Home > The Border Line > Archives > 2007 > October
October 2007
Children suffer hardship, mental anguish after immigration raids
Children of various ages suffered long-term economic hardships and psychological damage after federal immigration raids over the past year, a new study says.
The mental health problems included depression, separation anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts, said the report by the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization, and the Urban Institute, a think tank that studies minority groups.
The report looked at the impact of three large raids over the past year — in Greeley, Colo., Grand Island, Neb., and New Bedford, Mass. — where federal officials arrested more than 900 suspected illegal immigrants at work sites. Those arrested had more than 500 children.
The children were mostly U.S. citizens and included “the youngest and most vulnerable in our society — infants, toddlers and preschoolers,” the report said.
Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that detainees always have access to telephones, consular offices and legal counsel.
In addition, she said that federal agents were doing their job — arresting people who broke the law, including identity theft.
“We have a mandate to enforce the nation’s immigration laws,” she said.
Nantel also said the report failed to address that the illegal immigrant parents are responsible for putting their children in a difficult situation.
To read the study, click here.
Bilbray to Clinton: explain yourself on driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants
Rep. Brian Bilbray, a California Republican who chairs the House Immigration Reform Caucus, called on Sen. Hillary Clinton to clarify her position on giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
During a Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night, Clinton gave a confusing answer about the issue.
Bilbray said that giving driver’s licenses to people who have broken the law will only exacerbate the nation’s illegal immigration problem.
“Has she so quickly forgotten that the terrorists who perpetrated attacks against our country on 9/11 were able to carry their operations with the aid of false identification, including driver’s licenses,” he asked in a statement. “I am hopeful that the senator from New York will clarify her position and oppose driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.”
Hillary Clinton dogged on driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants
Illegal immigration has been a major topic in Republican presidential debates and now, the Democrats have followed suit.
At a debate Tuesday night, Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York was asked whether she supports a decision by that state’s governor to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
Her answer led to accusations from Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina that she was taking both sides on the issue.
Here is what Clinton said: “What Governor (Eliot) Spitzer is trying to do is fill the vacuum left by the failure of this administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform. We know in New York we have several million at any one time who are in New York illegally. They are undocumented workers. They are driving on our roads. The possibility of them having an accident that harms themselves or others is just a matter of the odds. It’s probability.”
She continued later: “What is the governor supposed to do? He is dealing with a serious problem. We have failed. And George Bush has failed. Do I think this is the best thing for any governor to do? No. But do I understand the sense of real desperation, trying to get a handle on this? Remember, in New York, we want to know who’s in New York. We want people to come out of the shadows. He’s making an honest effort to do it.”
Shortly after her answer, Edwards quipped: “Unless I missed something, Sen. Clinton said two different things in the course of about two minutes.”
And later, Obama added: “I was confused on Sen. Clinton’s answer. I can’t tell whether she was for it or against it. And I do think that is important. One of the things that we have to do in this country is to be honest about the challenges that we face.”
Clinton was vague again after Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut said he did not support giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
She said, “I did not say that it should be done, but I certainly recognize why Governor Spitzer is trying to do (it).”
Illegal immigration foe Tom Tancredo leaving Congress
Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican famous for his fight against illegal immigration, will not run for re-election to the House of Representatives in 2008.
“It’s the fact that I really believe I have done all I can do in the House, especially about the issue about which I care greatly (immigration),” Tancredo told the Rocky Mountain News, which first reported the retirement on its website.
On a personal note, Tancredo said, “Well, I am certainly looking forward to the time when at least a week can go by when I don’t have to get on an airplane.”
Tancredo left open the possiblity of running for a Senate seat against Sen. Ken Salazar, a Democrat who favored a major immigration overhaul that Tancredo labeled “amnesty.”
The five-term lawmaker also told the Associated Press that he wants to stay involved in public policy after he leaves the House.
To read more, click here.
New York to offer different driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
In a major shift, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer backed off his plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain the same kind of driver’s licenses as other state residents, after weeks of furor over the proposal, the New York Times reported this weekend.
Instead, the governor said illegal immigrants in the state would be able to obtain a license that would permit them to drive but would not be accepted as identification to board planes or cross borders, the article said.
Spitzer announced the change of heart at a press conference with Homeland Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Chertoff said in a statment: “I don’t endorse giving licenses to people who are not here legally, but federal law does allow states to make that choice.”
To read more, click here.
Strange bedfellows push immigration bill for farm workers
The Politico describes how traditional rivals — the agribusiness industry and advocates for farm worker rights — have come together to push an immigration bill that would offer legal status to more than 1.2 million immigrant workers.
