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Daily news updates from CIS
October 28, 2009 -- Click here for overseas news
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[For CISNEWS subscribers --
1. Foreigners skew some states’ congressional representation
2. Census figures reveal trends in foreign born population (story, link)
3. Joint U.S.-Canadian task force to crack down on border crime
4. NY congresswoman presses for amnesty legislation
5. Mexican elected rep touts amnesty during visit
6. AZ pols mull criminalization of illegal status
7. San Fran. officials approve new sanctuary law (story, 4 links)
8. LAPD chief: cops shouldn't enforce immigration
9. Sheriff Arpaio enjoying 61% approval rating
10. TX county to maintain screening program
11. Long Island’s foreign-born enclaves expand
12. CT city candidates address issue
13. NYC leaders deny plans for detention center (link)
14. UCLA students lobby for DREAM Act
15. NY immigrant center opens new facility
16. FL summit highlights Hispanic issues
17. Unions allege Filipino teachers exploited
18. Yale law students sue over 2007 raids
19. Asylum increasingly sought by foreign homosexuals
20. Witness testifies IA slaughterhouse manager hired illegals
21. Salvadoran victim of incest, baby-killer released to ICE
22. Deportation of illegal Irish on the rise
23. BofA distributes grant to MD amnesty activists (link)
24. Illegals caught on power project in ND (link)
Subscribe to CIS e-mail services here: http://cis.org/immigrationnews.html
-- Mark Krikorian]
1.
California Would Lose Seats Under Census Change
By Sam Roberts
The New York Times, October 28, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/us/politics/28census.html
A Republican senator’s proposal to count only United States citizens when reapportioning Congress would cost California five seats and New York and Illinois one each, according to an independent analysis of census data released Tuesday. Texas, which is projected to gain three seats after the 2010 census, would get only one.
The proposed change would spare Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania the expected loss of one seat each. Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon and South Carolina would each gain a seat.
If every resident — citizens and noncitizens alike — is counted in 2010, as the Census Bureau usually does, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah would gain one seat each and Texas would get three, the analysis found.
Losing one seat each would be Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to the analysis of census data through 2008 by demographers at Queens College of the City University of New York.
Appealing to his colleagues in states with fewer noncitizens, the Republican senator, David Vitter of Louisiana, warned this month that a vote against his proposal would 'strip these states of their proper representation in Congress,' while including noncitizens would 'artificially increase the population count' in other states.
Mr. Vitter’s proposal, which would generally benefit nonurban areas where Republicans tend to dominate, could also affect reapportionment within each state.
'If Congressional and other redistricting was done in this manner, it would mean that regions of states that had fewer immigrants, such as upstate New York, would gain, while those with many immigrants would lose,' said Andrew A. Beveridge, a Queens College sociologist who analyzed the census data. 'This is going to disempower immigrants massively.'
The Constitution, as amended, requires that Congressional districts be reapportioned on the basis of a count every 10 years of the 'whole number of persons' in each state. The 10-question 2010 census form does not ask about citizenship, but the Census Bureau includes that question in other forms, including the 2006-8 American Community Survey released on Tuesday.
Supporters of Mr. Vitter’s proposal say that 'inhabitants' should mean only bona fide residents, and that questions were raised in the past about whether to count people in a variety of categories, like Indians and Mormon missionaries stationed abroad.
Opponents argue not only that the census has traditionally included every person, but also that the proposed change would delay the 2010 count and would also discourage immigrants in the country illegally from participating in the census.
The Queens College analysis largely confirmed Mr. Vitter’s assessment of the impact of his proposal on how Congressional seats would be apportioned among the states. His proposal, in the form of an amendment to a spending bill, would ban federal financing for the census if a citizenship question was not included. The proposal has not been put to a test yet in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where its prospects are considered doubtful.
The census’s latest three-year American Community Survey data suggested only incremental changes from the 2008 figures released last month. The percentage of foreign-born people ranged from 0.9 percent in metropolitan Altoona, Pa., to 36.9 percent in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, the survey found.
A separate analysis by William H. Frey, a Brookings Institution demographer, found that Dallas and Houston were attracting less-educated migrants and identified large brain drains from Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland and, to a lesser extent, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Boston.
Meanwhile, Atlanta; Seattle; Austin, Tex.; San Francisco; and Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C., were magnets for better-educated people who were relocating.
Another study, this one by the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative-leaning research organization, found that households leaving New York in 2006-7 had average incomes 13 percent higher than those moving in.
But New York City’s Department of City Planning found that people moving to the city in 2005-6 had a higher income, were younger and better educated than those who left.
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2.
Census: McAllen most multilingual city in U.S.
The KGBT News (Harlingen, TX), October 27, 2009
http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=368515
CBS News is reporting that McAllen is the most multilingual city in the United States, according to the latest census data.
The Census Bureau Tuesday released its American Community Survey results, which charts a range of social, economic and housing data in U.S. metropolitan areas.
CBS reported that the running survey, which is different from the traditional once-a-decade census, tracks three years worth of data.
The latest figures cover 2006 to 2008.
Among the findings:
* McAllen, Texas has the highest percentage of people age 5 and older who speak a language other than English at home - 84.2 percent while Charleston, West Virginia has the lowest - 1.8 percent.
El Paso, Texas is the only other metro area with more than three-quarters of its population speaking another language.
* The Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area ranks first in foreign-born citizens with 36.9 percent. Altoona, Pa., ranks last with just 0.9 percent.
Only two other areas top 30 percent - San Jose, Calif., and Los Angeles.
* San Jose, Calif., boasts the highest median home values - $739,700 - while Odessa, Texas ranks last with $68,200. California dominates the country in this category.
While San Jose is the only metro area to top the $700,000 median value, the six others that exceed $600,000 - Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Salinas, Napa, Santa Barbara and Oxnard - are all in the Sunshine State.
* Provo-Orem, Utah and Laredo, Texas share the top spot for largest average household with 3.5 people. Ocean City, N.J., ranks last with 2.0 people per household.
* New Yorkers have the longest commute to work, checking in at 34.5 minutes, followed closely by Washington, D.C., at 33.2 minutes.
Residents in Grand Forks, N.D., have the shortest commute and live in the only metro area with an average commute time under 15 minutes.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The American Community Survey figures are available online at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/
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Census: Miami Tops U.S. in Foreign-Born
The CBS News, October 27, 2009
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/27/national/main5425270.shtml
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3.
New task force to target border crime
By Niraj Warikoo
The Detroit Free Press, October 28, 2009
http://www.freep.com/article/20091028/NEWS05/91028052/1001/NEWS/New-task-force-to-target-border-crime
Immigration officials announced today a new task force composed of U.S. and Canadian law enforcement officials to better crack down on border crime.
Called the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST), the new group consists of about 50 law enforcement officials that is led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of the Department of Homeland Security. It’s based in downtown Detroit.
'We don’t want to slow down legitimate trade,' Brian Moskowitz, special agent in charge of ICE’s Michigan and Ohio office, said today at the McNamara Federal Building. 'We want to protect people.'
The nation’s highest ranking immigration investigative official, John Morton, Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, attended a news conference today that announced the task force. He said the new task force will allow multiple agencies to 'work together' in a 'coordinated and cooperative fashion.'
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, there has been increased focus on security issues at borders.
The task force was modeled after similar task forces in other parts of the country, such as the southwest, where Mexican and U.S. officials have cooperated on fighting border crime. The BEST task force will focus on fighting terrorism, human smuggling, contraband smuggling, money laundering, cash smuggling, and gang activities, among other crimes.
Morton said the new task force will not hamper the 'vibrant, robust exchange' of trade between the two countries.
The new task force is not about 'slowing every third car down,' Morton said.
Thomas Brandon, special agent in charge of the Detroit office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the task force will provide continuity in relationships between law enforcement agencies that will more effectively fight crime.
'People will be sharing intelligence, which is critical,' Brandon said.
In the past, sharing information among agencies was sometimes a challenge, federal officials said.
The task force is housed at the federal building and includes members of Michigan State Police, Macomb and Oakland County Sheriffs, Windsor Police, Ontario Provincial Police, U.S. Attorney’s office, Detroit Police, among other federal, state and local agencies.
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4.
Clarke calls for urgent immigration reform
By Nelson A. King
Caribbean Life, October 28, 2009
http://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/articles/2009/10/28/news/national/doc4ae7391398472110533057.txt
Stating that the U.S. immigration system needs urgent reform, in light of increased deportation to the Caribbean, Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-Brooklyn) last week made the case for “comprehensive” immigration reform.
“We are asking the Obama administration to focus on comprehensive immigration reform like a laser beam,” said Clarke, after hosting a group of Caribbean-American pastors on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
The 100-member group, known as Churches United to Save and Heal (CUSH), had journeyed from New York to Washington in their attempt to force the Obama administration to renew its commitment to reforming the immigration system.
“Who better to fully understand the importance of this issue then the son of a Kenyan immigrant?” asked Clarke, who represents the 11th Congressional District, the largest district of Caribbean immigrants in the United States.
“This is the next challenge for our nation, and no more will we let this issue fall to the wayside,” she added.
Convinced that comprehensive immigration reform is a “moral obligation,” the Caribbean clergy members on Wednesday lobbied the offices of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and the New York delegation.
They said that the “broken immigration system has negatively affected” their largely Caribbean parishioners.
They also discussed how the Caribbean and African immigrant communities can expand the immigration debate.
“The time is now,” Clarke said, to expand the face of comprehensive immigration reform.
“Everyone’s voices must be heard, particularly in the Caribbean and African immigrant communities,” she added.
“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,” Clarke continued.
“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,” she added.
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5.
Mexican congressman sees one America on one continent
By Ray Gomez
The KGNS News (Laredo, TX), October 27, 2009
http://www.pro8news.com/news/local/66651587.html
Laredo Community College got a visit from a Mexican congressman today who talked about Mexico’s stance on the United States immigration reform.
Congressman Jose Medina says the immigration crisis is a human problem that begs a human solution and that the U.S., Mexico and other nations should work together to become one America on one continent.
Medina also stated his own views on immigration reform.
'I think legalization is the solution for people asking for permission to work legally in this country.'
Medina was elected as a member in Mexico’s lower house of congress in 2000.
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6.
U.S.: Arizona Renews Push to Criminalize Immigrants
By Valeria Fernández
The Inter Press Service, October 28, 2009
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49034
Phoenix, AZ (IPS) -- Arizona could become the first state in the U.S. to criminalize the very presence of undocumented immigrants.
Local politicians renewed a push to pass legislation that would make it a misdemeanor to trespass on state lands, allowing local police to arrest anyone illegally in the country.
Arizona has been called a 'laboratory for anti-immigrant laws' for the rest of the U.S. In 2007, the state adopted one of the country's toughest employer sanctions laws for companies that knowingly hire undocumented labour.
The campaign in favour of the 'Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighbourhoods Act' was launched after the federal government limited Maricopa County sheriff deputies' powers to enforce immigration law.
The enforcement of immigration law is considered the purview of the federal government in the U.S., but Arizona has been at the forefront of efforts to grant local police the ability to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
'The feds [federal government] have been absent, and now they took it a step farther by refusing to let other people do their jobs,' said Republican Senator Russell Pearce, who was crucial in the approval of the employer sanctions law.
Pearce believes local police have the inherent authority to enforce federal immigration laws. And so does Sheriff Joe Arpaio, one of the most controversial figures in the illegal immigration crackdown in Arizona.
