Immigration News

[Soldier4Christ]

Man who dragged woman to death an illegal?
Federal officials had placed immigration hold on suspect in gruesome crime

CASTLE ROCK, Colo.  —  A man was arrested in the gruesome dragging death of a woman after a stained and tattered photograph of him was found at the crime scene, police said Wednesday.

Jose Luis Rubi-Nava, 36, was arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of murder and jailed without bail. Investigators said they were still trying to identify the victim, who was dragged behind a vehicle with a rope, leaving a trail of blood more than a mile long.

Authorities did not immediately respond to questions about how the photograph ended up near the woman's body, which was discovered Monday in a suburban neighborhood about 20 miles south of Denver.

The picture shows a couple who appear to be in their 30s, with the man leaning his arm on the woman's shoulder. Investigators did not say whether the woman in the picture was the victim.

The photo had been released to the public, and Sheriff Dave Weaver said tips from citizens helped lead to the arrest. Weaver offered no motive for the killing, and the sheriff's department did not respond to repeated requests by phone and in writing for more information.

mmigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Carl Rusnok said agents believe Rubi-Nava is an illegal immigrant from Mexico.

At a court appearance Wednesday afternoon, Rubi-Nava listened through a translator as District Judge Paul A. King formally told him the charge he faces.

King sealed the arrest warrant affidavit, which outlines the preliminary allegations against Rubi-Nava, at the request of public defender Kathleen McGuire. King said he would consider McGuire's request for a gag order.

Neighbors discovered the woman's body before dawn. Her face was unrecognizable and an orange tow rope was around her neck, said Nancy Foley, who lives nearby.

An autopsy indicated the woman died of asphyxiation and head injuries from being dragged.

The trail of blood led from Interstate 25 to the woman's body, which was found on a street lined with large ranch-style homes on spacious lots. On Wednesday, highway crews were spreading fresh tar over the roads to cover the traces of blood.

[Soldier4Christ]

N.Y. county targets illegal immigration
Business owners could soon face fines, even jail time if they hire lawbreakers

Business owners could soon face fines and even jail time if they hire illegal immigrants in this Long Island community, the latest in one of many efforts by local governments across the country to crack down on undocumented workers.

The bill was passed 15-3 by the Suffolk County Legislature Tuesday and was expected to be signed into law by the county executive, despite critics who call it anti-immigrant.

The legislation applies to the roughly 6,000 companies and agencies that have county contracts. The penalties include fines and potential jail time. Repeat offenders could forfeit their contracts.

Suffolk County, on the eastern half of Long Island, has drawn day laborers from Mexico and Central America over the past decade. There are about 1.5 million people living in the county.

Recent national scrutiny of immigration policy has led to similar proposals around the nation. Earlier this year in Pennsylvania, the city of Hazleton passed legislation that would punish businesses that employ illegal immigrants and landlords who rent to them. The city council in Altoona, near Pittsburgh, is expected to vote on a comparable measure later this month.

In San Bernardino, Calif., an attempt to present a similar measure to voters was dismissed by the courts in June. And in Florida this summer, ordinances were voted down by city councils in Avon Park and Palm Bay.

The local efforts followed an attempt in Congress to criminalize illegal immigration. That legislation is effectively dead this year.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy was the leading proponent of the bill and called it a vital tool in helping crack down on unlawful immigration.

"The thing that feeds illegal immigration is the hiring," Levy said in an interview with The Associated Press. "If you dry up the jobs, you dry up the flow of illegal immigration."

But the Rev. Allen Ramirez, a longtime advocate for day laborers on Long Island, cited past attacks on the workers and the firebombing of a Farmingville house inhabited by Mexican immigrants.

"No one has shown that any companies doing business with Suffolk County hire undocumented people. They are glossing over the fact there is no need for this law," he said.

