Immigration News

[Soldier4Christ]

Border Patrol union boss: Tighter border won't help


The head of the labor union that represents U.S. Border Patrol agents said Sunday the sweeping immigration reform bill passed by the Senate last week will do little to stop the "revolving door" he sees daily along the nation's border.

In his first public speech since passage of the Senate's bill, T.J. Bonner told a Las Vegas gathering of those opposed to illegal immigration that lawmakers had created "amnesty on steroids."

After describing what he considers decades of failed policies, Bonner said the solution isn't more Border Patrol agents, National Guard troops, technology or walls on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The answer, he said, is to "turn off the employer magnet ¦ (and) focus on the reason people are crossing borders."

Bonner is president of the National Border Patrol Council, representing 10,500 rank-and-file agents. He spoke to about 220 people from around the nation attending the second annual Unite to Fight Summit, held this weekend at Cashman Center.

The event drew dozens of protesters Saturday, but Sunday's gathering seemed to attract less controversy.

After taking the stage to a standing ovation, Bonner, a 28-year veteran of the Border Patrol, said measures to harden the border proposed by President Bush in recent weeks or contained in the Senate bill would accomplish little.

His remarks were greeted with frequent applause and huzzahs, bringing the event the atmosphere of a religious revival.

On sending 6,000 National Guard troops to the border: "It's great to have help, but they're only going to be able to do so much," and in some cases may wind up slowing the Border Patrol down.

On building 370 miles of wall, as proposed by the Senate: "There are four ways to get around a wall - go under it, over it, around it or through it."

Further, the Senate's proposal to offer a path to legalization for many of the nation's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants was doing little more than "rewarding someone for breaking the law."

He also said he believed there were closer to 20 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and that the very discussion of relief for them is already prompting more people to cross the border in hopes of taking advantage of future legislation.

The Border Patrol has apprehended about 10 percent more border-crossers since March than during comparable periods in recent years, he said.

This is the same phenomenon that occurred in 1986, when President Ronald Reagan offered amnesty to immigrants in the country illegally.

The answer, he said, is to create stiffer penalties for employers who hire undocumented workers, and developing a counterfeit-proof Social Security card.

He also said he "refuse(s) to believe that Americans are not willing to take the jobs (that immigrants fill) - if employers paid a decent wage."

As for the House bill that now must be reconciled with the Senate bill, its get-tough measures such as making illegal immigration a felony, while they wouldn't help get to the root of the problem - jobs for immigrants - would "at least not exacerbate the situation."

In the end, however, Bonner, the man who represents the thousands who play cat and mouse with millions of immigrants seeking a way into the United States, said "the best thing that can happen is if they (Congress) walk away from this process" - and not pass any bill.

Then he hopes that voters realize that illegal immigration will only be stopped when laws are passed "to cut off the access to jobs."

[Soldier4Christ]

Growers fear worst in immigration reform debate


OCEANSIDE, Calif. - Tomato grower Luawanna Hallstrom understands how paths cross in the shadowy world of illegal immigrant and employer.

Her three-generation family farm needed workers to harvest a crop in 2001, so it hired 300 farmhands. All their documents appeared in order, she said.

Then federal authorities found that three-fourths of the workers were illegal immigrants, and that left the peak harvest in ruins.

"People say, `You should get those employers that hire the undocumented!' Well, wait a minute. They have documents, but they're fraudulent. We are supposed to take them at face value - otherwise you get into these discrimination issues," Hallstrom said.

As enforcement has intensified in recent years and would multiply further under proposals now before Congress, growers like Hallstrom say they are under a strain over whether their fields will have enough workers.

This reality has made growers major stakeholders in Congress' efforts to reform immigration policies. The U.S. Senate is poised to vote Thursday on a comprehensive immigration bill, with passage considered likely.

One part of the bill would legalize up to 1.5 million undocumented farmhands over a five-year period. Of the nation's 1.6 million farm workers, growers say 70 percent are undocumented, but the United Farm Workers says it's 95 percent.

For the past year, farmers have been complaining about a potential labor shortage, highlighted this month by a federal Agriculture Department report showing 4 percent fewer workers on American farms than a year ago. The May issue of California Farmer magazine, sitting in Hallstrom's office, was dominated with headlines such as "Labor woes grow."

Some producers say that if they do not have an adequate workforce, they may be forced to move their farms to other countries.

Hallstrom remedied her 2001 crisis by hiring farm workers through the federal government's temporary guest agricultural worker program. The program is shunned by most farmers because it's too costly and its bureaucratic delays threaten crops, she said. One reason Hallstrom uses the guest farm worker program is that her family does some of its farming on land leased from Camp Pendleton, where there are heightened security concerns.

But many farmers are less secure about the legality of their workforce.

"If you had electronic verification (of workers' documents) right now and you went out there and checked every worker, you might as well lock up every farmer out there. There's nowhere else to go" to find laborers, Hallstrom said.

So, in an unusual alliance between growers and farm worker advocates, both sides persuaded Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to sponsor the proposed five-year pilot program for legalizing farm workers.

The Senate proposal, dubbed AgJobs, would also streamline the so-called H-2A guest worker program that Hallstrom currently uses and would freeze worker wages at 2003 levels for three years, during which a federal study would re-evaluate pay formulas, officials said.

"This would make sure (undocumented farm workers) would come out of the shadows," said Scott Gerber, spokesman for Feinstein.

