.
'They aren't any less committed than my husband and I, and we've been married for 47 years,' said Ms. Barone.
When Mr. Smith was laid off by his D.C.-based construction firm in April, he scrambled to find another job, to no avail. Ironically, a month previously, the couple had bought a home together in Washington. 'Joe first asked his bosses if he was safe,' said Mr. Orney. 'They assured him he was, and three weeks later laid him off.'
'We knew he would have a really tough time finding a job, given that most stimulus-funded projects have hire-American policies,' said Mr. Orney. 'And that turned out to be true.'
'I have spent half of my adult life studying, working and paying taxes here,' added Joe, in a telephone interview before he left the country. 'It's been really hard, an emotional roller coaster. I feel like this is my home, but it's a home that doesn't want me.'
Return to Top
********
********
24.
As deadline looms, questions arise over Rifqa Bary's immigration status
Rifqa Bary told FDLE investigators her family couldn't travel because of their legal status in America
By Amy L. Edwards
The Orlando Sentinel, October 23, 2009
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-bk-rifqa-bary-immigration-102309,0,180726.story
As a deadline looms for lawyers to provide her immigration paperwork to an Orange County judge, Fathima Rifqa Bary's own words indicate there may be troubles with her legal status in the United States.
Rifqa's guardian ad litem already raised the possibility that the 17-year-old Ohio teen runaway isn't in the country legally.
And now, the teen's own statements indicate that something may be amiss.
Rifqa told agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement during an Aug. 24 interview that her family couldn't travel 'because of our legal status here.'
'I think my parents are waiting for all that to be sorted out,' Rifqa said.
Rifqa's transcribed interview with the state agents was released Thursday by FDLE.
Listen to the audio interview here.
Rifqa told the investigators how and why she ran away from Ohio and ended up in Orlando. A local church member whom she met through a Christian Facebook group bought her a bus ticket.
The teen told FDLE she couldn't travel by airplane.
'I mean, I can't fly, I don't have legal status to do so. You guys have seen that,' she said.
During a proceeding in Orange County juvenile court last week, Rifqa's guardian ad litem told Judge Daniel Dawson it appeared that Rifqa wasn't in the country legally.
Krista Bartholomew, who is also a lawyer, raised the possibility that Rifqa could be forced to return to her native Sri Lanka. As of last week's hearing, Bartholomew said she didn't know Rifqa's exact residency status.
Rifqa's case drew attention after she was reported missing by her parents in Ohio and then surfaced in Orlando while living with husband-and-wife pastors and their adult children. Rifqa claimed that she had converted to Christianity and feared that her Muslim father would harm or kill her because of her religious conversion.
Her father, Mohamed Bary, has denied those claims, and the FDLE investigation did not uncover any evidence of abuse. Officials in Ohio also found no such threats.
Rifqa has remained in foster care in Central Florida since early August.
Last week, Dawson said an Ohio court had proper jurisdiction in Rifqa's case and agreed to send the teen back to her home state. Rifqa will also be placed in foster care there.
But Dawson said before he would send Rifqa back to her home state, he needed her immigration documentation and proof she could continue her online education.
As of last week's hearing, Rifqa's parents and their respective attorneys had not provided all the immigration documents as requested.
The Department of Children and Families said this week it provided the education paperwork.
It's unclear if the immigration documents have been provided to the court. Juvenile court records are not public. Mohamed Bary's local lawyer, who is supposed to provide the immigration documents, said he could not comment because of a gag order.
Rifqa's private lawyer, John Stemberger, has not returned a call.
The parties have until noon today to file the documents with the court.
Return to Top
********
********
25.
Massive FBI Raid on Islamic Slaughterhouse Mystifies Tiny Illinois Town
By Joseph Abrams
The Fox News, October 22, 2009
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569185,00.html
Kinsman, Illinois, a rural community of 109 residents, was baffled when the FBI launched a massive raid on a Muslim butcher shop on the outskirts of town.
At 8 a.m. Sunday the population of Kinsman, Ill., stood at 109. An hour later it nearly doubled, as upwards of 100 federal agents and police swooped in on the tiny, rural community. And no one seems to know why.
The law enforcement officers, including FBI agents, immigration officials and state police, surrounded an Islamic meat plant in Kinsman, cordoning off the area and briefly detaining the plant's handful of employees.
The FBI isn't saying much, and the county sheriff is mum too, leaving Kinsman's residents mystified. The bust, in a town that has no local police force, involved dozens of vehicles, a pair of snipers and a helicopter flying overhead, witnesses said — but it ended without even a single arrest.
'We're all baffled,' Mayor Mark Harlow said. 'You know, stuff like this doesn't happen in a small community.'
The unusual show of force has residents spooked and has left the mayor searching for answers.
'The public reaction is ... are they safe? We don't know,' Harlow said. 'What are they doing? We don't know. Are they making bombs? We don't know.'
Harlow said residents of the town rarely see the five or six employees of the First World Management butcher shop, which provides ritually slaughtered and processed lamb and goat meat for Muslims living in Chicago, 50 miles to the northeast.
Some of the workers were handcuffed during the raid, but they were eventually released, Harlow said. He said the workers are foreign-born and live in a trailer on the property behind the plant's meat locker, and they have never harmed anyone in town.
'I've never seen them do anything out of the ordinary,' he told Foxnews.com. The workers' residency status is unknown.
Kinsman is a sleepy town carved out of a patchwork landscape of farms in the heart of the Grain Belt. Its few square blocks are home to a post office, church and bar, and there isn't a restaurant or gas station in sight.
But the two men listed as the proprietors of the business appear to be under scrutiny. A staff member at the First World Management office in Chicago identified Syed Hamid, 51, as an employee, and confirmed that Tahawara Hussain Rana, 48, is the owner of the business.
Residents believe Hamid lives in a house adjoining the shop in Kinsman and runs the slaughterhouse. Hamid, a doctor, has been in talks with a Chicago lawyer, George Jackson III, who told Foxnews.com he doesn't anticipate Hamid will be charged with a crime. Jackson said he and Hamid had spoken to investigators since the raid.
Rana's case isn't so clear. Jackson said he could not comment, and phone calls to the Rana household in Chicago went unanswered.
Law enforcement officials declined to comment on whether the massive raid was connected to a series of high-profile arrests orchestrated by the FBI in recent weeks that focused on terror suspects.
'No one is in custody, no charges have been filed,' said Cynthia Yates, a spokeswoman for the FBI's Chicago office. 'There's not much to say.'
The sheriff of Grundy County, Ill., where Kinsman is located, said he was informed of the impending raid about two weeks ago, but his officers did not play a tactical role.
'The only thing I can tell you is that it's an ongoing criminal investigation, and basically everything that's being done is through the FBI,' Sheriff Terry Marketti said.
Though Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were present at the raid, it's unclear what role they were playing. The Department of Homeland Security has recently refocused its efforts on employers who hire illegal immigrants, rather than on the immigrants themselves.
And unlike the targets of similar sweeps that were the norm in the Bush administration, the Kinsman shop employed only a handful of workers, a fraction of the size of other plants that have drawn the attention of ICE officials. Also, unlike in past immigration raids, no workers were brought into custody.
'It was crazy,' said Grundy County Board Chairman Francis Halpin, who lives in nearby Morris, Ill. 'I never thought I'd see anything like this in Kinsman.'
Return to Top
********
********
26.
Jordan Man Arrested at Chicago's O'Hare Airport for Alleged Terrorist Threats
The Fox News, October 23, 2009
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569300,00.html
Chicago -- Chicago police say a Jordanian national was arrested at O'Hare International Airport on a warrant from Minnesota alleging that he is wanted for making terrorist threats.
