Immigration News

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Senate Vote Saves Immigration Bill Chances

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate rejected a California Democrat's plan to allow the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country to remain, work and eventually become Americans, preserving a fragile bipartisan coalition needed to pass the bill.

Several lawmakers who voted against the proposal offered by Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Tuesday said they did so reluctantly, but out of necessity to ensure survival of the broader immigration bill. The legislation is expected to win Senate passage Wednesday or Thursday.

"This legislation is on the edge of the ledge as it is," said Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, one of the Republicans supporting a delicate compromise that has kept the bill alive - letting two-thirds of illegal immigrants stay but making the other third leave.

Feinstein's amendment, defeated 61 to 37, would have supplanted the compromise that allows illegal immigrants here five years or more to stay and work six years and seek legal residency after paying back taxes and fines and showing they were learning English.

Those in the country two to five years under the compromise would have to go to a point of entry, exit and file an application to return as a guest worker. Those here less than two years must leave the country, but could apply from their native country to return as a guest worker and wait in line to get a visa.

"I have come to believe that the three-tiered system is unworkable, that it would create a bureaucratic nightmare and it would lead to substantial fraud," Feinstein said Tuesday.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said the compromise bill could mean losing Latinos in his state who have helped revive some of its small towns by buying homes and starting small businesses.

Feinstein offered the plan just before Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist set the stage for a preliminary vote Wednesday that could quickly bring the bill to a final vote. The bill appears headed for passage.

A bigger fight on the bill is still to come - when the House and Senate meet to negotiate a compromise bill. The House passed an enforcement-only bill that makes illegal immigrants felons, cracks down on hiring of illegal immigrants and steps up border security. It offers no path to citizenship or a guest worker program, which critics say is amnesty.

"If we are lucky, the House of Representatives will say it's got to be better," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said of the Senate bill after predicting Monday it would pass.

Feinstein's proposal faced an uphill climb. Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said it suffered the same "infirmities" as the bipartisan bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which offered citizenship for all illegal immigrants.

Feinstein's proposal required all illegal immigrants to register with the Department of Homeland Security, get fingerprinted and go through criminal and national security background checks.

They would get an "orange card" encrypted with identifying information and signifying they are legal workers after passing the background checks, demonstrating an understanding of English, U.S. history and government and paying back taxes and a $2,000 fine to apply.

They would go to the back of the line and could apply for legal permanent residency when a number they are given is reached.

Also Monday, the Senate showed support for President Bush's plan to deploy National Guard troops to the border by endorsing an amendment authorizing governors to order their state's Guard units to perform duties in border states.

[Soldier4Christ]

Immigration bill nears passage in U.S. Senate

A sweeping immigration law overhaul that would toughen border security and give millions of illegal immigrants a path to U.S. citizenship headed for Senate passage on Thursday as backers prepared for a bruising battle with the House of Representatives.

The Senate was due to vote on passage later on Thursday. The bipartisan bill and the coalition pushing it forward withstood several attempts by opponents to dramatically change the legislation and in some cases to kill it outright.

Backers said they hope a strong bipartisan vote will help them in negotiation with the House. Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida said he hoped to get a strong showing for the bill from his fellow Republicans.

The issue divides Republicans and several opponents said they hope to get another shot at reworking the bill during Senate negotiations with the House, which passed a vastly different bill that steps up border security and enforcement, and could lead to deportation of many illegal immigrants.

"I am hopeful the House will save us from this bill," said Sen. John Ensign, a Nevada Republican.

The Senate and House bills have to be merged before a final measure can be sent to President George W. Bush for his signature. It is unclear whether the two chambers will be able to resolve their differences before the November congressional elections.

"The Senate has provisions that go far beyond (the House bill) and I don't underestimate the difficulties of the House and Senate trying to come together," said House Majority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican.

Bush, mindful of the growing clout of Hispanic voters, backs a comprehensive approach close to the Senate bill. That measure couples border security and enforcement with a guest worker program and a plan to give some of the 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants a way to become U.S. citizens.

Polls show immigration reform is important to Americans, and many Republicans believe that delivering to Bush a bill that he could sign into law would assuage some of voters' concerns and help their sagging poll ratings.

Many lawmakers say Bush will have to become deeply involved in the bargaining over a final bill for it to be agreed upon before the November elections, when Democrats hope to make their best showing in more than a decade.

 Bush, who has long supported immigration reform, has been trying to address conservative Republicans' concerns about border security. In a nationally televised address this month he said that thousands of National Guard troops would be deployed to help secure the leaky border with Mexico.

But that approach was dismissed by many conservatives in the House as inadequate.

[Soldier4Christ]

Border checks choke crossings


CALAIS - Stepped up screening of travelers slowed traffic to a crawl at Maine's border stations earlier this week, creating long lines and causing some U.S. merchants to see red.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials increased their frequency of identification checks last weekend, saying it's not a new policy and the checking will continue. It caused delays of 40 minutes or longer at some crossings, and merchants worry that potential Canadian customers will turn around rather than wait in line.

