Friday, December 27, 2002

L.A. Isn't a Third-World City? N.Y. Times (Free Registration) Federal Judge Rules Los Angeles Violates Clean Water Laws   ...In court documents, Baykeeper, which was joined in the suit by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and several community groups, contends that the city has a "chronic, continuing and unacceptable number of spills from its sewage collection system." From 1993 to January 2002, according to documents, the city reported 3,000 spills from its pipes.    "This isn't a third-world city. We should be able to do a lot better," said Fran B. Diamond, chairman of the regional water quality board. Mayor Hahn says that L.A. is a Mexican city, remember? File Image Past Features   ABP Updates

Rocky Mountain News Cop cars bear 'inclusive' message (...er, duh) Edgewater, CO -- Police cars in this city now come in two colors and two languages. -- The white cars with the blue lettering are marked with "911" followed by the words "Emergency" and its Spanish equivalent, "Emergencia." -- The city's relatively small police department recently added the bilingual message to its entire fleet of marked patrol cars - all six of them. --"We have a pretty substantial population within Edgewater that is bilingual, and Spanish is their first language," said Police Chief Karl Wilmes. "It's kind of a small token to show what we can do to reach out to that community."

Associated Press Mexican government says it will negotiate with farmers With Mexican farmers threatening to block U.S. border crossings on New Year's Day, Fox's government said it was willing to help them compete with their U.S. counterparts. -- In a statement sent out Thursday, the Mexican government said it wanted to negotiate a so-called "Countryside Accord" with the nation's farmers, who have protested a provision of NAFTA that requires Mexico to lift tariffs on U.S. farm products in January. -- Farmers argue that without the tariffs, they won't be able to compete with U.S. farmers and will be forced to migrate illegally to the United States in search of work.

Tucson Citizen Mexican Border: Where smugglers roam Rancher Jesus Arvizu says immigrant and drug smuggling is so prevalent through this area 70 miles north of the border that he's developed a reluctant relationship with smugglers. -- When Arvizu spots them unloading immigrants or speeding across his property, he waves and asks them to close his gates so his cattle don't escape. --- Arvizu said he is not ready to start rounding up illegal crossers on his own, but that his "hat's off" to those who have, such as Douglas rancher Roger Barnett. Barnett claims he has rounded up about 8,000 illegal immigrants sneaking through his property in about five years.

Washington Times Virginia a mecca for license fraud? Despite legislation passed by the General Assembly earlier this year making it possible for Virginians to stop identity fraud, foreign nationals living in Virginia can renew their drivers' licenses without proving they are legal U.S. residents. "There is nothing in Virginia law that requires us [to ask] for that," Karen Rubey, director of driver services for the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), told The Washington Times earlier this month.

WorldnetDaily.com Mexico bypassing U.S. sovereignty? The Mexican government has formed a 100-member council in the U.S. comprised of U.S. residents whose stated mission is to advise Mexico City on the needs of its 9.5 million citizens living north of the border ­ legal and illegal. --And-- ...The Mexican congress is considering proposals that would grant those voting rights. Mexican lawmakers are also considering a bill that would form a Mexican congressional district encompassing the entire U.S.

Newt Gingrich

Wall Street Journal My GOP Wish List (Newt wants 'guest workers') ...We need policies that allow American jobs to modernize and compete with jobs in the world market. We need further tax cuts--including the permanent abolition of the death tax, a cut in the capital gains tax, ending the double taxation of dividends, and the ability to expense capital investments in one year. And we need a new guest-worker program, which helps control the border by legalizing the flow of honest people who want to work, play by the rules and pay taxes...

Baltimore Sun York County tells INS to pay up or get out The biggest immigration jail east of the Mississippi River, with 700 inmates and dozens of workers in rural Pennsylvania, could be shut early next year because of a contract dispute with local officials. -- The York County Prison has leased cells, office space and courtrooms to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service for more than a decade. But that might end as a result of a two-year disagreement over INS reimbursement rates, a dispute that boiled over Friday.