Officials say Ismail Alqawasmi was taken into custody Thursday evening by Immigration and Customs agents after the warrant turned up in a name check.
The 36-year-old Alqawasmi had arrived aboard a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight and was arrested around 8 p.m.
Police said they did not know the nature of the threats and had no background information about Alqawasmi.
Return to Top
********
********
27.
Houston immigration officer arrested
The Houston Chronicle, October 22, 2009
Federal agents on Thursday arrested a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer on bribery and fraud charges, authorities said.
. . .
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/immigration/6681999.html
Return to Top
********
********
28.
Former Border Patrol officer pleads guilty to taking bribes
The Phoenix Business Journal, October 22, 2009
A former U.S. Border Patrol officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to accepting bribes from immigrant smugglers at the U.S.-Mexico border.
. . .
http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/10/19/daily59.html
Return to Top
********
********
29.
Millionaire illegal Irishman jailed in US
By Niall Stanage
The Irish Times, October 23, 2009
New York -- A County Tyrone native who made a multimillion-dollar fortune after emigrating to the United States more than 25 years ago will report to prison in January to begin an 18-month jail term.
Seán O’Neill (49), who lives in Pennsylvania, was sentenced on Wednesday on three counts of immigration fraud, one count of tax fraud and one count of illegally possessing a firearm silencer. In addition, O’Neill has been ordered to pay almost $400,000 (€266,000) in restitution to US tax authorities and a $60,000 fine.
. . .
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/1023/1224257290380.html
Return to TopSupport 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: Top court strikes down Quebec language restrictions
2. Canada: Immigration Board continues review of Sri Lankan 'boatpeople' (story, 2 links)
3. Canada: Local level leaders refuse disclosure of foreign investor program details
4. Cayman Islands: Finance industry urges review of immigration laws
5. E.U.: France, Italy call for Union response to illegal influx (story, 2 links)
6. U.K.: British Nationalist's TV appearance sparks protests, controversy (story, 3 links)
7. U.K.: Activists call for alterations to refugee policies
8. France: Authorities under heavy criticism for Afghan deportations
9. Switzerland: U.N. blasts European nations over Iraqi asylum policies (story, 3 links)
10. Switzerland: Asylum claims increase in industrialized countries
11. Switzerland: U.N. warns foreign children at disadvantage in affluent countries
12. Indonesia: President calls for 'crisis' talks on asylum-seeker crisis
13. Indonesia: Detainees allege abuse at detention center (story, link)
14. Indonesia: Smugglers nonchalant about enforcement (story, 2 links)
15. Australia: Human rights comm’r calls off-shore detention a violation (story, 2 links)
16. Australia: 'Indonesian solution' to cost upwards of $50 million
Subscribe to CIS e-mail services here: http://cis.org/immigrationnews.html
-- Mark Krikorian]
1.
Quebec school language law shot down
The Canadian Press, October 23, 2009
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1148965.html
Montreal (CP) -- Desperate to avoid an eruption of long-dormant language wars, Quebec’s federalist government trod warily Thursday after the country’s top court struck down a provincial law limiting immigrants’ access to English school.
The Supreme Court of Canada has given Quebec one year to come up with an acceptable compromise to the law, originally struck down by the provincial appeals court two years ago.
The potential political implications became evident as some jumped on the verdict as proof Quebec needed its own country, and complained that 'another nation’s' court should not set Quebec language policy.
Premier Jean Charest sought to douse those flames with a promise to replace the old language law with a similar one.
'We are disappointed by the judgment — that’s obvious,' Charest told the legislature.
'At the same time, the Supreme Court gives the government a year to react to the verdict. That means it’s the status quo.'
That hardly satisfied his opponents.
Sovereigntists used the verdict to question the legitimacy of the Supreme Court of Canada. They pointed out that Canada’s high court has consistently ruled against the province’s landmark language legislation.
'It’s the fifth time this court weakens Bill 101,' Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said in Ottawa.
'It’s the Supreme Court of another nation — the Canadian nation. We need to draw lessons from this. For as long as we belong to Canada, there will always be situations like this.'
He pointed out that the high court had already struck down parts of the province’s French Language Charter in 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1992.
While language is always a hot-button issue in Quebec — far more than either medicare or relations with Washington are in English Canada — the linguistic waters have remained relatively calm over the last decade.
The new ruling did away with Bill 104, seven-year-old legislation that was supported by all political parties in the province. That bill had ended a practice where children from immigrant families got around the French Language Charter.
Quebec law states that children can only attend English public school if a parent was educated in that language in Canada.
But prior to Bill 104, many immigrant families escaped the law. Until then, all it took to make an entire family eligible for English public school was to send one child briefly, for even less than a year, to an English private school.
The moment one child in a family qualified for an English-language education, their siblings all qualified, as well.
That practice was halted by the 2002 law, which the Supreme Court overturned Thursday.
Lawyers representing more than two dozen families had argued the Quebec government was violating immigrants’ constitutional rights by denying them access to English-language schools.
They contended the policy threatened the long-term viability of the English school system by eroding its student base.
The Quebec Court of Appeal sided with the parents in August 2007, declaring Bill 104 unconstitutional. The Supreme Court upheld that lower court verdict.
Return to Top
********
********
2.
Immigration minister says migrants in B.C. to be detained for now
By Camille Bains
The Canadian Press, October 23, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5gcs7DQMcDWTcR0ZQq5LRJXhPG4ew
Vancouver -- Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says the RCMP are investigating 76 Sri Lankan migrants being detained in B.C. to determine if any of them have any connections to terrorist or criminal organizations.
The men were found aboard a rusting freighter off the west coast last Saturday.
'Let me be very clear, our government intends to vigorously enforce Canada's laws to put the safety and security of Canadians first when it comes to issues like this,' Kenney said Thursday in Ottawa.
'If we have any indication that people are connected to terrorists or criminal organizations, they would be inadmissible to Canada and they would be even ineligible to make an asylum application in this country and we would . . . remove them from this country as quickly as possible.'
Kenney said government lawyers will vigorously argue at detention review hearings before the Immigration and Refugee Board in Vancouver that all 76 men should be detained.
By mid-afternoon Thursday, the 16 men whose cases had been heard by the board were denied release from the Maple Ridge, B.C., corrections facility where they're being held.
There have been concerns that some of them could be members of the separatist Tamil Tigers, banned in Canada as a terrorist organization.
All 76 migrants have been photographed and fingerprinted and they are being transported to Vancouver International Airport for initial interviews with Canada Border Services Agency officials.
Lawyer Narinder Kang said he's provided a copy of a birth certificate for one of his clients.
The client's brother, who testified by phone from another province, said he has spoken briefly with the detained man, who has no criminal record and would be supported by family members in Canada.
The brother said he has the detainee's original birth certificate and will provide it to authorities trying to establish his identity.
He told the hearing he is a Canadian citizen who came to Canada 13 years ago as a refugee and lives with other family members from Sri Lanka.
Another brother told The Canadian Press in a phone interview that although the family is worried about the man's continued detention, they're happy his life is no longer threatened in Sri Lanka.
'There, all the Tamil minority community is treated worse than animals,' he said. 'There's no human rights.
'I'm happy he's here in Canada so there's no threat for his life,' he said about a country where Amnesty International says almost 300,000 people are being held in internment camps in the aftermath of a bloody 26-year-old civil war that ended last spring.
The migrants' names and any identifying information, including about their families, cannot be published under a ban imposed by the IRB.
One of Kang's clients is a minor, and the provincial Children's Ministry is involved in that case.
Kang is working pro bono after being retained by Toronto-based group Canadian Human Rights Voice.
Group spokesman Todd Ross said members came to Vancouver because they were concerned about whether the migrants are getting timely detention review hearings.