"It's 100 percent checks for anyone over 14 and under 79 years of age," Charles Pelletier, the port director at Madawaska, said Tuesday. "We received a memo from the Boston Field Office [last weekend].

"I don't know if it's permanent, but it will continue for a period of time," Pelletier said. "New procedures are coming for January 2008. Maybe this is part of it."

President Bush has pushed for a passport-only entry into this country, although he has hinted in recent weeks at some kind of "flexibility."

Pelletier believes it may be a transition period to get people adjusted to the new procedures coming down the road. He believes the directive is for the entire northern border of the country, or at least for all border stations overseen by the Boston Field Office, which involves all of New England.

Ted Woo, a public information spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Boston, said the practice is not new.

"We are increasing the frequency of checking identification," he said. "That's our job: to check who enters the country. This is not a special operation, and it is not a change in policy. It will continue."

He said the process would become faster when the passport is used for entry. In the meantime, he said, it is "increased security checks."

"Expect it to continue," Woo added.

On Wednesday he acknowledged that there had been some long delays and that border agents have begun using "mitigating factors" to ease the delays. As an example, he said, someone well known to agents who may cross the border several times a day may not have to stop each time and produce identification.

Photo identification cards such as a driver's license, a Maine identification card or passport (current or expired) are acceptable, but documents such as a birth certificate or voter registration card are also acceptable.

The rub comes when border officials have to type information into their computers. Passports are the only identification that can be scanned directly into their system.

It's unusual to find long lines at border crossings at this time of year, but that's what happened last weekend at various border crossings as federal officers asked to see driver's licenses or identification cards. They then had to keyboard in the person's name and other information. Travelers who encountered an agent with limited typing skills faced an excruciating wait.

Pelletier said the line in Madawaska was 40 minutes long Saturday during periods of higher traffic. Most of the time, he said, it was 20 to 25 minutes. In Calais, lines were longer and people were complaining that they had to wait for more than an hour in some cases.

While travelers are upset, merchants on the U.S. side of the border are hopping mad.

The stepped up ID checks began Friday, just in time for Canada's Victoria weekend, when Canadians head south to shop or to enjoy a holiday in the United States. This year border merchants anticipated seeing gold because the Canadian dollar was on par with the U.S. dollar for the first time in years. They were rubbing their hands, expecting a resurgence in business that has languished for years because of the differences in the values of the currencies.

But the long holiday weekend turned out to be a bad dream for merchants. Many Canadians caught in the glut of traffic turned around and went home.

The locals are not happy.

One American living in Canada - who has a passport - waited 25 minutes to cross Tuesday morning. "They were checking 100 percent - every person, every dog, every cat," she said. "This is going to kill Calais business."

Linda Howe, president of the St. Croix Valley Chamber of Commerce in Calais, said she'd heard from unhappy merchants. "Merchants felt finally the Canadian dollar is strong, finally saw some light at the end of the tunnel and wham, this hit them like a ton of bricks," she said.

The Chamber has contacted Maine's U.S. congressional delegation. "We hope that we won't have to deal with this all summer long," she said.

Sen. Susan Collins said she had contacted "officials with Customs and Border Patrol to express my concern about the serious traffic backups at the U.S.-Canada border. CBP has assured me that they will advise port directors at the border to use discretion to help relieve the tie-ups. This is especially important as we head into the busy Memorial Day weekend. I will continue to press Customs and Border Patrol to improve its efficiency as we attempt to balance homeland security concerns with the practical reality of day-to-day life in border communities."

"This is going to have a profound effect on business in the community," Calais assistant City Manager Jim Porter said.

In Houlton, merchants reported no ill effects. In fact, several reported business as usual or better.

At Marden's in Houlton, management team member Karla Hersey quickly brushed off the idea that the identification policy might have affected business at the discount store.

"Heavens, no," Hersey said Tuesday afternoon. "Our Canadian business has increased. On the weekends, especially, our parking lot is packed with cars that have Canadian [license] plates. ... It's been really good."

The same was true at Doc's Place, a gas station and convenience store on the North Road. Manager Brian Williams said that the business, which is near Interstate 95, sees a lot of Canadian patrons. Thus far, he doesn't believe those numbers have dropped.

Although traffic at the Houlton port of entry was brisk Tuesday afternoon, there did not seem to be a significant delay in automobiles crossing into the United States.

The picture wasn't as rosy in Madawaska, where the stepped-up security was creating business problems.

"We've seen plenty of complaints the past two days," Dennis Michaud, executive director of the Greater Madawaska Chamber of Commerce, said Tuesday. "The calls are not only from businesses but local citizens going back and forth.

"I am also getting calls from Canadians saying they won't bother coming to the U.S.," he added. "They will stay home because they don't want the hassle at the border. They don't want to bother with it."

