The First Christmas, Baby Jesus -- an "Illegal Immigrant"

In order to be in compliance with the census, Mary and Joseph traveled, as immigrants, to Bethlehem. It was not their home land. As immigrants, there was no place for them to stay. They tried to stay at an inn, but there was no room for them. Mary was pregnant, ready to deliver baby Jesus. The only place they could go that was dry and quiet was a stable. As the prophecies foretold, the promised Savior was born in another country. “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” [Matthew 2:6] Jesus - an anchor baby -- born in Bethlehem in order to claim the rights and privileges of being the son of David. Jesus, a Jewish child, dark haired with brown skin.

Shortly after Jesus' birth, King Herod ordered the killing of the innocent, all children under the age of two. So Jesus and his parents become fugitives -- illegal immigrants -- criminals under the law of the land. They flee once again, this time to Egypt. Jesus is now an illegal immigrant with a criminal record. The crime is sedition, being born a King when there was already a king in the land. The intent of overthrowing a kingdom is a felony.

When Herod is dead, Jesus’ parents return to their own country, not to Bethlehem where Jesus is a legal citizen, but to Nazareth, where Jesus grows up as an illegal alien where he takes the job of carpenter away from other Nazarenes. Jesus did all this. These are the same actions those of the extremist right wing call "illeegals."

If Jesus were born today in Arizona, Arpaio and his masked goons would arrest Mother Mary and Joseph and place them in pink underwear in vermin and disease infested tent city. They would be forced to eat green bologna or starve to death. Mother Mary would be placed in shackles and chained to her hospital bed as she gave birth.

Jesus would be an anchor baby because the teaparty has not yet been successful in changing the 14th amendment -- the bill that would stop him from becoming a citizen. Joseph and Mary are sent to a detainment facility to await ICE decision to deport them. Jesus, as an American citizen, would be sent to an orphanage. Or if the story unfolded a bit closer to the Biblical text, Joseph would have a dream to flee back into the desert and cross back into Mexico with Mary and newborn Jesus. The trek across the Arizona desert is as treacherous and dangerous as the trek from Bethlehem to Egypt. They would have faced starvation, dehydration, and possible death only to find a wall blocking their way.

This week, the week Baby Jesus was born, we must remember the message Baby Jesus brought to the world. His message is clearly defined in the Prayer of St. Francis:

Make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.


This is the message Baby Jesus brought to the World!

Promises Broken: Recruited Immigrant Teachers Lied to by NY Leaders!

NEW YORK — New York City teachers recruited from Jamaica, Trinidad and other Caribbean countries a decade ago said Wednesday that the city needs to do more to help them and their families obtain permanent U.S. residency. Some 500 Caribbean teachers were recruited in 2001 when the city faced a teacher shortage. The teachers say they were hired with the understanding that New York City officials would help them regularize their immigration status. But teachers who attended a news conference Wednesday on the steps of City Hall said they are here on H-1B work visas they need to keep renewing or risk deportation; meanwhile, their adult children are not legally able to work.

Special education teacher Antoinette Nesbitt said her 27-year-old daughter went to culinary school but can't use her degree. "It's killing her," she said. Kevin Lowe, a 26-year-old whose mother is a music teacher, said he has no choice but to stay in college. "It's hard to wake up every morning not knowing what your future will be like," he said.

Advocates for the teachers said that until recently, New York City officials have not shown a commitment to help with the teachers' immigration status. "For over a decade, these teachers and their families have been in a legal struggle, fighting to stay in this city and build a life," said City Councilman Jumaane Williams of Brooklyn.
But they said the city is now on board. Said Fatima Shama, who leads Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Office of Immigrant Affairs, "We are committed to identifying and working for practical solutions that will provide permanent residency for our international teachers." Shama did not elaborate on what help the city would provide. But supporters of the teachers say what is needed is a unified lobbying effort to secure special immigration status for the teachers and their families.

"This is now a federal issue and we need to fix this in Washington, D.C.," said teachers union President Michael Mulgrew. "It's going to require us going together to Washington and saying enough is enough."

Similar issues have arisen in other U.S. communities that recruited foreign teachers. Hundreds of Filipino teachers in Maryland's Prince George's County fear they could be sent back to the Philippines after school officials said they would no longer request work-visa renewals for "non-critical workers" such as elementary, music and language teachers.

Maniac Rand Paul Against Civil Rights, Americans with Disabilities and Now Wants to Outlaw Citizens!

Rand Paul is a MANIAC! First, he said he wants to rescind the Civil Rights Act by allowing segregation again. Next he said he wants to rescind the Americans with Disabilities Act by allowing businesses to NOT PROVIDE ACCESS to Americans with Disabilities. He suggested people in wheelchairs be given work spaces in the Lobby (what a loon). He suggested rescinding ALL Healthcare including Medicare. Now he said he wants to rescind the Constitution's Birthright Citizenship Laws. Like the White Supremists, he is advocating rescinding the citizenship of those born in the USA to workers whose papers may have lapsed. He also is NOT in favor of Mass Deportation. He wants them to work and the fruits of their labor, but he doesn't ever want them to become legal (slave labor). He also advocates an underground electrical fence on the Mexican border.

Jus Soli - Birthright Citizenship, is the law of the land in many countries (though Paul pretended not to know this). Countries with Jus Soli include: France, Canada, Brazil and in many countries in Europe and across the Americas. It was the law of the land in Germany too, until Hitler came to power in Nazi Germany (and we know how that ended). Modification of jus soli has been criticized as contributing to economic inequality, the perpetuation of unfree labour from a helot underclass, and statelessness.
References:
Interview with Rand Paul by rt.com

Top 2008 Viewer Favorite: Who is Who in the Immigration Debate!

As many of my long time viewers know, I started my blog in May 2007 and write about Immigration issues and Politics in our country. I have written many posts defining who´s who in the Immigration Debates. Recently, some of my newest viewers have been asking for my definition of PRO vs ANTI. For that reason, I am reposting my most popular illustration: "Who is Who In the Immigration Debate."
click HERE for larger view of this picture.

National ID Cards: Should we have them? Should they contain Biometric Data? Will they Violate our Civil Liberties?

Britain is unveiling a new National ID card. This card includes an electronic chip containing biometric data of the holder, including fingerprints and digital facial images.

Question to viewers: Should we have a new National ID card in America for all Americans, Immigrants and Guest Workers containing fingerprints and digitial facial images? What about DNA? What do you think? Would these cards have a down side? Example: Infringe on our Civil Liberties? Make us a Police State? What do you think?
Britain unveils ID cards for foreign nationals
2008-09-26 05:59:46
LONDON-- Britain's Home Office unveiled on Thursday the identity cards to be issued to foreign residents in the country. The plastic wallet card shows the holder's photograph, name, date of birth, nationality and immigration status. A secure electronic chip holds their biometric details, including fingerprints, and a digital facial image, said a Home Office press release. The first cards are scheduled to be issued in November 25. Within three years all foreign nationals applying to enter or remain in Britain will be required to have a card. And by 2014, 90percent of foreign residents in Britain should have identity cards. The introduction of national identity cards for foreign residents will be followed by the first ID cards for British citizens from 2009, targeting workers in sensitive roles such as airports. One year after that, ID cards will be available to young people who want them, and from 2011, cards will be available to the general opulation. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the announcement of the cards for foreign residents shows the government is fulfilling its commitment to protect identity.

