Regardless of the Republican View, Racism Against Minorities is still Thriving in America!

Harvard Professor Henry Gates Jr. had just returned to his home in an upper class suburb from a trip to China when a police officer responded to a call about a potential break-in at his home that was phoned in by a white woman.

Professor Gates was driven to his home by a driver for a local car company. Professor Gates attempted to enter his front door, but the door was damaged. Professor Gates then entered his rear door with his key, turned off his alarm, and again attempted to open the front door. With the help of his driver they were able to force the front door open, and then the driver carried Professor Gates’ luggage into his home.

Why did the White Woman call the police? Because she saw a Black Man attempting to enter his own home.

When Professor Gates opened the door, the officer immediately asked him to step outside. Professor Gates remained inside his home and asked the officer, Sgt. Crowley, why he was there. Crowley indicated that he was responding to a 911 call about a breaking and entering in progress at this address. Professor Gates informed the officer that he lived there and was a faculty member at Harvard University. Crowley then asked Professor Gates whether he could prove that he lived there and taught at Harvard. Professor Gates said that he could, and turned to walk into his kitchen, where he had left his wallet. Crowley followed him. Professor Gates handed both his Harvard University identification and his valid Massachusetts driver’s license to Crowley. Both include Professor Gates’ photograph, and the license includes his address.

Professor Gates then asked Crowley if he would give him his name and his badge number. He made this request several times. Crowley did not produce any identification nor did he respond to Professor Gates’ request for this information. After an additional request by Professor Gates for the officer’s name and badge number, Crowley then turned and left the kitchen of Professor Gates’ home without ever acknowledging who he was or if there were charges against Professor Gates. As Professor Gates followed Crowley to his own front door, he was astonished to see several police officers gathered on his front porch. Professor Gates asked the officer’s colleagues for his name and badge number. As Professor Gates stepped onto his front porch, Crowley who had been inside and who had examined his identification, said to him, “Thank you for accommodating my earlier request,” and then Crowley placed Professor Gates under arrest. Professor Gates was handcuffed on his own front porch. The professor was taken to the station, printed and was not released for four hours.

There was no need for an arrest. Crowley was merely showing his power over the Professor. If the Professor were not black, the neighbor would not have called and Crowley would not have approached the Professor so pompously nor exerted his power by arresting him.

The Professor was racially profiled and harassed due to his race.

Fortunately, the Prosecutor agreed and dropped the charges.

I think Sgt. Crowley needs Anger Management and Diversity Training.

Reference:
The Arrest of Professor Louis Gates Jr.

Living through the Civil Rights Movement. Is there HOPE for the Future?

I grew up during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. My Dad, Mom and siblings suffered from the racism of that era. My Dad was a migrant worker/field supervisor. His peers were white. However, he was not allowed to eat at the same lunch counter, drink from the same fountain nor use the same bathroom as his peers, even though he worked side by side with them in the fields.

In the late sixties, the Civil Rights Act was passed and the law said we were all equal. The Jim Crow laws were cast aside. They were against the law. In reality, they continued on for many years. In the late sixties, riots occurred as minorities spoke out against the continuing abuses. (We are reliving these same times today!)

I didn't understand racism. As a child, I too was a migrant worker. In first grade, in Catholic school, I didn't understand the reason the other children laughed at me when I stuttered in shyness. They thought I stumbled over my words because I was a stupid mexican. They whispered to themselves I was a dumb mexican. When the nun explained to them that I was just as intelligent as they were, most were skeptical. However, my advocate, our teacher, the nun, helped me and all other students understand that I was their equal and I was just as intelligent as they were. Like them, I could be anything I wanted to be.

Through the sixties, most teachers explained to all their students, we were ALL equal. There was discrimination and injustice in the past, but that time was over. Not all teachers said this. I remember a few predicted I was going to get pregnant and I should take typing/vocational courses because I was never going to college and college prep courses wouldn't help me. It is a good thing I didn't listen to them.
In the late sixties, the riots occurred. I marched alongside other equal rights believers of all colors. We thought we could change the world. We thought all of us were equal. Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we were free at last.

After I finished my education, I started working for a large corporation and gradually progressed upwardly as a manager, continuing my education. I was going to be "That Girl!" I was going to have a career, a family, and be as equal as every other American in this glorious United States of America.
It is unbelievable to think so much change has occurred within one lifetime, my lifetime.
In the 70's, I met my husband, a big, handsome, strapping, lumberjack of an Irish American guy. We fell in love. In 1978 we married. In 1979 we had our first son. In 1985, we had our second son. Now, we have two young grandsons.

I thought we overcame the racism of the past. Little did I know that after 9/11, the racist groups who felt such a loss after the Civil Rights movement, who were still hanging on to their racist beliefs, would come back to haunt us. I didn't realize they were creeping back up on us until the May 2006 Immigration marches. Then they started planting their seeds of hate again. Their movement grew.

I heard all of their rhetoric on various cable news networks featuring Buchanan, Dobbs, Beck and others. I decided to learn more. I joined various websites and started my own blog in 2007.
It seems as if we reverted back in time to a certain degree. On a daily basis, I read about the Hate Crimes, Racial Profiling, the ICE Raids and the heinous Detention Centers. I read about the 287(g) local Sheriff assaults on workers. I see the persecution, incarceration, the humiliation, the inequality, the abuse.
Most Americans are like me. We are living in the new millenium. We understand we are a nation of Immigrants. We understand we are ALL equal. We understand we are a thriving, multi-cultural society. I look into the big beautiful eyes, eyes just like my Dad's, of my multi cultural, multi racial, multi ethnic grandchildren and I know our equality is the truth.