Citizens of the United States cannot be refused entry, but passage through the port of entry can be delayed for those not having photo identification cards while inquiries are made.

The Maine Tourism Association also is worried.

"Obviously any delay isn't good for us," Vaughn Stinson, chief executive officer of the MTA, said Tuesday. "We don't want people inconvenienced. My concern beyond this is the new border procedures that will go in another year or thereabouts where everybody has to have a passport."

Stinson said if the delays last, it will be a problem. "Anything beyond 10 minutes I hate to see," he said, "and 45 minutes I can see how people would be very short-tempered with that. Getting [in line] longer becomes much more unacceptable to the visitor."

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud said Tuesday he'd received calls from Mainers who were tired of waiting at the border and was checking with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to see what is causing the delays.

Although there is a need for heightened alert during these difficult times, the congressman said the state's border with Canada was nothing like the southern border shared with Mexico.

"We can intelligently and responsibly manage the northern border in a way that ensures our security without unnecessarily hampering travel and commerce across the border," he said.

[Soldier4Christ]

House Republican Firm on Immigration Bill

The House author of a border security bill that triggered massive street protests stood firm Friday against amnesty for illegal immigrants and predicted tough negotiations with the Senate on compromise legislation.

The Senate passed its sweeping bill 62-36 Thursday after two weeks of debate and difficult votes that tested the strength of a coalition of bipartisan senators who supported the opportunity for U.S. citizenship that their bill would give most of the estimated 11 million to 12 million people who are in this country illegally.

"This will set up a very difficult House-Senate conference committee because the approaches taken by the House and Senate on this issue have been 180 degrees apart," said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, chairman of the Judiciary Committee and principal author of the more stringent House bill.

"Amnesty is wrong," he told a news conference.

President Bush said Thursday that the House "began a national dialogue" when it passed an immigration bill last year and he said he "looked forward to working together" with lawmakers to produce a bill he could sign.

He declined to answer a question later about whether he thought the House and Senate could succeed in finding a compromise for their disparate positions on the issue.

But he did say that an effective measure would protect U.S. borders, make employers responsible for people they hire, create a temporary worker program, deal with the illegal immigrants already in the U.S. and "honor America's great tradition of the melting pot."

Soon after passing their bill, senators challenged the House to move away from its enforcement-only prescription and toward something more in line with what Bush wants.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said he hoped the House would see the legislation as a rare opportunity. "We should seize this moment so America can move forward," he said.

Sen. Patrick Leahy described the Senate bill as a start. but said getting a final agreement "is still a 50-50 proposition."

Yet House Majority Leader John Boehner said House negotiators will oppose "troubling policies that encourage open borders and invite more illegal immigrants into our country."

"Our most important priority is to secure our borders and stop illegal immigration," said Boehner, R-Ohio.

GOP Rep. Peter King of New York, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he would vote against any legislation that included amnesty or legalization for illegal immigrants. King is expected to be among the House negotiators.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., who voted for the Senate bill, said he would seek to have negotiations begin soon.

Republican Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who sponsored an early version of the Senate bill in the House, urged House Speaker Dennis Hastert to follow Frist's lead "so we can begin the difficult task of reaching a consensus."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. argued for finishing the bill before the November elections.

"This is one problem that is not going to wait until the next election," Graham said. "If you win or lose because you make a hard decision, so be it."

Politics has been an undercurrent as the Senate has tried to write legislation that would satisfy unions, immigration hawks, businesses and advocates for Latinos, and other interests. Several leaders involved in the debate, including Frist and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., are considering 2008 presidential runs.

Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the electorate. Thousands, including some illegal immigrants, joined street protests to denounce the House bill and call for broader legislation.

"The Latino community and the rest of the country want effective immigration reform that brings order and fairness to our system," said Janet Murguia, National Council of La Raza president.

Senate leaders agreed that their success in conference will depend greatly on Bush.

"Now the time has come for very active participation by the president," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa. "I believe the president will put a very heavy shoulder to the wheel."

A chief architect of the Senate bill, Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., said he would "welcome the strong leadership of the president of the United States in this undertaking."

The House bill, which passed on a largely party-line vote last year, is generally limited to border enforcement. It would make all illegal immigrants subject to felony charges. It has no provision for either a new temporary worker program or citizenship for men, women and children unlawfully in the country.

The Senate bill, in contrast, would mark the most far-reaching changes in two decades by:

_Urging the hiring of 1,000 more Border Patrol agents this year and 14,000 by 2011.

_Endorsing Bush's plan for a short-term deployment of National Guard troops to states along the border with Mexico.

_Calling for the construction of 370 miles of fencing on the border.

The guest worker program would admit 200,000 individuals a year. They eventually could apply for a green card, which confers legal permanent residency.

A separate program envisions admission of an estimated 1.5 million immigrant farm workers who also may apply for permanent residency

For illegal immigrants, those in the country for five years could stay, keep working and eventually apply for citizenship. They would have to pay at least $3,250 in fines and fees, settle back taxes and learn English.