Although the United Farm Workers are a partner with growers in endorsing the measure, the group disputes farmers' claims of looming labor shortages. Marc Grossman, principal spokesman for the United Farm Workers, said pay was stagnant at minimum-wage levels, hardly an indication of higher demand for workers. But the Agriculture Department study showed wages up 5 percent from a year ago, with field workers making an average $8.96 an hour last month.

"We don't agree with growers on anything except immigration reform," Grossman said.

Added Craig Regelbrugge, co-chairman of a growers group called the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform, "We need to solve agriculture's problem of reliance on an illegal workforce."

If passed, the Senate measure would stand in sharp contrast to a proposal passed by the U.S. House, which doesn't offer provisions for legalization. The Senate bill would find strong opponents in a joint conference, whose mission would be to reconcile both chambers' reform initiatives.

"It's a bald-faced amnesty," said Will Adams, spokesman for Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo.

"Growers don't want to pay the prevailing wage because they want to undercut American workers and get around the law," Adams said. "The union, they don't want the workers to go home (to their native countries). They want them to stay and be part of the union."

Jeff Lungren, spokesman for Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who's a leading advocate for tougher border enforcement, said sanctions against employers with illegal immigrant workers are especially needed.

"It is always cheaper to hire an illegal worker because the employer doesn't always follow the wage laws and take out for Social Security," he said.

Back on the farm, where laborers stooped to prepare the fields for planting vineripe tomatoes, Hallstrom can recite rich lore on how the family business was started by her immigrant grandfather, Harry Singh, from Punjab, India, and her Basque grandmother from New Mexico. In addition to the Camp Pendleton tract, the family venture farms in the scenic San Luis Rey Valley.

Hallstrom and other California growers contend that many farm workers have found more profitable work in construction and elsewhere, straining their labor pool.

Without immigration reforms, Hallstrom said, "Agriculture in this country would go away, as we know it." Her family would consider moving its farm to Mexico, where many of her workers now originate, she said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Study: 1 million sex crimes by illegals
Researcher estimates more than 100 offenders crossing border daily

Based on a one-year in-depth study, a researcher estimates there are about 240,000 illegal immigrant sex offenders in the United States who have had an average of four victims each.

Deborah Schurman-Kauflin of the Violent Crimes Institute in Atlanta analyzed 1,500 cases from January 1999 through April 2006 that included serial rapes, serial murders, sexual homicides and child molestation committed by illegal immigrants.

She found that while the offenders were located in 36 states, most were in states with the highest numbers of illegal immigrants. California had the most offenders, followed by Texas, Arizona, New Jersey, New York and Florida.

Schurman-Kauflin concluded that, based on a figure of 12 million illegal immigrants and the fact that more of this population is male than average, sex offenders among illegals make up a higher percentage than offenders in the general population.

She arrives at the figure of 240,000 offenders – a conservative estimate, she says – through public records showing about 2 percent of illegals apprehended are sex offenders.

"This translates to 93 sex offenders and 12 serial sexual offenders coming across U.S. borders illegally per day," she says.

She points out the 1,500 offenders in her study had a total of 5,999 victims, and each sex offender averaged four victims.

"This places the estimate for victimization numbers around 960,000 for the 88 months examined in this study," she declares.

Schurman-Kauflin breaks down the 1,500 cases reviewed this way:

    * 525, or 35 percent, were child molestations

    * 358, or 24 percent, were rapes

    * 617, or 41 percent, were sexual homicides and serial murders

Of the child molestations, 47 percent of the victims were Hispanic, 36 percent Caucasian, 8 percent Asian, 6 percent African American and 3 percent other nationalities.

In 82 percent of the cases, she noted, the victims were known to their attackers.

"In those instances, the illegal immigrants typically gained access to the victims after having worked as a day laborer at or near the victims' homes," she says. "Victims ranged in age from 1 year old to 13 years old, with the average age being 6."

In her examination of the sex-related homicides, Schurman-Kauflin found the most common method was for an offender to break into a residence and ambush his victims.

Not only were victims raped, she said, but some – 6 percent – were mutilated.

"The crime scenes were very bloody, expressing intense, angry perpetrator personalities," she said. "Specifically, most victims were blitzed, rendered incapable of fighting back, and then raped and murdered. The most common method of killing was bludgeoning, followed by stabbing."

She found it especially disturbing that in 22 percent of all sex crimes committed by illegal immigrants, victims with physical and mental disabilities were targeted.

The highest number of sex offenders, according to the study, came from Mexico. El Salvador was the original home to the next highest number. Other countries of origin included Brazil, China, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Russia, and Vietnam.

Nearly 63 percent of the offenders had been deported on another offense prior to the sex crime, the study showed. There was an average of three years of committing crimes such as DUI, assault or drug related offenses prior to being apprehended for a sexual offense.

In 81 percent of cases, offenders were drinking or using drugs prior to offending. Rapists and killers were more likely to use alcohol and drugs consistently than child molesters.

Only about 25 percent of offenders were found to have been stable within a community. In 31 percent of the crimes, the offenders entered into the communities where they offended within two months of the commission of their sex offenses.

But many, 79 percent, had been in the U.S. for more than one year before being arrested for a sex crime. They typically were known to the criminal justice system for prior, less serious offenses before they molested, raped or murdered, the study said.

Schurman-Kauflin concludes illegal immigrants gradually commit worse crimes and are continually released back into society or deported.

"Those who were deported simply returned illegally again," she says.

