Illegal Immigration

[Soldier4Christ]

Lawmen under siege along Mexico border

Alien and drug smugglers along the U.S.-Mexico border have spawned a rise in violence against federal, state and local law-enforcement authorities, who say they are outmanned and outgunned.

"They've got weapons, high-tech radios, computers, cell phones, Global Positioning Systems, spotters and can react faster than we are able to," said Shawn P. Moran, a 10-year U.S. Border Patrol veteran who serves as vice president of the National Border Patrol Council Local 1613 in San Diego.

"And they have no hesitancy to attack the agents on the line, with anything from assault rifles and improvised Molotov cocktails to rocks, concrete slabs and bottles," he said. "There are so many agent 'rockings' that few are even reported anymore. If we wrote them all up, that's all we would be doing."

Assaults against Border Patrol agents have more than doubled over the past two years, many by Mexico-based alien and drug gangs more inclined than ever to use violence as a means of ensuring success in the smuggling of people and contraband.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff acknowledges that although the department has begun to make progress against "the criminals and thugs" operating along the U.S.-Mexico border, "we are beginning to see more violence in some border communities and against our Border Patrol agents as these traffickers ... seek to protect their turf.

"We must provide the manpower and resources they need to carry out their duties, and we are working hard to make sure they get them," Mr. Chertoff said during a speech in Houston this month.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the investigative arm of Homeland Security, stated in a report earlier this year that border gangs were becoming increasingly ruthless — targeting rivals, along with federal, state and local police. ICE described violence on the border as rising dramatically over the past three years in what it called "an unprecedented surge."

But many agents think they are viewed as "expendable" by the managers within Homeland Security and the Border Patrol. They say that while the number of agents overall has increased dramatically over the past year, the actual number of line agents has not seen a corresponding jump.

Several noted that one six-mile section of border near San Diego, regarded as one of the most dangerous alien- and drug-smuggling corridors in the country, previously was assigned as many as 50 agents, but has been expanded to 13 miles and has one agent posted for each mile.

"That kind of situation is becoming increasingly common," Mr. Moran said. "The status quo is unacceptable. Agents are being assaulted four to five times per shift. Ironically, the region has often been touted as the cornerstone of Operation Gatekeeper. Well, the cornerstone is crumbling and if changes don't happen soon, we will lose an agent."

Operation Gatekeeper was a Clinton-era security initiative that put 300 agents on the U.S.-Mexico border near San Diego, along with more fencing and lighting. It was based on a similar program in El Paso, Texas, where agents were stationed within sight of one another at main crossing points in order to form a human wall.

"Where are all these new agents they say they're hiring?" Mr. Moran asked. "It's hard to believe that Mr. Chertoff means it when he says his job is to provide the manpower and resources the agents need to carry out their duties, to give them the means to protect themselves against violence from criminal traffickers."

Mr. Moran noted that many agents are being assigned to "non-border activities," including jobs at Border Patrol headquarters in Washington. He said the agency's headquarters soon may be the largest regional office in the entire Border Patrol, "assigned the task of telling the public what a good job we're doing."

Several agents noted that many of the alien- and drug-smuggling gangs targeting law-enforcement authorities are doing so with sophisticated weaponry. They noted that in February, an ICE-led task force seized two completed improvised explosive devices, materials for making 33 more devices, 300 primers, 1,280 rounds of ammunition, five grenades, nine pipes with end caps, 26 grenade triggers, 31 grenade spoons, 40 grenade pins, 19 black powder casings, a silencer and cash during raids in Laredo, Texas.

"Keeping explosives and other high-powered weaponry out of the hands of violent criminal organizations is a central focus of the new Border Enforcement Security Task Force in Laredo," Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers, who heads ICE, said in announcing the seizures. "ICE is working day and night with its task force partners to stem the tide of violence that has been ravaging border communities in south Texas."

[Littleboy]

I have 2 cousins that worked for the U.S Border Patrol,
They quit in fear of being prosecuted for doing their JOB among other things, Like chasing the same people over & over & over again & again, I think you get my point!
The Illegals have more right's then they/we do!
2 are in prison right Now, that I know of!
YLBD
A Dem. would say your a Racist or Mean Spirited.....
A Rep.   Would say we want the RULE of LAW ENFORCED!

[Soldier4Christ]

Mexico stricter than U.S. on licenses for illegals
All 31 states require foreign residents to hold valid visa if they want driving document

Push to Give Driver's Licenses to Illegals in U.S., But in Mexico It's a Different Story

 Hillary Clinton might be on one side of the border, then the other when it comes to issuing driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, but Mexican officials know exactly where they stand: no licenses for illegals.