The legislation is called AgJOBS, shorthand for the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act. It has attracted broad support, including from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and more than 800 other organizations, such as church groups, as well as state agriculture officials, Politico said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (pictured), a California Democrat, may try to attach AgJOBS to an upcoming farm bill.
“Without AgJOBS, there will be shortages, crops will rot and American agriculture could face significant disruption,” Feinstein said, in a statement.
Politico said Feinstein “has been busily schmoozing her fellow senators, including sympathetic Republicans, to build support for the bill.”
To read more, click here.
Richardson outlines Latin America policy
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who is trying to become the nation’s first Hispanic president, called for a mix of diplomacy and economic intervention to improve relations with Latin America, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
Speaking on the UCLA campus, Richardson said Latin American nations had been “alienated” by current Bush administration policies.
“Anti-Americanism is growing at an alarming rate across the region,” Richardson said, according to the article. “Through neglect we have turned many of our natural allies into fair-weather friends and outright enemies.”
To read more, click here.
Durbin and Tancredo exchange heated words on immigration
The debate over legislation known as the DREAM Act brought out strong emotions from its main sponsor, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
The legislation would have created a path to citizenship for thousands of young illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children. It was defeated in the Senate Wednesday.
In an emotional speech, Durbin blasted GOP presidential candidate, Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, for issuing a press release which called on federal immigration authorities to arrest a few students who Durbin invited to a press conference.
Tancredo believed the students were in the United States illegally because Durbin indicated that they would benefit from the DREAM Act. In fact, the students had temporary permission to be in the United States, although most will expire within a year.
Durbin said Tancredo’s press release “is an indication of how badly this debate is going in America.”
“To turn on these children and treat them as criminals is an indication of the level of emotion and in some cases bigotry and hatred that is involved in this debate,” Durbin said.
“America is better than that. America is a better nation that what we hear from the likes of that congressman,” he added.
In response, Tancredo said that Durbin was “aiding and abetting illegal aliens.”
“Dick Durbin, by his own admission, brought in students who benefit from the DREAM Act for political gain,” said Tancredo. “Dick can split all the hairs he wants, but we all know the DREAM Act is designed to do one thing: benefit illegal aliens.”
DREAM Act defeated in the Senate
After an emotional debate, the Senate voted down a controversial measure that would have allowed thousands of young illegal immigrants to stay in the United States if they attended college or joined the military.
The action killed the legislation for the year.
The measure needed 60 votes to proceed, but only got 52. Eleven Republicans voted in favor of the bill and eight Democrats opposed it. The defeat showed the difficulty in passing any immigration legislation this year.
The measure is known as the DREAM Act, which stands for “Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.
It would have allowed illegal immigrant high school graduates to eventually attain permanent legal status and U.S. citizenship if they completed two years of college or served honorably in the military for at least two years.
In an effort to gain support, lead sponsor Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., had included an age limit of 30 and dropped language that would have cleared the path for the students to receive in-state tuition.
During the debate, Durbin said the illegal immigrant children should not be punished for the sins of their parents.
Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said the bill was “a slap in the face to all of those who came in legally.”
To read more, click here.
Immigrant group: Rahm Emanuel “threw immigrants under the bus”
Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, an influential advocacy group, blasted Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., for suggesting that immigration could be a losing issue for Democrats.
Sharry was responding to an articleTuesday in the Washington Post where Emanuel, who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, said that the immigration issue is a big problem because it “captures all the American people’s anger and frustration not only with immigration, but with the economy.”
Emanuel also said immigration has “emerged as the third rail of American politics” and that “anyone who doesn’t realize that isn’t with the American people.”
Sharry said in a press release that he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he read the article.
“Rep. Emanuel threw immigrants under the bus because desperate House Republicans are planning to run nasty ads about Democrats and immigration,” Sharry said.
Sharry also compared Emanuel to Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who is leading an effort to offer a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants who complete high school.
The headline of Sharry’s press release said: “Senator Dick Durbin Leads the Senate Democrats into Battle on Behalf of Immigrants. Rep. Rahm Emanuel Leads the House Democrats, Er, Nowhere.”
Emanuel is seen here at a Capitol Hill press conference earlier this year.
Immigration key issue in Virginia state and local elections
After years of simmering in the background, illegal immigration has quickly emerged as one of the key issues in Virginia’s Nov. 6 election, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
According to a Washington Post poll, three-quarters of likely voters in Virginia said immigration is important to their votes in the election for state and local offices, while just a year ago, immigration ranked seventh of 10 listed issues in a Post poll before the U.S. Senate race, the Post said.
Since then, the percentage of Virginia voters calling immigration “extremely” or “very” important to their vote has jumped 15 points.
