Indiana swears in 75 new American citizens

By Christine Won

Some wore red, white and blue clothing. Others proudly waved miniature versions of the Stars and Stripes. And on Thursday, their patriotic spirit dampened not a bit by the morning rain, they all became naturalized citizens.

At a traditional pre-Independence Day ceremony, 75 new citizens representing 35 countries took the oath of allegiance under the white canopy on the south lawn of the President Benjamin Harrison Home in Indianapolis.

Citizenship meant different things to the new citizens, though it might be a stretch to call Beverley Rockwell, 56, Charlestown, a “new” American. Rockwell’s family moved to the United States from England when she was less than a year old.

In 2001, when she and her husband tried to vacation out of the country for the first time, she discovered she lacked documentation that proved she was a U.S. citizen.

Her father was an American in the military, but the military records in Kansas, documenting proof of her parentage and citizenship, had been lost in a fire.

“It was a big pain in the butt getting all the documents together,” she said.

But a year after she applied, Rockwell became a citizen Thursday, sporting a very English hat with red, white and blue decorations to match her bright blue dress.

“I’ve been here so long, I thought legally becoming a citizen would be no big deal,” Rockwell said. “But when the ceremony started, I got teary.”

 

State study of immigration fraught with complications

A column by Kevin Leininger of The News-Sentinel

Indiana’s Medicaid program spent about $18 million on emergency services for illegal immigrants in 2006 - most of it on health care for mothers giving birth to children who automatically became full-fledged U.S. citizens.

If that complication wasn’t enough to doom this year’s attempt to address the situation in the Indiana General Assembly, pressure from business interests and ethnic lobbyists was.

So an area legislator is only too aware of the very large bull’s-eye on his back as he prepares to co-chair a committee charged with studying illegal immigration’s effect on Indiana - and with crafting a humane, effective and politically viable response to a problem not of its making and largely beyond its control.

“I always go into things with optimism, and maybe we’ll be able to reach consensus on some points,” said State Sen. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn, chosen by Senate President Pro-Tem David Long to lead the House-Senate study committee with Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City. “I don’t want to break up families, but if we pick and choose little bits, perhaps we can get something done.”

That kind of minimalism was lacking in the immigration bill authored by Mike Delph, R-Carmel - dubbed “Sen. Diablo” (devil) by an Indianapolis Latino newspaper - which passed the Republican-controlled Senate in January before dying in the House, where Democrats hold a slim majority. Among other things, Delph’s bill would have punished companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants by revoking their business license for up to 10 years.

That approach, Kruse said, could have jeopardized hundreds or even thousands of jobs - hurting the state’s economy and employees whose only crime was to work for unscrupulous bosses. He would prefer to impose stiff penalties on people who profit from the smuggling and transportation of illegal immigrants.

But Kruse and Long, R-Fort Wayne, know good legislation must be built upon good data - something they agree is lacking where Indiana’s 55,000 to 85,000 illegal immigrants are concerned.

“We need good, hard numbers on the effect on our schools, welfare, crime. How many do we have? How many people have been denied jobs (that went to illegal immigrants)?” Long said. “There is a lot of demagoguery on this issue, but Americans who pay taxes and don’t want to subsidize people here illegally expect (legislators) to do the best we can, and that’s a fair request. Immigrants who are here legally don’t have a problem with us cracking down.”

The Constitution might, however.

Because regulation of immigration and enforcement of the borders is properly the responsibility of the federal government, any state attempt to curb or punish illegal immigration is almost certain to attract legal scrutiny - especially from groups looking for cheap labor, ethnic clout or reliable votes. “We don’t want to be unconstitutional,” said Kruse, whose 14th District includes Allen, DeKalb and Steuben counties.

For that reason, Long said, any resulting bill may focus on limiting state services to people here illegally. Legislation may also help schools and other institutions cope with the cost and chaos that uncontrolled immigration inevitably creates.

And therein rests the perversity of this lingering national disgrace: A growing number of states, unable to care for their own citizens, want to attack illegal immigration but are limited by their lack of constitutional authority. The federal government, meanwhile - which has the authority to act - lacks the will, aided and abetted by everyone from corporate executives to church leaders whose compassion exceeds their judgment.