[Soldier4Christ]

U.S. flights to Mexico fail to cut deaths of illegals
Program returns lawbreaking immigrants by flying them deep into country

A U.S. government program that returns illegal immigrants to Mexico by flying them deep into the country is ineffective at reducing the number of deaths in the Arizona desert, analysts said on Wednesday.

The Interior Repatriation Program of daily charter flights from Tucson to Mexico City and Guadalajara was implemented in 2004 to cut deaths in the summer months.

Instead of dropping the migrants near the border as is usually done, the program flies them hundreds of miles inside Mexico. The idea was to deter migrants from immediately reattempting to cross the border via the desert corridor from Mexico.

But a report by the Government Accountability Office noted last week that fatalities along the southwest border had jumped to 472 in 2005 from 334 two years earlier, prompting analysts to say program has failed in its primary aim.

"The authorities had been selling the program in part on the grounds that it reduced deaths, but so far there is little evidence that it has had any impact on fatalities," said Demetrios Papademetriou, president of the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute think tank.

The program is implemented in conjunction with the Mexican government and operates from July to the end of September, when temperatures in the desert corridor south of Tucson soar to highs of above 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 C).

Instead of driving migrants south to the dusty border in a bus and dropping them off in Mexico, the one-way flights take migrants hundreds of miles into the interior of Mexico, from where authorities bus them to their homes.

The U.S. Border Patrol had hailed the program's success at cutting deaths on the border in its first year of operation, when fatalities dropped by six, although the GAO report stated that there was "insufficient evidence" to support the claim over the two-year period.

Papademetriou said the problem lay in the limited scope of the program, which succeeded in sending back 20,000 undocumented migrants to Mexico last year -- a tiny fraction of the almost 1.2 million people arrested crossing the border.

"How can any reasonable person argue that repatriating fewer than 2 percent of the total number of immigrants would have any meaningful effect on deaths?," he said in a telephone interview.

The U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agency, which oversees the flights, was not immediately available to comment on the program on Wednesday.

The charter flights cost U.S. taxpayers around $15 million a year.

[Soldier4Christ]

Frist To Push Bill For Mexico-U.S. Border Fence


With a strong, comprehensive immigration bill stuck in gridlock, Senator Bill Frist is hoping to push legislation to construct a border fence between the U.S. and Mexico.

According to liberal blog Raw Story that gets the story from subscription only Congressional Quarterly:

    Writer Michael Sandler describes Frist as being “eager to give embattled Republicans a ‘get tough’ immigration vote prior to the Nov. 7 elections,” thus his planned action to push the already-passed House bill calling for 700 miles of borderline fencing.

    Whether Democrats would support the Frist tactic was unclear, according to Sandler, but Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) was quoted as saying, “[T]his is more of the political gamesmanship that we’ve been seeing on this issue from the very beginning.”

Yes, Frist very well could be playing games, but if that is what it takes to get the ball rolling in the right direction towards something Americans want and desperately need for our own security then don’t play into the game. Vote how you feel the people who put you in power want you to vote or vote your own heart on the issue. When you break it all down it isn’t a game at all. The will of the people has put pressure on their elected officials on an important issue. For Frist to push something that most have already came to a consensus on is more than just a smart move, it is a move in the right direction. Get some action done on the basics and fight over the issues stuck in gridlock later. Sure, the timing isn’t a coincidence, but when it all boils down it shouldn’t matter if it is the right thing to do. Whine over political gamemanship or do the right thing.

Raw Story provides excerpts from the Congressional Quarterly:

    A comprehensive Senate immigration bill (S 2611) that would create a temporary guest worker program and offer a path to eventual citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants passed May 25 with the support of 23 Republicans and all but four Senate Democrats. But House Republicans have denounced it and refused to negotiate any legislation that could lead to citizenship for immigrants who entered the United States illegally.

    Frist, who was among 23 Republicans supporting the broader Senate bill, said Tuesday that he still supports the core principles of that measure. But he sees no chance for an end to the impasse between the House and Senate before Election Day.