To read more, click here.
Permalink | |
Tancredo asks feds to arrest illegal immigrant students at U.S. Capitol press conference
Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican who is running for president, asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest several students who attended a press conference Tuesday with Sen. Richard Durbin at the U.S. Capitol. Tancredo believed the students were illegal immigrants.
Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, was pushing legislation that would give illegal immigrant students a path to legal residency and citizenship if they attend college or join the military. The measure faces a critical vote Wednesday.
Tancredo said in a statement: “I call on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to detain any illegal aliens at this press conference. Just because these illegal aliens are being used for political gain doesn’t mean they get immunity from the law.”
He also said: “If we can’t enforce our laws inside the building where American laws are made, where can we enforce them?”
According to a press release from Durbin’s office, the students had temporary permission to be in the United States.
Senate will vote on DREAM Act student immigration bill Wednesday
A controversial measure that would allow young illegal immigrants to stay in the United States if they attend college or join the military will face a critical vote Wednesday.
Supporters need 60 votes for the legislation to move forward in the Senate, but were a few shy on Tuesday, according to the measure’s main sponsor, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
Durbin said that the vote tally was “somewhere in the mid 50’s” and that Republican support was growing “by the minute.”
The measure is known as the DREAM Act, which stands for “Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.
It would allow thousands of young illegal immigrants to eventually attain permanent legal status and U.S. citizenship if they complete two years of college or serve honorably in the military for at least two years.
In an effort to gain support, Durbin included an age limit of 30 and dropped language that would have cleared the path for the students to receive in-state tuition.
The measure faces fierce opposition from lawmakers and groups that say it is a disguised amnesty that will reward illegal behavior.
Numbers USA, a group that supports lower levels of immigration, is urging members to call, e-mail and fax senators asking them to vote “no.”
The group is also keeping a list of “Anti-Amnesty Champions” who are opposed to the bill.
The law would apply to illegal immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least five years prior to the measure’s enactment, have graduated from high school or obtained a GED, and have no criminal record.
Durbin said that many of the students arrived in the United States illegally as infants or small children, through no fault of their own and have excelled in school under difficult circumstances.
“Some of their stories are heart-breaking stories,” he said. “Many of them know no other country, speak no other language and now are being told to leave.”
Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association, said the bill would advance the talents of thousands of hard-working students.
“We need to seize this opportunity,” he said, in a a conference call with reporters. “We cannot allow history to look back on us and say that we dimmed the lights on future generations of children and left them in the shadows.”
Should the Census Bureau count illegal immigrants?
Texas, Florida and Arizona each stand to gain an extra congressional seat in the next Census count because of their large illegal immigrant populations, according to a recent study.
Conversely, states like Ohio, Michigan and Missouri could each lose a seat because they have fewer illegal immigrants.
Is this fair? Some groups don’t think so.
“It is unfair for some states to lose representation to other states because they have more people living there illegally,” said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), a group that advocates lower levels of immigration.
FAIR believes that the Census should ask immigrants their legal status. Those who are in the United States illegally should be subtracted from the total when it comes to determining congressional districts, Mehlman said.
The recent study by the University of Connecticut examined the impact of illegal immigrants in the 2010 Census.
In addition to identifying states gaining or losing seats in Congress, it found that illegal immigrants will allow California to keep its 53 seats. Without them, California would lose two, the study says.
Orlando J. Rodriguez, author of the study, said that current high levels of illegal immigration create a shift in congressional seats from the Northeast and Midwest to the South and the Southwest.
Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization, said that the purpose of the Census is to obtain accurate data of the entire population to make all kinds of important decisions.
To read more about the University of Connecticut study, click here.
Schwarzenegger: GOP should not focus on abortion, gay marriage and immigration
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said that GOP presidential candidates were “missing out on something” because televised debates had been dominated by questions about gay marriage, abortion and immigration, the Financial Times reported Monday.
In an interview, Schwarzenegger told the publication that Republican candidates should challenge the questions they were asked in the debates. “Someone has to say: ‘We’ve talked enough about immigration, now I want to talk about healthcare reform’.” The candidates had to “move the agenda”, he said, according to the article.
Immigration has been a constant topic in GOP presidential debates, prompted at times by candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican famous for his fight against illegal immigrants. In addition, Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, another candidate, is an ardent advocate of a building a wall along the Southern border.
At the most recent debate Sunday night, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was criticized for his support of a so called “sanctuary city” policy where police and local officials do not to check the immigration status of residents using city services.
To read more, click here.
Giuliani defends immigration record, again
At the latest Republican presidential debate Sunday night, candidate Rudy Giuliani once again defended his policy on illegal immigration while he was mayor of New York City.
Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee accused Giuliani of fighting to keep New York a “sanctuary city” where police and local officials do not to check the immigration status of residents using city services.
Here is Giuliani’s response: “The simple fact is that New York City had a policy of allowing people who are illegal immigrants to report crime and to put their children in school. Otherwise, we reported every single illegal immigrant that committed a crime…I brought down crime by over 60 percent in New York City. I brought down homicide by 67 percent. I had the most legal city in the country.”
In addition, Giuliani took a jab at Thompson: “The senator has never had executive responsibility. He’s never had the weight of people’s safety and security on his shoulders.”
To read more about the debate, click here.
Poll: Thirty percent of Americans want all illegal immigrants deported
Three in 10 Americans want all illegal immigrants to be deported, according to a CNN opinion research poll released this week.
The poll found differences between blacks and whites regarding attitudes towards illegal immigration.
For example, 19 percent of blacks said they thought all illegal immigrants should be deported, compared to 35 percent of whites.
In addition, 45 percent of blacks said that state and local police should turn over illegal immigrants they encounter, even if the immigrants have broken no state or local laws. In comparison, 61 percent of whites said police should do so.
Both blacks and whites overwhelmingly oppose giving driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, the poll said.
To read more, click here.
Washington burbs cracking down on illegal immigration
Suburbs around the nation’s capitol continue to grapple with illegal immigration.
Supervisors in Prince William County, Va., voted early Wednesday to move forward with a nationally watched plan to crack down on illegal immigrants by increasing local police enforcement and restricting certain public services, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The unanimous vote followed a 12-hour session of emotional public testimony.
The vote came as officials in Fairfax County, Va. also turned their attention to illegal immigration. Fairfax’s county executive said he would begin studying which services might be restricted to illegal immigrants.
To read more, click here.
GOP lawmakers urge Mukasey to investigate Ramos and Compean Border Patrol case
Forty-seven GOP House members urged attorney general-nominee Michael Mukasey on Tuesday, if he is confirmed, to conduct an “unbiased review” of the case of two former Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting an unarmed man and trying to cover it up.
The agents — Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos — are serving more than 10 years in prison for wounding a Mexican drug dealer who had entered the United States illegally in a van with more than 700 pounds of marijuana.
Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.; Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.; Ted Poe, R-Texas; Louie Gohmert, R-Texas; and Walter Jones, R-N.C., held a press conference to release a letter to Mukasey, who is expected to be confirmed this week.
It says that the U.S. attorney in the case, Johnny Sutton of the Western District of Texas, is engaged in a pattern of “prosecutorial overreach targeting law enforcement officers.”
“We request that you conduct a fair and unbiased review of this case and take any action to rectify this injustice,” the lawmakers said.
The House members also said that the treatment of Ramos and Compean in prison was worse than the treatment of suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including that they are each “confined to a single cell for 23 hours a day.”
At a Senate hearing about the case in July, Sutton defended the
prosecution, saying that the agents are not heroes'' and
deliberately shot an unarmed man in the back.”
Bush has given no indication that he plans to pardon the agents or commute their sentences.
Tancredo wants future immigrants to provide DNA
Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican who is running for president, introduced legislation Tuesday that would require would-be immigrants to prove through DNA testing that they are related to a U.S. resident if they are applying for a visa based on a biological relationship.
Tancredo cited “the sketchy and sometimes unreliable nature of foreign identity documents” as a reason for the measure.
“This will help protect the integrity of our immigration system,” said Tancredo, in a press release. “It will give us one more tool to make sure that the beneficiaries of these visas are who they say they are.”
A similar plan is creating much controversy in France. Read more here.
State Farm reaching out to Hispanics: becomes national sponsor of “Sabado Gigante”
In an effort to reach more Hispanic consumers, State Farm Insurance has become the national sponsor of “Sabado Gigante,” or “Giant Saturday,” a live, rather kooky variety show on the Univision network.
The program is hosted by Don Francisco (pictured) and includes audience participation games, comedy skits, and musical numbers.
HispanicBusiness.com reports that the show is the ninth most-watched Spanish-language program in the United States and that financial terms weren’t released on the State Farm sponsorship deal.
However, the agreement includes in-program advertising, where the show’s characters will incorporate the State Farm brand into skits, the article said.
This should be interesting as one recurring character — “El Chacal” — is dressed as a hooded executioner and carries a trumpet.
Mark Gibson, State Farm assistant vice president for advertising, said in the HispanicBusiness.com article: “It’s a TiVo world, and anytime you can get your brand into a program, it makes it a better value.”
To read more, click here.
