[migrawatch-public] RAIDS AND RESISTANCE SEPTEMBER 22 TO SEPTEMBER 28, 2007
SEPTEMBER 22, 2007
IRVING, TEXAS
DALLAS SUBURB DEPORTS HUNDREDS EACH MONTH
More than 300 undocumented immigrants are being deported every month from the city of Irving because of its increased scrutiny of the immigration status of people arrested here, according to the city's mayor.
The Mexican consul general has expressed concern after members of his staff found that half of all the Mexicans they interviewed in an immigration jail last Saturday were arrested in Irving, a suburb of Dallas. He said he suspects racial profiling.
El Paso Times
SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
CANCER RULING HEATS UP IMMIGRATION DEBATE
Chemotherapy for illegal immigrants no longer covered under Medicaid. A long-simmering argument over what constitutes emergency medical care is shifting the financial burden for treating illegal immigrants with cancer to individual hospitals and charities, medical providers said Monday, adding fuel to the wider debate over immigration that has become a big issue in the presidential campaign.
Under federal law, Medicaid, the health care program for the poor, splits the cost of emergency medical treatment for undocumented aliens with the state. That provision has been the focus of dispute among state and federal officials since November 2001, however, when the federal government issued guidelines clarifying that dialysis and chemotherapy were to be considered treatments for chronic conditions, not emergencies.
Since then, the impact of the new definition has slowly become apparent as the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, conducts state-by-state audits of Medicaid emergency payments and declares that Medicaid will no longer approve reimbursement for illegal immigrants' chemotherapy treatments.
MSNBC.COM
SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
ANTI-IMMIGRANT VIOLENCE IN SAN DIEGO
Although the group says it disavows violence, more than one criminal case related to the San Diego Minutemen is now pending in the California courts. In one case now coming to trial, John Monti of Bellflower, a Los Angeles suburb, is charged with seven misdemeanors, including three counts each of battery and interfering with a person's civil rights, stemming from an incident linked to the Minutemen. Monti, who drove down to San Diego from the LA area for a Minutemen protest in November 2006, reportedly harassed, threatened and provoked a physical confrontation with a group of day laborers lined up at the intersection of Rancho Penasquitos Boulevard and Carmel Mountain Road. Monti told police the laborers threatened him when he started taking their photo with a digital camera. Jeff Schwilk, founder of the San Diego Minutemen, issued a statement saying Monti is not a member of any Minutemen groups.
(KGTV, San Diego, Sept. 19)
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
ILLINOIS
U.S. SUES ILLINOIS TO LET EMPLOYERS USE IMMIGRANT DATABASES
The Bush administration sued the State of Illinois yesterday, hoping to block a new state law that bars employers from using a federal database to verify that immigrant job applicants are in the United States legally and are authorized to work.
Under the Illinois statute, the ban would remain until Washington certifies that the databases used to verify workers' eligibility are 99 percent accurate.
Supporters of the law say the Social Security Administration and Homeland Security Department databases used to confirm eligibility are riddled with errors and could result in the denial of jobs to legal workers, including citizens.
The law, which passed with bipartisan support, was signed by Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich on Aug. 13 and is to take effect on Jan. 1.
NEW YORK TIMES
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
REAL PRESIDENT CALDERON DETAINED AT IMMIGRATION
Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon was detained for several hours by immigration officials at an airport in New York, the Spanish champions said on their Web site
The confusion came because his surname figured in a blacklist held by the immigration service. The Spanish government helped clarify matters and he was released to continue his personal visit, the club said.
(www.realmadrid.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
BORDER WATCH GROUPS READY FOR MONTHLONG DEPLOYMENT
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and a spinoff group of disaffected Minuteman members plan separate monthlong deployments along the border, beginning Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The Minuteman group said it will have members on patrol along the Mexican border in Arizona, California and Texas, and also plans to post members along the Canadian border in Washington state.
In Arizona, the group will conduct a border watch at the King Anvil Ranch near Three Points, about 40 miles southwest of Tucson in the Altar Valley. Last week, it announced it would be conducting monthlong operations in October, with plans for media coverage of speeches and a "Granny Brigade" event on Oct. 6.
Meanwhile, the Patriots' Border Alliance, created after disagreements this spring led to the expulsion of several original Minuteman members and officers, is to stage its inaugural 30-day border watch operation starting Saturday in the Palominas area, south of Sierra Vista and west of Naco.
Associated Press
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
IMMIGRATION PANEL RECOMMENDS SPECIAL JAIL FOR ILLEGALS
A panel studying illegal immigration in Virginia wants to build a 1,000-bed state jail solely for people arrested for being in the United States illegally. The Illegal Immigration Task Force agreed to 11 recommendations Monday in an effort to tighten enforcement of immigration laws. The new jail was one of them.
According to a presentation given at the last task force meeting, some 10 percent of inmates in Virginia's jails over the past year were suspected illegal immigrants.
ABC 7 News myTAKE - What's Your Opinion?Latino leaders have disputed those statistics.
The panel expects to forward its recommendations to the State Crime Commission and eventually to the General Assembly for consideration in the 2008 session.
Officials formed the task force earlier this year, after a double-fatal crash in Virginia Beach that authorities say was caused by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record.
Police say Alfredo Ramos had prior convictions for drunken driving and being drunk in public, but his name was never forwarded to immigration officials.
The Virginian-Pilot
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
BORDER WAR OVER IMMIGRATION COMES TO MIDWEST
A routine city hall appointment threatens to turn Kansas City into a new front in the U.S. debate over illegal immigration, even though the closest Mexico border crossing is hundreds of miles (kilometers) away.
Anger has been simmering among Hispanic leaders since the summer, when newly elected Mayor Mark Funkhouser appointed Frances Semler, a dues-paying member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), to the city's parks and recreation board.
Critics say the group is a racist band of vigilantes patrolling the Mexican border with guns and intimidation.
