Daily news updates from CIS

March 10, 2010

Domestic News

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

[For CISNEWS subscribers --

1. Sen. Graham to Obama: step up role in amnesty effort (story, link)
2. Amnesty groups turning up pressure on Administration
3. Immigration rendering white Americans a minority over next 50 years
4. Experts warn of weakness in tracking foreign students
5. Poll finds Americans understand illegals burden budgets
6. TX officials seek expanded spending on border infrastructure
7. Fed probe yields first AZ employer sanctions bust (story, link)
8. UT medical care bill sent for yearlong study
9. San Fran. transit authorities accused of harassment
10. CA county mulls housing detainees
11. AL city lobbies for local ICE office
12. WY community 'supportive' of immigration
13. Bay Buchanan addresses Maine college students
14. VA enforcement advocates labeled “extreme” by SPLC
15. Arrests in Pakistan shake Virginia Muslim community
16. Many Muslims wary of 2010 Census survey
17. Hawkish CA protesters assaulted with marbles
18. Chicago amnesty activists stage march
19. Illegal Asians face unique set of challenges
20. Chicago to help celebrate Mexican independence
21. IN laundromat faulted for banning Burmese
22. Border agent cleared of illegals' death (link)
23. AZ traffic stops lead police to drophouse (link)

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

-- Mark Krikorian]


1.
Graham to Obama: Time to 'step it up'
By Glenn Thrush
The Politico (Washington, DC), March 10, 2010
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34162.html

President Barack Obama is summoning two key senators to the Oval Office on Thursday for an update on immigration reform efforts — but one of them, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), thinks Obama should be the one giving the update.

Graham, less than thrilled at the notion of providing the equivalent of a book report to the headmaster in chief, said Obama’s lack of direction on immigration reform is hampering Graham’s efforts to recruit additional Republicans to the cause.

'At the end of the day, the president needs to step it up a little bit,' Graham told POLITICO on Tuesday. 'One line in the State of the Union is not going to do it.'

For the past six months, Graham and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — who meet with Obama at 3 p.m. Thursday — have worked on a reform framework. Their plan, which hasn’t been introduced yet, includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants (a liberal must-have) while sweetening the pot for moderates by proposing tough new safeguards, including a biometric national ID card for workers.

To the frustration of many reform advocates, Obama has kept his opinions of the possible deal vague, giving a head nod to reform in his State of the Union speech but not much more.

Obama spokesman Nick Shapiro offered no response to Graham’s challenge but reiterated the administration’s intention to allow Congress to hash things out before Obama weighs in, an approach reminiscent of his health reform strategy.

'The president’s commitment to fixing our broken system remains unwavering,' Shapiro said. 'Earlier, the president told members of both parties that if they can fashion a plan to deal with these problems, he is eager to work with them to get it done, and he has assigned [Homeland Security] Secretary [Janet] Napolitano to work with stakeholders on that effort.'

Shapiro went on to reiterate Obama’s core principles — not prescriptions — including resolving 'the status of 12 million people who are here illegally.' He punted when asked about the controversial ID system, which has the backing of some immigrant groups while sparking fierce opposition from civil libertarians.

'There are a number of options on the table, but we are clear that we need to build on and improve the existing verification system if we are going to get control of the job market for undocumented workers,' he said.

Napolitano, who has held dozens of meetings on the topic with House members and senators, was supposed to attend a previously scheduled Graham-Schumer meeting Monday, which had to be postponed when Graham’s flight from South Carolina was delayed. She’ll be overseas during Thursday’s meeting, an administration official said.

Graham said he wants a greater sense of direction to break the cycle of distrust that doomed comprehensive immigration reform during the Bush administration, despite the support of a Republican president and major party figures like Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

'I think moderate Democrats have to come on board before you get Republicans, and Republicans have to come on board before you get Democrats,' said Graham.

At the moment, only a few brave congressional souls have walked the reform gangplank. With health care blanketing the capital like a horror-movie fog, and jobs, climate change and budget bills next in line for consideration, the chances of passing a politically risky immigration reform bill are somewhere between nil and exceptionally remote.

The hope, instead, is to build a consensus around a measure that could pass sometime in the not too distant, non-election-year future.

While many Democrats publicly embrace comprehensive reform, most are privately rooting for inertia rather than tying themselves to any proposal that could be used against them in the midterms.

The tough part for Obama, however, is that the Obama-Graham-Schumer summit is also being closely watched by Hispanic groups, who are demanding proof of action as a reward for their overwhelming support of Obama in 2008.

With a massive March 21 pro-immigration reform rally planned for Washington, and Latinos the fastest-growing segment of the electorate, Obama can ill afford to alienate them.

'For the Latino community in this country, it’s the civil rights issue of their time, so delay obviously adds to disillusionment,' said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), a Cuban-American who has urged the administration to move more quickly.

Immigration reform, he added, 'would seal the community’s commitment to the Democratic Party.'

That opinion is shared by a collection of Hispanic groups, who have pressured the White House in forceful terms, threatening to withdraw support if Obama doesn’t follow through on his commitment.

But the appetite for a huge new push in immigration is as weak as it has been in years, with moderates like Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) — ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee — saying it’s not even on her radar.

'I’m not even thinking about it,' she said.

And Graham’s friend McCain, now facing a tough primary challenge from anti-immigration-reform conservative J.D. Hayworth, said he hasn’t even spoken with Graham about supporting the latest proposal.

And he offered low marks for Obama’s immigration reform efforts since taking office: 'I don’t know what he’s done, so I don’t know how to comment on his performance,' McCain said of his 2008 opponent, adding that any attempt at reform would be 'very, very difficult in this environment.'

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Search for GOP Backing Delays Senate Immigration Bill
CQPolitics.com, March 10, 2010
http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=cqmidday-000003326185

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2.
Immigrant Advocates Turn Up Heat
By Jennifer Bendery and Jessica Brady
Roll Call (Washington, DC), March 10, 2010
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/55_101/news/44027-1.html

With the onus now on Congress to finish health care reform, President Barack Obama is turning his attention to a key constituency whose complaints about being ignored have reached a fever pitch: immigration reform advocates.

Between the yearlong slog on health care and a spike in Democratic anxiety after the GOP upset in the election to replace the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), proponents of immigration reform say Obama has failed to deliver on a campaign promise to advance their issue. The final straw for many was the scant reference to reform in his State of the Union address.

“That’s when the grass-roots groups went from frustrated to angry,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, a national immigrant advocacy organization.

Grass-roots immigration groups complained Monday at a press conference that Obama was failing to lead on the issue, noting that deportations have increased by more than 60 percent since he took office. On March 21, groups including the AFL-CIO and the Center for American Progress are sponsoring a march in Washington, D.C., demanding action on immigration reform.

“We thought he would bring change. We’ve gotten no change on deportation and no discernible movement in his first year,” Sharry said. He said Obama needs to do one of two things to reaffirm his commitment to the issue: press for immigration reform legislation that can pass in the near term or use his executive authority to stop the deportation of illegal immigrants.

The White House is scrambling to extend an olive branch by holding two key meetings on Thursday. Obama will meet with Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to discuss their efforts to advance a bipartisan immigration reform bill, and, separately, senior administration officials will meet with grass-roots immigration groups to hear their concerns.

Schumer and Graham, who have been working together for months on a yet-to-be-unveiled proposal, are making identification provisions a key component of their bill. These involve the creation of a controversial national biometric identification card that would be required for all American workers. The IDs would be embedded with information such as fingerprints to tie the card to the worker.

Graham called the provision “a confidence-building measure” aimed at sparking debate in the Senate and demonstrating to the public that they are serious about advancing key reforms.

“We’ve got to convince the American people that we are going to secure our borders,” Graham said. “If we do that one thing, I think it would do a lot to solve the problem.”

But so far, Graham is the only Republican actively negotiating with Democrats on immigration reform. And even he acknowledged that the ID card provision is “a new idea” and he doesn’t know “how it’s going to play out” among Democrats and Republicans alike.

Schumer, who chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, stayed mum on the duo’s plan and maintained that he favors a comprehensive approach.

“Preserving consensus support for bipartisan immigration reform depends on taking it up as a comprehensive bill, and not breaking it up into pieces,” said Schumer, who is also Senate Democratic Conference chairman.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the lone Senate member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, urged his colleagues not to make biometric IDs a centerpiece of reform.

“Biometric is not reform. It’s part of reform,” Menendez said.

Others dismissed the idea that there is enough time to bring a bill to the floor given that midterm elections are around the corner.

“I love Schumer. Schumer’s a bright guy. But I don’t think he has any illusions about getting it done this year,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said. He said the Schumer-Graham proposal is really just an effort to “get the immigrant community off their backs. There’s a lot of politics being played, and I don’t like it.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), ranking member of the immigration subcommittee, signaled interest in passing legislation but said Obama will have to get involved for it to move this year.

“There isn’t a bill,” said Cornyn, who met last week with Schumer to discuss immigration reform. “I told Sen. Schumer I’d like to work with him and find common ground.”

Cornyn also took a shot at Obama for failing to live up to his pledge to deliver immigration reform in his first year in office.

“More than a year later, it continues sliding down his priority list behind health care, climate change and adding trillions to the national debt over the next decade. If we are going to truly reform our immigration system, it’s time for President Obama to do that which the people elected him to do: lead,” Cornyn said.

White House aides maintained that Obama has been only temporarily sidelined on immigration reform as health care has dominated both his and Congress’ domestic agenda.

“The president’s commitment to fixing our broken immigration system remains unwavering,” said White House spokesman Nick Shapiro.

Shapiro wouldn’t give a timeline on when Obama wants to see immigration reform enacted. But he outlined the pieces that Obama wants in a final bill: tougher border enforcement, a crackdown on employers who exploit undocumented workers and a path to legalization for illegal immigrants.

“They should have to register, pay a penalty for breaking the law and meet other obligations of legal immigrants such as learning English and paying taxes, or leave the country,” Shapiro said.

The House is staying out of the issue as the Senate figures out what it can pass. Over the last year, House Democrats have grown weary of taking tough votes on bills that later languish in the Senate.

House Democratic leaders are “not really” coordinating with the Senate on its immigration plan because “we always knew the Senate had to decide what they could do first,” a senior Democratic House aide said.

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3.
Minority Births on Track to Outnumber White Births
The Associated Press, March 10, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/03/10/us/politics/AP-US-White-Minority.html

Washington, DC (AP) -- Minorities make up nearly half the children born in the U.S., part of a historic trend in which minorities are expected to become the U.S. majority over the next 40 years.

In fact, demographers say this year could be the ''tipping point'' when the number of babies born to minorities outnumbers that of babies born to whites.

The numbers are growing because immigration to the U.S. has boosted the number of Hispanic women in their prime childbearing years. Minorities made up 48 percent of U.S. children born in 2008, the latest census estimates available, compared to 37 percent in 1990.

''Census projections suggest America may become a minority-majority country by the middle of the century. For America's children, the future is now,'' said Kenneth Johnson, a sociology professor at the University of New Hampshire who researched many of the racial trends in a paper being released Wednesday.

Johnson explained there are now more Hispanic women of prime childbearing age who tend to have more children than women of other races. More white women are waiting until they are older to have children, but it is not yet known whether that will have a noticeable effect on the current trend of increasing minority newborns.

The numbers highlight the nation's growing racial and age divide, seen in pockets of communities across the U.S., which could heighten tensions in current policy debates from immigration reform and education to health care and Social Security.

There are also strong implications for the 2010 population count, which begins in earnest next week, when more than 120 million U.S. households receive their census forms in the mail. The Census Bureau is running public service announcements this week to improve its tally of young children, particularly minorities, who are most often missed in the once-a-decade head count. The campaign features Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer, the English- and Spanish-speaking Nickelodeon cartoon character who helps ''mommy fill out our census form.''

The population figures are used to distribute federal aid and redraw legislative boundaries with racial and ethnic balance, as required by federal law.

''The adults among themselves sometimes forget the census is about everyone, and kids should be counted,'' said Census Bureau director Robert Groves. ''If we fail to count a newborn that is born this month, that newborn misses all the benefits of the census for 10 years.''

Whites currently make up two-thirds of the total U.S. population, and recent census estimates suggest the number of minorities may not overtake the number of whites until 2050.

Right now, roughly 1 in 10 of the nation's 3,142 counties already have minority populations greater than 50 percent. But 1 in 4 communities have more minority children than white children or are nearing that point, according to the study, which Johnson co-published.

That is because Hispanic women on average have three children, while other women on average have two. The numbers are 2.99 children for Hispanics, 1.87 for whites, 2.13 for blacks and 2.04 for Asians in the U.S. And the number of white women of prime childbearing age is on the decline, dropping 19 percent from 1990.

For example:

--In Gwinnett County, Ga., an Atlanta suburb, the population has shifted from 16 percent minority in 1990 to 58 percent minority in 2008. The number of blacks and Hispanics nearly doubled, while the number of white young people stayed roughly the same.

--The population of Dakota County, Neb., increased from 15 percent minority in 1990 to 54 percent in 2008, due largely to an influx of Hispanics who came looking for work in meatpacking and other labor.