Schwarzenegger goes both ways on immigration
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger acted to please both sides of the immigration debate “in a way that exemplifies his delicate handling of the controversial subject,” the New York Times reported over the weekend.
Schwarzenegger signed a measure that prohibits cities from requiring landlords to check whether tenants are in the country legally, making California the first state with such a law. The move pleased Latino groups and immigrant advocates.
Then, the governor pleased conservatives by vetoing a bill to allow new citizens to register to vote on Election Day if their naturalization ceremonies were held less than seven days before an election, the article said.
Schwarzenegger, a naturalized American citizen from Austria, presented his action on the bills “as a pragmatic, case-by-case assessment of their merits,” according to the Times.
To read more, click here.
McCain commits to Univision Spanish-language debate, again
It looks like the Univision television network may have a Republican presidential debate after all.
The event — postponed last month because of a lack of interest from GOP candidates — has been rescheduled for Dec. 9.
Sen. John McCain, the only Republican who committed to the earlier date, announced Monday that he would attend in December.
“I look forward to communicating with Hispanic voters nationwide in this unique discussion of issues. It is an opportunity to broaden access to the democratic process and to participate in the political dialogue,” McCain said, in a press release. “I commend the Univision network for hosting this historic presidential forum and am happy to accept their invitation to participate.”
Nearly all Democratic candidates showed up at a Univision forum in September. Candidates were required to speak in English and their answers were translated for the Spanish-speaking audience.
Several leading Republican candidates have been criticized for declining to appear at events geared toward minority groups.
To read more, click here.
French, Swiss deal with anti-immigrant sentiment
In France, a controversial plan to test the DNA of would-be immigrants to make sure they are related to French citizens is facing a barrage of opposition.
“Unease with the idea is so widespread that it has been criticized not only by religious leaders, politicians on the left and intellectuals, but also by members of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s own political camp, including legislators from his party and even some of his ministers,” the New York Times reported this week.
Meanwhile, an anti-immigrant political campaign in Switzerland which targets Africans is in full swing.
An advertisement of the Swiss People’s Party shows three white sheep kicking a black sheep off the Swiss flag with the slogan “For Security,” according to the Washington Post. The political party is described as “a major player in the coalition government.”
The story also describes a gruesome attack of an African immigrant in Zurich.
Read about the French here and the Swiss here.
Federal judge delays portion of border fence
A federal judge this week temporarily delayed construction of a 1.5-mile section of a border fence in a wildlife conservation area on the Arizona-Mexico line, the Associated Press reported.
U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said she granted the delay in part because the federal government did not explain why it hurried through an environmental assessment and began building the fence in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, the AP said.
Huvelle repeatedly asked the government’s attorney, Gregory Page, to explain why the agencies took only three weeks to do the environmental assessment. She said that amount of time was unprecedented and that the government was trying to “ram” the environmental study through and start construction “before anyone would wake up,” according to the story.
To read more, click here.
White House disappointed in “no match” ruling, will continue to push immigration enforcement
Scott Stanzel, White House deputy press secretary, said Thursday that a federal judge’s ruling to halt a government crack down on companies that hire illegal immigrants is “another reminder” of the need for comprehensive immigration reform.
“Every day we see stories in the newspaper about local communities taking immigration matters into their own hands. Coupled with this court ruling, it is a reminder that Congress should move forward to implement a comprehensive immigration reform that puts in place a system that is secure, orderly, fair and productive,” he said.
In addition, he said the administration is disappointed in the ruling and will “continue to push forward with enforcement efforts.”
On Wednesday, a federal judge in San Francisco put on hold a set of new rules known as “no match.”
Under the rules, a company that ignores warning letters about employees with potentially fake Social Security numbers could be fined up to $10,000 per employee or face criminal prosecution.
The judge’s ruling resulted from a lawsuit brought forth by the AFL-CIO, the American Civil Liberties Union, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and other groups
The lawsuit says that the rule “will threaten jobs of U.S. citizens and other legally authorized workers simply because of errors in the government’s inaccurate Social Security earnings databases.”
To read more, click here.
Bush honors Latino soldiers, firefighters, police
At a White House event Wednesday to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, President Bush paid homage to Latinos in uniform.
“We honor the many Hispanic Americans who wear the uniform here at home — the police, and firefighters, and emergency rescue personnel who risk their lives each day to protect our homeland and our communities,” he said. “And we honor the 200,000 Hispanic Americans who serve in our Armed Forces — who are working to spread liberty so we can be secure here in America; who are doing the hard work today so our children and grandchildren can grow up in peace.”
Hispanic soldiers have been a hot topic lately because of the effort to pressure filmmaker Ken Burns to include Latino soldiers in his documentary about World War ll.