REUTERS
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
ROGERS, ARKANSAS
ROGERS, WASHINGTON COUNTY ACCEPTED IN FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM
At least two Northwest Arkansas law enforcement agencies received official word Wednesday that they've been accepted into a federal program that allows them to enforce immigration law.
By Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C.
COMPANIES GET TOOL TO TRACK ILLEGALS
Businesses, facing a government crackdown on hiring illegal immigrants, now have one more tool to help them verify a worker's status.
The Citizenship and Immigration Services unveiled a system Tuesday that matches photographs from green cards and other immigrant work permits against a database of more than 14 million pictures.
If the photos match, the employer will know that the person is using his or her own card, not a stolen or doctored one, federal officials said.
"We are very, very committed to the idea of workplace enforcement,
By EUNICE MOSCOSO The Atlanta Journal-Constitutio
SEPTEMBER 27, 2007
MIAMI, FLORIDA
MISTAKE COSTS DISHWASHER $59,000
For 11 years, Pedro Zapeta, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, lived his version of the American dream in Stuart, Florida washing dishes and living frugally to bring money back to his home country.
Two years ago, Zapeta was ready to return to Guatemala, so he carried a duffel bag filled with $59,000 -- all the cash he had scrimped and saved over the years -- to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywoo d International Airport.
But when Zapeta tried to go through airport security, an officer spotted the money in the bag and called U.S. customs officials.
"They asked me how much money I had," Zapeta recalled, speaking to CNN in Spanish.
He told the customs officials $59,000. At that point, U.S. customs seized his money, setting off a two-year struggle for Zapeta to get it back.
Zapeta, who speaks no English, said he didn't know he was running afoul of U.S. law by failing to declare he was carrying more than $10,000 with him. Anyone entering or leaving the country with more than $10,000 has to fill out a one-page form declaring the money to U.S. customs.
Officials initially accused Zapeta of being a courier for the drug trade, but they dropped the allegation once he produced pay stubs from restaurants where he had worked. Zapeta earned $5.50 an hour at most of the places where he washed dishes. When he learned to do more, he got a 25-cent raise.
After customs officials seized the money, they turned Zapeta over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS released him but began deportation proceedings. For two years, Zapeta has had two attorneys working pro bono: one on his immigration case, the other trying to get his money back.
"They are treating me like a criminal when all I am is a working man," he said.
Zapeta's story became public last year on CNN and in The Palm Beach Post newspaper, prompting well-wishers to give him nearly $10,000 -- money that now sits in a trust.
Robert Gershman, one of Zapeta's attorneys, said federal prosecutors later offered his client a deal: He could take $10,000 of the original cash seized, plus $9,000 in donations as long as he didn't talk publicly and left the country immediately.
Zapeta said, "No." He wanted all his money. He'd earned it, he said.
Now, according to Gershman, the Internal Revenue Service wants access to the dishwasher. Zapeta admits he never paid taxes.
CNN contacted the U.S. Attorneys office in Miami, U.S. Customs and the IRS about Zapeta's case. They all declined to comment.
"When you are poor, uneducated and illegal, your avenues are cut," he said.
On Wednesday, Zapeta went to immigration court and got more bad news. The donated cash to cover taxes on the donations and on the money Zapeta made as a judge gave the dishwasher until the end of January to leave the country on his own. He's unlikely to see a penny of his money.
"I am desperate," Zapeta said. "I no longer feel good about this country."
Zapeta said his goal in coming to the United States was to make enough money to buy land in his mountain village and build a home for his mother and sisters. He sent no money back to Guatemala over the years, he said, and planned to bring it all home at once.
At Wednesday's hearing, Zapeta was given official status in the United States -- voluntary departure -- and a signed order from a judge. For the first time, he can work legally in the U.S.
By the end of January, Zapeta may be able to earn enough money to pay for a one-way ticket home so the U.S. government, which seized his $59,000, doesn't have to do so.
From John Zarrella and Patrick Oppmann CNN
SEPTEMBER 27, 2007
RENO, NEVADA
FEDS ARREST 56 WORKERS AT 11 MCDONALD'S
Latinos picket jail, ask workers to stay home Friday Federal agents today arrested 56 employees suspected of being undocumented workers at 11 McDonald's restaurants, prompting Hispanic community activists to call for a statewide work boycott today.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were interviewing 12 men and 44 women from Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador to determine if criminal charges would be filed, agency spokesman Michael Keegan said.
"They were arrested for immigration violations," he said. "Some of them may be deported under different types of deportations." The restaurants in Reno, Sparks and Fernley and the and franchise corporate office were raided with search warrants. Keegan said a tip from local police after an identity theft complaint triggered the federal agency's five-month investigation.
About 8 p.m., about a hundred picketers were outside Washoe County Jail protesting the arrests.
Reno businessman Gilbert Cortez called for demonstrations and a monthlong boycott by workers at an afternoon news conference..
"We do not approve of the gestapo methods of (ICE)," he said. "The reason that we're having this problem is because you politicians do not have the gall to take care of this problem. You want our sweat but you don't want us over here.
"We will be in front of the governor's mansion, asking for some kind of program, some kind of legalization."
Reno Mayor Bob Cashell said he hoped a work action wouldn't happen.
"If everybody happens to walk out the way I'm hearing, and I hope they don't do it, this town would be very stymied," he said. "I can't sit by and watch that. We have too great a community, too many good citizens to allow something like that to happen."
Marta Aguillar of Reno said she saw ICE agents gathering workers inside the McDonald's at Shopper's Square at Plumb Lane and Virginia Street, where 11 workers were arrested.
"I'm concerned about the situation," she said. "I just wanted to see for my own eyes why the Hispanic community only. It's sad. The United States is not united any more."
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
SEPTEMBER 28, 2007
CHAPARRAL, NEW MEXICO
RESIDENTS IN N.M. TOWN ACCUSE SHERIFF OF ILLEGAL RAIDS
It was 10:30 p.m. when a sheriff's deputy started banging on Maria's front door.
