Saturday, November 16, 2002

Tombstone Paper Calls For Militia    Cochise County's "official newspaper" has issued a call to arms and is spearheading the formation of a local militia to combat illegal immigration. [Download a copy of the 11/14 Tombstone Tumbleweed - Adobe Acrobat file, 4 mb]    Tucson human rights activist Isabel Garcia said the Tombstone Tumbleweed's rhetoric is the latest manifestation of a militant vigilantism that has long existed in Cochise County with the acceptance and encouragement of local officials.    She said Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever's public friendship with groups like Glenn Spencer's American Patrol, .... and the clear unwillingness on the part of Cochise County Attorney Chris Roll to investigate and prosecute the two brothers have given them credibility and encouraged groups like Texas-based Ranch Rescue and the new Tombstone Militia. Also See... Catholic Church Supports Mexican Conquest of U.S. Bishops turn from raping little boys to raping big nations  Past Features   American Border Patrol Updates

Stuff.co.nz (New Zealand) Low quality migrants on the way out Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel said New Zealand needed to ensure it was getting the quality of migrants it needed, who would settle well and find suitable jobs. But she is being warned that switching to a "pick and choose" policy could open the way for future governments to racially discriminate against some migrants, such as Asians. -- The review focuses on the points-based system, which has made it difficult for the government to control surges in immigration. -- The system awards immigrants entry points for, among other criteria, youth and qualifications. It was introduced in 1991, replacing a policy of selecting immigrants to fill skill shortages.

Sham ID Cards

San Francisco Examiner Sham ID seekers disrupting San Francisco businesses The Mexican consulate said adios to its mid-Market digs two months ago, after neighbors complained about the long lines that stretched outside its building. -- Now its new neighbors in SoMa have the same complaints. -- "Our business was cut in half when they moved in," said Brian Ogan, owner of a furniture store next door to the [Mexican invasion station]. -- The long lines are a relatively new issue for the consulate, the result of The City's decision in February to accept Mexican government-issued identification cards as a valid ID.

North County Times Reconquistas recognize alien enabler Encinitas attorney Steven Brown received an award Thursday from MALDEF for helping to create a series of educational public service announcements for new immigrants. -- Brown used his 20 years of experience helping Latino immigrants with legal problems to develop the announcements, which teach immigrants about their rights and what services available are to them. -- "The purpose of the announcements was to educate people about the things that you and I take for granted," said Gene Chapo...

Sacramento Bee Huge budget gap looms again in Calif. A mere two months after state lawmakers and Gov. Gray Davis agreed to a budget to cope with a $23.6 billion deficit, a shortfall of almost that size looms again. -- And the new deficit will be much harder to close, according to a report released Thursday by Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill. -- Many of the easy fixes were used to balance this year's budget, leaving lawmakers and Davis with the stark choices of dramatic budget cuts, substantial tax increases, or both. [Not a peep about the impact of massive immigration.]

Las Vegas Review-Journal Judge upholds ruling on prevailing wages for illegals A District Court judge has upheld a state labor commissioner's ruling that five Spanish-speaking carpenters, three of whom are illegal aliens, were denied prevailing wages on a public works project. -- The construction company's attorney called the Tuesday decision the most egregious labor ruling in Nevada history. -- But worker advocates praised the decision, saying it sends a strong message to other contractors who take advantage of immigrant workers.

Associated Press Report: Man suspected of obtaining fake ID with sniper suspect help A man accused of obtaining fraudulent identification papers was arrested in Connecticut and is being held without bond, the U.S. attorney's office said Saturday. A newspaper report linked the man to sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad. --- The Washington Post reported Saturday that the man - who has used at least five names including John Edwards Jr. and Norman Manroe - was wanted for questioning by investigators tracking the movements of sniper suspects Muhammad and John Lee Malvo. --- The Post said court papers show Edwards was arrested in Massachusetts on a drug charge and turned over to the INS after officials determined he was not a U.S. citizen.

Roger D. McGrath

The American Conservative The Great Somali Welfare Hunt The deconstruction of America is well underway. This has been clear to anyone living in California since the 1970s. Back then I remember talking with people who lived out of state about the changes that were being wrought by immigration, both legal and illegal, to California from countries of the Third World. No one could quite believe that the changes were as drastic and far-reaching as I described.

Chicago Sun Times Mexican group sues INS A Mexican legal defense group is suing the INS, charging the agency helped "immigration consultants" scam millions of dollars from immigrants. -- The suit alleges the Chicago office of the INS was aware of a widespread problem of "immigration consultants" erroneously advising individuals to apply for legal permanent residence many years before they would become eligible. -- Filed this week in federal court, the action brought by [the notorious] MALDEF.......

Washington Post Mexican jailbirds fly for free The law says that all inmates have the right to seek their freedom," said Julio Cesar Lara, who is serving three years [in a Mexican prison] for burglary but not a single extra day for his jailbreak. "The opportunity presented itself, and I took it." -- Mexico's legal system recognizes that all people have a fundamental desire to be free. And it does not punish them for pursuing it, as some inmates recently did by disguising themselves as female visitors and tunneling to freedom...