--In Lake County, Ind., a suburb of Chicago, the minority population grew from 43 percent in 1990 to 53 percent in 2008 as the number of white children declined, the number of blacks stayed stable and the number of Hispanics increased.

The 2008 census estimates used local records of births and deaths, tax records of people moving within the U.S., and census statistics on immigrants. The figures for ''white'' refer to those whites who are not of Hispanic ethnicity.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The US Census population projections are available online at: http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/

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4.
Calif. test-taking case shows gap in visa security
By Gillian Flaccus
The Associated Press, March 10, 2010
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jNv0Bl6SeX5PFdAd2VYxcDMsKZ1gD9EBIHHG2

Santa Ana, CA (AP) -- A ring accused of helping people from the Middle East obtain student visas by taking their proficiency exams and classes has exposed vulnerability in the nation's security tracking system for foreigners who attend U.S. schools, experts said Tuesday.

The bust unsettled immigration authorities and federal lawmakers who implemented the sophisticated Foreign Student and Exchange Visitor Information System after learning one of the Sept. 11 hijackers had entered the U.S. on a student visa.

Immigration officials have broken up similar fraud rings in recent months in Miami, Orange County, Calif., Atlanta and the Los Angeles area. Many involved Korean students.

The scrutiny of foreign students once they arrive on a U.S. campus is a 'serious chink in the armor' of the system, said Janice Kephart, former counsel to the 9/11 Commission and the national security policy director at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies.

'Vulnerability with universities remains a top issue,' she said. 'It's a clean way to come into the U.S.'

Federal prosecutors charged a California man Monday with operating a ring of illegal test-takers who helped dozens of Middle Eastern nationals fraudulently obtain and keep U.S. student visas in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars.

Authorities allege Eamonn Higgins, 46, and about a dozen associates helped the students stay current on their immigration paperwork by attending classes in their name, writing term papers and taking finals with guaranteed grades of 'B' or above.

The case also alarmed Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis, a Florida Republican who became interested in the student visa tracking system after a 2007 case at the University of South Florida.

Bilirakis, a ranking member the House homeland security oversight and investigations subcommittee, is sponsoring a bill that would require in-person interviews of foreign students every 30 days during the school year and every 60 days during nonacademic periods.

'Obviously this process that we set up is not working and we have to find a better way,' he said. 'They have to be here for the right reasons, going to school, otherwise they should be deported.'

Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have not suggested the California ring was linked to any terrorism. Authorities have not ruled out further arrests in the ongoing investigation, said Virginia Kice, an ICE spokeswoman.

Authorities said professional test-takers allegedly used doctored driver's licenses to gain entry to exams, including a language proficiency test that foreign students from non-English speaking countries must pass to qualify for an F-1 student visa.

Ten schools — seven community colleges and three California State University campuses — were affected.

In one instance, Higgins collected $34,000 to take a full course load for a Saudi Arabian student named Mohammed Ali Alnuaim and several of his friends then haggled with Alnuaim over payments by e-mail, according to court documents.

Prosecutors allege that some of the clients traveled to the Middle East multiple times and gained re-entry to the U.S. by applying for a student visa and registering to study at a different college.

Six of the students have been charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud. Ten more have been placed in deportation proceedings, and immigration officials are searching for more than 30 more still believed to be in the U.S.

Authorities believe Higgins may have helped hundreds of students between 2002 and 2009 and have evidence linking him to 119 names, said Debra Parker, acting deputy special agent in charge for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles.

The extent of the investigation raises critical questions about how much responsibility colleges should bear in confirming the identities of foreign students, education experts said.

Universities have resisted taking on too much responsibility for immigration enforcement in the past, in part because of privacy issues and because many schools have limited resources or training for such work.

'This is a constant arms race,' said Stewart Baker, former undersecretary for policy with the Department of Homeland Security. 'The DHS will have to make some tough decisions about how much more responsibility for performing identity checks they want to place on universities, which have been pretty resistant to that kind of burden.'

At Golden West College, a 14,000-student community college in Huntington Beach, authorities were stunned by the claims that some of their foreign students had engaged in visa fraud. The college doesn't check student IDs for routine exams and has no way of knowing if students are using fake documentation, said Margie Bunten, college spokeswoman.

'They just have the documentation that they're supposed to have and if it's fraudulent, we don't check,' she said. 'We just weren't aware of this.'

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5.
Illegal aliens - strain on U.S. budget
By Chad Groening
One News Now, March 10, 2010
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=929634

An immigration reform organization says a new survey reveals that two-thirds of the American people believe illegal immigrants are a major strain on the U.S. budget.

The recent survey from Rasmussen Reports reveals that the federal budget and deficit is shaping up to be a major factor for this year's mid-term elections. In addition, says the survey, voter attitudes opposing illegal immigration and lax enforcement standards are one of the driving forces behind the budget issue, as about 66 percent of voters feel the availability of government money and services draws illegal immigrants to the United States.

Ira Mehlman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), believes the survey reveals that the American public is quite adept at recognizing the obvious.

'The American public is aware of the fact that illegal immigration does not provide cheap labor, it provides subsidized labor -- and that more often than not it is they, the American public, who are doing the subsidizing,' he explains.

The survey also showed that 68 percent of respondents believe that gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of illegal aliens already living in the United States. So the FAIR media director concludes this is not the time for President Obama to be pushing amnesty.

'Right now we have the federal government running a trillion-and-a-half-dollar deficit. We have state budgets on the brink of disaster. This is an awful time for the president to even be discussing this,' Mehlman contends. 'What he ought to be doing is enforcing our laws [and] protecting the interests of the American public, both workers and taxpayers.'

Mehlman says FAIR plans to keep the pressure on elected officials, encouraging them to vote against any amnesty bill.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Rasmussen poll results are available online at: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/67_say_illegal_immigrants_are_major_strain_on_u_s_budget

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6.
Texas border officials lobby for $6 billion for infrastructure improvements, more personnel
By Gary Martin
The San Antonio Express-News, March 9, 2010
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/86983797.html

Washington, DC -- A year after Texas ports of entry were ignored in the federal stimulus package, a coalition of Texas border officials lobbied lawmakers Monday for $6 billion for infrastructure improvements and more personnel.

Border officials cite a 2008 Government Accountability Office study that says understaffing at U.S. land ports of entry contributed to morale, fatigue and safety problems.

Texas led all states in trade with Mexico last year, but a General Services Administration report found that land ports of entry need repairs. Border mayors and other officials say the federal government has failed to provide money for upgrades and staff.

'It's important that they keep their eye on the ball,' said the mayor of McAllen, Richard Cortez.

In addition to the $6 billion, the Texas Border Coalition is seeking 5,000 additional customs and immigration port agents for the southern and northern U.S. borders. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, have filed companion bills seeking the funds.

The coalition is made up of elected and appointed officials from Texas cities and counties along the U.S. border with Mexico. The group opposed the 670-mile border fence.

Lawmakers from border states also are trying to fund projects outside the regular budget process.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, the Laredo Democrat who chairs a House Homeland Security subcommittee for border affairs, asked House leaders to provide $5 billion for ports of entry in a new stimulus package, as well as the 5,000 new agent positions in a proposed jobs bill.

A letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., seeking the funds was signed by Texas lawmakers with border districts and by lawmakers from Arizona, California, Wisconsin and New York.

The president's budget for fiscal 2011, which begins Oct. 1, includes $91.5 million for border port improvements in El Paso, $50.1 million for Madawaska, Maine, and $9.4 million for improvements at Calexico, Calif.

Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster, who chairs the coalition, said smaller ports, like those in his city, are falling into disrepair. He carried several photographs to show the need for paint at the Eagle Pass facility.

Border officials also cite a 2008 Government Accountability Office study that found understaffing at U.S. land ports of entry contributed to morale, fatigue and safety problems.

The Texas Border Coalition argues that the lack of spending for the ports makes it more inviting to drug cartels to use established roads and bridges to smuggle contraband into the United States.

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7.
Feds' inquiry led to sanctions related closure
By JJ Hensley
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), March 10, 2010
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/03/10/20100310empsanx0310.html

After all local law enforcement's work-site raids and news conferences, it was police work from federal immigration agents that forced the first Arizona business to close for violating the state's employer-sanctions law.

Danny's Subway, a sandwich shop at 1950 W. Indian School Road in Phoenix, will close for two days this year- Easter and Thanksgiving - under the terms of an agreement in which company President Dan Rose conceded that the business knowingly hired an illegal worker.

News of the agreement comes more than two years after the Legal Arizona Workers Act went into effect, and marks the first time that a business will experience the law's punitive side, which authorizes prosecutors to take a business license for up to 10 days on a first offense.

A second offense brings the possibility of permanent revocation of the business' license.

A spokesman for County Attorney Andrew Thomas said the two-day closure was part of the agreement filed Tuesday. Holidays were chosen because the sandwich shop has opened on Easter and Thanksgiving in prior years, but the franchise agreement authorizes the business to close on those holidays if the operator desires.

Closing the shop on unauthorized days could jeopardize the franchise agreement and risk permanent closure, which goes against the intent of the law on the first offense, said Michael Scerbo, a spokesman for the county attorney.

The business will be on three years' probation and is required to submit quarterly reports to the County Attorney's Office to ensure compliance with the law.

Though Thomas and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have become the most strident enforcers of the employer-sanctions law - Arpaio's deputies have conducted 30 work-site raids and the two officials have appeared together at numerous news conferences to tout their efforts - their investigations have not led to the closure of an existing business.

Last year, operators of a Phoenix water park were found to have violated the law, but Waterworld was already out of business and its 10-day business- license suspension won't take effect unless the business reopens.

A complaint against a custom-cabinet and -furniture business, Scottsdale Art Factory, was filed in November and continues to make its way through court.

The case against Danny's Subway began taking shape in July 2008 when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents told the shop's operators that Fidel Vargas-Salgado was not authorized to work in the United States.

The company fired Vargas-Salgado around July 15, 2008, according to court documents, but rehired him on Sept. 9, 2008, after Rose instructed Vargas-Salgado on how to get new employment documents.

Rose and the store's manager, Martin Gomez, allowed Vargas-Salgado to use a fake ID to fill out paperwork when he was rehired, according to the court documents.

ICE agents arrested Vargas-Salgado and began an administrative inquiry into the sandwich shop, which resulted in a fine of $431.

The agreement filed Tuesday states that no other franchise location violated the law, and that the company does not have a practice of hiring unauthorized employees.

Rose released a statement saying the company cooperated with investigators.

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Ariz. Subway franchise to close for illegal hire
By Amanda Lee Myers
The Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), March 10, 2010
http://www.azstarnet.com/news/state-and-regional/article_7965da1c-d340-5958-bb00-b4d26a2fa26e.html

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8.
Bill to remove immigrant children's 5-year wait sent to study
The Salt Lake Tribune, March 9, 2010
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14641998

A bill that would grant eligible legal immigrant children speedier access to low-income health care was resurrected in the Senate floor Tuesday after being voted down Monday - but will be sent to interim study for the next year.

'It's important that we keep discussing this bill and hopefully next year have funding to pay for their health care coverage,' sponsoring Sen. Luz Robles said.

SB44 would have removed a five-year waiting period for legal permanent resident children to apply for Medicaid or Utah's Children's Health Insurance Program. About 800 children would be eligible at an estimated state cost of $384,500, with a federal match bringing nearly $1.5 million.

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9.
Immigrants Say Officers Harass Them on Muni
By Rigoberto Hernandez
Mission Local (San Francisco), March 9, 2010
http://missionlocal.org/2010/03/immigrants-say-officers-harass-them-on-muni/

Dozens of immigrants testified at the Immigrant Rights Commission on Monday night that fare inspectors and police are harassing them when they ride Muni.

The alleged harassment over the past months has resulted in three deportations and an increasing fear among immigrant communities of riding Muni, according to the testimony.

Commissioners of this mostly advisory commission agreed to send a letter asking several government agencies, including the mayor’s office, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and others, to find a solution.

Luis Barahona, a community organizer with the Mission-based Jamestown Community Center, said harassment became an issue when the SFMTA stepped up enforcement last fall to curb fare evasions and crime on Muni. A study by the SFMTA last year found that the 10 percent of fare evaders cost the agency $19 million every year.

Once on board Muni, fare inspectors are too strict on expired transfers and arbitrarily pick on immigrant riders who don’t speak English, he told the commission.

While some passengers simply pay a fine, immigrants worry that being apprehended will lead to deportation. Currently if an adult is booked on a felony and officers suspect he is undocumented they notify ICE.

At the hearing, for example, Felipe Reyes described being pulled back by two undercover officers after he boarded a bus from the back door. He showed the officers his fastpass and asked them to show him respect, he said.

Instead, they booked him and took him to jail. He was released to immigration on the third day, he said. It is unclear what charges were filed and his attorney would not elaborate because the case is pending.

Zheng Huang, a Visitation Valley resident, told the commission he was one of SFMTA’s victims.

Huang said his transfer expired while en route to Chinatown and he was given a ticket. He couldn’t communicate because he can’t speak English and is now worried that it might affect his status for citizenship.

Marlene Tran, the spokesperson for the Visitation Valley Asian Alliance, pointed out that Muni transfers are printed only in English.

Visitation Valley residents have previously complained that they were not properly informed of changes to the 9x Bayshore and had to fight to get a Cantonese voice calling people to reserve the front seat for seniors, Tran said.

