MEXICO ALREADY HAS A CONGRESSMAN FROM LOS ANGELES

Did you know that Eddie Varon-Levy was elected to the Mexican House of Deputies to represent Mexicans who live in Los Angeles? (Listen to NPR report in RealAudio)

Did you know Eddie Varon-Levy has been accused of fraud?

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"Aztlan Underground - Decolonize!"

Chicago

Green card offer holds promise pitfalls

As thousands of undocumented immigrants rush to file for legal residency under a rapidly closing four- month window of opportunity, a pending federal lawsuit and new information from immigration officials underscore the dramatically high stakes for people who apply. Until April 30, undocumented immigrants who are relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents can seek green cards without having to leave the country first. The approaching deadline has couples marrying in a hurry and family members helping one another puzzle out the complex forms. But the short-term opportunity is not a solution for everyone, and some observers fear many people's hopes for legalization will be dashed. Worse, they may be deported.

Published in the Wall Street Journal

Re: How the Republicans Lost California

[Ron] Unz says Proposition 187 was "quickly ruled unconstitutional." Wrong. It was ruled unconstitutional by one judge, and it took her four years to do it. It was not tested in the Supreme Court because Gov. Gray Davis made a deal with Mexican President Zedillo to derail it. Unz says 187 would have kept U.S. citizen children from school if their parents were illegals. That simply isn't true. -- The reaction to 187 produced outrageous political shenanigans. Art Torres, now Chairman of the California Democrat Party, said, "Remember, 187 is the last gasp of white American in California." Following his 1998 Presidential Medal of Freedom Award, Mario Obledo told a Los Angeles radio audience, "California is going to he a Hispanic state and anyone who doesn't like it should leave."

Reconquista News

What will "Aztlan" be like?

What will "Aztlan" be like when some California politician proclaims its sovereignty - likely as soon as next Cinco de Mayo? "La Voz de Aztlan" - a hardcore reconquista news service with a brilliant webmaster - gives strong clues on its web site, based in Whittier, CA. As of last week, La Voz de Aztlan suggests that Aztlan will not be one big happy Hispanic nation. For one thing, it accuses Los Angeles's Hispanic mayoral candidate and likely next mayor - Antonio Villaraigosa - of being "a lackey for Jewish interests." Calling other Hispanic groups sellouts to the Jews seems a major theme of La Voz de Aztlan - and it's clear that if La Voz de Aztlan is at all typical of the incipient sovereign nation, Aztlan will not be at all friendly to any Jewish residents stupid enough to stay. (Other items)

Galax, VA

Schools show influx of Hispanic residents

This is a different Galax from the one in which Elementary School teacher Jealynn Coleman grew up. Newly released census figures show the city on the Carroll- Grayson county line is the seventh- most Hispanic locality in Virginia. Without the Hispanic influx, the city would have lost population during the past decade [this is bad?]. Residents agree there has been a dramatic transformation in the past six or so years, one that mirrors trends in many localities across the nation: Where Latinos once were unknown or were mostly migrant farm workers, they are now a significant segment of the population. Last year, slightly more than 11% of Galax's population of 6,837, or 772 people, identified themselves as Hispanic, up from just 65 Hispanics, or 1%, in 1990.

Ethnic Pandering

N.Y. Governor Wows Hispanic Dems

Continuing his drive to appeal to Latino voters, Gov. Pataki pressed the flesh at a Hispanic political gathering yesterday and painted himself as a crusader against the military training exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Pataki, a Republican, got the star treatment at the annual legislative conference of the all-Democratic Assembly Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force, upstaging one of his challengers in next year's gubernatorial election, Controller Carl McCall, a Democrat. In a news advisory, the task force showcased Pataki's participation, but made no mention of McCall. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who is also seeking his party's nomination for governor, did not attend the event.

Third World In The Valley

34 Unlicensed Vendors Cited in N. Hollywood Sweep

Thirty-four citations were issued to illegal vendors in North Hollywood on Saturday morning in a raid by inspectors of the Los Angeles Building and Safety Department, authorities said. -- "The goal is to make the quality of life better for people who live there," Sgt. Larry Poehls said. Vendors selling such perishables as strawberries, corn on the cob and flowers were cited, he said. -- He said he expects more such actions in the future. "Some of these people will never get permits, because the city is not going to issue a permit to sell corn on the cob with sauteed jalapeno butter," Poehls said.

While Millions of Illegals Colonize the U.S........