Potential refugee claimants detained in Canada must have a detention review hearing within 48 hours after entering the country and a second hearing seven days later.
So far just 16 men have had the first hearings but IRB spokeswoman Melissa Anderson said the hearings may go late into the evening and the weekend to speed things up.
Kamal Gill, lawyer for the Canada Border Services Agency, told the hearing for Kang's client that the government is dealing with a very labour intensive process as it tries to provide timely hearings for all 76 men while duty counsel are also trying to talk to them.
But every migrant's initial interview with the agency is being conducted at the Vancouver International airport, requiring time to transport them there and back.
Ross said about 60 Tamil families from across Canada have offered to house the men or support them while they go through the refugee claims process.
Lawyer Larry Smeets said three of four men who were denied release earlier Thursday have made refugee claims.
Smeets said he expects the fourth man to also claim refugee status but he has not yet had a preliminary interview with Canada Border Services Agency officials.
'The four people before you today very much want to be released,' he told a detention review hearing by phone from the corrections facility.
+++
Immigration board continuing to review cases of Sri Lankan migrants
By Darah Hansen
The Vancouver Sun (Canada), October 23, 2009
http://www.vancouversun.com/Immigration+board+continuing+review+cases+Lankan+migrants/2137786/story.html
Ship of Tamils stir fears of hidden Tigers
By Colin Freeze
The Globe and Mail (Canada), October 23, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/ship-of-tamils-stir-fears-of-hidden-tigers/article1334883/
Return to Top
********
********
3.
Liberals shield firms receiving immigrant investment
The CBC News (Canada), October 23, 2009
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2009/10/23/pe-pnp-companies-protected-584.html
P.E.I.'s governing Liberals used their majority on the public accounts committee Thursday to block the release of the names of some companies that received immigrant investment.
Opposition leader Olive Crane was looking for the names of three companies that in 2007-08 received more than was allowed under the rules of the provincial nominee program, which administered investment money from people looking to immigrate to Canada.
Up until January 2008, PNP rules limited the amount of investment a single company could receive to four units, that is, money from four immigrants. Auditor General Colin Younker told the public accounts committee Thursday at least two companies received 12 units, more than $650,000 each, and another received eight.
Crane wanted Younker to reveal the names of the companies. On more than one occasion, the Liberal majority on the committee voted her motions down.
Crane argued all the questions about PNP need to be answered.
'If we deal with this now, we have an opportunity to work on getting a new and better program for all the people of P.E.I.,' she told the committee.
'We'll never get there if we don't get all the information out and clear.'
But Liberal MLA Janice Sherry and the other four Liberal members of the committee voted against all the motions to name names.
'When it comes to this program, people who accessed it and utilized this program, did so, and it provided a great economic spinoff in our communities from one end of the Island to the other,' said Sherry.
'People who actually took part in this program are now almost feeling embarrassed that they did.'
Crane also asked for more information about seven companies approved while the Progressive Conservatives were in power, even though they did not meet the criteria, and was again denied.
Liberals also blocked an Opposition request for Younker to sample another 10 per cent of the businesses that received PNP money in 2007-08.
Return to Top
********
********
4.
Cayman Finance advocates immigration policy review
By Michael Klein
The Cay Compass (Cayman Islands), October 22, 2009
http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=10386515
Referring to suggestions made by the Leader of Government Business McKeeva Bush that Cayman’s immigration policy should be reconsidered; the chairman of newly formed Cayman Finance Anthony Travers said the financial services industry organisation would 'strongly advocate that review which is overdue'.
In a speech held at the anti–money laundering, compliance and financial crime conference on Friday Mr Travers outlined the policy positions of Cayman Finance.
He called for a new focus on the development of a local financial infrastructure and the necessary personnel to operate a more sophisticated financial services industry, including investment banking, broker dealers, fund investment and more labour intensive fund management and administration.
He argued that 'it is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future that the volume of transactional flows will return to the levels experienced pre Leman Brothers.'
In order to maintain both public and private sector revenues, the Cayman Islands financial industry would therefore have to obtain greater revenue from fewer transactions.
The Cayman Islands could only attract more sophisticated financial services if Cayman’s immigration policy was changed, he concluded.
'There can be no doubt that the application of the roll over policy and the administration of the grant of work permits has had a very negative bearing on the fund administration industry in the Cayman Islands with trickle down negative implications for the real estate industry and job opportunities for Caymanians,' Mr Travers said.
He referred to remarks made by the Leader of Government Business at several public engagements over the past weeks, most recently at the opening of the Fidelity Financial Centre, where Mr Bush stated that, 'immigration must change'.
Mr Bush said that too much of the financial services industry had already relocated to Nova Scotia, Ireland and other parts of Europe.
It would be necessary to allow sufficient people into Cayman to build a stronger industry, capable of withstanding the next economic downturn, he concluded.
Earlier at the Cayman Fund Focus conference Mr Bush had announced that changes to the immigration regime would be made within a few weeks to make it easier for companies to recruit the staff they need.
In his speech Mr Travers described two alternative scenarios for the Cayman Islands. An economic model that refrains from enhancing and promoting the financial services industry and focuses solely on tourism would only generate a budget of $150 million per year or less than a quarter of its current size, he stated.
Saying that no financial industry in history has been able to maintain the status quo, he argued that 'if the financial industry is not moving forward with the full support of the Cayman Islands Government within a broad spectrum of supporting initiatives then it is moving backwards.'
At the same time Mr Travers sought to reassure Caymanians that 'there is nothing in the recommendations of Cayman Finance with regard to matters of immigration that will not operate in the best long term interests of young Caymanians seeking opportunity in the financial services industry.'
Return to Top
********
********
5.
France, Italy Urge Tougher EU Fight Against Illegal Immigration
By Francois de Beaupuy
Bloomberg News, October 23, 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=ah8STuiYLDVQ
France and Italy urged European Union leaders to step up their fight against illegal immigration, including by seeking greater cooperation with Mediterranean countries such as Turkey and Libya.
'Illegal immigration continues to represent a huge challenge for the European Union and all its member states on the humanitarian, political and social fronts,' French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi wrote today in a letter to European Commission President Jose Barroso and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency
The French and Italian leaders said Frontex, an EU agency that pools resources to patrol the 27-nation bloc’s external borders, should have more offices near the borders and more means to intercept illegal immigrants trying to enter through the Mediterranean Sea.
'The Mediterranean Sea is an important test for the credibility of European action,' they wrote.
Frontex should also regularly charter planes to deport undocumented migrants, wrote Sarkozy, who has made controlling illegal immigration one of his priorities, and Berlusconi, whose government has to deal with hundreds of would-be migrants who arrive on the Italian island of Lampedusa after setting off from Libya.
+++
France, Italy want more EU immigration cooperation
The Associated Press, October 23, 2009
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1089698&lang=eng_news
Italy and France seek EU-Libya accord to curb illegal immigration
Deutsche Presse Agentur, October 23, 2009
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1508939.php/Italy-and-France-seek-EU-Libya-accord-to-curb-illegal-immigration
Return to Top
********
********
6.
Rightist on BBC Panel Draws Protests and Viewers
By John F. Burns
The New York Times, October 23, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/world/europe/24britain.html?hpw
London -- In a usual week, 'Question Time' is a worthy but largely unexciting television program, a late-night panel discussion on the BBC that for 30 years has attracted a modest, pre-bedtime audience.
But on Thursday, it was transformed into the forum for Britain’s most anticipated political showdown in decades, drawing 8.2-million viewers, more than three times the program’s usual audience, on a par with the World Cup games played by England’s soccer team and more than watch such weekly prime-time hit shows as 'Strictly Come Dancing.'