Gloria Steva of the Mission said she has seen first hand how police are too strict in ticketing for transfers that have expired because the buses take a long time to arrive.

'What are we supposed to do?' she asked. 'We are held accountable for Muni’s failures.'

She also complained that no one from the SFMTA was at the hearing.

Adrienne Pon, the executive director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs, said Muni executives were absent because they had not been given sufficient notice of the meeting.

Donaji Lona, an organizer for People Organized to Win Employment Rights, told the story of a member who was given two tickets simultaneously as a 'lesson' to cooperate with law enforcement.

According to Lona, the member was told her transfer was invalid and was asked to sign the ticket.

She only spoke Spanish and asked to call her husband before she signed anything because she couldn’t understand. Subsequently, the officer gave her two tickets out of frustration, Lona said.

Lorena Melgarejo, the vice chair of the commission, said she called the hearings because her own father was harassed.

For some advocates the solution is to eliminate the enforcement because they claim it doesn’t work and it’s too aggressive.

'This is reactionary policy,' Barahona said about the increase in fare evasion enforcement and police presence. He added that the system is unsustainable and Muni should try to fix their fiscal problems in other ways.

Tran said cultural competency training for officers and more community outreach might work.

The public outcry is similar to the one expressed last year when police were impounding cars of undocumented immigrants.

In that instance, Police Chief George Gascon met with advocates and Supervisor David Campos and a deal was reached to impound cars only if they couldn’t find a legal driver after 20 minutes.

'It feels we are back again to an issue like this,' said commission chair Angus McCarthy. 'Hopefully we can get the same outcome and result.'

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10.
City opposes housing possible illegal immigrants at Lacy jail
By Eugene W. Fields
The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA), March 9, 2010
http://www.ocregister.com/news/city-238436-detainees-hutchens.html

Orange, CA -- City Council members questioned Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens at length during Tuesday's council meeting about the Sheriff Department's proposal to house U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees at Theo Lacy Facility.

Despite Hutchens answering 30 minutes worth of questions from the City Council, both Mayor Carolyn Cavecche and Councilman Jon Dumitru were 'uncomfortable' with the proposal.

At issue is whether the proposal would violate the city's 15-year-old agreement with the county, which limits inmate population and defines the perimeters of the jail.

According to a staff report, ICE detainees are held in custody while a determination for possible deportation is made by the Federal government. Most detainees are former federal state or local inmates unable to provide proof of citizenship at the time of their arrest, who after serving their sentence, are turned over to ICE to begin the hearing process to determine whether or not they should be deported.

Hutchens said there are 1,200 inmates in the Orange County jail system that when they are finished serving their time, will become ICE detainees. Currently, ICE takes the detainees out of state and either deports them or releases them from custody.

Under the terms of her department's proposal, Hutchens said 99.9 percent of the detainees would be deported and the remaining detainees would be released from the ICE office in Los Angeles.

'I anticipate that you will have fewer releases to the streets if you have a federal detainee, as opposed to a county inmate,' Hutchens said.

On March 2, the county Board of Supervisors authorized the Sheriff's Department to submit a proposal to house 838 ICE detainees in the Orange County jail system. Orange City Manager John Sibley said the Sheriff's Department wants to house 472 detainees at Theo Lacy, with the remaining 366 housed at the James A. Musick Facility.

Hutchens appeared at the Orange City Council meeting as a result of Sibley speaking at the March 2 Board of Supervisors meeting to express frustration with a lack of communication between the Sheriff's Department and Orange.

'Our concern is that they could be they're going to add facilities or they are going to build facilities,' Sibley said. 'Our agreement says the final project at Theo Lacy is the project. Any change in that would violate our agreement.'

Sibley said the city gets regular updates from the Sheriff's Department on the occupancy at Theo Lacy, which has a maximum capacity of 2,986 inmates.

'As of Monday (March 8), there were 491 empty beds,' Sibley said.

Hutchens said she did not believe the proposal would violate the existing agreement with the city because nothing new would be added to the jail.

'We have no intention of increasing the population above what was discussed (in the agreement),' Hutchens said.

Dumitru said he was not in favor of the proposal.

'I'm not comfortable with having this change at that jail,' Dumitru said. 'Right now, I don't believe it's an advisable move.'

The agreement between the Federal government and the Sheriff's Department could generate up to $20 million a year, according to the staff report. Sibley said the city was more concerned with potential impact on the city from released detainees than any possible reimbursement.

'We were told that 99 percent of the detainees are deported,' Sibley said. 'But we're concerned about what that (one percent) is going to do to our area.'

Sibley said the Sheriff's Department received a two-week extension to submit its proposal, extending the deadline to approximately March 22.

Hutchens pledged better communication between her office and city officials.

'I'm personally sensitive to the concerns of the city of Orange,' Hutchens said. 'I will endeavor to keep the council and the city manager informed of anything that we do at that facility.'

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11.
Albertville seeks ICE office to deal with illegal immigration
By Stephen McLamb
The WAFF News (Albertville, AL), March 9, 2010
http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=12112355?

Albertville, AL -- Albertville city leaders are on their way to Washington D.C. to meet with our two senators.

The topic, illegal immigration.

City officials want to see if a greater federal presence can be made in dealing with illegal immigration. But they've also enlisted the help of a nationally recognized immigration attorney.

Albertville city officials are moving forward in their quest to curbing illegal immigration.

They're now heading to Washington D.C. to meet with Alabama Senators Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby.

'We're also asking for funding through Senator Sessions office for an ICE office in Albertville to serve the northern district of Alabama,' said Albertville Mayor Lindsey Lyons.

The city is also looking at implementing an E-Verify system for employers to make certain their employees are legal. But an advocate for the Hispanic community feels those issues should not be dealt with at the local level.

'That's the government's decision whether it should be made mandatory, the federal government should make that mandatory,' said Aylene Sepulveda, a Hispanic community advocate.

To implement the idea, the city is working on an ordinance. So they've enlisted the help of nationally recognized attorney Kris Kobach.

'He is the man when it comes to illegal immigration issues and dealing with litigation,' said Albertville City Councilman Chuck Ellis.

Councilman Ellis said he received authorization from the council to have Kobach come to Albertville later this month.

'Enables us to lay out options that we've got for the city and gives us direction and way to go,' said Ellis.

Sepulveda feels all this action will have a backlash on the city financially if Hispanics leave.

Mayor Lyons says the negative feedback he's gotten is from those who hire illegals.

Kris Kobach is expected to arrive in Albertville to meet with city officials there on March 22nd.

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12.
Survey says Jackson residents back foreign workers
The Associated Press, March 10, 2010
http://www.localnews8.com/Global/story.asp?S=12114942

Jackson, WY (AP) -- A survey shows Jackson residents support immigration and integration efforts in the northwest Wyoming community.

Results of the survey conducted last November cull opinions of issues related to immigration from 1,120 respondents who filled out questionnaires.

Fifty-three percent of respondents said they were pro-immigrant, 34 percent said they were neutral and 13 percent said they were anti-immigration.

Fifty-seven percent indicated they support efforts to improve integration in Jackson while 23 percent said they don't support such efforts.

The survey was commissioned by the town of Jackson and Teton County.

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13.
Buchanan decries illegal immigration
By Rachel Hastings
The Bates Student (Bates College, ME), March 9, 2010
http://www.batesstudent.com/news/buchanan-decries-illegal-immigration-1.2185885

Bay Buchanan delivered an enthused presentation entitled 'Illegal Immigration and Its Tragic Consequences' to a cozy audience last night in Chase Hall Lounge. The talk was sponsored by the Bates College Republicans, and Buchanan was introduced by club president Alix Melamed ’10.

Melamed noted that Buchanan was the youngest United States Treasurer in the history of our country when she worked under Ronald Regan from 1981-83. She is now chair of Team America PAC, which is committed to securing the borders of the United States from illegal immigration. She also managed her brother Pat Buchanan’s political campaigns and served as an advisor to Mitt Romney during his recent presidential bid.

Buchanan began her speech by noting that Melamed’s mother was her roommate and best friend at Rosemont College. She acknowledged that she expected that many Bates students would disagree with her.

'The great spirit of America is that we can debate and disagree and walk out laughing and talking,' she said, a theme she returned to later, urging Bates students to debate again and again, 'until the firestorms do not disturb you'.

Buchanan promised that intense, passionate debate would create the strong leaders that she says America is lacking. She decried politicians’ fear of speaking their minds. 'One of the most common votes in Washington is a party line vote…sheep can do that' she remarked.

After a few comments on the anger Americans hold regarding the issue of illegal immigration, Buchanan discounted the relevance of race in the debate. She painted stories of small communities 'destroyed by illegals,' particularly emphasizing the effect that cheap illegal labor has on small businesses which cannot compete while paying their workers fair wages. 'It’s a job issue,' she said, condemning the notion that illegal immigrants fill unwanted jobs. 'These are jobs Americans can surely use today' she said. 'We are a nation of immigrants…but through history we have shut the door at the proper times…but we don’t shut them anymore.' The recession, she said, would justify a widespread halt of legal immigration with few exceptions, until the economy recovers.

Buchanan spoke extensively about problems of increased crime, particularly related to the 'billion dollar business' of bringing drugs into this country. 'The government could fail in two places that would severely hurt our national security: Pakistan and Mexico. There are drug cartels there' she said. 'There are bodies on the street everyday in Mexico…our border is wide open'.

Reiterating what she considered to be the main problems with illegal immigration, Buchanan listed 'crime, drugs, gangs, job situation…and cost.' She cited cases of hospitals near the border closing because of a huge demand for emergency room services for illegal immigrants who could not pay, as well as the increased educational costs. Buchanan was especially critical of the costs of ESL programs for communities that 'aren’t speaking the language they should.' She argued the importance of a period of assimilation.'

Buchanan constantly returned to the theme of a government failing to uphold its laws, blaming the lack of 'guts' in Washington. In the question and answer period, she argued against students who raised humanitarian concerns. 'We have to do what’s best for the United States,' she said. 'Just because there are needy people and good people doesn’t mean we should let them come in illegally.'

After Buchanan’s speech, the Bates Immigrant Rights Advocates met in the Multicultural Center to discuss her argument. Mert Karakus ’11, Political Action Coordinator for BIRA, noted that Buchanan 'started out angry at Washington…and maintained a tone of anger' throughout her talk.

The group discussed the issue of assimilation, particularly that of Spanish speakers in America. 'I don’t think she believed that an American identity can be acquired later in life…but that you have to be born into it' said Karakus.

Uriel Gonzalez ’11, a Mexican immigrant and a resident of Texas, pointed out that in some cases illegal immigrants who have already assimilated to American culture are deported and find themselves 'losing their identity' with 'nowhere to go'. He related his own experiences, and noted 'I’m assimilated, but I’m still seen differently…you can’t change how you look.'

'I think a lot of this is fear of the unknown' said Cristian Ruiz ’12, Community Engagement Coordinator for BIRA. The group agreed that since American culture is constantly in flux, it is useless to try to prevent change. 'The desire to go elsewhere to look for opportunity is innate and it’s human' argued Sarah Davis ’10, President of BIRA.

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14.
'Extremist' label surprises immigration reform group
By Tim McGlone
The Virginian-Pilot, March 10, 2010
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/03/extremist-label-surprises-immigration-reform-group

Virginia Beach, VA -- Belinda Dexter was more than a little surprised to learn that her immigration reform group – Help Save Hampton Roads – was among dozens of groups labeled 'extremist' in a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The SPLC defines extremists as just a notch below hate groups, although some on the list have been accused of committing violent acts, including the murder of a 9-year-old in Arizona.

Dexter says all she does is push for legislative reforms. She even served on a Virginia State Crime Commission immigration reform subcommittee.

“I’m real surprised that they used those terms so loosely with people who care about their state and the nation,” Dexter said. “That’s unfortunate that they would publish something that sounds more like hatred related scare tactics.”

Heidi Beirich, director of research for the SPLC’s annual “Intelligence Report,” said groups are labeled extremist if they tend to be confrontational with illegal immigrants, “where they gather and protest right in their face and scream at them.”

Dexter and others in affiliated immigration reform organizations in Virginia said they have never used those tactics. They gather signatures on petitions and lobby for legislative changes.

“It’s funny they should refer to us that way. It is absolutely not true. There’s no extremism,” she said.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The SPLC publication is available online at: http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-report-number-of-patriot-groups-militias-surges-by-244-in-past-year

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15.
'Surreal' arrests in Pakistan disrupt close family, Muslim community
By Annie Gowen
The Washington Post, March 10, 2010
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/09/AR2010030903889.html?hpid=topnews

Talha Chaudhry says his brother gave little hint of his intentions the weekend he disappeared.

The two had gone to lunch that Friday at a fried chicken restaurant in Springfield to celebrate the Muslim holiday Eid, the end of Ramadan. Umar, 24, a George Mason University student, told his younger brother he was going to spend the weekend in Baltimore with a friend. Great! Talha thought. Their parents were away, so Talha had their Fairfax home all to himself -- a rare occurrence.

It wasn't until that Monday, when Umar failed to show up for work at the family business, that Talha began to worry. Texts and calls went unanswered. That evening, he dialed the friend's cellphone number. The sound he heard floored him.