That's at least what he's been claiming ever since the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stripped his deputies of the powers to act as immigration officers in the community.
Arpaio had one of the largest forces in the nation deputised to enforce immigration laws on the streets and in the jails under an agreement with DHS known as 287(g).
John Morton, assistant secretary of Homeland Security, said Arpaio's sweeps were not consistent with the priorities of the new revised programme, which involves the capture of undocumented immigrants who committed serious crimes.
The backlash among conservative politicians in the state was almost immediate.
'This is a corrective action taken because Washington refuses to correct our borders,' said J.D Hayworth, a former congressional representative and conservative talk show host who supports the measure.
The new initiative also got the support of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA), which represents over 2,000 police officers in the state.
However, the new legislation may not succeed at the State Legislature. During the last two years, similar versions where vetoed by then governor Janet Napolitano, currently the secretary of Homeland Security. This year also saw the failure of some 27 bills aimed at clamping down on immigrants.
But Senator Pearce hopes it will have a chance to get approved by Arizona voters in November 2010.
'People are starting to become aware of what's happening, Americans are standing up,' said Pam Pearson, a supporter. '[Undocumented immigrants] can take their children back home with them, they should go home and come back correctly.'
In 2006, four ballot initiatives aimed at undocumented immigrants - including making English the official language of the state - succeeded with 70 percent of the public vote.
'We will defeat these bills in court,' said criminal attorney Antonio Bustamante. A fervent critic of Sheriff Arpaio, he said the proposal is clearly unconstitutional in trying to regulate an area that is reserved to the federal government.
So far most efforts to defeat this initiative in the courtroom have been rejected by judges and are undergoing an appeal process.
Currently, Arpaio is using some of the state laws at his disposal to continue to conduct raids in Latino neighbourhoods and businesses.
During his latest raid in a Latino neighbourhood west of Phoenix, his deputies arrested 66 people, about half of whom were suspected undocumented immigrants.
Most people were detained through traffic stops.
The sheriff created uproar after a comment he made during a press conference last week about the guidelines his deputies follow to question people on their immigration status.
'There are certain criteria. No identification, looking like they just came from Mexico, and they admit it. So that's enough,' he said.
Arpaio is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegations of racial profiling and abuse during his immigration crackdown.
'He's mocking his own government and separating parents from their children in the process,' said Francisco Rojo, an undocumented immigrant who drove a bike to work during the day of the raid to avoid being pulled over. 'I truly hope [President Barack] Obama will do something to stop him.'
Maricopa County Attorney, Andrew Thomas, is expecting quite the contrary.
'Arizona is leading the way in the fight against illegal immigration,' said Thomas.
He is expected to issue a local opinion as to whether or not local police can enforce federal immigration law, upon Sheriff's Arpaio request.
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7.
Supes approve new S.F. sanctuary law
By Rachel Gordon
The San Francisco Chronicle, October 28, 2009
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/28/MN9I1ABGS5.DTL&type=politics
The Board of Supervisors gave final approval to changing the city's sanctuary policy with a veto-proof majority Tuesday, setting up a showdown with Mayor Gavin Newsom who said he will not enact the legislation over concerns of violating federal law.
The board voted 8-3 to amend city law so that undocumented youth arrested on felony charges be reported to federal immigration authorities for possible deportation only after they're convicted - not when they're arrested, as is now the case.
The vote, watched nationally, received enthusiastic applause from supporters who packed the City Hall supervisors' chamber.
Supervisor David Campos, chief sponsor of the legislation, said the issue is one of due process and an attempt to keep families from being ripped apart.
Newsom, who is running for governor, toughened the reporting policy last year.
The mayor will veto the legislation 'in short order,' said Nathan Ballard, his chief spokesman. The city's police chief and juvenile probation officers have said they would not follow the new law.
'We're not going to put our law enforcement officials in jeopardy just so the Board of Supervisors can make a statement,' Ballard said.
But Campos said the mayor has a duty to carry out the law.
'The power of the mayor is not absolute,' Campos said. The law should be carried out until a court rules it invalid, he said.
Supporting Campos' legislation were Supervisors John Avalos, David Chiu, Chris Daly, Bevan Dufty, Eric Mar, Sophie Maxwell and Ross Mirkarimi.
Opposed were Michela Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu and Sean Elsbernd.
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Supervisors Boost Sanctuary City, Newsom Promises Veto
By Rigoberto Hernandez and Lily Mihalik
Mission Local (San Francisco), October 28, 2009
http://missionlocal.org/2009/10/supervisors-boost-sanctuary-city-newsom-promises-veto/
SF board changes tack on immigrant minors
By Carolyn Tyler
The KGO News (San Francisco), October 27, 2009
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=7086175
SF board changes tack on immigrant minors
By Juliana Barbassa
The Associated Press, October 27, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iBHZjYOrb1I7AcxuvbCpWKn3vM2QD9BJPE2O0
Supes officially adopt sanctuary policy-change
By Joshua Sabatini
The San Francisco Examiner, October 27, 2009
http://www.sfexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/under-the-dome/Supes-officially-adopt-sanctuary-policy-change-66621372.html
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8.
LAPD chief: Cops shouldn't tag immigrants
The Associated Press, October 27, 2009
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gEBYizaIzHnXUq98J9y2u540Ly3wD9BJITT01
Los Angeles (AP) -- Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton says his department must stay out of the business of collaring illegal immigrants.
In an article in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times, Bratton says the LAPD should continue a three-decade-old policy that prohibits officers from stopping someone solely to determine whether they're in the country illegally.
Bratton says it's harder for police to do their job if witnesses won't come forward because they're afraid of deportation.
Dozens of state and local police agencies around the country have joined a federal program giving officers the powers of federal immigration agents. But the chief says his replacement should focus on community outreach and not community alienation.
Bratton will step down Saturday to join a Virginia-based global security firm.
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9.
Poll: 61% of voters in Arizona approve Arpaio's job approach
By JJ Hensley
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), October 28, 2009
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/10/28/20091028bigbrother1028side.html
Arizona voters like Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's approach to his job and disagree with the federal government's immigration-related decisions with the sheriff, according to an Arizona State University and Channel 8 (KAET) poll released Tuesday night. The poll indicates a 61 percent job-approval rating for Arpaio, while 34 percent of voters disapproved, according to a telephone survey of 652 registered voters around the state.
The results were almost the opposite when it came to the U.S. government's recent decision to restrict Arpaio's federal immigration-enforcement authorization to the county's jails. Sixty percent disagreed with the government and 36 percent agreed.
The survey's results come weeks after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials announced that Arpaio's deputies would no longer have federal authority to conduct screening on the streets for civil immigration violations. Since the policy change was announced, Arpaio has conducted a business raid, hosted news conferences and made regular appearances on local and national news shows to address his displeasure with the decision.
For Arpaio, the poll indicated slightly more support than he enjoyed in the 2008 election, where Arpaio received 55 percent of the vote compared with 42 percent for his opponent, Dan Saban.
The poll also indicated some support for County Attorney Andrew Thomas, Arpaio's longtime ally on topics including immigration and more recently the overly broad role of county administrators. Thomas, who has expressed an interest in running for attorney general, drew a 44 percent approval rating, though more voters had no opinion (33 percent) than disapproved (23 percent) of the job the two-term county attorney was doing.
The telephone survey was conducted with registered voters from Arizona, including 59 percent in Maricopa County, 17 percent in Pima County and 24 percent scattered throughout the remaining 13 counties, with a sampling error of 3.8 percent.
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10.
Harris Co. jailers to keep up immigration screening
By James Pinkerton
The Houston Chronicle, October 27, 2009
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6688576.html
Harris County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to continue screening jail prisoners for immigration status and referring those in the country illegally to federal authorities.
County Judge Ed Emmett and three commissioners voted for a three-year extension of the controversial 287(g) program expected to cost local taxpayers nearly $1 million a year.
Since the county began participating in the program, more than 10,650 inmates have been referred to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The court was undeterred by pastors, civil libertarians, civil rights leaders and immigration activists who insisted the program is a drain on local resources, spawns racial profiling and splits immigrant families.
'That is racist and outrageous,' University of Houston student Eric Ribellarsi shouted seconds after the court vote. He was escorted from the chamber, where he said the real objective of 287(g) is to 'rip apart' immigrant families.
Purpose debated
A nearly equal number of anti-illegal immigrant activists spoke in favor of the program, several mentioning the toll of local law enforcement officers killed or injured during arrests of illegal immigrants.
'Is this about fighting crime or fighting immigrants?' asked Deacon Joe Rubio, vice-president of Catholic Charities for the Houston-Galveston Archdiocese, who claimed the program has been used to purge towns and cities of immigrant populations.
'This is a crime prevention program — it has nothing to do with race or culture,' said Janet Thomas, a member of Houston-based U.S. Border Watch, whose members have picketed work centers used by illegal immigrants.
Sheriff supports
The vote followed a presentation by Sheriff Adrian Garcia, who urged the court to extend the program, saying, 'You and I agree we should keep what works and change what doesn't.'
The 287(g) program is part of a 1996 immigration law allowing local police to be trained to operate federal immigration databases in jails and prisons.
'Some think 287(g) encourages racial profiling. I say every single person booked into our jails faces some kind of immigration screening, regardless of skin color, accent, age or attire,' said Garcia, noting that 1,000 immigration detainers are placed on immigrants each month, most of them from Latin Americans, but also from such countries as Canada, Korea, Nigeria and Pakistan. 'I will not tolerate any racial profiling and anyone caught doing this can count on the risk of losing their job.'
Concerns raised
Commissioner Sylvia Garcia was the only vote against 287(g). She questioned sheriff's officials about the potential for increased costs to the county, as well as legal liability for an immigrant who is injured or wrongly deported. She also said the program increases the potential for racial profiling.
'I'm concerned about what this does to relations with our Latino community and other immigrant communities in this city and the county, and I'm also concerned about costs,' she said after the meeting. 'It's really not a question of whether or not we want criminals on the street. It's a question of what it's costing local taxpayers.'
Earlier, Commissioner Garcia asked for a breakdown in the local costs of 287(g) by the county budget office. The county will pay about $928,000 a year in overhead and salaries for eight sheriff's employees needed to screen jail prisoners around the clock, according to the budget office review.
$2.9 million received
Sheriff Garcia told the court that 'crime fighting is a not-for-profit enterprise' and noted the 'feds reimburse the county much more for housing these folks with criminal records than my agency spends running 287(g).'
Harris County has received $2.9 million in reimbursement from the U.S. Justice Department for housing illegal immigrants.
Participation in 287(g) is not required to qualify for those funds.
U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, R-Houston, said humanitarian concerns, including family separations, should be addressed through 'common sense and compassionate' decisions by immigration judges.
'When it comes to foreign nationals who commit crimes in the United States, it's imperative that local and federal authorities work together so once they get their day in court, and serve their time if convicted, they're sent back where they came from,' said Poe, who applauded the court's action.
Other options
Houston Mayor Bill White requested this spring that the city participate in the 287(g) program, but backed away as negotiations with ICE officials broke down. Instead, the mayor said he would like the city to participate in another ICE program known as 'Secure Communities' that allows local officers access to a massive immigration database. The mayor said he hoped to have that program in place by the end of the year.
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11.
Foreign-born enclaves rise
By Olivia Winslow
Newsday (New York), October 28, 2009
http://www.newsday.com/
Thirteen of Long Island's hamlets and villages have a foreign-born population of at least 20 percent, with most increasing since 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest estimates for 2006-2008 out yesterday.