San Francisco Chronicle More on Bushs latest Mexican amnesty cheerleading appointee The U.S. is considering giving legalized residency -- but not citizenship -- to about 15% of undocumented workers, and may increase the number of temporary work visas, the new U.S. ambassador-designate said in interviews published Saturday. -- The informal proposals fall far short of the comprehensive immigration accord Mexico had sought, but represent a step forward on an issue that is desperately important for President Vicente Fox... -- Tony Garza told the newspaper El Universal that "I don't think that citizenship should be included. [Also, a Mexican senator says of this character Garza, "He is a good ally for Mexico and it was a good selection, given his Mexican roots, and as a Hispanic, he surely will be an important ally on immigration issues."]

Tucson Citizen Two arrested, 2,361 lbs. of pot seized in Douglas by Customs U.S. Customs Service agents seized more than a ton of marijuana while searching two homes in Douglas. -- Judy Turner, a Customs spokeswoman, said agents received information about pickup trucks breaching the international border about midnight Wednesday. -- Border Patrol agents reported that the drivers of the trucks cut and rammed through the border wall by driving in an "aggressive and reckless" manner, Turner said. -- They then merged into traffic and sped off, she said.

N.Y. Times (Free Registration)   Mexican drug criminals taking over California forests ...Almost every day through the marijuana harvest season, which recently ended, federal agents and the local police descended on the increasingly large pot farms in California's national forests, looking for the growers and their possible connections to Mexican drug traffickers. -- "The Mexican cartels have taken over the industry, and when they do something, they don't do it in small amounts," said Sonya Arriaga Barna, operations commander for a California Department of Justice task force, Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, which coordinates some of the law enforcement teams that conduct pot raids around the state.

Oakland Tribune Non-citizen screeners win A federal judge ruled Friday that noncitizens can apply for federal airport screening jobs, clearing the way for hundreds of laid-off Bay Area screeners to apply for new federal positions. -- U.S. District Court Judge Robert Takasugi issued a preliminary injunction against the federal citizenship requirement that has forced roughly 8,000 noncitizen screeners out of their jobs nationwide -- including about 800 at Bay Area airports. -- The ACLU and union officials hailed the motion as a major step...

EFE Mexican dengue outbreak worrisome After 21 cases of dengue fever were reported in the neighboring Mexican city of Matamoros, authorities in this predominantly Hispanic community have become increasingly vigilant to avert outbreaks of the mosquito-borne disease. -- Although four years have passed since the last case of dengue was reported in Brownsville, health authorities are worried by the situation just across the border. -- In the neighboring state of Tamaulipas, 63 cases of dengue fever have been reported this year.

Joe Guzzardi

CalNews.com A pariah to some, but to many others he remains a hero What do Dan Lungren, Tom Campbell, Matt Fong and Bill Simon have in common? -- If you answered that all four were California Republican challengers for governor or U.S. Senator, you are partially correct. -- If you added that Democrats Gray Davis, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer diced them into mincemeat, your response is better but still incomplete. -- The most through answer would include the fact that Lungren, Campbell, Fong and Simon studiously avoided mentioning immigration even though it is ­directly and indirectly-the most important issue in California.

Associated Press Hospitals say south-of-border care hurting bottom line Brownsville, Texas- Ambulances race across Rio Grande bridges regularly, bringing some of northern Mexico's sickest to the nearest emergency room. -- Obliged by humanity and legality, hospitals provide the care and worry later about whether the billing addresses patients give them are accurate. -- Often they are not. --- A recent study found that hospitals along the border provide at least $200 million a year in uncompensated emergency health care...

N.Y. Times (Free Registration)   Mexican Drug Dealers Turning U.S. Towns Into Major Depots Dalton, GA - This sturdy town in the Appalachian foothills likes to call itself "the carpet capital of the world," and its industry has thrived over the last decade as thousands of Mexican immigrants have flocked to jobs in the mills. -- More recently, though, federal and local law enforcement officials say the same pipeline of immigration and trade has been exploited by Mexican drug traffickers, who have helped turn this corner of northwestern Georgia into a busy distribution center for methamphetamine and other drugs. -- In Dalton and surrounding areas, drug arrests have steadily risen since the late 1990's, police officials said. Gang-related violence has become common.

Statesman Journal Rape suspect deported before Rape charges have been filed against a man who returned to the U.S. after being deported to Mexico in September. -- Jesus Del Carmen Gomez Rodriguez was arrested in Portland late Wednesday. He is suspected in a home-invasion rape Nov. 8 at an apartment complex in Clackamas . -- Gomez Rodriguez, whom authorities think is an illegal from Mexico, was arraigned Thursday on charges of rape and burglary. Bail was set at $500,000, and a preliminary court date was set for Nov. 21.

Washington Post Cheerleaders bemoan enforcement in VA A new directive from the Virginia attorney general's office that warns public colleges not to enroll illegal immigrants has placed the state squarely at odds with a national trend toward offering undocumented students greater access to higher education. -- The September memo by Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore (R), which also instructs Virginia's colleges to report to federal authorities any illegal immigrants they find on campus, drew fire yesterday from Latino and immigrant rights organizations.

TheNewsMexico.com Bush crony Garza touts 'earned legalization' of Mexican scofflaws The man confirmed this week by the U.S. Senate as Washington's new ambassador to Mexico said Friday that he was in favor of "earned legalization" for undocumented Mexican immigrants, a newspaper here reported. -- Tony Garza, scheduled to arrive in Mexico within the next few days, told the daily El Financiero that migration, security, drug trafficking and conflicts over water on the border will be the chief issues he will tackle as U.S. ambassador.