Startled, she came to the door and answered his demands to know who called 911. No one, said Maria, a 50-year-old illegal immigrant who asked that her last name not be published. But the deputy, whom she couldn't name, insisted he had to come in and look through the house.
Maria told the deputy to stay outside. But he barged in with relatives who came over to see what the commotion was about, she said. He searched the house without a warrant and questioned Maria and her relatives, including children, for nearly three hours.
Eventually, he left. But Maria was arrested in a traffic stop the next day when she couldn't produce a social security card during the stop.
"Now I'm afraid to call 911," Maria said, crying as she recalled her arrest.
The Otero County Sheriff's Department is routinely demanding proof of citizenship from residents either in traffic stops or at their homes, residents and their advocates say. The department has added extra patrols using a federal grant designed to help local authorities in border-area communities combat crime. More than a dozen people have been arrested and turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol since mid-August.
But civil rights advocates say deputies or police have no right to demand such identification and certainly no right to enter someone's home without a warrant or probable cause. An expert in immigration law called the Chaparral raids "bizarre" and a U.S. Border Patrol official said local authorities don't have immigration-
By ALICIA A. CALDWELL Associated Press Writer
SEPTEMBER 12, 2007
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES SOLIDARITY WITH IMMIGRANTS
In response to the inhumane deportation of immigrant-rights activist Elvira Arellano, the We Are All Elvira and Saulito Unity Coalition held one of the nationally coordinated Days of Action for immigrant rights Sept. 12 in Los Angeles, with a march and vigil to McArthur Park starting with a prayer service at Echo Park Methodist Church.
WORKER'S WORLD
SEPTEMBER 22, 2007
RIVERSIDE, NEW JERSEY
N.J. TOWN RESCINDS IMMIGRATION LAW, BUT BRAZILIANS STAY AWAY
It was a wildly controversial law that was never enforced and recently erased, and it forced Brazilian immigrants from this small industrial town to flee for places where they felt more welcome.
Many who left last year for nearby northeast Philadelphia refuse to come back, even though the town on Monday rescinded its law against illegal immigration because it doesn't have the money to defend it against civil rights lawsuits.
By MATTHEW VERRINDER | Associated Press Writer
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
GEORGIA
SOUTHERN BAPTISTS, PUSH IMMIGRATION REFORM
On Sept. 16, Latino church groups demonstrated in front of the Georgia state Capitol against the failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform, and against the provisions of Georgia's Senate Bill 529.
Demonstrations of this sort have taken place around the country, and churches have begun to work together to provide sanctuary for the undocumented. Moral leadership of churches is needed on this issue, and more churches must get involved. In particular, support of conservative evangelical churches such as the Southern Baptists could be the tipping point toward compassionate, comprehensive immigration reform.
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
TACOMA, WASHINGTON
HISPANICS PROTEST PACIFIC POLICE
After accusations of racial profiling, more than 100 people march Charges of racial profiling by Pacific police lead to a peaceful protest march by the city's Hispanic community.
MIKE ARCHBOLD; The News Tribune
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
DANBURY, CONNECTICUT
CHALLENGE IN CONNECTICUT OVER IMMIGRANTS' ARREST
Nine day laborers are expected to file a federal lawsuit today challenging the legality of a sting operation in Danbury, Conn., last year that led to their arrest on immigration charges.
Those plaintiffs, and a tenth man whose traffic stop for a noisy muffler resulted in his deportation to Ecuador, contend that their arrests were illegal and part of a campaign based on racial profiling. They also say that the city of Danbury, its mayor, Mark D. Boughton, and its police chief acted to enforce federal immigration law without authority.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
COUNTY AGREES TO ACCOMMODATE SPANISH-SPEAKING VOTERS
The Kane County government must accommodate Spanish-speaking voters at the polls under an agreement reached Tuesday between the county and the U.S. Department of Justice, which sued the county for violating the federal Voting Rights Act.
The federal lawsuit stemmed from difficulties that surfaced in largely Hispanic areas of Dundee Township during the November 2006 election. Spanish-speaking voters were disenfranchised that day because many polling places -- most in Dundee Township -- failed to open on time, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund argued then.
A judge that day ordered all polls to stay open an additional 90 minutes, but the immigrant rights groups said many Hispanic voters never got the chance to cast a ballot.
To make sure Hispanic voters were able to exercise their right to vote in the April elections, U.S. Department of Justice officials monitored polling places in Carpentersville and Dundee Township.
It was during this observation they determined the county had failed to provide an adequate number of bilingual election judges as required by law. The county also failed to translate "certain election-related information" for Spanish-speaking voters, the suit states.
County Clerk Jack Cunningham, who oversees elections, said he and his staff were "very busy implementing the (Help America Vote Act)" and other new requirements, so "perhaps we didn't keep this (accommodating Spanish speakers) at the top of the priority list."
DAILY HERALD
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
DANBURY SUED OVER IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
Lawyers for 10 Latino men arrested in Danbury in the past year filed a civil rights lawsuit Wednesday, accusing city and federal officials of a plot to harass immigrants through illegal arrests and intimidation.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Haven, alleges authorities violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, free speech, free association and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.
Nine of the 10 were arrested during a sting targeting day laborers, while the 10th was arrested during an unrelated traffic stop.
Professors and students at Yale Law School, who are representing the men, put much of the blame on Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, who denied the allegations.
By DAVE COLLINS | Associated Press Writer
SEPTEMBER 19, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
IDENTIFICATION CARD MEASURE INTENDED TO HELP 'INVISIBLE' IMMIGRANTS
San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano introduced an ordinance Tuesday to give every person living in San Francisco the option of obtaining a city-issued identification card, a plan those who favor tougher restrictions on immigration say would undermine federal law.
The proposal - supported by Mayor Gavin Newsom and several other supervisors - comes as San Francisco faces criticism nationwide for its status as a sanctuary city, which means city policy forbids the use of any city resources to enforce federal immigration law.
The city also is in the process of filling a newly created post of
"immigrant rights administrator, " whose job it would be to ensure the sanctuary policy is followed by all city departments.