Illegal immigrants in the country for more than two years but less than five would have to travel to a point of entry before re-entering the United States legally and beginning the lengthy process of seeking citizenship.

An immigrant in the country illegally for less than two years would be required to leave with no guarantee of return.

[Soldier4Christ]

Illegals without driver’s licenses register cars

Local police are nabbing growing numbers of illegal immigrants for unlicensed driving because porous state laws allow them to register business and personal vehicles without first getting driver’s licenses, a Herald review found.
     Police chiefs in several communities said the legal loophole, which grants special vehicle registration numbers to people without licenses, leads to risky conditions on the roadways as more and more illegal immigrants seek to drive without training or authority.

“It’s lawlessness,” Malden police Chief Kenneth Coye said. “There is no regard for standards . . . and I think there is a sense among a lot of people that it’s no big thing.”
   
    The problem has attracted the attention of Registry of Motor Vehicles officials, and a state lawmaker is crafting legislation to eliminate the loophole by requiring people to prove legal immigration status before registering vehicles.
   
    “As a country, we have been pretty lax in this area,” Sen. Richard R. Tisei (R-Wakefield) said of the loose regulations that create so much leeway for illegal immigrants. “We’re finding a whole mess of laws and regulations that provide tremendous loopholes.”
   
    Police officials say the state’s growing population of illegal immigrants - estimates put the figure between 175,000 and 250,000 people - has forced them to deal with local fallout on an increasing basis. Milford police Chief Thomas O’Loughlin said his officers regularly encounter illegal aliens driving without licenses, often in contractors’ trucks they are using to get to and from work.
   
    In some cases, he said, illegal aliens even have IRS tax identification numbers and state business registrations. “Hypocrisy is the rule of the day,” he said, referring to sporadic enforcement of immigration laws. “From the perspective of good government, it’s just winking and nodding. It’s sad.”
   
    The issue has inflamed passions on both sides of the immigration debate. Republicans in the state Senate passed two proposals last night to crack down on illegal aliens by creating a phone tip line to report illegals, and forcing courts to check a suspect’s legal status at arraignment. Neither measure has yet been signed into law.
   
    While law enforcement officials decry what they see as an erosion of the rule of law, immigrant advocates say the fact that people working illegally are obtaining tax IDs is evidence they are trying to to play by the rules.

“These people are already here, they’re already working and they need to be able to adjust their status,” advocate Ali Noorani said.
   
    Advocates say preventing illegal immigrants from registering vehicles will not improve road safety or stop the undocumented workers from driving.
   
    “The reality is that people need to drive and they will drive,” said Thomas Keown of the Irish Immigration Center. “We can face that reality or pretend it’s not there.”

[Soldier4Christ]

White House compares illegal immigration to speeding

The White House on Friday said a Senate bill that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants is analogous to a traffic law that allows a speeder to pay a fine and continue driving.

"If you had a traffic ticket and you paid it, you're not forever a speeder, are you?" White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said in response to questions from The Examiner.

"So the fact is, you have paid your debt to society," he added. "And we have come up with a way to make sure that the debt to society gets paid. Then you move forward."

The "traffic ticket" analogy raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill, where many House Republicans regard illegal immigration as a grave crime.

"I don't know if Tony meant to trivialize it or not," said Will Adams, spokesman for Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. "But it's certainly misleading."

"The penalty for a speeding ticket is a fine," he added. "The penalty for being here illegally is being removed from this country. But the president doesn't want illegal aliens to go home."

Snow emphasized that illegals would have to pay fines, learn English and wait years for a chance at full citizenship. But Adams called that "a slap on the hand" compared to deportation.

"Here's a more apt analogy," he said. "You get stopped for speeding, and you say to the cop: "Hey listen, you're about to give me a $300 ticket. How about we make it 20 bucks and just call it even?"

Snow predicted that House Republicans would eventually drop their opposition to the Senate bill, which passed Thursday. The bill, which includes a guest worker program that would grant legal status to aliens, is headed to a conference committee for possible reconciliation with a House bill aimed at beefing up border security.

Snow suggested the guest worker program could be sold to even ardent opponents like Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

"Chairman Sensenbrenner, who's got some real problems with various aspects, has said publicly that the temporary worker program has merit," Snow said.

"There are areas in which members of the House are going to agree with the president," he added. "I certainly don't want to be speaking for Chairman Sensenbrenner, but the fact is, you know politics."

But Sensenbrenner appeared unmoved.

"What's going on now, in calling it a pathway to citizenship or earned legalization, is not honest because it is amnesty," he said at a news conference.

[Soldier4Christ]

National Guard units to be armed, close to border
Chief says rules of engagement allow troops to fire weapons

The head of the U.S. National Guard surprised Border Patrol officials, declaring some of the troops he will send to assist them will work in close proximity to the border, be armed and allowed to fire their weapons if necessary.