In 10 of those localities, 10 percent or more of the population are not U.S. citizens, a Newsday analysis showed.
The figures don't surprise Christopher Niedt, academic director of Hofstra University's National Center for Suburban Studies. 'More and more, we're seeing new immigrants bypass the cities, which were traditional entry points, and arrive in the suburbs,' he said.
Seth Forman, chief planner for the Long Island Regional Planning Council, said, 'The challenge for Long Island ... is to integrate more foreign-born people,' referring to increasing citizenship of foreign-born people.
'We've done a great job of doing it for the older, mostly European immigrants in places like Long Beach, Lindenhurst, Oceanside or Dix Hills, even. We should hope that in places like Hempstead Village and Elmont, Brentwood and Central Islip that we're going to see that number of noncitizens drop below 10 percent of the population.'
Forman added the 20 percent foreign-born population threshold was an important marker for assessing how well residents are being 'integrated into American institutions. ... Once you're in the 20 percent to 30 percent range, that [lack of assimilation] becomes an issue.'
The census data released yesterday provided three-year estimates on various characteristics for communities with populations ranging from 20,000 to 65,000.
The 13 communities - out of 43 that met the population range - with foreign-born populations of 20 percent or more are: Baldwin, 28.5 percent; Brentwood, 39.2 percent; Central Islip, 35.1 percent; Copiague, 26.4 percent; Elmont, 41.8 percent; Franklin Square, 20.8 percent; Freeport, 34.4 percent; Glen Cove, 25.5 percent; Hempstead Village, 40.1 percent; Hicksville, 24.9 percent; Huntington Station, 24.4 percent; Uniondale, 36.3 percent; and Valley Stream, 32.5 percent.
Douglas Thomas, special counsel to Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick, said he thinks the census estimate 'is probably a lowball figure' for the village, noting many immigrants flock to majority-minority communities like Freeport where they 'might blend in well.'
With the 2010 census approaching, Thomas said he feared the village's immigrant population would be undercounted. 'If they don't get counted, we don't get our fair share of the appropriations pie we need to service the entire community.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: The American Community Survey figures are available online at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/
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12.
Danbury council members say now is not the time to cut services
By Dirk Perrefort
The News Times (Danbury, CT), October 27, 2009
http://www.newstimes.com/ci_13655125
Danbury, CT -- On at least one issue most Common Council candidates seem to agree -- now is not the time to cut city services.
'I don't think we can do without any of the services Danbury offers right now, especially given these difficult times,' said Colleen Stanley, a Republican who is running for re-election to the council. 'These are the services that people need the most right now.'
Services the candidates said are crucial to the city during these economic times include emergency personnel, support for businesses and education.
Gregg Seabury, a Republican member of the council and retired teacher, said despite the difficult times, the city has still invested in the school system's infrastructure, including the recent opening of a new elementary school and improvements to the middle schools.
'We are doing what we can with the money we have,' he said.
The candidates, who are running for at-large seats on the council, spoke about city services, downtown development and immigration issues during a forum held Tuesday at Western Connecticut State University. The event was sponsored by the local League of Women Voters.
When it came to what services the candidates felt could be improved, the responses were more varied.
Barbara Baker, a former education board member and Democrat who is running for the council, said the city needs a plan to improve traffic enforcement and more officers to carry out that plan. She said the city only has one police officer currently assigned full time to traffic enforcement.
Robert Arconti, a Republican on the council and a former city police officer, responded that all officers provide traffic enforcement. He added that Danbury can boast about being 'one of the safest communities in the country for our size.'
Democrat incumbent Warren Levy said more emphasis and funding should be provided to the city's Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team, which works to help keep the city clean and enforce its blight laws.
When it came to revitalizing the city's downtown, the candidates also differed.
'The only thing that's going to bring downtown back is people,' said Republican council member Phil Curran, adding that the city has already invested in downtown projects, including a new police station. 'We've already done a lot to make it more attractive.'
Ernest Boynton, a Democrat running for the council, said the city has to do more to attract businesses downtown and retain the ones that are already there.
'In recent years we've seen a lot of stores open,' he said, 'but now we've seen immigration fears cause a reversal of that growth.'
Immigration was also a cause for debate among the candidates, although most seem to believe the issue has waned in recent years.
'Immigration is a federal issue,' said Oseas Mello, a Democrat running for the council, who added that the city has to do more to reach out to the immigrant community.
Warren Levy, the only Democrat incumbent on the council running for an at-large seat, said the city should form a commission of representatives from the city's 11 Hispanic churches and city officials who can help 'address the issues.'
Arconti pointed out that much of the controversy surrounding immigration came to a head when the city agreed to enter into a partnership with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
The partnership, he said, is meant to catch criminals, not law-abiding immigrants.
'This is about getting criminals off our streets and keeping the city safe,' he said.
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13.
Jitters Over a Rumor About Plans for a Former Hospital
By Andrew Keh
The New York Times, October 27, 2009
Lawmakers are scrambling to assuage the concerns of some Queens residents who were rattled last week by local news reports that suggested a new detention center could open in their neighborhood.
After a federal judge last week dismissed a preliminary injunction to reopen the Parkway Hospital — a health-care facility in Forest Hills that was shuttered last year, two years after a state commission recommended its closure — a court-appointed receiver for the building’s mortgage was quoted in The Queens Courier and The Queens Chronicle as saying in a deposition that the former hospital, at 113th Street and 71st Avenue, could possibly be reopened — as a detention center.
'I am informed that, aside from a health-care facility, there would be few viable uses for the building such as a low-security correctional or detention center or a halfway house,' Thomas Seaman, the receiver, was reported to have said in an Oct. 15 deposition. 'Such uses would likely meet with community opposition. Nonetheless, given the configuration of the Parkway Hospital building and the well-known need for facilities to detain immigration holds and for halfway houses, that could be the only viable use.'
On Monday afternoon, Representative Anthony D. Weiner held a press conference on the sidewalk outside the former hospital. He was joined by three other Queens Democrats: State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi and Karen Koslowitz, who represented the area in the City Council from 1991 to 2001 and in September won the Democratic primary for the seat, which is being vacated by Melinda R. Katz.
Their purpose: to assure concerned residents that there were no current plans on any level of the government to open a detention center there.
. . .
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/jitters-over-a-rumor-about-plans-for-a-former-hospital/
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14.
UCLA Students Lobby for DREAM Act
By Jeff Greer
The U.S. News and World Report, October 27, 2009
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2009/10/27/ucla-students-lobby-for-dream-act.html
It's a sensitive subject on all sides, and it's one of the many issues entangled in the ongoing immigration policy debate in the United States. It's the DREAM Act, and some UCLA students want the legislation passed.
Several UCLA students spent last Thursday and Friday lobbying for the passage of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, the Daily Bruin reports. The act would allow undocumented college students to receive financial aid and move along the pathway toward citizenship.
Being one of the major universities closest to the epicenter of the immigration debate—the U.S.-Mexico border—UCLA is a hot spot for the ongoing discussion on how to handle the children of illegal immigrants.
'We've invested in these individuals from kindergarten to 12th grade, and it's important to keep that investment in our country,' Allison Clark, a UCLA student and member of Bruin Lobby Corps, tells the Daily Bruin. 'There's no difference between them and us. We really are all Americans, whether we're citizens or not. It's just the right thing to do.'
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill in 2007, the report says, citing California's financial problems. A few UCLA students met with the staff of California Rep. Brad Sherman on Friday to voice their opinion.
'Most officials who haven't supported the DREAM Act just don't know what it is,' says UCLA student Sofia Campos, the daughter of illegal immigrants. That's exactly why the meetings were set up, the report says.
'We wanted to give people all the detailed information so that they were fully prepared for any questions and could make the best arguments possible; they can cover all the bases,' the Bruin Lobby Corps's assistant external vice president for local affairs, Caitlin Lawrence-Toombs, tells the Daily Bruin.
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15.
S.I. Immigrant Center Settles Into New Home
By Amanda Farinacci
The NY1 News (NYC), October 27, 2009
http://ny1.com/9-staten-island-news-content/top_stories/108045/s-i--immigrant-center-settles-into-new-home
A new immigration info center on Staten Island is looking to make the sometimes difficult transition to life in the U.S. a little bit easier. NY1's Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.
Hundreds of West African immigrants have settled in Staten Island's Park Hill and Fox Hill sections -- a reason why organizers say Fox Hill is the perfect place for the Immigrant Information Center. It's open to all immigrants, but it attracts a large number of West African refugees, providing them with a place for advocacy, education and culture.
'They should know the country, the local law, they should know the national law, they should know how to do things by themselves, they should be very independent, they should know that they are in different country; they are not in their own country. There should be an informal education,' said Immigration Information Center President Moses Jensen.
The IIC has been up and running since 2006 but has been working out of church basements until now.
Jensen came from war-torn Liberia just six years ago. He did advocacy work there and hoped to continue that here in the United States. He says he could have used a place like the IIC when he was making the transition to American culture. He says it's especially beneficial to parents of small children, who wind up teaching their parents the culture as well.
'We are giving them how to treat them culturally. Sometimes we say, when you go home, please tell you mommy good morning in the morning time. When you come from school, please greet your mommy and daddy. I mean gradually, they are picking that message,' Jensen said.
Computers are available to adults and children at the center. Immigrants can also get help with legal concerns, reading and writing english, and how to budget their money. After school programs even offer help with homework and social interaction.
'One of the problems they have is like I said reading, and math, and behavior problems like controlling themselves and being obedient,' said IIC Youth Coordinator Nathaniel Dalieh.
Now that the center has a new home, organizers are seeking financial donations from the public, as well as books to expand its library.
For more information about making a donation, send an email to iic.org2008@yahoo.com.
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16.
Summit highlights issues affecting Hispanics in West Palm Beach
By Andrew Abramson
The Palm Beach Post (FL), October 27, 2009
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/10/27/1027hispanicwpb.html
West Palm Beach, FL -- It was conceived as an event for 15, yet 50 local leaders from the Hispanic community crammed the Flagler Gallery at City Hall on Tuesday, eager to engage with the city.
The summit on Hispanic issues provided an opportunity for a growing community to present the city with a broad understanding of local and national currents affecting them, and to form a loose coalition of interests. Mayor Lois Frankel invited them to spell out their cares and concerns.
'We're more than just Publix, Blockbuster and Home Depot,' said Jose Rodriguez, president of the Vedado Park Neighborhood Association, discussing the Hispanic presence in the local employment scene. 'We work in medicine, law and government. We can create a stronger society, a stronger culture, that would be better assimilated into the American culture.'
The economy was the hottest topic, with leaders calling on the city to better anticipate budgetary problems and focus on social services.
Immigration was also a major issue. Father Alfredo Hernandez of the St. Julianna Catholic Church pushed for educational rights for illegal immigrants.
'It is critical that so many young people, undocumented high school students, have the possibility for higher education,' Hernandez said.
Attorney Aileen Josephs spoke of a need for comprehensive immigration reform and said there are immigrants in the area who have had constitutional rights violated by police. 'Immigrants live in fear,' she said. One participant said the city needs a Hispanic commissioner to better serve the community.
West Palm Mayor Lois Frankel said this first meeting enlightened her. 'These are ideas that need to be shared,' Frankel said. 'There's a need for political leaders to be seriously engaged.'
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17.