Ammiano said the identification card would help end the marginalization of people who are in the country illegally when it comes to basic public services and participation in civic life.
"If you don't have an identification card, if you don't have certain
papers, then you are invisible," Ammiano said.
To obtain the card, people would have to demonstrate that they live in San Francisco and that they are who they say they are - which could be accomplished by presenting an identification card from a foreign country.
Ammiano envisions the cards being used to gain access to city health care programs, to obtain a library card and to register children for schools.
Ammiano said he has received assurances that the program would not run afoul of U.S. immigration laws. "A lot of people are asking, 'Well, are you breaking the law?' and our understanding is that we are not," he said.
A spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera would not comment.
A spokesman for Newsom said the mayor will help Ammiano "in any way that he can" with the legislation. Spokesman Nathan Ballard said Newsom has no concern about the legality of a city-issued identification card.
Even if not illegal, the proposal would undermine the attempts of the Federal government to curb illegal immigration, said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that supports restrictions on immigration.
"The only way immigration enforcement will really work is to make it as difficult as possible for illegal immigrants to live here," Krikorian said.
San Francisco would be the second U.S. city to implement such a card. New Haven, Conn., began issuing city cards earlier this summer.
The proposal also has the support of activists in the transgender
community - as the card would not include a specified gender - and from advocates for homeless people.
The high-profile way in which San Francisco is moving toward issuing the ID cards could lead to an influx of more illegal immigrants to the city, Krikorian said.
"Some jurisdictions are trying to accommodate illegal immigration, " he said, referring to San Francisco City Hall.
But that's exactly the point for some of the city leaders who support the card.
Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, a co-sponsor of the measure, said the city should do everything it can to legitimize immigrants, whether they are in the country legally or not.
"We're here to tell immigrants, immigrant workers, their families and children that we appreciate who they are and appreciate their contribution to the city and we support them," Sandoval said.
To that end, the immigrant rights administrator, who will be paid up to $90,636 a year, will be responsible for closing any gaps in the way the city lives up to its sanctuary policies, said City Administrator Ed Lee, who will oversee the administrator.
"They will make sure we're doing everything we can to enforce the
sanctuary ordinance and making sure there are no violations by city departments, whether intentional or unintentional, " Lee said.
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
SEPTEMBER 27, 2007
GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
LATINO GROUPS DECRY IMMIGRATION RAIDS ON LONG ISLAND
A series of raids and arrests by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials were criticized Thursday by advocates for undocumented workers, who complained that the actions were inhumane and in some cases endangered the welfare of children.
"Raids that break up families is not the answer to immigration,
Luis Valenzuela, executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, said the raids, which began on Monday in Westbury, Hempstead and Central Islip, have "sent shock waves" throughout Latino communities.
By FRANK ELTMAN | Associated Press Writer
SEPTEMBER 27, 2007
DALLAS, TEXAS
MORE THAN 1,000 PROTEST IRVING'S RISE IN DEPORTATIONS
They want freeze on city policy; mayor defends police actions
Angered over a record number of recent deportations in Irving, more than 1,000 protesters waved U.S. flags and chanted "We are America" as they rallied Wednesday night at City Hall.
Demonstrators called for Irving officials to put a moratorium on turning over suspected illegal immigrants to federal officials until immigration laws are reformed nationally. They also urged people to call Mayor Herbert Gears and ask him to stop deporting people from the city's jail.
"We need to raise our voice and we need to ask for changes about the things we don't like here," said Hector Flores, a leader in Irving's Hispanic community.
A few people who support the deportations carried signs in favor of the illegal immigration enforcement.
"Our compassion starts at home, and our charity starts at home," said Sue Richardson, a longtime Irving resident and vice president of the Greater Irving Republican Club.
At least two supporters of illegal immigration enforcement were taken away in handcuffs, but police declined to say why.
One woman who was handcuffed was accused of striking people at the rally. The woman, who declined to identify herself, made obscene gestures at TV cameras and kicked at reporters before she was handcuffed.
At the heart of the contention is Irving police's use of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement'
By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News
ALBANY, NEW YORK
GOVERNOR ALLOWS DRIVERS LICENSES WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF IMMIGRATION STATUS
Governor Eliot Spitzer Friday announced that he has reversed a Pataki administration policy and will now allow persons to obtain drivers' licenses without regard to their immigration status.
Mid-Hudson News Network
SEPTEMBER 28, 2007
MINNESOTA
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS GROUP SUES ICE OVER SWIFT MEATPACKING RAID
A Minnesota immigrant rights group has sued Immigration and Customs Enforcement over its raid last year on a meatpacking plant owned by Swift and Company in Worthington, Minnesota. The lawsuit claims that federal agents "insulted, abused, and humiliated the plaintiffs on account of their race." We speak with the executive director of Centro Legal, the group that filed the lawsuit. [includes rush transcript] An immigrant rights group based in Minnesota has sued ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, over its raid last year on a meatpacking plant owned by Swift and Company in Worthington, Minnesota.
DEMOCRACY NOW
k.
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___ from FRENTE CONTRA LAS REDADES
SEPTEMBER 22, 2007
IRVING, TEXAS
DALLAS SUBURB DEPORTS HUNDREDS EACH MONTH
More than 300 undocumented immigrants are being deported every month from
the city of Irving because of its increased scrutiny of the immigration
status of people arrested here, according to the city's mayor.
The Mexican consul general has expressed concern after members of his
staff found that half of all the Mexicans they interviewed in an
immigration jail last Saturday were arrested in Irving, a suburb of
Dallas. He said he suspects racial profiling.
El Paso Times
SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
CANCER RULING HEATS UP IMMIGRATION DEBATE
Chemotherapy for illegal immigrants no longer covered under Medicaid. A
long-simmering argument over what constitutes emergency medical care is
shifting the financial burden for treating illegal immigrants with cancer
to individual hospitals and charities, medical providers said Monday,
adding fuel to the wider debate over immigration that has become a big
issue in the presidential campaign.