Kruse knows the need to respect the rule of law must be weighed against the real human costs that would come with any attempt to roll back decades of bureaucratic aiding, abetting and indifference. “We have a whole series of laws we don’t enforce,” he said, and that’s true enough.

But as America prepares to celebrate its independence, it’s worth pondering how borders bought with the blood of patriots are today often dismissed as irrelevant, xenophobic or worse. The open-borders crowd seems not to notice the irony of pursuing the American Dream by undermining the sovereignty of the nation without which that dream could not exist.

I wish Kruse luck. He’ll need it.

Border states call for extended guard patrols

Chad Groening - OneNewsNow

Illegal alien road signAn immigration reform activist says the concerns of four border-state governors ought to be enough to convince Congress and the White House to extend the presence of the National Guard on the southern border.

In 2006, when the Guard was posted on the southern border to help the strapped Border Patrol, critics warned that sending soldiers would be an insult to Mexico and that innocents would get shot by troops trained for combat, not law enforcement. But two years later, none of that has happened.

Now those worries have given way to fears that the bloody drug cartel war on the Mexican side will spill into the U.S. and overwhelm the Border Patrol. And the four border state governors who contributed the bulk of those troops are trying to persuade Congress and the White House to extend the Guard’s presence, which will end as scheduled on July 15.

Now that We’re a Scandal-Plagued Sanctuary City, What Have we Learned?

By Benjamin Wachs

Someone must have told Gavin Newsom that illegal immigrants can’t vote for Governor, because he made a spectacular about-face yesterday.

He’ll have to eat crow for a little while but I think I speak for all pundits when I say Gavin Newsom is capable of making it through a scandal like this having learned absolutely nothing.

But how about the rest of us? What have we learned from the City’s attempt to rack up hotel points and frequent flier miles?

Oh, José, Can You Sing? Oy, vey

Jewish Standard

“The Star-Spangled Banner,” the quintessential patriotic song, hasn’t always been sung in English.

There are versions of it in Spanish, Samoan, Polish, German, Yiddish, and Latin. More than 400 recorded versions in English are listed on www.allmusic.com, including the one Jimi Hendrix made popular in 1970.

The latest version in Spanish, a CD titled “Nuestro Himno” (”Our Anthem”), was released at the end of April 2006 to coincide with pro-immigration reform rallies that were held across the United States on May 1. Forty performers sing on the CD, among them Gloria Trevi, a Madonna-like Mexican singer, and hip-hop star Pitbull.

It touched a raw nerve with conservatives, one of whom even called it the “Illegal Alien Anthem.”

George Key, the great-great grandson of Francis Scott Key, who wrote the original lyrics to the anthem in 1814, said on National Public Radio upon the release of the controversial version, “It’s a terrible thing. They should go some place else and sing it.”

SDC Call to Action: Disrupt the DNC!

by V Pipard sds2dnc@hushmail.com

At our 2007 national convention, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) passed a proposal endorsing the work of groups organizing against the RNC and encouraging folks within SDS to organize against both the RNC and the DNC. Organizing against the Democratic National Convention (DNC)–which will take place from August 24th through 28th in Denver, Colorado–has grown at a considerable pace over the last year, including a significant radical and anti-authoritarian presence. However, though much important work has already been accomplished, it seems many remain captivated by the electoral spectacle and false promises of hope and change.

(From their calendar — OOV)

TUESDAY AUG 26:

March Against Walls and Borders: No One Is Illegal! A historic convergence of Latino and Chicano communities, Immigrants and their Allies will be taking place in the morning. We will be in the streets making connections between the walls that separate nations, people, genders.

Agriprocessors Supervisors Arrested

By MIRIAM JORDAN

Federal agents on Thursday arrested two supervisors at Agriprocessors Inc., the country’s largest kosher meatpacking plant, on charges they helped illegal immigrants secure fake documents and encouraged them to reside in the U.S.