All of Mexico's 31 states require foreign residents to hold a valid visa if they want a Mexican license, according to a survey published Thursday in The Arizona Republic.

"When it comes to foreigners, we're a little more strict here," Alejandro Ruíz, director of education at the Mexican Automobile Association, told the newspaper.

Immigrant drivers became an overnight national campaign issue when Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton responded to a debate question by declared her support for a move by New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer to issue licenses to illegal immigrants.

"It makes a lot of sense," Clinton said during the Oct. 30 debate.

She backed away from that support Wednesday when Spitzer announced he was backing off the plan.

Eight U.S. states allow drivers to get licenses without proving they are legal residents, the newspaper reported.

Mexicans account for more than half of the 12 million undocumented residents, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

Because of the number of illegal Mexicans residing in the U.S., America's southern neighbor has battled to open the licensing process in all 50 states.

But licensing offices in all of Mexico's 31 states -- and Mexico City -- told The Arizona Republic that proof of citizenship is required.

Temporary tourists can drive using their foreign licenses, the newspaper reported, the same temporary exemption granted visitors to the U.S.

[Soldier4Christ]

The question of whether to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants ignited a national debate in the United States. But in Mexico, the largest source of U.S. immigrants, there's no question: Here, you must be a legal resident to get a driver's license.

All of Mexico's 31 states, along with Mexico City, require foreigners to present a valid visa if they want a driver's license, according to a survey of states by The Arizona Republic.

"When it comes to foreigners, we're a little more strict here," said Alejandro Ruíz, director of education at the Mexican Automobile Association.

   


Immigrant drivers zoomed into the national spotlight after presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said a move by the New York governor to give licenses to illegal immigrants "makes a lot of sense" during an Oct. 30 debate.

On Wednesday, Clinton backed off that plan.

Proponents said the plan would have made the roads safer by ensuring that drivers are trained and insured, but the ensuing public outcry forced Gov. Eliot Spitzer to abandon the effort Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., planned to file a bill this week that would bar states from any future attempts to give licenses to illegal immigrants.

Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington allow drivers to get licenses without proving they are legal residents, according to the National Immigration Law Center. Most other states, including Arizona, require applicants to prove they are citizens or legal residents.

Mexicans make up the bulk of illegal immigrants in the United States, accounting for an estimated 6 million of the 11.5 million undocumented residents as of March 2005, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretariat declined to comment on the controversy this week, but the Mexican government has fought U.S. restrictions on licenses in the past.

In 2004, the former Mexican consul in New York, Arturo Sarukhan, called such rules "a policy without a purpose" during a hearing in the New York State Assembly.

Sarukhan is now the Mexican ambassador in Washington.

Yet, licensing offices in all of Mexico's 31 states, along with the Federal District, where Mexico City is located, said they require applicants to prove their citizenship, preferably by showing a federal voter-registration card issued by the Federal Elections Institute.

Of those, 28 states and the Federal District said they would issue licenses to foreigners only if they present valid FM-2 or FM-3 residency visas.

The central Mexican states of Morelos, Puebla and Guerrero are more lenient. Foreigners there can get a driver's license with a valid tourist visa, or FMT.

Tourist visas are issued by federal immigration agents at airports and border crossing points.

Foreign tourists who are in Mexico temporarily can also drive using their foreign licenses, states said. Most U.S. states, including Arizona, have a similar exemption for temporary visitors.

Mexican officials said the application rules are strictly enforced, especially in southern states that have a problem with illegal immigrants from Central America.

"Last week a man came here (with a tourist visa) and said he was working as a deliveryman," said Denia Gurgua, manager of the driver's license office in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the capital of the southern state of Chiapas.

She said she denied him a license because he did not have a visa to work in Mexico.

"Our constitution has certain restrictions for foreigners," she said.

U.S. proponents of tougher restrictions worry that having a driver's license helps legitimize illegal immigrants, making it harder to detect and remove them.

"The fact that all 31 states in Mexico would have such a common-sense position . . . shows to me a certain hypocrisy on the part of the Mexican government, because they are constantly criticizing those of us in Congress who want immigration laws to be tougher up here," said King of New York.

But immigrant advocates says the two countries don't compare. U.S. states are trying to protect other motorists from millions of illegal immigrants who are already driving, said Tyler Moran, an expert on driver's licenses at the National Immigration Law Center.

Mexico's pool of foreign residents is much smaller, about 492,000 people in a country of 105 million, according to the 2000 census.

"It may be a bit like comparing apples and oranges," Moran said. "The (U.S. states) are dealing in reality, and it's better public policy to have people actually have licenses, have identification, have insurance than not."