Federal complaint: Filipino teachers held in 'servitude'
By Greg Toppo and Icess Fernandez
USA TODAY, October 26, 2009
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-10-27-filipino-teachers_N.htm
Baton Rouge -- It has been more than two years since Ingrid Cruz aced a middle-of-the-night video interview in Manila, borrowed $10,000 from her parents and flew halfway around the world to take a job here teaching middle school science.
She was seeking that most American of dreams: a new life, and opportunities she couldn't approach back home. But along the way, Cruz says she has endured intimidation, humiliation, extortion and a long, painful separation from her young daughters.
Cruz is one of more than 300 teachers imported to Louisiana from the Philippines since 2007, a group of educators who say collectively they paid millions of dollars in cash to a Filipino recruiting firm, PARS International Placement Agency, and its sister company, Los Angeles-based Universal Placement International Inc.
Cases like those of Cruz and others prompted the American Federation of Teachers and its state affiliate, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, to file a complaint on Sept. 30 with the state Workforce Commission and attorney general. On Oct. 20, AFT filed a lengthier complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor. The unions allege the companies kept the teachers in 'virtual servitude' by holding onto their U.S. work visas unless they kept paying inflated fees, commissions and rents.
Teachers paid upward of $16,000 apiece — about four times what they could earn annually as teachers in the Philippines — to get and keep jobs with public schools here.
USA TODAY was unsuccessful in repeated attempts since Oct. 16 to get a response to the allegations from Lourdes 'Lulu' Navarro, the owner of Universal, or a spokesperson.
The situation underscores the vulnerabilities of a small but growing corner of teacher recruitment: the H-1B visa program, which last year brought an estimated 6,000 teachers to the USA to fill hard-to-staff jobs in subjects such as math, foreign languages and special education. An estimated 19,000 migrant teachers work in U.S. schools, according to AFT, which last month warned of 'widespread and egregious' abuses of imported teachers.
'I'm very concerned that there are more places like this,' says American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. 'Even if it was an isolated incident, it would be horrible, but my hunch right now is that it's not isolated.'
H-1Bs are reserved for skilled professionals. The law overseeing them relies heavily on employers to protect against fraud and abuse. In this case, critics contend that several Louisiana school districts — including East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Caddo and the state-controlled Recovery School District (RSD) in New Orleans — at best were negligent in not looking out for the best interests of teachers.
'At some point there was an issue of vetting that was not done,' says LFT President Steve Monaghan.
If they violated state or federal labor laws, the districts could face substantial penalties: Federal law says they could be on the hook for millions in fees. Already, the Caddo Parish school district in northwestern Louisiana has agreed to pay $1,660 to each of the district's 43 teachers recruited by Universal — and has reserved $400,000 for 'reimbursement for any potential claims sustained' by teachers.
Before they set foot on a plane in the Philippines, most of the teachers put down cash for a placement fee set at 20% of their expected first-year salary in Louisiana. In a few districts, the teachers stood to earn $40,000.
Federal law prohibits charging most fees to H-1B workers — employers are supposed to pay them. If they charge any fees, employers aren't allowed to collect them until workers draw their first paycheck in the USA.
Hard to say no
The teachers interviewed say they knew they were being charged an excessive amount. But for the possibility of earning nearly $40,000 a year — most of which they hoped to send back to their families — they scrambled to sell cars, mortgage homes, borrow from friends and family and, in a few cases, take out bank loans at inflated interest rates. One teacher sold a steer from his family farm.
'Here's an opportunity for you to grow and pursue your dreams, get a better profession and a better opportunity for your kids,' says Cruz, 30, one of a few of the teachers willing to speak on the record about the case. 'It would be impractical not to go for it.'
High school math teacher Ian Cainglet remembers a wave of fees that just kept coming and coming: a $1,000 'marketing fee,' then, a week later, a $3,920 'processing fee.' A week later came a $595 'evaluation and transcript' fee, then $100 for a classroom management seminar in Manila that Cainglet thought was useless.
'You would just find a way to produce that money,' he says.
'We're thinking, 'If we go to America, it's going to end there,' ' says teacher Bernard Pagusara.
It didn't.
In interviews and sworn statements, dozens of teachers say things deteriorated once they landed at Los Angeles International Airport.
After a series of flights lasting up to 16 hours, they say, Universal's president Navarro and her employees met the teachers at LAX and took them to get Social Security cards and U.S. checking accounts.
Then Navarro, herself a Filipino, presented them with a second contract — this time for Universal's share of their placement. It usually amounted to 10% of both their first- and second-year salaries. They'd already paid PARS, run by Navarro's brother, Emilio Villarba, 20% of their first year's salary in cash before leaving the Philippines. Now they were asked to give Navarro more, payable in back-dated monthly checks — due immediately.
Anyone who didn't sign was threatened with instant deportation, Cruz and others say in their statements.
Teachers say they repeatedly were forced to weigh two unacceptable options: Move forward and pay more in hopes of getting a good job — or refuse, go back to the Philippines and face a mountain of debt with no job.
'We were already in deep, deep trouble with debts because we were paying all these people,' says Luzellene Perez, a teacher in Jefferson Parish, near New Orleans.
All of them boarded their flights to Louisiana on schedule.
Crossing the line
For the East Baton Rouge Parish teachers, Navarro signed leases on their behalf for shared apartments at a run-down complex known as the Savoy. On a recent visit to one unit, roaches dotted tile shower stalls and scattered inside a kitchen cabinet when a teacher opened it.
The complex advertises two-bedroom apartments starting at $815 a month. The teachers say Navarro collected $310 monthly from each teacher — four of them sharing a two-bedroom apartment paid a total of $1,240.
At the height of its commitment to Universal last year, the complex housed 160 teachers.
Meanwhile, teachers over the past two years have devoted much of their salary to debt payments. For Cainglet, they eat up nearly his entire take-home paycheck of $2,100 a month: After $1,950 in loan payments and rent, he's left with $150. 'And I've still got to send money home to my family.'
Most H-1B visa-holders keep the visas for three years, with a chance to renew for another three. And unless a broker is paying the worker's salary, the law requires the employer to pay any fees and ensure that a worker's visa is renewed, says lawyer John Miano, a fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies.
In the Louisiana teachers' case, allowing Navarro to apply for the visas may have crossed the line 'from questionable to illegal,' he says.
In most cases, Universal served as a free recruiter. It also apparently paid for officials from at least two districts to fly to Manila to meet prospective teachers.
East Baton Rouge schools' general counsel Domoine Rutledge says the district 'does not have any formal relationship' with Universal, but records in the case show that the company in 2007 wrote a $20,241.90 check to the district that equaled the cost of sending seven district officials to Manila. Rutledge calls it an unrelated, 'unconditional donation' to the district. He also says East Baton Rouge severed its ties to Universal after learning about the teachers' poor treatment. 'We in no way want to be complicit in the ill treatment of anybody.'
In Northwest Louisiana's Caddo Parish, home to Shreveport public schools, Universal reimbursed the district $8,362 for a June 2008 trip by three officials. It produced 43 teacher hires in hard-to-staff areas, but parish school board members say they didn't know about the trip until two months after it happened.
East Baton Rouge officials defended their arrangement with Universal last year even after a federal agent with the U.S. State Department in Manila wrote to the district with suspicions about the company. And documents in the LFT complaint show that they actually revoked a job offer of a prospective teacher who complained about Universal's fees.
They also apparently didn't balk when Navarro secured not three-year but one-year visas for teachers — charging each one $1,745 for renewal at the end of the year. The usual fee: $320.
East Baton Rouge spokesman Chris Trahan says the district routinely seeks one-year visas for untenured foreign teachers. 'There's no mandate' to get them three-year visas, he says.
Cruz recalls confronting Navarro over the fee, telling her an outside attorney might charge less. She says Navarro shot back, 'What if I make an example out of you and sue one of the teachers, just to give you a lesson?'
After that, Cruz says, 'everybody got a one-year visa except me — I got six months.'
She eventually got another renewal, but the move had its intended effect. 'Everybody was so scared after that,' she says.
And since Navarro controlled their visas, Cruz and others believed they couldn't leave the USA or bring their families over. Cruz didn't see her two daughters, ages 7 and 8, for two years. As she speaks about it, her anger dissolves into tears.
Then, on Nov. 2, 2008, a few teachers began posting to a new blog called Pinoy Teachers Hub. ('Pinoy' is an informal term of pride for Filipinos, the equivalent of 'Yankee' for a New Englander.) Within days it compiled more than a year's worth of grievances against Navarro.
The blog and both the federal and state complaints also allege that she was a convicted felon — charges confirmed by legal records, which show that Navarro, 50, admitted defrauding California's Medi-Cal program of more than $1 million in 2000. She also was convicted of money laundering in New Jersey in 2003 and served two years of probation. That should have raised a red flag had Navarro applied for a Louisiana 'employment service' license — but she never did, the union says.
Teachers say that within two weeks after the blog began, Navarro lowered their rent at the Savoy and cut their visa renewal fee in half.
Easily the most outspoken of the teachers, Cruz says she had nothing to do with the blog.
But Navarro accused Cruz of starting it and sued her for libel in a lawsuit that eventually was dismissed. Navarro has appealed, but it caught the attention of LFT, which began investigating teachers' complaints.
Cruz hopes it stops what she and others call the mistreatment of a new wave of Filipino teachers. 'Somebody needs to speak up and tell their story because we can't keep on,' she says. 'If she was just threatening us over small things and we're done with her in two years, then no problem with that. But lives are being destroyed.'
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18.
Immigrants sue feds over 2007 raid
Residents allege 2007 immigration raids in new haven were unconstitutional
By Esther Zuckerman and Colin Ross
The Yale Daily News, October 28, 2009
http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/city-news/2009/10/28/immigrants-sue-feds-over-2007-raid/
Ten New Haven residents intend to file a lawsuit today against federal immigration agents and officials, accusing them of violating constitutional rights during the raids in New Haven on June 6, 2007.
The 10 residents, who will be represented by Yale Law School students, claim that the raids were unconstitutional because federal agents lacked search warrants and arrested people solely on the basis of race and ethnicity. The residents are expected to sue not only the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who participated in the raid on the ground but also their supervisors, whose decisions the plaintiffs say led to the infringements of civil rights.
This is the first time lawyers have challenged the constitutionality of the New Haven raids in the federal judicial branch. Previous lawsuits have been filed in federal immigration court, the entity within the executive branch that deals with deportation.
The Yale lawyers say the raids were mounted in retaliation of the Board of Aldermen’s approval two days earlier of the Elm City Resident Card, an ID card provided to residents regardless of immigration status. ICE officials have said the raids were routine enforcement in full accordance with the law.
On June 6, 2007, ICE agents raided eight apartments and homes, detaining 29 New Haven residents — five of whom were the intended targets of the raids.
'ICE agents broke into my home without permission while I was still sleeping, pulled the covers from my bed, and arrested me for no reason,' said Jose Solano-Yangua, a plaintiff in the case, in a press release. 'I was terrified and humiliated. We are bringing this suit, because we refuse to let our families and community live in fear.'
Since 2007, a team of lawyers and students led by Law School professor Michael Wishnie ’87 LAW ’93 has been working to prove that the individual arrests were illegal. They have argued that the searches and seizures violated the immigrants’ Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights, which protect against unreasonable searches and seizures and guarantee due process of law.
One of the detainees has been deported, five volunteered to leave, and 17 cases are still pending.
Until now, the lawyers have been litigating the individual cases. This new lawsuit seeks to hold individual ICE officials accountable for the alleged constitutional violations.