Serve on Active Duty! Become a Citizen!

Since 2002, more than 37,000 aliens and non citizens who served on active duty have been provided expedited naturalization.

As I have previously reported, in Iraq, according to the Washington Post, Hispanics have a death risk about 20 percent higher than non-Hispanics.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, while Latinos make up 9.5 percent of the actively enlisted forces, they are over-represented in the categories that get the most dangerous assignments -- infantry, gun crews and seamanship -- and make up over 17.5 percent of the front lines.

As The Sun - San Bernardino reported on 8-23-08:

The Marines came from all over - Kazakhstan, Jamaica, Guatemala, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, El Salvador, Indonesia, the Philippines - but Monday evening threaded them together with one common theme. Their home is now officially the United States, a country they've defended overseas since the war on terror began. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials have naturalized more than 37,250 military members since Sept. 11, 2003, but this was the first ceremony held on a military base. President Bush signed the Expedited Naturalization Executive Order in July 2002, enabling non-citizens on active duty to immediately file for citizenship. Military personnel would normally have to serve a year before qualifying for citizenship.

Expedited Naturalization Executive Order Executive Order

Expedited Naturalization of Aliens and Noncitizen Nationals Serving in An Active-Duty Status During the War on Terrorism
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1440) (the "Act"), and solely in order to provide expedited naturalization for aliens and noncitizen nationals serving in an active-duty status in the Armed Forces of the United States during the period of the war against terrorists of global reach, it is hereby ordered as follows:
For the purpose of determining qualification for the exception from the usual requirements for naturalization, I designate as a period in which the Armed Forces of the United States were engaged in armed conflict with a hostile foreign force the period beginning on September 11, 2001. Such period will be deemed to terminate on a date designated by future Executive Order. Those persons serving honorably in active-duty status in the Armed Forces of the United States, during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and terminating on the date to be so designated, are eligible for naturalization in accordance with the statutory exception to the naturalization requirements, as provided in section 329 of the Act. Nothing contained in this order is intended to affect, nor does it affect, any other power, right, or obligation of the United States, its agencies, officers, employees, or any other person under Federal law or the law of nations.
GEORGE W. BUSH THE WHITE HOUSE, July 3, 2002.

ICE´s Con Air Jets Fly Illegal Immigrants Home

As the movie trailers say, "Welcome to Con-Air," only this time, it´s real! Migrant workers along side felonious, vicious criminals are flying the skies to their receiving locations.

ICE Con Air Jets fly aliens home
U.S. government runs an airline for inmates, illegal immigrants
By Tim Smith • CAPITAL BUREAU • August 17, 2008

The only passengers on the sleek, white jets are prisoners or illegal immigrants going home. The airline -- run by the federal government -- is one of the ways illegal immigrants caught in South Carolina are returned to their homelands. With a push to deport more illegal immigrants, the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System airline, which Hollywood moviemakers made famous in the 1997 film "Con Air," expects to be busy for years to come. A record 276,912 illegals were removed from the United States in fiscal year 2007, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Officials estimate passengers aboard JPATS flights will swell to 267,000 this year, up from 162,000 in 2002.
"It's the most safe, cost-effective way to move inmates and illegal immigrants throughout the United States," said Dorothy Zinnert, chief of scheduling for JPATS. The airline was formed in 1995, a merger between the air and transport services of the U.S. Marshal's Service and ICE. It now ranks as one of the largest transporters of prisoners in the world, handling more than 1,000 flight requests each day. And it remains the only government operated, regularly scheduled airline in the nation, officials say.
In addition to flying thousands of illegal immigrants, the airline also moves federal inmates between prisons or courts and contracts with state and local law enforcement agencies to bring back prisoners or fugitives.
While Hollywood may have made the name Con Air famous, Zinnert said the label was around for years before that. "We're the real Con Air," she said.

The process:

. an illegal immigrant is granted a hearing and the process can take months or years.

. When an immigrant is ordered out of the country, ground transportation takes him to a detention center or contracted local facility near the airport where they will be picked up.
. JPATS operates its flights out of Oklahoma City, Okla., with hubs in Alexandria, La.; Mesa, Ariz.; Anchorage, Alaska; York, Pa.; and the Virgin Islands, officials said. It's planes, however, travel to airports throughout the country.
. The inmates or immigrants get on and off planes away from an airport's public terminals for greater security.
. Deportees wear civilian clothes and get to bring one checked bag home, weighing no more than 44 pounds.
. They are restrained while on the flight and escorted by security personnel

. The government provides the deportees with food while on board. (sandwich, cheese, crackers, water, fruit)

. Each deportee is escorted down the stairs once they arrive in their home country. Once off the plane, they are met by their nation's federal immigration officers.

Massive Identity Theft Scheme Illustrates the Difference Between TRUE Identity Theft and Someone Making Up an SS Number so They Can Work!

Americans are afraid of Identity Theft, TRUE Identity Theft not Migrant Workers using a made up number. The ANTI Immigration Reform groups are constantly misusing terms such as "Identity Theft" and "Amnesty" all in support of their agenda, to scare the American Public.

TRUE Identity Theft: Schemers, Spammers and Scammers are busy trying to gain access to your identity. eMail Scammers overload your emails with Spam just in case you slip up and give away access to your personal files. They want to set up a fake credit card in your name, gain access to your bank accounts and drop your credit score down to the single digits, all so they can enjoy the high life on your dime.

The Top 10 Identity Theft Scams are: 1. Check Scams, 2. Advance Fee Lenders, 3. On-Line Employment Offers, 4. Lottery-Sweepstake Notifications, 5. Overpayment Scams, 6. Mortgage Foreclosure Rescue Scams, 7. Marketing-Investment Scams, 8. Inheritance Scams, 9. Phishing Scams and 10. Nigerian Scams.

Special Note: Not One Mention of "Illegal Aliens" on the Top 10 List!!

Breaking News Today: Yet another example of TRUE IDENTITY THEFT:

11 Charged in Connection with Credit Card Fraud By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO – 17 minutes ago
NEW YORK (AP) — The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it had charged 11 people in connection with the hacking of nine major U.S. retailers and the theft and sale of more than 41 million credit and debit card numbers. It is believed to be the largest hacking and identity theft case ever prosecuted by the Department of Justice. The charges include conspiracy, computer intrusion, fraud and identity theft.
The indictment returned Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Boston alleges that the people charged hacked into the wireless computer networks of retailers including TJX Cos., BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21 and DSW. The indictment alleges that the hackers installed programs to capture card numbers, passwords and account information, and then concealed the data in computer servers that they controlled in the U.S. and Eastern Europe. "They used sophisticated computer hacking techniques, that would allow them to breach security systems and install programs that gathered enormous quantities of personal financial data, which they then allegedly either sold to others or used themselves," said Attorney General Michael Mukasey in a press conference. "And in total, they caused widespread loses by banks, retailers, and consumers." Mukasey said the total dollar amount of the alleged theft is "impossible to quantify at this point." Sullivan said officials still haven't identified all the victims who had a credit or debit card number stolen. "I suspect that a lot of people are unaware that their identifying information has been compromised," he said. Sullivan said the alleged thieves weren't computer geniuses, just opportunists who used a technique called "wardriving," which involved cruising through different areas with a laptop computer and looking for accessible wireless Internet signals. Once they located a vulnerable network, they installed so-called "sniffer programs" that captured credit and debit card numbers as they moved through a retailer's processing networks.
The information was stored on two servers in Ukraine and Latvia — one with more than 25 million credit and debit card numbers and another with more than 16 million numbers, Sullivan said. The heist was a black eye for retailers like TJX. The company, which initially disclosed the data breach in January 2007, said a few months later that at least 45.7 million cards were exposed to possible fraud in a breach of its computer systems that began in July 2005. Court filings by some banks that sued TJX put the number of cards affected at more than 100 million, based on estimates by officials with Visa and MasterCard, who were deposed in the suit. In May, TJX said it won support from Mastercard-issuing banks for a settlement that will pay them as much as $24 million to cover costs from the data breach. A similar agreement reached last November with Visa-card issuing banks also was overwhelmingly approved. That agreement set aside as much as $40.9 million to help banks cover costs including replacing customers payment cards and covering fraudulent charges. Under the indictments unsealed Tuesday, three of the defendants are U.S. citizens, citizens from other countries include: one is from Estonia, three are from Ukraine, two are from China and one is from Belarus. One individual is only known by an alias online, and his place of origin is unknown.