The occasion was the appearance on the BBC’s flagship politics show of Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party, whose program to 'take back Britain' includes incentives that encourage the mass repatriation of Britain’s non-white immigrants, coupled with a deep hostility to Islam, which Mr. Griffin has described as 'a wicked and vicious faith.' He has also spoken of his 'repugnance' for lesbians and homosexuals, and advocated the end of civil contracts for same-sex relationships.
His record includes having denied the Holocaust, suggesting that some of the gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau were built after World War II for the purposes of Jewish propaganda, and conceding, under questioning by a biographer, that Hitler may have made some mistakes. 'Yes,' he said, according to the biographer, Dominic Carman, 'Adolf went a bit too far.'
In June, the B.N.P. won two seats — one for Mr. Griffin — in Britain’s 72-seat contingent to the European parliament, the first time it won election to anything higher than a local council. The party took more than a million votes, 6.2 per cent of the total, and gained enough legitimacy, in the view of the BBC’s executives, to have its voice heard, alongside the country’s mainstream parties, on Question Time.
Mr. Griffin, 50, is a pinstripe-suit-and-tie wearing Cambridge law graduate whose mission is to put a mainstream gloss on a party that is the ideological descendant of the Union of British Fascists, the pro-Hitler 'blackshirts' of the 1930’s. Since seizing the party’s leadership a decade ago, Mr. Griffin, flak jacket concealed beneath his dark suit, has set out from his home in a heavily-guarded farmhouse in Wales to change its members’ image, as a profile in Friday’s Daily Telegraph put it, 'from skinheads in bomber jackets to ‘politically incorrect rebels.’'
For the B.N.P. and other parties, the timing of the TV debate was especially significant. It came barely six months before the expected middle-of-May date for Britain’s general election, in which soaring unemployment and immigration levels, as well as the threat of terror on Britain’s streets, are likely to be major issues, and ones that could offer new openings to fringe parties like the B.N.P.
The BBC’s decision split Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s cabinet, as it did much of Britain. 'If they are asked about their racist and bigoted views,' Mr. Brown said, 'it will be a good opportunity to expose what they are about,' Mr. Brown said. But his Welsh secretary, Peter Hain, vehemently disagreed. 'The BBC should be ashamed of single-handedly doing a racist, fascist party the biggest favor in its grubby history', he said.
As the TV taping approached on Thursday night, three hours before the debate was broadcast, a thousand protesters gathered outside the BBC’s Television Center in West London, setting off clashes with truncheon-wielding police. At one point, 30 protesters broke into the BBC’s lobby, before being pushed back. A handful of policemen and protesters were injured, and there were six arrests.
To reach the BBC studio, Mr. Griffin was ushered by a phalanx of bodyguards through a rear door of the TV center. For a while, it had looked as if the burly politician, once a boxer for the Cambridge university team, might duck the occasion, citing the threat from the protesters — an outcome that would have fitted well with his claims that Britain’s 'political class' will do everything it can to prevent the B.N.P.’s message from gaining traction.
On Friday, Britain’s airwaves resonated with debate about who won, and lost, in the 60-minute debate. The show’s format consists of five panelists taking questions from a studio audience of about 100 people and from the program’s presenter, David Dimbleby, a 71-year-old veteran of royal weddings and other state occasions who has achieved the status of a British Walter Cronkite with his middle-of-the road, give-all-points-of-view-a-hearing manner.
The early reading by many of Britain’s major newspapers was that Mr. Griffin lost heavily on points. While he gained a mass audience for the first time, for a party that usually meets in cramped backstreet halls, he appeared shocked by the pounding he took from other panelists, by repeated booing in the studio and by infuriated interruptions from Mr. Dimbleby. On Friday, he said he would make a formal complaint to the BBC about 'the venom' and 'sheer unfairness' of the discussion. 'That was a lynch mob,' he said.
Mr. Dimbleby led the charge. Quoting liberally from Mr. Griffin’s past remarks about the Holocaust, Islam, lesbians and homosexuals, as well as restoring Britain to its 'indigenous' white population, he demanded Mr. Griffin say whether he stood by the remarks. After the B.N.P. leader said he was 'the most loathed man in Britain in the eyes of Britain’s Nazis,' the presenter interrupted brusquely: 'Do you deny the Holocaust?' he asked. When Mr. Griffin hesitated, he repeated the question.
Mr. Griffin said he had shifted from his earlier position of denial after listening to World War II radio intercepts of German plans for eliminating the Jews, but that he could not elaborate because of European laws that make Holocaust denial a criminal offense. Jack Straw, Britain’s justice minister and a fellow panelist, compared Mr. Griffin’s reasoning to Dr. Strangelove. 'You don’t need radio intercepts to know that people were gassed at Auschwitz,' he said.
The B.N.P. leader also sought to mollify anger in the studio audience — many of whom were Asian or black — at the party’s stance on saving Britain for whites, saying it was not a matter of color but of preserving the rights of Britain’s 'indigenous peoples,' who he said could trace their origins back 17,000 years. 'We are the aborigines here,' he said. That brought a black man in the audience to his feet. 'Where do you want me to go?' he said. 'I love this country, I’m part of this country.'
The B.N.P. leader also said that to earn the right to remain in Britain, Muslims should 'acknowledge that Britain always has been and must remain fundamentally a British and Christian country.' On lesbians and homosexuals, he said that 'a lot of people in this country find the sight of two grown men kissing in public really creepy.' That brought to her feet a woman in the audience who said she was a lesbian. 'I have to say the feeling of revulsion is mutual,' she said.
+++
Capital unrecognisable thanks to immigration - Griffin
The Press Association (U.K.), October 23, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5j0PlTC-dCwkLrdm0P8SnHuVmpuqQ
BNP leader gets mixed reviews in London stronghold
By Catherine Bosley
Reuters, October 23, 2009
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE59M4H020091023
Griffin struggles to defend views in BBC debate
By Jim Pickard and Tim Bradshaw
The Financial Times, October 22, 2009
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d444cfbc-bf2e-11de-a696-00144feab49a.html
Return to Top
********
********
7.
Calls for a fairer asylum system
The BBC News (U.K.), October 23, 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8321362.stm
The Scottish and British Refugee Councils are uniting in Glasgow to demand immediate changes to the UK asylum system.
They are expected to call for a 'fair and just asylum system' at the Scottish Refugee Council's annual conference.
The meeting will also look at the future of asylum in Scotland.
The councils believe all of those seeking asylum should be permitted to work while awaiting the result of their claim.
The conference will also debate the end of Section 4 and replacement with cash support for all asylum seekers until they return to their country of origin or are given status in the UK.
Strong reputation
Chief Executive of the Scottish Refugee Council John Wilkes said: 'Changes to the asylum system just last week show that the welfare and dignity of those seeking asylum is being eroded day by day.
'We must not forget that at the centre of this system are vulnerable people who have fled persecution and danger.
'Scotland has earned a strong reputation in standing up for the rights of those seeking sanctuary. Let's keep putting pressure on the authorities at all levels to ensure these rights continue to be recognised.'
Chief Executive of the British Refugee Council Donna Covey said: 'We appear to be moving further and further away from a system that is fair and just.
'Each year, it becomes harder for refugees to get to Britain and claim asylum.
'We are not asking for much. All we ask is that people whose lives are in danger are able to get to Britain, have their claim for asylum heard fairly, be adequately supported and allowed to work, and helped to integrate when they are given leave to stay.
'It is in everyone's interests that happens.'
Phil Taylor, regional director of the UK Border Agency in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: 'We operate a fair asylum system that is monitored by the UN High Commission for Refugees and is overseen by our courts.
'Section 4 payments do not apply to asylum seekers, they are given to illegal immigrants whose asylum claims have been rejected by the UK Border Agency and by the courts.