INS deportation of German 'scary'

In a sudden move to end a five-year legal stalemate in its favor, the INS has ordered the prompt deportation of a German national who has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, has no criminal record and is married to an American citizen. Wolfgang von Eitzen, a resident of Billings, Mont., since 1982, received notice April 13 that he must report to an INS official in Helena, Mont., this Monday ready for deportation. "Failure to comply with this directive will result in Mr. von Eitzen being reported to the FBI as a 'Fugitive from Justice', and entered into the National Crime Information Center as a 'Wanted Person,'" said INS district director Harry Thomas in a four-page letter to Brandon Marinoff, a Denver- based immigration attorney who represents von Eitzen.

Columbus, OH

Appeals court says Social Security number not needed for marriage

A state appeals court will allow illegal immigrants to take advantage of a brief window of opportunity to become legal residents. The 10th Ohio District Court of Appeals, in a case involving an Ethiopian immigrant who wants to get married next week and seek residency, ruled Friday that Franklin County Probate Judge Lawrence Belskis wrongly required applicants to have Social Security numbers before he'd issue marriage licenses. The court ordered Belskis to issue licenses to qualified applicants who lack the numbers. Federal law says illegal immigrants who marry a permanent resident or U.S. citizen must file by April 30 to become legal residents. After that date, only legal immigrants may become legal residents upon marrying citizens or permanent residents.

Tower of Babel

English-Only Policy Nets $2.4 Million Settlement

A record $2.4 million settlement was reached in a lawsuit against a university where 18 Hispanic housekeepers were allegedly ordered to speak only English on the job, the EEOC said Friday. The housekeepers at the University of the Incarnate Word were subjected to an unlawful English-only rule and "harassed" because of their national origin in violation of federal civil rights laws, according to EEOC Chairwoman Ida L. Castro. "As employers face the challenge of a rapidly changing workforce, they will serve themselves well by creating work environments that are conductive to diversity and putting strategies in place to ease racial and ethnic tensions," she said.

Washington

Court to Take Up Deportation Rules

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a challenge to the actions Congress took against legal aliens at the height of the national anti- immigrant fervor in 1996. The legislation Congress approved then required the deportation of immigrants convicted of certain crimes, even if, as in Mr. Velasquez's case, the crime was committed long before the statute was enacted. At issue is whether Congress went too far in 1996 when it stripped the federal courts of their authority to review deportation orders. The justices will also consider whether legal immigrants can be removed automatically for offenses committed before the provision became law.

Diana Griego Erwin

Immigrants [illegals] struggle to cope with DMV licensing roadblock

Changes in driver-licensing laws intended to crack down on identity theft and deadbeat parents have had the side effect of hurting other such undocumented immigrants. More than one in 10 applications and renewals in California are being denied because Social Security numbers and names don't match up. Immigrants still righting their residency status don't have Social Security numbers. No number, no driver's license. State Assemblyman Gilbert Cedillo has re-introduced legislation he sponsored last session to address the problem. AB 60 would allow immigrants in the process of establishing a lawful U.S. presence to use an IRS taxpayer number instead.

Agua Prieta, Sonora

Meeting focuses on migrants who died sneaking into the U.S.

Those deaths were the focus of a meeting Friday in which Mexican Consulate officials outlined a campaign aimed at warning migrants about making the dangerous crossing, particularly in the summer months, traditionally the deadliest season. "These are statistics that are depressing, that should concern us all and weigh upon our conscience," Miguel Escobar Valdez, the Mexican consul in Douglas, said to the participants, including representatives of the U.S. Border Patrol, Douglas Police Department, Mexican law enforcement and local government officials. "It is a situation which we cannot permit to continue."

Rickety Mexican Junk Trucks

Border trucking: Safety is an issue

Chances are, when a Mexican truck crosses the border into Arizona, it will not be inspected for safety. Only 1.6 percent of trucks that crossed into Arizona last year underwent safety inspections, according to federal figures. That percentage will likely improve as the state and federal governments increase the number of inspectors along the border this year. But when the United States is opened to Mexican trucks Jan. 1, it's likely that officials will inspect Mexican trucks far less than half the times they cross into Arizona. That has caused worry among public interest groups such as Public Citizen, which point out that Mexico's trucks and drivers are subject to far less scrutiny than American trucks.

Sorry State of Affairs

Bush's first state dinner is to be for Fox

U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday said his first state dinner at the White House will be held in honor of President Vicente Fox in the early autumn, possibly in September. "I've decided that the first state dinner I will have as president of the United States will be with my friend Vicente Fox," Bush said during a picture-taking opportunity as he met the Mexican leader on the sidelines of a summit of 34 leaders from the Americas. The dinner will be part of the first state visit that Bush will host at the White House since taking office in January. "I look forward to a continued dialogue on a lot of issues that concern our countries, a lot of issues that concern our hemisphere prior to the dinner."