In the speech, Bush also dabbled in Spanish, saying that Hispanic Americans strengthen the nation with their commitments to “familia y fe” or “family and faith.”
In addition, he touted new free trade agreements negotiated with Peru, Colombia and Panama.
“For the sake of businesses and sake of our workers, and for the sake of prosperity in the neighborhood, the United States Congress needs to approve these three very important trade agreements,” Bush said.
Guests included Latin music guru Emilio Estefan and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who Bush called “my friend, my dear friend.”
After the speech, grammy-winning singer and composer, Israel “Cachao” Lopez, who was born in Cuba, provided the entertainment.
Chamber of Commerce president: visa shortages damaging high tech, agriculture
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue on Wednesday urged Congress “to act immediately to address pressing visa shortages that are today damaging industries from high tech to agriculture.”
In a speech in Phoenix, Donohue also said that state and local immigration ordinances, designed to crack down on illegal immigrants, are “often contradictory, probably unconstitutional, and impossible for businesses to follow.”
He also said that the Chamber would continue to challenge such ordinances in court.
“Legal immigration is more than just a social value — it is an economic necessity,” Donohue said. “The United States is producing more jobs than workers, and we need immigrants at all skill levels to balance the equation if we are to remain an economic superpower.”
To read the entire speech, click here.
Free iPods to help students learn English
While many schools are banning iPods, a district in Hudson County New Jersey is handing out the portable digital players to help bilingual students with limited English ability sharpen their vocabulary and grammar by singing along to popular songs, the New York Times reported this week.
Grace Poli, a media specialist at Jose Marti Middle School in the district, said her Spanish-speaking students have been able to move out of bilingual classes after just a year of using the iPods, compared with an average of four to six years for most bilingual students, the Times said.
The effort is garnering nationwide attention.
To read more, click here.
Feds arrest 1,300 in summer “surge” against immigrant gangs
A four-month nationwide “enforcement surge” against immigrant gangs netted more than 1,300 arrests in 23 cities, federal officials said Tuesday.
Some of the alleged gang members were charged with violent crimes such as assault, kidnapping and human smuggling, but most — 939 — were detained for immigration violations and put into deportation proceedings.
Julie Myers, head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said that the arrests were part of a joint effort with state, local and international law enforcement agencies to combat the growing problem of violent transnational street gangs.
“We’ve arrested some of the worst of the worst,” said Myers, at a press conference at ICE headquarters.
Most of the alleged gang members were in the United States illegally and about one fourth had violent criminal histories, Myers said.
Several of the arrests were in large cities such as New York, which had the highest number, 205. In addition, 160 people were arrested in Miami, and 121 in Dallas.
But many were also arrested in smaller urban areas, including 93 in Raleigh, N.C. and 34 in Boise, Idaho.
(Photo by Rick McKay/Cox News Service)
Former Mexican president says racism is dictating U.S. immigration policy
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox said Monday that the United States is letting racism dictate its policies, especially when it comes to immigration, the Associated Press reported.
“The xenophobics, the racists, those who feel they are a superior race … they are deciding the future of this nation,” Fox said, without naming names, in an interview with AP.
The interview was designed to promote Fox’s new book, “Revolution of Hope.”
To read more, click here.
Mexican president: It is “impossible” to stop illegal immigration with a fence
Mexican President Felipe Calderon said Monday that it is impossible to stop illegal immigration into the United States with a fence.
“It’s impossible to stop that by decree. It’s impossible to try to stop that with a fence. Why? Because the capital in America needs Mexican workers. And Mexican workers need opportunities of jobs. Capital and labor are like right shoe and left shoe, and one needs the other,” he said, in an interview with Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America.”
He later added: “It’s impossible to stop that. It’s natural. It’s an economic phenomenon.”
In addition, Calderon said it is “absolutely false” that Mexico wants to keep its citizens in the United States because of the millions of dollars in remittances that immigrants send back home to their relatives.
He said that Mexico loses many of its bravest, youngest and strongest people when they leave for the United States.
“I don’t want to see Mexico as a permanent provider of workers to the United States. I want to build the conditions in Mexico to provide the opportunities here in our land,” he said.
To read more, click here.
Immigration advocates: Mexico “criminalizing” Central Americans
Mexico’s immigration authority has set off howls from immigrant-rights advocates by announcing plans to fingerprint and photograph the mostly Central American migrants that pass through its detention facilities.
Human rights groups say the new rules show Mexico is treating migrants like criminals, and they are adding them to a list of grievances: Authorities along Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala have long been accused of robbing and attacking Central Americans and human rights groups have decried conditions in Mexico’s detention facilities.