She points out that only 2 percent of the offenders in her study had no history of criminal behavior, beyond crossing the border illegally.

"There is a clear pattern of criminal escalation," she said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Illegals' presence deepens health concerns in food industry


Public health worries about illegal immigrants are reaching beyond hospitals and emergency rooms and could hit home in the restaurant and food-service sectors.

Undocumented immigrants are prevalent in the food-service industry, filling lower-paying, labor-intensive jobs such as bus boys, waiters, cooks, meat-cutters and food handlers.

 That raises public health concerns among some lawmakers, including Scottsdale Congressman J.D. Hayworth and medical experts, because undocumented migrant workers often come from countries and regions with higher communicable disease rates.

Studies by the National Institutes of Health and articles in various medical journals point to higher rates of tuberculosis, malaria, blood disorders and other diseases in Mexican border regions and other Third World countries than in the U.S., where some of these diseases are rare or nonexistent.

Some cities in other states, including Massachusetts, have started cracking down on restaurants that hire illegals, citing not only violation of federal employment laws, but also public health protections.

There are about 12.5 million restaurant workers in the U.S and more than 200,000 food-service and restaurant workers in Arizona, according to industry associations.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates there are 1.6 million foreign-born and immigrant workers in the food service and restaurant sectors nationally.

"They are a substantial portion of our work force," said Steve Chucri, president of the Arizona Restaurant & Hospitality Association.

David Ludwig, environmental health manager at the Maricopa County Department of Environmental Services, said the restaurant industry is required to train all of its workers on health code rules and practices after they are on the job 30 days, but the sector struggles with high turnover.

The county agency, which regulates and inspects restaurants and food-service operations, does not track the relationship between immigration status and health code violations.

Restaurants periodically are inspected by county health officials to make sure they are abiding by food handling and safety regulations. Violations often include having unlicensed workers and food managers, evidence of rodents or insects and operations without proper permits.

Ludwig said food-service safety and regulations classes are given in English, Spanish and a number of other languages. The key is for immigrants and other workers to be adequately trained and for restaurants to have licensed managers on the premises to make sure new workers follow health code rules and don't show up to work when they are sick.

The county agency also cracks down on unlicensed mobile food carts often operated in Latino neighborhoods by Hispanic entrepreneurs, some undocumented workers and some U.S. citizens, Ludwig said.

[Soldier4Christ]

A Build-a-Protest Approach to Immigration

 Advocates of tougher border security have sent thousands of bricks to Senate and House offices in recent weeks to make a none-too-subtle point with lawmakers about where many of their constituents come down on emerging immigration bills.

Leaders of the campaign, which has delivered an estimated 10,000 bricks since it began in April, said they had hit on the idea as a way to emphasize the benefits of a fence along the border with Mexico.

In an age when professionally planned lobbying campaigns have long since overwhelmed spontaneous grass-roots pressure, organizers of the brick brigade said they also saw an opportunity to deliver a missive not easily discarded.

"E-mails are so common now," said Kirsten Heffron, a Virginian who is helping coordinate the effort. "It is really easy for the office to say duly noted, hit delete and never think about it again."

If the impact was notable, so were the logistical difficulties, particularly given the mail screening and other protective measures put into effect at the Capitol after the anthrax attacks of 2001.

Initially, organizers of the Send-a-Brick Project encouraged people to send bricks on their own, and Ms. Heffron said things had gone relatively smoothly.

But many people, she said, preferred that the organization itself send the bricks and an accompanying letter to selected lawmakers.

The project will do it for an $11.95 fee. So when 2,000 individually boxed bricks showed up at once, Senate officials balked, threatening to force the group to pay postage to have each delivered to its intended recipient. The dispute left the bricks stacked up until an agreement to distribute them was worked out.

"We received them and we delivered them to all the addressees," said a spokeswoman for the office of the Senate sergeant-at-arms.

As the bricks landed in Congressional mailrooms and cramped offices, the effort was applauded in some offices but drew a bemused response elsewhere.

"Given the approval ratings of Congress these days, I guess we should all be grateful the bricks are coming through the mail, not the window," said Dan Pfeiffer, a spokesman for Senator Evan Bayh, Democrat of Indiana.

The senders of the bricks were encouraged to add a letter telling lawmakers that the brick represented a start on building a border wall.

Many could not resist putting their own message on the bricks. "No Amnesty," said a typical one, referring to a contested Senate plan to allow some illegal immigrants to qualify eventually for citizenship. "Stop the Invasion, Build a Wall," said another brick painted like a flag and shown on the group's Web site at www.send-a-brick.com.

Besides the border fence, the group supports technology improvements for border security, added money and personnel for the Border Patrol and an enhanced security presence in general on the southern border.

The brick effort was scheduled to wind down this week, though the organization encouraged people to continue if they desired.

On Tuesday, representatives of the architect of the Capitol collected bricks from lawmakers' offices and stacked them on loading docks with plans to donate them to a nonprofit group.

In a letter he circulated on Tuesday, Representative Scott Garrett, Republican of New Jersey, encouraged his colleagues to donate their bricks to a Habitat for Humanity resale store in Virginia, so the proceeds could go to that organization's projects.

"Through the Send-a-Brick Project, our constituents have found a solid way to communicate their feelings about illegal immigration," Mr. Garrett wrote in a draft of his letter. "Whether you agree with their message or not, we think that this campaign has given Capitol Hill a positive opportunity to turn bricks into buildings."