It was an international dial tone. Then, no answer.

He hung up and paced in circles. How could this be? Would his brother have left the country without telling his family? What was going on?

About a week later, he got his answer. Umar Chaudhry and four of his closest friends -- members of his youth group at a Fairfax County mosque -- were arrested by Pakistani authorities, suspected of traveling overseas to join al-Qaeda and carry out terrorist attacks. Pakistani authorities have recommended criminal charges against the men in that country, charges that lawyers involved in the case say could come as early as Wednesday. The arrests of the young men in December roiled the local Muslim community and left friends and family members in the United States scrambling for answers. Families of the men -- Chaudhry; Howard University dental student Ramy Zamzam, 22; former Virginia Commonwealth University business student Ahmed A. Minni, 20; and Fairfax County residents Waqar Khan, 22, and Aman Hassan Yemer, 18 -- are cooperating with authorities but have said little publicly until now.

Talha Chaudhry, 22, is the first relative to speak out about the young men, whose attorney claimed in court in January that they had gone overseas to 'help the homeless Muslims,' not wage jihad. His parents, who had gone to Pakistan on an extended vacation last fall to find Umar a wife, have yet to return to the United States.

Talha Chaudhry says he's mystified about how the five boys he grew up with could have transformed from young students -- who spent their time praying, trying to avoid alcohol and girls and playing FIFA Soccer on Xbox -- into suspected jihadists. All in a matter of months.

Umar 'was a gullible-type kid,' Chaudhry says. 'They were all gullible.'

Talha Chaudhry is slight and intense, with spiky hair and hip T-shirt and jeans. In a three-hour discussion this weekend at a sandwich shop in Alexandria, he clearly was still reeling from the loss of four close friends and a brother he both loved and fiercely competed with -- both in life and in sports such as volleyball and tennis. He agreed to be interviewed but declined to be photographed.

'I lost five brothers,' Chaudhry says. 'It's so shocking. I can't get to my emotions on that. It's still like a dream. It's surreal.'

Chaudhry's family immigrated to the United States from the Sargodha region of Pakistan when he was 4 and his brother 6. Theirs was a typical immigrant story; the family lived in a series of modest homes in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County as their father, Khalid Farooq Chaudhry, worked his way up from a gas station attendant to a cabdriver to a paralegal.

The boys shared video games and collected Marvel comics cards and baseball cards -- Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr. was a favorite. Ultimately, they ended up living on a dead-end street next to the tiny mosque, the ICNA Center, where they prayed regularly.

The Chaudhrys became close to the other Muslim youths in their neighborhood, including the four other suspects. All but one attended West Potomac High School. Khan attended Mount Vernon High School.

With parents who frowned on dating, and alcohol and smoking forbidden, sports became a central focus of their lives.

They played volleyball and table tennis at local recreation centers and stayed up until 2 and 3 a.m., playing soccer against Latino children on the fields of Walt Whitman Middle School. Umar bought a $25 racket and taught himself and his younger brother tennis, ultimately becoming a star high school player.

Or they would have 'chill sessions' at the mosque, soul-searching over pizza and soda. Chaudhry says that while the members of the youth group sometimes expressed concern or confusion from a 'humanistic perspective' about the fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq, there was nothing that seemed violent or extreme. They were torn between conflicting identities, common for children of immigrants.

'I'm an American, a Muslim and a Pakistani,' explains Chaudhry, who repairs computers and runs an export business. 'It's who I am. It's hard not to think about it -- my own race being killed. Innocent people . . . it's kind of like saying 'My people are doing this to my people. My American people are doing this to my Pakistani people.' It's so hard.'

Some of the same issues, authorities believe, prompted his brother to leave the country. He and the other four suspects allegedly began following jihadist videos on YouTube last year that showed violent attacks on U.S. forces. Pakistani authorities believe they were targeted online by a Taliban recruiter and exchanged e-mails with him for months before making the decision to go to Pakistan in November.

They were arrested at the Chaudhrys' family home in Sargodha on Dec. 8. The father, Khalid Chaudhry, was detained for questioning for several days but ultimately released. The arrests have traumatized the close-knit family, Talha Chaudhry says. His parents had hoped to be planning Umar's wedding. Instead they're girding themselves for lengthy legal proceedings.

'They're mentally getting ready, thinking 'This is happening. This is real,' trying to be emotionally ready,' Chaudhry says.

After the arrests police found that the young men had brought a book to Pakistan called 'The Pact.' Co-authored by Washington Post editor Lisa Frazier, the book tells the story of three African American youths from a tough neighborhood who made a pact to help one another grow to become successful adults.

Chaudhry has wondered in the weeks since the arrests how the close bond among his own brother and friends -- who had their own pact to help keep one another from temptations such as girls and alcohol -- could have turned into something so ruinous. He sometimes wonders why they didn't approach him for their journey. But in his heart he knows the answer.

'I'm very much an American kid,' he says. 'I look Pakistani, but on the inside I'm white. That's pretty much who I am.'

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16.
Some Muslims, fearing backlash, worry about intent of census
By Tara Bahrampour
The Washington Post, March 10, 2010
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/09/AR2010030901688.html

The millions of blue forms being mailed this month in the first census count since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, do not ask about religion. But the idea of answering any questions posed by the government makes some Muslims uneasy, and community leaders are worried that many may avoid the 2010 Census altogether.

'A lot of people, they have the concern,' said Raja Mahmood, 50, a Manassas cabdriver who moved to the United States from Pakistan 25 years ago. 'The majority of Muslims, they don't want to draw attention.'

Although he plans to fill out the census form -- and the Falls Church mosque he attends, Dar Al-Hijrah, has encouraged it -- Mahmood said many Muslims he knows are wary about why the government, which treated them with suspicion in the years after the terrorist strike, wants to collect information about them.

'They can look for the count of how many people live here, and that's a good thing,' he said, 'but God knows what is in their heart.'

Muslim leaders have been holding forums to explain the process. Last week, the Justice Department said information-gathering and -sharing provisions of the Patriot Act do not override federal confidentiality laws related to the Census, laws that provide stiff penalties for sharing information about an individual.

'That would go a long way toward calming fears,' said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Still, community leaders say they understand why people might be cautious. Many remember the trepidation that arose after Sept. 11, when men from some Muslim countries were required to register with the then-Immigration and Naturalization Service. The requirement led to deportations for visa violations or minor infractions unrelated to terrorism, Hooper said, adding that 'whole neighborhoods were emptied.'

Some Muslims have been put on 'no-fly' lists because they share a name with a suspected terrorist.

Ashraf Nubani, a Virginia-based lawyer who helped men who were asked to register with authorities, said that even now, Muslim immigrants 'may be extremely distrustful any time the government is asking them for information.'

Imam Mohamed Magid of the All-Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling has recently given speeches to his congregation about the census, explaining that uncounted minorities can be underrepresented or ignored when government resources are allocated. He said that most congregants are not worried about filling out the form but that 'some immigrants talk about the time of the Patriot Act and the census, where somebody can misuse information about them.'

'A lot of questions come up on the community level,' said Hazami Barmada, president of the Washington-based American Muslim Interactive Network, which hosted a talk about Muslims and the census Monday night at Georgetown University. 'What does the census do with this information? If I tell them about my children and my life and my information, how's that going to affect me?' '

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, director of outreach at Dar Al-Hijrah, said the fear can run so deep that some Muslims were wary of getting government-funded flu shots after rumors that they were offered only to Muslims or used to experiment on minorities. 'So if you think like that, then you're not going to participate in the census,' he said.

Many Muslims, however, said they have no worries about filling out the basic form, which asks for name, race and number of people in a household.

'I don't know what the census would have to do with Muslims or non-Muslims,' said Hany Osman, 35, of Falls Church, an Egyptian clinical system analyst who moved to the United States seven years ago. 'It's highly recommended that we fill it out and be part of American society instead of alienating ourselves.'

Atafa Azad, 28, a McLean resident who moved here from Afghanistan as a child, agreed, saying her family always fills out the census. She said more people would do so if the form were available in Farsi. Security issues are 'not a concern,' she said. 'We're adapted here. We call ourselves American.'

But others remain concerned that the information might be used to discriminate against them. Abu Bakr Muslim, 70, a porter at Reagan National Airport who attends Dar Al-Hijrah, said the form need not ask about religion to identify Muslims. 'If you have a certain kind of name,' he said, 'they're going to raise a red flag.'

Abdul-Malik said some immigrants 'come from countries where giving the government information about yourself is always bad. Or they have concerns that giving the American government information is somehow going to have an effect in your home country.'

As Muslims finished up prayers at Dar Al-Hijrah on Thursday afternoon, he reminded them about the census, saying they don't have to be citizens to participate.

Still, he said, 'particularly in the new-immigrant population, there's definitely going to be an undercount. It'll be better as a result of our outreach, but there are still going to be people who say, 'Yeah . . . you can't convince me.' '

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17.
Immigration demonstrators pelted with marbles
By Peter Schelden
The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, CA), March 8, 2010
http://www.ocregister.com/news/dwyer-238153-group-patrol.html

A group of kids threw marbles at another group demonstrating in favor of Border Patrol enforcement at San Juan Capistrano businesses, according to sheriff's Lt. Dan Dwyer, chief of police services.

Dwyer said more than 20 demonstrators were gathered about noon Saturday in front of Alipaz Plaza off Del Obispo Street. One demonstrator was hit by a marble but not injured, Dwyer said.

The demonstration was organized by the SJC Americans – a local group that opposes illegal immigration – in response to a news report that some business owners at Alipaz Plaza believe Border Patrol checks are scaring away customers.

Dwyer said there were 'a couple of honking horns' at the demonstration, 'but for the most part, it was very peaceful.'

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18.
Immigrant groups marching from West Side downtown
Chicago Breaking News, March 10, 2010
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/03/immigrant-groups-marching-from-west-side-downtown.html

Organizers are hoping a thousand undocumented Chicagoans will face their fears of deportation today and descend on the Federal Plaza to march for comprehensive immigration reform.

This morning, several organizers from the Immigrant Youth Justice League were joined by Latino City Council members in calling for support of another immigration reform rally in Washington D.C. on March 21.

Ald. Roberto Maldonado (26th) was among several officials at a news conference who expressed outrage, saying the Obama administration has not kept a promise to introduce a reform bill within Obama's first year of office.

The protesters will begin assembling at Union Square Park at 11 a.m. and march to the Federal Plaza at 1 p.m.

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19.
Undocumented Asians face unique challenges in the U.S.
By Kyung Jin Lee
The Medill Reports (Northwestern Univ., Chicago), March 8, 2010
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=160387

Most people think about Latinos when the conversation turns to illegal immigration, however there are more than 1 million undocumented Asians living in the U.S.

Young Sun Song’s older sister is one of them. She became undocumented in 2000, but didn’t realize it until four years later.

Song’s sister and her husband immigrated to the U.S. from Korea on the husband’s student visa in 1997. He attended seminary in Iowa and Song’s sister lived as his dependent until she decided to go to school as well. She had to get her own student visa to take classes, but after spending only one semester in school, she quit.

'That’s when she lost her status,' Song said.

Almost 10 percent, or 1 million, of the estimated 10.8 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., came from Asian countries, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

There are three main types of undocumented immigrants, according to a 2009 report by the Congressional Research Service: those who overstay their nonimmigrant visas, those who sneak into the country without documents and those who enter with false documents.

'Of undocumented Asians currently in the United States, well over 90 percent are visa overstays,' said Joren Lyons, staff attorney for the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco. He said most undocumented Asians initially come as visitors or students, like Song’s family, and that it’s very rare for Asians come into the country illegally.

Song’s brother-in-law transferred to a school in Chicago in 2001. After graduating three years later, the couple consulted an immigration attorney about getting employment visas so they could legally work in the U.S. for one year.

'That’s when my sister realized she lost her status a while ago,' Song said. 'When my brother-in-law applied for the employment visa, he was told not to apply with my sister because she was already undocumented.'

As a recent graduate, her husband was eligible for a one-year work permit to get practical training. Once it was approved, he worked for a couple of small churches. But neither of the churches had the resources to sponsor him for permanent resident status.

'After [the one-year work authorization] period, my brother-in-law still wasn’t able to adjust his status, so he became undocumented as well in 2005,' Song said.

In practical terms their undocumented status has had little effect on their daily lives, because they both have social security numbers and driver’s licenses, obtained when they had visas. However, because their visas have expired, they can’t apply for permanent resident status. If their status were discovered, they could face deportation.

Song said her sister’s family decided to stay in the U.S. because returning to Korea would mean admitting to the world they failed.

'I think for my sister’s situation, they spent a decade [in the U.S.] and found out they don’t have status,' Song said. 'They got their education here and then they spent all their savings going to school. I think they saw hope in the United States rather than going back to Korea and trying to find jobs there.'

Song’s sister now runs a dry cleaning business in the Chicago metro area. Her brother-in-law works at a shoe store and gets paid in cash. Since they had all the legal documents, they just had to hire an attorney to help them set up the business.

'[My sister] was able to open her business under her own name, paying taxes and everything,' Song said. 'My brother in law… also files income taxes.'