…..

    But some Republican senators expressed disappointment with Frist’s decision to move the House fencing bill to the floor as a freestanding measure. Taking that provision, and possibly others, out of the comprehensive package and moving them separately would likely reduce the chances of getting a broad bill enacted, they said.

    “I’m opposed to that,” said Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., sponsor of the broad Senate bill. “I don’t see how we can do that. I’m for the fence. But I’m not for the fence piecemeal, which would preclude a comprehensive bill. I’m not for that at all.”

[Soldier4Christ]

Illegal alien gets 70-month prison sentence
From staff reports

A 41-year-old man was sentenced to almost six years in prison after being convicted of illegally re-entering the country after previously being deported, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney Reginald I Lloyd.

Jose Luis Espinoza-Chavez received a 70-month sentence and will be deported to Mexico again after the prison term.

Prosecutors said Espinoza-Chavez was previously convicted of burglary and deported to Mexico in August 2000. He then illegally re-entered the United States and was arrested this year on burglary charges by the Horry County Sheriff's Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William E. Day II of the Florence office handled the case.

[Soldier4Christ]

Four-vehicle accident claims young teacher
BY ERIC MULLENS
Car caught between two potato trucks
ALAMOSA — A young teacher in the gifted and talented program at Sangre de Cristo elementary school died when her car was crushed between two potato trucks Tuesday night on Alamosa County Lane 5.
Kelly Bergen, 25, of Monte Vista, Colo. was killed when her Ford Focus was hit from behind by a potato truck driven by Oscar Martinez-Cruz, 27, of Monte Vista and then pushed into another potato truck being towed by a tractor.
Martinez-Cruz was arrested and charged with careless driving causing death, driving a motor vehicle without a valid operator’s license and failure to present evidence of insurance. The operator of the second potato truck, Miguel Ramirez, 54, of Greeley, Colo. and the driver of the tractor, Bernardo Garcia, 55, of Hereford, Texas have not been charged in the accident.
Martinez-Cruz is currently being held at the Alamosa County Detention Center on charges related to the accident. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent-in-Charge Ed Tolbert of the Alamosa ICE office, confirmed Wednesday that Martinez-Cruz is an undocumented Mexican national working in the U.S. illegally and the agency has placed a detainer hold on him.
Colorado State Patrol Trooper Travis S. DePriest investigated the accident that happened around 7 p.m. Tuesday on County Lane 5 North, about one-tenth of a mile east of Alamosa County Road 102 South. According to the trooper’s report, all four vehicles were westbound on County Lane 5 North with Bergen’s Ford behind Ramirez’s potato truck that was being towed by the tractor driven by Garcia. As Bergen’s car approached the truck and tractor it was hit from behind by the truck driven by Martinez-Cruz and pushed 106 feet, rotating clockwise in front of Martinez-Cruz’s truck. Both the car and truck then slammed into the rear of the truck being towed and pushing it into the rear of the tractor. The tractor left the right side of the roadway and struck a power pole and came to rest in a field facing northwest. Bergen’s car came to rest in the westbound lane of County Lane 5 North, facing north and still attached to the front of potato truck driven by Martinez-Cruz.
Deputy Alamosa County Coroner Harry Alejo pronounced Bergen dead at the scene at 8:55 p.m. An autopsy on the victim is schedule for today in Colorado Springs, Colo. Authorities say an autopsy is standard procedure for victims in fatal traffic accidents.
The accident report said both trucks were loaded with potatoes at the time of the accident.
The accident report did not indicate the ownership of the potato trucks or the tractor.

[Soldier4Christ]

House Passes 3 Immigration Measures
The three approved measures allow quicker deportation and make tunneling a crime, but they could face resistance in the Senate.

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday approved three new bills targeting illegal immigration, including one that would make it a crime to tunnel under the border and another making it easier to deport gang members who are not citizens.