In a press release, Lindsay Nash LAW ’10, one of the Yale law students representing the plaintiffs, blamed senior ICE officials for the raids because they pressured regional ICE offices to make 'arrest quotas.' In 2006, the director of ICE’s Detention and Removal Office, John Torres, increased the agency’s goal for immigration arrests to 1,000 per regional enforcement team, up from 125, according to internal ICE memos obtained by the Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law through a Freedom of Information request. That same year, Torres permitted arrests of immigrants without criminal records or fugitive status to count toward ICE’s goal, according to the ICE documents.
In February, ICE spokesman Richard Rocha told the News that the goal increase was in accordance with the agency’s mission.
'The number of arrests is a goal, not a quota, and we do prioritize,' he said at the time. 'But if, in the course of our work, we encounter other illegal individuals, we have to enforce the law.'
Norma Franceschi, a Fair Haven proprietor and community leader, praised the suit for providing the federal court an opportunity to reform immigration law.
Father James Manship of St. Rose of Lima Church said that the neighborhood supports the plaintiffs in the case.
'Our community will not be intimidated or silenced,' Manship said in the press release. 'We will stand with the plaintiffs in this lawsuit in order to seek justice.'
Ana Munoz LAW ’10, one of the Yale law students working on the lawsuit, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
New Haven is home to an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 undocumented immigrants, most of whom live in Fair Haven.
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19.
More immigrants cite sexual orientation for asylum
By Russell Contreras
The Associated Press, October 27, 2009
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/6689586.html
Worcester, MA (AP) -- For weeks, Nathaniel Cunningham and his boyfriend secretly lived together in rural Jamaica. They showed no affection in public and rarely spoke to neighbors.
Then one morning, Cunningham picked up a local newspaper with a front-page story under the headline, 'Homosexual Prostitutes Move into Residential Neighborhood.' His address was listed below.
For days afterward, Cunningham said an angry mob gathered on his lawn hurling rocks and bricks and calling them 'batty boys' — a Jamaican slang term for gay. Eventually, the pair grabbed what they could and fled on foot. Cunningham said neither he nor his boyfriend were prostitutes — the slur was just another example of the abuse gay men faced in Jamaica.
The story was one of many that Cunningham, now 32 and living in Worcester, recently shared with a federal immigration judge in his successful bid to win asylum in the United States. And it's similar to other stories cited by a small but growing number of other gay, lesbian and transgender asylum seekers who are using U.S. immigration courts to argue that their sexual orientation makes it too dangerous for them to return home.
'I had no choice,' said Andre Azevedo, 39, a transgender man from Brazil who recently won asylum and now lives in New York. 'Where I'm from, heterosexual men practice hate crimes against us like a sport, and the police do nothing to stop it.'
Since 1994, sexual orientation has been grounds for asylum in the United States. That's when former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno ruled in a case that persecution based on sexual orientation could be potential grounds for asylum.
Until recently, those grounds have been rarely used and such cases represent only a fraction of all asylum cases.
But now immigrant and gay activists say more asylum seekers from the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean are citing sexual orientation as reasons for seeking asylum. Activists say the asylum seekers are escaping rape, persecution, violence, and threats of death from places where homosexuality is either outlawed or strongly, socially shunned.
Federal immigration law allows individuals asylum if they can prove a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin based upon race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Those applying for asylum are already in the United States, legally or illegally.
No one knows for sure just how many have sought asylum on sexual orientation grounds. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services doesn't keep data on asylum cases won on that basis.
Still, last year Immigration Equality, a New York-based nonprofit group that helps gay clients with immigration cases, successfully won 55 asylum cases using sexual orientation as grounds, a record for the organization, said the group's legal director Victoria Neilson. That's up from 30 wins in 2007 and 27 in 2006, Neilson said.
And a Worcester, Mass.-based nonprofit group, Lutheran Social Services, has recently won five cases and is looking to help others.
'I think more people are finding out that this is an option,' said Lisa Laurel Weinberg, an attorney with the group.
However, not all cases for asylum based on sexual orientation have been successful. For example, a gay Brazilian man who was married in Massachusetts and whose American husband remains in the state was recently denied asylum by the Obama administration on humanitarian grounds, despite pleas from Sen. John Kerry. Genesio 'Junior' Januario Oliveira had originally requested asylum because he was raped as a teenager, but an immigration judge denied the application, saying Oliveira repeatedly said in the hearing that he 'was never physically harmed' by anyone in Brazil.
He was forced to return to Brazil in 2007.
Cunningham said he decided to file for asylum after working for a few years in the United States on a work visa. He conducted research online but couldn't find an immigration group to help him with the case. 'One group said my case clashed with their Christian values,' Cunningham said.
Many gay rights groups, he said, also had limited services for immigrants.
It wasn't until Cunningham connected with Jozefina Lantz, the director of immigrant services at Lutheran Social Services, that Cunningham gained support.
To win, however, Cunningham had to revisit painful moments of running from mobs in Jamaica. Even the police would point him out for persecution, he said. In successfully arguing Cunningham's case for asylum, Weinberg also said Jamaica's sodomy laws banning sex between men and 'dancehall' music — whose lyrics often advocate violence against gays — made life for Cunningham unbearable.
Cunningham won asylum in January 2008.
During his asylum hearing, Azevedo had to recall violent episodes in Brazil when he and a group of transsexuals were attacked in bars. He recalled a transgender woman set on fire. Each time Azevedo said he went to police about an attack or a threat, the officers didn't even bother to file a report.
'I had such a horrific experience,' said Azevedo, who was granted asylum in July. 'I was always in fear of being raped, maybe even killed.'
After winning their cases, both Cunningham and Azevedo have become advocates for other asylum-seekers by giving them counseling and directing them toward legal help.
In Worcester, for example, Cunningham has helped a Lebanese and three others Jamaicans win asylum with the legal help provided by the Lutheran Social Services' 'LGBT Human Rights Protection Project.' Another case, involving an Ugandan woman, is pending in the courts.
But while those who have been granted asylum are eager to help, Azevedo said many still haven't resolved the pain from the past and can't go back home to visit family — those who haven't disowned them.
Cunningham said he hasn't gotten over the fear that, at any moment, he may be forced to flee.
'I've never really owned furniture,' Cunningham said. 'You just never know.'
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20.
Witness: Slaughterhouse manager hired illegals
The Associated, October 28, 2009
http://wcco.com/wireapnewsia/Witness.Iowa.slaughterhouse.2.1274758.html
Sioux Falls, SD (AP) -- Government prosecutors tried to use witness testimony on Tuesday to prove a former kosher slaughterhouse manager knew he was employing illegal immigrants at his plant.
The testimony was intended to show that the manager, Sholom Rubashkin, lied to a lender bank about his compliance with the law.
Rubashkin faces consecutive trials, the first on 91 financial fraud charges and a second trial on 72 immigration violations. The former Agriprocessors, Inc., human resources manager, Elizabeth Billmeyer, said she asked Rubashkin multiple times about employing illegal immigrants.
The Postville meatpacking plant was the site of a massive immigration raid in May 2008, when 389 illegal immigrants were arrested.
'He said it was his company and he would run it the way he wanted to,' Billmeyer said.
Billmeyer said she noticed irregularities with employees' Social Security numbers in 2005, but was ignored until 2007, when she said the company placed employees with allegedly false identification on a separate payroll without her knowledge.
Billmeyer pleaded guilty in April to one count of conspiracy to harbor undocumented aliens for profit and one count of knowingly accepting false resident alien cards.
With the jury out of the courtroom, Rubashkin's attorneys protested the introduction of more of Billmeyer's testimony on immigration issues, saying it would undermine the reason for splitting Rubashkin's trials.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Pete Deegan said he needed Billmeyer's testimony regarding a list of employees' names that Deegan said was used, with Rubashkin present, to decide which employees to rehire with new identification the day before the May 12, 2008, raid.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade said she would rule on the matter Wednesday morning.
Billmeyer testified that in October 2007 she wrote an e-mail to Rubashkin in which she claimed she was mistreated by two Agriprocessors managers when she warned them about potential immigration violations at the plant.
The managers were permitted to do 'whatever they want to do with no one above them curtailing their actions,' Billmeyer wrote, adding that hiring people with 'obviously fake' identification meant 'someone could go to jail.'
Earlier Tuesday, prosecutors pressed livestock sellers to acknowledge that Agriprocessors was often late with payments as they tried to prove the plant broke an 88-year-old agricultural law.
Among the allegations against Rubashkin are that he broke a law in the U.S. Packers and Stockyards Act that mandates purchasers make timely payments to livestock sellers.
Records from the Wisconsin-based Equity Cooperative Livestock Sales Association show Agriprocessors often mailed a check several days after purchasing cattle.
Equity officials testified Tuesday that Agriprocessors was often late but always paid in full.
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21.
N.J. woman who threw babies down air shaft released from prison, held by immigration officials
By Michaelangelo Conte
The Jersey Journal (Jersey City), October 27, 2009
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2009/10/west_new_york_woman_who_threw.html
The West New York woman who was repeatedly sexually assaulted by her father and tossed her two babies down an air shaft was released from prison Thursday, authorities said. She is now being held by immigration officials.
Lucila Ventura, 22, a native of El Salvador, had pleaded guilty to the Aug. 31, 2003 reckless manslaughter of one infant and the Sept. 13, 2005 aggravated assault of the baby who survived the fall from the Ventura family's bathroom to the bottom of an air shaft.
On May 10, 2007, Ventura was sentenced to five years in prison by Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan. While serving that term she successfully appealed the sentence and on Oct. 8 it was reduced to four years by the appellate division which ordered her released.
The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office filed for a stay of the ruling but it was denied.
Callahan then amended his sentence and the court notified the state Corrections Department on Oct. 21, leading to her release the next day into the custody of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.
Jose Ventura, who repeatedly sexually assaulted his daughter, in handcuffs. The prosecutor's office intends to pursue the matter and next week will file to have the case heard before the state Supreme Court in an attempt to have the appellate court's decision overturned.
Ventura would have become eligible for parole in December had the appellate court not re-sentenced her, but prosecutors say the matter is significant due to legal issues even if it would have little impact on Ventura's prison term.
The appellate court ruled that Callahan's decision in arriving at Ventura's sentence should have been more influenced by the fact that she was sexually abused and threatened for years by her father, had an IQ of 72, and suffered from depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome and other problems.
Ventura's father, Jose Ventura, 48, fathered the babies and ordered his daughter to throw the them down the air shaft. He also threatened to kill Lucila Ventura and her mother (his wife) if she told anybody about his abuse, according to court documents.
He was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
An ICE spokesman has not yet responded to questions about when and if Lucila Ventura is to be deported.
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22.
Rise in numbers of undocumented Irish being deported from U.S.
By Kenneth Haynes
Irish Central, October 27, 2009
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Rise-in-numbers-of-undocumented-Irish-being-deported-from-US-66392397.html
The numbers of undocumented Irish people being deported from America have risen again over the past 12 months.
A total of 117 people were deported in the year to September 2009, up from 94 the previous year.
In addition, some 456 people were denied entry to the U.S. in the same 12-month period.
The highest monthly figure came in June when 21 people were deported. Fourteen people were deported in April and 12 in July.
The figures, from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office, also show that Ireland is now in the top 25 percent of countries whose citizens are deported from the U.S.
Ireland is now number 53 out of 220 countries, up from 67 the year previous.
ICE told the Examiner newspaper in Ireland that they could not say if the increase was related to an increase in the amount of Irish people working illegally in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the total numbers of Irish people visiting the U.S. have plunged by some 28 percent with just 427,650 people this year against 596,828 last year.