ICE Pilot Program: Operation Scheduled Departure August 5 - 22 in Five Cities!

ICE has announced a new Pilot Program titled "Operation Scheduled Departure." This pilot program runs from Aug 5 - Aug 22 in five cities: Santa Ana and San Diego, CA, Phoenix, Chicago and Charlotte, NC. Only illegal immigrants who have been ordered to leave by an immigration judge are eligible to work with ICE officials to ease their deportation. The program will give people up to 90 days to make arrangements to leave the country. "It's a program designed to invite any immigration fugitive with a final deportation order and no criminal record to come into our office and work with us," said Lauren Mack, ICE Spokesman. This is a Pilot Program. If it is successful, ICE will expand it across the country.

New ICE program gives non-criminal fugitive aliens opportunity to avoid arrest and detention

WASHINGTON - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the launch of a pilot program, Scheduled Departure, which will begin in five cities. The program allows fugitive aliens who have no criminal history and pose no threat to the community an opportunity to remain out of custody while they coordinate their removal with ICE..."This program addresses concerns raised by aliens, community groups, and immigration attorneys who say ICE unnecessarily disrupts families while enforcing the law," said Julie L. Myers, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE. "By participating in the Scheduled Departure Program, those who have had their day in court and have been ordered to leave the country have an opportunity to comply with the law and gain control of how their families are affected by their removal."
Initially, the Scheduled Departure Program will run from Aug. 5 to Aug. 22 and may be expanded as ICE continues to evaluate the pilot. Participation in the program ends the risk of sudden arrest and detention for certain non-criminal fugitives. Those with families can particularly benefit from this program. It allows qualifying aliens to make removal arrangements without being held in custody, which will ease their transition and minimize the impact of their removal on their loved ones. In addition, ICE will allow eligible participants to arrange for their families to depart together, should they so desire. Non-criminal fugitive aliens who live in or around Santa Ana, Calif., San Diego, Phoenix, Chicago and Charlotte can visit their local ICE Offices of Detention and Removal Operations to discuss their departure plans. Prior to the launch of this pilot program, most fugitive aliens would have been considered to be a flight risk and so would have remained in custody until their removal. By coming forward and participating in the program, ICE will no longer consider the alien to be a flight risk. There are approximately 572,000 ICE fugitives in the United States, including 457,000 who do not have criminal histories. An ICE fugitive is defined as an alien who has failed to depart the United States based upon a final order of removal, deportation, or exclusion from a U.S. immigration judge, or who has failed to report to ICE after receiving notice to do so. Only non-criminal fugitive aliens are eligible for the program and will be screened by an ICE officer when reporting to verify status. ICE officers will update immigration databases, and explain supervision requirements to eligible aliens. Aliens who qualify would be allowed to remain in the community with a reporting requirement or an electronic monitoring device. Since all situations are unique, an ICE officer will notify the alien of the next steps to take for removal. Aliens who are able to provide for their own removal would have the flexibility to make their own travel arrangements within a 90-day time period. ICE will work with eligible aliens who are not able to provide for their travel; however, ICE will maintain control and schedule the travel arrangements in these specific cases. ICE will allow eligible participants to arrange for their families to depart together. U.S. citizens or aliens with a legal immigration status cannot be removed by ICE from the United States; however the relatives of the non-criminal fugitive alien being removed are welcome to make their own travel arrangements to depart at or around the same time, if they choose to join their relative. These are personal decisions made by each individual family. The agency recognizes there are those less inclined to accept the intentions of such a compassionately conceived enforcement initiative, but remains committed to providing sensible alternatives that balance the welfare of the individuals and families in question with its clear obligation to uphold the law. The Scheduled Departure Program will not alter a participant's immigration status or provide any immigration benefit. The program is not a form of voluntary departure or voluntary return. Participants will continue to have a final order of removal, deportation or exclusion.
Aliens who have not previously been encountered by immigration officials or who have criminal records, or are determined to be a danger to the community are not eligible for this program and may be arrested and taken into custody if they report to ICE.
Next week, a series of print and radio ads in several languages will highlight the program in the pilot locations. Additional information will be also available on www.ice.gov and via a hotline staffed by ICE personnel. Aliens are also encouraged to speak with their consular officials, community groups, or attorneys if they have other questions.

New E Verify Bill Due for Vote! What Do YOU Think?

A new e-Verify bill is due for a Vote in Congress. The bill is HR6633. The Employee Verification Amendment Act of 2008. (Go to Thomas to review it).

Congress Daily Reports: House Lawmakers Reach Deal On Bill To Renew E-Verify
Thu. Jul 31, 2008by Chris Strohm
House lawmakers have reached an agreement on legislation that would renew a program that allows employers to verify the legal status of their workers, breaking a stalemate between two committees over concerns about funding for the Social Security Administration. The bill emerged from behind-the-scenes negotiations among lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. The two sides had been at odds over writing language that would both reauthorize the Homeland Security Department's E-Verify program and preserve Social Security's ability to meet its core mission of providing services to seniors and the disabled. The bill would reauthorize for five years the E-Verify program, which is an online tool that employers can use to confirm a worker's information against Homeland Security and Social Security databases. The Senate still must come to an agreement on companion legislation. Without congressional action, the program will expire in November. The House bill would maintain E-Verify as a voluntary program, even though some states have mandated its use....The bill, which was discussed briefly on the floor Wednesday night, might come up for a vote as early as today. "I think that this bipartisan bill is necessary to pass," said House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Chairman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Calif., chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus, said E-Verify has proven to be an effective tool in stopping illegal immigrants from getting jobs.

I am hearing there is bi-partisan (Rep, Dem, ANTI and PRO) support for this bill and that some in the Business Community support it as well. I am very curious as to why. I am going to leave my opinion out of it and let you, the viewers, tell me why it should or should not be supported.

FINAL KICK IN THE HEAD: Teens charged in beating that killed Mexican National in Race Hate Crime!