The action followed House approval last week of a proposed 700-mile fence along the border with Mexico — legislation the Senate is now debating — and passage earlier this week of a bill meant to prevent illegal immigrants from voting.

The measures stem from the push by House Republican leaders for the federal government to focus on securing the nation's border before dealing with other immigration-related issues.

House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) hailed Thursday's bills as evidence that GOP lawmakers were "serious about securing our border and enforcing our law." He said he was hopeful the bills could be on President Bush's desk "in a matter of weeks."

But a key Republican senator cast doubt on the prospects of any of the House measures, questioning the wisdom of enacting enforcement-oriented legislation without grappling with the citizenship status of illegal immigrants in the U.S. or calls by the business community for a guest worker program.

"I don't see how we can deal with the immigration issue on a piecemeal basis," said Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Most senators have supported the more sweeping rewrite of immigration policy endorsed by Bush. And Specter expressed concern that House leaders would have little incentive to negotiate other immigration-related matters in the future "if we take care of all of their priorities and none of the Senate's."

Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, emphasized their opposition to the House approach at an annual Capitol Hill summit with Latino leaders.

"Republicans claim to be on the side of Hispanics, but their record doesn't match their rhetoric," said Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).

"You cannot be on the side of Hispanics, especially when you demagogue the immigration issue, when you are refusing to support sound solutions to one of the most pressing issues in America."

The decision by House Republicans to back border security and more aggressive enforcement of immigration laws while eschewing talks over establishing a guest worker program or creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants is in part designed to motivate the party's conservative base in an election year.

The question among political analysts in both parties is whether the strategy could earn the GOP short-term gains in November at the expense of the party's longer-term fortunes. Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population and are expected to make up about one-quarter of the population by 2050.

Most of the legislation that cleared the House on Thursday had been approved previously by the chamber as part of a single bill it passed in December.

One of the new measures would authorize the indefinite detention of some illegal immigrants, a move that would overturn two Supreme Court decisions declaring that practice unlawful. The bill would also bar gang members from entering the country and allow the Department of Homeland Security to quickly deport noncitizens if it believes they are gang members.

It passed 328-95.

A second bill would speed the ability of immigration officers to deport people and limit their access to appeal. It would strip Salvadorans of a special immigration status that has protected many from deportation. And it would affirm the right of state and local law enforcement to help enforce federal immigration laws. It passed 277-140.

The third bill would impose a 20-year prison sentence on anyone who digs a tunnel under the U.S. border. People who permit tunnel construction on their property would earn a 10-year sentence.

The bill, identical to legislation sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), was sponsored by David Dreier (R-San Dimas) and approved unanimously, 422-0.

[Soldier4Christ]

Seven illegal Mexican immigrants arrested at Dem. chair's home

On Saturday, September 16 at around 2 p.m. Charlestown Police arrested seven illegal Mexicans at the residence of John M. Rosa of 81 Ross Hill Road. Rosa is the chairman of the Town Democratic Committee.

The story began when police answered a call from a Ross Hill Road resident that complained about extremely loud "Hispanic rap" coming from Rosa's residence.

According to police reports, prior to the police arriving at Rosa's residence, the disgruntled neighbor informed police that there were illegal immigrants living next door.

When police arrived to Rosa's home, loud music was coming from the garage in back where at least some of the illegal immigrants were gathered in a group.

Police told the group about the neighbor's complaint and requested the music be turned down.

Police then attempted to obtain identification from those gathered and no one produced a valid ID. According to a media release, "several of the parties verbally indicated that they were in this country illegally."

Seven Mexican nationals were then arrested and brought to the Charlestown Police Station for further investigation into their legal status.

Police said they were able obtain positive identification of the immigrants through fingerprinting, and then contacted Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) who confirmed that the seven immigrants are indeed in the United States illegally.

Once contacted, ICE authorized the release of the immigrants to Rosa, due to the fact that the immigrants have lived in the area for so long, and they've had no previous criminal issues with ICE.