"Any soldier assigned to a mission where he would be placed in harm or danger, where his life would be threatened potentially, will in fact be armed and will have the inherent right of self-protection," Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum told the San Antonio Express-News Thursday.

Federal troops are scheduled to begin deployment to the four states on the Mexican border next week once the Guard and the Defense Department approve the memorandum of understanding that will define the mission's parameters. The document will also require signatures from the border governors.

Representatives from the National Guard and the offices of the governors of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California have been meeting in Phoenix this week to craft an agreement on the use of force. The talks have focused on "harmonization" of the different states' laws on self-defense and the use of deadly force, said Texas National Guard commander Army Maj. Gen. Charles G. Rodriguez.

The rules of engagement "will be the same in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas," said Blum.

According to the current plan, the National Guard will conduct border securty operations for two years while the Border Patrol and U.S. Customs increase their numbers. The number of troops deployed at any given time would represent less than 2 percent of available Guard forces, none of which will be assigned from states likely to experience hurricanes this year.

While the Guard will assist with many support functions – conducting aerial surveillance and reconnaissance, building new roads and fences, providing intelligence and analysis to help track illegal crossings, transporting Border Patrol officers and detainees, and assisting with a number of logistics functions – some of their duties will put them in close proximity to the border and illegal crossers.

Troops stationed at vehicle inspection stations and engineers working along the border could be armed, said Blum, with M-16s, 9-mm handguns and shotguns.

"But we're not going to be carrying machine guns. We're not going to be carrying heavy weapons. We're not at war here," Blum said, adding he wants his troops "to be in a position to protect themselves."

Blum pointed to a long-standing relationship between the National Guard and the Mexican government stemming from past cooperative drug-interdiction efforts to say he doesn't believe the Guard's presence will be viewed negatively by Mexico. Among Mexicans, he said, the Guard is viewed "in a far more positive light than they would active-duty troops."

Border Patrol spokesman Todd Fraser expressed surprise that the Guard would be carrying out surveillance operations in close proximity to the border, saying his understanding was that troops would work in support roles repairing and maintaining Border Patrol vehicles, manning remote-surveillance cameras and giving agents advanced firearms training.

"As far as I know, a National Guard unit deployed along the border, right on the line, that's not a scenario I had heard about," said Fraser.

When told that Guard troops working as entry identification teams and engineers along the border would be armed and would not be required to wait for someone else to shoot at them first before using their weapons, Fraser termed the rule "silly."

"If [a Guardsman] has to fire, he has a right to fire," Blum said. "There are judgment calls that have to be made by mature, disciplined soldiers, and I'm confident that these soldiers have the discipline, the training, and the experience and judgment to make the proper call or we wouldn't be employing them in this mission."

[Soldier4Christ]

Some Mexican migrants take an underground route to US

By Richard Marosi, Los Angeles Times  |  May 26, 2006

SAN DIEGO -- Armando Reyes climbed over the border fence and prepared for the dash into San Diego. But his smuggler instead led him and four other migrants through a patch of reeds to a smelly drainage pipe, and ordered them inside.

The black sludge reached Reyes's chin as he crawled through the shoulder-width tube. Rats scurried by. Terrified of losing his way in the darkness, Reyes reached for the migrant in front of him and clutched his sneaker.

The stocky 28-year-old from Oaxaca had followed the smuggler into a vast labyrinth of drainage pipes under Otay Mesa, a booming commercial area 15 miles southeast of downtown San Diego.

The 23-mile network leads to more than 500 manholes scattered across about 2 square miles. From these openings, mud-covered migrants crawl out into streets, busy intersections, and parking lots, creating a dizzying guessing game for US Border Patrol agents.

``They're popping up all over the place," said Joe Perez, the agent in charge of the area.

The migrant traffic below truck-clogged streets and new office parks underscores the persistence and desperation of people faced with crossing one of the most heavily fortified sections of the border.

Illegal crossings will soon become even tougher. President Bush is sending 6,000 National Guard troops to the border, Congress is mulling other enforcement plans, and next month this busy stretch of border across from Tijuana will be monitored by remote surveillance cameras.

So the underground beckons.

The tunnels channel rainwater out of flood-prone areas, but when the waters aren't running, the waves of migrants flow.

The cat-and-mouse game took an ironic turn last month when migrants even surfaced outside the offices of the US Border Tunnel Task Force. After that, some manhole covers -- one in a secured parking lot -- were welded shut. One was also topped with three 35-pound bags of rocks and gravel.

But six more manholes, all potential escape hatches, lie unlocked within a block of the federal facility. ``They're all interlinked, so you never know where they'll come up," said David Badger, a Border Patrol supervisor.

Other border cities have wrestled with similar situations, most notably Nogales, Ariz., which is linked underground to Nogales, Mexico, by two large storm-drain tunnels that are patrolled regularly by heavily armed agents.

Border Patrol agents have arrested hundreds of migrants exiting storm drains in the last year, but don't know how many people get through. Some estimate that thousands make it.