The arrests marked the first by U.S. authorities of individuals in supervisory roles at the Postville, Iowa, plant. On May 12, Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents arrested 389 workers at the facility, most of them undocumented immigrants from Latin America.

On Thursday, ICE agents arrested Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza, 35, and Martin De La Rosa-Loera, 43, on various criminal immigration and fraudulent identity charges outlined in separate complaints filed in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A federal warrant has been issued for the arrest of another manager, Hosam Amara, 43, who hasn’t been located, according to a court statement.

Both Messrs. Guerrero-Espinoza and De La Rosa-Loera were charged with aiding and abetting the use of fraudulent identification before the raid. Mr. Guerrero-Espinoza is also charged with aiding and abetting “aggravated identity theft,” according to the court. Both men were detained temporarily until their detention hearings on Monday.

Illegal immigrants typically get jobs either by presenting Social Security cards and other identification carrying a fabricated name and number, or by utilizing the real name and Social Security number of a U.S. legal resident or citizen, which constitutes identity theft.

McCain: Border fence first, then reform

MEXICO CITY - John McCain warned Mexicans that more border walls are needed before he attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration laws again, an unpopular position in a country he visited in hopes of boosting his standing with Hispanics at home.

During a trip to Mexico City, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee also said he opposed unilaterally changing parts of the North American Free Trade Agreement, as liberal Mexican politicians and his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, have suggested.

A year ago, the Republican senator was the co-author of a sweeping immigration-reform bill that had fired hope among millions of Mexicans living illegally in the United States.

Trouble brewing on the border

While placing American flags on the border fence this afternoon, ABP personnel were visited by a Border Patrol agent. He said to be on the lookout for Mexican military as they are operating in the area. He also said our neighbor to the east was fired on last night

American Border Patrol people were attaching flags on the Mexican border.

Suddenly two Mexican soldiers came walking by, west to east.

A few minutes later a Mexican Army Humvee approached. This time Wes Fleming had the camera ready. He took photos of the Humvee as it passed.

Fleming reports that one of the soldiers “flipped me the bird” as they drove off.

Another person witnessed the “bird.”

~Glenn Spencer~

Mucho Gracias to our good freind and correspondent in Mexico City, Edgar Martinez for these videos:

Thai Workers To Enter U.S. Through New Immigration Program For Farmhands

Denver, CO (AHN) - A federal visa program avoided by farm owners for its high cost and bureaucratic procedures is now being used to bring in foreign farmhands.

By next harvest season, farm owners in Colorado will have an alternative to the H-2A visas after Gov. Bill Ritter signed a law that created a program to guide farmers through the application procedure and cut document processing time. Similar laws are being considered by other states.

Farm owners have turned to the H-2A visas to bring in seasonal farm workers, mostly from Mexico, after Congress failed to pass reform immigration legislation in 2007.

Fish in a barrel

Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

This year the Fourth of July dawns on a nation deeply divided over immigration policy. Rounding up millions of illegal immigrants, as many Americans wish for, is not physically possible and, if it were, would drive the U.S. economy straight into the tank.

In Houston, a recent raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on an East End rag factory resulted in the detention of 166 women suspected of being undocumented workers, including 10 who were pregnant. The lines of Action Rag employees marched to ICE vans made for a dramatic media photo-op, but missing from the show were the company managers who had hired them.

ICE Special Agent Bob Rutt told the Chronicle the arrests of the women were “a collateral part” of an investigation targeting the employer. Yet, in a previous raid on Shipley’s Do-Nuts in Houston in April where 20 workers were detained, no managers or company officials were arrested.

Border Patrol agent agrees to smuggling plea

EL PASO — Documents filed this week in El Paso Federal Court indicate that attorneys and prosecutors are working toward a plea deal for a U.S. Border Patrol over his alleged role in a human smuggling ring.

Jesus Miguel Huizar, 28, made his first appearance before a federal magistrate in May.

Emeterio Sigala-Favela and Luis Carlos Chacon-Rubio, both of Chihuahua, Chih., are also charged in this case as are Rosa Escajeda and Jorge Eloy Jurado-Nevarez.