Ms. Heffron, who has been active in political campaigns and public affairs, said her organization was comfortable with the bricks being put to other uses after they had made their point.

She said the campaign had grown out of frustration expressed in an online forum on immigration issues over resistance by some lawmakers to erecting a wall. Another impetus was a desire for a counterpoint to large rallies by advocates of immigrants' rights.

Given the success of the initiative, she said, the group may turn its attention to lobbying lawmakers in their home districts this summer and may have a role in a demonstration in Washington. She said she hoped that the brick barrage showed lawmakers that when it comes to immigration, the weight of public opinion is on the side of border security.

"I think they don't realize the passion of it," she said of some lawmakers. "Maybe it is going to take a little protest in the streets to get our voices heard as well."

[Soldier4Christ]

NYC Hospitals Reassures Immigrants

 The city is distributing a letter meant to reassure immigrants that no one will question their legal status when they seek care at New York City's public hospitals, health officials said.

The letter, in 11 languages, promises that public hospital employees will "keep confidential all information regarding your immigration status." If workers reveal the information, they could lose their jobs, Health and Hospitals Corporation president Alan Aviles writes in the note.

The letter's release follows reports from advocates that many undocumented immigrants are afraid of going to hospitals. In one case, Aviles said Tuesday, a mother of three from Mexico refused to seek treatment for cervical cancer until an advocacy group intervened.

Adam Gurvitch, director of health advocacy for the New York Immigrant Coalition, said the recent national debate over immigration had caused much confusion.

"It's really important for people to understand that nothing has changed," he said. "Health care remains a right for all people in America, for all immigrants, regardless of immigration status."

[Soldier4Christ]

Search for suspect goes nationwide
Man wanted in park shootings may have fled to Mexico, police say


Milwaukee police have launched a nationwide search that may reach into Mexico for a man suspected of shooting five people and killing two of them in South Shore Park on Memorial Day, a commander said Wednesday.

Police suspect Octaviano Juarez-Corro, 33, killed a man, 31, and a boy, 17, and injured three others - all people police say he knew.

Juarez-Corro was in the United States illegally and has ties to Mexico, prompting Milwaukee detectives to notify border officers to watch for him, said police Capt. Timothy Burkee, commander of the homicide division.

A temporary warrant has been issued and sent to all law enforcement in the U.S., he said. The television show "America's Most Wanted" also has agreed to post information on Juarez-Corro on its Web site.

Burkee said detectives are still exploring whether Juarez-Corro fled to Mexico. The majority of people wanted on homicide warrants in Milwaukee are suspected of being in Mexico, according to files from the Police Department and prosecutors.

Because of a 1978 treaty and a 2001 court ruling, Mexico generally has refused to return suspects to the United States if they face the death penalty or a life-without-parole sentence, paving the way for thousands of suspected drug kingpins and killers to flee to Mexico to avoid U.S. prosecution. Treaties let the U.S. get fugitives from other countries that, like Mexico, do not allow the death penalty, but fugitives don't flee to those countries in significant numbers, officials said this year when the Journal Sentinel examined the issue.

Late last year, 20 of the 23 suspects wanted on homicide or attempted homicide charges in Milwaukee were Hispanic - and most are suspected of being in Mexico or other Latin American countries, according to police. At least one of those suspects has since been arrested.
Time, money to seek warrants

Issuing warrants in Mexico and other countries is time consuming. The Milwaukee County district attorney's office is filling out the paperwork in one case now, but it takes several months and costs thousands of dollars, officials said.

In the case of Juarez-Corro, prosecutors are still determining whether there is enough evidence to charge him by warrant, Burkee said.

On Monday, Juarez-Corro reportedly was at a picnic with the victims, left and returned about 7:30 p.m. and began shooting the people sitting at a picnic table in the crowded Bay View lakefront park.

Killed were Raymundo Munoz-Silva, 31, and Julio C. Diaz-Guillen, 17, who police said were each shot multiple times in the head.

Two other men and a woman were injured.

[Soldier4Christ]

Immigration Billboards Spark Controversy

DENVER People who were opposed to illegal immigration in the United States unveiled a second billboard in Denver on Thursday morning. The billboards' messages target the so-called "sanctuary" policies by governments that some say allow illegal immigration to flourish.

A billboard on California Street near 21st St. was highlighted Thursday morning. It said "Mr. President, Mr. Governor, Mr. Mayor; They did not die for ... ILLEGAL SANCTUARY!" With images of rifles and helmets, the sign appeared to refer to military casualties.

A second billboard near 6th Avenue just east of Interstate 25 said "Welcome to SANCTUARY CITY ... Relax, you made it! Brought to you by executive order 116."

The message referred to a 1998 order issued by former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb that voiced the city's anti-discrimination stance with immigrants. Denver city officials have said the city does not stop police or other government workers from cooperating with immigration officials and there is no sanctuary policy.

A crowd of more than 100 people gathered near the billboard on California Street with radio talk-show host Peter Boyles of KHOW. U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Littleton, and national Minutemen founder Jim Gilchrist attended the unveiling event Thursday at about 7 a.m.

A man who was opposed to the billboards was standing across the street at one point. Richard Delgado was holing a sign that said "No Billboards for Bigots."

He said he was angered by the billboards' messages. He claimed supporters of the billboards were exploiting the death of soldiers for their own cause.

There was a brief verbal confrontation between Delgado and supporters of the billboards.