[Soldier4Christ]

Mexican president lashes out at U.S. candidates 
Government to finance public relations push to change American opinions

Mexican President Felipe Calderón has forcefully inserted himself into the U.S. presidential campaign, denouncing the candidates for demonizing Mexican immigrants and announcing that the government would finance a public relations campaign aimed at reversing Americans’ negative perceptions.

At a conference Wednesday of the Advisory Council of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad, the government’s immigrant assistance agency, Calderón lashed out at the “increasing harassment” and “persecution” of Mexicans in the United States, those there legally as well as illegally.

“My duty is to make an appeal, respectfully but firmly, to the candidates of the various political parties in the United States to stop making Mexicans symbolic hostages in their speeches and their strategies,” Calderón said.

Although he did not single out any candidate by name, Calderón made his comments on the same day Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado, a Republican who has made immigration reform the centerpiece of his presidential campaign, released an incendiary ad linking immigrants to terrorism and violence in the streets.

Mexican politicians regularly criticize U.S. immigration policies, but it is highly unusual for the president of the republic to directly address the U.S. political process. But Calderón said the situation had become intolerable.

“We are respectful of the internal processes and decisions of the Americans,” he said, “but we also demand respect for Mexico and for Mexicans.”

Government promises programs to aid immigrants
Calderón coupled his criticisms with several broad-ranging initiatives to better the lives of Mexicans in the United States, who are an important constituency in Mexican politics.

The government estimates that there are 11 million Mexicans in the United States, about 6 million of them illegally. It calculates that they sent back to Mexico more than $23 billion in remittances to help support their families last year.

“Remittances from the United States are a major source of income for our country, at present the second largest after oil exports,” said Maria Rosa Márquez Cabrera, the secretary of rural development.

The government announced that it would sharply lower the banking fees that are charged for remittances to immigrants’ relatives in Mexico City, the capital, to as little as $3 for a $500 transfer. No transfer would cost more than $10 under the program, which is a partnership with the national banking corporation Grupo Financiero Banorte.

It also said it would back a proposal by the immigrants agency to organize a coalition of Mexican activists inside the United States to respond to political attacks on immigrants. The coalition would be called la Liga contra la Discriminación de los Mexicanos en Estados Unidos, or the League Against Discrimination of Mexicans in the United States.

PR campaign targeted at the U.S. public
But the most unusual initiative would budget an undisclosed amount for a campaign inside the United States to “win the battle of public opinion” by highlighting inspirational “success stories” of Mexican immigrants who had prospered in American society.

Calderón did not disclose details of the new campaign, but he said it would help the U.S. public recognize “the irreplaceable contribution of Mexicans to the United States, to its economy and its society.”

A particular target will be the U.S. news media, where he said he would seek an “objective dialogue” on immigration.

“Strategies of simple confrontation and rudeness aggravate an anti-Mexican feeling,” Calderón said, amplifying “the worse phobias even more.”

[Soldier4Christ]

Immigration study says farm worker shortage a myth

An immigration reform organization has released a report that challenges the argument of open border proponents who claim there's a shortage of farm workers in the United States.

The report was commissioned by the Washington, DC-based Center for Immigration Studies, and is entitled Farm Labor Shortages: How Real? What Response? Jessica Vaughan, a senior policy analyst for the CIS, says the shortage is a myth.

"There are no real indications of a shortage. Production of fresh fruits and vegetables has actually gone up. The growers are planting more and more, and they're harvesting more and more. The prices have stayed the same," argues Vaughan. "If there were really a shortage we would start to see shortages of produce on our shelves."

Vaughan says a political agenda is behind the supposed shortage of farm workers. She says politicians and business interests are pushing this shortage myth so they can in turn push amnesty legislation. She contends it is all about cheap labor.

[Soldier4Christ]

Des Moines looks to be sanctuary city
'We don't want anybody with hard feelings about this issue to get mad'

A proposal to prohibit local law enforcement officials from conducting raids on illegal immigrants in Des Moines was presented to at least one City Council member recently.

Councilwoman Christine Hensley said Sunday that she spoke about six weeks ago with representatives of two immigration-rights groups that presented a plan that would block local city departments - including the police - from conducting raids on immigrants or inquiring about a person's immigration status.

Aspects of the proposal, brought up Sunday at an immigration forum, are similar to a national trend of "sanctuary cities."

"They're looking at ordinances that have been passed in other parts of the country that would address that ," Hensley said. "It's really important to emphasize it's in the very, very beginning stages of discussion."