Under federal law, Medicaid, the health care program for the poor, splits
the cost of emergency medical treatment for undocumented aliens with the
state. That provision has been the focus of dispute among state and
federal officials since November 2001, however, when the federal
government issued guidelines clarifying that dialysis and chemotherapy
were to be considered treatments for chronic conditions, not emergencies.
Since then, the impact of the new definition has slowly become apparent as
the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, conducts
state-by-state audits of Medicaid emergency payments and declares that
Medicaid will no longer approve reimbursement for illegal immigrants'
chemotherapy treatments.
MSNBC.COM
SEPTEMBER 24, 2007
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
ANTI-IMMIGRANT VIOLENCE IN SAN DIEGO
Although the group says it disavows violence, more than one criminal case
related to the San Diego Minutemen is now pending in the California
courts. In one case now coming to trial, John Monti of Bellflower, a Los
Angeles suburb, is charged with seven misdemeanors, including three counts
each of battery and interfering with a person's civil rights, stemming
from an incident linked to the Minutemen. Monti, who drove down to San
Diego from the LA area for a Minutemen protest in November 2006,
reportedly harassed, threatened and provoked a physical confrontation with
a group of day laborers lined up at the intersection of Rancho Penasquitos
Boulevard and Carmel Mountain Road. Monti told police the laborers
threatened him when he started taking their photo with a digital camera.
Jeff Schwilk, founder of the San Diego Minutemen, issued a statement
saying Monti is not a member of any Minutemen groups.
(KGTV, San Diego, Sept. 19)
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
ILLINOIS
U.S. SUES ILLINOIS TO LET EMPLOYERS USE IMMIGRANT DATABASES
The Bush administration sued the State of Illinois yesterday, hoping to
block a new state law that bars employers from using a federal database to
verify that immigrant job applicants are in the United States legally and
are authorized to work.
Under the Illinois statute, the ban would remain until Washington
certifies that the databases used to verify workers' eligibility are 99
percent accurate.
Supporters of the law say the Social Security Administration and Homeland
Security Department databases used to confirm eligibility are riddled with
errors and could result in the denial of jobs to legal workers, including
citizens.
The law, which passed with bipartisan support, was signed by Gov. Rod R.
Blagojevich on Aug. 13 and is to take effect on Jan. 1.
NEW YORK TIMES
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
REAL PRESIDENT CALDERON DETAINED AT IMMIGRATION
Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon was detained for several hours by
immigration officials at an airport in New York, the Spanish champions
said on their Web site
The confusion came because his surname figured in a blacklist held by the
immigration service. The Spanish government helped clarify matters and he
was released to continue his personal visit, the club said.
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
BORDER WATCH GROUPS READY FOR MONTHLONG DEPLOYMENT
The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and a spinoff group of disaffected
Minuteman members plan separate monthlong deployments along the border,
beginning Friday and Saturday, respectively.
The Minuteman group said it will have members on patrol along the Mexican
border in Arizona, California and Texas, and also plans to post members
along the Canadian border in Washington state.
In Arizona, the group will conduct a border watch at the King Anvil Ranch
near Three Points, about 40 miles southwest of Tucson in the Altar Valley.
Last week, it announced it would be conducting monthlong operations in
October, with plans for media coverage of speeches and a "Granny Brigade"
event on Oct. 6.
Meanwhile, the Patriots' Border Alliance, created after disagreements this
spring led to the expulsion of several original Minuteman members and
officers, is to stage its inaugural 30-day border watch operation starting
Saturday in the Palominas area, south of Sierra Vista and west of Naco.
Associated Press
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
IMMIGRATION PANEL RECOMMENDS SPECIAL JAIL FOR ILLEGALS
A panel studying illegal immigration in Virginia wants to build a
1,000-bed state jail solely for people arrested for being in the United
States illegally. The Illegal Immigration Task Force agreed to 11
recommendations Monday in an effort to tighten enforcement of immigration
laws. The new jail was one of them.
According to a presentation given at the last task force meeting, some 10
percent of inmates in Virginia's jails over the past year were suspected
illegal immigrants.
ABC 7 News myTAKE - What's Your Opinion?Latino leaders have disputed those
statistics.
The panel expects to forward its recommendations to the State Crime
Commission and eventually to the General Assembly for consideration in the
2008 session.
Officials formed the task force earlier this year, after a double-fatal
crash in Virginia Beach that authorities say was caused by an illegal
immigrant with a criminal record.
Police say Alfredo Ramos had prior convictions for drunken driving and
being drunk in public, but his name was never forwarded to immigration
officials.
The Virginian-Pilot
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
BORDER WAR OVER IMMIGRATION COMES TO MIDWEST
A routine city hall appointment threatens to turn Kansas City into a new
front in the U.S. debate over illegal immigration, even though the closest
Mexico border crossing is hundreds of miles (kilometers) away.
Anger has been simmering among Hispanic leaders since the summer, when
newly elected Mayor Mark Funkhouser appointed Frances Semler, a
dues-paying member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), to the
city's parks and recreation board.
Critics say the group is a racist band of vigilantes patrolling the
Mexican border with guns and intimidation.
REUTERS
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
ROGERS, ARKANSAS
ROGERS, WASHINGTON COUNTY ACCEPTED IN FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM
At least two Northwest Arkansas law enforcement agencies received official
word Wednesday that they've been accepted into a federal program that
allows them to enforce immigration law.
By Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
WASHINGTON D.C.
COMPANIES GET TOOL TO TRACK ILLEGALS
Businesses, facing a government crackdown on hiring illegal immigrants,
now have one more tool to help them verify a worker's status.
The Citizenship and Immigration Services unveiled a system Tuesday that
matches photographs from green cards and other immigrant work permits
against a database of more than 14 million pictures.
If the photos match, the employer will know that the person is using his
or her own card, not a stolen or doctored one, federal officials said.