'The payments are designed to allow the time to facilitate the voluntary return home by these failed asylum seekers and not to fund their continued illegal stay in UK.'
He added: 'The government is determined to meet its obligations and provide refuge to those who genuinely need it, however those who have been found not to need protection must return home.'
Return to Top
********
********
8.
Security fears spark fresh controversy in Afghan deportation row
France24, October 23, 2009
http://www.france24.com/en/20091023-france-immigration-afghanistan-security-fears-spark-fresh-controversy-afghan-deportation-row
Days after France deported three illegal Afghan migrants, a fresh controversy was sparked over allegations that French immigration authorities got their facts wrong and that the three men hailed from dangerous areas of the war-torn country and not from relatively safe regions as French officials had earlier asserted.
The three men, aged 18, 19 and 22, were put on a joint Franco-British charter flight to the Afghan capital of Kabul on Wednesday along with 24 other Afghan migrants from Britain.
It was the first such joint flight between the two EU nations and it came despite opposition from human rights groups and French opposition Socialists.
Before their departure, French Immigration Minister Eric Besson assured French media outlets that the three men, whose names were not officially disclosed, came from the Kabul area, 'a region where there is no risk of bodily harm,' he asserted.
But shortly after the men arrived in Kabul and registered themselves at the Afghan Ministry for Refugees and Repatriation, a senior Afghan official told a French TV station that the men came from dangerous parts of Afghanistan.
'I could tell you that the security situation where these three come from is pitiful,' Mohammad Omar Ayard, Afghan deputy minister for refugees, told France 2 television. 'Now in this area there is war, al Qaeda and the Taliban. They cannot return home and France shouldn't have deported them.'
Violent insurgency spreads across Afghanistan
The three men hailed from Baghlan and Parwan provinces in central Afghanistan and from Paktia in the southeast.
Attacks in Afghanistan have been spreading across the country in recent years, with a resurgent Taliban employing increasingly sophisticated means to target international troops as well as Afghan security personnel and ordinary citizens in areas that were once considered relatively stable.
While the Pashtun-dominated southeast has been the worst hit, the death toll from attacks in provinces around Kabul such as Kapisa, Loghar and Baghlan has been mounting in recent years.
In sharp contrast, the province of Paktia, a Pashtun-dominated province which lies along Afghan-Pakistan border, is widely considered an extremely dangerous area by security experts.
In a statement released Thursday, the French immigration ministry asserted that Afghan authorities had approved the deportations and that the three Afghans expelled from France did not originate from the areas most affected by the insurrection in the south of Afghanistan.
EU sets down conditions for deportation
The deportation came as the European Commission on Thursday set down conditions for the deportation of Afghan asylum seekers back to their war-torn country.
'It is of fundamental importance that national authorities make sure that the lives of the migrants sent back are not in danger once they are back in Afghanistan,' European Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot told the AFP news service. 'National authorities have to make sure that the migrants in question do not wish to ask for international protection.
Wednesday’s deportation came a month after French police raided a migrant camp known as 'The Jungle' in the northern port city of Calais, which has become a base for illegal passage to Britain via Channel ports or the undersea rail link.
Return to Top
********
********
9.
UN warns against central Iraqi asylum returns
Agence France Presse, October 23, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hxgl3NnCMu-QlFgaN_9pbosKyyaA
Geneva (AFP) -- The UN refugee agency on Friday called on host countries, especially those in Europe, not to send back Iraqi asylum seekers from central regions, warning that conditions were too dangerous there.
The appeal came after Britain tried to forcibly return about 44 Iraqi asylum seekers to Baghdad last week.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said asylum seekers from central governorates around the Iraqi capital should still be considered as in need of international protection.
'UNHCR therefore advises against involuntary returns to Iraq of persons originating from central Iraq until there is a substantial improvement in the security and human rights situation in the country,' said the agency's spokesman Andrej Mahecic.
Last week's British flight, which was strongly opposed by refugee and human rights groups, was the first to take failed asylum seekers back to Baghdad since the start of the Iraq war in 2003.
Only 10 of the Iraqis were allowed to remain, while the others were flown back to Britain and placed in a detention centre.
The UNHCR said other European states had readmission agreements with Iraq that allowed forced returns, and questioned the 'safety and dignity' of such returns.
Of those, Denmark and Sweden had returned Iraqis to central areas, according to the refugee agency.
+++
Europe criticised on Iraqi asylum
The BBC News (U.K.), October 23, 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8323045.stm
UN refugee agency criticizes Britain, others for forcing back Iraqi asylum seekers
The Canadian Press, October 23, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jB6qJ4g4uCxODgo9V5SD4OBhzBIA
UN warns Iraqi refugees in Europe being sent back to dangers
Deutsche Presse Agentur, October 23, 2009
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/291467,un-warns-iraqi-refugees-in-europe-being-sent-back-to-dangers.html
Return to Top
********
********
10.
Asylum Claims Rise in Industrialized Countries
By Lisa Schlein
The Voice of America News, October 22, 2009
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-22-voa21.cfm
Geneva -- A new survey finds asylum applications in 44 industrialized countries rose by 10 percent in the first half of 2009, compared to the same period last year, bringing the total of asylum claims to 185,000.
The report finds the number of claims for asylum by Iraqis dropped by nearly a third this year compared to last. But the survey notes Iraq remains the top country of origin of the asylum applicants for the fourth year in a row.
Afghans and Somalis are the second- and third-largest groups. The U.N. refugee agency says deteriorating security conditions in their countries are prompting more people to seek refuge abroad.
UNHCR spokeswoman Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba tells VOA trends show an uneven distribution in asylum claims and that certain nationalities tend to go to the same countries to seek asylum.
'If you take the Iraqis, for example, the vast majority of them, more than 50 percent of them, filed claims in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Turkey,' she said. 'The other groups like the Somalis are mainly applying for asylum in the Netherlands and Sweden as well as in Italy. Why is not very clear, but we do know that asylum policy can affect asylum trends.'
For example, the survey finds Iraqi asylum claims in Sweden dropped sharply from 9,000 last year to just 1,000 this year. It says this decline followed a decision by a migration court in Sweden that ruled the situation in Iraq was not one of 'armed conflict.'
The UNHCR thinks Iraqis still have valid claims for asylum. Lejeune-Kaba says the agency believes it is premature for governments to send Iraqis back to their country.
'Countries should not send back Iraqis that apply from central provinces, including Baghdad. And, these are the areas where the vast majority of refugees from Iraq also come from. It just simply is not safe enough for people to return there at this time,' she said.
The survey finds Europe, as a region, received 75 percent of all asylum applications. But, it says the United States remains the single largest recipient country with an estimated 13 percent of all applications filed in industrialized nations.
The report says France ran as the second recipient nation, followed by Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The UNHCR figures are available online at: http://www.unhcr.org/4adebca49.html
Return to Top
********
********
11.
Immigrant children at disadvantage in rich countries: UN report
Xinhua (Chinese National News Agency), October 23, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/23/content_12303547.htm
United Nations -- The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday said that many immigrant children and youth in the eight affluent countries are at disadvantage compared with the native children and youth.
The report, a new study by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Center in Florence, Italy, presents for the first time, internationally comparable data addressing the number, share and family circumstances of immigrant children in eight industrialized countries: Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
'Despite their differences in cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds, children in immigrant families often are similar to their peers in native families in their family composition and parental employment, but they often experience educational and economic challenges and higher poverty rates,' said Professor Donald Hernandez, who is the author of the study and is an expert on social policies.
Children in immigrant families account for a large share of all children in the countries reviewed in the study. However, very little is known about the living conditions of these children.