Some groups like the KKK, White Supremists, the NSMs and others are attempting to brainwash our children and others that are weak minded. They are attempting to convince them "illeeeegals" are the enemy. They are attempting to convince them to racial profile, assault, arrest and abuse these workers. No one knows what an "illeeeeegal" looks like, so these groups convince their members to attack and abuse ALL Latinos or anyone speaking Spanish. That is why we have seen crimes like the Caucasian Crew murdering Marcelo Lucero, the football jocks murder Luis Ramirez, or Dannie Baker murder innocent Chilean students.
The hate groups have convinced some local Sheriff departments (as in Northern Florida) to continue the worker ICE raids even though Janet Napolitano put a STOP to these practices. These sheriff departments could care less about the employers. They are not arresting them. They could care less about the Drug Cartels. They could care less about the felonious criminals. Instead they arrest and incarcerate the workers at the worksites, even though all they are doing is working.

I participate in various comment sections of the local news sites reporting these occurrences. It is alarming to see the degree of hate, anger and violence in some commenter responses. What is also interesting to note is ALL, without an exception, ALL of these commenters that spew so much HATE against latino workers (and they are ALL Latino workers), also hate our President, Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic party. They also hate Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry and the entire Democratic Party. They do not chastise employers hiring those they term illeeeegal and they do not seem all that angry about Bernie Madoff or other big business billion dollar thieves. The majority also do not approve of Gays, the right to Choose, Gun Control, Health Care or Global Warming. Most are Limbaugh, Beck and Dobbs viewers and approvers. These are the same extreme right wingers who say they will hold on to their beliefs and their guns with their last breaths. I am sure their ancestors were primarily slave owners and chastised Kennedy/Johnson through the Civil Rights Movement. They are advocating White supremacy and Mass Deporation of the 12M here. They also say they will never change their minds.

My goal in writing my blog is to help all Americans, and especially Americans of Latino descent understand we MUST remember the past. We must remember how recently the Civil Rights movement occurred. We MUST remember how recent the actions of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta occurred. The Civil Rights abuses happened in my lifetime. They were worse in my father's lifetime. We have to remember how fragile our history is and how many accomplishments our parents sacrificed to get us to this point. We have to remember we are a Land of Immigrants and WE are ALL Equal. We should do everything in our power to stand up for the newer Immigrants and to achieve Comprehensive Immigration Reform. We must also encourage all of our children to continue their education and never indulge in drugs.

God Bless America!
God Bless Our President Barack Obama!

Hate Monger Dobbs Goes LOCO and Outs Himself as a Racist!

Lou Dobbs has officially gone LOCO! On Tuesday night, Dobbs outed himself as a RACIST against all American Latinos. He also made it known that he is adamantly against our President Obama.

The Washington Independent reports:

In another fascinating segment from CNN’s immigrant attack dog Lou Dobbs, the prime-time anchor Tuesday night accused President Obama of pandering to Latinos by talking about education to a group who he says goal is “to export drugs and illegal aliens to the United States.”
“I don’t know what’s happened to this White House,” Dobbs said, after correspondent Lisa Sylvester reported on Obama’s presentation at the annual conference of the U.S.-Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “But the wheels appear to have come completely off here over the last several days. Making a decision to talk about a national initiative on education from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which is effectively an organization that is interested in the export of American capital and production to Mexico and Mexico’s export of drugs and illegal aliens to the United States. This is crazy stuff.”
Crazy stuff indeed.
For the record, here’s the mission statement of the U.S.-Hispanic Chamber of Commerce:
“To foster Hispanic economic development and to create sustainable prosperity for the benefit of American society.”

From the Houston Chronicle:

The pro-immigrant group America's Voice came down hard on Dobbs Wednesday:
The following is a response by Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America's Voice.
"Lou Dobbs is right about one thing. This is crazy stuff. Apparently when Lou saw the word 'Hispanic' in the name of the organization hosting the event, he went LOCO."
"The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is hardly a controversial group. It represents over 2.5 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States, including many small enterprises that are the backbone of our economy. I have worked with them over the years. It is a mainstream organization whose members are patriotic Americans - some born here, some born in Latin America - who love this nation. Linking these hardworking business owners, who are Americans of Hispanic descent, to the Mexican drug trade and illegal immigration is both ridiculous and deplorable."

Hate Crime: Christian Conservative Republican Activist Arrested for Murdering Two Legal Latino Students! Proclaims Upcoming "Revolution!"

In one of the most heinous HATE Crimes against Latinos in U.S. history, two young Latino students were brutally murdered yesterday by Republican activist and Christian Conservative Minister Donnie Ray Baker (60). When Deputies arrived at the murder-site, they found innocent, legal (from Chile), Latino students: Nicolas Pablo Corp-Torres (23) and Racine Balbontin-Aragondona (22), deceased at the scene. Deputies also discovered three victims that had been wounded. Fransisco Javier Cofre-Fernande (25) was air lifted by life flight to Sacred Heart and is in critical condition. Sebastian Mauricio Arizaga-Suarez (27) was also air lifted to Sacred Heart and is listed in stable condition at this time. The third victim, David Alonzo Bilbao-Meza (21) was taken to a local hospital and is listed in good condition. It is heartbreaking to learn that these innocent children, at the beginning of their lives, were so brutally murdered by someone who proclaimed he was a Christian minister.

The murder rampage began a little before 2:00 am Thursday morning at the units of the Summer Lake Townhomes in Miramar Beach, Florida. Investigators said Baker left his townhouse, armed with a rifle, walked across the complex to the victims' unit's window, peaked inside, and opened fire.
After the shooting, witnesses saw Baker carrying a rifle though the pool area across the street to his home on the other side of the complex. Authorities say he locked himself inside and waited. When authorities arrived, they used a loudspeaker to talk with Baker, said Michele Nicholson with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office. Baker surrendered without further incident shortly after 6 a.m. His tennis shoes were discarded near the door of his home at Unit 25, where he was arrested.

Afterwards, neighbor Crystal Lynn said, "he did come up to me one time and asked me if I was ready for the revolution to begin and if I had any immigrants in my house to get them out."

While many Republicans are already attempting to distance themselves from Baker proclaiming him a lone nutcase, on the Landover Baptist website, which some identify as a spoof Christian site, and others post legitimately as Christians, one poster, Jeb Thurmond, proclaimed: "Walton County Republican Headquarters volunteer Dannie R Baker is being persecuted for pre-emptively defending America against potential illegal immigrants."