Police also said that most of the immigrants live with Rosa and work for his construction company.

ICE told Charlestown Police that the next step would be for ICE to follow-up on the immigrants at a later date.

[Soldier4Christ]

Altoona latest to approve crackdown on illegals
Measure meant to stem crime, low wages – 'We need to stop it before it happens'

City Council members on Tuesday night approved a measure aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants by punishing companies that hire them and landlords who rent to them.

The council voted 6-1, with member Matt Garber dissenting, to adopt the "Undocumented Alien Control Ordinance" proposal, which is similar to a measure passed in Hazleton earlier this year.

Before the vote, members heard passionate testimony from people for and against the ordinance.

"Who will take care of the people made homeless and unemployed?" asked The Rev. Luke Robertson, Catholic Charities director. "What might passing this kind of ordinance do to the soul of this city?"

Businessman Greg Sheehan, however, said the measure could keep problems such as depressed wages and crime from reaching Altoona, a city of about 47,000 that is 85 miles west of Pittsburgh.

"It's coming," he said. "We need to stop it before it happens."

The vote came a couple of weeks after a Blair County jury recommended that Miguel Padilla be sentenced to death for the murders of three men outside a city nightclub last year. Immigration authorities have said that Padilla, 27, of Gallitzin, had been in the country illegally from Mexico since he was about 9 years old.

Garber said he was concerned about how the ordinance would be enforced and the risk of litigation. He said he favors the employment provision but is not sure the rental provisions give landlords enough time to evict or enough tools to determine legality of renters.

Representatives of the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, the American Civil Liberties Union and some community activists had asked the council to table the ordinance. Bishop Joseph Adamec of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown earlier said that if it was passed, there should be a "grandfather clause" allowing poor families to get help if needed.

Since the Hazleton vote, more than a half-dozen communities in eastern Pennsylvania have either passed or considered similar crackdowns on illegal immigrants, as have a number of municipalities around the country.

Hispanic activists and the ACLU sued to overturn Hazleton's illegal immigrant law, but the lawsuit was rendered moot earlier this month when the city passed a replacement law designed to better withstand a legal challenge.

[Soldier4Christ]

Border fence opposed because of animals
Environmentalists, U.S. officials cite migration routes, insects drawn to lights

The proposed 700-miles of fencing authorized in an immigration bill passed this month by the House already is under fire from environmentalists and some U.S. officials who say it could harm the migration routes of animals.

An estimated 1 million illegal aliens entered the U.S. across the 2,000-mile southern border last year, but the activists and some wardens with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are worried about the barriers' potential effect on a wildlife corridor linking northern Mexico and the U.S. southwest known as the "Sky Islands," according to Reuters.

In that stretch of 40 mountain ranges are scores of species from both southern and northern climates such as the jaguar and the parrot of the Mexican Sierra Madre Mountains and the black bear and the Mexican wolf of the U.S. Rocky Mountains.

"Bisecting the area with an impermeable barrier such as a double reinforced wall or fence could really have a devastating effect on these species," said Matt Skroch, a wildlife biologist and executive director of the environmental non-profit group Sky Island Alliance in Tucson, Ariz., according to the news service.

"If they build it, we could really say goodbye to the future of jaguars in the United States," he added.

But WND columnist and blogger Michelle Malkin points to an Arizona Daily Star report revealing the massive migration of illegal aliens across the wilderness has created its own environmental problem, with millions of pounds of trash left behind.

Authorities estimate the 3.2 million-plus entrants caught by the Border Patrol from July 1999 through June 2005 dropped 25 million pounds of trash. That doesn't include the unknown amounts of garbage left by border-crossers who don't get caught.

The House proposal – expected to come up for a Senate vote in the next few days – envisions double-barrier fencing along parts of the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas topped with bright lights. In many wilderness areas, the new fencing would replace patchy, chest-high barbed wire barriers.