Many have accused Mexican authorities of hypocrisy: demanding fair treatment of Mexicans who cross illegally into the United States while providing less than stellar treatment to the legion of Central Americans who pass through the country on their way north.
“One can understand the need to keep track of the people that pass through the immigration stations, but not to treat them like criminals, because that means punishing poverty and that is unacceptable for a country like Mexico,” reads this morning’s editorial in El Universal. “Our policy should be respect for human rights; punishing criminals yes, but not turning our immigration facilities into ‘guantanamos’ or ‘abu-graibs’ in training.’”
Mexican officials say the new rules represent an important technological advance and aren’t meant to criminalize migrants.
Tancredo: “Rogue” mayors who oppose border fence are loyal to Mexico
Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican who is running for president, blasted a handful of Texas mayors Monday for refusing to give the federal government access to their land to build a border fence.
“These mayors are jeopardizing national security with their not-in-my-backyard attitude,” Tancredo said. “Congress approved the border fence with the overwhelming support of the American people to protect our nation from terrorists and illegal aliens and it will not be thwarted by a handful of rogue mayors.”
Mayors in Brownsville, Del Rio and El Paso have reportedly denied access to some parts of their city property, turning away federal workers trying to begin preliminary work on a fence between the United States and Mexico.
Tancredo suggested that the fence should be built north of those cities, moving the urban areas into Mexico.
“These mayors have already demonstrated that their hearts and loyalties lie with Mexico — perhaps they’d feel more comfortable if their cities were geographically located there as well,” he said.
Tancredo is shown here at a GOP presidential candidate forum last month.
To read more, click here.
Illegal immigrant crackdown hurting real estate market?
In Prince William County, near Washington, D.C., a combination of anti-illegal immigrant policies and an excess of housing will likely exacerbate the county’s weak real estate market, the Washington Post reported Friday.
“If I’m not welcome somewhere, I’m going to sell my house,” Jose Luis Semidey, a real estate agent told the Post.
The county’s anti-illegal immigrant measures, which he and a coalition of other Latino businessmen are fighting, “have accelerated the collapse of the real estate market in the minority community,” Semiday added.
To read more, click here.
Fearing deportation, immigrant parents pull their kids from school in Dallas suburb
The superintendent of the Irving school district said some immigrant parents have pulled their children from school over fears that they or their families will be deported, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
Jack Singley (pictured) said about 90 children have withdrawn from 33,000-student public school district in the last week, the AP said.
The Mexican Consulate has advised people to avoid driving through the Dallas suburb in response to the Irving Police Department’s participation in a program with federal immigration authorities to identify illegal immigrants who have been arrested and deport them.
To read more, click here.
Bush’s SCHIP veto could hurt GOP with Latino voters
President Bush’s veto of a children’s insurance measure could hurt many poor Hispanics and further erode Latino support for the GOP, political experts and liberal activicts said.
The legislation would have expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, by $35 billion over five years. The program serves thousands of Latino children who lack private health insurance.
Thomas Mann, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said Bush’s veto is enormously unpopular with almost every group in the country, including Hispanics.
“The veto, especially if sustained in the House by Republicans, is bound to further weaken Republican support among Latinos,” he said.
John Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College in California, said that Democrats will surely run Spanish language ads on the issue during the 2008 election cycle.
“Republicans have a reasonable policy argument against the measure, but it sounds complex and abstract,” Pitney said. “The Democratic argument is simple and strong: ‘We want to help kids but Bush and his friends do not.’”
In addition, Pitney said that Republicans will have to explain why they are suddenly showing fiscal restraint after spending money “like drunken sailors.”
“Democrats will ask why the GOP is suddenly sobering up when facing a program that helps poor Hispanic kids,” he said.
The impact could be less than expected, however, because some Latino groups did not embrace the measure since it would have barred thousands of legal immigrant children from participating in the insurance program.
President Bush contends that expanding the program’s eligibility limits would encourage middle-class families to drop their private insurance and cover their children under the taxpayer-supported plan. The White House has also said that the measure “goes too far toward federalizing health care.”
In a memo, the White House said that the bill passed by Congress would enable SCHIP to cover children in some households with incomes up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level, or $83,000 per year.
Despite the potential benefit for many Latino children, some Hispanic groups don’t like the SCHIP bill.
They are upset that congressional negotiators stripped a provision that would have lifted a ban on legal immigrant children who have been in the United States less than five years from participating in the SCHIP program.
Jennifer Ngandu, a senior health policy analyst at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights group, said the move effectively denied health care to about 400,000 Latino children who are in the United States legally.