Some Republican, Christian Conservative and ANTI Immigration Reform websites are predicting an on-coming Revolution against the Obama Administration and their supporters.

Baker was a pitiful man, looking for love. On one "looking for love" website, this 60 year old man advertised for a woman between 18 - 29. He said, "I'm looking for a woman to be my bride and to have my children and to enjoy my lifestyle on the beach in Florida, USA!!! I want a Christian who wants to be a ministers wife." It is a good thing no one answered.

Let's hope Baker is charged, to the fullest extent of the law, for the HATE Crimes he so callously committed.

BREAKING NEWS: Baker had his first appearance before a judge Friday morning (today). He was denied bond on two open counts of murder and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A bond of $50,000 was set on a charge of shooting a missile into an occupied dwelling, although Baker was to stay in jail.

Update: Bilbao told his brother that the youths, who were in Florida as part of an educational exchange program, were sitting around a kitchen table talking and cooking when they were surprised by a blast and the sound of breaking glass. “My brother thought something had exploded in the oven, and never imagined it was a gunshot until about the third shot when he was hit in the arm,” Mario Bilbao told a Chilean radio station. “My brother threw himself on the floor and later tried to help one of his friends, but regrettably, he told me, it was too late. It’s going to be very difficult for him to get over this,” he said.

Update 2: The sheriff's office doesn't have a motive, but they did confirm that citizens had filed reports with them in August 2008 claiming Baker had circulated e-mails that threatened national political candidates.

References:
Early Morning Shooting Kills 2 Injures 3 in Miramar Beach
Multiple People Shot in South Walton County
Man held for shooting 5 people

Victims of fatal South Walton County shooting identified

Looking for Love Absoluteagency.com website

Walton "Minister" Shoots and Kills 2, Wounds 3 More

Mayor of Alamitos, CA sends Racist Email about our President in the White House

Unbelievable! As our President strives for unity and non-partisanship to bring our nation together through this period of Global Economic strife, the Mayor of Alamitos, CA sends a racist email ridiculing our President with a vile, racial stereotype. Then, when asked to respond, he doesn't realize the error of his ways! Unbelievable!!

OC Register reports:

LOS ALAMITOS - The mayor has sent an apology for an e-mail sent to a local businesswoman and community volunteer that she says is racist and offensive.
Keyanus Price, an African American, said she was appalled when she received an e-mail from Mayor Dean Grose's personal account that showed a picture of the White House with a watermelon patch imposed as the White House garden. "I was horrified when I read that e-mail," Price said. "What I'm concerned about is how can this person send an e-mail out like this and think it is OK?" Being a public official, Price said, made the matter worse. "He's putting the city into a bad place, and he is a liability," Price wrote in an e-mail.
Grose sent an e-mail apology to Price, her boss and the City Council saying he did not intend to be offensive. He also called and left Price a message, he said. "It was just poor judgment on my part, and I am deeply sorry," he said. "It wasn't meant to hurt her."
The council received the e-mail from Price's boss and also received a copy of the apology. Councilman Ken Stephens said he didn't receive the original e-mail. "Being totally out of the loop on this one, I think I would be speaking out of turn if I said anything about it," he said. "I would think that anything like that at all would be inappropriate but, again, I haven't seen the e-mail." Calls to the other three Los Alamitos council members were not returned.
Price said she wanted a public apology for the e-mail and today contacted The Orange County Register to share the brief exchange that took place on Sunday.
Grose's e-mail included the picture with a heading that read, "No Easter Egg hunt this year."
"I think he's saying that since there's a black president, there will be no need to hunt for eggs since they're growing watermelons in the front yard this year," Price wrote. She responded to the e-mail with: "Hey, that's not nice at all. Not all black people like watermelon… you should know better than that."
Grose replied: "The way things are today, you gotta laugh every now and then. I wanna see the coloring contests." Price said Grose's response upset her more.
"As soon as I saw his response; that put me over the top because it was no big deal to him," she said.
Price and Grose have worked together in the past – they both sit on the board of the Youth Center, and she often works with city officials in the community representing her employer. The two have exchanged e-mails in the past. In his apology to Price via e-mail, Grose wrote that he was not representing himself as a public official. "It was not sent to a whole bunch of people, and it went through my personal e-mail," he said. "People e-mail things all the time, but that's not an excuse."

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.

Another Latino Hate Crime: "I Wanna Stick me a Cuban or Puerto Rican! I Don´t Like Minorities!"

Another Hate Crime Against a Latino occurred last Sunday! "I wanna Stick Me a Cuban or Puerto Rican!"

Are the internet Immigration (legal and illegal) Hate Sites motivating these murderers and attackers to blame all of their woes on Latinos?

Quote from Tom Tancredo on Nov. 18, 2006 while in Palm Beach, "Miami is a 3rd World County."

PalmBeachPost.com reports:
LAKE WORTH, FL — Drunk and upset his wife had shocked him with a stun gun, Randy Lee Cramer slashed a man's throat with a knife on Sunday, authorities said in documents made public this morning. And, because the 51-year-old Lake Worth man said he wanted to "stick me a Cuban or Puerto Rican," he faces a hate-crime charge in addition to an aggravated battery charge, according to his arrest affidavit. Cramer was arrested late Tuesday after Palm Beach County Sheriff's Detective James Evans linked him to the attack, which, Evans wrote, unfolded this way:

After arguing with his wife, Cramer stormed out of his South Palm Way apartment and went to Bryant Park, where he accosted a Hispanic man standing on a dock. Drawing a knife, Cramer said, "I don't like minorities," and he slashed the Hispanic man's throat.
The man was taken to Delray Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery for a 4-inch wound before speaking to the detective.

A Teacher Shackles a Student on a Slave Ship. Do We Need to have discussions about Race in America?

What is happening in America? A teacher binds Black students with duct tape to emulate a Slave Ship. Is this helpful role playing or more Race Issues in New York and across America? It is time we have discussions about Race across America!