Supervisors at raided meatpacking plant arrested

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Two supervisors at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville that was raided by federal immigration agents in May have been arrested.

Juan Carlos Guerrero-Espinoza and Martin De La Rosa-Loera are charged in criminal complaints unsealed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

C.A.P.S. Calls on California to Investigate San Francisco’s Protection of Drug Dealers from Prosecution

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ —- Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) requested Tuesday that Governor Schwarzenegger and the California Attorney General investigate the City of San Francisco over the recent reports that San Francisco juvenile probation officials are protecting Hondurans caught dealing crack cocaine from federal prosecution by flying them out of the country or housing them in San Bernardino County, all at city expense. All of the Hondurans have since fled the housing and have yet to be re-arrested.

“The allegations that city officials were helping illegal alien drug traffickers evade federal enforcement are being investigated by the U.S. Attorney at this time,” said C.A.P.S. President Diana Hull, “We are asking the state of California to investigate possible official corruption.

Owners arrested after ICE raid at Houston company

By JAMES PINKERTON
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Last week their undocumented workers were hauled off to a detention facility, but today the owners and managers of a Houston rag exporting firm are in custody for employing the illegal immigrants.

This morning a U.S. magistrate in Houston is scheduled to preside over the initial court appearance of two owners and three managers of Action Rags USA. The eastside company, located in a sweltering factory near the Port of Houston, was the scene of one of Houston’s largest immigration raids when 166 undocumented workers were detained June 25.

The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis. You are free to disseminate this information, but we request that you credit NAFBPO as being the provider.

El Diario de Coahuila (Saltillo, Coahuila) 7/2/08

The European Union (EU) is seeking to cooperate with Mexico and the US in combatting narcotraffic. This was indicated when the French ambassador to Mexico, Daniel Parfait, speaking (presumably) for the EU, welcomed the approval of the bilateral Mexico-US Mérida Initiative to combat organized crime and added, “It is necessary to see in what way a triangular cooperation can be formed.” (between Mexico, the US and the EU.)

——————–

El Universal (Mexico City) 7/2/08

Chihuahua state police have taken control of all police duties in Juárez after the departure of both the director of city police and the Municipal Secretary of Public Security and the withholding of arms from the police force.

——————–

El Porvenir (Monterrey, Nuevo León) 7/2/08

The Federal Judicial Commission (CJF) reported that the extradition to the US of the “legendary” head of narcotraffic, Benjamín Arellano Felix, is inappropriate because he was already convicted in Mexican court for crimes for which the US is charging him. (This reverses the decision reported 6/25/08, which in turn reversed an earlier decision.)

——————–

El Informador (Guadalajara, Jalisco) 7/2/08

Four decapitated bodies were found in Culiacán, Sinaloa early this morning. The bodies were wrapped in blankets and their heads were found in white plastic bags. Also found was a message that read, “Keep on Chapo ungrateful traitor,” apparently referring to Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, head of the Sinaloa Cartel.

——————–

El Debate (Sinaloa) 7/2/08

Military reinforcements arrived in Culiacán in response to the wave of violence which swept over the city in June. This increases the military personnel in joint operation Culiacán - Novato by 120 troops.

——————–

Cuarto Poder (Chiapas) 7/2/08

A report from the southern state of Chiapas indicates that organized crime is readjusting its territories by seeking refuge on the southern border of Mexico, due to enforcement efforts in the north. The southern region does not have the cooperative organization between police agencies that is developing in other parts of the country.

——————–

-end of report-

Immigration Crackdown May Boost U.S. Job Prospects

What’s needed to discourage illegal immigration into the United States has been known for years: Enforce existing law.

Amazingly, that is happening now – to some degree. This trend may already be shrinking the flood across the Mexican border and have a modest positive impact on job prospects for “native born” Americans during the present economic slump.

Immigration prosecutions reached an all-time high in March, reports the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a data research and distribution group at Syracuse University in New York. Using data from the Justice Department, it calculates that prosecutions were up 49 percent from February and 72.7 percent from March of last year. This highly unusual surge is filling up US detention centers and jails.