Lyons said while it’s nearly impossible to get a valid social security number and drivers license as an undocumented immigrant now, those who came to the country during the 1980s and early-1990s had no problems obtaining those documents.

'If you arrived back in the ‘80s, all you had to do was walk into social security, fill out a form and you’d be given a social security number,' Lyons said. But now, 'even people who are here legally sometimes encounter trouble getting social security numbers because the documents they have are not accepted.'

Lyons said Asians are reluctant to talk about their undocumented situation because of shame. He spoke of an undocumented Chinese client whose U.S.-born son lost a friend when the friend’s parents found out about his client’s status.

'They literally told him, ‘you can’t play with that boy anymore. That’s a dirty family,’' Lyons said. 'These are people who run a business, pay their taxes, employ American workers, but overstayed their visas.'

Another reason why Asians remain closed about their immigration status is because, unlike Asian-Americans who were born and raised in the U.S. and may identify with others as minorities within a larger society, more recent Asian immigrants lack that sense of solidarity, Lyons said.

'Because there are so many different languages and so many different countries of origin, it’s hard to get a cohesive community feeling going, particularly among linguistically isolated communities,' he said.

Other than the psychological fear of getting caught by immigration, Song said her family doesn’t face too many problems on a daily basis, but dealing with government entities still stirs up anxiety.

'[My sister] was robbed and she lost her purse with everything,' Song said. 'And going to renew her driver’s license, she didn’t know what to expect. She was really scared.'

Song said the only way her family can legally stay in the country now is comprehensive immigration reform. Her sister has saved money to prepare for a legalization program, which she hopes will come soon.

'I think she’s doing what she can do for when that day comes finally,' she said.

Song’s sister plans to travel to Washington, D.C., on March 21 to participate in a national rally for immigration reform. Song said this is the first time her sister is getting active in the political process.

'It got to the point, what else can she do?' Song said. 'She’s got to say something. She’s got to do something. She’s losing hope.'

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20.
2010 to be Mexico's year in Chicago
By Alejandra Cancino
The Chicago Tribune, March 10, 2010
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-live-0310-mexico-2010-20100310,0,7071892.story

Get ready for a big fiesta.

The Mexican consulate in Chicago is partnering with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Sinfonietta and others to stage more than 70 cultural events this year to commemorate the bicentennial of Mexico's independence and the centennial of its revolution.

The full calendar of events, which kick off this weekend, will be unveiled Wednesday morning at a news conference at the Chicago Cultural Center.

For the past three years, the consulate has been reaching out to museums, nonprofits, universities and other cultural institutions from Chicago, Indiana and Wisconsin to develop a broad program of cultural activities for the celebration. More than 50 participants have planned special programming.

Mexico 2010 Commemorations in Chicago has a dual intention — to celebrate Mexico and to 'promote stronger relations between this part of the U.S. and Mexico,' said Manuel Rodriguez Arriaga, Mexico's consul general in Chicago.

'Culture is an excellent vehicle, not only for enjoyment and individual enrichment, but also a vehicle to promote cooperation between institutions and mutual understanding between people,' Rodriguez Arriaga said.

Highlights of the CSO planned events include a free concert Sept. 16 in Pilsen led by Carlos Miguel Prieto and an Oct. 15 tribute to Chavela Vargas.

'In Mexico, there is a very long, rich history of classical symphonic music, and we want to extend that history into Chicago as well,' CSO Association President Deborah F. Rutter said.

Events normally held in Chicago throughout the year are being integrated into the Mexico 2010 program. Mexicans in Chicago have for decades participated in the traditional 'grito,' a late-night cry for independence that dates back to 1810, when Miguel Hidalgo launched Mexico's rebellion against Spanish rule. For the past few years, a ceremony for El Grito has been held at Millennium Park on the evening of Sept. 15. This year, the Mexican Civic Society is partnering with different organizations in hopes of making Chicago's grito the loudest in the country.

'El Grito is going to be a monster. It's going to be so good,' said Carlos Tortolero, president and founder of the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St.

Mayor Richard Daley is expected to proclaim 2010 as 'Mexico's year in Chicago' at an event Wednesday evening, according to the mayor's press office.

Though Chicago is not the only city taking part in the commemoration, consulate spokeswoman Angelica Amador said the city's programming is the most comprehensive.

'We want to show Chicago that Mexico is a lot more than what we usually read in the newspapers — it's a lot more than drug trafficking; it's a lot more than immigration,' Amador said. 'We are going to show you how modern Mexico is in architecture, in painting, in dance, everything.'

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21.
Laundry's ‘No Burmese' sign draws ire
Business owner apologizes; city's civil-rights watchdog is investigating
By Kevin Leininger
The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, IN), March 10, 2010
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100310/NEWS/3100340

Some of their customers' actions, management says, were 'alarming.'

But by targeting an entire ethnic group instead of the unacceptable behavior, an employee's sign has forced the Anderson-based owner of a local business to apologize and drawn the attention of the city's civil-rights watchdog.

'For sanitary reasons, there are no Burmese people allowed,' read the sign that was posted on the door of Ricker Oil Co.'s coin-operated laundry on South Calhoun Street near Rudisill Boulevard – until an irate passerby alerted the offices of the Burmese Advocacy Center, 2826 S. Calhoun St., and the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, igniting a firestorm of protest in the media and on the Internet culminating in Tuesday's apology from President Jay Ricker.

'Unfortunately, an employee responded to an alarming situation in an appropriate manner ... the sign in question was removed, and we are exploring appropriate disciplinary action,' Ricker said in a statement. 'It is the policy of Ricker's to welcome all patrons to its facilities. We are committed to maintaining a positive relationship with all members of the communities we serve.' Ricker's, founded in 1979, has more than 700 employees and operates 49 convenience stores and two laundries.

Desiree Koger-Gustafson, attorney for the legal clinic that serves mostly low-income and immigrant clients, said she was going to protest the sign, but its removal and the apology were sufficient for her to drop the matter.

'Someone should inform (whoever wrote the sign) of the last few decades of civil-rights laws. Some people still think you can do this kind of thing,' she said.

Gerald Foday isn't one of those people, however. The director of Fort Wayne's Metropolitan Human Relations Commission said his agency may file a complaint, and could pursue civil-rights charges against Ricker's if an investigation warrants it. Sanctions could include fines, mandatory employee training and other remedies, he said.

'You can sanction behavior based on health,' he said – but you can't banish an entire group based on the actions of certain individuals.

Ricker's spokesman Jonathan Bausman did not want to elaborate on the behaviors resulting in the sign. 'We don't want it to seem like we're trying to justify it,' he said.

But signs still posted at the laundry in English and Burmese offer a clue: 'No spitting! No betel nut!' they read.

According to Koger-Gustafson, many Burmese chew betel nut, which is common in their country of Burma, or Myanmar as it's called by the ruling junta, and spit the residue, which can result in red stains. Bausman said Ricker's has discussed its concerns about certain behaviors with Burmese advocates and the Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health, and said other companies have expressed similar concerns.

Health department spokesman John Silcox said there are 'ongoing issues about what can and can't be tolerated' with newly arriving immigrant and refugee groups, especially in the area of hygiene. Fort Wayne is home to about 5,000 Burmese – the largest concentration in the United States.

The sign's removal and Ricker's apology don't satisfy all Burmese.

Kyaw Soe, who came to Fort Wayne from Burma in 1993 and is director of IPFW's New Immigrant Literacy Program, visited the laundry Tuesday and said he still considers it an unfriendly place for Burmese.

'There were signs (in Burmese prohibiting certain actions) in every room. There were 22 in Burmese to only one in Spanish. It's nonverbal behavior that is non-welcoming. We need more education, more cultural sensitivity.'

Those signs about not using betel nut apparently didn't originate with Ricker's, however. Koger-Gustafson said they were provided by the Burmese Advocacy Center.

In fact, one was posted Tuesday atop the counter at the group's office.

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22.
Arizona Border agent cleared in fatal shooting
The Associated Press, March 9, 2010

Tucson, AZ (AP) -- Authorities say a U.S. Border Patrol agent who fatally shot an illegal immigrant in January east of Douglas won't be charged in the case.

The Cochise County Attorney's Office announced Tuesday that the shooting of 28-year-old Jorge Alfredo Solis Palma by Border Patrol agent Miguel Torres-Vasquez was legally justified.
. . .
http://ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=1272387

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23.
Glendale police: 2 separate traffic stops lead to drop house
By Jessica Testa
The Arizona Republic (Phoenix), March 10, 2010

Two separate traffic stops Tuesday led to the discovery of a Glendale drop house and the arrests of two men suspected of human smuggling, the Department of Public Safety said.
. . .
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/03/10/20100310glendale-drop-house-abrk0310.html

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Overseas News

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

[For CISNEWS subscribers --

1. Canada: Immigration to drive dramatic demographic shift (story, 4 links)
2. El Salvador: Communities struggles as remittances dry up
3. U.K.: Illegal spent six months employed with House of Lords (link)
4. Ireland: Gov't declares thousands of foreign marriages unrecognized
5. Spain: WHO warns immigrants require more medical attention
6. Sweden: Soccer club implements language requirement
7. Estonia: Leader urges closer cooperation with Russia against illegal immigration
8. Israel: Bill would changes laws governing conversion, naturalization
9. Israel: Database to aid foreign caregivers in job searches
10. U.A.E.: Pakistani truck driver accused of bribing border official (link)
11. Japan: Detainees allege abuse at immigration detention center
12. Malaysia: Gov't to establish national database for foreigners' information
13. Australia: Indonesian president reveals new anti-smuggling strategies
14. Australia: Opposition maintains gov't prepared to bring detainees to mainland
15. N.Z.: New visa policy targets rich foreign retirees (Story, link)

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

-- Mark Krikorian]

1.
Growing foreign-born population to forge 'new Canada'
By Shannon Proudfoot
The Canwest News Service (Canada), March 10, 2010
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Growing+foreign+born+population+forge+Canada/2666075/story.html

There is a 'new Canada' just over the horizon — home to a diversity of skin tones, birth countries, languages and religious faiths unprecedented in the nation's history.

By 2031, at least one in four people in this country will have been born elsewhere, new population projections from Statistics Canada suggest, and just half the working-age population will belong to families that have lived in Canada for at least three generations.

'You look at the statistics and you can see it: who's the bulk of the new population, who's going to be our future,' says Henry Yu, an associate history professor at the University of British Columbia. 'This is the strongest indication yet — obviously, it's been developing for decades — that there is a new Canada.'

The federal agency says the foreign-born population in that new Canada is expected to grow four times faster than those who are Canadian-born over the next 20 years, which is projected to create the most diverse population since Confederation.

With the vast majority of newcomers settling in large cities, the country's future and prosperity lie in its urban areas, says Yu.

And the 'new Canada' is a Pacific Canada, he says, with its strongest ties and biggest portion of newcomers not coming from the European countries of old, but from our Asian and Latin American neighbours with whom we share a Pacific coast, and with Caribbean nations.

It's expected that almost one in three newcomers will follow a non-Christian religion two decades from now, Statistics Canada says, and more than three-quarters will have a mother tongue that's neither French nor English. But rather than embracing this linguistic diversity and the edge it offers in a competitive global economy, Canada has been 'very pointedly obliterating the language skills of the children of immigrants,' Yu says.

They learn one of the country's two official languages relatively easily as children, he says, but then they're effectively rendered monolingual by years of English- or French-only schooling and the encouragement to leave their mother tongue behind.

'We have an incredible global human capital from this new Canada,' Yu says. 'We need to think of ways to build upon it rather than being scared and saying, 'Oh my God, we need to make them all into carbon copies of English migrants who came 200 years ago.'

Richard Day, a professor of sociology and global development studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., objects to using the 'basically racist' term 'visible minorities' to label a diverse group of people who are on the verge of becoming the majority in Toronto and Vancouver. It's as though there's a white, Christian 'unmentioned normal person' that such diversity is being compared to, he says, but one that simply no longer reflects the face of Canada.

'If it were to go beyond the restaurant, to go beyond 'Oh, nice spices you put on your food!' — if it were to go to the level of values and how we treat each other and take on some of the really pro-community aspects of other cultures — that would be cool and I think it's going to happen,' Day says.

Islam will be the fastest-growing religion in the next two decades, Statistics Canada says, with its numbers expected to triple and encompass about seven per cent of the Canadian population by 2031.

Other non-Christian religions such as Judaism, Buddhism and Sikhism will double their numbers, while the proportion following Christian religions is expected to slip from about 75 per cent of Canada's population to 65 per cent, with the proportion reporting no religion will rise to 21 per cent from 17 per cent.

There's still too much that goes unsaid when it comes to racial and cultural tensions in Canada, says Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress.

Reports tiptoe around the large and growing Muslim population, accompanied by a misinformed anxiety rather than a push to ensure Muslims are successfully integrated into Canadian society, he says.

And, Tarek adds, there's no acknowledgment of the prejudice that exists between different visible minority populations.

'People want honesty, they are thirsting for frank language,' he says. 'We need to abandon the notion of political correctness and abandon the fear of speaking.'

The Baitunnur Mosque in Calgary — one of the largest in North America — will be on the forefront of Canada's growing Muslim population in the years to come.