“While this bill would have extended coverage to Latino children, Congress cannot say with conviction that they removed all the barriers for Latino children, as they chose to leave a significant part of the population behind,” she said.
GOP lawmakers decry “activist judge” in no-match rule case, compare him to dictator
Members of the House Immigration Reform Caucus, which seeks stronger immigration controls, lashed out at a federal judge for putting on hold a federal effort to crack down on companies that hire illegal immigrants.
Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas (pictured), said: “A judge who ignores or violates the law under the pretense of enforcing it places himself or herself in the same camp as leaders from the most corrupt, dictatorial, or backward countries in the world.”
He later added: “It is unconscionable that some well educated jurists have not yet grasped the superlative and enlightened concept of that separation of powers.”
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said: “The liberal left movement in this country, whether legislatively or through the judicial system, is doing everything it can to encourage an illegal alien invasion of our country…It may not be treason, but it certainly does not reflect loyalty to the American people.”
And Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., who chairs the caucus, said: “We cannot allow this unholy alliance of big labor, big business and activist judges prevent us from enforcing our immigration laws.”
The federal judge in San Francisco extended a hold on a Department of Homeland Security rule for 10 days until he decides on the legality of the program.
Under the rule, a company that ignores warning letters about employees with potentially fake Social Security numbers could be fined up to $10,000 per employee or face criminal prosecution.
The judge’s ruling resulted from a lawsuit brought forth by the AFL-CIO, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration Law Center and other groups
The lawsuit says that the rule “will threaten jobs of U.S. citizens and other legally authorized workers simply because of errors in the government’s inaccurate Social Security earnings databases,” according to a press release.
In addition, it says that the rule “violates workers’ rights and imposes burdensome obligations on employers who receive ‘no-match’ letters that inform an employer of alleged discrepancies between employee records and the Social Security Administration database.”
Border city mayors refusing to let feds work on fence
Mayors along the Texas-Mexico border have begun a quiet protest of the federal government’s plans to build a fence along the border by refusing to give access to their land, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Mayors in Brownsville, Del Rio and El Paso have denied access to some parts of their city property, turning away federal employees assigned to begin surveys or conduct other preliminary work on the fence meant to keep out illegal immigrants, the story said.
“This is exercising our rights. This is our property. We are not going to make it easy for them,” said Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada (pictured), who refused last month to sign documents granting government workers permission to enter city property.
To read more, click here.
AFL-CIO pleased at delay of “no-match” rule
The president of the nation’s largest labor organization said he was “pleased” that a federal judge extended an order which put on hold a Bush administration rule designed to crack down on businesses that hire illegal immigrants.
Under the rule, a company that ignores warning letters about employees with potentially fake Social Security numbers could be fined up to $10,000 per employee or face criminal prosecution.
“We are pleased that the judge saw the need to continue to block this rule that would lead to increased exploitation of workers,” said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO. “More than 70 percent of (Social Security Administration) discrepancies refer to U.S. citizens but the Department of Homeland Security regulation would encourage employers to fire any worker based on these erroneous discrepancies, especially if she has an accent or is perceived to be foreign born.”
A federal judge in San Francisco extended the hold for 10 days until he rules on the legality of the program.
The judge’s ruling resulted from a lawsuit brought by the AFL-CIO, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration Law Center and other groups
The lawsuit says that the rule “will threaten jobs of U.S. citizens and other legally authorized workers simply because of errors in the government’s inaccurate Social Security earnings databases,” according to a press release.
In addition, it says that the rule “violates workers’ rights and imposes burdensome obligations on employers who receive ‘no-match’ letters that inform an employer of alleged discrepancies between employee records and the Social Security Administration database.”
To read more about the new rule, click here.
Chertoff: Illegal immigrants “degrade the environment” along the border
Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff defended the construction of a fence along the southwest border, saying it’s actually better for the environment than what happens when people illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico line, the Associated Press reported Monday.
“Illegal migrants really degrade the environment. I’ve seen pictures of human waste, garbage, discarded bottles and other human artifact in pristine areas,” Chertoff said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “And believe me, that is the worst thing you can do to the environment.”
To curb illegal immigration, the U.S. government plans to complete 370 miles of fencing and put 200 miles of vehicle barriers on the southwest border by the end of 2008. But this has brought complaints that the fence and barriers are harmful to the environment, the story said.
To read more, click here.
Richardson raises $5.2 million
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who is trying to become the nation’s first Hispanic president, raised about $5.2 million for his White House bid during the last three months, bringing his total fundraising for the year to more than $18 million, the Associated Press reported Monday.
The numbers could solidify Richardson’s position behind the three top-polling and top fundraising Democrats, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards, the story said.
To read more, click here.
Permalink | |