LoHud.com reports:

Residents question teacher's actions

HAVERSTRAW - Residents of this racially diverse village said yesterday that students should be taught about slavery but they questioned a middle school teacher's lesson plan. During a Nov. 18 seventh-grade history lesson on slavery, the teacher, Eileen Bernstein, who is white, selected two black students, taped their hands and feet and had them crawl into the space under a desk to simulate what it must have been like for slaves transported in ships' holds during the voyage to America. The mother of 13-year-old Gabrielle Shand, who was one of the two black students selected by the teacher, complained to school officials that the lesson was insensitive and left her daughter shocked and upset. Christine Shand said yesterday that she hadn't talked to anyone at the school since a meeting Thursday, in which school officials apologized. In retrospect, the teacher "realizes that that was not a good choice, and we've rectified the situation in terms of not using that simulation again," Haverstraw Middle School Principal Avis Shelby said.
Gabrielle was too upset to go to school yesterday, her mother said.

Detention Center Abuses in GEO Group´s Jena Prison!

LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, La., owned by GEO Groups, a large RNC contributor, is where federal agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sent hundreds of immigrant workers after they were arrested at Howard Industries in Laurel on Aug. 25, 2008, the largest raid at a workplace in the history of the nation. Detainees were held for three weeks without formal charges or ability to see an attorney, forced to share one toothbrush with as many as 60 other workers, and dumped into single rooms holding as many as 250 inmates, according to testimony gathered by the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance (MIRA). Female immigrant workers arrested at Howard - many of them mothers with young children - were forced to wear monitoring devices on their ankles and forbidden to leave Mississippi.

So far no charges have been filed against Howard Industries, where a spokesman declined to comment. Alvarez-Montgomery says ICE will gather evidence about the company’s practices based on interviews with immigrant detainees, and says that “if there is evidence against supervisors, owners, or the company in general, the information will be turned over to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Jacksonville for consideration. It’s up to them at that point if they will pursue criminal charges against the employer.”

The GEO Group is an international corporation that operates prisons around the country and is frequently in the news for its abuse of prisoners in its care resulting in many preventable deaths. Its operations in Texas have been sharply criticized over poor conditions and the treatment of some of its prisoners.

The Jena detention facility was formerly a juvenile prison. It was designed to be a model corrections center, but ended up being shut down after conditions got so bad that the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in 2000 against the management—GEO Group (formerly Wackenhut)—for abuse and violence. The investigation found that the mostly white guards used "cruel and humiliating punishments" and "routinely used excessive force" on the mostly Black youth inmates. A judge in the case said, "The way this facility operates or has operated in the recent past is that young people are treated as if they walk on all fours. These young people deserve to be treated like human beings, not animals.''

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE! Hate Crime Murder In New York: "Let´s Beat Up Some Mexicans!"

Late Breaking News on the Long Island,NY Hate Crime.

NY hate crime suspect now charged with murder
By FRANK ELTMAN – 51 minutes ago
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (AP) — The killing of an Ecuadorean immigrant by seven high school students was part of a spree in which the teenagers tormented other immigrants while armed with knives and BB guns, prosecutors said Thursday. The teens were indicted Thursday on more serious offenses — including murder as a hate crime for one accused of wielding the knife — than they initially faced when arrested in the Nov. 8 killing of Marcelo Lucero. Prosecutors said the teenagers had been hanging out with friends when someone suggested they go "beaner jumping," a derogatory term they used as a euphemism for attacking Hispanics. The group drove around Patchogue and (1) encountered a Hispanic man and attempted to rough him up, but the man escaped, prosecutors said. Shortly before midnight, (2) the group came upon Lucero and a companion walking near the Patchogue train station. The group surrounded their victims, but Lucero's friend managed to flee the scene unharmed, prosecutors said. Lucero tried to fight back, smacking one of the teens with his belt, but was soon overwhelmed by the mob, prosecutors said. Jeffrey Conroy ended the fight by plunging a knife into Lucero's chest, authorities say. District Attorney Thomas Spota said the other six were unaware that Conroy had stabbed Lucero until he told them as they fled the scene. The prosecutor said that because the other teens did not know about the stabbing until afterward, they were not being charged with murder. The six suspects were arraigned Thursday on charges including gang assault, conspiracy, attempted assault and attempted gang assault. Lawyers for the six entered not guilty pleas. Conroy will answer to an upgraded charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime, as well as manslaughter, gang assault and other crimes at a Monday hearing.
Conroy could face 25 years to life in prison and the others could be sentenced to five to 25 years if convicted of the most serious charges. Attorneys for all seven have said their clients are innocent. Advocates for Hispanics and others have spoken out against the killing, which took place days after Barack Obama was elected as the country's first black president. "It is tragic that a crime of this nature, a xenophobic lynching, happened just as the United States celebrates a historic step forward in which racial barriers have been overcome," Ecuadorean Ambassador Luis Gallegos said last week.

HATE CRIME: Shenandoah Kick In the Head Murder Courtroom Testimony

Ramirez Case:

From Courtroom Testimony:

In a six-hour preliminary hearing, Joseph Benjamin Lawson Jr., 17, testified he and the five others in the group drank liquor in the woods before going to the Polish-American Fire Company block party, where they argued with a firefighter about ''messing around'' with other football players.All three of the accused played on Shenandoah Valley High School's football team last year. Donchak was the quarterback. Lawson testified that, at the block party, Donchak was especially angry.As they walked to Donchak's house, he testified, they came across Ramirez and Dillman's half-sister, Roxanne, 15, at the park. According to Lawson, another teen, Brian Scully, who has not been charged, said to the girl, ''Isn't it a little late for you to be out?''The girl didn't answer, but Ramirez replied in Spanish, and Scully replied, ''This is Shenandoah, this is America, go back to Mexico,'' and used racial slurs. The two began fighting, Lawson said.Donchak hurried to join in, Lawson testified. Ramirez went down and the others stood around him, kicking him to the head and torso, Lawson said. But it was after Ramirez got up, while fighting with Donchak, that Lawson said Walsh ran up and sucker-punched him in the face.Ramirez fell to the ground with such force his head bounced off the macadam, leaving him unconscious. Then Piekarsky administered a FINAL KICK TO THE HEAD, Lawson said.