Sultan Mahmood, an executive member of the mosque, says it's a central tenet of his Ahmadiyya denomination of Islam that Muslims connect with and serve their community — meaning their doors are always open to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Mahmood points to the example of an artists' group that has been using the brand-new mosque's facilities while waiting for their own to be built, adding that other community groups drop in to use the gym and they regularly host inter-faith conferences throughout Alberta.

At the end of the day, Mahmood returns home to engage in a time-honoured ritual that knows no national boundaries: gossiping with the neighbours and sharing food in the yard.

'This is enriching our society,' says Mahmood, who moved to Calgary from Pakistan in 1992. 'We're getting good people and all the good things from all over the world, and I think this diversity has made Canada one of the best countries in the world, and I think Canada will remain one of the best countries in the world because of this diversity.'

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Minorities to become new majority in Metro Vancouver
By Susan Lazaruk
The Province (Vancouver), March 10, 2010
http://www.theprovince.com/technology/Minorities+become+majority+Metro+Vancouver/2665417/story.html

Muslim population in Metro Vancouver will triple by 2031
By Douglas Todd
The Vancouver Sun, March 10, 2010
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Muslim+population+Metro+Vancouver+will+triple+2031/2665619/story.html

Immigration wave changes Canada's looks and sounds
By Miro Cernetig
The Vancouver Sun, March 10, 2010
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Immigration+wave+changes+Canada+looks+sounds/2665618/story.html

'Visible minority' will mean 'white' by 2031
By René Johnston
The Toronto Star, March 10, 2010
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/777547---visible-minority-will-mean-white-by-2031

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2.
Salvadoran communities feel sting of recession's deep cuts
By Elahe Izadi
The Gazette (Frederick, MD), March 9, 2010
http://www.gazette.net/stories/03092010/montnew185440_32548.php

Intipuca, El Salvador -- In this small eastern Salvadoran town, new luxury homes tower over the one-story brick, cement and wooden structures that once predominated. On one block, a three-story mansion with a hot tub sits next door to a humble brick home with an outhouse.

Many of the homes were built with money sent by former townspeople who immigrated to the United States, people who settled mostly in Montgomery and Prince George's counties, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.

Over the past 20 years, the newer houses reworked the town's landscape into a hodgepodge of splendor and simplicity. But lately, fewer houses are being built in Intipuca. Stores have fewer customers. Employers have fewer jobs.

As the recession hit the United States, Salvadoran immigrants have been sending less money back to towns like Intipuca. America's recession has become theirs as well.

El Salvador's economy relies more heavily on remittances—money sent by immigrants to their home countries— than almost any other in Central America. In 2009, remittances made up 16 percent of the country's gross domestic product, according to the Inter-American Development Bank. In El Salvador, about 22 percent of households receive remittances, and generally they account for 30 percent of a family's income, according to Katharine Andrade-Eelchoff, a researcher who has worked on immigration issues for 25 years.

Since the recession hit, remittances to El Salvador have declined, from $3.788 billion in 2008 to $3.465 billion in 2009, according to the Inter-American Development Bank.

Recession hits home

About 6,000 people have left for the United States from Intipuca, which now has a population of 7,800, according to Mayor Hugo Salinas.

Luis Alfredo Zelaya, 55, owns the largest store in the town. More like a small grocery than a supermarket, its aisles are neatly ordered with the basics — fruits, vegetables, cookies and shampoo.

Zelaya, whose brother lives in Langley Park, said since people in town are receiving less remittance money, they are spending less money in his store. Business is down by 30 percent from two years ago, he said.

'If the situation in the U.S. is critical, then it's critical here,' he said.

Luis Adonay Argueta, 33, owns a construction company in Intipuca that has built many of the modern American-style homes in town. In 2000, Argueta had 30 people working for him, building three new houses per year. Today, he has four workers, and they mostly do small jobs — fixing doors and windows.

'Sometimes I feel like it's a tsunami, that the water has risen, and now it's nearly flooded us,' he said. 'Daily, people come and ask me for jobs, and with all the pain in my heart, I have to tell them to wait.'

Consumer spending is also down, says Silvia de Meléndez of Integral, a microfinance company in El Salvador that gives small loans and from which some Salvadorans collect remittances.

'Now, the remittances go straight to the necessities,' she said. 'The consumer economy has suffered — airlines, hotels, construction companies, private schools.'

An estimated 6 million people live in El Salvador, according to the World Bank. An estimated 1.5 to 2 million Salvadorans live in the United States, although researchers say the numbers could be much higher because it's difficult to count the undocumented population. In Montgomery County, there are an estimated 31,856 Salvadoran-born immigrants, and in Prince George's the estimate is 29,726, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey.

Many Salvadorans migrated due to the country's civil war in the 1980s and 1990s, but economic forces drove the immigration wave in the 2000s. Most of those who migrate have connections to established Salvadoran communities and social networks, such as family or friends in the United States.

'People in rural El Salvador know more about the labor market in the Washington, D.C., area than they know about the labor market in San Salvador,' Andrade-Eelchoff said. 'They know more about what kind of job they can get and what it would pay, and they probably have much better connections for getting those jobs.'

In El Salvador, rampant youth delinquency, high murder rates and gangs extorting businesses also drive migration, said Reynaldo Alvergue, director of S.O.S. Immigracíon Internacional, an El Salvador-based immigration advising service.

'Now there's a lot more professionals who want to go, and the majority of them want to go because they're experiencing extortions; and the other half of professionals, they don't find jobs [in El Salvador],' he said. 'Then they get [to the U.S.] and have to do a different type of job, because they need the proper licenses. ... I've found doctors cleaning buildings or nurses cleaning houses.'

Changing communities

Widespread immigration has changed the cultures and populations of many communities in Montgomery and Prince George's counties over the past 20 years.

The most pressing issue many working-class Latino immigrants face is the lack of jobs, but a new problem has arisen for many newcomers, particularly in Montgomery County.

'It's one they didn't have to face five years ago, the anti-immigrant feelings,' said Gustavo Torres, executive director of Casa de Maryland, an immigrant advocacy group In Langley Park. 'There have been some attacks against the Latino community.'

Many anti-immigration groups take issue with people coming into the country illegally, accusing them of not paying taxes on the wages they earn and causing a strain on local services. And it can take years to achieve legal status, leaving many immigrants in limbo.

But migration has also greatly changed El Salvador. If 2 million Salvadorans have migrated, 2 million families in El Salvador have been affected by it, because most migrants leave family behind, said Jorge Schafik Hándal Vega, a Salvadoran parliament member. Many fear the massive migration has led to the deterioration of those families left behind, but researchers don't know how profound the impact has been and whether it has contributed to the country's rampant delinquency.

'[Migration is] one of the most heartfelt problems in El Salvador. .... We can't prohibit immigration, and we can't forget those people who leave, because they sustain us. But we have to create the conditions for them so they don't want to leave,' said Vega, who heads the parliament's commission on external affairs and Salvadorans abroad. 'We can no longer depend anymore on exporting people to support our economy.'

The lack of 'dignified' and skilled employment opportunities, which also drives migration, is something the new government is working to correct, said Vega, who is also a member of the left-wing Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional, or FMLN, party, which in March 2009 won the presidency for the first time in decades. Job creation was one of the party's platforms.

In Intipuca, Salinas is trying to bolster his town's economy by encouraging domestic tourism. In January, the town hosted a food festival, and the annual patron day draws thousands, including many former townspeople living in the Washington, D.C., area who travel back to the town for a week.

Salinas, who moved to the United States and lived in Arlington, Va., for 20 years before returning last year to run for mayor, estimates that the town now receives 30 to 40 percent less remittance money than before the downturn.

But he said expatriate Intipucans still work to support their hometown. In fact, one group of expats has sent $20,000 this year, funding such things as the town's park, which is kept clean and verdant. Not many towns like Intipuca have such a park. It's name: Parque Las/Los Emigrantes — Park of the Immigrants.

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3.
Illegal immigrant worked at House of Lords for six months after using fake passport to get kitchen job
The Daily Mail (U.K.), March 10, 2010

An illegal immigrant worked for six months serving lunch at House of Lords after using a fake passport to get the job, a court heard today.
. . .
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1256944/Illegal-immigrant-worked-House-Lords-using-fake-passport-kitchen-job.html

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4.
Thousands of marriages 'illegal'
By Jamie Smyth
The Irish Times, March 10, 2010
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2010/0310/breaking32.html

Thousands of foreign couples who married at their country’s embassies in the Republic over the past three years are being told their marriages are invalid and illegal.

The problem has sparked a diplomatic row between the Government and several EU states, which have asked Spain – current holder of the EU presidency – to mediate on their behalf. The decision by the Government also affects the citizens of non-EU states, whose embassies conduct marriage ceremonies.

Last week the General Register Office wrote to all foreign embassies informing them that marriages performed by diplomatic missions were not recognised as marriages unless they conformed to Irish law. The note said marriages would not be legal unless they were performed by an authorised registrar and took place in a registered building which was open to the public.

The guidance issued to embassies follows passage of the 2004 Civil Registration Act, which updated existing laws on registering marriages. It entered into law on 5th November 2007, which means all marriages in embassies since then are invalid.

Several embassies complained yesterday that the communication last week was the first time they had been told performing marriage ceremonies was illegal. 'Yes we do have a problem and we no longer take applications for weddings . . . the problem is no one warned us that it was illegal to marry people at the embassy,' said deputy head of the Lithuanian mission, Natalia Baceviciene.

The Lithuanian embassy has performed about 100 marriage ceremonies since 2007 and the Polish embassy has performed about 500. The Department of Foreign Affairs estimates up to 3,000 couples could be affected.

Diplomats fear that unless the Government changes its position, the couples’ marriages – which have already been recognised in their home countries – will have to be deregistered. Under international rules, ceremonies deemed illegal in the country they are performed cannot be recognised in the home state, said one diplomat. The decision to rule existing marriages illegal is creating problems for many couples, who have been told by the General Registry Office they cannot register their children in the names of both married parents. Many have been advised to register children in the name of a single parent, which could lead to complex custody, taxation and inheritance issues.

One Polish couple who got married in their embassy in mid-2009 said they were now facing problems registering their son’s birth. 'Our son Kamil is two weeks old and we can only register his birth as single parents since the Irish Government does not recognize our marriage,' said Adam Goraj. A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said marriages performed by embassies were not recognised. 'We are in contact with the embassy with a view to resolving this issue,' he added.

Fine Gael immigration spokesman Denis Naughten called on Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin to intervene to address 'the mess'.

'These people are now in a legal limbo and I am urging the Minister for Social Welfare to immediately investigate mechanisms to have this matter addressed. I cannot understand how it took three years for the State to communicate the invalidity of embassy marriages to foreign missions in Ireland. This, in itself, warrants investigation.'

He also called on the Government to address so-called 'marriages of convenience', usually undertaken for the purposes of allowing one party to live and work in a country where they would not otherwise be allowed to do so under immigration legislation.

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5.
Migrants' health risks need more attention, expert says
Deutsche Presse Agentur, March 10, 2010
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/313312,migrants-health-risks-need-more-attention-expert-says--feature.html

Madrid (DPA) -- Immigrants are often seen as potential disease transmitters, but the reality is that they themselves face the biggest health risks, says Jacqueline Weekers, an expert on migrant health with the World Health Organization (WHO). The migrants who are most vulnerable to health problems include undocumented immigrants and those fleeing disasters, Weekers said in a telephone interview with the German Press Agency dpa.

There are approximately 214 million international and 740 million internal migrants worldwide, according to WHO figures.

'Different groups of migrants have different vulnerability levels' to health problems, said Weekers, a senior migrant health officer for WHO's Health Action in Crises network.

The most vulnerable groups include migrants in irregular situations, such as victims of trafficking, who often suffer exploitation and physical and mental abuse.

They and other undocumented migrants, as well as those whose residence permits expire, frequently lack access to public health and social services, Weekers says.

'Living in poverty and marginal situations involve big health risks for these migrants,' she said.

'Even if they have access to health services, they may not know where to go or do not dare to go there for fear of being arrested and deported.'

The other group particularly vulnerable to health problems is people fleeing wars, natural disasters or human rights violations, according to Weekers.

'They often have to leave their homes in a hurry, may have to walk for days or face other hardships, and have little time to prepare themselves for a situation of emigration,' she explained.

Some migrants belong to both risk groups, such as African undocumented immigrants who cross over to Spain on overcrowded vessels, suffering hunger, dehydration, exposure and the risk of drowning. If they do make it to Europe, they may find themselves living in poverty and without access to social services.

Immigrants with residence permits and jobs are often healthier, but may face the less visible problem of psychological stress.

'Migrants can live in great isolation, with language problems and social barriers, separated from their families for long periods,' Weekers said.

The 'complex' mental health issues affecting migrants have not received enough attention so far, according to the expert.

'We do not know as much about these problems as we need to know. We mainly just have isolated studies that have been done in some countries,' she noted.

The physical diseases of migrants have received more attention, partly because of the public perception of foreigners as potential disease carriers. But, there is no reason to 'stigmatize' migrants in this way, Weekers said.

'The strongest among a country's residents tend to be the ones to emigrate. Many migrants are young and healthy people who only begin facing health problems if they remain in a marginal situation for a longer period,' she said.