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23.
Bank of America to give $20M in grants to nonprofits
By Susan Kinzie
The Washington Post, October 27, 2009
Bank of America will announce $20 million in grants to nonprofits across the country Wednesday, including $400,000 to two organizations in the Washington area.
Two $200,000 grants will go to CASA de Maryland, a group helping low-income Latino communities with such services as education and job training, and Manna Inc., which works to provide affordable housing and help tenants collaborate to purchase or renovate buildings.
. . .
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/27/AR2009102702965.html?hpid=topnews
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24.
Suspected illegal immigrants arrested
The Associated Press, October 28, 2009
Minot, ND (AP) -- Two men working on a wind project south of Minot are accused of being in the country illegally and are being turned over to the Border Patrol.
. . .
http://www.crookstontimes.com/news/x1914245123/Suspected-illegal-immigrants-arrested
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: Naval crew recalls seizure of Sri Lankan ship
2. Ecuador: Gov't seeks to lure home ex-patriots
3. E.U.: Economy, enforcement driving illegal immigration rate down (story, 2 links)
4. U.K.: France-based immigration officers prepare for strike
5. U.K.: Recruiter emphasizes demand for foreign nurses
6. Spain: Columbian priest nabbed in smuggling bust (link)
7. Greece: U.N. demanding probe of island detention center
8. Zimbabwe: Border post operations to be computerized
9. Israel: Gov't pledges to provide immigrants professional training (story, link)
10. Israel: Farmers interfere with arrest of illegal workers
11. India: Gov't demands response to violence in Australia
12. S. Korea: Gov't to crack down on foreign gangs
13. Malaysia: Gov't releases 66 Sri Lankans from detention
14. Indonesia: Airport cameras blamed for rise in seaborne illegals
15. Australia: Gov't to deny entry to Sri Lankan 'boatpeople' (2 stories, link)
Subscribe to CIS e-mail services here: http://cis.org/immigrationnews.html
-- Mark Krikorian]
1.
Well-prepared navy took migrant ship
Armed with guns, armour, hand sanitizer
By Jill Mahoney
The Globe and Mail (Canada), October 28, 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/well-prepared-navy-took-migrant-ship/article1341245/
During a mission to intercept the illegal ship that brought 76 Tamil migrants to the West Coast, a navy crew was armed with guns, protective armour and hand sanitizer to ward off H1N1 flu.
'If the ship had any infectious diseases, my personnel were ready to protect themselves,' Petty Officer 1st Class Tim Edwards told a navy newspaper.
An account published in Lookout, CFB Esquimalt's newspaper, on Monday said the suspicious vessel first appeared on the radar of an Aurora long-range patrol aircraft on Oct. 15, two days before it arrived in Victoria, escorted by the RCMP and military. The air crew knew the ship, which did not have a flag or identification number, was carrying migrants, the newspaper said.
In an interception mission dubbed Operation Poseidon, the vessel was followed covertly for 20 hours by the aircraft and HMCS Regina, a patrol frigate carrying officers from the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency. The illegal boat bore the name Ocean Lady, but has since been identified as the Princess Easwary.
As it neared Port Renfrew, B.C., the ship was swarmed by several RCMP boats and the Regina. Once Mounties secured the vessel, its crew and the migrants, navy personnel assessed the engine room, which the paper noted was 'was surprisingly clean' despite having 'antiquated technology.' Its controls were labelled in a foreign language.
'Most of us have done this kind of thing before, which gave us automatic confidence. And this was a real time evolution, so the confidence was there and the adrenalin and the excitement because it was a real life insertion,' PO1 Edwards told the newspaper.
The illegal ship was running short on fuel, and with the navy crew at its helm, was brought slowly to Victoria.
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2.
Luring Migrants Home an Uphill Battle
By Benedict Moran
The Inter Press Service, October 28, 2009
http://www.silobreaker.com/usecuador--luring-migrants-home-an-uphill-battle-5_2262698270650269699
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has a Ph.D. in economics, but it may not have prepared him for the recent financial turmoil besetting his coastal country.
Domestic capital has fled. The government has defaulted on bond payments - twice - cutting itself off from international capital markets. And foreign reserves continue to plummet as the government tries to stimulate a lagging economy afflicted by low oil prices and collapsing foreign remittances.
But the socialist president, who once extolled 'the supremacy of human work over capital' to a British publication, has an unorthodox program in his arsenal.
By the time the recession hit, Ecuador had already initiated 'Bienvenidos a Casa' - or 'Welcome Home'. The programme, launched in August of last year, seeks to reach out to struggling Ecuadorians living abroad in an attempt to lure them back to their homeland so that they, in turn, stimulate Ecuador's economy.
'The idea is to recover that human capital,' said Pablo Calle, the New York spokesperson of the Ecuadorian National Secretariat of Migrants (SENAMI), 'because even if you didn't go to school here [in the U.S.] or didn't get a formal education, you still learned how to do things in a different way.'
SENAMI is offering tax exemptions for imports such as furniture, professional equipment, and vehicles, and competitive grants for returned immigrants who start businesses in Ecuador. In early 2010, the programme will create a public banking system that allows immigrants to develop credit and acquire loans.
'We want to connect these people with opportunities in Ecuador so they can apply what they learned here [in the U.S.],' Calle said, speaking at his office in Corona, Queens, where the large majority New York's Ecuadorian immigrants live.
'If you don't provide people the incentives to stay permanently,' he concluded, 'what is going to happen is they are going to stay for a couple of months and then they'll go back.'
That's exactly what David Villavicencio is thinking. The energetic 57-year-old immigrant from the coastal town of Guayaquil, Ecuador, lost his job as a hair stylist in New York's West Village a year ago. He recently decided to take up SENAMI's offer.
'I used to make 1,000 to 1,500 dollars a week,' Villavicencio said, as he supervised four labourers loading boxes of clothes and an unpackaged flat-screen HDTV into a shipping container. 'Now I don't even make a few hundred dollars. That's how bad it is here in the United States. It's so bad - I'm eating my shirt.'
'If President Correa says, 'come home,' why should I lose this opportunity?' he asked.
Villavicencio came to Queens as a 13-year-old, and says he holds dual nationality. He plans on returning to the U.S. frequently.
'I'll save a few dollars. I'll be able to open up my own shop over there,' he added, while proudly pointing to a white Honda SUV that was going with the shipment. 'Plus, I'll have an easy life, because I'll be living next to the ocean. No more cold weather, no more winter.'
Villavicencio, though, may be among the few returning to Ecuador from the U.S.
While it isn't clear how many people have opted into the programme, only 384 families from the U.S. returned to Ecuador between January and August 2009. That's a tiny fraction of the approximately 582,700 Ecuadorian immigrants - both legal and undocumented - who live in the U.S., according to a 2008 survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.
(Globally, a total of 8,600 families have returned to Ecuador from as far away as Japan, according to SENAMI.)
Aaron Terrazaz, an associate policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, a non-profit think-tank that analyses migration trends, said that despite the worst global economy in decades and a decrease in the rate of immigration into the U.S., population data demonstrates that reverse migration has not occurred to anywhere in Latin America.
'The Ecuadorian economy is just now being impacted by the recession,' he said. 'Their economy has contracted for three consecutive quarters. The prospects - especially for private sector growth - are not good.'
'All of that suggests that people have no reason to go back,' he added.
Or, as a 2009 paper by the University of Oxford on reverse migration to Ecuador stated, 'the potential opportunities inherent in staying overseas exceed the perceived benefits of return'.
Indeed, the World Bank recently estimated that an additional 10 million people in Latin America will fall into poverty as a result of this year's recession, reversing gains that were made in the past decade.
Luis Apuango, a 42-year-old immigrant, carried a large tray of greasy, black-fried chicken to the back of his brother's Ecuadorian-Italian restaurant in Queens. He is one of the many that will remain in the U.S.
'There are lots of problems in Ecuador - it's hard to go back,' he said, when asked if he would return. 'I have my house and my family here, and the living is better.'
Villavicencio, though, standing near his shipping container and planning a return, remained excited for a new life. 'I can always come back,' he said.
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3.
Economy slows illegal migrants
Agence France Presse, October 28, 2009
http://www.news24.com/Content/World/News/1073/8c1fd52ab77345eabf65b8c9183653b7/28-10-2009-05-53/Economy_slows_illegal_migrants
Madrid (AFP) -- The European Union has seen a sharp drop in the number of illegal migrants caught entering the bloc this year due to the economic downturn and better patrols, a senior official of the EU's border security agency Frontex said on Wednesday.
A total of 51 600 illegal crossings of the EU's external land and sea borders were detected during the first six months of 2009, down 17% on the same period last year, Frontex deputy director Gil Arias Fernandez told a news conference.
The global economic downturn is discouraging migrants from heading to the EU because they are less confident of finding a job while at the same time it is harder from them to pay for the crossing, which can cost several hundred euros, he added.
'Nobody puts their life at risk if they do not have the prospect of a better life,' said Fernandez, who predicted the fall in the number of migrant arrivals would continue during the rest of the year and into 2010.
No money for the trip
'The economic downturn that affects Europe also affects Africa, therefore it is also more difficult for them to raise the money to make the trip.'
Greece accounted for 70% of the EU's illegal border crossings this year, Italy 13% and Spain around 9%, according to Frontex.
But while arrivals were sharply down in Spain and Italy, illegal sea arrivals in Greece rose to 14 000 during the first half of 2009 from 9 500 during the same time last year, mostly due to larger detections of nationals from Afghanistan and Somalia.
Arias Fernandez blamed a lack of co-operation from Turkey, which has a decade-long re-admittance protocol with Athens, for the rise in the number of illegal migrant arrivals to Greece.
Operational since October 2005, Frontex has been tasked with patrolling 42 000km of the EU's sea borders and 8 800km of land frontier.
The 27-nation EU posted a 4.8% drop in gross domestic product in the second quarter over the same time last year.
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Influx of illegal immigrants declines in EU
Deutsche Presse Agentur, October 28, 2009
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1509910.php/Influx-of-illegal-immigrants-declines-in-EU-Roundup
EU patrols cut illegal immigration to Spain
Deutsche Presse Agentur, October 28, 2009
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/292203,eu-patrols-cut-illegal-immigration-to-spain.html
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4.
UK immigration officers in French ports set to strike
The Mirror (U.K.), October 28, 2009
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/10/28/border-watch-strike-115875-21778925/
More than 200 UK immigration officers in French ports are to strike.
They are angry at plans to reduce their overseas allowances, which could cost them £500 a month.
The action on Friday could see entry points to Britain left dangerously exposed and cause delays to half-term holidaymakers returning to the UK. Severe delays are expected at Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne and at the Channel Tunnel terminal at Coquelles.
The officers, who search vehicles for illegal immigrants and possible terrorists, plan further action unless the UK Border Agency withdraws its cuts.
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5.
UK immigration - More overseas nurses needed to work in the UK
By Liam Clifford
Global Visas, October 28, 2009
http://www.globalvisas.com/news/more_overseas_nurses_needed_to_work_in_the_uk1754.html
A shortage of nurses is highlighted as more people are urged to apply for UK work visas.
A leading recruitment firm has revealed that the UK needs to attract yet more skilled nurses from abroad to apply for UK work visas and work in the UK.