[Soldier4Christ]

Schwarzenegger to Order Troops to Border

 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed Thursday to send the California National Guard to the Mexican border, ending a 17-day standoff with the Bush administration, a Schwarzenegger spokesman said.

The two sides had been at odds over whether California Guardsmen would join the effort to bolster the Border Patrol and who would pay for it.

 They reached an agreement under which California will contribute about 1,000 Guardsmen and the federal government will pick up the full cost, said Schwarzenegger spokesman Adam Mendelsohn.

All together, President Bush has proposed to send 6,000 National Guardsmen to the U.S. border with Mexico. The overall cost of the multiyear deployment has been put at more than $1 billion.

"This allows us to participate in the plan to secure the nation's border while also addressing the concerns the governor had raised," Mendelsohn said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Public tax dollars
fund racist school
K-8 institution backed by groups
seeking to retake Southwest U.S.

Taxpayers along with radical groups that aim to reconquer the Southwestern U.S. are funding a Hispanic K-8 school led by a principal who believes in racial segregation and sees the institution as part of a larger cultural "struggle."

The Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School was chartered by the Los Angeles Unified School District in 2001, local KABC radio host Doug McIntyre – who has been investigating the school for the past three weeks – told WND.

Among the school's supporters are the National Council of La Raza Charter School Development Initiative; Raza Development Fund, Inc.; and the Pasadena City College chapter of MeCHA, or Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan.

"La Raza," or "the Race," is a designation by many Mexicans who see themselves as part of a transnational ethnic group they hope will one day reclaim Aztlan, the mythical birthplace of the Aztecs. In Chicano folklore, Aztlan includes California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and parts of Colorado and Texas.

The school teaches the ancient Nahutal language of the Aztecs and its base-20 math system. Another language of emphasis is Mandarin, even though no Chinese attend.

MEChA, founded at U.C. Santa Barbara in 1969, has the stated goal of returning the American Southwest to Mexico.

As WorldNetDaily reported Sunday, students identifying themselves as members of MEChA at Pasadena City College said they stole 5,000 copies of the campus newspaper because it did not cover their high school conference.

One of the charter school's listed donors, a Nissan/Infinity dealer in Glendale, Calif., asked to be removed from the website after hearing McIntyre's broadcast about the school yesterday, the host told WND.

Marcos Aguilar, the school's founder and principal, said in an interview with an online educational journal, Teaching to Change L.A., he doesn't think much of the Brown v. Board of Education decision that desegregated American schools.

Aguilar simply doesn't want to integrate with white institutions.

"We don't want to drink from a white water fountain, we have our own wells and our natural reservoirs and our way of collecting rain in our aqueducts," he said.

The issue of civil rights, Aguilar continued, "is all within the box of white culture and white supremacy. We should not still be fighting for what they have. We are not interested in what they have because we have so much more and because the world is so much larger."

Ultimately, he said, the "white way, the American way, the neo liberal, capitalist way of life will eventually lead to our own destruction. And so it isn't about an argument of joining neo liberalism, it's about us being able, as human beings, to surpass the barrier."

Aguilar said his school is not a response to problems in the public school system, as it's available only to about 150 families.

"We consider this a resistance, a starting point, like a fire in a continuous struggle for our cultural life, for our community and we hope it can influence future struggle," he said. "We hope that it can organize present struggle and that as we organize ourselves and our educational and cultural autonomy, we have the time to establish a foundation with which to continue working and impact the larger system."

On its website, the school describes itself as being "dedicated to providing urban children of immigrant native families an excellent education founded upon their own language, cultural values and global realities."

"We draw from traditional indigenous Mexican forms of social organization known as the Kalpulli," the website says, "founded upon the principles of serving collective interests, assembling an informed polity, and honestly administering and executing collective decisions."

Born in Mexicali in Baja California, Aguilar attended schools on the border in Calexico, a farm worker community.

"We grew up with the knowledge that in Arizona, in Yuma, Arizona, everything was black and white," he said in the journal interview. "The dogs and Mexicans drank from one spot and the white people drank from the other one."

Teachers in the Los Angeles area, he contended, have little regard for the culture of Hispanic children.

By learning the Aztec tongue of Nahuatl, he said, students "will be able to understand our own ancestral culture and our customs and traditions that are so imbued in the language."

Said Aguilar:

    "The importance of Nahutal is also academic because Nahuatl is based on a math system, which we are also practicing. We teach our children how to operate a base 20 mathematical system and how to understand the relationship between the founders and their bodies, what the effects of astronomical forces and natural forces on the human body and the human psyche, our way of thinking and our way of expressing ourselves. And so the language is much more than just being able to communicate. When we teach Nahuatl, the children are gaining a sense of identity that is so deep, it goes beyond whether or not they can learn a certain number of vocabulary words in Nahuatl. It's really about them understanding themselves as human beings. Everything we do here is about relationships."

KABC's McIntyre, noting the school's emphasis on Aztec language and culture combined with test scores that fall below the L.A. school system's meager results, told WND he believes the school is bordering on "educational malpractice."

"What high schools are they preparing kids to go to?" he asked.

"The whole multi-culture-diversity argument is blowing up in our faces," McIntyre said. "What's lost is, we have a culture, too. But when you defend American culture – which I believe is the most diverse in the world – you are branded a xenophobe."

The school has no whites, blacks or Asians, McIntyre pointed out. According to statistics he found, 91.3 percent are Hispanic and the rest Native American or Eskimo.