The problem has grown serious enough that agents are teaming with San Diego city engineers to create a computer map of the system. Research is also under way to find a way to attach sensors to manholes to alert agents when they are opened. Crews have welded shut about a dozen manholes known to be active migrant funnels.

At the tunnel task force, the federal multiagency group credited with the discovery in January of the longest illegal tunnel ever found under the border, a top official said the storm drains present a unique problem.

``It's not like when you have . . . a drug tunnel. We can't go in there and just fill them up with cement," said Michael Unzueta, the special agent in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

[airIam2worship]

That is very scary PR

[Soldier4Christ]

Yes, it is.

[Soldier4Christ]

Aztlan group blamed
for newspaper theft
'MEChA' vandals censor campus paper
in retaliation for 'racist,' 'biased' coverage

Police at Pasadena City College in Southern California say they have no suspects in the theft of 5,000 copies of the campus newspaper despite a claim by students identifying themselves as members of Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan – MEChA – saying they were responsible.

The theft, which occurred a week ago, was first noticed by distribution manager Kris Calnon while on his way to the Campus Courier's office. An empty newsstand that he had held 300 papers only two hours before caught his eye.

"I gave it three bundles," he said. "It usually takes a day and a half to empty."

According to Calnon, 10 minutes later, a student came to the office to say he had seen a man grab a stack of papers from the women's gym and carry it onto the men's gym.

While Calnon left to investigate, Courier photographer Daniel Lottes stayed behind. A few minutes later, four or five people entered the office carrying large black garbage bags.

"When they first walked in I thought they were bringing something in from the event [going on across the hall]," he said.

When a woman placed one of the bags on the table near his equipment, Lottes said he thought nothing of it. "Oh, let me move my camera," he said.

The woman handed him a letter, saying, "This is for the Courier staff – it will explain everything in the letter."

The letter accompanying over 2,000 torn copies of the Courier read:

    We were very dissapointed at the lack of coverage based on our high school conference. It has dishearted us to see no full length article, and a photo that did not represent our program.

    Months of hard work went into our high school conference, and it was our hope to see recognition of our hard work in the campus newspaper.

    We see this as a representitive example of the attitude the Campus Courier has toward higher education, and towards MEChA.

    As students of P.C.C., we can not accept this issue of the Campus Courier.

MEChA, founded at U.C. Santa Barbara in 1969, has been accused of being a racist group by its critics who point to the organzation's stated goal of returning the American Southwest to Mexico.

Pasadena's MEChA members – there are 15 to 20 – insist their group is like other campus clubs, with the stated purpose to "bring awareness about Chicano issues to the public, and to promote community solidarity."

"MEChA came up to the Courier with, like, four trash bags full of newspapers with a note attached and said we weren't covering them properly, so this is what we get," news chief Dean Lee told the Pasadena Star.

A Courier reporter had covered a MEChA event for the edition that was stolen. Space constraints, however, resulted in only a photograph and caption being published.

"They said it was racist and biased," Lee said.

Prof. James Aragon, one of MEChA's campus advisers, said he had no knowledge of any member's involvment, but it was too soon to blame MEChA because the investigation was still underway.

"No adviser would ever condone any type of behavior that is illegal," he said.

MEChA has been accused before of stealing newspaers at other colleges.

In 2002, MEChA was implicated in the theft of thousands of copies of conservative newspapers at U.C. Berkeley and U.C. Davis after articles critical of the organization were printed.

MEChA members were accused of taking 7,500 copies of the campus paper at the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley and returning them in garbage bags.

"What once started as something of a college prank has become a genuine problem for student media," Mike Heistand, legal consultant at the Student Press Law Center, said. People see taking the free papers as an effective way of "preventing the message from getting out they don't want to get out."

[Soldier4Christ]

Immigration bill faces tough foe
Key congressman labels Senate plan 'a nonstarter'

Like a puppy greeting a snarling pit bull, the Senate's warm overtures of bipartisan good cheer following passage of its immigration bill Thursday night ran headlong Friday into a hostile and aggressive House reception by Rep. James Sensenbrenner.

The House Judiciary Committee chairman and author of the border crackdown bill that passed the House in December -- triggering nationwide protests by Latino immigrants and their supporters -- denounced the Senate bill as an amnesty for the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants and the employers who hire them.

Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., delighted in repeating a newspaper columnist's description of his negotiating tactics with senators -- "that I've been known to eat them for breakfast and pick my teeth with their bones."

He called the Senate bill "a nonstarter" and mocked White House efforts to convince House Republicans otherwise, setting up a potential collision with the Senate that could kill immigration action this year.

Sensenbrenner will lead the House side of the conference committee charged with merging the wildly different House and Senate bills. His legislation would make felons of illegal migrants and build a 700-mile fence on the border with Mexico, making his name all but a dirty word among Latinos.