"We are very, very committed to the idea of workplace enforcement," said
Emilio Gonzalez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS). "If we have workplace enforcement, we can reduce pressure on our
border. That allows the assets that we have on our border ... to catch bad
people."
By EUNICE MOSCOSO The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SEPTEMBER 27, 2007
MIAMI, FLORIDA
MISTAKE COSTS DISHWASHER $59,000
For 11 years, Pedro Zapeta, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, lived his
version of the American dream in Stuart, Florida washing dishes and living
frugally to bring money back to his home country.
Two years ago, Zapeta was ready to return to Guatemala, so he carried a
duffel bag filled with $59,000 -- all the cash he had scrimped and saved
over the years -- to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywoo d International Airport.
But when Zapeta tried to go through airport security, an officer spotted
the money in the bag and called U.S. customs officials.
"They asked me how much money I had," Zapeta recalled, speaking to CNN in
Spanish.
He told the customs officials $59,000. At that point, U.S. customs seized
his money, setting off a two-year struggle for Zapeta to get it back.
Zapeta, who speaks no English, said he didn't know he was running afoul of
U.S. law by failing to declare he was carrying more than $10,000 with him.
Anyone entering or leaving the country with more than $10,000 has to fill
out a one-page form declaring the money to U.S. customs.
Officials initially accused Zapeta of being a courier for the drug trade,
but they dropped the allegation once he produced pay stubs from
restaurants where he had worked. Zapeta earned $5.50 an hour at most of
the places where he washed dishes. When he learned to do more, he got a
25-cent raise.
After customs officials seized the money, they turned Zapeta over to the
Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS released him but began
deportation proceedings. For two years, Zapeta has had two attorneys
working pro bono: one on his immigration case, the other trying to get his
money back.
"They are treating me like a criminal when all I am is a working man," he
said.
Zapeta's story became public last year on CNN and in The Palm Beach Post
newspaper, prompting well-wishers to give him nearly $10,000 -- money that
now sits in a trust.
Robert Gershman, one of Zapeta's attorneys, said federal prosecutors later
offered his client a deal: He could take $10,000 of the original cash
seized, plus $9,000 in donations as long as he didn't talk publicly and
left the country immediately.
Zapeta said, "No." He wanted all his money. He'd earned it, he said.
Now, according to Gershman, the Internal Revenue Service wants access to
the dishwasher. Zapeta admits he never paid taxes.
CNN contacted the U.S. Attorneys office in Miami, U.S. Customs and the IRS
about Zapeta's case. They all declined to comment.
"When you are poor, uneducated and illegal, your avenues are cut," he said.
On Wednesday, Zapeta went to immigration court and got more bad news. The
donated cash to cover taxes on the donations and on the money Zapeta made
as a judge gave the dishwasher until the end of January to leave the
country on his own. He's unlikely to see a penny of his money.
"I am desperate," Zapeta said. "I no longer feel good about this country."
Zapeta said his goal in coming to the United States was to make enough
money to buy land in his mountain village and build a home for his mother
and sisters. He sent no money back to Guatemala over the years, he said,
and planned to bring it all home at once.
At Wednesday's hearing, Zapeta was given official status in the United
States -- voluntary departure -- and a signed order from a judge. For the
first time, he can work legally in the U.S.
By the end of January, Zapeta may be able to earn enough money to pay for
a one-way ticket home so the U.S. government, which seized his $59,000,
doesn't have to do so.
>From John Zarrella and Patrick Oppmann CNN
SEPTEMBER 27, 2007
RENO, NEVADA
FEDS ARREST 56 WORKERS AT 11 MCDONALD'S
Latinos picket jail, ask workers to stay home Friday Federal agents today
arrested 56 employees suspected of being undocumented workers at 11
McDonald's restaurants, prompting Hispanic community activists to call for
a statewide work boycott today.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were interviewing 12 men and
44 women from Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador to determine if criminal
charges would be filed, agency spokesman Michael Keegan said.
"They were arrested for immigration violations," he said. "Some of them
may be deported under different types of deportations." The restaurants in
Reno, Sparks and Fernley and the and franchise corporate office were
raided with search warrants. Keegan said a tip from local police after an
identity theft complaint triggered the federal agency's five-month
investigation.
About 8 p.m., about a hundred picketers were outside Washoe County Jail
protesting the arrests.
Reno businessman Gilbert Cortez called for demonstrations and a monthlong
boycott by workers at an afternoon news conference..
"We do not approve of the gestapo methods of (ICE)," he said. "The reason
that we're having this problem is because you politicians do not have the
gall to take care of this problem. You want our sweat but you don't want
us over here.
"We will be in front of the governor's mansion, asking for some kind of
program, some kind of legalization."
Reno Mayor Bob Cashell said he hoped a work action wouldn't happen.
"If everybody happens to walk out the way I'm hearing, and I hope they
don't do it, this town would be very stymied," he said. "I can't sit by
and watch that. We have too great a community, too many good citizens to
allow something like that to happen."
Marta Aguillar of Reno said she saw ICE agents gathering workers inside
the McDonald's at Shopper's Square at Plumb Lane and Virginia Street,
where 11 workers were arrested.
"I'm concerned about the situation," she said. "I just wanted to see for
my own eyes why the Hispanic community only. It's sad. The United States
is not united any more."
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
SEPTEMBER 28, 2007
CHAPARRAL, NEW MEXICO
RESIDENTS IN N.M. TOWN ACCUSE SHERIFF OF ILLEGAL RAIDS
It was 10:30 p.m. when a sheriff's deputy started banging on Maria's front
door.
Startled, she came to the door and answered his demands to know who called
911. No one, said Maria, a 50-year-old illegal immigrant who asked that
her last name not be published. But the deputy, whom she couldn't name,
insisted he had to come in and look through the house.
Maria told the deputy to stay outside. But he barged in with relatives who
came over to see what the commotion was about, she said. He searched the
house without a warrant and questioned Maria and her relatives, including
children, for nearly three hours.
Eventually, he left. But Maria was arrested in a traffic stop the next day
when she couldn't produce a social security card during the stop.