Officials charged the high school jock football player murderers in the Mexican National Hate Crime in Pennsylvania case. As we said, the final "kick in the head" murdered him.
OFFICIAL TIMELINE OF EVENTS:

Officials say taunts preceded killing

Court documents give this account of the July 12 fatal beating of Luis Ramirez, 25, of Shenandoah:
Ramirez had been traveling in a vehicle with friends Arielle Garcia of Shenandoah and her husband, Victor Garcia-Cruz, about 11:15 p.m.
Ramirez requested to be dropped off at Vine Street Park so he could walk home.
They also dropped off a 15-year-old female relative of Crystal Dillman, 24, of Shenandoah. Dillman is Ramirez’ fiancee.
The 15-year-old walked to her home on nearby Lloyd Street while Ramirez waited at the park.
As she was heading back to the park, a group of six male teens, some of whom had been drinking, began yelling at her and Ramirez.
The comments included, "You should get out of this neighborhood," and "Get your Mexican boyfriend out of here."
Among the teens were Derrick Donchak, 18, Brandon Piekarsky, 16, and Colin Walsh, 17, all of Shenandoah, and a 17-year-old Shenandoah male whose name was not released.
Ramirez walked away on Lloyd Street and called Arielle Garcia on his cell phone to say he was being harassed.
The teens followed him and one of them called Ramirez a "spic."
Ramirez asked him what his problem was.
Piekarsky, Walsh and the 17-year old then ran toward Ramirez and a fight broke out.
Donchak joined the fight.
Ramirez fell to the street and the teens punched and kicked him repeatedly.
Ramirez got back on his feet and the fight moved west down Lloyd Street.
Arielle Garcia and Victor Garcia-Cruz arrived. Garcia-Cruz tried to break up the fight but was punched from behind.
Walsh punched Ramirez in the face, causing Ramirez to fall back and hit his head on the macadam street.
As Ramirez lay unconscious, Piekarsky kicked him in the left side of his head.
The teens ran away.
Ramirez was taken to St. Catherine Medical Center in Ashland, then flown to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, where he underwent surgery for head injuries.
His condition worsened and he died July 14 at 6:38 a.m.
On July 13, the youths involved in the beating had met to plan how to conceal or limit their involvement in Ramirez’s beating.

Who is Who in the Immigration Debate! Who has Hidden Agendas?

click on picture for larger view:Who is Who in the Immigration Debate? It can be confusing! The American Public believes there are only two sides to this discussion with both sides pointing fingers and making outlandish accusations against each other. Once you study this issue and peel back that old onion, behold, you see what is really happening! In addition to PRO and ANTI, the Administration and Business each have agendas. Some also have hidden agendas! The American Public is being fooled. They are being manipulated. Here is a peek into the Business perspective. (Note: All italic Fonts are my added comments into this article.)
The New York Times reports:
Employers Fight Tough Measures on Immigration
Under pressure from the toughest crackdown on illegal immigration in two decades, employers across the country are fighting back in state legislatures, the federal courts and city halls. Business groups have resisted measures that would revoke the licenses of employers of illegal immigrants. They are proposing alternatives that would revise federal rules for verifying the identity documents of new hires and would expand programs to bring legal immigrant laborers. Though the pushback is coming from both Democrats and Republicans, in many places it is reopening the rift over immigration that troubled the Republican Party last year. Businesses, generally Republican stalwarts, are standing up to others within the party who accuse them of undercutting border enforcement and jeopardizing American jobs by hiring illegal immigrants as cheap labor. Employers in Arizona were stung by a law passed last year by the Republican-controlled Legislature that revokes the licenses of businesses caught twice with illegal immigrants. They won approval in this year’s session of a narrowing of that law making clear that it did not apply to workers hired before this year. Last week, an Arizona employers’ group submitted more than 284,000 signatures — far more than needed — for a November ballot initiative that would make the 2007 law even friendlier to employers...After years of laissez-faire enforcement, federal immigration agents have been conducting raids at a brisk pace, with 4,940 arrests in workplaces last year.

Although immigration has long been a federal issue, more than 175 bills were introduced in states this year concerning the employment of immigrants, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. State lawmakers said they had acted against businesses, often in response to fervent demands from voters, to curb job incentives that were attracting shadow populations of illegal immigrants. “Illegal immigration is a threat to the safety of Missouri families and the security of their jobs,” Gov. Matt Blunt (up for re election, panderer of the panderers), a Republican, said after the Missouri Legislature passed a crackdown law in May. “I am pleased that lawmakers heeded my call to continue the fight where Washington has failed to act.”

But because of the mobilization of businesses, the state proposals this year have increasingly reflected their concerns. State lawmakers “are starting to be more responsive to the employer community because of its engagement in the issue,” said Ann Morse, who monitors immigration for the national legislature conference.
The offensive by businesses has been spurred by the federal enforcement crackdown, by inaction in Congress on immigration legislation and by a rush of punitive state measures last year that created a checkerboard of conflicting requirements. Many employers found themselves on the political defensive as they grappled, even in an economic downturn, with shortages of low-wage labor.
Mike Gilsdorf, the owner of a 37-year-old landscaping nursery in Littleton, Colo., saw the need for action by businesses last winter when he advertised with the Labor Department, as he does every year, for 40 seasonal workers at market-rate wages to plant, prune and carry his shrubs in the summer heat. Only one local worker responded to the notice, he said, and then did not show up for the job. Mr. Gilsdorf was able to fill his labor force with legal immigrants from Mexico through a federal guest worker program. But that program has a tight annual cap, and Mr. Gilsdorf realized that he might not be so lucky next year. His business could fail, he said, and then even his American workers would lose their jobs. “We’re not hiring illegals, we’re not paying under the table,” Mr. Gilsdorf said. “But if we don’t get in under the cap and nobody is answering our ads, we don’t have employees.”(Liquid, need your analysis here) His group, Colorado Employers for Immigration Reform, is pressing Congress for a much larger and more flexible guest worker program.

THE TRUTH:
“The silent masses of businesses out there should have been on the phone with their Congressional representatives calling for rational reform,” said Hobey Bauhan, president of the Virginia Poultry Federation (the truth from one of the worst offenders), whose members include some of the biggest low-wage employers in the state. Virginia lawmakers ultimately adopted verification rules aimed at employers who systematically hire illegal immigrants. In this legislative session, Arizona businesses rallied behind a bill to create what would have been the first state guest worker program in the country. Their advertising campaign used the slogan “What part of legal don’t you understand?” — a tweak of the battle cry of their opponents, who use the same phrase with the word “illegal.” Arizona employers said they knew that passage would be difficult for the bill, because only the federal government can issue visas to immigrant workers. Although the bill never came to a vote, (FAKE!!!) employers said the debate helped make their views known in Washington. (Political pandering by politicians up for re-election)
“It’s a message to the federal government,” said Joe Sigg, director of government relations for the Arizona Farm Bureau, “that we need a legal and reliable means to recruit workers.” Employers’ groups have not succeeded everywhere. Under a bill passed this year, Mississippi is the first state to make it a felony for an illegal immigrant to work. The measure also allows terminated employees to sue their employer if they were replaced by an illegal immigrant.
President Bush on June 9 ordered all federal contractors to check new workers with E-Verify. The administration is pressing forward with a rule that would pressure employers to fire within 90 days any worker whose identity information does not match the records of the Social Security Administration, as frequently happens with illegal immigrants. The first version of the rule was held up last year by a federal court injunction. While many businesses have come forward, they say they speak for many others with immigrant workers that are lying low after finding that the crackdown has left them in a perilous legal bind. While raids and sanctions are increasing, employers with low-wage immigrant workers are barred by antidiscrimination rules from examining identity documents of new hires too closely or checking the immigration status of employees after they have been hired. “The problem for business is that despite their complete compliance with the law, it is inevitable for employers with large numbers of immigrant workers that a certain percentage will be unauthorized workers using false documents,” said Peter Schey, a lawyer who represents two California companies facing scrutiny by federal immigration agents. “The system is just as broken for employers as it is for immigrants.” (Excuse or Reality?)
One employer facing this problem is the chief executive of a $20 million company on the outskirts of Los Angeles that assembles electronic parts. She said she had come to fear that her company — including its legal workers — is at risk of being crippled by an immigration raid. The executive spoke on the condition that neither she nor her company be identified by name, for fear of attracting immigration authorities. A human resources manager who worked for the company a decade ago hired a number of workers without conducting an extra check of their documents with the Social Security Administration, the executive said. Now she has received notices from the agency of mismatches in the identity documents of 20 workers who were hired 10 years ago, out of 90 workers on the assembly floor today. Because of the antidiscrimination rules, the executive cannot check to be certain that the 20 workers, mainly Hispanic women, are illegal. Moreover, they have advanced through training, she said, and excel at their jobs, which require the repetitive assembly of tiny parts by hand, often under microscopes. “I can’t replace those people,” the executive said. She said that despite offering competitive wages from $9 to $17 an hour, the company had failed over the years in repeated efforts to attract nonimmigrant workers because of the state’s tight technology labor market and because of the nature of the work, exacting and tedious. If the workers were fired or arrested, she said, she could fail to meet her contracts. “If we have to terminate 20 people, that’s going to jeopardize 100 other jobs of people who are legal, Americans, people who are making a good living,” she said. (Liquid, your analysis?)