Hensley said the impetus for the ordinance is illegal immigrants who fear raids and do not come to work, incurring costs on their employers.

"What I suggested to them is there has to be a lot of discussion about it and whether or not there's really a problem," she said.

Details on the plan and its chances of becoming an ordinance are unknown.

Alex Orozco, executive director of the Iowa-based Network Against Human Trafficking who is one of the people who met with Hensley, said Sunday he is trying to set up a meeting with Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie before the end of the year.

Orozco would not name the other immigration-rights group involved in the proposal.

Orozco declined to elaborate on specifics of the proposal except to say that "the ordinance would make it harder to conduct raids" and "all the city departments would be involved."

Hensley said she didn't have more details about the plan.

Councilmen Tom Vlassis, Bob Mahaffey and Michael Kiernan each said they had not heard of the plan.

Cownie, Councilmen Brian Meyer and Chris Coleman could not be reached for comment.

Orozco said media coverage of the plan while it is still in the preliminary stages would hurt its chances of passage. "We don't want anybody with hard feelings about this issue to get mad when we haven't even finalized it," he said.

Orozco had made a reference to the proposal earlier Sunday at an immigration forum at Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines.

Even without all the details, some aspects of the proposal appear to mimic a nationwide trend: so-called "sanctuary cities" that direct local police not to look for violations of immigration law.

The term "sanctuary city" has come under scrutiny, said Tim Counts, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, adding that there is no legal definition.

Counts said that as far as he knew, any city ordinance would not interfere with federal agents conducting raids.

Nearly 70 cities, counties, and states have enacted sanctuary policies, according to a preliminary count by the National Immigration Law Center, but the Congressional Research Service in 2006 put the number at 32 cities and counties, according to a Sept. 25 article in the Christian Science Monitor.

A major raid in Iowa came last Dec. 12 when immigration agents swept through Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in Marshalltown and five other cities nationwide, arresting about 1,200 workers - one-tenth of Swift's work force - on immigration or identity-theft charges.

The raids prompted a September federal civil-rights lawsuit filed in Texas against both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement by some of the workers detained.

In August 2000, Des Moines police detained 49 illegal immigrants in a raid on a south-side bar that they said was the result of a six-week police investigation of drugs allegedly being sold at the establishment.

[Shammu]

San Francisco to give illegal aliens ID cards
Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:27pm EST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco will give resident identification cards to illegal immigrants under a plan approved on Tuesday amid a fierce nationwide debate on granting privileges to undocumented aliens.

In a 10-1 vote, the city's board of supervisors -- the equivalent of a city council -- approved giving identification cards to all residents, including illegal immigrants. The move makes San Francisco the largest U.S. city to back such a plan.

Residents will be able to obtain the resident cards by presenting photo identification and proof they live in the city, such as a utility bill. It was unclear if the new cards, which will be accepted at libraries and health clinics, will carry photos.

Such a move had been expected from San Francisco, which is famously liberal. Earlier this year, Mayor Gavin Newsom said he would not allow city officials and employees to assist immigration raids by federal authorities seeking up people who had committed crimes or disregarded deportation orders.

San Francisco, which declared itself a "sanctuary city" in 1989, also this year launched a program to provide medical care to uninsured residents regardless of their immigration status.

At the state level, California's Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed bills that would allow undocumented aliens to obtain state identification cards, including driver's licenses.

By contrast, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, proposed giving illegal immigrants drivers licenses. But he was forced to drop the plan last week due to overwhelming opposition, even from presidential candidates from his own party like Hillary Clinton.

San Francisco to give illegal aliens ID cards

[nChrist]

San Francisco to give illegal aliens ID cards
Tue Nov 20, 2007 7:27pm EST

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco will give resident identification cards to illegal immigrants under a plan approved on Tuesday amid a fierce nationwide debate on granting privileges to undocumented aliens.

In a 10-1 vote, the city's board of supervisors -- the equivalent of a city council -- approved giving identification cards to all residents, including illegal immigrants. The move makes San Francisco the largest U.S. city to back such a plan.

Residents will be able to obtain the resident cards by presenting photo identification and proof they live in the city, such as a utility bill. It was unclear if the new cards, which will be accepted at libraries and health clinics, will carry photos.

Such a move had been expected from San Francisco, which is famously liberal. Earlier this year, Mayor Gavin Newsom said he would not allow city officials and employees to assist immigration raids by federal authorities seeking up people who had committed crimes or disregarded deportation orders.

San Francisco, which declared itself a "sanctuary city" in 1989, also this year launched a program to provide medical care to uninsured residents regardless of their immigration status.