Kick in the Head Case Update: Piekarksky´s Friends are saying Judge May Dismiss the Case!

A Mockery of Justice is about to occur! The murderers who kicked Luis Ramirez in the head and murdered him may soon be set free. I ask all PRO Bloggers and PRO supporters to be alerted to this case and to contact all fellow PRO Bloggers and supporters! This case is similar to the New York Race Crime murder! The Sheriff´s Dept did not want to bring these murderers to justice and now the judge is considering dismissing the charges!! Their friends are laughing at the possibility! This miscarriage of justice CANNOT occur! These Murderers MUST BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE, otherwise we are doomed to see more Latino Hate Crime murders occur! Alert your friends! Alert the Justice System! DO NOT Allow these Murderers to be Set Free with No Penalty!! If these murderers are allowed to go free, NO Latino is SAFE from these Types of HATE CRIMES!!

PA Pundits Reports:

Shenandoah Teens Dismissal Hearing
Posted by Turtle on November 13, 2008 by Turtle
The three teenagers charged as adults in Shenandoah, Derrick Donchak, Colin Walsh, and Brandon Piekarsky, asked to have the charges dismissed. A hearing was scheduled for 9:30am this morning (11/13/08). Two friends drove an hour to my house, where another friend and I waited. The four of us drove another hour to Pottsville to witness the goings-on of this dismissal hearing. When we first arrived, I recognized some of the wonderful people I’ve met and have been keeping in touch with. I am happy to say the families are remaining strong and supportive! I overheard someone talking about a plea bargain. As I listened, I learned that only yesterday, the District Attorney offered a sweet deal to the boys. Apparently, he was willing to drop everything but assault and ethnic intimidation, with a sentence of ten months in county prison. Wow. I guess even the DA knows he has NO CASE against these boys, but since he’s up for election as a judge, he needs SOME kind of conviction on them.
We entered the courtroom, and waited and waited. Then we waited some more. After about an hour and a half of waiting, I found out that the judge, attorneys, and DA were in judge’s chambers downstairs. Here’s where this whole situation gets really whacky: The DA wanted the plea deal, the defense was wholeheartedly considering it, and the judge was willing to approve it. Then MALDEF and the Department of Justice (DOJ) called Crystal Dillman (self-titled “fiancee” of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala) and Ramirez Zavala’s mother in Mexico who used an interpreter. Both Momma Ramirez and Dillman fought against the plea deal because it wasn’t harsh enough. Well, I’ll be ..
Since WHEN does the American judicial process get halted by racist, ethnocentric brown supremacy groups? Why is the DOJ working WITH anti-American, racist groups? Back to the courtroom: we waited still for the hearing to start, or to get word of any plea bargains being accepted. Finally, the ten-minute hearing began. The judge told the DA he has several items to answer, within ten days, and the judge named off several numbers that apparently correlate to a packet of papers they had. I found out later on that some of those numbers included the DA handing over evidence to support the charges of homicide and ethnic intimidation. The judge will also consider severing the trials, so they might be tried separately. We then went out into the hallway, where a slew of reporters with cameras waited for the teens to be led out of the courtroom. Once the boys had passed, the reporters asked some of us to interview on camera. My friend, Debby Rabold gave striking interviews with several of them. I spoke to Bob Reynolds from WNEP. Much to my surprise, they actually included some of what I said! LOL!

Republican Herald reports:

BREAKING NEWS: Judge considers charges, separate trials for 3 accused in Shen beating

During a hearing Thursday, three teenagers charged in connection with the fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant in Shenandoah placed their fate in the hands of Schuylkill County President Judge William E. Baldwin.Brandon J. Piekarsky, 17, and Colin J. Walsh, 17, both of Shenandoah Heights, and Derrick M. Donchak, 18, of Shenandoah, want Baldwin to dismiss charges against them or, alternatively, to have them tried separately in connection with the beating of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala. At the end of the 10-minute hearing in a packed courtroom — preceded by almost two hours of conferring by the judge and lawyers on each side — Baldwin took the defendants’ requests under advisement but did not indicate when he would rule. Baldwin did order prosecutors to provide more information to the defendants’ lawyers about the exact acts they allege the teenagers committed, the exact words they allege the young men said and the exact nature of any alleged agreement by the trio to commit any crimes.
“The commonwealth has not articulated its theory well enough,” Baldwin said in explaining why he ordered prosecutors to provide that information. Neither prosecutors nor the defendants presented any testimony during the hearing. Prosecutors offered into evidence the transcript from the Aug. 18 preliminary hearing, as well as the autopsy and supplemental medical reports on Ramirez, as their case at this stage, and the defendants did not object to Baldwin considering any of those. District Attorney James P. Goodman, the defendants and their attorneys — Frederick J. Fanelli, Pottsville, Roger Laguna, Harrisburg, and Jeffrey M. Markosky, Mahanoy City — all declined to comment on the case after the hearing.The three defendants have alleged the evidence against them is insufficient to support the charges. Also, they have alleged that if the judge finds the evidence sufficient, they should be tried separately; currently, prosecutors have consolidated their cases and plan to try them together. Schuylkill County detectives allege the three, along with a fourth teenager who is charged as a juvenile, beat and yelled racial epithets at Ramirez, 25, of Shenandoah, on July 12. Ramirez died two days later at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, as a result of the beating, detectives said.Piekarsky and Walsh are charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, simple assault and ethnic intimidation. Piekarsky also is charged with criminal solicitation/hindering apprehension or prosecution and purchase, consumption, possession or transportation of liquor. Magisterial District Judge Anthony J. Kilker, Shenandoah, dismissed first- and second-degree murder charges against Piekarsky and Walsh at the conclusion of their preliminary hearing, leaving third-degree murder as the most serious homicide charge remaining against them. Donchak is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, criminal solicitation/hindering apprehension or prosecution, ethnic intimidation, corruption of minors, purchase or consumption of alcohol by a minor and selling or furnishing alcohol to minors. All three are free on bail pending further court action.The Shenandoah Valley school board approved homebound instruction for Piekarsky and Walsh as directed by court order during a special meeting Sept. 10. Shenandoah Valley solicitor Michael A. O’Pake said outside the hearing Thursday that the district was providing education to Piekarsky and Walsh and that he has heard no complaints on the matter. The case has focused national attention on Shenandoah and the issue of legal and illegal immigration. On Thursday, several groups in favor of immigrants’ rights as well as regional opponents of illegal immigration attended the hearing.