Angelo Paparelli, an immigration lawyer who represents the company, said: “This is not an employer who wants to turn a blind eye to lawbreaking. She is facing a tightening of the enforcement vise that does not take into account Congress’s failure to create a workable system.”
California employers were shocked by the raid earlier this year at Micro Solutions Enterprises, an established manufacturer of printer cartridges that is based in Los Angeles and has more than 800 workers. Officials said 138 workers were arrested. In a message to his customers, Avi Wazana, the Micro Solutions owner, said the company had been verifying the legal status of all new hires through federal programs for nearly a year.
Bush administration officials said the crackdown was the price employers must pay to persuade voters to agree to open the gates to immigrant workers. In an interview, Mr. Chertoff, the homeland security secretary, said, “We are not going to be able to satisfy the American people on a legal temporary worker program until they are convinced that we will have a stick as well as a carrot.”

Soap Opera Politics Vol 1 Issue 14: Immigration Issues Coming to A Head in the Political Debate! Sleeping Giant Awakens!

The Immigration issues are coming to a head. Various politicians are taking sides, PRO vs ANTI, pandering to either side of the political debate. Some States are instituting restrictionist laws. The supporting politicians are backing these unenforceable laws purely for political gain.
Case in Point: Matt Blunt, the unpopular and defamed boy Governor of Missouri. Severely unpopular, he desperately signed a bill promoting sanctions against “community leaders” while providing employers relief, pandering to the ANTI racist extremists. His political opponents (Talboy) publicly chastising him for the error of his ways. (and rightly so) Meanwhile, the Presidential candidates are staying amazingly neutral. Then, in Oklahoma, home of Randy Terrill´s HB:1804, Workers and Businesses are leaving in droves. Litigation is blocking any future immigration restrictions. This is due to the Latino groups being energized into action. No More Racial Profiling! No more demonizing of ALL Latinos!
As AOLNews reports:
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Vowing to become more politically active, Latino groups Monday praised a federal judge's decision to block enforcement of parts of a state law that targets illegal immigrants and promised to support state lawmakers who have opposed the measure. A coalition of Hispanic organizations said momentum against the law, House Bill 1804, is building seven months after parts of it went into effect. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting enforcement of other provisions scheduled to go into effect on July 1."Countless thousands of families have been separated, torn apart," said the Rev. Victor Orta of the Coalition of Latin American Ministers. He said the anti-immigrant law and its harsh penalties sends a message that immigrants are not wanted in the state.
"This must stop. Enough is enough," Orta said.
Rep. Randy Terrill, R-Moore, author of HB1804, has said he was disappointed but not surprised by Cauthron's ruling, which he labels "a blatant act of judicial activism" and predicted an appeal if the ruling is made permanent.
Franco Cevallos of the Hispanic Action Coalition said the law's effect on Oklahoma's economy "has been catastrophic.""Hundreds of stores have closed their doors permanently. Houses have been abandoned," Cevallos said. He said Latino workers are skilled and hardworking and "are the energy behind the motor that sustains the economy.""Their presence in the state has proven to be good for the economy," Cevallos said.Coalition members said Latino organizations are conducting citizenship and English courses for Hispanic immigrants and have registered as many as 17,000 Hispanic citizens to vote.
"There will be more Hispanics going to the polls in November than ever in the history of Oklahoma," Orta said. "And thousands of us can influence non-Hispanics to vote."We will see a difference. There will be a change in Oklahoma (and the US)," Orta said.

Soap Opera Politics Vol 1, Issue 13: The McCains Pandering in Mexico Falls on Skeptical Ears!

It looks like the McCains´ political tour of Mexico and Columbia this week fell on deaf, skeptical ears. Do they believe him when he says their mutual perspectives include: security, Immigration and trade? Are they the same? If they are the same, why doesn´t he say this to the American people? Hmmmm. Maybe that´s why they are skeptical!

The Christian Science Monitor reports:

Mexico City; and BogotÁ, Colombia - On a three-day visit to Colombia and Mexico, Republican presidential hopeful John McCain is seeking to show that he cares about the same issues as Latin Americans: security, immigration, and trade. But the tour will likely do little to woo people in the region, analysts say. Even though Mr. McCain enjoys a better image than President Bush in Latin America, Democratic contestant Barack Obama has an edge simply because he is the fresher figure, says Michael Shifter, the vice president for policy at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington. "[Senator] Obama is seen as someone who could understand a changing Latin America, one that rejects the 'you are on one side or the other' politics," says Mr. Shifter. Also, the fact that McCain has chosen to visit the region's most conservative leaders – Colombian President Álvaro Uribe and Mexican President Felipe Calderón – could underscore a more traditional mind set. "It reinforces the sense that he will stand with his friends," says Shifter. "But even the people in those countries say [US politicians] can't afford to look at the region that way."
McCain's visit to Colombia, where he met with Mr. Uribe on Tuesday, is an attempt to mark a difference with Obama on both trade issues and counterterrorism, says political commentator Andrés Peñate. A Colombian free trade deal negotiated between the Bush and Uribe governments is bogged down in the US Congress amid concerns from many Democrats about human rights, including a long history of violence against trade unionists in Colombia. McCain praised Colombia in its fight against drug production and leftist rebels. In doing so, Mr. Peñate says McCain seeks to showcase Colombia as a "success story" of Republican foreign policy. The United States supplies Colombia with about $600 million a year in mostly military aid.
Trade and security are expected to dominate meetings in Mexico, too. Both nominees support the Merida Initiative, a new package passed by Congress to help stem drug violence in Mexico and Central America. McCain's visit also allows him to emphasize support for the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Obama has said should be renegotiated to better address labor and environmental terms. Still, no matter what McCain says, many Mexicans say the visit does not instill faith that he will have any greater commitment to Latin America than Bush. Juan Pablo Hurle, a consultant in Mexico City, says that McCain is better than Bush, but he sides with Obama. "If Obama wins, things will change," he says. "McCain is not interested in Latinos in Latin America, only those Latinos in the US whose vote matters to him." Some Mexicans say they favor McCain, but a zeal for Obama, as a minority, is an undertone across Latin America. "Obama will change everything if he is elected... there will be true immigration reform and not a band-aid because he has African heritage and understands the plight of immigrants," says Marco Polo Herrera, a student in Mexico City. "McCain will be more of the same."