McIntyre said he was teaching a writing class at UCLA in 1993 when Aguilar, as a student, participated in a 50-day student takeover after Chicano activist and labor leader Caesar Chavez died. School officials eventually gave in to demands to create a Chicano-studies major and agreed to pay some $50,000 in damages caused by the protesters.

Aguilar repeatedly has refused to come on McIntyre's program, the host said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Reporter claims assault
at 'racist' public school
Principal allegedly gave orders to 'thug'
who drove on curb, tackled radio man

A radio reporter attempting to interview the principal of a publicly funded school backed by radical groups that lay claim to the Southwestern U.S says he was chased down and tackled at the campus today, apparently by order of the principal.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Unified School District officials say they are conducting an investigation of the "performance" and "culture" of the Academia Semillas del Pueblo Charter School.

Sandy Wells of KABC in Los Angeles was turned away at the school's front desk this morning when he tried to talk to founder and principal Marcos Aguilar.

As WorldNetDaily reported, Aguilar indicated in a recent interview he believes in racial segregation and sees his school as part of a larger cultural "struggle." Chartered by the district in 2001, the institution is backed by MEChA, a radical student group with the stated goal of returning the American Southwest to Mexico. KABC radio host Doug McIntyre has been investigating the school for the past three weeks.

Aguilar has not responded to WND's request for comment.

Wells, equipped with a KABC mic and recorder, said that when he inquired at the school's office about interviewing Aguilar, he was told the principal was not in and did not want to talk.

The reporter asked the four or five black-garbed guards stationed outside for permission to interview parents as they arrived at the school with their children but was denied.

Then, according to Wells, a Dodge Magnum abruptly pulled up on the sidewalk, causing the reporter to jump out of the way.

A large Hispanic man with a shaved head, about 25, leaped out of the vehicle and chased Wells down the street, tackled him and demanded the tape.

Wells, shaken up with his clothes torn but uninjured, said he turned over the tape, which had only ambient sound.

The guards offered no help, the reporter noted.

Wells said the attacker told him he didn't work for the school.

As Wells drove away, he noticed he was being tailed by a black SUV. The reporter called into McIntyre's show and was put on the air, hoping the exposure would prompt his pursuer to back off. The SUV eventually pulled away.

The man who tackled Wells accused the reporter of being "sneaky." But Wells insisted he was at the school with his press credentials and KABC mic in full view and had asked permission to conduct the interviews.

In a previous conversation with Aguilar, Wells said the principal, who was speaking about death threats made to the school, warned him to "watch his back."

A caller to McIntyre's show this morning, identifying himself as Ricardo, said he was with Aguilar when the principal gave the order to get the tape from Wells.

Ricardo explained he works for a lawyer who is looking into acquiring a temporary restraining order against KABC on the school's behalf.

Ricardo said he believes the intention of the school is to provide an environment in which the radical MEChA can teach its beliefs and policies.

McIntyre said he's been unable to get an explanation from Los Angeles Unified School District officials as to how the school was allowed to be chartered.

However, the radio host's producer, John Phillips, provided WND with a copy of a statement provided by district press deputy Shannon Murphy, saying a "review" is underway.

    "The Los Angeles Unified School District is currently undergoing a through review of Academia Semillas Del Pueblo’s charter operations, including its academic programs. The District’s Program Evaluation and Research Branch spent at least two weeks at the school observing classroom discussion and collecting data regarding student performance and school culture. The District is currently reviewing the findings and a report is forthcoming."

'Don't drink from white fountain'

Aguilar, interviewed recently by an online educational journal, Teaching to Change L.A., doesn't think much of the Brown v. Board of Education decision that desegregated American schools.

He simply doesn't want to integrate with white institutions.

"We don't want to drink from a white water fountain, we have our own wells and our natural reservoirs and our way of collecting rain in our aqueducts," he said.

The issue of civil rights, Aguilar continued, "is all within the box of white culture and white supremacy. We should not still be fighting for what they have. We are not interested in what they have because we have so much more and because the world is so much larger."

Ultimately, he said, the "white way, the American way, the neo liberal, capitalist way of life will eventually lead to our own destruction. And so it isn't about an argument of joining neo liberalism, it's about us being able, as human beings, to surpass the barrier."

Aguilar said his school is not a response to problems in the public school system, as it's available only to about 150 families.

"We consider this a resistance, a starting point, like a fire in a continuous struggle for our cultural life, for our community and we hope it can influence future struggle," he said. "We hope that it can organize present struggle and that as we organize ourselves and our educational and cultural autonomy, we have the time to establish a foundation with which to continue working and impact the larger system."

[Soldier4Christ]

Student barred from counter-protesting illegals
Files suit noting school ignored truancy of open-borders demonstrators


A California student has filed a federal lawsuit claiming high school officials intentionally interfered with his right to speak out on the issue of illegal immigration.

Joshua Denhalter of Jurupa Valley High School in Mira Loma, Calif., alleges he was barred from holding a counter-protest after students March 27, mostly of Mexican-American descent, illegally walked out of school in protest of legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would make being in the country illegally a felony.

Denhalter, represented by the public interest firm Lively, Ackerman & Cowles, says that instead of walking out and being truant, he chose to organize a legitimate and lawful counter-protest during the lunch hour March 30.

Attorney Richard Ackerman called the school's actions "one of the worst governmental censorship cases I have seen in over a decade of practice."