Children of migrants are far from being a homogeneous population. In some cases their family profiles are not dissimilar from that of other children of the country of settlement.
In many of the countries in the report, most of the children in immigrant families live with two parents, and are more likely than children in native-born families to live in households with two or more siblings. One child in ten has at least one parent who is a citizen of the country of settlement.
The report also finds that the immigrant youth's access to schooling, their risk of not being enrolled, educational and employment outcomes also depend on their country of origin.
Children in immigrant families today will be increasingly prominent as workers, voters and parents in the coming years. Their integration and social inclusion will shape the future of the affluent host countries.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The UNICEF report is available online at: http://www.unicef-irc.org/article.php?id_article=133
Return to Top
********
********
12.
Indonesia calls for crisis talks as asylum-seekers' children head for detention
By Stephen Fitzpatrick and Amanda Hodge
The Australian, October 24, 2009
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26252677-5013871,00.html
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is expected to visit Australia next month to discuss a historic 'Indonesia solution' to the asylum-seeker crisis.
The President's visit will probably involve negotiations over the cost of Australian support for Indonesian naval pursuit of asylum-seeker boats, which military chiefs in Jakarta have so far declined to give Canberra.
This would be in addition to the $50million required to cover Indonesian immigration costs, as reported in The Australian yesterday.
Dr Yudhoyono is expected to visit on November 18 and 19, including addressing the parliament on November 19, after the APEC leaders conference in Singapore from November 8-15.
News of the visit came as the Royal Australian Navy intercepted another boatload of asylum-seekers, the third in three days.
HMAS Albany intercepted the boat as it approached Ashmore Island at 10.10am yesterday. On board were 29 passengers and four crew.
It was the 36th boat to arrive this year, and the sixth to be intercepted since The Australian reported last week that authorities were monitoring about half a dozen suspect boats.
Officials in Jakarta told The Weekend Australian negotiations were under way between the two countries to arrange a visit.
Jakarta is awaiting a response from Canberra.
Last night, the Prime Minister's office refused to confirm the dates, but acknowledged the government was in discussions with Jakarta.
'We are in discussions with the Indonesian government about a possible visit to Australia by the Indonesian President,' a spokesman for Kevin Rudd said.
The two leaders, who will also have talks this weekend at the East Asia summit, are tipped to give the green light to formal negotations for a bilateral free-trade agreeement.
News of the visit follows reports from Canada that one of the 76 Tamils who arrived off Vancouver was the subject of an Interpol notice for 'unspecified terrorism offences'.
The 76 Tamils are thought to have travelled via a people-smuggling pipeline organised by 'Captain Bram' - the notorious people-smuggler alleged to have organised the boat at Merak.
On Thursday, Mr Rudd called for Liberal backbencher Wilson Tuckey to be disendorsed by Malcolm Turnbull after he suggested it was likely terrorists had sought to pass themselves off as refugees.
Yesterday, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith refused to say if he was aware of Canadian press reports that a suspected terrorist had been found among the 76 boatpeople.
But Singapore-based terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna said Tamil Tiger ships formerly used to smuggle weapons to guerilla fighters in Sri Lanka are now operating out of Indonesia as people-smuggling vessels.
He said Australian authorities were on the alert for Tamil Tiger ships in the region, 'because there's a real threat that one of these ships may try to enter Australian waters', carrying fugitive members of the rebel force.
Professor Gunaratna, who was in Sydney yesterday to deliver a lecture on terrorism threats to Australia, said: 'This is a very recent development. They're mostly operating out of Indonesia, and 95 per cent of the time the ships are engaged in moving cargo like rice, sugar, cement and timber, but 5 per cent of the time the ships will be used to smuggle weapons and people.'
The Indonesian and Australian authorities are understood to be co-operating in surveillance of several metal junk ships known to be owned and operated by members of the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, which were crushed by the Sri Lankan military forces last May.
Senior government sources have told The Weekend Australian that a number of the Tamils detained on Christmas Island are suspected of being former fighters, citing the presence of shrapnel wounds as possible indicators of Tiger membership.
However, they stress this does not necessarily make them a threat to the Australian community, noting that the Tigers were known for forcing young men into military service.
Sri Lankans currently comprise about half the population held at Christmas Island, with the overwhelming majority being ethnic Tamils.
Sri Lankan authorities confirmed to The Weekend Australian yesterday that remnants of the Tamil Tigers naval fleet were operating in regional waters.
Sri Lankan naval spokesman Commander Dassayanke said: 'We destroyed eight ships but we have information there are a few other ships operating.'
Another high-ranking Sri Lankan government official, who did not want to be named, confirmed several Tamil Tiger boats were operating as cargo carriers in Indonesian waters. 'This is a problem for everybody; Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia ... and all other countries, that accept Sri Lankan refugees,' he said.
But one senior government official contacted by The Weekend Australian yesterday said they were unaware of any security concerns surrounding the Sri Lankans intercepted recently by the Indonesians.
The official said a significant number of the Tamils to have left Sri Lanka by boat had had their travel organised by a single people-smuggler, understood to be a Sri Lankan national.
However, the official stressed there were other players on the scene. Nor was the official aware of the Sri Lankan having any links to the LTTE.
Sources in Sri Lanka said that at least two more boats carrying about 30 asylum-seekers each had left Kalkuda Beach, on the island's east coast, in the past fortnight bound for Australia.
The latest two boats, one which left about two weeks ago and another on Wednesday night, are understood to have sailed from the same region as the vessel detained near Christmas Island on Thursday, suggesting Sri Lankan people-smugglers have opened up a new sea route to avoid detection.
Return to Top
********
********
13.
'Life of brutality' in crowded Indonesian lock-up
By Simon Kearney, Tanjung Pinang, and Stephen Fitzpatrick
The Australian, October 24, 2009
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26252679-2703,00.html
Jakarta -- A total of 78 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers on board an Australian Customs vessel were to be transferred today to an Indonesian detention centre where detainees yesterday claimed they were beaten and robbed by guards, and slept 20 to a room on mattresses on the floor with no air conditioning.
With arms outstretched through the bars of their first-floor dormitory, above a string of razor wire, a group of Afghans who have already spent seven months in the Tanjung Pinang immigration detention centre on the Indonesian island of Bintan said they had been treated like 'animals' and pleaded for Australia to help them. The Oceanic Viking, carrying 78 asylum-seekers, including a sick 12-year-old girl, was today expected to arrive near the Australian-funded detention centre. The vessel was diverted to Indonesia after an agreement was thrashed out between Kevin Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Mr Rudd told ABC1's 7.30 Report on Thursday the asylum-seekers' treatment would be 'balanced and humane and fair' unlike the previous government which 'had kids behind razor wire'.
But the detainees at the facility yesterday described a life of brutality instead of the freedom they had dreamed of attaining in Australia. Navad Hashimi, 20, from Kandahar province in Afghanistan, told The Australian of being locked in during the day and suffering night-time beatings.
'Sometimes the immigration people hit some of us during the night,' he said.
The beatings are punishment for the latest in a series of escapes from the centre, Sayad Nadyr, 34, from Daykundi Province in Afghanistan, said from the window of his cell.
'There is trouble, one person escape two weeks ago. At night time they come in here and punish us.'
Mr Nadyr said their money had been stolen after they were picked up about seven months ago. The group of men, one with his wife, are all from the Hazara minority in Afghanistan.
Mr Nadyr said they were heading to Australia when they were arrested trying to enter Indonesia.
'We heard that Australia is safe and the government would give nationality to us,' he said.
As he spoke, 16-year-old Haisum appeared beside him with a hastily penned note ripped from an exercise book and wrapped around a bar of green soap with a rubber band.
'I have petition,' he said as he threw the letter over the razor wire of the detention centre wall.