"Now I'm afraid to call 911," Maria said, crying as she recalled her arrest.
The Otero County Sheriff's Department is routinely demanding proof of
citizenship from residents either in traffic stops or at their homes,
residents and their advocates say. The department has added extra patrols
using a federal grant designed to help local authorities in border-area
communities combat crime. More than a dozen people have been arrested and
turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol since mid-August.
But civil rights advocates say deputies or police have no right to demand
such identification and certainly no right to enter someone's home without
a warrant or probable cause. An expert in immigration law called the
Chaparral raids "bizarre" and a U.S. Border Patrol official said local
authorities don't have immigration-enforcement powers.
By ALICIA A. CALDWELL Associated Press Writer
RESISTANCE SEPTEMBER 12 TO SEPTEMBER 28, 2007
SEPTEMBER 12, 2007
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES SOLIDARITY WITH IMMIGRANTS
In response to the inhumane deportation of immigrant-rights activist
Elvira Arellano, the We Are All Elvira and Saulito Unity Coalition held
one of the nationally coordinated Days of Action for immigrant rights
Sept. 12 in Los Angeles, with a march and vigil to McArthur Park starting
with a prayer service at Echo Park Methodist Church.
WORKER'S WORLD
SEPTEMBER 22, 2007
RIVERSIDE, NEW JERSEY
N.J. TOWN RESCINDS IMMIGRATION LAW, BUT BRAZILIANS STAY AWAY
It was a wildly controversial law that was never enforced and recently
erased, and it forced Brazilian immigrants from this small industrial town
to flee for places where they felt more welcome.
Many who left last year for nearby northeast Philadelphia refuse to come
back, even though the town on Monday rescinded its law against illegal
immigration because it doesn't have the money to defend it against civil
rights lawsuits.
By MATTHEW VERRINDER | Associated Press Writer
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
GEORGIA
SOUTHERN BAPTISTS, PUSH IMMIGRATION REFORM
On Sept. 16, Latino church groups demonstrated in front of the Georgia
state Capitol against the failure to pass comprehensive immigration
reform, and against the provisions of Georgia's Senate Bill 529.
Demonstrations of this sort have taken place around the country, and
churches have begun to work together to provide sanctuary for the
undocumented. Moral leadership of churches is needed on this issue, and
more churches must get involved. In particular, support of conservative
evangelical churches such as the Southern Baptists could be the tipping
point toward compassionate, comprehensive immigration reform.
ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION
SEPTEMBER 25, 2007
TACOMA, WASHINGTON
HISPANICS PROTEST PACIFIC POLICE
After accusations of racial profiling, more than 100 people march Charges
of racial profiling by Pacific police lead to a peaceful protest march by
the city's Hispanic community.
MIKE ARCHBOLD; The News Tribune
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
DANBURY, CONNECTICUT
CHALLENGE IN CONNECTICUT OVER IMMIGRANTS' ARREST
Nine day laborers are expected to file a federal lawsuit today challenging
the legality of a sting operation in Danbury, Conn., last year that led to
their arrest on immigration charges.
Those plaintiffs, and a tenth man whose traffic stop for a noisy muffler
resulted in his deportation to Ecuador, contend that their arrests were
illegal and part of a campaign based on racial profiling. They also say
that the city of Danbury, its mayor, Mark D. Boughton, and its police
chief acted to enforce federal immigration law without authority.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
COUNTY AGREES TO ACCOMMODATE SPANISH-SPEAKING VOTERS
The Kane County government must accommodate Spanish-speaking voters at the
polls under an agreement reached Tuesday between the county and the U.S.
Department of Justice, which sued the county for violating the federal
Voting Rights Act.
The federal lawsuit stemmed from difficulties that surfaced in largely
Hispanic areas of Dundee Township during the November 2006 election.
Spanish-speaking voters were disenfranchised that day because many polling
places -- most in Dundee Township -- failed to open on time, the Illinois
Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and the Mexican American Legal
Defense and Educational Fund argued then.
A judge that day ordered all polls to stay open an additional 90 minutes,
but the immigrant rights groups said many Hispanic voters never got the
chance to cast a ballot.
To make sure Hispanic voters were able to exercise their right to vote in
the April elections, U.S. Department of Justice officials monitored
polling places in Carpentersville and Dundee Township.
It was during this observation they determined the county had failed to
provide an adequate number of bilingual election judges as required by
law. The county also failed to translate "certain election-related
information" for Spanish-speaking voters, the suit states.
County Clerk Jack Cunningham, who oversees elections, said he and his
staff were "very busy implementing the (Help America Vote Act)" and other
new requirements, so "perhaps we didn't keep this (accommodating Spanish
speakers) at the top of the priority list."
DAILY HERALD
SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
DANBURY SUED OVER IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT
Lawyers for 10 Latino men arrested in Danbury in the past year filed a
civil rights lawsuit Wednesday, accusing city and federal officials of a
plot to harass immigrants through illegal arrests and intimidation.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Haven, alleges
authorities violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights to due process,
equal protection, free speech, free association and freedom from
unreasonable searches and seizures.
Nine of the 10 were arrested during a sting targeting day laborers, while
the 10th was arrested during an unrelated traffic stop.
Professors and students at Yale Law School, who are representing the men,
put much of the blame on Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, who denied the
allegations.
By DAVE COLLINS | Associated Press Writer
SEPTEMBER 19, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
IDENTIFICATION CARD MEASURE INTENDED TO HELP 'INVISIBLE' IMMIGRANTS
San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano introduced an ordinance Tuesday to
give every person living in San Francisco the option of obtaining a
city-issued identification card, a plan those who favor tougher
restrictions on immigration say would undermine federal law.
The proposal - supported by Mayor Gavin Newsom and several other
supervisors - comes as San Francisco faces criticism nationwide for its
status as a sanctuary city, which means city policy forbids the use of any
city resources to enforce federal immigration law.