"It is simply unbelievable that a school district would take sides with those who promote illegal activity over a student wishing to express his protected views in a traditionally and legally acceptable manner," Ackerman said. "These officials must be severely punished for their actions."

The suit says the "peaceable assembly" was to take place across from the school on a public sidewalk, which traditionally is considered a public forum.

Denhalter claims the assembly would not have disrupted school activities because the high school has an "open lunch" period in which students are free to come and go.

Any student, therefore, could have attended the assembly during lunch without disruption or violation of truancy laws.

On the morning of March 30, Denhalter handed out fliers for the event and later was approached by school officials who told him he had to stop.

The student refused and was suspended for "handing out flyers (before school) advocating the disruption of school activities."

The suit argues, however, the school did not punish the dozens of students who walked out in violation of the law several days before.

Denhalter also points out that from March 27-30, the school allowed the radical Hispanic separatist group MEChA to sponsor an on-campus rally in opposition to the House bill.

Denhalter's request to sponsor a similar rally on campus was denied by the school board.

The suit also says that on May 25 school officials barred Denhalter from wearing a "Save Our State T-shirt.

His lawyers seek a temporary restraining order allowing him to "express himself freely as to political matters until the end of the school year," June 21.

[Soldier4Christ]

Chip-maker wants to implant immigrants
Says could be used to register guest workers, ID at workplace


The maker of the controversial radio-frequency tracking chip suggests implanting the device in immigrants and guest workers.

Scott Silverman, chairman of the board of VeriChip Corp., was responding to the Bush administration's call to know "who is in our country and why they are here."

In an interview with "Fox & Friends" on the Fox News Channel, Silverman suggested the RFID – radio frequency identification device – implants could be used to register workers at the border and then verify their identities in the workplace.

"We have talked to many people in Washington about using it," he told Fox News, according to LiveScience.com.

The VeriChip tag, about the size of a large grain of rice, can be injected directly into the body. Its special coating allows it to bond with living tissue.

The device receives a signal from an RFID reader, which translates the data.

The tags have been used for decades to identify animals, including livestock, laboratory animals and pets.

Privacy advocates have objected to its use in human beings.

LiveScience.com pointed out Colombian President Alvaro Uribe allegedly told visiting U.S. senators Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Arlen Specter R-Pa., that microchips could be used to track seasonal workers.

"President Uribe said he would consider having Colombian workers have microchips implanted in their bodies before they are permitted to enter the U.S. for seasonal work," Specter told Congress April 25.

As WorldNetDaily reported in February, a Cincinnati company is requiring any employee who works in its secure data center to be implanted with an RFID tag.

When Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson joined the VeriChip Corp. board of directors, he pledged to get chipped and encouraged Americans to do the same so their electronic medical records would be available in emergencies.

But VeriChip spokesman John Procter said Thompson had been "too busy" to undergo the procedure, adding that he had no clear plans to do so.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Governor OKs sending Guard troops to border
They will be paid by U.S. and will back Border Patrol

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Thursday he has reached an agreement with the federal government to deploy 1,000 members of the California National Guard along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"We are doing this, may I remind you, reluctantly," the governor said. "It's not my preference to send the National Guard to do this mission, but under the circumstances (we need) to help the federal government secure our borders because that is our No. 1 concern."

The governor's decision to send troops ends a 17-day standoff with President Bush, who called on 6,000 state troops to help secure the border as part of his plan to address illegal immigration.

The soldiers will primarily support federal border patrol officers, handling such tasks as vehicle maintenance and road repair.

Also, the deal with the White House stipulates that the Guard's duty will only last until the end of 2008, the governor said.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez said he appreciates Schwarzenegger's efforts to persuade the federal government to pay for the deployment as well as setting a hard deadline on when the commitment will end.

"But I just have a fundamental disagreement to send the National Guard to the border," he said, adding that securing the border is the federal government's responsibility.

Also, he said the move sends a wrong message to Mexico. When Mexican President Vicente Fox visited the state capital last week, Núñez said he asked privately how the president would feel about National Guard troops on their border.

"He made it clear to me that he thinks the Mexican people would find that very offensive," said Núñez, D-Los Angeles.

But Schwarzenegger said he agreed with the White House that there are problems of drug smuggling, human trafficking and in particular, potential terrorists seeping through in the porous southern border. Still, Bush's initial plans to use the National Guard "presented a number of logistical problems," the governor said.

However, those issues have been addressed, including a promise that the federal government will pick up the $6 million to $8 million monthly tab, Schwarzenegger said.

Still, Brig. Gen. Louis Antonetti, said California may have some incidental costs that will be in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Which federal government agency will foot the bill is yet to be determined, but Schwarzenegger said he has been assured by the White House and the Department of Homeland Security that California won't be left paying the costs.

Also, the funding source will be determined in time to fully deploy the troops by July 15, he said.

The 1,000-member force will be primarily made up of volunteers, and there will be an aggressive recruiting campaign to attract soldiers to step up, the governor said. The National Guard already has 700 volunteers, although they have not been accepted yet.

"We will not involuntarily call to duty those brave men and women that just came back from Iraq or from other places overseas, and that fought the war on terror," the governor said.

Also, rather than rotating the troops every two to three weeks, the soldiers will serve tours that will last six months to a year.

Schwarzenegger emphasized that the move will not result in militarizing the border, saying the Guard will mainly free up more Border Patrol agents to focus on law enforcement.

The troops will handle such tasks as vehicle maintenance; road and fence repair, as well as manning communications offices to help facilitate radio contact between Border Patrol officers on the field.