The letter, written in English with neat cursive handwriting, begins: 'To, The Australian Government ...
'I hope that you will be fine. Sir, we are more than 7th months in Tanjung Pinang detaining centre, like animals.
'We are under barbarity in Afghanistan as well as in here, they immigration beating at night if some of our friend being sick. No electricity, water for pray. Medical cure. Sir, by God - help us.'
Haisum didn't give his last name, just a Yahoo email address.
His room is shared with 18 men, all of them sleeping on the floor, Mr Nadyr said, standing next to the young man.
The asylum-seekers who had hoped for a better, safer life in Australia vied with each other for the rare chance to speak about their plight to the outside world.
'They don't allow us to go outside,' Mr Hashimi said.
'No have anybody building gym, we don't have any area for sport. We cannot have contact any with our family.'
Ali Madad, from Ghazni province, said there were some Sri Lankans in the centre, in another wing. He did not know if there was space for 78 more.
The centre was designed for 600 detainees and there are at present 84 inmates, according to Indonesian Immigration Department statistics. There have been numerous complaints from local officials that it is understaffed and escape-prone.
When we arrived early yesterday morning, mechanics were working on the centre's generator. It spluttered into life a couple of times and then failed again.
An official, who said he was the acting head of the local immigration service, told us we could not take photographs inside without permission from Jakarta.
The centre resembles a large high school except for the razor wire and bars on the windows. The front looks on to a busy suburban street and has newly built, three-storey high concrete walls and windows covered by awnings. There are two wings and a central block. There appears to be very little open space inside.
The descriptions of the interior by detainees bares only a passing resemblance to the way Department of Immigration and Citizenship deputy secretary Bob Correll described the facility on Tuesday during a Senate Estimates committee hearing.
'The overall accommodation tends to be more dormitory style than individual rooms as we would have in our detention facilities,' he said, in what appears to be something of an understatement.
The Tanjung Pinang facility has been plagued by escapes since it was first used in April this year, a situation the provincial immigration chief has put down to 'construction mistakes'.
In June, at least 14 Afghan asylum-seekers fled the centre, and another four were discovered hiding in the ceiling waiting to lower themselves to the ground outside using sarongs looped together to make a rope.
'There have been problems with the detention centre's construction, which made it too easy for the refugees to climb into the ceiling,' Ajat Sudrajat Havid, the head of the Justice and Human Rights Department in the nearby town of Kepri, said.
At least one group of escapees - the Afghans fled in small groups over several nights - is believed to have been able to escape their locked room by forcing an inadequately installed latch. Others who remained in the centre after those escapes said at the time they were desperate to get out 'because the guards often beat us and ask us for money'.
Another Afghan asylum-seeker who escaped last month did so by pretending he needed to vomit as a guard took him by car to see a doctor in Tanjung Pinang town.
According to the detention centre's head, Djunizar, 22-year-old Rahmatullah bin Ali Shah was able to make a quick getaway because of the slow reactions of his guard. 'The officer guarding him let him out of the car, and he took that opportunity to escape,' Mr Djunizar said.
Regional chief Mr Havid also admitted the Tanjung Pinang centre was without electricity for at least seven hours each day, because of its reliance on a stand-alone 80kW diesel-powered generator. The use of such generators as backup facilities is common throughout Indonesia, which experiences chronic power shortages, but they are rarely used to provide 24-hour power.
The Tanjung Pinang centre is not connected as yet to the mains grid, and officials admit it has also not been equipped with basics such as telephones or fax machines, let alone an adequate number of staff to run at full capacity.
At a stone-laying ceremony for the centre in April last year, then-justice and human rights minister Andi Matalata said he hoped it could help Indonesia 'increase the monitoring and legal action against (illegal) foreigners in this country. The issue of migration regulation is not just an issue for one country, but becomes a problem between nations ... the matter must involve all parties connected with handling the irregular migration of foreigners.'
Mr Matalata retired this week with the swearing-in of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's new five-year cabinet. There are at least 13 detention centres across Indonesia, all run by the Immigration Department but with contributions to food, medical care and other facilities made by the International Organisation for Migration, which is partly funded by Australia.
Confidential Immigration Department figures show there have been 1642 irregular migrants arrested in Indonesia over the past 12 months.
The Tanjung Pinang centre was refurbished last year after the Department of Immigration and Citizenship gave $6.8 million to the IOM. It is supposed to have a staff of about 50.
In May this year a further $14.3m over two years, including $9.3m this financial year, was included in the budget papers, in part to fund the centre.
The money was delivered through the IOM and also sought to give the Indonesian immigration department new facial recognition capabilities.
There was no sign of any IOM officials at the centre yesterday.
In the town of Tanjung Pinang, a regional centre on Bintan, which is part of the Riau Islands close to Singapore, you only have to mention the word Afghanistan and people know you are talking about the detention centre.
The centre's most famous former inmate is Mas Selamat bin Kastari, the alleged terrorist plotter and former head of a Singapore-based Jemaah Islamiyah cell who escaped a high-security facility in Singapore in February last year and eluded a massive manhunt for nearly 14months.
He served 18 months in the centre for immigration offences and broke his leg in 2003 attempting to escape.
While Australia's detention centre on Christmas Island has had its share of critics, conditions there are far better than at Tanjung Pinang.
As of yesterday, Christmas Island held 903 asylum-seekers, after the arrival of 39 males, thought to be mostly Afghans, and three Indonesian crew, intercepted on Sunday night and delivered to Flying Fish Cove by HMAS Broome and HMAS Larrakia.
Detainees in Tanjung Pinang sleep on the floor with as many as 20 to a room, but most detainees at Christmas Island sleep two to a room, although two of the three activity rooms in each of the centre's eight compounds have now been converted to dormitories. Each compound has a communal fridge, which the Department of Immigration said was kept stocked with items such as bread and juice.
The new contractor running the centre, Serco, has introduced three meal choices for lunch and dinner each day, including one vegetarian option. Dessert and fresh fruit are also provided after lunch and dinner.
The inmates at Tanjung Pinang eat what they're given, and complain they do not have water for their ablutions before Muslim prayers, a requirement under Islam. At Christmas Island the men have access to a library, 20 internet terminals and can make international calls. At Tanjung Pinang they have no access to the outside world, except by yelling from their cell windows above the din of heavy traffic nearby.
+++
We're beaten at night, says detainee
By Geoff Thompson
The ABC News (Australia), October 23, 2009
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/23/2722872.htm?section=justin
Return to Top
********
********
14.
The man who gambles with human cargo
By Lindsay Murdoch
The Age (Melbourne), October 24, 2009
http://www.theage.com.au/national/the-man-who-gambles-with-human-cargo-20091023-hdfi.html
Captain Bram isn't worried. He knows people-smuggling is not an offence in Indonesia. ''Don't worry, I'll be free in a few months and will be able to help you again,'' Bram told Sri Lankan asylum seekers after taking their life's savings and duping them on an ill-fated voyage in a creaking, 30-metre wooden cargo boat to Australia's Christmas Island.
Smooth-talking Bram is the face of the usually hidden men who are making a fortune gambling with the lives of thousands of desperate people seeking a better life in a new country.
His real name is Abraham Lauhenaspessy. The 47-year-old is a conman from Ambon with links to a brutal criminal network at Jakarta's main port.
A couple of kilometres away from where Bram is idling away his time in a cell at a navy base on Merak harbour in West Java, 254 Tamils and one Burmese man are jammed on to the boat moored at a wharf, refusing to come ashore until they see a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The Indonesian Government, worried about their country becoming a major transit point for asylum seekers, is refusing their demand and has prevented UNHCR officials going to the boat.