Migrants can sometimes have diseases that are unfamiliar to local health professionals, who may find it difficult to diagnose, Weekers said.

In 2008, the WHO's World Health Assembly endorsed a resolution asking governments to promote migrant health, a resolution that Weekers described as a 'milestone.'

The resolution contained action points that are being implemented, though there is a need for a more harmonized and coordinated effort, she said.

'Harmonizing policies,' Weekers said, 'means connecting migrants' countries of origin, transit and destination.'

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6.
Top flight club bans foreign language use
The Local (Sweden), March 10, 2010
http://www.thelocal.se/25452/20100310/

Swedish top flight football club, Brommapojkarna (BP) have introduced a language policy requiring all players to speak Swedish to each other in order to be eligible for selection.

'This is a non-issue,' BP chairperson Ola Danhard told The Local on Wednesday.

As almost all of BP's players are home grown talent - with 17 of the 23 first team players from its youth set up - Danhard argued that a language policy was little more than a formality.

But Danhard did confirm that the club's board had voted to establish a policy for the exclusive use of Swedish within the club, both in its changing rooms and on the pitch.

'It is important for the collective that everyone in the team speaks the same language,' he said.

Danhard told The Local that BP has a very successful youth set-up, drawing on talent from the greater Stockholm catchment area. He pointed out that while many of the players are from immigrant families and are multilingual, all can speak Swedish.

'In the changing room if you are going to use a language then it is much nicer if it is a language that everybody understands,' Danhard said.

Danhard told The Local that they have been working with the issue for some ten years and there have been no negative reactions to date.

'Like I said, this is a non-issue. We should all speak Swedish within the club,' Ola Danhard said.

Brommapojkerna are widely recognised to have Sweden's best youth set up, which is the largest in Europe in terms of the number of active teams of all ages (250). The club's most famous recent prodigy was Albin Ekdal, who joined Juventus in 2008.

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7.
Estonia urges cooperation with Russia in fighting illegal immigration
The Baltic Review, March 10, 2010
http://baltic-review.com/2010/03/10/estonia-urges-cooperation-with-russia-in-fighting-illegal-immigration/

Estonian President Toomas Henrik Ilves called on Monday for closer cooperation with Russia in combating illegal immigration to EU countries.

'I mean cooperation between the police and border protection services of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Sweden, as well as our cooperation with Russia, because it is from there that illegal refugees are attempting to penetrate EU countries,' Ilves said.

He said the greater part of illegal refugees, most of them Afghan nationals, sought to get to Estonia across the Russian-Estonian border.

He stressed, however, that the Estonia border 'is well protected.'

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8.
New bill would make conversion insufficient for Israeli citizenship
By Yair Ettinger
Ha'aretz (Israel), March 7, 2010
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1154520.html

Proposed legislation that would broaden the authority of the Chief Rabbinate in Israel on matters of conversion would also alter the Law of Return, distinguishing between that law and the Citizenship Law.

The bill, put forth by MK David Rotem of Yisrael Beiteinu, is the result of negotiations he held with both Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party. According to this legislation, conversion - even if done in Israel - will be insufficient basis for requesting Israeli citizenship.

The bill proposes that the Law of Return only be applicable to Jews or their offspring, and not to non-Jews who opted to convert - even if the conversion follows Orthodox procedure in line with state religious courts in Israel.

The proposed legislation will be brought before the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, and represents the manifestation of one of Yisrael Beiteinu's electoral promises to its constituency, namely to improve the status of those considered non-Jews according to halakha (Jewish religious law).

However human rights organizations maintain that the bill would hurt the rights of converts by broadening the power of the Chief Rabbinate on this issue.

For years, Orthodox conversions in Israel have been carried out almost exclusively by special religious courts for conversion, headed by Rabbi Haim Druckman. The courts that are controlled by the Chief Rabbinate have avoided carrying out conversions.

The conversion courts have experienced a crisis in recent years, in part due to administrative problems and also as a result of Chief Rabbinate rulings that considered thousands of conversions void.

The bill would authorize rabbis that have been appointed by the Chief Rabbinate to cities to carry out conversions there, which is expected to ease the process. According to the proposal, the city rabbis would be able to carry out conversions through the use of a panel of three qualified rabbis, and would also be able to register marriages for those who have converted.

If the bill passes into law, it will effect the law on the chief rabbinate as well as the Citizenship Law. The latter will be amended to allow citizenship to be given not to those who convert or to those 'who were not eligible to become an immigrant prior to their entry to Israel.'

Rabbi Shaul Farber of the Itim Institute said 'We are shocked by this law. Jewish tradition has always considered converts fully part of the fate of the Jewish people. It is hard to accept a situation in which a person who underwent state-sponsored conversion in Israel will be considered a second class Jew and will not be entitled to immigrate.'

The Movement for Progressive Judaism described the bill as a 'coup meant to bypass the Supreme Court over the issue of who is a Jew,' because it denies converts the right to become Israeli citizens.

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9.
Database of foreign workers aims to prevent deportations
By Ron Friedman
The Jerusalem Post, March 8, 2010
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=170498

The Interior Ministry is calling on all foreign workers in the care-giving sector to sign up for a new job database that it is now launching, that will enable unemployed workers to find new jobs and provide some workers with an option to regain their legal status here.

The database is to begin operation in June.

'The database has two main aims,' said Moshe Nakash, head of the care-giving sector in the Population, Immigration and Borders Authority. 'The first is to reduce the number of new workers imported from abroad and the second is to regulate the status of the workers who are here.'

During the buildup stage, until the end of May all foreign workers who entered Israel with a permit to work in the care-giving sector, have been in the country for less than 50 months and have lost the jobs they were originally recruited for will be eligible to register themselves in the database.

After the database is complete the workers will be given assistance in finding new jobs through private employment agencies.

'Workers will be given 90 days to find new jobs. If they are successful, their permits will continue to be valid. If not, their permits will expire and they will be subject to arrest and expulsion,' unless they leave the country, said Nakash.

Workers-rights organizations and other groups who advocate on behalf of foreign workers have long criticized the lack of regulation on the number of workers in the care-giving sector.

Unlike the other sectors where foreign workers are employed – construction and agriculture – there are no quotas on the number of workers who may enter the country to work as caregivers. High commission fees charged by employment agencies are an incentive to bring in new workers instead of trying to reassign the unemployed ones already in the country.

The practice is known as the 'revolving door,' because until now, unemployed workers with permits were still deemed 'illegal' once their employment ended – if the client died, for example – and were often subject to deportation.

'We tried to build a similar database last year and I can only say, it didn’t go well. The employment agencies claim that they have to bring in new workers because they have no way to find workers who are in the country. We hope that this database will fix that,' said Nakash.

Hanny Ben-Israel, the person in charge of the care-giving sector at Kav La’oved, a worker’s right organization, said that the database would only be effective if at the same time, the government would cease permitting employment agencies to bring in new workers.

'If indeed the database will function this time and the employment agencies won’t be permitted to continue importing new workers, we cannot overestimate the importance of the move,' she said.

Ben-Israel said that as long as their privacy rights were protected, foreign workers would likely jump at the chance of registering with the database.

'These people purchased their right to work here at a heavy expense and desperately want to work. The system that was in place up until now failed them to a large extent and left many people in serious debt,' she said.

Ben-Israel explained that commission fees charged by employment agencies ranged from $6,000-$13,000 and that many workers had to pay high interest rates above that.

'Many people have been deported from the country with thousands of dollars of debts, because they were not able to find a [new] job. We hope this move will prevent that from happening any more,' she said.

The database is also expected to make life easier for the people who use care-givers. Instead of waiting for weeks or months to have a new worker brought in from the Philippines or Nepal, they can now hire caregivers who are already here.

Ben-Israel believed there would be fierce resistance to the move on the part of the employment agencies.

'They stand to lose a substantial source of income because of the database. I just hope the government can withstand their pressures,' she said.

'The decision is a game-changer. The employment agencies must understand that they have a commitment to the foreign workers who are here and can no longer continue profiting off the commission fees they charge and forgetting about the workers.'

In related news, the Knesset Foreign Workers Committee called on the government to freeze existing quotas for workers in the construction industry until a solution to labor shortages are found.

Committee Chairman Ya’acov Katz called on the Interior and Industry, Trade and Labor ministers to stop expelling workers whose permits have expired, because they are needed in the construction industry.

Unlike in the care-giving sector, in the construction sector there are strict quotas on the numbers of workers permitted, a number that is meant to be reduced every year.

Katz said that foreign workers, who usually perform the tasks that are referred to as 'wet jobs,' like plastering and tiling, are in high demand and that in absence of Israelis who are willing and trained to do the jobs, cuts to the quotas could lead to higher housing costs.

A few weeks ago it was the farmers who complained of a lack of foreign workers. People in the agriculture sector said the foreign workers, mostly migrants from Thailand, were necessary to help see through the harvests and even threatened to sue the government for refusing to bring in new workers.

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10.
Driver denies bribing immigration officer to gain entry into UAE
Claims he thought he was paying a fine for violating residency law
GulfNews.com, March 10, 2010

Dubai -- A truck driver has denied bribing an immigration inspector and claimed that he thought he was paying a penalty for violating the Naturalisation and Residency Law, a court heard on Tuesday.

Prosecutors charged the 25-year-old Pakistani truck driver with offering a Dh950-bribe to an inspector at the Department of Residency and Foreigners' Affairs at the Hatta border check-point to allow him enter the country illegally.

'I am innocent. I didn't bribe him. I paid him money considering that I was paying my fines for violating the Naturalisation and Residency Law,' the suspect, M.I., argued as he defended himself before the Dubai Court of First Instance.
. . .
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/driver-denies-bribing-immigration-officer-to-gain-entry-into-uae-1.594499

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11.
Detainees allege abuse at Kansai holding center
Guards meting out harsh treatment behind the walls of Ibaraki immigration facility, say inmates
By David McNeil
The Japan Times, March 9, 2010
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20100309zg.html

The only way to see or speak to Moses Ssentamu is through a Plexiglas window at the West Japan Immigration Center in Ibaraki City, so there is no independent way to verify his claims of physical and psychological abuse. But if true, they raise serious concerns about Japan's treatment of visa overstayers and asylum seekers.

Did a group of security guards at the center punch and kick Ssentamu in a coordinated assault in January? Are the authorities at the complex in Osaka Prefecture refusing medical treatment to another inmate, Mujahid Aziz Iqbal, a wheelchair-bound Pakistani? And, most serious of all, do detention centers here deliberately dole out harsh treatment in the hope that detainees will leave the country?

Ssentamu, 35, has been locked up here for over a year since being arrested for overstaying in 2008. Back in his homeland, he says he was active with the opposition Forum for Democratic Change Uganda, and claims to have been arrested and tortured by the authorities. Facing a trial for sedition he knew he couldn't win, he decided to flee the country, leaving behind his wife and four kids.

'It was not my decision to come here,' he explains. 'I didn't know anything about this country, but a sympathizer got me a visa — he said it was the easiest place to get one at that time.'

Arriving on a three-month visa in May 2006, Ssentamu says that he found his way via a local Ugandan contact to Nagoya, where he slept rough and sold imported jeans around the city for a living. Friends told him the only way to stay in Japan 'was to marry a Japanese woman,' he recalls, and then apply for political refugee status. But on Nov. 29, 2008, before he could do either, he was picked up by the police.

Fifteen months later, he has no idea when he will get out, or if the Ministry of Justice will buy his argument that going back to Uganda could be dangerous, even fatal.

'I'm not a criminal. I want to be released and given a chance to produce evidence of my political treatment and persecution.'

While the authorities process that claim, however, they have another one to ponder. On Jan. 15, Ssentamu says that he was assaulted after he mildly protested during his transportation to a hospital outside the center.

'I was being taken for a doctor's appointment and I was handcuffed by two guards,' he recalls. 'When I complained that my handcuffs were too tight and (asked) that the guards loosen them a little, one insisted that he could do nothing about them. Given that the entire journey to the hospital takes an hour or so, I said I couldn't endure the discomfort, so I told them I was not willing to go.'

Ssentamu's guards responded angrily to the challenge, he says, shoving and pushing him back into his room, where he admits he 'tried to protest' — verbally, he insists. After the guards had subdued him, they returned sometime later, he says, with '20 or more' officers, all clad in black gloves, who told him they were there to help him change rooms. As he began to prepare, the guards grabbed him and 'manhandled' him out of the room.

'In no second or minute, I was in the air with showers of kicking under my back, blows on my stomach,' Ssentamu later wrote in a letter sent to The Japan Times, Amnesty International and several other organizations that deal with refugee and asylum issues. '(As) all this was happening, one of the first two officers was blocking my face with the palm of his hand to prevent me from recognizing the faces of the officers who were assaulting me.'

Ssentamu says he was then dumped in a 'punishment room' where the officers pushed his head down a toilet bowl as they struggled to handcuff and subdue him. A guard later told him, as he lay on the floor with his 'pants around his ankles,' that he was being punished for refusing to go to hospital. He would spend five days in solitary confinement.

The detention center denies any such assault took place.

'That's a lie,' says spokesman Norifumi Kishida. 'Guards may handcuff or subdue an inmate if he is doing harm to himself or others, but there is no way that so many guards would deliberately harm an inmate.'