Federal Report Recommends Improvements in Reporting Deaths of Immigrant Detainees
Lawsuit Leads to Release of Immigrant
Report faults immigrant detainee care
Tuition break for some illegal immigrants stands
High court rejects tuition-law case
McCain to meet Mexican president at end of tour
McCain visits a skeptical Latin America
Countdown 2008: Candidates present ideas on illegal immigration
Farmers find help getting workers’ visas
Migrant initiatives won’t be on ballot
Immigration measures lack signatures to make ballot
S.F. Mayor Reverses Policy on Illegals
Dumping of illegal immigrant criminals in Yucaipa enrages officials
San Francisco to Halt ‘Sanctuary’ Policy
Newsom, with eye on higher office, is jolted by a new issue
Chief: Blacks prey on Hispanics
Police Chief Honored for Outreach to Immigrants
Homeless to be told to vacate tent areas
Johns Creek’s Melting Pot; Influence of Asians grows
Group’s focus on ousting incumbents
Protest Fueled by Detention of 45 in Immigration Case
Immigration group plans march during convention
Religious leaders: Immigrants suffering after raid
Unintended consequences?
New US citizen redesigns Fla. immigration offices
Dad who faced deportation is declared a U.S. citizen
Marriage scam artist all done with Dublin
2 drug ring suspects here illegally
LA porn director accused of staging sham marriage
Albemarle License Examiner Faces Federal Charges
5 at rag factory charged in immigration raid
Indian immigrant sues Edison over his deportation
Man faces deportation after 10-year sentence
Fisherman Guilty of Smuggling
Suspects may be in the U.S. illegally

Disrespecting America: Multiculturalism

BY Frosty Wooldridge

“America is losing its national identity through mass immigration, legal and illegal… creating ‘transnationals’ that never fully assimilate into our American society.” ~ Mark Krikorian

The official U S Census demographics tell us that 16.5% of the folks who reside in the nation are non-Hispanic blacks, certainly a minority. Many blacks, each for their own reason, have held back… refusing to assimilate fully into the big-picture USA. Examples are everywhere.

On July 1, 2008, in Denver, Colorado, Mayor John Hickenlooper stood with 700 guests for the singing of the “Star Spangled Banner” at his annual State of the City address.

A local jazz singer, Rene Marie, contracted to sing the national anthem, instead shocked the audience with the “Black National Anthem.” Everyone in the audience gasped !

In unison, they swallowed hard! Rene Marie sat down with a sense of satisfaction as if she just put one over on her audience. She did! Ms. Marie, a black woman, smugly disrespected America!

In a strange twist, Americans, in the main, cowered and refrained from commenting – fearing being labeled a racist. Some, however, stood up and spoke truth.

Safety checkpoints put illegal immigrants in line to lose cars, sometimes more

By JULISSA McKINNON and SARAH BURGE
The Press-Enterprise

Deymi Barrios, a 25-year-old stay-at-home mom and illegal immigrant, had her car towed away from a checkpoint in Romoland because she was driving without a license.

Wrestling car seats from her Ford Focus as her two young children cried, she said she understood why deputies impounded her car.

“I know that the law is the law,” Barrios said in Spanish. “But because I don’t have papers, I can’t get a license.”

Daytime checkpoints are gaining popularity among police as a way to make roads safer by taking cars from unlicensed drivers. But immigrant advocates say many of those caught up in checkpoints are not people with records of driving dangerously, just illegal immigrants who, like Barrios, cannot get a license at all.

Barrios chose to drive her 5-year-old son to school anyway May 5 because she did not want him to wait outside for the bus while he sniffled with a cold.

Her car was one of 75 taken away on the spot in southwestern Riverside County as part of a safety checkpoint put on by the Sheriff’s Department. Anyone who failed to produce a license was ushered off Highway 74 through a gantlet of orange cones, where tow trucks were queued up like taxis at an airport.

Barrios, who came here illegally from Mexico seven years ago, worried about her husband’s reaction to the $1,000-plus cost of retrieving their car.

“We’ll probably have to cut our telephone service,” she said. “The only thing that could have made this worse is if immigration was here.”