Mr. Ramirez Son.

He will be celebrating Christmas without his father this year.

Hate Crime Murder In New York: "Let´s Beat Up Some Mexicans!"

As I have frequently reported, the ICE Raids, Suppression Sweeps and the Angry ANTI Immigration Reform rhetoric have created a Hate Filled Atmosphere in our country making it dangerous to "Walk While Brown!" Some violent, domestic terrorists are searching for anyone that to them, looks Mexican. All they look for is BROWN SKIN! It does not matter whether the person is a citizen or not. It doesn´t matter if they are from Mexico, Central America, Cuban, Puerto Rican, South American, Native American, Italian, Asian, Middle Eastern or from the Pacific Islands. As long as you are brown, you are Mexican to them and they hate you!

Some say there is no racism in our country. They are wrong. Racial Profiling and Hate Crimes are the worst racism possible.

AP Reports:

Police: Slaying of NY immigrant was a hate crime

YAPHANK, N.Y. (AP) — Seven high school students looking "to beat up some Mexicans" attacked an immigrant from Ecuador on a Long Island street, with one of them fatally plunging a knife into the man's chest during the brawl, police said. A prosecutor compared Marcello Lucero's death over the weekend to a lynching, and the attack was officially labeled a hate crime by Suffolk County authorities. Some outraged supporters of Hispanic immigrants suggested that recent crackdowns on illegal immigration fomented an atmosphere of intolerance that contributed to the attack.
"Today, some of the highest leaders of our community also have blood on their hands," said the Rev. Alan Ramirez, a longtime advocate for Hispanic day laborers and Latino immigrants. "I have said for a long time that it would only take time for something like this to happen."
The teenagers — one junior and six seniors at Patchogue-Medford High School — were arraigned Monday on gang assault charges and entered not guilty pleas. The teen believed to have wielded the knife, 17-year-old Jeffrey Conroy, was also charged with manslaughter as a hate crime. His attorney did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
Lucero, 37, worked at a dry-cleaning shop in Riverhead. A friend of the victim said Lucero moved to the United States 16 years ago.
Police and prosecutors say the teens — six of them white and one black — were hanging out in a park on Saturday night around midnight when someone suggested they go "beat up some Mexicans." The group spotted Lucero and another man near the Patchogue train station and "like a lynch mob, (Conroy) and his friends got out of their car and surrounded Mr. Lucero and his friend," prosecutor Nancy Clifford said at Conroy's arraignment.
Lucero was punched in the face, and attempted to swing his belt while his companion escaped. At some point during the confrontation, Lucero was fatally stabbed in the chest and the teenagers fled. Patrol officers who had reported seeing the teens walking around Patchogue quickly arrested the group nearby.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said detectives have some evidence the group may have been involved in earlier attacks and urged any victims to come forward. He noted that the immigration status of victims would not be an issue in any investigation.
Additionally, the U.S. attorney's office said it is monitoring the case.
At least one of the teens has a record. Christopher Overton, 16, pleaded guilty to burglary in another fatal attack in 2007 in which a 38-year-old East Patchogue man was shot during a home robbery. His attorney denied his client was guilty of the current charge and said Overton cooperated with prosecutors on the previous case and is awaiting sentencing.
Tensions over illegal immigration have been acute in Suffolk County, where tens of thousands of immigrants have moved in recent years and worked in jobs like construction, landscaping and restaurants. The hamlet of Farmingville, about 10 miles from where the attack occurred, has become a flashpoint in the national immigration debate after a series of violent attacks on Hispanics.
In 2000, two Mexican men were beaten by two locals in Farmingville who promised them work. On July 4, 2003, a Mexican family barely escaped with their lives after teens set their Farmingville house ablaze by shooting fireworks through a window.
Two years later, two Mexican immigrants fishing off a Long Island jetty were set upon by four white youths who beat them and stole their money while using racial and ethnic slurs.
Ramirez and Luis Valenzuela, executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, suggested that various efforts by local government aimed at illegal immigration, as well as comments by elected officials, may have contributed to an atmosphere of intolerance. The county has enacted a local law requiring companies with government contracts to verify their employees are in the U.S. legally.
"For too long, anti-immigrant and anti-Latino sentiment has been tolerated in Suffolk County, as reflected in the introduction of anti-immigrant bill after anti-immigrant bill in the county legislature," Valenzuela said. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, a co-founder of a national group called Mayors and Executives for Immigration Reform, rejected suggestions that the killing was related in any way to the immigration debate.
"The beating, stabbing and killing of Marcello Lucero wasn't a question of any county policy or legislation; it was a question of bad people doing horrific things," said Levy. Gov. David Paterson said in a statement that Lucero's death "is a jarring reminder that we must remain vigilant and continue our fight to eradicate prejudice in our words and in our actions."

A promise to all my readers: I commit to keeping you updated on all the news that happens with the Marcello Lucero story! We pray his family finds Peace through these difficult times.

Let´s Ask President Obama to help Stop the Hate!!

Racists Attempt another Assassination Attempt Against Barack Obama!