But William Radke, manager of the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge near Douglas, Ariz., is worried the fencing "would have a negative effect on everything from the insects that would now be flying around the lights instead of pollinating the cactuses, to the birds that eat them, right up to the large predators like the jaguars."

Snakes, turtles, wild turkeys and road runners also would be prevented from crossing, he told Reuters, and the bright lights would interfere with birds' ability to navigate by the stars.

Radke also is concerned the barrier would cut off the highland trails used by "pioneer" jaguars crossing from Mexico and repopulating the Peloncillo mountains east of Douglas after decades of absence.

Radke explained that the jaguars are coming north because their habitats are filling up in Mexico.

"If we cut off that access they are going to be restricted to areas where they are going to be in conflict with their own populations, it would have a negative impact," he told Reuters.

[airIam2worship]

I guess that the enviornmentalists don't even worry about the millions of illegal immigrants that are working here in the US, not paying taxes, and sending their money to Mexico making Mexican economy flourish while Americans foot the bill for their children to go to public schools, hospitals, etc.

I guess it doesn't matter to them that terroists and drug smugglers come into our country everyday posing a threat to all Americans either.

Some people need to get their priorities in order, wildlife and insects are looked after by God. He always has looked after them and always will.

[Soldier4Christ]

Miami-Dade to be declared sanctuary for illegals?
Activists want local police barred from participating in immigration enforcement

With the debate on immigration reform stalled in Congress, Miami immigrant advocates looked elsewhere Wednesday for inspiration: to such cities as San Francisco that have declared themselves ''sanctuaries'' where local police are barred from participating in certain kinds of immigration enforcement.

Flanked by rows of restless children wearing shirts that read ''Don't make me an orphan,'' Nora Sandigo was clear on what she wanted.

''Local politicians need to stand up and take care of the children in their own house,'' said Sandigo, executive director of the immigrant advocacy group American Fraternity.

The group wants the Miami-Dade County Commission to declare the county a sanctuary. The designation means county police would be prohibited from asking suspects about their immigration status during a traffic stop or arrest, and county officers would only participate in immigration raids targeting immigrants with criminal records and those who entered the country illegally.

The ''sanctuary'' designation proposal is part of a larger push by American Fraternity to protect undocumented immigrants. Earlier this month, the group filed a class-action lawsuit in Miami federal court on behalf of the U.S.-born children of those immigrants, arguing that their constitutional rights are being violated by the constant threat that their parents will be deported.

With legislation on comprehensive immigration law reform stalled in Washington, such action is necessary, Fraternity president Alfonso Oviedo said.

''For all practical purposes, I believe Dade County already is a sanctuary, but we want them to make it official so . . . that there will not be abuses,'' he said.

OTHER CITIES

Across the nation, other governments have established themselves as immigrant sanctuaries. Among those governments are Cambridge, Mass.; San Francisco; and Takoma Park, Md.

'If there is a resident who is not a citizen and he sees a murder, we want him to be able to come forward and not fear the first thing he will be asked is, `Are you legal?' '' said Joe Arellano, spokesman for Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco, which has had sanctuary status since the early 1980s. ``Our first responders should not be enforcers of immigration policy.''

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials would not comment on the impact of sanctuary laws on the agency's work, only saying that such decisions are in the hands of local governments.

''We would defer to counties and cities to make a determination on how they wish to proceed, though certainly we always want to have a cooperative relationship with our state and local counterparts,'' said Jamie Zuieback, an immigration agency spokeswoman. ``We do often work closely with state and local agencies, in large part because we have a shared law enforcement objective.''

Under current policy, if Miami-Dade police officers discover a suspect is an undocumented immigrant, they can call immigration officials regardless of whether the suspect is charged with a crime.

''We don't proactively seek out individuals we believe are here illegally,'' police spokesman Roy Rutland said. ``However, if in the course of an investigation or an incident we have a reason to believe a person is an illegal immigrant, then we may contact ICE and detain them.''