There remains an acute shortage of nurses in the UK, according to Hayes Healthcare. Particularly at risk are areas of nursing like critical care, intensive care, theatre and A&E. Skills shortages also exist in gynaecology, anaesthetics, orthopeadics and recovery nursing.
Simon Hudson, the director of Hayes Global Resourcing, explained, 'the available talent from abroad throws an important lifeline to the UK given the pressing need for skilled nurses. Around 10% of nurses working in the UK have trained abroad and the shortage of skills can only be adequately filled by targeted international recruitment.'
Optimal support for the nursing industry means increased recruitment from among UK work visa holders says Hudson, who added, 'while most of our temporary and permanent recruitment is carried out locally, the demand for certain skills has outstripped supply. It is therefore our responsibility to help clients attract these key professionals from outside their local market.'
Hays has offices in 28 countries, helping it to attract skilled nurses from all over the world who may want to move to the UK and work on a UK visa.
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6.
Spain Busts Immigration-Fraud Ring
The Latin American Herald Tribune (Caracas), October 28, 2009
Madrid -- A Colombian-born priest is one of 34 people arrested by Spanish police in the dismantling of an international ring that arranged more than 100 sham marriages between Spaniards and undocumented immigrants.
. . .
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=346249&CategoryId=12395
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7.
UN alarm at Greek migrant centre
By Malcolm Brabant
The BBC News (U.K.), October 28, 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8328746.stm
The UN refugee agency is demanding an inquiry into alleged police brutality at a notorious detention centre on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Several asylum seekers were reportedly beaten after protesting over prolonged detention and the Pagani centre's cramped and insanitary conditions.
The new socialist government in Greece recently announced a zero tolerance policy towards police violence.
Human rights workers on Lesbos say a 17-year-old Kurd was seriously hurt.
They claim four police guards beat the asylum seeker for half an hour until he became unconscious and was taken to hospital.
A UN expert on torture, who has seen pictures of the alleged abuse on the young Kurd, said: 'The bruising... looks fairly typical of what are known as 'tramline' bruises that result from a beating with a round or square section of rod or stick.
'Of course, one cannot be certain just from these photographs that a beating was the actual cause of the bruising, but it does look fairly typical,' he added.
Several other migrants were allegedly slapped and punched as they left their cells while escaping a fire started in the centre by those protesting against the conditions.
'Unbearable smell'
Charity workers on Lesbos claim the beating of the teenager took place in front of 40 other refugees, who have signed affidavits.
The workers said the police were trying to intimidate witnesses into staying silent.
The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, has called on the Greek government to close the centre.
Such a place should not exist in Europe, according to one senior UN official.
Pagani was designed to accommodate 200, but so many people are being trafficked from just across the water in Turkey, that it sometimes houses 1,200 migrants.
For example, one cell containing 200 women and children has only two toilets, which have overflowed and soiled mattresses.
The smell is unbearable, says the UNHCR.
Pagani was visited last week by Greece's new deputy Citizen's Protection Minister, Spyros Vougias, who admitted the conditions were inhuman.
His ministry has promised to build new centres, and also to reform elements within the Greek police by eradicating institutionalised violence.
Greece's reluctance to grant asylum to genuine refugees has earned it a bad reputation throughout Europe.
The new government has pledged to improve human rights, but at the same time is asking for European help to protect its long coastal border from infiltration by illegal immigrants.
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8.
Zimbabwe to computerise operations at all border posts
By Getrude Gumede
The Zimbabwe Telegraph, October 28, 2009
http://www.zimtelegraph.com/?p=3944
Harare -- Government will computerise operations at all border posts to improve service delivery.
Speaking at the presentation of new corporate wear for the Immigration Control Department in Harare on Wednesday, Home Affairs Co-Minister Kembo Mohadi said Zimbabwe was lagging behind in terms of technology.
'We are aware we are still behind considering how other countries are operating at their borders. There is need to improve efficiency by providing computers to immigration officers,' said Mohadi.
He said though resources were limited, they would strive to secure all essentials needed by the department.
Principal Director of Immigration Clemence Masango urged Government to continue supporting them in their quest to create a corruption free environment.
'We must continue working hand in hand in creating a conducive environment for the development of the nation.
'The securing of new uniforms is one step taken in fighting corruption as it will be difficult for bogus immigration officials to fool people,' he said.
The initiative to reintroduce uniforms for immigration officers was started in 2007 but took long because of financial constraints.
This had seen some officers carrying out their duties without uniforms and this caused problems with members of the public at ports of entry and exit.
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9.
Gov't vows professional olim retraining
By Rebecca Anna Stoil
The Jerusalem Post, October 27, 2009
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1256557968977&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
In the wake of a recent Jerusalem Post report that the Immigrant Absorption Ministry was reneging on promises to pay for the professional retraining of olim and returning Israelis, the ministry promised last week it would correct the problem and deliver the missing funds, estimated at some NIS 30 million, to eligible Israelis.
The retraining courses of some 4,000 olim and returning expats are thought to be affected by the financial shortfall.
The Absorption Ministry is in negotiations with the Finance Ministry over new funding to cover the retraining, saying that the present shortage is the result of government-wide budget cuts. The negotiations would conclude with the Absorption Ministry gaining the funds needed to pay for the program, a ministry official promised.
The shortage comes despite NIS 70m. promised to the ministry in the coalition agreement that formed the current government earlier this year, and despite the recent cutting of the ministry's 'returning Israelis' program.
Asked what happened to these extra funds, ministry officials said the budgets promised in the coalition agreement were frozen and unavailable while the government considered scaling them back. The program for returning expats had ended according to a schedule developed when it was founded last year. No additional funds were forthcoming to reopen the program.
The Finance Ministry refused to comment on the details of the case, saying only that the two ministries were in 'negotiations on a range of requests from the [Immigrant Absorption] Ministry.'
+++
Jewish Agency: More Aliyah - No Budget Cuts
Arutz Sheva (Israel), October 27, 2009
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/134075
Aliyah -- immigration of Jews to Israel -- is on the rise, says Eli Cohen, Director-General of the Jewish Agency's Department of Immigration and Absorption. Cohen tells INN TV's Yoni Kempinski that the government is also doing its part to help the new 'olim' to open a new page in their lives as Israelis, with a decision to refrain from any budget cuts in the area of immigration and absorption.
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10.
Farmers, Oz Unit square off over attempted arrests of Thai workers
By Yaakov Lappin
The Jerusalem Post, October 26, 2009
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1256557967335&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Farmers from the Arava farming village of Hatzava clashed with members of the National Immigration Authority's Oz Unit on Monday during a raid to arrest foreign workers, resulting in an hours-long confrontation and the need for police intervention.
The Oz Unit said it received intelligence of nine Thai agricultural workers who had overstayed their visas and were living and working on the farms under false names.
When Oz Unit members raided the farms, 'the farmers threatened their lives, punctured the tires of their vehicles, and didn't let them leave for four hours,' said Oz Unit Spokeswoman Sabine Hadad.
Thai nationals who were taken into custody by Oz were freed by the farmers, who broke into Oz vehicles.
Dimona Police were called to the scene, and managed to calm down the two sides. The Oz unit subsequently left the village without the Thai workers.
'We will return and capture them,' vowed Hadad.
Oz Unit members have filed a complaint to police, accusing the farmers of assault and harassing public workers.
'The farmers are justifying their actions through permits they received allowing them to employ a number of foreign workers, but there is no connection to that issue,' Hadad said. 'The workers were here illegally.'
'This was a violent and very brutal act. We expect Israeli citizens to respect the law,' she added.
But a Hatzava farmer had an altogether different version of events, telling The Jerusalem Post that he was misled by the Oz Unit into allowing its members access to his farm, before a surprise raid was launched.
Benny Ben-Simhon said he received a call from the Oz Unit asking to survey his farm and to see how many workers he required. 'I believed their claim and allowed them on the farm. Then it backfired, and the officer suddenly said, 'We are arresting two of your workers.''
Ben-Simhon's claim was denied by Hadad, who said, 'Oz Unit members are under clear instructions to identify themselves and tell employers they have arrived to conduct a check of the identities of foreign workers.'
Ben-Simhon said the confrontation was caused by deep-rooted resentment on the part of the farmers at the Interior Ministry's 'determination to cause us irreversible damage.'
'We have been farming here in the Arava for 45 years. The government, and Interior Minister Eli Yishai, have decided to cut the number of foreign workers. I can't tell you how much damage this is causing us,' Ben-Simhon said.
'When the workers' visas run out, we don't receive fresh workers to replace them. I need seven workers on my farm. Today, Oz came to take away two. And the two they chose did have valid visas. They had passports. They were only meant to leave two months from now,' he added.
'We're not getting the workers we need. Our difficulties are not being taken into consideration. But the Interior Ministry cannot break our spirits. We tell them we need more workers, and they turn around and take workers from us. It's simply absurd,' Ben-Simhon continued.
He stressed that his Thai employees were housed in air-conditioned private residences and were afforded high quality conditions. 'They worked the land for five years, and this is how they are repaid?' Ben-Simhon asked.
'My farm is seriously behind. I've never been in such deep economic trouble. This is why farmers from all over the Arava arrived today, and formed a wall to block the Oz Unit. Oz wants to take the little that we have left.'
'The Arava is the vegetable belt of Israel. Today we are on the brink of collapse. What does the government want from us?' he asked.
On Monday evening, Interior Ministry Director-General Gabriel Maimon telephoned the Arava Tihona Regional Council, where the village of Hatzva is situated, and instructed municipal officials to tell farmers to cooperate with Oz's enforcement activities.
Hadad confirmed a claim by farmers that the Oz Unit did not notify the police of Sunday's raid, but added, 'We are not obligated to coordinate all of our activities with the police. We only do that when we require police protection, for example during raids on brothels.'
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11.
Attack on Indians in Australia a very serious matter: India
The Press Trust of India, October 26, 2009
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Attack-on-Indians-in-Australia-a-very-serious-matter-India/articleshow/5165747.cms
Bangalore -- India on Monday reacted strongly to yet another attack on Indians in Australia, terming it a 'very serious matter' and said measures are needed for the community's safety there.
A Sikh was punched in his head by a group of Australians who also removed his turban while he was sleeping at a bus stop in Melbourne.
'Certainly, this matter of attack on people of Indian origin in Australia is a very serious matter and government of India is very concerned over this matter', external affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash told reporters here.
'The matter has been taken up at the highest level with the Australian side', he said, adding 'measures have to be taken to put an end to this'.
Recalling that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier this year spoken to his Australian counterpart and external affairs minister S M Krishna visited that country in August, Prakash said 'we were assured that Australia follows the policy of zero tolerance'.
He said measures had to be taken to 'put an end to this (attacks)' but hastened to add that Australia had indeed initiated a number of steps like increasing police presence, patrolling and better lighting in some areas and having mechanisms to interact with Indian students.
Prakash noted there are 90,000 Indian students studying in hundreds of colleges in Australia where there was a quarter million of people of Indian origin. So, education and immigration agents are encouraging the process. The role of some of these agents have to 'improve' and 'this aspect is being looked into', he added.
Australia has said that by next year, it would audit all the educational institutions to improve 'gaps' in the system, the spokesperson added.
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12.
Anti-Foreign Crime Unit Aims at Gangs, Will Assist Victims
By Park Si-soo
The Korea Times, October 27, 2009
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/10/117_54382.html
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office said Tuesday it has launched a new investigation unit specializing in organized crime committed by foreign gangs.