"The bulk of our force will not be armed," said Col. David Baldwin, director of operations.

However, a local commander will have the discretion to allow the troops under his or her command to arm if necessary, he said.

The troops will be trained "to use force only when appropriate to defend their own lives, or the lives of Border Patrol agents or other innocent people," Baldwin said.

[Soldier4Christ]

Mexico is changing attitude toward issues of migration

Fox says generating new jobs will keep people from leaving

The hardening of the U.S. line on illegal immigration is forcing Mexico to look inward at a tacit public policy that encourages unemployed Mexicans to sneak across the border for work and send billions of dollars home to their families.

Jobs are the new mantra on the Mexican side of the border, as the country talks seriously for the first time about sharing the responsibility for nearly 100 years of immigration.

With roughly one in 10 Mexicans now living in the United States, President Vicente Fox acknowledges that his country must do more to keep people from looking north for employment.

“We want to make it clear to the United States that we have obligations in Mexico. The obligation is to generate jobs. The obligation is to ensure opportunities for our people,” Fox said.

He said Mexico's economy is growing at a rate of 5.5 percent, the fastest since he took office in 2000. Inflation is at the lowest level in Mexico's history, and population growth has slowed to 1 percent. Along the northern border, Fox said the maquiladora industry needs 100,000 additional workers.

“We are working hard so that our people have jobs, so they earn good salaries,” Fox said during an interview Wednesday night in this port city. “We are going to do our work on the Mexican side.”

Fox's statements signal a change in Mexico's attitude about the immigration problem, political analysts said.

“In Mexico, the immigration issue has always been seen as a U.S. issue: 'You open up and legalize and that solves the problem. It doesn't involve the Mexican government,' ” said Luis Rubio, who heads a Mexico City think tank.

But with the Fox government pushing the United States for immigration reform, people on both sides of the border are asking what measures Mexico is prepared to take to curb the unending stream of migrants.

Under pressure from the United States, “Mexico will have to restrict access in the south and control the flows in the north,” Rubio said. “That will dramatically change the domestic debate in Mexico.”

Already, Mexican public opinion is shifting.

Fox's government is being pummeled with questions on issues ranging from Mexico's treatment of Central American guest workers to its opposition to U.S. National Guard troops and the building of more fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Why put 6,000 National Guard troops on the border? Why not 50,000? If the United States is serious about closing the border, then close it with walls, with technology. It is the best scenario for the migrants, it is the best scenario for Mexico, it is the best scenario for the United States,” said Primitivo Rodríguez, an immigration expert who worked for 10 years as a migrant activist in the United States.

“The worst scenario is to half close the border because it will mean deaths like never before, abuse and corruption.”

Few support such drastic measures.

But “there is consensus that it is time for Mexico to take responsibility,” said Jorge Santibáñez, president of the Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Tijuana. “What is happening in the United States will force us, for better or worse, to revise our migratory policy.”

Fox has made immigration reform a priority of his presidency, which will end in December. “The Fox administration pulled the topic from under the rug and put it on the table,” Santibáñez said. But Fox failed to “build the necessary consensus so that Mexico can really negotiate with the United States.”

There are strong indications the U.S. House of Representatives, which favors stronger border enforcement, will not agree with the provisions of a Senate bill that includes a guest worker program and potential citizenship for millions of undocumented workers – a bill that also declares English the national language of the United States and calls for the construction of double-and triple-layered fencing along 370 miles of border.

Fox supports the Senate bill, which he calls “a great step forward.”

Under that legislation, Fox said, Mexican workers “are going to enter through a door that gives them fair treatment, orderly, where there are rules and their rights are respected.”

But Santibáñez and others have criticized Fox for acting as if the measure has been enacted, and they have claimed that he is motivated by a desire in the final days before Mexico's July 2 presidential election to show his administration's success.

In Mexico, people increasingly are speaking out about the consequences Mexican families face when they are separated by economic need. Since Fox took office after his election in 2000, more than 2 million Mexicans have crossed the U.S. border in search of jobs, according to his own government's figures.

Thousands of villages across rural Mexico are populated with only women, children and the elderly. Women do the work of men, tilling the earth with oxen and plows. Children cry for fathers they no longer remember. Young women long for boyfriends, but there are no eligible young men in town.

Fox said many of his own childhood friends, who grew up near his family's ranch in Guanajuato state, migrated to the United States. “They are in Chicago, San Antonio, New York, these friends of mine,” he said.

The president said he is “proud of those Mexicans,” who sent home more than $20 billion last year, according to the Bank of Mexico. Their contribution to the economy is second only to petroleum.

But for many Mexicans, the price is too high.

“You cannot manifest any joy for something where 500,000 Mexicans must leave their country every year,” Santibáñez said. “For Mexico, this is a tragedy.”

Fox said the day is rapidly approaching when Mexicans will not have to go to the United States for jobs. Population growth is slowing, causing a shift in Mexico's demographics from a young population to an adult population.

By 2015, Mexico “will be using 100 percent of its work force . . . of its youth, to move our economy and to take care of our retirees,” he said. “We are going to have the ability in this country to offer opportunities to our own people here in Mexico.”

That's good news for people who risk their lives to search for work across the border, he said.

“Our people don't want to go up there,” Fox said. “They like tacos more than hot dogs. They like a torta better than a hamburger. They like to dance with mariachis better than they like dancing at a discotheque. Our people want to be in Mexico.”