What Happens When One of the Pretty People Get Caught Up in the Immigration Raid-Detention Center Debacle?

Imagine you are Northern European, young, beautiful and caught up in a Detention Sweep? You are here on business, making a movie or parlaying stocks, and you had an oversight and your visa expires. Should you be caught up in sweeps? Should you be swept away to a heinous Detention Center along with the rest of the riff raff?

Here is just such a story:

From the Texas Civil Rights Review:

Shackled, Detained, Deprived, Depressed: European Visitor meets ICE

In my recent columns a theme has emerged: how ICE, Border Patrol and other Homeland Security agencies have been criminalizing the immigrant population, from raids in Iowa's meatpacking plants to "Operation Streamline" in Brownsville. Yesterday I received a call from a colleague of mine, Caren Smith. She wondered if I would be interested in another little story about our bureaucratic, mean-spirited, governmental operations. "Surely," I said.
Ms. Smith, who is also the new president of the Unitarian Universalist Church in San Juan, got an email request from a Unitarian in Europe: Could someone contact a young fellow who is being held unfairly? He is in a Raymondville, Texas detention center, run by ICE (Immigration/Customs Enforcement). I interviewed Ms. Smith. Nick Braune: Yesterday you mentioned that this young fellow from Europe is an artist, travelling around the country to network with fellow artists.
Caren Smith: Yes, his name is Dutch [not his real name], and he's a 26-year-old who came here to travel and learn more about independent film-making. His visa had expired recently and he was intending to renew it when he was picked up in western Texas and shuttled to Raymondville early in May. Dutch was actually waiting for a check from home, as I understand it, to pay the fee to extend the visa. He was on his way to a youth hostel in New Mexico.
Dutch has been incarcerated now -- excuse me, they use the word "detained" -- since that time. Those of us at the church did not know him -- we only got wind of his presence in Raymondville from the Unitarian overseas who emailed me -- but our group wanted to help, so off we went from the church trying to at the least support this young man through visits.
Braune: I have protested outside that Raymondville (Willacy County) center several times, and last year there was a tornado of bad publicity about it: spoiled food, mismanagement, financial shenanigans, etc. But I've never been inside -- what's it like?
Smith: The visitation environment is utterly ridiculous: Dutch was kept behind a glass wall that holds a malfunctioning microphone -- it all looks like something out of a black-and-white film noir -- you expect Edward G. Robinson to appear any minute.
Braune: The glass wall separating visitors is more evidence that Homeland Security is off kilter. When someone is out of compliance on their visa, it has always been a civil offence not a criminal offence. These detention centers -- Raymondville's holds two or three thousand people at a time -- are not for convicted criminals or even accused criminals awaiting trial.

I remember the 1960s and '70s, when there used to be thousands of European young people traveling around the country. One would see them at tourist places and universities. Now apparently they are treated as criminals.

Smith: Yes, and it has really depressed Dutch, of course. He told us that when they took him to the airport, ICE officers had him handcuffed and foot-shackled. He had a visa, remember, and was simply late renewing it. He wasn't arrested for assault or accused of stealing something. He felt totally humiliated. My son, a Galveston Police Detective, once transported a murderer from Pennsylvania back to Texas for arraignment, and he did not shackle him in the airport. Trying not to draw attention to the convict, they purchased a sweat-suit top with a front pocket where he could hide the fact that he was handcuffed. This protected their mission from the press, the general public, and so forth, and the arrested party was respected as a human being.
Braune: Any other signs of mean-spiritedness?
Smith: Yes. Thanks for letting me vent. First, Dutch is discouraged and was supposed to have been sent home on June 18th -- he has a ticket -- but they have postponed it until they can have a marshal available to escort him. Second, Dutch's mother in Europe has been worried about his psychological state -- he is depressed and had a brother who committed suicide. Our fellowship includes one of the Valley's finest psychologists, who asked to visit Dutch, but the detention center has been stalling his visit. Why?

Third, despite filling out the proper forms, Dutch has not been to the library -- nothing to read for six weeks -- nor has he seen the chaplain. Fourth, we saw a sign, as we entered the Raymondville center, warning people not to come in if they were susceptible to chickenpox. (Exposure to chickenpox can severely affect the unborn.) We saw several pregnant women visitors, and we've heard that pregnant women are detained there.

Braune: Thank you. And I applaud your activist church group.

ILLEGAL MMIGRATION: How ANTIs Totally Misunderstand and Misrepresent the PRO Perspective

ANTI pundits and Bloggers constantly mis-interpret the Immigration debate. The National Review published this article titled “Immigration 2008.” The author, Victor Davis Hanson (the famed author of “Mexifornia”), shares his opinion on the current status of Immigration. While he does recognize the importance of this issue, particularly in relation to the Presidential Campaign, I found it incredible that he totally missed the mark when he attempted to interpret the PRO perspective. (or did he purposely misinterpret it?)
Hanson lists the following as the PRO perspective:
1. Open Borders
2. Carrying the Mexican Flag
3. Sending the poor to the US; Mexico remittances
Hanson´s list is totally off the mark. Most PROs, including most PRO Humanitarian organizations, call for:
1. Secure Borders, more trained BP agents
2. Employer Sanctions, especially those that exploit workers. (e.g. Agriprocessors)
3. Fix the Immigration process; Clean up the backlog; End the quid pro quo of the process so people apply and come here the right way.
4. Pathway to citizenship for those here
5. End to Detention Centers, Racial Profiling and End the Scape-Goating (ala Dobbs and Limbaugh) of all Latinos over these Immigration Issues.
The Mexican flag has little to nothing to do with this entire discussion, except for the fact the media and some ANTI groups utilize this ploy as a rallying call to stir up anger. Another rallying call Hanson mentions is the promotion of a Black vs Brown race war and Asians vs Brown educational imbalances. All ludicrous rhetoric to incite anger. Additionally, most PROs care nothing about Remittances to Mexico.

Hanson lists the following as the ANTI perspective:
1. Secure Borders
2. Mass Deportation
What I found interesting is, Hanson himself said Mass Deportation is a “losing issue.” Hanson continues, “(Mass Deportation) the practicality and morality of which are rarely considered by those rightly calling for an end to illegal immigration. Busing every illegal alien back to Mexico right now might resemble the past messy partition of India and Pakistan, and reopen the issue in a way that Democrats can legitimately exploit.”

Another interesting observation: Nowhere on the ANTI agenda do we see ANYTHING in regards to Employer Sanctions. Nor does he talk about the joy the ANTIs revel in when they discuss Sweeps (e.g. Arpaio Sweeps) or Detention Centers (most crony owned private prisons).