The unit is to collect intelligence on ethnic gangs and other organized foreigners engaged in illegal activities, that have sprouted up around the country in recent years, and take countermeasures in cooperation with the police, tax agency and immigration office, it said in a statement.
The unit had its first meeting at the prosecution headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday morning, with senior officers from the Ministry of Justice, National Police Agency, Tax Agency and provincial prosecutors’ offices participating.
'This is a response to growing calls to make a unit against foreign offenders whose number is on the rise,' said Cho Young-gon, the senior prosecutor commanding the unit.
'No leniency will be shown in dealing with foreign offenders. Basically, arrested foreign criminals will be treated the same as Korean criminals and, if necessary, we will seek the help of the immigration authorities to decide whether to deport them.'
A growing number of ethnic gangs are cropping up, particularly within their own communities around the country including Seoul, and in some cases, are linking up with Korean gangs.
According to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the number of foreigners arrested was tallied at about 5,000 in 2000. It doubled to 10,000 in 2003. In 2008 alone, a total of 34,108 foreign offenders were caught.
For instance, more than 1,800 were arrested in Gyeonggi Province in the latest crackdown between June and July by police.Their nationalities are varied.
A source from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said those from Nigeria, Pakistan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Bangladesh account for the majority of foreign criminal groups. The source added they collect funds by running illegal casinos and brothels, and by engaging in the drug trade and loan sharking.
Foreign law experts here welcomed the move, saying this will play an important role in keeping Korean citizens and businesses away from 'emerging threats.'
But they added that for the officials involved, being familiar with the uniqueness of foreign culture and languages are prerequisites to operation.
'One of the shortcomings that the prosecution has always had was the lack of those with adequate language skills and abilities to understand the uniqueness of foreign cultures,' said Sean Hayes, a New York attorney working with Joowon Law Firm in Seoul. 'The need for international cooperation, prosecutor and police foreign exchange programs, and international education programs is on the rise with the increasing complexity of crimes and ethnic diversity of Korean society.'
But they added that for the officials involved, being familiar with the uniqueness of foreign culture and languages are prerequisites to operation.
'One of the shortcomings that the prosecution has always had was the lack of those with adequate language skills and abilities to understand the uniqueness of foreign cultures,' said Sean Hayes, a New York attorney working with Joowon Law Firm in Seoul. 'The need for international cooperation, prosecutor and police foreign exchange programs, and international education programs is on the rise with the increasing complexity of crimes and ethnic diversity of Korean society.'
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13.
Malaysia releases 66 Sri Lankan refugees from camp
Deutsche Presse Agentur, October 28, 2009
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1509784.php/Malaysia-releases-66-Sri-Lankan-refugees-from-camp
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysian immigration officials have released 66 Sri Lankan refugees from a detention camp and handed them over to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a news report said Wednesday.
Two buses took the 66 men, women and children Wednesday to the capital, Kuala Lumpur, to be placed in the care of the UNHCR office until a country can be found to accept them, a UN official told the Star online news portal.
The detainees were among 105 Sri Lankans who have been held at the camp in the southern state of Johor since September for not having valid travel documents.
Last week, six of the detainees allegedly went on a hunger strike, demanding to be allowed to meet UNHCR officials whom they claimed had issued them refugee status.
'We are delighted that some of them have been released and the process was fast,' state immigration deputy director Amran Ahmad was quoted as saying by the Star.
'Efforts have begun to secure the release of another 21 as well,' he said.
Amran said of the 105 detainees, 17 have been charged with immigration offences while one has been released to his employer.
However, he refuted the hunger strike claims, saying the detainees have been well-fed and taken care of at the centre.
UNHCR external relations officer Yante Ismail thanked the government for the speedy release of the refugees, who had fled unrest in their homeland.
'We will continue to advocate the release of the remaining refugees and asylum seekers as soon as possible,' she said.
Malaysia is both a transit point and permanent asylum site for tens of thousands of refugees from countries experiencing political turmoil, such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
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14.
Australian-funded cameras linked to rise in boat people
By Matt Wade
The Age (Melbourne), October 28, 2009
http://www.theage.com.au/national/australianfunded-cameras-linked-to-rise-in-boat-people-20091027-hj1n.html
Colombo -- Surveillance cameras funded by the Australian Government at Colombo airport have been linked with a spate of extra-judicial arrests - and could be pushing the rise in boat people.
Reports of unexplained detentions at the airport could be encouraging Tamil asylum seekers to opt for risky illegal boat journeys, local sources told The Age.
High-profile Tamil MP Mano Ganesan said at least 29 people had been detained at the airport this month. A Government official confirmed the figure, saying only 11 of those detained had been released.
Mr Ganesan said no notification had been given to the families of those detained.
He also claimed the airport's surveillance cameras had been used to target Tamils.
''These CCTV cameras are being used to monitor the movement of Tamil people,'' he said. ''Through the cameras they identify suspects and then the policemen are accosting people. No one knows if they will be able to catch their flight.''
A Sri Lankan NGO worker told The Age that humanitarian workers and human rights activists were also wary about using Colombo airport, the nation's international gateway.
''There is definitely a lot of fear now that you will be stopped at the airport,'' he said. ''There is a sense that a screening process going on.''
The disappearances at the airport meant many young Tamils had opted for boats rather than departure by air, said one official speaking to The Age on condition of anonymity.
A spokeswoman for the Australian high commission in Colombo confirmed that ''in co-operation with the Government of Sri Lanka, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship funded the installation of closed-circuit television cameras at Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo, which was completed in April 2008''.
But it is possible this aid, aimed at boosting Sri Lanka's border security, may be contributing to the flow of Tamils taking boat voyages in the hope of finding asylum overseas.
A 25-year civil war between the Sri Lankan army and the separatist Tamil Tigers ended with the military defeat of the rebels in May.
It is believed the surveillance cameras have helped authorities identify passengers suspected of having links with the Tigers.
But Mr Ganesan says innocent Tamils are being targeted.
''Even Tamils leaving the country with legitimate visas for education, business or personal reasons are being harassed and detained at the airport,'' he said.
''It is very difficult to tell the difference between arrest and abduction. When people get arrested at the airport, or elsewhere in the city, the police do not inform family members or follow the correct rules and regulations. They just take them away.''
The Sri Lankan Government says many of the alleged disappearances are false and intended to discredit it.
But Mr Ganesan said the number of people apprehended at the airport had risen significantly since the end of the war.
No one from Sri Lanka's immigration department was available to comment.
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15.
Rescued boatpeople will not land in Australia - govt
Reuters, October 28, 2009
http://in.reuters.com/article/southAsiaNews/idINIndia-43485820091028
Sydney (Reuters) -- Australia insisted on Wednesday that 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers rescued by one of its customs ship would not be brought to Australia, despite media reports that Indonesian officials had refuse to accept the boatpeople.
'There is an agreement between Australia and the government of Indonesian that the people who were rescued in the open seas will go to Indonesia and be processed ... that is what will occur,' Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told local radio.
'It is not a matter for the Sri Lankans onboard to decide where they make their application for refugee status. We absolutely defend their right to make that application, but they were picked up on the high seas, it is not their choice.'
A rise in boatpeople arrivals this year has created a political headache for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a year out from an election, as asylum seekers are a hot-button political issue with Australian voters. Rudd has sought help from Jakarta and other neighbours over the politically sensitive issue.
Australian media reported an Indonesian provincial governor has refused to allow the Sri Lankans off the Oceanic Viking customs ship, which rescued them 10 days ago, saying Indonesia was not a dumping ground for other countries.
Indonesian officials told Reuters on Tuesday the Australian ship would be taken to a navy base and the Sri Lankans transferred to the Tanjung Pinang immigration detention centre.
Australian media said the reported stand-off meant Rudd's efforts to stop the flow of boatpeople reaching Australia, in part by funding Indonesian detention centres, was now in chaos.
Rudd and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held talks last week about a pact to combat people trafficking, including more aid for Jakarta in return for interception in Indonesia of Australia-bound asylum boats.
Indonesia's navy recently intercepted another boat carrying 260 Sri Lankans off the Java coast after Rudd spoke directly with Indonesia's president over the issue.
Rudd has defended the so-called 'Indonesian solution' of detention and processing asylum seekers in Indonesia on the basis it may prevent perilous sea journeys by boatpeople.
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Indon won't use force on asylum seekers
The Australian Associated Press, October 29, 2009
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/indon-wont-use-force-on-asylum-seekers-20091029-hl6t.html
Indonesia will not force 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers to disembark from an Australian Customs ship and into a detention centre, the nation's foreign minister says.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has not ruled out the use of force to offload the 78 people, including five women and five children, who have spent their 10th day aboard the Oceanic Viking anchored off the Indonesian island of Bintan.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa left a resolution of the crisis up to the Australian government, saying Indonesia would violate international laws if it forced the asylum seekers off the boat.
'It's their choice to leave the boat concerned, and we are not in a position to force them off the boat,' he told ABC TV on Wednesday night.
'In the final analysis, if they refuse to leave the boat, then this is a fact that the Australian government must take into account.'
But Indonesia would not set a deadline on a resolution to the crisis, Mr Natalegawa said.
'As far as we are concerned ... we have an abundance of patience in how to deal with this issue,' he said.
'This is already a very difficult humanitarian situation obviously, and we wish to cooperate very closely with the Australian authorities to try to find a good solution to this.'
Mr Rudd maintained the group would be handed over to Indonesian authorities.
'The Australian government is working closely with Indonesian authorities to facilitate the safe transfer of passengers to land,' he told parliament on Wednesday.
However, it remains unclear exactly when the transfer of the asylum seekers to the Tanjung Pinang detention facility will take place.
As the coalition continued to seek details of the deal between Canberra and Jakarta to take the group and whether Mr Rudd was personally involved, the prime minister would not rule out force being used to remove the asylum seekers from the Oceanic Viking.
'We are dealing with a complex and difficult and challenging set of circumstances,' Mr Rudd said.
'I have confidence that our men and women who are working in these professional agencies will discharge their professional responsibilities with the greatest degree of skill and tact and humanity that they can, but this is a very difficult situation.'
Opposition immigration spokeswoman Sharman Stone said Australian officials on the Oceanic Viking were 'probably going to be forced into a very ugly, nasty scenario' by having to forcibly remove asylum seekers.
'This is a disaster on every front,' Dr Stone told Sky News.
The prime minister is also under pressure because of the prospect that women and children among the group may be held behind bars at Tanjung Pinang, but he said other accommodation had been arranged for them.
'I'm advised by the Indonesian authorities, or they've advised the government, that women and children will be offered the option of staying in a house near the Tanjung Pinang detention facility,' he said.
But Mr Natalegawa would not rule out placing the women and children in detention, saying only that Indonesia would do everything possible to ensure their welfare.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said a solution could be achieved only if the two countries worked together.
'We have had ... good cooperation with Indonesia, but we are faced now (with) a heightened challenge,' he told ABC Television on Wednesday night.
'We do not want to leave Indonesia in the lurch, we are not seeking to have them bear the burden by themselves.
'We can only deal with this by working together with them and also with other countries ... in our region.'
But he said because the asylum seekers were rescued on the high seas, it was not for them to decide in which country they would make their claim for refugee status.
'I remain hopeful that this can be done in a civilised and dignified way,' he said of the agreement for the asylum seekers to be processed in Indonesia.
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Boat crisis worsens for Rudd
By Tom Allard and Michelle Grattan
The Age (Melbourne), October 29, 2009
http://www.theage.com.au/national/boat-crisis-worsens-for-rudd-20091028-hl0c.html
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