White House officials fear his approach could demolish President Bush's long courtship of Latino voters, the nation's fastest growing voting bloc, considered by the White House a key to maintaining the GOP's weakening grip on the West.

The Senate bill would offer a path to citizenship for most illegal immigrants in the country, a guest worker program for new entrants, legalization of 1.5 million farmworkers, tougher border security and tighter employer enforcement.

Sensenbrenner said that the Senate's plan for illegal immigrants is amnesty and that senators are dishonest for labeling it earned citizenship. He ridiculed White House political czar Karl Rove as "guru in chief," pointedly noting that he did not attend the two recent meetings Rove held with House Republicans, leaving his colleagues free to inform Rove that "the president is not where the American people are at."

Bush has insisted that any immigration overhaul be "comprehensive," weighing in heavily for the Senate approach. He has said any bill should toughen enforcement but also provide broader avenues for legal entry through a guest worker program. In a televised Oval Office address two weeks ago, the president endorsed the Senate's offer of eventual citizenship to illegal immigrants who have established roots in the United States.

Bush, in a statement after Senate passage of its bill, said effective immigration reform must "address the issue of the millions of illegal immigrants already in our country, and honor America's great tradition of the melting pot."

Sensenbrenner pledged to try to reach a compromise with the Senate, even as he narrowed its grounds. A guest worker program might be acceptable, he allowed, but only if it denies permanent residence, and only after the borders have been closed and employers are no longer able to hire illegal workers, to "cut off the attraction of cheap jobs."

"If the Senate gets off the dime of pushing for amnesty ... then I think there's room for negotiation," he said. But he called the two chambers "oceans apart."

Still, he added, "the American people are demanding that something is done, and I want to do my best to make sure that something is done, but the right thing is done."

As for the estimated 12 million now in the country illegally, Sensenbrenner said the answer is to make their stay in the country so difficult that they leave willingly. Mass deportation is impractical, he acknowledged, but the same result could be achieved through attrition.

"With the border controls and the enforcement of employer sanctions, the jobs for illegal immigrants will dry up," Sensenbrenner said. "... And if you can't get a job because employer sanctions are enforced, my belief is that a lot of the illegal immigrants will simply go back home voluntarily."

Even if Sensenbrenner could persuade the White House and Senate Republicans to adopt his approach, Senate Democrats certainly would not. Democrats provided the majority of a tenuous political coalition in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Sensenbrenner said he would not block the formation of the conference committee itself, despite worry among some Republicans that it would open the way for political attacks by Democrats.

"I think the conference should go forward, because the existing system is probably the worst of all possible worlds, and we have an obligation, in my opinion, to try to work something out," Sensenbrenner said. He said the conference meetings should be held in public as often as possible, so everyone "can see what the Senate and House negotiators are doing on this issue ... so that the voters can go to the polls assessing how their representatives and senators have done on this issue before they decide who to send back."

Sensenbrenner dismissed complaints from businesses that many industries such as agriculture, restaurants and hotels would suffer from worker shortages if denied foreign workers. "Americans will do and have done any job as long as they're paid enough money," he said.

Sensenbrenner called the Senate bill a "carbon copy" of the 1986 amnesty signed by President Ronald Reagan.

That law also imposed the country's first sanctions on employers who hire illegal immigrants, but the sanctions broke down almost immediately under extensive document fraud that made them all but unenforceable. When they were enforced, they often met stiff resistance from the public as well as employers.

Sensenbrenner vowed never to repeat the mistakes of 1986.

"I don't plan on signing a conference report ... knowing full well that when I'm old and crabby -- and I'm not old and crabby now, everybody knows that -- sitting on my front porch, I don't have people come up to say, 'You made the biggest mistake of your career in signing off on a bill that ended up making the problem worse.' "

[Soldier4Christ]

Minutemen Building Ariz. Border Fence

 Scores of volunteers gathered at a remote ranch Saturday to help a civilian border-patrol group start building a short security fence in hopes of reducing illegal immigration from Mexico.

The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps plans to install a combination of barbed wire, razor wire, and in some spots, steel rail barriers along the 10-mile stretch of private land in southeastern Arizona.

 They hope it prompts the federal government to do the same along the entire Arizona border.

President Bush has pledged to deploy as many as 6,000 National Guard troops to strengthen enforcement at the border. The guardsmen would fill in on some behind-the-lines Border Patrol jobs while that agency's force is expanded.

But the Minutemen have said it's not enough. The group's founder, Chris Simcox, said they want a secure fence and they're starting at the site where his first patrols began in November 2002.

Rancher John Ladd and his son, Jack, were hopeful the effort would limit the illegal immigrants and drug runners who have cut the small fence along the property or just driven over it to cross into the U.S.

"We've been fighting this thing for 10 years with the fence, and nobody will do anything," Jack Ladd said.

Most of the day was dedicated to speeches from politicians and Minutemen leaders and celebrating large donations the Minutemen group has been receiving. As of midweek, the group had raised about $225,000 for fence materials and signed up about 1,000 volunteers to work on the project, organizers said.