Nearly two months after this alleged assault, Ssentamu is unable to show any visible scars, except for marks on his wrists he says were left by the tight handcuffs.

'I was not badly hurt; I was humiliated,' he says.

Without proof, there remains the possibility that it is a fabrication, albeit an elaborate, detailed one that risks further worsening his relationship with the authorities or even prejudicing his asylum application.

In 2005, Japan deported two members of a seven-member Kurdish family who had been 'recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees under its own rules,' according to a recent report by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA). Many believe the family's decision to publicly protest and speak to the media about their treatment was a factor in the deportation decision (Zeit Gist, April 29, 2003; March 29, 2005; July 3, 2007).

The JFBA says Japan gave refugee status to just 6.5 percent of 3,292 asylum applicants from 1985 to 2005. The federation notes that while hundreds of applications from Kurds, Chinese and Africans were rejected, applicants from Myanmar were given preferred status, concluding: 'It is inferred that the government have paid diplomatic consideration in the background.' In other words, Japan's refugee selection process is nakedly political.

Ssentamu's lawyer, Shiro Sadakane, refused to back his client's claims of abuse, except to say that he has heard of 'similar cases.' Amnesty International and the Japan Association for Refugees acknowledge that they have received the Ugandan's letter. Makoto Teranaka, Amnesty Japan's secretary general, declined to comment on its specific claims, but said the secrecy surrounding Japan's detention system is a problem.

'It means we can't see what's going on inside. The detention system is much less organized than the prisons, and we've noted quite arbitrary treatment of people inside.'

He says his office receives a steady stream of letters and calls from refugees alleging mistreatment in detention centers.

'The number of complaints has been growing since about 2000. It's quite common now.'

Another inmate at the west Japan center, 37-year-old Mujahid Aziz Iqbal, says he has lost over 14 kg in weight and the use of his legs since last October, probably because of a psychosomatic disorder. He was convicted of selling stolen cars and faces deportation back to Pakistan. In addition to specific claims of mistreatment by some of the guards, he says the center has refused his demand for treatment and responded to his condition by offering 'useless' painkillers.

'They keep saying that I have to wait my turn to go to hospital, but I need help now.'

Both men admit that their ordeal would end if they simply told the Ministry of Justice that they want to return home. But for the Pakistani, who has been in Japan for 15 years and has two children to his ex-wife, leaving is not an option.

'I want to see my children. Relations with my wife are bad, but my kids love me.'

Ssentamu, meanwhile, believes that the conditions inside the center, including rooms with single toilets shared by eight to 10 inmates, serve a purpose: deterrence.

'These are deliberate acts aimed at breaking down the will to seek refuge in this country.' He says some inmates have been inside the center for over two years.

According to the Japan Association for Refugees, detention center inmates can apply for provisional release, but the bar is set very high. They need a Japanese guarantor and bail of ¥500,000 to ¥1 million.

'Most do not have that kind of money and they cannot find a guarantor,' explains Soojin Hyung, the association's program officer. On average, therefore, Hyung says, it takes about a year to be released.

'Many people suspect that because the Japanese government is afraid to deport people in case of international criticism, they would rather detain them. It's a means of deterrence — foreigners know that if they come here without a visa, they're going to suffer. It's sending out a message: Don't come here.'

Ssentamu is still in a cell by himself — punishment, he claims, for protesting and urging others to speak out. Confinement is worsened by a myriad of petty official humiliations including cold food and a lack of water to flush toilets. Is he just making life hard for himself by breaking the rules and refusing to accept his punishment?

'Civil activists the world over who fight for their rights are called troublemakers,' he says from behind his Plexiglas wall. 'I'm fighting for my rights.'

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12.
National database on foreigners to be set up
Bernama (Malaysian National News Agency), March 8, 2010
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20100308200626/Article/index_html

Putrajaya -- The Home Ministry today decided that there is a need to set up a National Database on Foreigners, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.

The matter was decided at the Meeting of the Main Committee on Improvement in the Management and Monitoring of Foreigners chaired by Hishammuddin today and it would be among the things to be discussed at the Foreigners Management Laboratory meeting.

'The database can ensure that the monitoring and enforcement process can be implemented effectively because the activities of the foreigners throughout their stay in the country can be recorded speedily and can be used by the enforcement agencies at any time for reference,' he said in a statement, here today.

Hishammuddin said that through the national database, the record on the entry and exit as well as the activities of all categories of foreigners in the country could be unified under the monitoring system.

From the enforcement aspect, he said the database could provide information on the current status of every foreigner including the type of permit and pass and their validity period at any time an operation was carried out by all the enforcement agencies such as the Immigration Department, police, RELA and the local authorities.

On the setting up of the Foreigners Management Laboratory announced by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin recently, Hishammuddin said his ministry had made the necessary preparations needed to begin the implementation of the laboratory in the near future.

'Further details such as the date, duration and membership of the laboratory would be decided at the Ministerial-Level Meeting On The Implementation of the Foreigners Laboratory which I will chair on March 17,' he said.

The establishment of the laboratory aimed to find a holistic solution in tackling issues concerning foreigners particularly to avoid the continued influx of illegal immigrants.

In the same media statement, Hishammuddin said that the Director-General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), William Lacy Swing, would meet with him tomorrow to discuss several matters concerning human trafficking.

'Among the things to be discussed at the meeting are the proposal to create a IOM branch office in Kuala Lumpur like the one in Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Yangon and several other Asean member countries,' he said.

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13.
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to jail people-smugglers for five years
By Mark Dodd
The Australian, March 11, 2010
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/politics/susilo-bambang-yudhoyono-to-jail-people-smugglers-for-five-years/story-e6frgczf-1225839337902

People smugglers caught in Indonesia will face five years' jail under tough anti-trafficking measures unveiled yesterday during a historic speech to federal parliament by visiting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In the first speech by an Indonesian leader to Australia's parliament, Dr Yudhoyono announced that a new law would make people-smuggling a crime in Indonesia - a move designed to discourage the Indonesian fishermen who have carried thousands of asylum-seekers into Australian waters.

The President's announcement followed a day of high drama in which Indonesian counter-terrorism police confirmed the death of the country's most wanted terrorist, Bali bombing mastermind Dulmatin, on Tuesday during a raid targeting a militant hideout in Jakarta.

Dr Yudhoyono was reading an earlier speech to a state luncheon in the Great Hall at Parliament House in Canberra when a military aide passed him a note.

'I have great news to announce to you,' the President told guests.

'After a successful police raid against a terrorist hideout in Jakarta, we can confirm that one of those killed was Mr Dulmatin, one of the top Southeast Asian terrorists that we've been looking for,' he said through an interpreter.

At 2.30 pm, the President was escorted into a House of Representatives chamber packed with MPs from both houses, where he was introduced by the Speaker, Harry Jenkins.

Praising the Australia-Indonesia relationship as 'solid and strong', Dr Yudhoyono warned of new 'non-traditional' threats posed by terrorism, people-smuggling, drugs and natural disasters, for which Canberra and Jakarta should be prepared. He said both governments acknowledged that the vexed issue of people-smuggling was a regional problem, requiring a regional solution.

'And to strengthen our legal instruments, the Indonesian government will soon introduce to parliament a law that will criminalise those involved in people-smuggling - those found guilty will be sent to prison for five years,' Dr Yudhoyono pledged to loud applause.

His promise came as Australia's Border Protection Command confirmed the interception of the 21st asylum-seeker boat this year.

The Australian understands Indonesian authorities are preparing to deal with another situation - the 248 Australia-bound Sri Lankan Tamils refusing to get off their boat in the Indonesian port of Merak after a four-month standoff.

This newspaper has been told Indonesia is preparing to remove the Sri Lankans by force if necessary, and send them to Tanjung Pinang immigration detention centre for processing by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

'These people will be transferred to another location in West Java soon,' a senior Indonesian official said. Dr Yudhoyono described a 'love-hate relationship' between two countries, which he said had evolved into a model partnership - not without its challenges, but one that was drawing world envy.

He said government-to-government ties between Jakarta and Canberra had never been better.

But Dr Yudhoyono warned against complacency.

He said he was personally concerned about ill-informed perceptions of Indonesian society by Australians, and vice-versa.

'There are Australians who still see Indonesia as an authoritarian country or a military dictatorship or as a hotbed of Islamic extremism, or even as an expansionist power,' the President said.

On the other hand, there were Indonesians afflicted by what he called 'Australia-phobia - those who believe that the notion of White Australia still persists, that Australia harbours ill-intention towards Indonesia,' he said.

'We must expunge these preposterous mental caricatures if we are to achieve a more resilient partnership.'

Earlier, Mr Rudd heaped lavish praise on Indonesia's achievements following the end of the Suharto regime in 1998.

'The people of Indonesia enjoy a free media, an open society and religious tolerance,' Mr Rudd said.

'They live in a multi-party democracy in which transitions to power take place according to law.

'In Indonesia, democracy now has strong foundations.'

During talks earlier yesterday morning, Mr Rudd and Dr Yudhoyono agreed to further strengthen relations with an annual leaders' retreat and a meeting of foreign and defence ministers.

Tony Abbott said he supported Mr Rudd's remarks but used his speech in parliament to criticise Labor's policy on border protection.

In a three-hour meeting yesterday morning, Dr Yudhoyono and the Prime Minister discussed the three Australian drug smugglers facing the death penalty in Indonesia.

'He indicated to the President that should any member of the group seek clemency, he would support the request directly with the President,' a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said last night.

Work will soon start on a prisoner exchange agreement between Indonesia and Australia.

Both leaders also discussed the 1975 killings of the Balibo Five journalists and expressed sympathy for those bereaved by the tragedy.

The Indonesian leader flew out of Canberra last night to Sydney for talks with business leaders aimed at boosting trade links.

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14.
Darwin set to take refugee overflow
By Yuko Narushima
The Age (Melbourne), March 11, 2010
http://www.theage.com.au/national/darwin-set-to-take-refugee-overflow-20100310-pzah.html

The high-security detention centre in Darwin is gearing up to receive asylum seekers who spill over from Christmas Island, according to the opposition.

Serco, the private contractor that runs detention centres for the government, has advertised for ''empathetic'' staff at the Northern Immigration Detention Centre.

The move flagged the government's intent to soon bring boat arrivals ashore, opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said.

''It appears that plan is now being put in motion by stealth,'' he said. ''The decision to transfer detainees to the mainland is an admission that their decision to roll back the Coalition's border protection regime has comprehensively failed.''

The Government has previously said the Darwin facility could be used for Christmas Island overflow.

Single men yet to receive visas but assessed as low-risk would be the first to move.

The facility in Darwin typically holds illegal fishermen awaiting trial or deportation. It has room for 550 people and satellite television with access to Indonesian programs.

Immigration Minister Chris Evans said the high number of asylum seekers reaching Australia by boat was not due to a lack of resolve to stop them.

''There's a lot of activity at the moment, a lot of people fleeing Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in particular, and we're not, at the moment, able to prevent them all from progressing down on boats,'' he said.

More than 1000 asylum seekers have reached Australia by boat this year.

Senator Evans played down expectations an agreement with Indonesia to dampen the trade would be reached during President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's visit.

Police in Indonesia had recently increased resources to combat people smuggling and the government had already committed to criminalising the trade this year, he said.

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15.
Rich, retired foreigners able to buy entry to NZ
By Colin Espiner
The Press (New Zealand), March 11, 2010
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/3432596/Rich-retired-foreigners-able-to-buy-entry-to-NZ

Wealthy elderly foreigners will be able to buy entry to New Zealand under plans originally rejected by immigration officials a decade ago.

Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman has announced two new 'retirement visas' aimed at increasing investment and stimulating the economy.

Coleman said the new package delivered on an election promise to enable high-income foreigners of retirement age to live in New Zealand.

Under the plan they can apply for entry to New Zealand under a temporary retirement category if they have good health and character, can invest a minimum of $750,000 in New Zealand over two years, can demonstrate an annual income of at least $60,000 at the time they apply and have assets of at least $500,000.

They must be over the age of 65 and must hold comprehensive health insurance for the duration of their permit. Temporary retirees will be able to renew their permits as long as they continue to meet criteria, including investment funds, income and health insurance.

The Government is also making it easier for retirees who have family in New Zealand to settle here.

Those who meet the criteria for the family parent category and can invest a minimum of $1 million over four years will be able to apply for residency.

Labour immigration spokesman Pete Hodgson said National was recycling an idea rejected by officials more than a decade ago.

Hodgson released an August 1999 briefing presented to the then associate immigration minister, Lockwood Smith, that noted 'significant risks' that at least some of the visa-holders' healthcare would be provided by the public health system even if they had health insurance. The report said 'there would be significant risks associated with retirement visas, with the two major areas of risk being the potential impact on publicly funded health services and the potential to create immigration problems'.

Some measures could mitigate the risks, such as attaching financial and health conditions.

However, hospitals could not turn away sick people even if they refused to pay for their treatment, the report said.

It was also doubtful whether elderly people on temporary permits would be able to gain health insurance, it said.

+++

New visa types aimed at foreign retirees
The Radio New Zealand News, March 10, 2010
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2010/03/10/1247f7d92e6b

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