`CASE-BY-CASE BASIS'

The department does not have a strict policy on when an officer is allowed to ask about immigration status, Rutland said. ''We handle that on a case-by-case basis,'' he said.

Several county commissioners said they would need more information before committing to the sanctuary designation.

''I'm open to hearing about it, but I need to know more details,'' said Commissioner Jose ''Pepe'' Diaz, who was at the American Fraternity meeting on Wednesday.

Sanctuary cities have drawn fire from Congress, with House members trying to pass legislation that would, in some cases, deny some kinds of federal funding to local governments with sanctuary policies.

''They're breaking federal law because the people are here illegally,'' said Carlos Espinosa, spokesman for Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican who has repeatedly proposed anti-sanctuary legislation. ``Cities should not be allowed to set their own foreign policy by granting amnesty to illegals.''

______________

Now this is getting ridiculus.

[Soldier4Christ]

Immigrants sending $45 billion home
Latinos 'feel obligated' to support family in Mexico, Central America

Latin American immigrants in Texas will send $5.2 billion back home to their relatives this year, ranking second only to California in a state-by-state breakdown released today by the Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund.

Remittances from Texas will soar by 64 percent this year compared to in 2004, surpassing the national increase of 51 percent, the study found.

The Washington, D.C.-based fund estimates that the 12.6 million Latin American immigrants living in the United States will send $45.3 billion home this year.

These cash flows have captured the attention of U.S. and Mexican businesses in the last few years, with banks trying to tap into that market by offering money wiring services. And in Houston, furniture, cement and real estate companies offer immigrants here the chance to pay for sofas, construction materials and new homes in Mexico and Central America.

More people are sending cash home because "it is now becoming an expectation," said Sergio Bendixen of Bendixen and Associates. For this study, he conducted 2,511 telephone interviews with Latino immigrants and focus groups in both the U.S. and Latin America. "People almost feel obligated to do so."

Advertisements remind Latinos to send cash or gifts, such as appliances, home to relatives for holidays, such as Mother's Day, he said.

Latino immigrants regularly call relatives back home and know when someone is in financial straits or needs money for a special occasion, Bendixen said.

"Because of this constant communication, they have the pressure to send money," he said.

Indeed, Mexican immigrant Juan Torres said he calls his mother every two days and if his relatives are having a problem, "then I'll send money for medicine or for a doctor."

The study also found that immigrants from Mexico, Central America and South America also contribute to the economy inside the United States.

Latin American immigrants have more than $500 billion in buying power and send about 10 percent of their earnings home to relatives, according to the study. In Texas, immigrants contribute about $52.8 billion to the local economy, according to the study.

"These remittance families are contributing to two countries," said Donald Terry, manager of the fund, dubbing immigrants "transnational families."

But other groups view these cash transfers as an example of immigrants living in the U.S. simply to work instead of fully integrating here.

"It represents a one foot in, a one foot out sensibility on the part of immigrants," said John Keeley, spokesman for the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that supports tougher immigration laws.

Immigrants living in California will send about $13.2 billion this year to Latin America, making it the only state with higher remittances than Texas.

And this year, Texas will overtake New York, which ranked second on the list the last time this study was conducted in 2004. New York ranks third, with $3.7 billion bound for Latin America, because some immigrants from the state moved to nearby New Jersey, Bendixen said.

The study has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.

Texas also has twice as many immigrants than New York with the Lone Star state's immigrant population growing because of its proximity to Latin America and job opportunities in everything from construction workers to restaurant cooks, Bendixen said.

"There's been a huge influx in the last five years," Bendixen said, because of "a combination of difficult times in Latin America and a booming U.S. economy."

More than half of Latin Americans who sent money abroad did not have a full-time job in their home countries, the study found. But once they touched U.S. soil, about half found a job within a month, earning an average monthly salary of $900.

"They need the jobs. We need the workers in the U.S.," Terry said. "That's what drives immigration in the U.S. and that's what drives remittances."