"We're not going to stop. We're going to stay here with a group and keep building," said Timothy Schwartz of Glendale, Ariz., who was among at least 200 volunteers gathered. He said he wants a fence along the border from California to Texas.

Quetzal Doty of Sun Lakes, Ariz., a retired U.S. diplomatic consular officer, brought his wife, Sandy, to the event.

He said he's convinced the Minutemen and most Americans aren't anti- immigrant.

"They're just anti-illegal," said Doty. "The Minutemen walk the extra mile to avoid being anti-immigrant and that's what we like about the organization and what got us interested."

[Soldier4Christ]

Lessons from over the border

I worked and lived as an alien in Mexico for five years. Mexican immigration and visitor laws are rigid. All visitors are issued a three-month Tourist Card (visa) before entering the country. Like it or not, at three months you must leave the country. You may return immediately as long as you have a new visa issued out of the country.

Mexico basically does not want foreign workers. A few with special skills are allowed when there is no alternative. When that happens, we are fingerprinted and told that: we cannot own property; our children can not go to public schools; no social services are available; we must obey all laws; and we may say nothing derogatory about Mexico. If one disobeys, he does not want to think about the penalties such as Mexican jails. The ACLU would have a wonderful time in Mexico.

We have a very serious national security problem with our leaky borders and inept control of foreign visitors. In their rush to appear that they are doing something, our politicians should understand that many of the 10-20 million undocumented illegal aliens are in our country are not Mexicans. They were students or visitors, who with our lax controls dropped out of sight after entering our country. I assure you that this would not happen in Mexico.

We need hard-working, talented people like the Mexicans in our country. We must fund consulates to remove the bottlenecks that today force them to sneak into our country. Equally important, we must implement programs to tell us where they are living and working after they get here. If they become affiliated with city gangs or commit a felony, they should be immediately deported with no right to return.

Spending billions to build fences along our borders and adding security measures at entry points is inadequate because it does not address the national security problem of controlling aliens after they enter our country.

We must document the illegals in our country. There are too many to deport. We will have to give working visas with a time limit to those who can document their work histories and are willing to pay any back-taxes owed.

As “guest workers” they really should understand that the word “guest” implies that one is a temporary visitor who is not expected to overstay his welcome. We are an English-speaking nation. Some proficiency in our language is essential for both citizenship and for their ability to become productive citizens.

Most importantly, our politicians must not only make workable laws, but also adequately fund the INS and other organizations required for our effort to document all aliens living in our nation.

Thomas Bailey retired after running his own business, with 40 percent of its sales out of the country. In Mexico, he was general manager of a U.S. subsidiary that manufactured dental equipment. He has an MBA from Stanford and lives in the Bee Tree community in Swannanoa.

[Soldier4Christ]

'Speak English! This is America!'
Bloody brawl erupts at beauty salon as Spanish sparks customer clawfest


A Boston beauty salon was more bloody than beautiful this weekend when a brawl broke out over a customer speaking Spanish.

"Speak English! This is America!" one woman reportedly screamed at another at Kathy's Nail Design in the Dorchester section of the city.

The remark ignited a massive melee at the salon, with numerous women engaging in manicure-to-manicure combat.

"Ten years in this country, I never seen anything like this. The lady says 'Speak English, I don't want to hear Spanish!' and big fight happens," shop owner David Win told the Boston Herald. "There was blood in here and everything. There were a lot of customers in here. It [was] crazy."

Friday's incident prompted a call to 9-1-1, and an officer dispatched to break up the battle received scratches on his neck and arm.

Police say it began as one of the suspects, Sonia Pina, 20, was speaking Spanish to her cousin when another woman, Nakeisha Prichard, 20, went on the attack. Within minutes, at least four women were engaged in the salon scuffle.

"The two suspects began to argue and a fight ensued," said police spokeswoman Sharon Dottin.

Prichard allegedly pulled off her pump and began beating Pina with it, explaining to police, "I accidentally took my shoe off and hit her with it after she punched me."

She ended up with charges of assault and battery, resisting arrest, and assault on a police officer, inflicted by her newly manicured fake acrylic nails.

Pina was charged with assault and battery for allegedly punching Prichard in the face.

Later in the evening, the salon was packed with people conversing in several languages, including Vietnamese, Spanish, Portuguese and English.

"A lot of people are angry with us, but they are just stressed out with their own lives and taking it out on the immigrant people," Carmen Riveira, 28, a native of the Dominican Republic now living in Dorchester, told the Herald. "I pay my money to get my nails done. I can speak any language I want in here."

Another customer, Kristine DaRosa, 18, of Dorchester, said her family would be directly affected by the immigration-reform bill currently before Congress. One of her uncles is being deported to their native Cape Verde.

"All kinds of fights are going on because of this,'' said DaRosa. "People should just give everybody a chance.''