Al Knight

American Conservative Magazine Tom Tancredo makes his way against the illegal alien lobby, hostile media, and even a backstabbing White House ...Tancredo has long been aware that because of the lopsided registration in his congressional district, he could be challenged in a Republican primary. Roll Call recently predicted such a challenge in 2004, citing Tancredo's earlier run-in with Bush political advisor, Karl Rove, who reportedly warned him "never to darken the door of the White House again" after the congressman said that Bush was pandering to Hispanic voters.

San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Immigrants as 'enemies' The United States may be a nation of immigrants, but that doesn't mean we always have welcomed them here. Throughout our history, there has been a tension between greeting foreigners at our shores -- and doing our best to keep them out. -- The pendulum between embracing and rejecting immigrants, between viewing them as a positive force and a threat, has swung wildly, depending on the historical moment. Remember the Alien and Sedition Acts? The Chinese Exclusion Act? Proposition 187? -- In recent weeks, the pendulum has swung decisively in the direction of viewing foreigners -- including immigrants -- as a potential threat to our national security.

Colorado Daily  [Short-lived link] Boulder aiding aliens? Reader e-mail: This story fails to note that the five Boulder Citizens asking the US Attorney and INS investigate Boulder City and County (Colorado) for their involvement with illegals and the Mexican ID card are also in contact with Genesis Insurance Company, the underwriter for Boulder City's liability insurance, to see if the insurance policy covers any liability Boulder officials and governmental entities may be incurring for their activities involving illegals. The insurance policy expires 1/1/03. It DOES note, however, that we believe the CITY and COUNTY can be named as a co-defendant in personal injury, bodily injury, and property damage lawsuits involving illegal aliens in Boulder. -- TT

Commentary - Robert Charles - Washington Times California, drugs and Mideast terror ...This puzzle piece is added to another: Colombian FARC terrorists have long funded their operations with cocaine and heroin revenue. New this autumn is a riveting development: Clear and convincing evidence has emerged that California's methamphetamine "super labs" are, in fact, a significant source of revenue not only for Mexican drug traffickers, but also to Middle Eastern terrorist organizations based in Yemen and Jordan. That revelation is significant. It should have resounding policy implications for law makers in both parties and the administration.

Associated Press News Briefs Gang killing victims mostly Hispanic males Gang violence is believed responsible for 19 murders in Salinas so far this year, police said. -- The victims, mostly Hispanic males, were shot or stabbed to death. At least a dozen have been definitely tied to gangs, and detectives suspect the rest also were gang-related. -- Police said gang members were also behind at least 10 of the 15 killings recorded in Salinas last year.

Press Enterprise Baby-killer suspect runs for border A...Ama Mosqueda said her common-law husband of two years, Eladio Camacho Navarro, stormed into their home Wednesday morning and started punching her in the head and pulling her hair. -- Mosqueda said Navarro pulled a revolver from under the mattress, loaded it and left the house without telling her where he was going. -- Mosqueda said Navarro was in the United States illegally and did not work. [They just sneak in to work.]

Corpus Christi Caller-Times Illegals caught after chase A group of undocumented immigrants, caught near Petronila on Thursday afternoon, were facing deportation, KRIS 6 News reported. -- Six men apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol said that they were on their way to Houston. -- When a sheriff's deputy tried to pull the car over near Driscoll because of faulty windshield wipers, the car sped away. -- A car chase followed on Farm-to-Market Road 665 at speeds as high as 85 mph...

News-Register Editorial No Social Security for Illegal Aliens Citizens of other countries who have worked legally in the United States are entitled to Social Security benefits based on their time of employment here. They have paid their dues, and they deserve to receive the returns. -- But the Bush administration is working on a plan to vastly expand Social Security payments to Mexican nationals who are not currently covered by Social Security related treaties - including illegal Mexican immigrants. -- The problem here is not so much the additional burden on Social Security that would be posed by Mexican citizens who worked legally for some time in the United States and accordingly paid into the system.... [Contact Bush]