S.F. mayor shifts policy on illegal offenders

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco will shift course and start turning over juvenile illegal immigrants convicted of felonies to federal authorities for possible deportation, Mayor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday as he took the blame for what he conceded was a costly and misguided effort to shield the youths.

Newsom said he hadn’t known until recently that the city was keeping the juvenile offenders from being deported as part of its sanctuary-city policy, but he added that “ignorance is no defense.”

As McCain Panders, Our Borders Crumble

Bay Buchanan

One year ago the American people soundly rejected amnesty for illegal immigrants. Across the nation, there was heavy sentiment against one if its principal supporters, John McCain. Last November Senator McCain shifted positions — not abandoning amnesty but putting it instead on the back burner to a secure border. “I got the message,” he explained, “I will secure the border first. That’s what Americans want.”

That was six months ago. Today John McCain, having captured the Republican nomination, seems intent on retreating to his old position, in spite of his promises to listen to the American people. This week, McCain is off touring Mexico and Columbia to push his free trade agenda, not to ask those nations to cooperate in ending illegal immigration. At an earlier appearance before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials McCain, when asked if he make comprehensive immigration reform [read amnesty], and not just enforcement, one of his priorities in the first 100 days in office, he replied “It will be my priority yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” No mention of a secure border.

Yet today a secure border is more desperately needed than ever. Mexican border towns have deteriorated into complete lawlessness and it’s all coming North unless we get dead serious about protecting our nation’s borders now.

Fence Me In
Tackling immigration.

An NRO Q&A

Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, is a longtime National Review and National Review Online contributor. He is this weekend the proud author of a new, important book The New Case Against Immigration: Both Legal and Illegal. He talks with NRO editor Kathryn Lopez first about the book, the election-year ahead, and more.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: The world — or at least all of the NBC-watching public – will have their eyes set on the Statue of Liberty this weekend. And you do this?

Why?

Mark Krikorian: It’s an arresting image designed to get people to click through the web ad or pick up the book at Borders. But it does also visually convey the point of the book — that the mass-immigration phase of our national life is over. FDR made just that point in 1936 in his speech on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Statute of Liberty: “Within this generation that stream from abroad has largely stopped. We have within our shores today the materials out of which we shall continue to build an even better home for liberty.”

Lopez: How can you possibly be against LEGAL immigration?

Krikorian: It’s a mistake to think of legal and illegal immigration as distinct phenomena. They come from the same places through the same means, often in the same families and even the same people (shifting back and forth between being legal and illegal), and have the same impact on society. Obviously, any effort to reform immigration policy has to start with enforcing the rules, because without that, it doesn’t really matter what the rules are. But in addition, you have to consider whether the rules themselves should be changed. And apart from the, admittedly grave, question of legal status, all the other problems caused by illegal immigration are also caused by legal immigration.

Dumping of illegal immigrant criminals in Yucaipa enrages officials

Wesley G. Hughes and Andrew Edwards, Staff Writers

Reports that the San Francisco authorities shipped eight juvenile Honduran crack dealers to an unsecured group home in Yucaipa have state Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, outraged with the Bay Area city.

Dutton promised legislation that will get the attention of San Francisco, which has declared itself a sanctuary for illegal immigrants.

The San Francisco Chronicle broke the story of how the city had been flying criminal illegal immigrants to their home countries at city expense to spare them dealing with federal immigration authorities.

When they were forced to halt the airlift, they shipped the juvenile crack dealers to a Yucaipa group home to serve out their sentences.

They had absconded within days and are apparently still at large.

The senator was in high dudgeon during a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon from his Sacramento office.

“I was never so mad. I am totally outraged. It’s not right, and it’s not fair to the people of Yucaipa or the people of California,” he said.

The news touches on the raw nerve of illegal immigration and reawakens Inland views that other Golden State jurisdictions use San Bernardino County as a dumping ground for their problems.

“This is especially troubling in that you have offenders who should have been deported,” Assemblyman Bill Emmerson, R-Redlands, said in an interview during which he also maintained that San Francisco has no business exporting offenders