Another racist nutcase is foiled in their assassination attempt against Barack Obama. This time, these KKK, skinhead, neo-nazis were planning on murdering an additional 88 blacks and decapitating 14 more! These domestic terrorists met on an internet hate site! Thank God the FBI discovered their evil plot and arrested them! As I have reported, this is the 3rd reported assassination attempt by members of racist groups.
The AP Reports:
Authorities in Tennessee have arrested two men described as white supremacists for an alleged plot to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama and more than 100 others. The alleged plotters were also planning a "killing spree" that included murdering 88 individuals by gunfire and 14 African-Americans by decapitation, with the attempt on Obama's life as the "final act of violence," according to an affidavit filed by a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Authorities arrested Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman, 18, of West Helena, Ark., in Tennessee after the Crockett County Sheriff's Department received a tip from the Haywood County Sheriff's Department.

Kick In the Head Case Update: Shenandoah Mayor Resigns Due to ANTI´s Stirring Trouble!

Danger is brewing in Shenandoah, PA.

Groups like "Save Shenandoah", and other groups from around the country including "Voice of the People USA", "Illegal Protest", "PA Pundits" and other groups with Skinhead and KKK affiliations are stirring up the pot. Last Saturday, the group rallied in a local park, members demanding the resignation of the Honorable Mayor Thomas F. O’Neill for his peace keeping efforts during the "Kick in the Head" trial.

Last evening at the Borough Council Meeting, audience members demanded the mayor´s resignation. By the end of the meeting the mayor, tired of the fight, submitted his resignation saying in part he is resigning due to "obvious political conflicts that have led to my decision to spend my retirement in peace.”

Now that the bullies have gotten their way, the ANTI blogosphere is cheering their victory saying this is a "huge score for Americans standing up for themselves." These hate groups are frothing! One commenter said, "One down a few thousand to go across america. So many twerps so little time!"

What will happen next in this troubled small town?

Republican Herald.com reports:

Shenandoah mayor resigns

SHENANDOAH — Mayor Thomas F. O’Neill submitted a letter of resignation to the borough council during Monday’s meeting. The resignation, which was accepted 4 to 1 with Councilman Donald Segal voting against it, will take effect Jan. 1. O’Neill said the primary reason for the resignation is the health and medical needs of his wife, which require the couple to relocate to a handicap-equipped residence. O’Neill said secondary to his family priorities are the “obvious political conflicts that have led to my decision to spend my retirement in peace.”
O’Neill has come under pressure to resign by several borough residents who expressed their opinion at public meetings. O’Neill is blamed by some for supporting illegal immigration in the borough, an issue that has been at the forefront in Shenandoah for some time and even more so following the July 14 death of Luis Eduardo Ramirez Zavala, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who died from wounds he suffered in a beating two days earlier. Some have alleged the beating was racially motivated and four teens have been charged in connection with the incident.About 30 people, some non-residents, attended the September borough council meeting, again raising the issue of illegal immigrants in the community and accused O’Neill of supporting illegal immigrants after he spoke at a Unity Rally held to counter the Voice of the People USA rally Aug. 30.

At the September meeting, O’Neill said he supported borough council in its attempt to pass an illegal immigration ordinance. Shenandoah advertised its ordinance in September 2007, but held off after Hazleton’s ordinance was challenged. O’Neill will have completed three years as mayor in December. He served on borough council from 2002-2005. “I have been faithful to my campaign promises by serving the citizens of the Borough of Shenandoah to the best of my ability by keeping their interests at the forefront of my decisions,” O’Neill read from the letter. “I have always put the people first. Unfortunately, during the past three years as mayor, my eyes have been opened to the realities of politics and it is a very disappointing picture.”

In other business, Joe Green, representing Save Shenandoah, asked the council about a crime watch.Voice of the People USA facilitated a meeting Sept. 20 at the Anthony P. Damato American Legion Medal of Honor Post 792 to set up a crime watch. During the meeting, Miller agreed to take charge of setting up the next meeting and addressing the council. Borough Manager Joe Palubinsky said he should set up a meeting with the mayor and police department to develop a policy for the crime watch. Palubinsky said no one was against it as long as it is done in a reasonable fashion and proper procedure.

Note: Latino Citizens of Shenandoah, Please be safe! Be aware that the Save Shenandoah group is rallying their members for this "Crime Watch." We hope and pray they do NOT use their measures to racially profile all Latinos in the area! Also, please ensure you are registered to vote in the Mayorial election to replace Mayor O´Neill. Please check the Save Shenandoah Website to keep yourselves informed of this group´s activities.

"Kick in the Head" HATE Crime Update: Peace Rally vs Racist HATE Rally!

Two rallies were conducted this weekend in Pottsville.
WFMZ TV reports:
Racial tensions escalated in the Schuylkill County borough of Shenandoah yesterday. Protestors gathered at an anti illegal immigration rally, while across town, a unity counter protest was held at the same time.
1. Unity Fest at the Kahillat Isreal Non-Denominational Christian Church
Families and Friends gathered to remember Ramirez and his family and to Pray for Unity and Peace in Pottsville. People gathered at the unity rally. Preaching a message of healing and hope. Pastor John Navarro/Kehillat Israel Church: "We opened the door to this - because this is a positive thing - we want not to see hatred, we want love." Dr. Agapito Lopez/unity organizer: "I think the way this community can get together and heal is to understand each other, to be in the shoes of other people."
The fliers said, "Bring your musical talents, instruments (kazoos are good!), food to share and your peaceful, positive, uplifting spirit! We will have fun stuff for the kids, music, food, movies and a message of hope, inclusivity, and peace within ourselves and our town." As advertised, the gathering was peaceful and harmonious. The community attended and Prayed together!
2. Voice of the People Demonstration sponsored by PA Pundits
The Melanie News Blog reported: "This weekend, a group called Voice of the PeopleUSA/PAPundits plans an ‘anti-immigration’ rally in Shenandoah. Although they claim not to be a white supremacist group, they have a very strong following of neo-Nazis, skinheads, white supremacists, and other such hate groups who will be here with them. This is already drawing national press attention whether we want it or not, and our image to world will be unfairly associated with a swastika."
A commenter added: "Actually the guy draped in the Nazi flag and other white supremacists that attended the Voice of the People USA rally were racists. I’ve never heard anyone call out these guys and gals at any rally. You count them for support just like everyone else in the crowd.
The Unity Festival was the truly peaceful and positive event. Thanks so much for having it. I think it was great that the mayor chose to attend your positive event and not the negative one across town."
The heinous Wendi M. from PA Pundits reported: "This speech was interrupted by none other than Crystal Dillman, the fiancee of Luis Ramirez. (Wendi M. said) Dillman and a few of her friends were holding a Mexican flag and had been standing in the back for some time. They got NO attention from anyone, so they moved into the crowd of patriots, flashing the middle finger along the way.
The crowd got upset, and started to swarm towards her. Smeriglio kept talking, even saying “I guess they don’t care about 9/11″ referring to Dillman and her co-traitors."