At the state level, California's Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed bills that would allow undocumented aliens to obtain state identification cards, including driver's licenses.

By contrast, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, proposed giving illegal immigrants drivers licenses. But he was forced to drop the plan last week due to overwhelming opposition, even from presidential candidates from his own party like Hillary Clinton.

San Francisco to give illegal aliens ID cards

San Francisco never ceases to amaze me. Gay parades and illegal aliens are most welcome, but our Armed Forces are not. Nudity and obscene sex acts were most welcome on their public streets, but the Marine Corp Silent Drill Team was turned away. Does anyone get the idea that we might be looking at the last days described in Bible Prophecy? How much worse can things get? The Bible says MUCH WORSE!

[Soldier4Christ]

Illegal aliens arrested while protesting crackdown 
'I thought it was time to do something more about it'

Eight illegal immigrants were arrested during a protest outside of a Phoenix furniture store that had hired sheriff's deputies to keep day laborers away.

Protesters have been demonstrating for the past six Saturdays at Pruitt's furniture store in east Phoenix against the arrests of illegal immigrants in the area. Maricopa County sheriff's deputies had arrested 24 illegal immigrants in the area after stopping them for traffic violations.

The eight people arrested Saturday on suspicion of violating immigration laws were the first illegal immigrants taken into custody during the actual protests.

"I thought it was time to do something more about it," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. "The Pruitt's situation is getting out of hand. They are demonstrating every week and destroying this business. I don't think that's fair."

In late October, Pruitt's hired sheriff's deputies to keep day laborers away from gathering on the property, saying they were hurting business.

On Nov. 3, Daniel Pochoda, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, was arrested on a trespassing charge during one of the protests. Deputies said at the time Pochoda refused to move his car from the property.

[HisDaughter]

I have a HUGE crush on Sheriff Joe!   

[Soldier4Christ]

 

[HisDaughter]

Nice likeness, don't ya think?

[Soldier4Christ]

Of you, perhaps.

[Soldier4Christ]

Revised SCHIP still has loophole for illegals 
Applicants for children's health program wouldn't need to prove citizenship

The revised children's health insurance bill that Congress is about to send to President Bush still has loopholes that both illegal aliens and ineligible legal immigrants could exploit to join the program, a new Heritage Foundation analysis shows.

Under the bill, those applying for the State Children's Health Insurance Program would not have to prove citizenship. Instead, they only would have to provide a valid Social Security number — something most legal immigrants and many illegal aliens already have, said Robert Rector, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, whose analysis is being released today.

"If you're illegal, you're going to have to come with a valid but bogus Social Security number. If you're a legal permanent resident, you have a Social Security number, it's just a piece of cake for you to walk in," Mr. Rector said.

He said the SCHIP bill that Congress passed would undo the 1996 welfare policy that restricted most public benefits to legal immigrants who have been in the country for at least five years. The new bill doesn't change that requirement, but only requires states to ask for a Social Security number, which Mr. Rector said means ineligible immigrants could sign up.

"You couldn't be clearer in their saying, 'We really don't care about that five-year time period,' " he said.

Illegal aliens who have stolen a valid Social Security number could also join, he said.

Democratic leaders in Congress said Friday that they will send the SCHIP bill to Mr. Bush and force him to make good on his threat to veto it.

"This legislation, of course, passed the House and Senate with broad bipartisan support, and we urge the president to sign it into law," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, Maryland Democrat. "We are sending this legislation to the president now because of concerns about a pocket veto if we wait."

If Congress sends the bill to Mr. Bush less than 10 days before adjourning for the year, the president could kill it simply by refusing to sign it — known as a pocket veto.

Conservative Republicans said the bill expands coverage past poor children to include some adults and children from middle-income families. They fear that is a step toward government-run health care for all.

Mr. Bush vetoed an earlier bill, citing concerns about the expanded coverage and illegal aliens' ability to get coverage.

The bill's backers — both Democrats and some top Republicans such as Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa — said there's nothing in the measure that would affect immigrants' access.

The new rules on Social Security numbers are designed to reverse a 2006 change to the law, which required Medicaid applicants to prove citizenship by showing a birth certificate, passport or similar document before joining.

Democrats said there was no evidence of illegal aliens' abusing the program, though. And in a Government Accountability Office report, several states said the new rules actually are keeping some eligible citizens from getting Medicaid benefits.

In October, the House failed to override Mr. Bush's first veto, 273-156, 16 votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed.

The new SCHIP bill passed the House 265-142 on Oct. 25, and passed the Senate 64-30 on Nov. 1. But Democrats had delayed sending the bill to Mr. Bush, hoping to work out an agreement.