Some Indonesian officials are also talking about the need to force the group, who include pregnant women and children, from the boat and to deport them to Sri Lanka to send a strong signal to other asylum seekers.
The thousands of asylum seekers reportedly waiting for the opportunity to get on a boat to Australia in Asia have no choice but to the deal with Bram and men like him in several other highly organised people-smuggling syndicates that have agents in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Britain and Switzerland, police say.
They show no compassion for their human cargo who pay them on average $US15,000 ($A16,200) for their passage to Australian territory, where they tell them they will be quickly accepted as refugees.
On Bram's latest of many boats he has organised or attempted to organise to reach Australia since 1999, he gave the 255 people on board little food and water and had stored only 18 life jackets. The boat was barely seaworthy. Its engine broke down and the boat drifted in heavy seas for five days before mechanics among the asylum seekers managed to repair it. The asylum seekers were given one packet of instant noodles a day and one bottle of water between four people for the 10 days they were at sea.
Alex, the spokesman for the Tamils on board, said they had to eat the noodles dry because there was not enough water to cook them in.
''We cleaned our teeth and washed in salt water … conditions were very bad despite that we paid them all that money,'' Alex said by telephone from the boat.
With only one toilet aboard, people have to queue for hours to use it, including pregnant women and children.
Alex said he had information that an ethnic-Tamil people-smuggler in Australia was playing a key role in the surge of asylum-seeker boats leaving Malaysia for Australia. He said the man had the nickname ''Sekar''.
''He runs a highly organised network,'' Alex said.
Bram turned Alex's boat around into the path of an Indonesia navy ship on October 11 after he missed a rendezvous with a smaller boat he intended to transfer to.
It was to save his own skin. Lauhenaspessy faced up to 20 years' jail if he was apprehended in Australian territory.
But in 2007 in Jakarta he was sentenced to two years' jail on a hotchpotch of minor charges relating to providing protection for people who had entered Indonesia illegally.
The charges related to the smuggling of more than 70 Sri Lankans into Australia earlier that year. He was free in less than 20 months and spent his time in jail planning other smuggling operations, police believe.
+++
Indonesia a hub for human-trafficking gang bosses
By Jonathan Manthorpe
The Vancouver Sun (Canada), October 23, 2009
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Indonesia+human+trafficking+gang+bosses/2136121/story.html
People smugglers were paid $560 for deadly trip
By Gina Marich
The ABC News (Australia), October 23, 2009
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/23/2722846.htm?section=justin
Return to Top
********
********
15.
Christmas Island 'violates' rights
By Yuko Narushima
The Age (Melbourne), October 24, 2009
http://www.theage.com.au/national/christmas-island-violates-rights-20091023-hdfg.html
Australia should stop using Christmas Island to detain people and create two classes of asylum seekers, Australian Human Rights Commissioner Catherine Branson says.
As a boatload of 33 people, picked up by the Navy yesterday, was poised to crowd the island further, Ms Branson, QC, lashed the retention of laws that excised thousands of Australian islands, including Christmas Island, for migration purposes.
That 2005 decision under the Howard government means people who never reach the Australian mainland are afforded legal safeguards inferior to the majority of asylum seekers who arrive in Australia's cities by plane.
''Asylum seekers should not be penalised because of their method of arrival,'' Ms Branson said. ''The excision and offshore processing regime establishes a two-tiered system.''
Laws excising the islands should be overturned immediately, the commission said in its Christmas Island report, among 22 recommendations.
The penalising of people who arrive by boat violated Australia's international obligations, the commission said.
However, the Government showed no sign of budging. The third boat in as many days became the 36th to arrive this year. It was stopped on Friday morning north of Ashmore Island, off Western Australia, and feeds Opposition criticism the Government has lost control over its borders.
The boat's entry comes as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd prepares to speak again with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as part of the East Asia Summit in Thailand. People smuggling is expected to feature in their talks.
Yesterday, Immigration Minister Chris Evans defended Australia's graded styles of detention on Christmas Island as ''essential components of strong border control''.
''The Labor Party went to the last election with a commitment to maintain a system of mandatory detention and offshore processing on Christmas Island for all irregular maritime arrivals and these commitments are being met,'' Senator Evans said.
But the island's recently expanded capacity of 1400 may soon be breached. The Government plans to move asylum seekers nearing the end of processing, but not yet granted a visa, to a detention centre in Darwin. That centre has room for 500 but is near empty, usually housing a few fishermen. Meantime, extra beds have been hurried to Christmas Island, 2650 kilometres north-west of Perth.
The commission's report said caged walkways, perspex barriers and electric fencing at the main detention centre on the Island should be removed.
Detaining children in closed detention facilities there was ''a concerning regression'' from 2005 laws that said their detention should be a last resort, the report said. While none are held at the high-security complex, 33 children are with family on the island. Some are in community housing, others in a former construction camp for builders.
As of yesterday, 1129 people were held on the island, with 65 more on the way. The 78 Sri Lankans found on a boat in Indonesian search-and-rescue waters last weekend are due to arrive in Tanjung Pinang tomorrow.
+++
Labor charged with mistreating boat people
By Yuko Narushima
The Brisbane Times, October 23, 2009
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/labor-charged-with-mistreating-boat-people-20091023-hdc9.html
Australian gov't criticized for detention of asylum seekers on Christmas Island
Xinhua (Chinese National News Agency), October 23, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/23/content_12306950.htm
Return to Top
********
********
16.
Indonesia immigration plan to cost Australia $50m
By Emma Griffiths
The ABC News (Australia), October 24, 2009
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/24/2723037.htm?section=justin
A top Indonesian official says Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's plan to pay Indonesia to intercept asylum seekers will top $50 million.
The price tag was revealed after another asylum seeker boat made its way into Australian waters this afternoon, taking the number of boats intercepted to four this week.
The 33 passengers and crew are now on their way to Christmas Island.
Indonesia's director-general of immigration has told the ABC Indonesia will need at least $50 million to adequately process asylum seekers.
'We need much more funding for advanced passenger processing development,' he said.
'For one checkpoint we need at least $10 million and we have at least five checkpoints.'
But the Australian Government will not confirm the amount. Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor says Australia will continue working with Indonesia on the issue.
'And we'll continue to provide resources to assist our friends as they assist us in combating this regional problem,' Mr O'Connor said.
Indonesian authorities have now diverted the Oceanic Viking, with its cargo of 78 asylum seekers who were rescued last weekend.
The 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers on board the Oceanic Viking are now on their way to a detention centre on the Indonesian island of Bintan, close to Singapore.
Abuse claims
The centre was built using Australian money, but the current residents have not given it a glowing review.
'During the night about 2:00 am, midnight, they come and hit some people. They choose us one by one and hit some people,' one detainee said.
The local immigration authorities say the allegations are unfounded.
The Oceanic Viking was originally set to dock in Merak in western Java, but it was diverted by the Indonesian authorities and will not arrive at its new destination for at least two days.
Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor says it is up to Indonesia to decide where they want the asylum seekers.
'They're the lead agency and it's in Indonesian territory now and so of course they will determine the port,' he said.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Commission spokeswoman Cathy Branson says facilities at the Christmas Island detention centre are already inappropriate and will not cope with the latest increase in detainees.
The problems will be exacerbated. There is limited infrastructure on Christmas Island,' she said.
'There is not a permanent psychiatrist on the island, for example, so that counselling for trauma and torture is difficult.'
The Government has no intention of closing Christmas Island and ending mandatory detention.
It says it is an essential element of border control.
Return to Top
********
Center for Immigration Studies
1522 K St. NW, Suite 820
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 466-8185 fax: (202) 466-8076
center@cis.org www.cis.org
-------------------------------------------In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work on this website is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only. Ref.: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
| | Current Site Visitors ->