The city also is in the process of filling a newly created post of
"immigrant rights administrator, " whose job it would be to ensure the
sanctuary policy is followed by all city departments.
Ammiano said the identification card would help end the marginalization of
people who are in the country illegally when it comes to basic public
services and participation in civic life.
"If you don't have an identification card, if you don't have certain
papers, then you are invisible," Ammiano said.
To obtain the card, people would have to demonstrate that they live in San
Francisco and that they are who they say they are - which could be
accomplished by presenting an identification card from a foreign country.
Ammiano envisions the cards being used to gain access to city health care
programs, to obtain a library card and to register children for schools.
Ammiano said he has received assurances that the program would not run
afoul of U.S. immigration laws. "A lot of people are asking, 'Well, are
you breaking the law?' and our understanding is that we are not," he said.
A spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera would not comment.
A spokesman for Newsom said the mayor will help Ammiano "in any way that
he can" with the legislation. Spokesman Nathan Ballard said Newsom has no
concern about the legality of a city-issued identification card.
Even if not illegal, the proposal would undermine the attempts of the
Federal government to curb illegal immigration, said Mark Krikorian,
executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington
think tank that supports restrictions on immigration.
"The only way immigration enforcement will really work is to make it as
difficult as possible for illegal immigrants to live here," Krikorian
said.
San Francisco would be the second U.S. city to implement such a card. New
Haven, Conn., began issuing city cards earlier this summer.
The proposal also has the support of activists in the transgender
community - as the card would not include a specified gender - and from
advocates for homeless people.
The high-profile way in which San Francisco is moving toward issuing the
ID cards could lead to an influx of more illegal immigrants to the city,
Krikorian said.
"Some jurisdictions are trying to accommodate illegal immigration, " he
said, referring to San Francisco City Hall.
But that's exactly the point for some of the city leaders who support the
card.
Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval, a co-sponsor of the measure, said the city
should do everything it can to legitimize immigrants, whether they are in
the country legally or not.
"We're here to tell immigrants, immigrant workers, their families and
children that we appreciate who they are and appreciate their contribution
to the city and we support them," Sandoval said.
To that end, the immigrant rights administrator, who will be paid up to
$90,636 a year, will be responsible for closing any gaps in the way the
city lives up to its sanctuary policies, said City Administrator Ed Lee,
who will oversee the administrator.
"They will make sure we're doing everything we can to enforce the
sanctuary ordinance and making sure there are no violations by city
departments, whether intentional or unintentional, " Lee said.
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer
SEPTEMBER 27, 2007
GARDEN CITY, NEW YORK
LATINO GROUPS DECRY IMMIGRATION RAIDS ON LONG ISLAND
A series of raids and arrests by federal Immigration and Customs
Enforcement officials were criticized Thursday by advocates for
undocumented workers, who complained that the actions were inhumane and in
some cases endangered the welfare of children.
"Raids that break up families is not the answer to immigration," Nadia
Marin-Molina, executive director of the Workplace Project, said in a
statement. "We need local solutions to immigration that benefit and help
the entire community. Raids that create fear within the community hurt
business, create a culture of mistrust and in the end drive more people
underground and outside of the system."
Luis Valenzuela, executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance,
said the raids, which began on Monday in Westbury, Hempstead and Central
Islip, have "sent shock waves" throughout Latino communities.
By FRANK ELTMAN | Associated Press Writer
SEPTEMBER 27, 2007
DALLAS, TEXAS
MORE THAN 1,000 PROTEST IRVING'S RISE IN DEPORTATIONS
They want freeze on city policy; mayor defends police actions
Angered over a record number of recent deportations in Irving, more than
1,000 protesters waved U.S. flags and chanted "We are America" as they
rallied Wednesday night at City Hall.
Demonstrators called for Irving officials to put a moratorium on turning
over suspected illegal immigrants to federal officials until immigration
laws are reformed nationally. They also urged people to call Mayor Herbert
Gears and ask him to stop deporting people from the city's jail.
"We need to raise our voice and we need to ask for changes about the
things we don't like here," said Hector Flores, a leader in Irving's
Hispanic community.
A few people who support the deportations carried signs in favor of the
illegal immigration enforcement.
"Our compassion starts at home, and our charity starts at home," said Sue
Richardson, a longtime Irving resident and vice president of the Greater
Irving Republican Club.
At least two supporters of illegal immigration enforcement were taken away
in handcuffs, but police declined to say why.
One woman who was handcuffed was accused of striking people at the rally.
The woman, who declined to identify herself, made obscene gestures at TV
cameras and kicked at reporters before she was handcuffed.
At the heart of the contention is Irving police's use of the Immigration
and Customs Enforcement's Criminal Alien Program. The plan provides for
round-the-clock communication with federal authorities and is designed to
detain illegal immigrants who have been accused of a crime. It's the
latest tool being used by local governments in the absence of a federal
overhaul of immigration laws.
By BRANDON FORMBY / The Dallas Morning News
ALBANY, NEW YORK
GOVERNOR ALLOWS DRIVERS LICENSES WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF IMMIGRATION STATUS
Governor Eliot Spitzer Friday announced that he has reversed a Pataki
administration policy and will now allow persons to obtain drivers'
licenses without regard to their immigration status.
Mid-Hudson News Network
SEPTEMBER 28, 2007
MINNESOTA
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS GROUP SUES ICE OVER SWIFT MEATPACKING RAID
A Minnesota immigrant rights group has sued Immigration and Customs
Enforcement over its raid last year on a meatpacking plant owned by Swift
and Company in Worthington, Minnesota. The lawsuit claims that federal
agents "insulted, abused, and humiliated the plaintiffs on account of
their race." We speak with the executive director of Centro Legal, the
group that filed the lawsuit. [includes rush transcript] An immigrant
rights group based in Minnesota has sued ICE, the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, over its raid last year on a meatpacking plant owned
by Swift and Company in Worthington, Minnesota.
DEMOCRACY NOW
Viva Zapata!
k.
posted by mike at 7:31 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home