Hanson´s recommendations:
Close the border now through fencing, more agents, employer sanctions, enforcement of the law, and verifiable identification. Restore faith in the melting pot by insisting that new legal arrivals learn English and the customs and protocols of the United States.Explain to the Mexican and Central American governments that using the United States to avoid addressing internal problems — while making easy dollars off the backs of their own expatriate laborers — is over.
What is amazing is, most of Hanson´s recommendations fall in line with the PRO recommendations. It is the ANTIs that so adamantly promote deportation of the 12M here and refuse to consider any path to citizenship for those here.

Gilchrist says: "The Party is OVER for the Minutemen! The ANTI Mission is Lost-Forgotten!"

Jim Gilchrist says, "The Party is Over for the Minutemen!" Experts Agree!!

Could infighting end Minuteman movement?
Anti-illegal immigration group struggling as chapters disband, donations slow

Daily Herald - 5/19/2008

One of the most visible groups in the anti-illegal immigration movement could be defunct in seven months, its leader says. "We've lost the battle," said Minuteman project founder Jim Gilchrist. "My intuition tells me … this entire movement will fizzle to nothing by the end of the year." Gilchrist, a former California accountant, founded the project in October 2004. In two years, the grass-roots border-control group had grown to boast more than 200 chapters across the country. Today, Gilchrist says, a host of internal problems are bringing the movement to its knees. More than 20 chapters, including the Skokie-based Illinois Minuteman project, have disbanded, leaving fewer than 180 in operation. Dozens of chapters are fighting with one another and vying for attention, he said. "Donations are way down. Communication is way down … instead of people getting organized and unified, they're attacking each other more than the issues," Gilchrist said. "We're still fighting the fight, but I want to be clear: I'm firing a warning shot." Lindenhurst resident Rick Biesada, director of the Chicago Minuteman Project, calls the infighting "disheartening. Everyone wants to be a chief these days. But nobody wants to be an Indian." When chapters close, Gilchrist said, more times than not members do not join another chapter -- they leave the movement. The hundreds of members of the Illinois Minuteman Project, which shut down after leader Rosanna Pulido went to work for the Washington-based Federation for American Immigration Reform, haven't joined the Chicago project, Biesada said. Jack Martin, a project director for FAIR, could not comment on whether his organization has reaped the benefits of the Minuteman chapter's collapse. "I don't think that we have any good idea as to whether people who come to us have been members of Minuteman chapters or are members, we don't have that data," he said. Still, Martin said, FAIR numbers and operations remain steady. Though Biesada says the two remaining local Minuteman chapters, the Chicago Minuteman and the Minuteman Midwest, are staying strong for the time being, "as far as staying together as a national movement, it's up in the air right now." That type of conjecture, immigration experts say, is reasonable. "For all these reasons and more, plus the current context," said Barry Chiswick, an immigration and economics professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, "the anti-illegal immigration movement could very well collapse."

Two factors: 1. the presidential election 2. the economy

have shifted focus away from the issue of illegal immigration, taking the wind out of the Minuteman sails.
Candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain all have kept the subject on the back burner, Chiswick said. "Hispanics are a key demographic group in this election," he said. "A large number of them are interested in easier immigration. If you come out for stricter enforcement during a campaign, you're only risking making people angry."
Then there's the economic downturn, says Notre Dame's Institute of Latino Studies Director Allert Brown-Gort. "There are other things to talk about that are more pressing," than immigration, Brown-Gort said. "It's taken the wind out of the movement." Rising fuel prices make it more difficult for many to attend meetings and protests. Biesada, who runs a trucking business, says "normally, if I'd go to a protest or rally, I'd hire someone to work for me. Now I can't afford to do it. The price of diesel fuel is just killing us." Economic woes may even blunt the Minuteman Project's reason for being. The construction industry, traditionally a draw for Hispanic immigrants, according to nonpartisan Pew Research Center, is at a near standstill. "If you're not likely to find a job, I think we're going to see a serious downturn in the number of people coming across the border. It's a response to the market," Brown-Gort said. Fewer job opportunities and the falling value of the dollar "means that coming to the United States is less attractive than it has been," Chiswick said. "Even if you find a job, that job is less valuable." With a combination of the economic downturn, the lack of national attention and a slowing of illegal immigrant traffic, McHenry County Latino Coalition director Carlos Acosta said he believes it's getting harder and harder for anti-immigration groups to connect with the general population. "Their message has become a little stale," Acosta said. "Because the economy has gone down, everybody's out of work. It's harder to blame an immigrant for losing a job." Still, Acosta said, if the Minuteman movement were to dwindle, in some ways it could hurt immigration advocacy groups.
Local Minuteman protests have created a few unexpected alliances, Acosta said. "We have been able to reach out to other groups locally that have not been traditionally involved -- a much better relationship with the McHenry County Peace group -- they had not historically been involved in immigration matters." "The Minuteman movement, in some ways, really strengthened immigrant advocacy groups," Acosta said. "It forced us to find ways to really explain to the general population what are the benefits of comprehensive immigration reform."

GOP Pal Employer Going Scot Free as Largest Ever ICE Raid Nets over 390 Illegal Immigrants and Sweeps them to Detention!

On the surface the News reports read like any other Immigration Raid. As Drudge reported:
"Federal officials say a raid at a northeastern Iowa meat processing plant this week was the largest in US History. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials say 390 people have been arrested on immigration charges after Monday's raid at Agriprocessors Inc. in Postville. The facility is the world's largest kosher meatpacking plant. The raid was aimed at seeking evidence of identity theft, stolen Social Security numbers and people who are in the country illegally. Fifty-six of those arrested have been released on humanitarian grounds; many of them have to take care of children. Others arrested in the raid at are being held in county jails and at a converted fairgrounds."
But peel back the onion and a tale of one of the most heinous employers in US History is revealed. Yet, of all the arrests, no arrests were conducted in the Employer ranks. Let´s investigate:
. In 1987, Rabbi Aaron Rubashkin purchased an unused meat-rendering plant in Postville and turned it into a state-of-the-art facility for producing Glatt kosher meat. Today, AgriProcessors provides 60 percent of the kosher retail meat and 40 percent of the kosher poultry nationally, and most retail chains depend on it for supply. The company was also the sole American packing plant whose products are accepted in Israel.
. Rubashkin Family Members are Large Republican Campaign Contributors.
. The Rubashkins belong to a Hasidic Jewish community called the Lubavitchers, who scrupulously follow the Torah. When the plant initially opened, a few hundred Hasim moved to Postville to help manage and operate the facility. Meanwhile, Postville´s population of 1,300 Lutherans had a mixed relationship with the Hasidim. In 2000, author Bloom detailed the struggles between the Lutherans and the Hassidic Jewish population in a book, "Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America." Throughout the book, Bloom describes the power struggles between the two groups and how both groups remained separate.
. Since 2004, the company has twice been sanctioned by PETA for animal abuses.
According to the Des Moines Register:
. Hiring of Illegal Immigrants: 700 complaints of illegal immigration violations
. ICE agents interviewed a former plant supervisor – identified as “Source 1” – in November 2007, who told them that the plant employed foreign nationals from Mexico, Guatemala and Eastern Europe. Roughly 80 percent of those workers were living illegally in the U.S., the supervisor said.
. A plant employee identified as “Source 11” told authorities that he/she was hired without presenting employment documents or filling out any forms. The worker’s first paycheck had a different person’s name on it, which was then cashed at another part of the plant.
. An Iowa Department of Transportation investigator learned from talking with Des Moines County Treasurer's Office personnel that Source #14 was involved in making applications to title and register cars on behalf of people living in Postville. The source said that, more than 200 times, he or she received application information and money and had the registrations and titles sent to various Burlington/West Burlington addresses. Source #14 then arranged to pick up the documents and sent them to the vehicle owners in Postville.
. The supervisors also described an encounter with the plant’s human resources manager about three separate Social Security cards from different employees with the same number. The human resources manager "laughed when this matter was brought to her attention," the supervisor told federal agents.
. Agriprocessors was notified of more than 1,000 discrepancies between names and Social Security numbers on workers' W-2 forms sent to the IRS between 2002 and 2005.
. “Source 1” told federal agents that some employees were running a methamphetamine lab in the plant, and were bringing weapons to work. The supervisor confronted a higher-level manager about the drugs, and shortly after was fired.
. three-fourths of the company's workers at the end of last year were using fraudulent Social Security numbers.
. Employee Abuse: a supervisor covered the eyes of an employee with duct tape and struck him with a meat hook.
. undocumented workers were paid $5 an hour for their first few months before receiving a pay increase to $6 per hour. The minimum wage in Iowa is $7.25 an hour.
--
ICE RAID: Monday, May 12, 2008
Officials say 314 men and 76 women were initially taken into custody by ICE agents. Of that number, 56 have been released on humanitarian grounds, typically because their arrest would leave a child with no custodian. Those arrested are being held in county jails and at a fairgrounds.
--
So now we get to WHY the Raids:
. RUBASHKIN TARGET OF ONGOING STATE & FEDERAL LABOR PROBE – Rubashkin Alleged to Employ Underage Illegal Workers Paid Under the Table, Fake OSHA Report
. The Des Moines Register is reporting United Food and Commercial Workers Union leadership asked ICE not to raid Agriprocessors.
Why?
Because there is an ongoing Iowa and federal labor law violations investigation of Agriprocessors and the union fears Rubashkin will use the raid to intimidate workers and throw the next unionization vote.
Mark Lauritsen, International Vice President of the United Food and Commercial Workers, wrote a May 2 letter to ICE: ICE action could result in employees leaving the plant, interfering with a government investigation that would “ultimately uncover unscrupulous employer acts,” he said.
IN OTHER WORDS, THE ICE RAID IS PROTECTING THE EMPLOYER FROM FURTHER LEGAL ACTIONS AGAINST THEM!