OTHER UPDATES: WHP Reports: School for the Charged- POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - School officials say two teenagers charged in the beating death of a Mexican man in an eastern Pennsylvania town won't be returning to the classroom. Sixteen-year-old Brandon Piekarsky and 17-year-old Colin Walsh are charged as adults with third-degree murder and other counts in the July 12 beating of 24-year-old illegal immigrant Luis Ramirez. The two are seniors at Shenandoah Valley High School. Superintendent Stanley Rakowsky says their parents will have three options. The two may receive instruction at home from a certified professional staff member and earn a Shenandoah Valley diploma. They may be taught at home by someone with a high school disploma and take the General Educational Development test. Or they may enroll in a cyber school and take classes via computer.

Do Not Blame the Crimes of the One on the Many!

All felonious criminals should be prosecuted. Any felonious criminals who are illegal immigrants should be deported after their punishment is served. That said, we all must be clear, the ethnicity, age, race, status of the criminal does not indict all people within that group. To do so would be like saying since John Gacy and BTK were middle aged white males, therefore all middle aged white males are guilty of their crimes. Of course this is ludicrous, as it is ludicrous to indict all minorities or all illegal immigrants for the crimes of the few.

Over the last few weeks two horrendous crimes occurred, one in Pennsylvania (the Hate Crime I reported) and one in San Francisco (on June 22). Fox News and many of the ANTI websites are reporting on the San Francisco crime.

The San Francisco Chronicle and Fox reports:

Edwin Ramos, now 21, is being held on three counts of murder in the June 22 deaths of Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16. They were shot near their home in the Excelsior district when Tony Bologna, driving home from a family picnic, briefly blocked the gunman's car from completing a left turn down a narrow street, police say.

Though an investigation was still ongoing, police have stated the shooting occurred after a traffic altercation involving Bologna's car and as many as three people in another car.

The victims´ wife and mother was understandably upset. My sympathies go out to her and to the remaining members of her family. I cannot imagine her devastation right now and her drive to see that justice prevails.

When she appeared on Fox News this morning, she demanded justice and is upset that San Francisco does not pursue the Death Penalty. I agree to the extent that if Ramos is found guilty of the crime he should be punished, serve his time, then deported.

The Fox News commentator and the ANTI sites however are focused on San Francisco being a "sanctuary city." Fox and the ANTIs are saying Ramos is in illegal status. They are using this as an excuse to indict ALL illegal immigrants for these crimes and to indict San Francisco for being a Sanctuary City. They are wrong on several counts. First, they should not indict All for the crimes of the One. Second, Ramos is currently in "Pending" status. Third, the San Franciscos sanctuary policies have recently changed:

The San Francisco Chronicle Reports:

Ramos came to the United States at age 13 from El Salvador, where he had been raised by his grandmother.
Authorities familiar with his background said Ramos wanted to be near his mother, who had abandoned him when he was 4 months old; she was living with two of her other children in San Francisco...

(Recently) Ramos had married a woman who is a U.S. citizen and applied again to immigration officials to stay in the United States, this time as a permanent resident. That request was pending at the time Tony Bologna and his sons were shot to death.

Apparently Ramos was not "wanted" by his mother, joined a gang and committed several crimes as a juvenile. Prior to his "pending" status, he was convicted and served time in a juvenile facility. Since he was in a "sanctuary city", the authorities did not notify ICE and deport him.

My view is, all felonious criminals should be punished, serve their time and, if an illegal immigrant, should be deported. Mayor Gavin Newsom rescinded the old sanctuary policy regarding notifying ICE of illegal immigrant status for those committing felonious crime earlier this month. I am in agreement with the Mayor´s actions.

As for Ramos, if he is found guilty, he should be punished, serve his time and be deported since obviously, if guilty, he will no longer be in Pending status and instead be denied permanent residency.

But let me make one thing clear. If Ramos is guilty, he alone is responsible and accountable for his crimes. The Scales of Justice in our Country do not allow indicting an Entire Group for the crimes of the One.

UPDATE: The Sheriff and ICE are in dispute regarding the March arrest and release. The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department is going toe-to-toe with federal immigration officials over the release of a suspected gang member who is accused of killing a San Francisco father and his two sons last month in a road rage incident. As the suspect appeared in court Monday, the question that lingered was how he fell through the cracks. Immigration officials say Edwin Ramos was mistakenly released by San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, last spring and quite possibly could have been in custody instead of on the streets during last month’s triple homicide. Immigration, Customs and Enforcement officials in Los Angeles say they have an electronic log between their office and the sheriff’s office in San Francisco that shows deputies released Ramos from custody before they were contacted. But San Francisco Sheriff Mike Hennesy disputes ICE’s claims and says the federal agency is trying to deflect blame. “They’re saying this because they’re feeling some heat,” says Hennessey. “For example, in the past 18 months I’ve turned over 1100 people to ICE, so it’s not like we have a system that doesn’t work.” Ramos was arrested last march on weapons charges. Those charges were later dropped.
ICE officials say their log shows Ramos was released at 1:49 a.m. on April 2nd. Almost two hours later, San Francisco Sheriff’s officials sent an electronic query to Los Angeles ICE officials concerning Ramos’s immigration status. At 5:12 a.m., ICE responded Ramos was in deportation proceedings. Later that morning, ICE says it placed a “detainer hold” on Ramos, but by then he was already back on the streets. Sheriff Hennessey doesn’t buy ICE’s version of events.

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.