Update: Tuesday, May 13, 2008
RUBASHKIN OPEN FOR BUSINESS AS USUAL
The slaughter line is operating this morning at Agriprocessors in Postville, Iowa. The I.C.E. raid, carried out yesterday in conjunction with 14 other federal and state agencies, only stopped production yesterday.

Angry Nutcase Tancredo tells US City of Brownsville: "I suggest you build this fence around the northern part of your city!"

Tom Tancredo lost his last marble.
Tancredo was an invited guest in Brownsville, Texas last week to discuss solutions to the issues regarding the Border Fence in this border city. Those constructing the Border Fence say it is not feasibile to build the wall along the existing border, the Rio Grande, and they were discussing optimum alternatives. Some of the alternatives included building the fence on US property (see map below). The residents voiced their concerns about this, which is logical, since their land is within a US city and they prefer not to be fenced off from the US. During the extremely confrontational debate, Tancredo, an invited guest, insulted the local Brownsville citizens when he angrily proclaimed, "I suggest you build this fence around the NORTHERN part of your city!"
Local Brownsville citizens were taken aback and some responded with boos and jeers to his outrageous remarks. (Note: Brownsville, TX is a majority Latino citizen city)
Some of the comments among the audience members included:

"I think he's just ignorant," said student Alexis Fruia. "He doesn't really know where we stand here."
"A congressman in the United States of America saying that about the same city in the USA, its just outrageous," said student Chris Martinez.
For the students and staff, his strong statements hit especially close to home.
"It might take some of our campus away and we've come a long way to have this university," explained Fitness Instructor Diana Rojas. "And that's just something that not just me, but a lot of people don't agree with it."
Fruia said the fence would complicate going to classes. "I go to school in the education building on the other side of campus and they were saying we were going to need a passport to go to class." But, despite the controversy on campus, students and staff say they're glad even those with a different viewpoint on the border wall came to their school for the hearing.
"I was glad they were here to see campus and what was going to be destroyed by this border wall," explained Martinez.
Fruia agreed. "This is where I live, this is my background, this is my life," Fruia added. "Suggesting we're in Mexico? I live in the U.S."
Texas State Representative Eddie Lucio III said he doesn't believe they changed anyone's minds in the hearings Tuesday, he does believe that the Rio Grande Valley made a strong stand showing of unity against the border wall.

Two Faced Napolitano & McCain! Restrictionist Arizona Laws Causes State to Lose $! Now new program invites new Mexican Guest Workers!

Arizona. In 2007, the home of the Nation´s severist restrictionist Immigration Laws. These laws promised to "come down hard" on not only illegal immigrants but on employers. Since the laws have passed, Arizona has seen changes, however not the changes they wanted.
As Sheriff Arpaio came down hard on Latinos, legal and illegal, via Racial Profiling Sweeps of Latino majority cities and towns. Latinos, both legal and illegal, fled in terror of being caught up in these raids.
While to date, not ONE employer has been arrested or sanctioned, Arizona is suffering the impacts of these restrictionist laws. Business owners are going out of business and they are suffering from the inability to hire workers needed to do the job, all while the state is experiencing one of their lowest unemployment rates in history.
Fast forward to May, 2008. Arizona , John McCain´s home state, the state with the most broken immigration policies, is seeking to change their laws and invite in more Guest Workers from Mexico.
My only question is to the bad-boy Sheriff Arpaio, "whatcha gonna do when they come for you..." All of the invited Guest Workers!
The Tucson Citizen Reports:
PHOENIX - With lawmakers temporarily diverting their focus from the state's budget crisis, the hot-button issue of immigration is getting renewed attention in the state Senate, where one lawmaker vows to conduct what would amount to a filibuster. Senators this week are expected to consider both a bill to revise the 2007 employer sanctions law penalizing businesses that knowingly hire illegal workers and a separate proposal creating a new state guest worker program. Arizona is the nation's busiest border crossing point for illegal immigrants, and the 2007 employer sanctions law was enacted in an attempt to eliminate jobs as a magnet for illegal entrants. The bill (SB 1374) to make numerous changes to the sanctions law is a response to criticism from business owners and others about its fairness and workability. Proposed changes include making its penalties for employers apply only to workers hired on or after Jan. 1 and establishing a new voluntary compliance program. The guest worker proposal would ask for federal permission so Arizona could create a program to provide temporary foreign workers for employers who experience labor shortages. ..

Proponents argue that creation of the program would help employers while diminishing unregulated illegal immigration, but it drew fire during a Republican caucus Tuesday as senators said it could undercut American workers and open the door for unreimbursed health care costs. The measure's sponsor, Democratic Sen. Marsha Arzberger of Willcox, later said she has commitments from enough fellow senators for passage. She briefly flashed a "laundry list" of checkmarks next to names of senators but declined to allow a reporter to examine it in detail. Arzberger said work for Americans would be protected because the state Industrial Commission, one of the agencies that would help administer the program, would determine whether businesses had made adequate attempts to hire local workers. The immigration-related measures are among numerous pieces of legislation being considered during a lull in budget action.